Night Furies: the Next Generation Chapter 12

"No," Agnarr gasped. "What have you done? Six, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY BROTHER?!" He tried to leap at the Night Fury, but his leg was in terrible pain and he almost fell over.

Night-fury-six-shooter looked just as wide-eyed and horrified as Agnarr did. She backed away from him, shook her head, and moaned, "But… but that's not what I was trying to do! Tell him, Bang! That's not what I wanted to see happen!"

Three of the brand-new Night Furies were beginning to stir. They were all about Newest-girl's size, and they were overjoyed at the change they had undergone. As soon as they could stand, they began stretching their wings and fanning their tail fins, shouting excitedly to each other. "We can fly!" they kept repeating. "We can fly!" One of them ran up to Chi-long, nearly tripping over his feet, exclaiming, "Mother, look at me! I am going to fly again! I am not Grounded anymore!" He leaped into the air, spread his wings, and plowed nose-first into the ground.

"Slow down a little!" Newest-boy exclaimed. "Flying with wings isn't like flying with chi. You'll need some lessons first."

"Lessons?" Bi-xi said scornfully. "You think dragons need to be taught how to fly?"

"He's right," Smallest-girl retorted. "You don't know how your wings work, or how your tail fins work. You never had wings or tail fins before! We all had to learn by practicing it, we all mastered it, and you will, too."

"And who is going to teach us – you?" Bi-xi challenged her.

"Why not?" Pu-lao asked. "They obviously know how."

"Newest-boy's father is our best flight teacher," she replied evenly, "but he's two thousand miles away. Any of us can show you the basics, so you can fly well enough to get back to Berk. Uncle Toothless can teach you the rest once you're there."

"Toothless?" Chi-wen wondered. "Where did he get that name? Did he bite a rock or something?"

"No, we have other dragons who bite rocks," Newest-boy smiled. "We'll show you why he –"

"Wait," Bang exclaimed. The fourth new Night Fury was beginning to stir. His transformation had made him Bang and Six's size. He blinked dizzily, turned his head, and looked puzzled. He glanced at his front paws… and stared at them.

He looked back at his tail, and caught sight of his wings. He shook his head hard and blinked again, as though hoping he'd see something different when he opened his eyes.

"What…" he said hesitantly in perfect dragon language. "What happened? This wasn't… Six, what went wrong? What have you done to me?"

"I didn't mean to," she whispered.

He caught sight of his twin brother, who was staring open-mouthed at him. "Agnarr, are you all right?"

"Well, I'm two thousand miles from home, I'm slowly dying of blood poisoning, and my twin brother just got turned into a dragon… but aside from that, I'm fine," he stammered. "I'm more worried about you right now. Are you all right?"

The new Night Fury stared at his paws again. "Am I all right? I will never hold tools in forge again. I will never hold drawing stick. I will never help you with project. I…" He broke down and closed his eyes. He was shaking.

Six slowly walked over to him and rested her head against his. "I'm so sorry," she whispered. "I didn't mean to do this."

"What's done is done, I guess," he murmured back. "I'm not angry. I don't know what I'm feeling right now. But what went wrong?"

Bang shook his head and quietly said, "I know what went wrong."

"What?" Agmundr, Six, Newest-boy, and Smallest-girl all exclaimed at once. Agnarr was waiting and desperately hoping for a translation.

"It's in the wording of how Toothless taught us," Bang began. "Six was supposed to focus on the change she wanted to see happen."

"I did that!" she exclaimed. "I had a clear mental picture of the three young dragons turned into Night Furies, and Agmundr standing up, perfectly healthy. I did not see him as a Night Fury!"

"I believe you," he nodded. "But there was something else you wanted to see happen, something that meant even more to you than Agmundr being healthy. You didn't visualize it, but it was in your thoughts nonetheless."

"What are you talking about?" Six begged him.

"Six, this is going to be embarrassing, but we have to know the truth. Are you in love with him?"

Six stared at her brother for a moment. "Dragons don't fall in love," she said defensively.

"That was the theory that Uncle Toothless taught us," Bang said, "but we all know how he fell in love with Aunt Guana. I think the rules might be different for Night Furies. Are you in love with him?"

"How could a dragon fall in love with a human?" she exclaimed. "That would be –"

"Six, I've known you all my life," Bang said gently. "You were a typical female until you got your first taste of battle; then you turned into the ultimate warrior, just like Mom. But you're still a female, he's a male, and love is the most irrational feeling in the universe. Are you in love with him?"

She hung her head, looked away from Agmundr, and slowly nodded. "How did you know?" she whimpered.

"You've given me lots of clues," he said sympathetically. "Things like, 'I feel like he's a part of me,' or 'I don't know how I'd live without him.' Agnarr's friendship is precious to me, but it's nothing like that."

Agmundr hesitantly rose to his feet; it was an unfamiliar experience. "So you turned me into a dragon because…?"

"Because she couldn't bear the thought of living without you," Bang finished. "Your short lifespan was as terrible to her as your sickness. She didn't do it on purpose – I'm convinced of that – but that was her heart's desire, and that's what guided her Power."

"Agmundr, I'm so sorry, so sorry!" she sniffled. "I never meant to do this. I never wanted to do anything bad to you! If I could undo it, I would."

The newest Night Fury slowly, hesitantly swung himself around so he was side-by-side with Night-fury-six-shooter. He hesitated, then finally said, "Please don't cry, Six. I'll be okay somehow. You know I was going back and forth on the idea anyway. Your father made the adjustment, so I can, too. We'll get through this." He slowly wrapped a wing around her, like he'd seen the other Night Furies do for each other. It was an awkward gesture; not only was he unaccustomed to showing affection to females, he was even more unused to having wings. She flinched at his touch, then slid toward him until their sides touched.

"You must hate me," she said quietly.

"No," he replied. "I'm amazed at you. No one ever loved me except my brother. I don't quite know how I'm supposed to respond."

Bang made a gesture with his head, and all the other dragons quietly stepped away, giving Six and Agmundr some privacy. Agnarr joined them haltingly. They translated their conversation so he could know what was going on.

"Do you think he loves her, too?" Smallest-girl asked him.

"No," Agnarr replied. Forge couldn't convey what he wanted to say, so he switched to Norse. "He loves her as a unique friend. If it was anything more than that, he would have left me some clues. Neither of us can keep secrets like that from the other. But I can tell you one thing for sure: it's a good thing he has four feet to stand on, because otherwise, he'd fall over from shock at the idea that a female might be in love with him."

"Will they… be a couple?" Smallest-girl wondered.

"Probably, but not for a while," Agnarr said. "He'll have to get used to his new self first. He was always a lot more curious about being a dragon than I was. I think he'll adjust; I know she'll help. Maybe he won't take to it as quickly as your father did, but he won't fight it." He looked off into the distance. "The first time he gets off the ground and flies by himself… he'll be fine from that moment on." His eyes watered. "I think I'm having a harder time than he is. This is the first time in our lives that he had a major problem and didn't turn to me first." He sat down hard on a rock and hid his face in his hands.

To his surprise, he felt a Night Fury's chin on his knees. It was Smallest-girl, looking up at him wide-eyed. "He will adjust," she said softly. "You will, too. He is still your brother. He has not abandoned you."

Agnarr was still and silent for a few seconds. Then he reached out with both hands and scratched behind Smallest-girl's ear flaps. She closed her eyes and purred in delight. "You have not done this for me since we started this trip! That feels good."

He managed a small smile, even as one tear rolled down his cheek. "I am glad some things never change."