Chapter 185

Hiccups POV:

It's been two hours since we got back from our trip to the boiling cove tribe and since then we'd flown to Berk to receive a warm greeting from all who saw us as we made our way to the great hall. When we got there, we were greeted warmly by both my parents and the Hofferson parents all of which were curious to know why we were gone so long. Mr Hofferson joked about it by asking me if the reason we took so long was because the people of the Boiling Cove tribe were doing their best to make sure I stayed with them. I told him that was only one of the reasons that we stayed so long, the main reason was the orcs who were planning to catch destroy the tribe and use the island as a base to take over the archipelago and then the world, was the other reason we took so long. This last bit was what caught everyone's attention though and as expected my dad ordered me to start showing what happened to us on the trip.

This brings us to now with me and the girls still in the Great Hall with my parents crushing my ribs with their hug and Astrid's parents doing the same to her while Blanca just stood back and giggled at out pain. When the Hofferson parents pulled away from Astrid though they began screaming their heads off and soon enough my parents joined them in their yelling except their yells were directed at me. After five minutes of this I had enough and yelled out.

"SHUT IT!" I looked around and saw this outburst didn't just shut my parents and the Hoffersons up but everyone in the great hall as I took a breath and said. "I know what happened on that island was dangerous, but I was curious to know what the creatures the tribe fought all those years ago and in doing so discovered an army that was going to wipe out one of Berks oldest allies followed by the rest of the world, helped defeat said army before they could be unleashed on the world, helped strengthen the relationship we have with one of our oldest allies, helped strengthen their tribe and got some wealth to add to Berks treasury." I punctuated this last part by pulling off my spiderpack as its mouth opened and placed it on the ground allowing the mouth to open fully and push out the bags of jewels, gold and silver. "I know Chief Fen claimed it was payment for all we'd done for his tribe but I have more than enough treasure in my vault and I think it would do Berk some good to have a little more in the village treasury." My dad smiled at me before he said.

"Thank you, son, this will definitely help Berk in the future." I nodded and took the bags out of my spiderpack and put them in front of him. "Still though, devastating winter is only a week away so I'm going to need you helping on Berk more than ever so no more trips until the end of the season and the thaw comes." I nodded.

"Don't worry dad, that adventure was enough to last me a while and besides I'm going to be very busy on my island." He raised an eyebrow. "It's most going to be like the last few winters with people trying to sneak onto my island and you know how much I like my privacy when it comes to my island." He nodded.

"I know son, I know." I then turned to the people around the Great Hall and sighed as I muttered.

"Time for the standard question and answer session." I walked to the head table while leading Blanca and Astrid to the same spot before I turned to face the people. "ALRIGHT I KNOW YOU ALL HAVE QUESTIONS FOR US SO REMEMBER THE RULES, RAISE YOUR HAND IF YOU HAVE ONE, WAIT YOUR TURN AND NO RUSHING US!" Everybody nodded or murmured understanding. "ALRIGHT LET'S GET STARTED!" With that said we began the question and answer question.

Nightfall

I was laying on my bed looking up at the ceiling with my real arm wrapped around Blanca who as usual was using my chest as her pillow while I gently stroked her hair. Today had been pretty relaxed after the meeting in the great hall with me putting Olathe's claws on a pedestal in the trophy room, the shield on the wall behind it and the medals me and Blanca got were hung up on either side of it.

As I lay there embracing my wife, I went over my memories of what happened in those caves that held those orcs and how I was careless resulting in their capture of me. I knew how I was going to spend my devastating winter and that was putting myself through some tough training in both my training room, my training mirror and my ninja who I'd be talking to about upping my training. I wasn't the only one who'd be going through training though as some of my animals would be going through some training since I wanted them ready should the need for them to join me in combat ever arises but I pray that day never comes. I took a breath and mentally said 'This winter's going to be rough' before I closed my eyes leaving me in darkness as the sweet embrace of slumber engulfed me.

Five weeks later

It's been five weeks since I got back from the Boiling Cove tribe and that time has been exhausting and busy but worth it since the results were without a doubt worth the exhaustion and muscle pains. I had been training most of the time building up my physical strength while also sharpening my dragon style kung fu in the training mirror and even forged some weapons used for this form of kung fu remembering what my master always told. "Control yourself, let others do what they will. This does not mean you are weak. Control your heart, obey the principles of life. This does not mean others are stronger." These words were the pillars of dragon style and I always remembered them and repeated them to myself when I practiced my kung fu since it reminded me of my days with Master Shen and all he taught me.

My training wasn't completely focused on kung fu though as I also upped my ninja training, so I'd spend a lot of time with my ninjas who were teaching me some new moves, infiltration techniques, designs for new equipment, new ways to use my weapons and so much more. Because of their intense training my senses like hearing, touch and smell had increased to new levels as had my skill with my shadow sickle since I could now use it in ways I never even thought of while also being able to rapidly spin the end blade by the chain without getting hurt. As for the gear I'd forged I'd some new shuriken, kunai, tonfa, multiple caltrop tashibishi, nunchucks and a set of sais, all made out of gronkle iron. Besides the weapons I'd also made tools used for infiltration such as saoto hikigane, a portable listening device like ear trumpets that are used to eavesdrop conversations and learn the movement patterns of guards. I also forged a hamagari, which is a long thin saw with a myriad of very sharp teeth mounted on a folding iron shaft similar to a penknife making it a powerful weapon when I need to handle wooden structures.

There's also the tsubokiri which can be used to carve small gaps between planking before using a two-pronged iron fork to extend their size to big enough for the insertion of a thin leaf-shaped saw known as a shikoro allowing me to enlarge holes so I could slip through. I also made kurorokagi which is a metal climbing device consisting of a strong iron hook mounted on a wooden handle. Its purpose is to aid in scaling walls, act as an extension of the hand, and it provide steps during a descent. Then there's my hokode or hand claws, that are used to help scale walls, but also act as melee weapon in a fist fight. These came with tekagi that are designed for wall-climbing purposes except used to help me get a good grip on the wall with my feet making it easier to climb. I spent hours in the training room mastering each of the weapons while studying under my ninja who showed me the most effective ways to wield these weapons along with some great techniques.

All of these items were used in the ninja training I went through in the training mirror where my ninja had me infiltrate fortress's with heavy security to retrieve things and whether it be information, scrolls or other items I had to do it without detection or my god made weapons. This of course made things more difficult than they could be, but I understood the need to be able to accomplish these things without the use of my magic weapons. This didn't mean I was going in empty handed though as I did have my ninja gear with me including a ninja suit, I made since I couldn't use my grootslang coat during training. I never got it right the first time though and always got captured or killed in some way before being thrown out of the mirror along with my ninja who entered with me to watch me go through the missions they gave me and set them up to begin with.

Besides my training I'd also been busy in my forge working hard to replace the boom beetles we used in the battle against the orcs which did take a while considering the number of boom beetles we used. I had been working on some new automaton ideas, but I hadn't been able to begin work on them yet since I've been busy with my training. I'd also been using my coliseum to run my dragons through multiple training drills, but I didn't push them as hard as I pushed myself since I knew that would do more harm than good. I also ran my animals through some extra training to make sure they kept in tip top shape along with my snake guardians who I'd spar with from time to time.

Now Toothless was in the ice nest running some dragons through drills while I was at the Griffins roost directing Plutarach and all the other griffins from the balcony on flying in formation and watching as they flew in four separate diamond formations. I smiled at them and signaled them to go into V formation and smiled as their formation changed to V shaped formation making me smile. As I watched them circle the mountain, I made a mental note to run them and my dragons through some naval training in which I'd have them drop bombs and boulders onto floating targets. It was then I was brought out of my thoughts at the sight of Ikan flying towards me and raised an eyebrow since he mostly preferred to stick to the Mayan jungle section of my island. He came to land on the balcony railing in front of me before lowering his body to show the message holder on his back telling me he had a message for me. I opened the top of the holder and pulled out the rolled-up parchment before giving Ikan a small neck massage using my forefinger and thumb as I said.

"Thanks pal." He just screeched as I opened the scroll and read.

"Hiccup

We need talk about something so please come to the tea gazebo.

Signed Astrid and Blanca"

I lowered the scroll and said.

"I wonder what they want to talk about." I shrugged. "I better go see what the girls want." I looked up at the gryphons and let out a high-pitched whistle and yelled out. "ALL RIGHT GRIFFINS, TRAININGS DONE FOR NOW SO COME DOWN AND REST FOR A BIT!"

The griffins glided down landing on the patio while I hopped off the balcony as I spread my wings out, gliding on the wind current allowing me to glide over the forest towards where the gazebo is but I knew I would need to walk most of the way.

10 minutes later

The second I saw the girls I knew something was wrong since when I got to the gazebo Astrid and Blanca were waiting for me, but the thing is, Astrid was wearing a kimono she used in China. This was the first time I'd seen her in it since we left the Forbidden City which was a dead giveaway that there was something up but what it was, I had no idea. I took a breath and walked up to the table before sitting down as they both looked at me with concern and I sighed as I asked.

"Alright girls, what did you call me here to talk about." Astrid answered.

"We're worried about you Hiccup." I raised an eyebrow before Blanca answered my unasked question.

"Ever since we got back from the Boiling Cove tribe, you've been pushing yourself hard in your training and have been putting the dragons and animals through more training than usual." I looked at them uneasily.

"I just felt I needed to up my training in case I run into some trouble again since with my life I'm bound to get caught into another big fight with some sort of evil." They nodded before Astrid said.

"Hiccup, there's more to it and you're hiding it from us."

"Why do you say that?"

"You may try to hide it, but we can tell when you're not telling us everything." I looked down.

"It's just, when I was captured, I felt like when I was younger and called Hiccup useless." I sighed. "I felt completely helpless since there was nothing I could do." I clenched my teeth. "And to make matters worse for me, I had to call you both in to save me." I looked up when I heard a growl and looked up to see both girls glaring at me with Astrid growling.

"I expected better from you than other guys, but it looks like you're like some who think girls belong at home and not out fighting." My eyes widened.

"IT'S NOTHING LIKE THAT!"

"THEN WHAT IS IT?" She clenched her fists before slamming them into the table. "IS IT BECAUS YOU BELIEVE THAT WE CAN'T HANDLE IT LIKE YOU WITH YOUR GOD MADE WEAPONS AND GEAR!" She looked ready to rant some more but I cut her off.

"IT'S HOW I WAS FORCED TO PUT THE LIVES OF THE TWO WOMEN I LOVE IN DANGER AND IT WAS ALL BECAUSE I WAS TOO USELESS TO FREE MYSELF!" As soon as the words left his mouth silence rained all over the area where not even the dragons who called it home made a sound as the girls absorbed what I said but the silence was broken when Blanca stood up, walked to my side and embraced me.

"Hiccup, I understand how you feel not wanting for us to get pulled into danger but there is no shame in asking for help." She gently stroked my hair. "The fact that you feel guilt but there was no other option and it's not because you weren't strong enough." She pulled away and looked into my eyes as she caressed my cheek. "The reason you were captured is because those orcs were able to catch you by surprise and used powerful magic to keep you from using your strength." I looked down.

"I should've been prepared for it though, then you two wouldn't have been forced to put your lives in danger." Astrid then said.

"Hiccup, nobody could be prepared for what you faced, we knew the risk when we went down there, and we were more than willing to take the risk to save not only you but the archipelago." I clenched my fists.

"Still, if I wasn't able to send for help then the island of the Boiling Cove tribe would've become a base for the orcs by now and every man, woman and child would be nothing but food for those beasts all because I was too weak." I clenched my jaw. "I want to become stronger so that never happens again, so I can protect the people I love and all those who call this realm home, that is why I'm training so hard and why I'm training my dragons and animals so hard." I looked to the sky and thought of Mizore, Siren, Viggo and Hadasa. "Too many people have died because I wasn't strong enough to defend them." I felt a pair of arms wrap around my chest from behind as Astrids head came to lay on my shoulder.

"You're talking about the people you honor in that one room upstairs where you keep items that once belonged to them." I nodded.

"They died because I couldn't save them." Tears began to run down my face. "It was my fault they died, and it could've happened again with you girls." Blanca pushed my head up, so I was once again looking into her eyes.

"Hiccup, you showed us what happened all those times and how all those you mentioned passed on and none of it was your fault." She gently wiped away the tears. "You did all you could to help save them but there was nothing either you or anyone else could do." I just quietly let my tears fall. "You've been holding in so much pain from when those people died and never let it out."

"I always thought I was over their deaths, but they still haunt me, and I never let it show because I knew it would lead to this and I didn't want anyone to see me as weak." Astrid replied.

"There's nothing wrong with crying and after all you've done, nobody will ever think you're weak." Blanca then said.

"Just let it all out Hiccup, it's not right to hold it all in for so long." After that I let my tears flow freely into the embrace of the girls.

Two weeks later

It's been two weeks since the day when I finally let all the pain I'd felt from the losses I suffered so long ago out but how long I sat there in the shade of the gazebo letting all my pain into their embrace I did not know. What I did know however was it felt good to finally let it all out until I passed out from letting it all out after holding it all in for so very long. When I woke up, I found my head resting in Blanca's lap while Astrid was sat downright next to her looking down at me in concern before they informed me I'd been out for an hour and asked how I felt. I had to say I felt great since it was like this massive burden had been lifted off my shoulders even though I never knew that I was carrying it to begin with. After that I'd been taking it easy some days, but I didn't go easy on my training since I still wanted to keep my skills sharp for the future battles, I was no doubt going to get pulled into.

Besides that, things had pretty much been calm for me with nothing big happening besides Astrid teasing me about me basically saying I loved her, so I was able to take it easy and enjoy some down time with my dragons and animals. There was one big thing that has happened though and that was devastating winter had arrived meaning people were mostly keeping to their huts doing their best to keep warm, fire wood had become one of the most sought-after items, the lakes of Berk were frozen as were the village wells, livestock were kept in the barns to protect them from the cold, blizzards came at least once a day, people had to dig their houses out and my automatons that I had set up around the island as security along with my animals were kept busy dealing with multiple Vikings sneaking onto my island. I couldn't blame them though since I still remember how rough winters were when I was still living on Berk including when I moved into my cave. These people kept me busy but dealing with them wasn't the only thing that kept me busy though since my dad had made some requests for us to help on Berk by doing some jobs around the place.

These jobs were mostly collecting and dropping off firewood along with food to the farmers who lived out of town so they could have more room to grow their crops and I used this time to also drop off the villagers I caught on my island. Alongside this I also helped on Berk by having my stoker class dragons melt the snow on the paths and roads that was blocking the doors and making it difficult for people to get around the village. It wasn't all bad though since a lot of the kids used this time for some fun in the snow by building snow dragons, snow Vikings and having snowball fights. Seeing them have so much fun together in the snow always brought a smile to my face since it was nice to see children so happy during these tough times and it always made me think about the future, wondering when I'd have kids of my own. Another upside to these tough winter times was Astrid was spending more time on my island with me and Blanca and spent most of her time on my Hawaiian beach working on her tan with Blanca. This meant I got to enjoy a good sight when I was surfing on Wave Chomper or laying down on the beach against Moana who enjoyed soaking in the sun's warmth.

The only other interesting thing to happen was the tree that Damen guarded had finally bloomed with fruit a week ago meaning I was finally able to see what the seeds Pan gave me offered. When the fruit did bloom it was not the normal way fruit bloomed and when it did bear fruit after waiting so long, I knew why it took so long. As for when the fruit bloomed it would be something I'd never forget.

One week ago

I was flying on Toothless above the ocean flying back to my island after dropping off two men who snuck onto my island using a ship to sail onto my island and docked on the edge of my Mayan jungle. Fortunately, Aapo spotted them before he came and warned me while I was enjoying a cup of tea in my library while enjoying a good book and the peace brought to me by the silence. I wasn't too happy with my time of peace being ended, but I knew it was best I deal with what he was trying to tell me before I followed him. When we found the intruders, they were pinned to the ground by my jaguars as my capuchin monkeys hit them on their heads with nuts making me smile.

It was then I was brought out of my thoughts when Toothless let out a roar making me look up and see a gold light shining from the inside of my volcano where Damen lived. I opened Toothless tail and we sped up to max speed to see what was going on since I wanted to make sure Damen and Aelius were alright since they may be powerful, but they could still feel pain. Along with this I didn't even know what that light was. My eyes never left the bright yellow light shining from within the volcano since I was trying to figure out what it was but no luck since it was like nothing I'd ever seen before.

When we got there, we came to land on the edge of the opening volcano looking down into the volcano to see what it was shining so brightly in the volcano. I saw Aelius was on the statue of Toothless looking down into the volcano where the source of the light was probably trying to figure out what it was. I investigated the source of the light and had to look away immediately since it was shining so brightly but fortunately, I kept a set of goggles on me with the lenses made of hammered down death song amber. I quickly took them out and got them on over my eyes to see what it was that was shining so brightly, and I was surprised to see the tree on the island in the lava was the source of the light with Damen holding on tightly to the tree.

I wondered what was happening with the tree since this had never happened before until the light began pulling in forming a tall light of pillar as the clouds circled around it from above in the sky. It was then the light slammed down from the sky and right into the tree with a loud sound that resembled thunder as a shockwave blasted from the tree throwing me back. I quickly recovered though and kicked my legs up and forward pulling my body up allowing me to get back to my feet and run back to the edge to see what was going on. I was shocked to see the tree glowing as flower bulbs grew in its branches, but the bulbs looked as if they were made of pure diamond. Then came the fruit and I was shocked to see apples growing from the branches beneath the blossoms but the thing about these apples is they were gold. It wasn't that hard to figure out that the seeds I was given was from a single apple from the garden of Hesperides. This made me worry though since I don't think Athena was going to be happy about this and I highly doubt that this wouldn't attract some attention.

Present day

I was proven right that evening when Hermes came to deliver a message from Athena informing me that she knew about what happened and she did not blame me for possessing one tree that was grown from the seeds of one of the apples that she gifted to Zeus. She did inform me about a few things though like how right now the apples haven't truly ripened yet, so they weren't ready to be picked and it would take time. When they are truly ripe the blossoms will fall from the tree's branches and float in the lava, never burning but float around the island as if the lava is water. Once this has happened the apples shall be ready to be picked and it is then that she will let me know what these apples can do for me.

Presently I was making my way through the desert alone looking for my sand phantom dragons who had been acting strange lately, a lot more aggressive than usual which is why I was coming alone in my full desert gear with my grootslang in a vest form. They'd been sticking to themselves with Heatwave growling and glaring at anyone who tried to approach Sahara and those that did get close to her were met by a roar that immediately summoned Heatwave who would swat the one close to her away with his tail. I know this because he did that exact thing to me when I was just coming by for a visit to make sure that everything was alright after one of the snake guardians came to me with a report on what was happening in the desert. All this was worrying for me so I figured that they just weren't in a good mood so I decided to give them some time to cool off but that was a week ago and their moods had not improved in the least.

After dealing with their bad attitudes for so long I decided it was time I put an end to it once and for all but before I could do anything though I needed to find them first. This was not an easy task though since yesterday they turned into a massive sandstorm using their combined power and when it cleared, they were gone. After that nobody saw them again, but I figured it was just them letting off some steam but for what I had no idea since I didn't know what could anger them so much. I had mentally gone over multiple things that has happened to them but whenever I thought of something, I shot the possibility down since it didn't work.

It was then I was brought out of my thoughts when a familiar grow caught my attention right before the sand began to shift and spin like a whirlpool pulling me in. I knew immediately that this sand was without a doubt my first sand phantom dragon and the only titan wing of the species, Heat Wave who was pulling me down into the sand. I knew he'd never try to kill me so I just closed my eyes and held my breath as I let myself be pulled in below the sands to see what he wanted me for since it might be the answer to their strange behavior. I felt my body be consumed by the sand until I was completely buried and for a few seconds all I did was do my best not to inhale the sand through my nose.

It was then I felt my legs fall out of sand before my entire body followed and I fell right out of the sand onto a hard floor below and opened my eyes to see I was in a large underground dome. The reason I could see so easily was due to Heatwave lighting up the place with the light that was stored in his body for his powerful blast. Because of this light I was able to see the walls looked to be made of pure smooth glass that I knew was Heatwaves work and the way I came in was through a small hole in the domes wall allowing sand to leak in. The thing that caught my attention the most was what was in the middle of this glass dome and it gave me the answer as to why my sand phantoms had been acting so strange.

Thing in the middle was Sahara who was curled up around a glass nest full of sand and inside this nest was four eggs. These eggs were about the size of my head and looked to be made of wet sand, but I knew that within them was new life that would one day hatch. I smiled at Sahara who just gently growled while snuggling the eggs as Heatwave walked up and nuzzled her head while they both looked down lovingly at their eggs. I smiled at them as I said.

"So, this is why you two have been acting so odd these past few days." I walked up and gently rubber Heatwaves muzzle. "You were just being protective of Sahara while she preparing to have her eggs and preparing a nest for the little ones." He growled and nodded. "Well I won't disturb either of you, but I want to know when the little one's hatch since I'd like to meet them as soon as I can." He tilted his head and I shrugged. "I want to get some information on infant sand phantoms and what they're like but don't worry, I won't do anything to hurt them on purpose." He growled and nodded before I looked around. "One more thing Heatwave." He tilted his head. "How do I get out of here?" He let out a dragon version of a laugh before turning into his sandstorm form consuming me a few seconds later I found myself standing on the surface once more with sand in my hair before I sighed and shook my head. "I will never understand the dragons given to me by the gods." With that said I began making my way in the direction of the gazebo to have a drink and wash out the sand in my hair.

Nightfall

I was laying in bed with Blanca resting her head on my chest as she slept soundly while I gently stroked her hair and stared up at the ceiling while thinking. Earlier today I'd seen my sand phantoms with their own eggs, and it got me thinking about my future and what it could hold since I knew one thing, I wanted was kids of my own. I looked down at Blanca who was silently breathing as she cuddled into my chest and knew she would make a wonderful mother to any child since she could be kind and gentle but also strict and tough when things called for it. Then there's Astrid who I knew would also make a fine mother since she knew how important discipline was when it comes to raising a child but also knew how important it is to also have a gentle touch with them. Still though it might be a little difficult for the child, growing up with two mothers but then again in some of the cultures I've visited it isn't unheard of for a man have kids with multiple women and the children grow up happily.

I sighed knowing the problem would mainly be with me since I'm always traveling to new places, getting wrapped up in dangerous situations, making new enemies and so much more. I just don't know if I was going to be a good father, to make matters worse though is how my reputation would effect my child since some people might try to use them to get to me like some had tried to do with Blanca. I took a breath knowing I needed to discuss this with Blanca since she would without a doubt have an opinion on how our child's life would be, and I knew she more than had a say in when we should have children. With these thoughts in mind I closed my eyes and went to sleep knowing that for now I needed to just enjoy the peace and quiet I had for now since with my life peace was never something that lasted.

AN: And this brings an end to this chapter and I hope you all enjoyed it as I was advised to do a cool down chapter so I decided it was a good chance to show that although Hiccup puts up a strong face there are things that he's holding in. This is the case with a lot of people actually and I have seen them hold it all into the point that when they finally let it all out, it is not pretty. Also don't get your hopes up to see kids soon since they won't be showing up till later so be patient for the time being as I will be getting to them.

Bloody Rogue dragon deity king:

The orcs will be back but when I do not know since you can't take villains like that down so easily.

Arraia:

I'm still thinking about the dinosaurs and what's an 'adventure family'?

AdvancedNSeven:

I do have a few ideas for revisiting countries, visiting new ones and definitely a few new lovers but they shall come later.

Lukec7585

Hard to say concerning the Disney princesses but for his harem it is most likely going to be a mixture of both mythical, human and humans with magic and I'll consider the dinosaur automatons in the future but we'll see.

MANALO:

I haven't played Devil may cry 5 and as for the bow getting upgraded into a gun, this is norse times man, the gun has yet to be invented.

Eris:

If by Beast Boy you mean Hiccup, he will be visiting Atlantis one day but that comes closer to HTTYD 3.

Now with questions out of the way, I feel the need to inform you all I have been thinking of creating a new list that shows all Hiccups gifts from the gods that he doesn't use for combat like his third arm sash or his bottomless water skin so just let me know what you think. You can either PM me your answer or leave it in a review