Hi everyone! I'm back with a new update, what a surprise! Anyway, this one takes place during episode 2 of Riders of Berk. Enjoy!

Brothers

Chapter 12: The Ex-Queen

In my dreams I felt her…calling out to me every night now. I sensed her cries…her desperation…

It's true then…the Queen must be alive

For the first few days since the battle with her, I thought these dreams were just flukes…they came and went but now they invaded my mind. Now, I find myself drawn to them. I couldn't ignore the pleas anymore…tonight I'm going to take action!

In the dead of night, I left the Haddock residence and took flight: leaving through the backdoor. I head for the one place I hoped to never go to again…

I flew across the Viking Sea as the waxing moon lit up the waters below. Very soon I ended up in the fog and I followed her directions and sure enough I made it.

It's an awful scene: half of the island had been reduced to rubble; her body is stuck under the overwhelming weight of the collapsed volcano. I hover above her; I still smell the smoke and ash from our battle just days prior. My black nose tingles upon contact, it's a miserable scent to say the least.

The Queen could smell me, knowing I had finally arrived.

"Callahan…" she groaned weakly; her face half buried in the rubble. In all my time knowing her, I never thought she could look and sound so drained. She's been alone and trapped for a while now.

Out of anger and out of spite I open with a snarky, cynical, snarl, "so…you're still alive after all."

"I'm…thirsty…" is all she said, grunting painfully.

I look down toward the Ex-Queen, part of me just wants to leave her here...let nature run its course; however, another part of me wanted to help…out of pity.

I growl harshly back, "Why should I do anything to help you?"

"…I…"

"Don't sugar coat it or make excuses!"

"P-please…" she muttered weakly, "I…'m…sorry…I was…wrong…help…please…"

"And it took you this long to figure that out!?" I shouted back, unleashing my rage on her, "people got hurt, dragons got hurt…because of YOU. It took you this long…Hiccup's leg…Toothless and his pain and suffering…MY PAIN…all that finally made you see how wrong you were!?"

"…"

"You MURDERED your own kind…manipulated them…USED ME….for your end…you used my sufferings against me…against everyone!"

"…"

My eyes turned even more slit as my ceaseless rant continued, "What was all that about Sophia…using her to make me break like that…to send me into despair…about being in this world…living with the possibility of actually never seeing her again!?"

"…"

"Yea…keep being quiet you BIG…STUPID…ANIMAL…I should just leave you here to die! It would be the right thing!" I roared, a tear rolls down my muzzle as I exploded on her weak, fragile, form. I finally go silent as I hear my gasps. My throat is now burning, and my eyes watery…if my hands weren't paws they would be clenched in rage right now.

"…leave…then…if it's…right…" she finally responded simply, catching me off guard a bit. My eyes widened a bit at that, I rub my eyes with my charcoal arm to disperse the tears. I give a wicked smile in return…the evilest I could conjure, and I start heading back to Berk, never to return.

I'm not even a quarter mile away when I suddenly stop and turn around…

She can't see me anymore because she's permanently blind, but she can still sense my frustrations…my sorrow…and her pain mixed with mine seemed to make her, for the first time in her long life, see just how wrong it was for her to inject suffering into me. She can still sense my presence, knowing that I stopped abruptly.

"Why…do you…hesitate?"

I sigh softly, shaking my head. I might just regret this…

I end up back above her crumbled form and I snarl to her in response, "because unlike you…I strive to help others…even before I came to this world. Even for the ones that might not deserve it. Plus, I'm getting REAL sick of you messing around in my head when I sleep."

"I know…" she gasps in dull pain, "I've seen…your life…through you…these days…with the Vikings…I was wrong…maybe…we CAN…live with humans…"

"Well…I guess I should be happy for you…now that you understand…" I scoff sarcastically. I'm really…REALLY going to hate myself for doing this, "how can I trust you?"

"it's…up…to you…" the Queen muttered.

"How do I know you're not just using me to pity you…free you…" I growl back.

"Can you sense…my intentions…you must…"

"I suppose I can…yes, but you've deceived me and others before…" I crossed my arms while in mid-air. I DID feel some regret on her part, she is destroyed…physically and spiritually. She is a shell of what she once was, that presents me an opportunity to reform her…maybe she can help me find answers to why I'm here, not to mention the fact she knows about my world now. It'd be nice to have somebody who I can share my world with…

"Listen to me…because I'm only saying this once…if you promise me you will change, I will get you out of the rubble, you got to prove to me you deserve it. Don't think I or my friends won't kill you if you try any tricks!"

Silence fills the air for a few moments and then I sigh finally, "I will bring water to you…" I muttered, looking away. I turn around to return home as she says nothing…just gasping in pain from her injuries.

As I fly through the open sea, I find myself lost in thought: why the hell am I doing this!? What would the others think…what would Toothless think…I can't imagine this going too well, but I did feel something about her…the Ex-Queen is regretful…after everything…and she DID suffer a lot from the battle. I guess I know this from our mental connection. I really hope she's not using me for her own gain…

Yet, I didn't feel anger…I didn't feel like she was out to kill me or Toothless for blinding her and destroying the life she had. In fact, she was SCARED, especially of me.

I return to Berk, making sure to hide from Vikings under watch: I would not want any of them catching me stealing water. I curse myself at what I am about to do, but I decide to grab a small jug of water with both hands, soon taking flight after. Again, I make it back to her to deliver the water: pouring it into her mouth before she thanks me. I say nothing and instead return, once again, to Berk for the last time.

I arrive a few hours before sunrise, and I slip in the Haddock residence undetected. No one is awake yet, good…and I made it past Stoick, Hiccup and Toothless like a ninja! Again, one of the perks of being a Night Fury is being stealthy, I guess.

Anyway, I climb the bed and curl up. Geez…that was a lot I did in such a short amount of time, hopefully she'll stop bothering me. I soon surrender myself to sleep once again.

It's a sunny day out with the calmest winds Toothless has seen in a long time…perfect for flying! Hiccup sits on his back, guiding the Night Fury through the clouds with the help of his magnificent inventions. I got to say, Toothless thought, I'm glad I met this human when I did…I thought I would never be up in the sky again after being shot down. We've come a long way since we first met and now it's gotten to the point that I can't ever see myself without him. Even if my tail fin grew back somehow, it would hurt to see our connection go away from it.

"Alright bud…let's try something new" his long dragon ears picked up before the dragon turned, gazing at the boy. Tooth nodded eagerly, excited to see what Haddock has planned for them in the sky today!

Sure enough, he changes the direction of the Fury's red fin with his new leg, and the duo dive down below toward the column of white clouds across from them.

"Let's try spinning, Toothless" Hiccup said, bracing himself as his best friend nods, giving a determined expression before they try the maneuver. The human hangs on as the two passes through the clouds, spiraling down as they do so. Toothless can hear the human cheer as the former lets their tongue hang out happily.

Once it's done, Toothless stops spinning and spreads his wings for a glide.

"That was neat, we ought to show that to everybody later today" Hiccup smiled, scratching the black dragon's neck as they purred back.

Toothless thought pleasantly, Yea, I can picture the look on their faces…especially Fl-

"Hey, what's that?" Hiccup inquired, leaning and pointing toward three strange objects floating in the sea not too far from the two. Tooth squints his eyes…focusing on the rectangular…ships?

"Let's check it out" Hiccup muttered as the Night Fury listened. They begin their descent. As they do, Toothless can't help but think about the strange details on the boats. It's like they're not from here at all, and are perhaps from another part of the archipelago?

As they get closer, the details get increasingly noticeable, even for the human. He looks on with amazement as he notes the metallic hue on the surface of the strange ships.

"W-what are they-" Hiccup never finished his sentence, for suddenly…bright flashes came out from the ships toward the both of them! In only a few seconds they were engulfed by streaks of strange objects passing by them like arrows being fired but are MUCH…MUCH faster than them! Whatever is being fired at Hiccup and Toothless: they're fast and they're lethal!

"Look out, bud!" Hiccup exclaimed as they flew past the three rectangular ships above: the sky around them littered in smoke and explosions in the air. Finally passing the hostile alien ships, the Viking looks back to see a few "birds" leaving the ships toward them! Toothless tried all he could to dodge the projectiles but hundreds of them were flying past them that one or two eventually grazed his sides! Still, the dragon didn't give up, even when the "birds" began to chase them through the clouds.

For a brief moment, Haddock examined the flying monsters: they were metallic-like, and their wings were stationary…they didn't seem move at all! How can they be flying right now!? The noise coming off from them hurt the human's ears and even worse: Toothless, especially when they zoomed past them!

"What are these things, some kind of dragon!?" Hiccup muttered as they climbed.

Toothless, being a Night Fury, thought he could outpace them, but these winged beasts were gaining on him…and fast! Whatever they are…they are just as fast, if not faster, than Night Furies! The dragon used all he had in him to outperform the foes. One got in the way and was a perfect target, and Toothless DID NOT HESITATE: he unleashed his plasma bolt and the creature a few meters away explodes in a spectacular fashion.

That's when Hiccup realizes…they're not dragons at all...whatever they are…it's clear to him now that they are machines…flying vehicles…made by humans…operated by humans!

"What is going on…who are these people…" Hiccup muttered as Toothless heard his friend. The Viking boy decided to change directions and they headed for a small island where they could try and evade the intruders. It doesn't take long to get there. When the duo arrives, they narrowly dodge a spiky object released from one of the "birds" that leaves behind a streak of white clouds. As the projectile gets closer Hiccup/Toothless change direction and suddenly bank right. The weapon hits the wall of a tall rock away from shore. The Night Fury cringes as one of the birds swoops past him at incredible speed. This catches him off guard and unfortunately, he is soon hit by another projectile from the other bird-like machine! Both he and Hiccup begin falling from the sky at high speeds.

"Hiccup!" The dragon yelled in pain.

Still conscious, he grabs a hold of the fainted boy and uses his back to absorb damage. The duo ended up on the beach as the winged monsters flew past them in the sky.

A few minutes later, Toothless stirred…feeling the boy, still in his arms. He lifts his head and his eyes slit when he catches sight of strange creatures surrounding them. Masks and helmets cover their faces, but they are humanoid in appearance. They all have their weapons drawn on the dragon and the Viking: strange blackish objects…possibly similar to crossbows that Toothless had seen in the past, and they probably work the same way too. These weapons, and the humans, are much more advanced than anything he had ever seen humans produce.

Before he can do anything else, the world around him flashed as if the island itself exploded…and his screams were silenced.

The teenage Night Fury woke up in shock, lifting his head from the floor he had been sleeping on. He almost screamed in despair, but the familiar appearance of Hiccup's room calmed him almost immediately. He quickly looked over to his human who was still sound asleep. Toothless sighed softly, "he's safe…" he muttered. Then, the dragon looked over to Flint, who also hasn't been disturbed and is in deep sleep still.

If dragons could sweat like humans, Toothless would be wet as if he just took a cold bath…instead he just panted heavily like a dog. Soon enough, a relieved gasp escaped him…

It was just a dream, he said to himself, lying back down to rest again, but he couldn't. The dream felt so REAL…so UNUSUAL that you could have sworn that it had a place in reality; however, it didn't…everything was fine and right. Toothless curled up and tried to go back to sleep, but he couldn't…not after all that. He spent the rest of the night watching over his two closest friends, never taking his eye off them until they woke up in the morning.

Some time passes by and Hiccup, his dragon and I are at the Academy…waiting for the other teens to arrive. Apparently earlier in the day, Gobber had scared their fellow dragons away.

As we wait, I turn to Toothless, who's quite tired…if he was human, he'd probably have bags under his eyes right about now. I hope he's okay. I just couldn't help myself, I walked up to my fellow Night Fury with a look of worry running down my muzzle.

"Toothless?"

He didn't respond at first, his head was still lying against the cold floor. I called his name again and he finally looked up, "s-sorry Flint…what did you say?"

"Are you alright?"

"I'm just…tired…"

I sat on my hind legs and crossed my arms back, raising an eyebrow, "so you're not okay" I said sarcastically.

"If you must know…" he rolled his eyes softly. Sure enough, he explains the nightmare he had last night. At first it seemed strange with all the descriptions he gave, but sure enough my eyes widened softly upon realizing what it all meant. D-did he have a dream of the future? H-how is that even possible? Could it be because…the Queen…maybe…somehow she had shared my world to him…I don't know how but that's my only explanation for it. Although, it could mean many different things…I'm not sure honestly. It's not like I would ask him either…at least right now…

He examined my reaction and figured my look is only natural at such a bizarre dream. I decided to play along for now: I rested next to him…he's still lying down for the most part. I couldn't help but nuzzle his head with mine. I say nothing, but it's enough that he feels better about it.

"I'm sure it's nothing…" Tooth muttered softly, deciding to finally let it go.

A little while later, the teens finally returned. The three of us stand up to meet the group, noticing how encumbered the teenagers are.

Hiccup tilted his head, asking worryingly as I had with Toothless, "what's wrong with you guys?"

Astrid clutches her stomach in pain, "we've been riding our dragons for four hours! It took forever to chase them down…after GOBBER scared them away!"

Toothless, as if with a sudden burst of energy, looks on with amusement: I can't imagine being encumbered from flying ONLY four hours, the dragon smiled inwardly.

I'm just sitting beside them, wondering how exactly Gobber scared them and why.

"Yea, I'm sorry about that. I just don't know what to do with him?" Hiccup apologized to his friends. Whatever is going on, it obviously revolves around Gobber again…hell…not too long ago he took us on that adventure to find the BoneKnapper. I just hope this doesn't turn into a daily escapade with the old man.

Astrid walks in between Toothless and his rider before the latter shrugs, "I've flown for hours on Toothless, and I've never had a problem."

"That's because YOU have a SADDLE!" She touches the Night Fury's gear, catching the attention of the teen Fury. Suddenly an idea hits Haddock at the mention of the word, "saddles! That's it!'

That night, as Hiccup and Toothless watch Gobber's progress in the forge, I fly back to Dragon Island with a fish in my paws to feed the Ex-Queen. I arrive to see her still trapped in the rocks. I hover above her partially visible face as she smells the scaly creature in my paws.

The Red Death slowly and painfully opens her maw, and I dropped the slippery vertebrate into her mouth. The behemoth devours it in a single bite.

Despite my generosity, she groans loudly: using her telepathy to voice her frustration.

This is not enough…

I growl in retaliation as she flinches in fear, "be grateful I'm giving you anything at all!"

She calmed down, remembering her situation.

"That's the best I can do for you right now…" I finished before turning around.

"C-Callahan…"

I can sense her pain, having been trapped in the rubble for so long, but there's no way I alone can move the rocks: they're too big and too heavy! It would take the resources of a few dragons to move the wreckage. Given her size I suppose she could move out, but she's likely too encumbered to do that…

Soon enough she accepts it, falling silent shortly after…she'll have to. I'm going to give her whatever is necessary…she's used to being greedy, getting what she wants…being fed by thousands of dragons and what not. Nevertheless, now she'll have to learn how to live with what she can get and is given.

"I'll return again once I'm able" I groused.

As I fly away, I think, I can't let this become a regular occurrence or else I'll rouse suspicious from the others…

Hopefully my methods will help change the Ex-Queen…I have to believe it can…if Hiccup can change his village…so too can I with this dragon.

I returned to Berk once again by morning and slipped in unnoticed. A few hours pass and Gobber is showing his saddles to the teens at the Academy. Meanwhile, Toothless took me outside to work on my landings.

"Flint, when you approach your desired destination, try to hover above a few feet and then land as you would pouncing from the ground. You're coming in too fast…"

I keep thinking I'm a plane in this body, that's why, I thought.

"Okay…" I go ahead and do as instructed: flying out to the outer limits of Berk to approach the teen Fury from afar. I fly as normal, but once I'm close to the cliff I halt, flapping my bat-like wings to hover right above Toothless. In an instant I stop beating my wings and try heading down to land as he says. Unfortunately, I leaned in too much and now I spiraled out of control! It's a good thing Toothless was there to catch me! I ended up falling on him as we both collapsed into the cold dirt. The older Night Fury cringes a bit at the sight but can't help but laugh sheepishly in return.

"Ugh…"

"It's alright, practice makes perfect, you kind of leaned in too forward as if you were trying to fly forward."

"I don't get why it's so hard to get this landing down! I learned everything else quickly!"

"Believe it or not, landing as a Night Fury isn't as easy as other dragons…I know, I had to admit that, but it's true" Toothless chuckled, closing his eyes and placing a paw behind his head in slight embarrassment.

I got off him, lowering my body as if I'm about to pounce the larger dragon, "oh? So, we aren't so perfect after all, then that means I can DEFEAT you!" I lunged toward him, but he saw it coming, easily sidestepping in retaliation. I ended up smacking my face against the ground before I grumble, looking up to meet his mischievous grin right after. Sure enough, he grabs me before I can move away and traps me in his arms as I squirm around helplessly. He just had to start licking the top of my head and ears with his wet tongue as punishment.

"T-Tooth-" I can't help but laugh hysterically as if he were tickling me. I manage to slip away, shaking my head repeatedly and wiping the slobber off my face, side frills and ears. The teen Night Fury laughs in response as I snarled annoyingly.

Tooth snippily said, "Here's how you do it" I don't have time to react as he pounces on me and we roll around in the dirt, playfighting ensures immediately after.

As we're squirming around, trying to get an advantage over each other, Hiccup came out of the arena to see us. He chuckled as he approached us. As soon as we heard him, we stopped what we were doing and looked toward him, "come on buds."

Toothless and I got off each other as we laughed, but of course the larger reptile had to lick the side of my face again as his tail wags happily. "Oh, come on!" I growled as he smiled innocently.

Time goes by and by now it's sunset: Haddock is closing the arena as Toothless and I are resting on the ground nearby. I'm curled up beside the teenage Fury; however, we are forced to move once Stoick enters the picture, "this place looked better when we were killing dragons!" The father said, noting the multiple craters and marks along the walls in the dome.

I should have mentioned that before: Gobber's saddles caused quite the fuss in here earlier today…they're not exactly a success as Haddock had hoped they would be. The boy had been consequently cleaning the mess left behind, "well, we did get sort-of Gobbered." He half-jokingly, half grudgingly, replied…resting the broom against his shoulder.

Stoick nodded in understanding, "well, you know Gobber…he means well, but he sometimes can't do well. So, what are you going to do about it?"

Hiccup shrugged back, "I suppose I could clean his mess, re-do his work" he retorted. The father sighs, clearly unpleased by this, "Hiccup…Gobber is like family."

Hiccup turns to him abruptly, snapping back, "yea, I know he is" he clapped back frustratingly, "which is why I can't say anything to him."

Toothless and I watched from afar, upset that we really can't do anything to help, or even voice our own opinions on the matter. I look down…it hasn't been TOO long since I was human…but boy do I miss being able to talk to my own kind…I kind of wish dragons in this world could "talk."

"It's times like these I wish I could talk to them" the Night Fury next to me whispered in my small ear and I can't help but shrug and nod, "no kidding…"

"Son…you must…" Stoick added to Hiccup's comment about not telling Gobber. Vast puts a hand on his child's shoulder, "it's not fair to you or Gobber."

Hiccup narrows his brows slightly as a comeback, "why do I have to tell him…you didn't! You just…passed him off to me!" As they bicker as parents and children often do, I think to myself about this whole thing. It needs to be resolved soon, for it can get ugly.

Before I can intervene or even think to, Stoick decides to lead Horrendous III out of the Academy, and we follow behind. I guess the Chieftain is just telling the boy what's best for them and that makes sense I guess.

When night falls again, I split off from the group: since the duo went to Gobber to talk with him.

"Where are you going, WildWing?" The teen Viking asked confusingly as Toothless raised a scaly brow, "yea, Flint…what gives?"

"I-ah…I'm going to go practice on my landings, I'll be at the house in a bit!" I rushed off before they could say another word. Both human and dragon look to each other and shrug before heading off to Gobber's partially rebuilt house/forge.

I took another fish from the village and headed off again, back to the Queen. There, I found her…still in the same place.

"I'm back" I muttered, but I got no response from her, "h-hello?"

She did not stir, not even an inch and I started to worry as a result.

"Wake up!" I shouted in my ten-year-old voice, you got to be kidding me…is she…dead?

I flew in, resting against where I assume her heart is and I place my ear against her body…checking for any signs of life. That's when my sensitive ear picked up what appeared to be a faint heartbeat…and breathing! I flew up to one of her barely noticeable ears and I tried calling out to her that way, "come on, wake up already!"

Suddenly, she jolted, catching me off guard as I pulled back and yelled in fright! I hover just a few feet from her scarred face, "are you…okay?"

"C-Callahan…" her voice is barely there…as if she's too weak to even form words now.

"I-I brought you some fish" I muttered; she weakly opened her mouth as I dropped the creature into her jaws. As soon as she ate it, she began drifting out of consciousness…

I just stare at her…this is bad, very bad! She could die if I don't get her out of this debris…I need to help her out soon or she'll die!

I decide to leave her be, returning yet again to the Vikings. Again, I surrender myself to my thoughts: what am I going to do? At this point I can't do this alone, but gosh…even after everything I'm doing all this for her…I must be out of my mind…

I make it back to Berk in a mess. Despite my training with Toothless, my landings are still not good, but at least I'm not making lines in the dirt anymore.

Unknown to me, Snotlout's dragon had rampaged through the village while I was gone and Toothless had to quell the enraged Monstrous Nightmare until Gobber came to the rescue. It turned out that all it was…was a rotten tooth that was still lodged in the creature's snout. Of course, I wouldn't know about this until MUCH later when Toothless explained the events to me.

Anyways, I sneak through the backdoor as Hiccup and Stoick sleep…silently tip toeing through the house to get to bed. I'm almost there!

Ahem!

My eyes turn slit as I bump into somebody! I gasp before looking up slowly…preparing myself for what's coming. My eyes are met with a similar set of lime-green eyes: staring back at me, and not happily, is none other than my Night Fury companion: Toothless!

BUSTED

He squinted his eyes at me, "What are you doing, Flint…"

Needless to say, things won't end well...the dragon started asking me questions without rest as I shifted my eyes back and forth. The TRUTH had to come out eventually, I'm screwed…

Hey everyone, I hope you enjoyed this latest chapter. Just a word of warning, the next chapter is going to hit you with the FEELS, I guarantee it. Until then, I'll see you all next week!