Hello, everyone! Thank you to the people who reviewed and added the story to their favorites and alerts. I sincerely hope you're enjoying this fic so far.

I've thought about putting a Spoiler Warning to certain chapters in the future since there will be things coming up that have been revealed later on in 'Fairy Tail' or even in the final arc/season. I don't want to ruin your enjoyment of the anime/manga so I want to let everyone know that, in case you want to catch up to the original material before reading this.

This story takes place after the Oracion Seis Arc in 'Fairy Tail' and, obviously, after the first movie in 'How to Train Your Dragon'. This series as a whole, mainly follows Hiccup throughout the 'Fairy Tail' story. I will not be radically changing things but there will be certain deviations. I'm currently trying to switch things up more so as to not be too close to the original but… we'll see, I guess.

I don't own 'How to Train Your Dragon' or 'Fairy Tail' and I'm not making any profits from this. I just love these series more than I should.

EDIT: 5/10/2020 – Some narration added; a bit of restructuring for better flow.

Chapter 3: Dark Afterglow

It was around noon when everyone got together. By the time the trio arrived, the sailors were finishing up loading the provisions. It was agreed that Rein would remain hidden for now. The cat wasn't exactly happy with the idea but she gave in after Hiccup explained that there wasn't anything like her in Midgard as far as he knew. In any case, they shouldn't risk it. Plus, she could be their ace in the hole if things went south. Rein was much more at ease after that.

Hiccup and Mystogan stopped at the gangplank and waited there for a few minutes until the deck was more ordered and Eret came to greet them and officially invite them on board. They've been in Midgard for one day and Hiccup was already exhausted. The thought that he had to go on the ship feeling like he went ten rounds with Gildarts expanded the knot of dread in his stomach until he wished he hadn't even drunk anything earlier. He honestly didn't understand where this sudden bout of motion sickness came from since he had never had such problems on Berk. Not that he went out with the boats much then. It was something so strange to develop when he grew up in a fishing village.

On the emotional side of things, he was more or less spent. The discussion with Mystogan had helped, surprisingly. He finally managed to bring up some issues that he has been dealing with ever since he came to Earthland and even some that he developed growing up on Berk. Having a second head to think with allowed him to see the bigger picture, understand other points of view and even came to accept the fact that Mystogan himself was hell bent on sticking with him until the end. He was beginning to understand why he was so adamant about getting Hiccup to open up once he also divulged some of his own worries about Edolas. Their situations truly were parallels. The difference was that Mystogan didn't really think high of his father, unlike Hiccup.

All in all, Hiccup was grateful that he wasn't alone right now. He only wished that he had a certain other person by his side still.

"Hey, you came back."

The overenthusiastic and amused welcoming distracted Hiccup from his mind. Eret was striding over to them, careful of any of his crewmates as they still ran around checking stuff. Rein shifted underneath Mystogan's cloak, one green eye wide and peeking nervously at the crowded space.

"Yes, we did." Called back Hiccup. "Is the offer still standing?"

"Naturally."

Eret moved sideways, waving his hands and welcoming them up. Mystogan stepped up first. Hiccup had to take a second to calm down. He didn't want to throw up the moment he stepped on the ship and make a complete fool of himself.

"I did mean it when I said I'm not good with ships. Just so you know." He warned finally.

Eret smirked. "No worries, mate. You can stay in my quarters if you want."

Hiccup rolled his eyes. He took his first step on the gangplank and tried to not think about what was to follow.

/\\\

Hiccup agreed that it was only a matter of weeks before Toothless' tail was fully healed. They've been living in the small cove for a little over three months now, and both he and the dragon were getting very fidgety. They were starting to get sick of the same sights, the same sounds, the same foods and even each other's faces.

Hiccup sighed as he brought the bag with fruits he collected over to their camp, further into the forest. He opened the sack and fished out a ginger colored, round fruit that he started peeling. He quickly found out that the inside was much more delicious than the outside. He wasn't sure what it was because it resembled nothing in the archipelago, but it was tasty and refreshing and that was all he cared about.

Toothless was lounging in a nearby sun spot, wings extended lazily and not in the least the dignified image of the 'offspring of lighting and death itself'. He opened an eye as the sweet scent drifted his way but didn't move a muscle.

"You can't survive off that for long." He huffed.

"If you wouldn't eat all the fish, I wouldn't have too." Hiccup was quick to snap, reaching for another one.

Toothless growled half-heartedly. "My fish!"

"That I've caught!"

They glared at each other.

The dragon rolled his eyes, something he'd picked up from the human and that he liked doing all the time now. "How long do we have to stay here?"

"Until your tail heals, which I estimate would be in a few weeks… as I've told you in the morning."

"There's a town nearby." He was rolling on his back, stretching on the floor while watching his friend. "Let's go there for a bit."

Hiccup shook his head. "Too dangerous. We have no idea where we are or how the people would react to you."

"Maybe they'll worship me."

"No."

"Why not? I'm glorious!"

Hiccup stopped eating to stare at him blankly.

Toothless flipped back on his belly, frills standing up in confusion. "What?"

The former heir pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm not even gonna go there. The point is, you're very noticeable. You're huge! People will definitely see you, especially in broad daylight."

The dragon frowned, head frills lowering with displeasure. "I won't be seen unless I want to, Hiccup."

"I can believe that during the night, when you have the sky and the darkness to blend in with but not here – " He motioned to the bright green, sun filled forest around them. " – and not now. Sorry, bud, you're not that stealthy."

"Is that a challenge?" Hiccup raised an eyebrow. Toothless stood up, stepping closer to him. "I bet I can sneak up on you 'right here and right now' – " He mirrored Hiccup by waving his claws around them. "For a whole day. What do you say?"

It was proof of how bored he was that Hiccup stood up as well and offered his hand in a handshake which Toothless clumsily took. "You got yourself a deal."

"If I win, we'll go the that town tomorrow, okay?"

The Viking grinned. "Fine."

"And you're gonna steal a map."

"W-What?"

/\\\

And that's how Hiccup found himself nursing a bruised leg and scratched palms. He hissed as he slipped his hands in the small pool of sea water. The small lacerations stung and he held his breath as he slowly got used to the pain to the point where it was a mild annoyance in the back of his mind.

So maybe thief wasn't his best career choice. Just thinking about the past few hours in that town made him slouch and grimace over the pool, his face redder than the times he tried to impress/talk to Astrid. A throaty huff reminded him of the one at fault and he glared over his shoulder at the dragon.

"Wow! That was so – " Hiccup glared harder. "Uncoordinated."

Toothless tried to smile reassuringly. His face wasn't made for something like that and instead he looked even more smug than he was feeling. "What do you want me to say?"

"How about nothing?"

"Nothing."

Hiccup groaned. He took his hands out of the water and limped to the nearest rock. "Why don't you quietly sniff the air for the next hour and leave me alone?"

Toothless blinked. He watched the little human wince as he clenched his hands for a while before shuffling over. He was starting to feel bad now. Hiccup noticed him but didn't say anything. He just let his hands rest on his knees, palms up to let the wounds breathe and scab. Toothless gently pushed his head with his snout and when that didn't get him a reaction he nuzzled into his shoulder.

"I'm sorry. I just wanted us to figure out where we are. I'm getting tired of this place."

Hiccup wanted to scratch him but the stinging changed his mind. "I know. You really didn't do anything wrong anyway. It's me who's falling short."

"That's not true!" Toothless moved around to face him, squashing down on his back legs. "You're just not used to moving like that."

"Yeah. It's called sucking at anything physical."

The dragon scowled and almost felt inclined to hit him in the shoulder before reminding himself that roughhousing wasn't something Hiccup responded to very well. Instead, he pushed himself down even more until they were face to face. "Hiccup, it's you who'd been doing the heavy lifting since we got here. You tended to me while I was injured and made sure I was warm and fed. You also gave me back my life even before we got here. You did so much for me, Hiccup!"

"I'm also the reason you lost your flight, convinced you to face the Queen and consequently got us here to begin with."

Toothless growled butting him in the forehead gently. "Silly human! Shut up and take the praise!"

Finally, Hiccup cracked a smile. "Thanks, bud!"

"Besides, I can just teach you how to move silently." Hiccup perked up at the idea. Toothless smiled his gummy smile. "It comes naturally for my kind because we are taught since young to hunt and fend for ourselves. But I can at least try to show you some things."

Hiccup was so glad that he forgot about his injuries and jumped to hug the dragon's thick neck. Until they started hurting but he ignored them anyway. "Thank you!"

Toothless shared his mood and wrapped his wings around him. Yes, he would train his little human, show him how dragons move, how they hunt and how they protect. He would make sure that his friend would have no reason to fear the darkness and that he would be able to defend himself if he ever were to not be around. Finally, they had a set objective.

/\\\

The boat kept rocking even after docking. Hiccup was more than willing to jump overboard, on firm ground after a few days of nightmarish sailing. Of course, he was the only one who had that opinion but his mood was shot, his head was hurting and his stomach wanted to leap out of his throat and tap dance to Valhalla. He only threw up once though. At least that much of his pride was saved.

Mystogan was beside him, some distance away from the sailors who were making sure the ship was anchored safely. Rein wanted to come out and comfort him but she settled on murmuring reassuring words to him instead. Hiccup was honestly grateful to her.

If only he wasn't feeling on the verge of death. He wisely stayed quiet and tried to control his gag reflex as the steadiness of the harbor helped settle his insides. Eret waltzed up to them while his men along with more people from the massive camp beyond helped unload the dragons.

"Everything alright there, mate?"

"He'll be fine in a bit. Thank you!" Mystogan answered while Hiccup jerked his head in a nod. It could have been a silent heave.

Eret watched them concerned for a bit longer before having to focus his attention on the unloading process. There were six dragons in total, all bound with ropes and leathers and dragged and lifted onto wheeled platforms to be taken further inland. Eret couldn't wait to show Drago what he's brought.

After all the dragons were off the ship and prepared to be rolled away a few minutes later, Hiccup finally straightened up. "And that's why I prefer to fly by myself." He sighed.

"You can fly?" The small, innocent gasp drew two pairs of eyes to Rein. She blushed and drew back but her dark green eyes still shone with so much awe Hiccup smiled at the little cat.

"Yeah! Nothing beats feeling the wind blow over your face. I haven't always had problems with vehicles but I'd rather avoid it whenever I can. And since I do something I like, all the better."

"I like to fly too." She admitted. "What about you, Mystogan?"

The blue haired mage chuckled. "My magic doesn't really work that way." Any further conversation was cut short by angry yelling followed by dragons squawking and roaring.

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF ME!"

"You can put yours wherever you want, I don't mind!"

Whimpers and more yells came from the ship as the sailors finally managed to drag out a couple of bound Vikings. They pushed the five prisoners over the gangplank, the blonde woman in front bucking and kicking as two burly men tried to coax her forward.

"Hey, watch it!" A dark-haired, stocky youth called as he almost tripped. He gritted his teeth when the sailor pushed him again. "Do that again and you won't have a hand!"

A snort was his reply as the man shoved him again, harder. Hiccup grimaced when Snotlout's head connected with the wood. He immediately kicked out despite the bloody gash on his forehead but was rewarded with a foot in his stomach.

"Hey, hey! Enough there, Teeny!" Eret called from the deck, hauling another blonde girl over. She was surprisingly calm and grinning through the whole thing. "You'll have your chance later, don't worry lad!"

After all five of them were off the ship, and Snotlout back on his feet and murderous, Hiccup looked them over cursing his luck. They were from Berk. And not only that, it just happened they were the same people who more often than not made his life there as hard as they could without outright killing him. Okay, maybe that was an exaggeration, but what were the chances?

'You truly hate me, don't you?'

"You know them?" Mystogan whispered to him. He was thankful that he didn't use his name, even if they were pretty out of the way. He would rather willingly go back on the ship than let them notice he was standing merely feet away from them.

Hiccup pressed his lips in a thin line and nodded. "My tribe."

"Should we help them?" Rein asked nervously. Hiccup almost felt bad for leaving her so out of the loop but he wasn't going to start telling her his life story right there. He was too busy cursing every God in existence.

Mystogan shushed her as gently as he could while Hiccup continued to watch his former 'friends' as they were pushed and shoved in a line. First and the furthest from him was Astrid. His eyes immediately went to her, how could they not? She was the embodiment of a Valkyrie, so fierce and beautiful even as disheveled as she looked. She was panting from struggling against the men – who were still holding her by the way – so her face was flushed red and Hiccup almost forgot he was angry at life for a few seconds. The fire in her eyes, golden strands of her hair sticking to the sweat on her brow and drawing attention to the sweeps and curves of her nose and cheek and to the full lips dipping into snarls and curses. Astrid Hofferson was the most beautiful woman Hiccup has ever laid eyes on, no matter what face she pulled.

It took more willpower that he would ever admit to tear his gaze to the person next to her. Who was Ruffnut. And who was dreamily watching Eret as he was checking the dragons. There was a story there but considering how a twin was involved, Hiccup wasn't sure he wanted to know.

Snotlout was scowling next to the female disaster. He looked scary with the blood dripping down his face and over his nose and chin. He was huffing and puffing like Astrid but he was clenching his mouth so tight Hiccup could see dust flying off his teeth as they were grinding against each other. He didn't seem to have changed much.

Fishlegs was, as expected, trying not to cry. The sweet giant of a man was twitching on the spot, eyes flickering from the sailors to the dragons and to the ice fort ahead of them. His brows would fall into a scowl once in a while and Hiccup could imagine the inner conversation going on in his head. From who to blame, to analyzing the current situation and recapping the events leading to this over and over again. Fishlegs was too smart and competent to hang out with the likes of Snotlout and Hiccup kind of regretted not confronting him about his choice when they were young. Perhaps he could have saved their friendship.

The last one but never forgotten, was Tuffnut. The second half of the second most dangerous walking incarnations of Loki – number one yours truly – was oh-ing and aw-ing over the huge camp dug in the mountain and covered in snow and ice. He was as oblivious to his surroundings as ever.

Hiccup sighed feeling his anger drain away. He may not have liked them much but he wouldn't sleep well if he left them there. He had to figure out a way to let them escape but he wasn't even sure what he got himself, Mystogan and Rein involved with. His shoulders tensed as Eret pulled on the ropes holding the Monstrous Nightmare. Mystogan shifted closer to him, his cloak brushing against his arm and they briefly made eye contact. The swift reassurance in his eyes brought some comfort to Hiccup.

'I'm here! I'll watch your back!' He felt his breathing easing and the calm settled over him. Whatever was going to happen he would roll with it. A chance would come.

"Get away from my dragon, asshole!" Snotlout pulled against his restraints but Eret merely smirked.

"Not so tough without your beast, aren't you, dragon rider?" He emphasized his point by kicking the unconscious dragon. Hiccup scowled but couldn't contain the puzzlement that slipped through at his words. "Not so tough when you're not in the air, blowing up our ships and messing up our jobs, right?"

"We told you, we don't know what you're talking about." Fishlegs squeaked. Wow, Hiccup didn't expect him to be the one to talk back.

"Hah! Yakshit!" Eret's tone was more mocking than venomous, but his irritation was obviously laid out on his face. "You keep saying that! Do you really expect me to believe there is one dragon rider that no one knows about when there is an entire village right in my face? How stupid do you take me for?"

"Do you want a number or a comparison?" Eret and Ruffnut turned to glare at the male twin in unison.

Astrid shoved against one of the sailors, getting in the trapper's face. "You are a steaming pile of dragon – "

"Eret!" A deep voice boomed silencing the crowd at the docks. Slowly, a cloaked figure descended from the fort, the men parting to allow him access. The heavy footfalls of Drago Bludvist approached the ship as Eret jumped off the Nightmare and faced his boss.

"Drago, hey! Don't I have a haul for you! Lots of diversity over here!"

The bear of a man strolled to the trapper, face frozen in a grimace and left arm sinking down with each step beneath his cloak. Eret's bravado wavered for a moment before he cleared his throat and grandly motioned to present the dragons.

"Over here there are a couple of the beasts, different species just like you want them, four of them actually belonging to these fine Vikings. Just some dragon riders we happened to catch on the way, nothing big."

Drago's eyes narrowed as he glanced over the five youths. "All of them?"

"They're from the Hairy Hooligan Tribe. And apparently they have a lot of dragons on their island." Eret added quickly, losing the flamboyance.

"And you brought them here?" Drago grunted, his temper rising. "How many more?"

"Hundreds! An island full!" Astrid's shout turned all heads to her. She stepped away from her holders towards the two trappers, speaking confidently. "And they'll know we're missing. They have tracker dragons and if you so much as touch us Stoick the Vast will – "

"He's alive?"

She paused for a second. "Of course he is! And he's the greatest dragon master this world has ever seen!"

If one more word was said Hiccup was certain his eyes would pop out of his skull at the sheer audacity of what Astrid was spewing.

Mystogan leaned onto him. "I think I'm lost."

"Yeah. You and me both." He paused to process the blonde's declaration as Eret was trying to placate Drago who was moments away from ripping heads. "She is probably bluffing." There was no way his traditionalist of a father would stoop so low as to ride a dragon.

"I don't know." The mage pondered. "It can't be all a bluff."

"I'm pretty sure I know which parts are."

"Anyway, there is something else that I want to show you!" Pushing Astrid away none too gently, Eret made his way down the riders' line towards the wizards. As everyone's attention changed to follow him Hiccup's only thought was how fast could he jump on the ship and duck.

"Hiccup?"

Not fast enough. 'Should've hid behind Mystogan.'

Eret was still heading towards him, a tiny twitch of his eye showing he heard the question. He didn't stop though, as he grabbed Hiccup's elbow and dragged him to Drago, which unfortunately put him very close to Astrid as well. She was speechless so he was safe for a bit.

"This is Hiccup. He's a Dragon Slayer and he helped us out last night so I asked him to join us since he wanted to meet you." He heard Snotlout's jaw hit the floor and he barely smothered a vindictive smile.

Eret was agitated and he kept gripping his shoulder a little too hard but Hiccup forced himself to smile pleasantly at the taller man. "It's an honor to meet you, Drago Bludvist. I had no idea there was another slayer so close to home. I was wondering if I may speak with you about some things?"

Hiccup was surprised at how even his voice was. His heart was skipping beats and if Drago was as much of a Dragon Slayer as Eret insisted, Hiccup had a feeling he could hear it. But he had to push through, he had to get Drago away from everyone. The man smelled wrong. Like blood and cold and-and insanity. There was something terribly wrong with him.

He saw the moment when recognition flashed in his blue eyes. A jerk of his nose and he knew. So he had some attributes of Dragon Slayer Magic. He nodded and his face returned to that frozen grimace, except his eyes were sparkling. With hope. Hiccup was curious about that when Astrid chose that moment to wreck the situation.

"You're Hiccup? Hiccup Haddock?"

Hiccup winced when Drago's eyes widened a fraction. 'You're not helping at all, Astrid!'

"W-What – " She took a deep breath, wrestled out of the hands pulling her back and stomped to him. "Do you have any idea how much your father looked for you? How – Why – ? You're alive? This whole time – Hey, let me go!" Eret took her bound arms and hauled her back and pushed her down. Astrid was beyond words. She planted her foot down, stopped herself from falling over and threw her body up. Her head smashed into Eret's chin.

It was chaos from there.

With a curse, Snotlout shot his foot out, tripping a sailor behind him and knocking him in the frozen water. Fishlegs yelped but hesitantly pushed another crew member over with his bulk. People were screaming, the conscious dragons were growling and the Nadder was spitting fire through the muzzle holding her jaws locked.

Hiccup turned around to watch the spectacle, not knowing what to do. His eyes grazed over the bound dragons and his claws jolted. He had to free them. The dragons would grab their riders and they would leave while he and Mystogan distracted everyone else. And then he would get Mystogan and fly them away. This was it! He won't get his answers but if everyone got out alive –

"AAAAAGGHHHHH!"

Hiccup visibly flinched at the bellow. His blood chilled and the very air around them dropped to uncomfortable degrees. Ice spread beneath his feet and he was certain the water under the bridge was freezing over. His head whipped around to the source of the sudden magic and his breath caught in his throat as his eyes fell on the enraged Drago, towering like a mountain over everyone in his rage. Hiccup was unexpectedly reminded of Acnologia.

So that's why he felt wrong.

The former heir stepped away from the man-turned-monster just as he smashed his bull hook into the ground. The icy boards groaned and cracked under the pressure and the cold intensified. Everybody stopped in their tracks. Mystogan was shielding Rein in his cloak, his hand hovering over a staff on his back. Eret stopped stumbling and was clutching and wincing at his bruised jaw, though the terrified expression on his face said how much he wanted to drop down and curl into a ball. The rest of his crew had no qualms about that, many stepping away and making themselves as small as possible. The Berk Vikings were stuck in various – and some hilarious – attack poses.

"ENOUGH OF THIS CIRCUS!"

Hiccup still recoiled at the deep roar. He was ready to bolt into action any second, whether to attack or to flee he wasn't sure but the wrongness around the slayer left him disturbingly unbalanced. When nobody moved, Drago lifted his weapon from the deck, the snapping wood and ice echoing loudly in the cavern.

"If you're all done here." He glared at his men, the chill sharpening as he looked at each of them until his eyes settled on Eret. "Put the dragons in cages and lock up the nuisances. I'll deal with them later." The young trapper nodded so fast his bones cracked.

"And you!" He pointed to Hiccup with his staff. "Come with me."

Drago was several steps away before Hiccup willed his body into following. He quickly searched for his guild mate but all he got was a concerned look. Mystogan glanced to the Vikings and nodded. Hiccup left partly reassured that his fellow wizard would watch out for them if worst came to worst.