Hey everyone! This chapter ought to be interesting. Hold on to your seatbelts everyone…here's the next chapter!

Brothers

Chapter 32: Calm before the Storm; Or, the Choice.

In the wake of our confrontation with the Flightmare, we tried all we could to quell the rage expressed by some villagers (Stoick and Spitelout included.) It seemed as though anything we tried to do was met with heated counters from the others. It didn't help that everyone is forced to clean up the mess left behind after Aurvandil's Fire. Berk seemed to be in such a bad state it will take quite some time to rebuild everything…and winter is almost here…sounds familiar? I bet to Hiccup it did…it seemed like a repeat of the events leading up to meeting Toothless and I: as if a really bad dragon raid had destroyed Berk again.

Despite the familiarities, the boy refused to give up! He tried his best to get the others to continue our attempts to change Stoick's mind, for his son overheard what his father said to Spitelout and some others last night about seeking the Berserker ambassador in order to sign the treaty.

Not good…not good at all!

No matter how hard he pulled Stoick's strings, Hiccup couldn't change his father's mind.

"And what if more dragon attacks happen, Hiccup? This has to stop!" Is usually what the Viking leader would say back.

The man now firmly believed all these attacks by wild dragons to be connected with the Queen on Dragon Island.

It didn't help that now some Vikings were, once again, hostile toward some of the dragons in the village…much like how Mildew usually acts around them.

Speaking of the old hermit, he secretly ran into Stoick again. This time, however, Hiccup knew something was up and managed to listen in while upstairs. The boy quietly climbed down the steps, being careful not to get caught by the adults.

"I heard you summoned the Berserkers to Berk…" The old man said.

"What of it…" Stoick obviously already had enough of Mildew's antics.

"You're going to do it, aren't you?" He inquired…his eyes shining with excitement, "you're going to war with the dragons?"

Hiccup couldn't believe his eyes…the teen is immediately suspicious of the older adult across from his father. He KNEW Mildew is up to no good…it's safe to say whatever he's planning…it's something to do with the Berserkers and what has been happening!

Stoick the Vast moved closer to the hermit with an almost threatening aura emanating from his muscular form, "I am going to finish what we started. Now leave."

Hiccup pulled away, thinking to himself what his father had said…he doesn't mean what he thinks he meant…did he!?

Oh no! They're talking about the Queen!

I, Flint Callahan, managed to hear the commotion and the teen didn't notice me walking up and hearing everything as he did. Now, like him, I knew what was coming…a perfect storm that threatened to destroy all we have accomplished in recent weeks and months!

He finally took notice of me and looks down to see my horrified face…same as his.

Sure enough, he, Toothless, and I follow Mildew outside in the middle of the night under the cover of darkness.

We follow him to his hut just outside Berk on the mountain top. The moonlight shines above us, casting shadows over everything…including ourselves. We stalked the man like cats on the prowl: Toothless showing his superior stealth abilities, he's completely light on his feet. If he wanted to, the dragon could have sprung at the hermit at any time long before we came up here.

Mildew reunited with Fungus just as Toothless appeared behind him. His emerald eyes shine in the darkness before his form is revealed thanks to the moon's light overhead. The old man gave a muted gasp of surprise as his sheep bleated loudly. Sure enough, I appear from the dark corner as well followed by the rider, Hiccup.

"Start talking, Mildew" Hiccup narrowed his eyes, suspicious at the man as his dragon copied the boy's expression. He couldn't help but nail it in by standing on two feet and crossing his arms as if a human would. I'll confess, I'm kind of guilty of teaching him how to do that…heh.

"A bit late to be prowling in these parts, Hiccup. I wonder what your father would think if someone told him you were…snooping around past your bedtime…" the man retorted.

Haddock scoffed at this, something I didn't usually see him do, but I guess it's warranted: like him, I'm SICK of dealing with this guy. Toothless gave his two cents by giving a low draconic growl in return to Mildew.

"I know what you're up to, Mildew…" Hiccup sighed softly, bringing his arms down to his sides as if to try and calm the air suddenly, "why can't you just…get along with the dragons?"

The hermit said nothing in return (as if he slyly rejected the claim that he had any part in Stoick's actions), and he simply turns around and walks away with Fungus in hand, yet Haddock didn't know what to do to stop the old man. He couldn't really FORCE Mildew or anything, and even if he tried the boy wouldn't have proof to bring the old man in for questioning. It would be his word and his word only. Despite this, Mildew had been caught before…he knows the old man's antics by now. Hiccup suspected the Viking is responsible for "staging" the incident in Berk with the Flightmare. There's no way there would have been more of those dragons attacking…he and Toothless would have found them…seen them.

And so, we returned to the house where Hiccup tried sharing this theory with his one and only father, but unfortunately…his father STILL would have none of it. Even piecing together everything there's no solid proof that Mildew had done these things to frame the dragons...

We retired to our bedroom where Hiccup would remain awake without us…thinking of how to de-escalate the situation surrounding Berk, its dragons, and the Dragon Queen.

A day passed. Despite his best attempts…the same results came back to Hiccup: bad results…no change in his father's newfound beliefs regarding the Ex-Queen.

By the afternoon, dread filled us all when we saw a lone Berserker ship arriving below Berk on the docks. The man who came out turned out to be an ambassador with some guards who were sent to make sure the negotiations went well. We had to hide the dragons in Berk as before.

Hiccup desperately ran up to his father as he descended for the docks, "dad, there's no need for this, we can work something out…this is NOT the way to do it!"

"Stop!" Suddenly his father rang out to his only offspring. He realized what he did but soon asserted himself, "I'm doing what's best for the tribe, Hiccup. Stay here until I get back. That's an order." With nothing else to say, Stoick continued walking down. Hiccup could only watch from the cliff as his father signed the treaty…Berk and the Berserkers would now ally against the "growing threat" that is the Dragon Queen.

As for Toothless and I, we physically recoiled whilst hidden. The dragon next to me had a look of shock and disbelief…his mouth opened as if trying to catch fish.

"Why can't he just…listen to Hiccup when he needs to…" Toothless growled under his breath.

"I dunno" I scoffed silently under my breath, "…I guess this is check…checkmate if we can't think of something to stop all this…" I noted indignantly.

Time passed and well…technically nothing much happened afterward: the ambassador and his men left to return to Dagur the Deranged…and Berk awaited the outcome. Stoick returned to deliver the news to his people and prepared for the inevitable battle that is to take place on Dragon Island. Other Vikings such as Spitelout volunteered to go with the Chieftain while others (like Gobber) decided to tag along just to make sure Stoick didn't do anything rash.

The rest of us gathered in the mead hall, both to discuss a new plan of action and to sulk over what had happened. Toothless and I (along with the other main dragons of the group) are drooping, our heads hanging low toward the floor. I guess we shouldn't be so melodramatic…but what can we do? There will be Vikings with Berserkers on that island…even if the Queen is as strong as we know her to be I can't afford to lose her. I feel like…Dagur will find a way to kill her…I don't know how…but somehow, he'll find a way…

As always, Hiccup and the others still collated…trying their best to figure out how to protect the Ex-Queen or abandon the thought altogether.

"Fighting seems inevitable" Fishlegs muttered as he fed Meatlug rocks.

"What else do you expect? We should have just gone after Dagur when we had the chance" Snotlout grumbled.

"Oh shush!" Astrid grumbled even louder than him, already annoyed.

"Well do you have a better idea, Astrid!?" Jorgenson retorted, banging his fist against the wooden table. Stormfly across from her almost squawked back, but she really didn't need to: her rider can hold her own.

"Yes, I do actually…what if we find proof that Mildew fabricated everything with the Flightmare? Wouldn't that solve it?"

"Mildew somehow got rid of all the evidence…he learned his lesson last time from when WildWing here and I caught him."

I looked up, resting on the seat next to him while Toothless rested on the floor beside us, and I gave a small nod.

"Why don't we just…force Mildew to REMAKE all the evidence then?" Tuffnut asked, somewhat sounding as if he was being a bit sarcastic.

"Or we could just give his sheep to Dagur as a peace offering…" Ruffnut grinned.

"Would he taste good after being rotten for so long…his name is Fungus after all."

"Of course, you dummy!"

"All right, stop you guys" Hiccup groaned at the twins, rubbing his temples.

As the human teens have their conversation, I could hear the other dragons in our group having their own conversation. Some, like Stormfly and the Zippleback, voted to fight for the Queen while others, like Hookfang and Meatlug, wanted to not get involved. Sure enough, the other two started reconsidering…maybe going to the island wasn't the best idea.

Amid their discussions and their considerations about backing down, I just had to say to them, "aren't you dragons supposed to be a proud species?"

Toothless turned to face me. Because I am sitting on the bench: we are both at eye level with each other, "Flint…"

"Are you guys really thinking of that…thinking of not doing a thing!? After all we've worked for!?" I blurted out suddenly, catching them off guard. I'm not sure what caused me to suddenly lash out at them…but If I had to guess it's because of all the stress as of late.

"We have to consider sitting this out…" Hookfang muttered, smoke seeping from his nostrils.

"I REFUSE to let her die!" I roared in defiance, slamming a paw down on the bench. Hiccup and the others jumped upon witnessing my sudden outburst…it was enough to silence them all…and not just them. I couldn't take it anymore.

With angry green eyes and a snarl, I got up and walked out of the Great Hall…leaving everyone confused and worried. Hiccup and Toothless couldn't let me do anything stupid, so they quickly got up and followed behind. Everyone else decided to stay put…focus on the task at hand.

It's raining outside…it's a cold, stark, rain that hits my black scales rather hard. I didn't care, I just wanted to go to her, be with Galadriel for as long as I could…

"Flint!" I heard Toothless calling from behind me, "prancing" toward me as he usually did, "buddy…listen…"

"WildWing…please…" Hiccup sighed, and arrived shortly after.

I shook my head, and tears began flowing down my face, "I won't let them kill her!"

"I'm with you…" Toothless said. He never actually suggested staying out of the conflict. Quite to the contrary, he WANTED to take the fight to the Berserkers and save the Ex-Queen. He knew just how important she is to me…and not just me but to dragons like Belin on that island.

I turned to face him, but I didn't say anything else. We just stared into each other's eyes. After a few moments, I look down toward the ground…moving a claw back and forth on the muddy dirt. A moment later I sighed, "I'm going to her…" I stated before leaving.

"Wild…" Hiccup could only say. The Viking looked down; something caught his pine-green eyes:

In the mud, there are Norse runes written by me for him…it read Save Mother.

The human boy looked up…watching me leave the vicinity of Berk…alone. He realized just how significant the Queen meant to me. Toothless still couldn't understand Norse that well…but he could almost understand what it meant. Nevertheless, he knew it had something to do with me.

"Come on, bud…"

The Viking decided to follow. After all, he, like his best friend Toothless, never liked it when WildWing went off on his own. After everything that had happened to the young dragon, they needed to make sure he came back in one piece…especially if the Berserkers had somehow managed to land on Dragon Island tonight. And so, the duo went back to the Great Hall and told everyone of their plan, but only Astrid/Stormfly decided to follow.

Now it's the four of them…flying across the Viking Sea to get to Dragon Island. Once they arrive, they can see me sitting on the Ex-Queen's shoulders…with Belin resting against me. The group from Berk watches from the edge of a cliff. Hiccup thought to himself long and hard about everything…below them is a community of dragons that live peacefully on this island…without the worry of competition or dangers of the outside world. This almost is a haven for wild dragons…and humans are threatening to take that away. Even if the Queen was not in the picture: this community that currently exists on Dragon Island is still in danger.

WildWing always visited…with Toothless and sometimes, now, with him too. The younger Night Fury saw this place as a second home…or even his actual home, why wouldn't Hiccup and the others help them?

"Hiccup…what are we going to do…" he heard Astrid Hofferson mutter next to him, with Stormfly lowering her head to meet her rider's gaze.

"I think it's obvious…we HAVE to fight back…we can't leave the dragons here to fend for themselves." Suddenly, he felt Toothless nudging him with his muzzle. A nod came from the dragon to support his human's decision.

"Toothless here agrees with me."

"I guess Stormfly too" Astrid looked up to her smiling Bird-Dragon.

"I don't know how we'll do it, but we'll have to stop the Berserkers. We'll have to show everyone these dragons are no threat…that we shouldn't harass them any further."

"That's the Hiccup I know" Hofferson smiled.

"Come on, let's go" Haddock stood up and got on his Night Fury.

"What about him?" She gestured down to me.

"I say we ought to leave him be for now."

"Hiccup…" Suddenly she stopped him with a hand on his arm. Toothless looked toward him with a raised brow, "WildWing is no ordinary dragon…he's very special. He can write…I don't know how…but he's the closest thing we have to a dragon who would be able to change Dagur's mind."

Hiccup thought about it: imagine if on the day of the "battle" he could show everyone just how smart dragons are…just how intelligent and special they are? Would it be enough for the Berserkers to back down…reconsider their actions? Perhaps. Deep down, however, Hiccup felt something else about WildWing, especially recently…in some ways he didn't act like Toothless or any of the other dragons…it's as though WildWing wanted to be more like a human than anything else? The boy shook the thought away, deciding to get the others out of there and return home for the time being…later he'll come back and get WildWing with Toothless.

After all, they should rest…

They had to be ready for whatever happens tomorrow.

Two days passed.

It's morning. I was the last one to wake up in the Haddock residence. The day for me started when one of my nubs and ears twitches to the sound of a commotion happening outside. I uncurled myself on my bed and yawned, stretching until I'm finally able to start my day properly.

Once I am outside on the roof, I am met with overhead clouds (something pretty common as of late thanks to the Autumn/Winter weather) and a gathering of people headed for the docks. I look down from above with my head tilted in curiosity (a look that mimicked Toothless when he's curious) before I swooped down to follow.

As I made it to the Berkians, I hear Stormfly flying in and landing hard beside me as if she's in a hurry!

"Flint, we've got to hide!"

"Wha…why? Don't tell me…" my eyes widened.

"The Berserkers have returned!" She squawked in brief panic. I jump upon finding out about this: my heart started pounding.

"Come on!" She nudged me with her 'beak.' I had no choice but to follow the Deadly Nadder and we are soon joined by Meatlug, Hookfang, and Barf and Belch, but where was Toothless?

I asked the Nadder and everyone else in the shed, but no one knew for sure. I began to panic.

"Flint…" I heard Stormfly exclaim worryingly. It's as if she KNEW my intentions. She had guessed right, for I unfurled my wings and I sighed, "I'm going to find him…I'll be fine."

I quickly exit the hiding area and I head down. I soon catch Tooth's scent before my eyes widened: he's not too far away. Jeez…I guess I've come to rely on my nose for finding people these past few months. Something I forgot to mention honestly: having a dragon nose is ten times more powerful than a human nose, so yea. I've learned how to identify various scents that've become familiar to me…but I digress.

I bank left downward and catch the black dragon hiding in a bush on top of a hill. Unfortunately, his red tail fin is missing so is the rest of his riding gear…I guess Hiccup didn't have time to put them on him this morning, what with the Berserkers and everything.

Anyways, I land close by and he (despite being surprised by my appearance) shushed me with a claw to his muzzle, "Flint…"

I silently crawl toward him albeit slowly, for I can hear the humans right below us.

"They're back…" the Night Fury muttered in dread.

"So I've been told…" I retorted just as quietly.

"Hiccup is down there with his father…" the teen dragon stated.

I peek my head to see the group of Vikings walking up to meet with Dagur and his army of Berserkers, which is a much larger fleet than before. It's about twenty or thirty ships, all long and filled with warriors.

Sure enough, I see Mildew down there, joining the group.

Hiccup gulped as Dagur the Deranged and his right-hand man, Captain Vorg, stop across from him.

"So Stoick…you've decided to take my advice after all." The leader of the Berserkers smirked; his grin widened…I could have sworn his smile would touch his ears at any time…jeez…

Stoick the Vast narrowed his eyes quite a bit but nevertheless stepped forward, "how exactly do you plan on getting the Queen, Dagur?"

Hiccup didn't like this and neither did Gobber and Astrid, but they had no choice but to listen in.

"We land on opposite sides of the island and use catapults to draw her out! Then we'll finish her off!" The unwelcomed visitor expressed quite manically. What a stupid idea…does he not realize just how POWERFUL the Ex-Queen is? Still…all these Berserkers…they could still technically outnumber her…weaken her somehow. This is not like the Berkian fleet that challenged her a year prior…this is an armada far bigger!

The Chief of Berk scoffed at this…it was a plan like the one he tried when Stoick tried to take on the Queen all those months ago. He KNEW just how strong she is, "do you know just how powerful this beast is?"

"Who cares!? Let's just go already…or you rather we go with plan b?" Dagur asked, leaning toward the adult with a sinister grin.

Stoick the Vast, for the good of his tribe…knowing they are outnumbered, sighed sharply. He glanced at Mildew, who's with them, and the old man gave a nod of assurance. Stoick nodded back and said with great reluctance, "lead the way."

Dagur is overjoyed by this, "you've made the RIGHT choice" Deranged turned around and chuckled, "plus, we can put an end to the two Night Furies that've been wreaking havoc all over, once and for all!"

Stoick looked over to his son, he knew EXACTLY who Dagur was talking about. All his son could do is shake his head in disbelief and disappointment, "dad…" Hiccup began to get worried, knowing what is about to happen, "we…can't…"

Stoick sighed to his only child, "it's for the best…for Berk…I'm sorry Hiccup."

"Come on, Hicc, you can ride next to me!" Dagur suddenly ran up and pulled Haddock into an uncomfortable embrace just before the lead Berserker howled loudly.

"Dagur, my son stays!"

"Nonsense, come along!"

"Ahh, Dagur…I REALLY think my dad has a point…l-look at me…what good will I do against those…uh…dragons?"

"You'll be fighting by my side…you'll be a hero!" Dagur insisted.

"Dagur!" Stoick stomped his foot down but Deranged objected, "now…now, Stoick…" some of his guards began to draw their weapons as a sign of force. Gobber grabbed his friend to calm him down, "I think it's in everybody's interest that your son tags along for the trip. He wouldn't want to miss any of this…heh…heh!"

And so, the group (Stoick, Gobber, Hiccup, Spitelout, Mildew, and other Vikings) are ushered onto the longboat. Hiccup looks back to see Astrid and the other teens watching from the distance. Above them, he finally catches sight of his best friend: Toothless, and with him is WildWing next to him…both are frightened for them all.

Unfortunately, there's not much Hiccup can do right now and so he, along with the others, sail away: bound for Dragon Island. Despite the fact most Vikings did not really want to fight dragons, most of them will be forced to…

Haddock looked back toward Dagur and the Berserkers. Something in him made him think about their (the Vikings') options: they had to intervene at all costs. Maybe he can try and expose Mildew and show the others the true nature of the Queen and the dragons to them. Perhaps this crisis can still be averted somehow…he would have plenty of time to think on the way there. Heh, maybe he should say that to the humans: tell them how easier travel would be if they all rode dragons. After all, ships took FOREVER to reach their destination compared to flight travel. Either way, this ends today, Hiccup thought.

Astrid, along with the other teenage Vikings, could only look on from where they are standing on the docks. The Berserker fleet disappeared eventually, as if swallowed by the edge of the sea. It looked like a repeat of the finale of the Dragon-Viking War…

Hofferson just stood there for a minute, trying to process everything, reminded of what Hiccup told her two nights ago on Dragon Island.

Toothless and I walk out of cover and stare down the vanishing fleet. He looks down at me with worry plastered on his charcoal-scaled face. Without his gear, he can't fly to rescue Hiccup and the others.

What can we do, the dragon thought to himself in solemn.

"Come on" I gesture to him with the tip of my bat-like wing to follow me. At first, he is puzzled by my sudden energy but decided to join. We hastily made it to the docks to join the teen Vikings.

"Hey guys…" Astrid walked up to pet us as Toothless gave a soft whine back, "I know boy…"

Well, we can't just stand here and do nothing!" Snotlout retorted in anger.

"I think for once I can agree with Snotlout" Fishlegs added in, "but Hiccup and the others are alongside them…"

"We should've just done what I said we should have done…kick Dagur's butt!" Jorgenson replied frustratingly.

"I think we should have sacrificed Johann like I said we should" one of the twins butted in.

"Right on…heh" both smashed their heads together.

"It's not that easy, guys!" Astrid groaned in response.

"Oh yeah? How would you know, have you ever sacrificed anybody to fix everything?" Tuffnut asked.

"We have, more than we can count!"

"Ahh, how many is that?"

It's not long before Snotlout yells at the twins and then the trio start bickering, and it starts getting to us (Astrid, Toothless, and I.)

"Oh, stop it!"

The three immediately cease what they are doing and looked toward Hofferson, staring at her.

"Snotlout is kind of right, as much as I hate to say it…" that last part fell into a whisper for herself to hear only. Astrid shook her head at this, "we gotta go to Dragon Island…the dragons on that island: we owe it to them…they helped us in the past. I know it's strange to trust the Queen after everything, but she and her dragons are our allies…not the Berserkers! So, if we have to…we're going there to save the dragons and kick some Berserker butt if we have to. Let's get our dragons!"

Everyone suddenly cheered as Tooth and I looked at each other with a smile growing on our faces. Amid our cheers, Fishlegs stammered quite worryingly, gesturing to the Night Fury's sole tail fin, "what about Toothless?"

Astrid looked toward the Fury and his missing fin. She crossed her arms and thought to herself…unsure about what to do. Toothless nudged my side, muttering a soft warble, "go save them…I'll be here waiting for you all to return."

I pull away and shake my head, "no…I got an idea…follow me to the forge!" I began running up the steps, catching the group off guard. They are forced to follow behind.

We make it to Gobber's forge, and I point with a paw to the device that is along the wall next to Hiccup's other inventions. At that moment both Astrid and Toothless knew what I was getting at. Hofferson nods silently at this while Fishlegs appears impressed with me.

"That's one way we can get him there!"

"The auto fin…" Toothless smiled in glee, excited to see just how he'll save the Vikings and his Hiccup…his human.

The problem is…uh…how do we attach the artificial fin on him? Hiccup made it look easy but now we'll have to figure out how to do it ourselves. Oh well, there's a first for everything.

We may not have much time, so we'll have to be quick.

Hiccup, Galadriel…Belin…everyone else…we're coming to help…just hold on. We'll be there on Dragon Island soon…and Dagur and his minions will wish they had NEVER set foot on the volcanic island…I swear by this!

Let's do this!

I hope you all enjoyed this recent addition. The next chapter will probably be the biggest event in this alternate history of Defenders of Berk.

A note: what do you all think if I were to open a community/forum specifically for this story? Maybe an RP or a place where you would post your spin-offs or ideas for the story? Let me know what you all think…have a great day, peace!