Hey everyone! I'm back with a new update.

So, something to know for this certain chapter: it has something that will completely change the course of this story. You'll know what I mean once you finish reading it.

Brothers

Chapter 40: The 'Eel' Effect, Part 2

For a few minutes now, I had been running amok in this vast expanse of trees for what seemed like an eternity; however, it hadn't actually been that long. As I run around through the forest in a frenzy, I suddenly hear a faint whisper in my ears…a human voice…

Flint…Flint Callahan…

I snapped my head backward, looking quite manic in the process, "who's there!?"

There's no one there…the voice: it seemed as though it came from my mind.

Callahan…

"W-who is that!?" I roared in my pre-teen voice, my throat glowing bright red.

All around me, the trees are dead…the sky is blood-red…but most striking is the fragmented moon above. I back away, seeing the inside of the broken moon glow green as its light shines down on the ground across from me: soon revealing a humanoid figure.

They donned a white-grey cloak, and their skin had an unnatural tone to it. They begin walking towards me and my green, reptilian, eyes widened.

It did not take long to find you…though for you, it probably felt like months since we last met…hasn't it?

I remained quiet and bewildered by what was going on as they steadily got closer to me:

It has been a long, painful, journey for you…

I reared my head back, somehow calmed by their presence and I'm not sure why, "d-do I know you?"

Ah…memory loss, of course. It can be…a side effect. I DID tell you it may happen just before we left, which…wasn't long ago, five minutes prior…to be exact.

I shake my head, "Left with you…5 minutes ago!? W-what are you talking about?" They simply sighed at my confusion:

You're still under the influence of the Eel, this will be quite difficult to explain under such circumstances, but I suppose I could try…

Before they can begin to explain…the effects from the eel returned and I growled loudly. I closed my eyes as my body began twitching madly again and I lost myself again. The mysterious being (who is probably a figment of my imagination) is no longer there and I am left by myself again…

I clutch my head as I hear other voices, thousands of them in fact, pierce my mind like tiny little knives. Strangely enough, all these voices belong to me!

With enough frustration built up, and with the previous, not to mention a brief, one-sided conversation I had with the imaginary person, I blindly spit out another blast to let out my anger. It actually caught the attention of Toothless and the others.

As I continue having my uncontrollable spasms and explosive episodes, Tooth and his group land across from me: the moonlight reflects off my scales. It's just enough that the humans can see me easily. Hiccup gets the others to hide behind a boulder in the meantime to try and figure out how to "catch" me. As the boy silently ponders to himself, Fish and Meatlug heard a sound and looked up…surprising them both at what they see, "uh…Hiccup…"

"Hold on, Fishlegs" Hiccup didn't want to mess his timing up, but the other teen was insistent.

"You might wanna see this…"

"It can't wait!?" Haddock whispered loudly, snapping back.

"I think it could…but I don't think it wants to…"

The brown-haired boy's curiosity had his eyes follow Fish's finger to find a rather large dragon above them…staring menacingly back at the four. Right away they knew they were dealing with a dangerous Typhoomerang!

Toothless stepped in, growling in defense of his friends…warning the feral beast. Unfortunately, my frenzy agitated the much larger woodland reptile, and they took flight. Once they do, the monster breathes fire on the group.

"Scatter!" Hiccup shouted as the four moved away in time. Tooth retaliated by using a blast, but his foe barely dodged it! The "Typhoom" responds in kind as the Fury is forced to sidestep for Hiccup's sake, who was in the path of the flame.

My explosive coughs annoyed the Stoker-Class, and they decide to go after me instead. I look up to see a demon about to attack me and I roared in fear.

"WildWing!" Hiccup called out.

And so, a small chase ensued and it's not long until I end up at a wall…a dead end. I look toward the aggressive, ungodly, chimera with fear in my eyes. I backed into the wall, and I cried out in fright.

"Get away from him!" I heard, seeing a blackish creature slam into the larger beast with reckless abandon.

Across the way, Hiccup nudges Fishlegs…pointing to the skirmish, "get us to them!" They mount Meatlug and she takes the two riders to the three of us.

"Meatlug, Spew!"

As soon as her rider said that the Gronckle lets out a barrage of fire blasts that strike the blue Typhoomerang's back. To add to this attack, Toothless (who is underneath the dragon) lets out a plasma blast…both attacks cause the Stoker-Class to retreat for a brief moment.

"Fish, get me into the clearing."

"Oh no…what are you going to do, Hiccup?"

The brown-haired Viking pointed to us, "get Toothless and his brother out of there! Just…keep the big guy busy for us in the meantime!"

"Fishlegs and Meatlug against a Typhoomerang? You think that's fair at all to you?" Fish retorted.

Hiccup rolled his eyes a bit in response, "the odds are in your favor!" The boy whistled to his Night Fury who looks up and jumps. As if in Synch Hiccup jumps off the Boulder-Class and lands on his Fury effortlessly, "let's go, bud!"

And so, the duo makes their way to me as I scamper uncontrollably through the clearing. When the Typhoomerang tries to intervene, Meatlug/Fishlegs get in the way and successfully scare them away! Once HiccTooth gets to me, Toothless flung himself forward toward me before I squirmed, "Enough! Stay here, Flint! Like it or not, you're NOT moving!" He said that as he pinned me down with all the strength he had. Despite my moderate size in relation to his, he's still bigger and stronger than me…and now he REALLY unleashed all his strength on me unlike before.

Still, that didn't mean my panicked writhing had the older Night Fury struggling to hold me in place, "Flint…I KNOW you're in there somewhere…come on…come back to us…you have to!"

While this happens, the Typhoomerang returned and began chasing Meatlug through the outer banks. The dragon and her rider tried their hardest to avoid the opposing dragon, but sure enough the latter ran out of shots. Before Fishlegs can comment on it, their foe swoops down to the water…scooping up a mouthful of eels. The Viking already knew it wasn't good. The human got his best friend to speed up just as the feral dragon begins spinning rapidly towards them. It's not long before flames start coming out in typical Typhoomerang fashion. Luckily, the Berkian and the Boulder-Class got out of the way in time! Once they revered, the teen yelled, "this is where WE draw the line…girl, I think it's time for the Gale Force Gronckle!" Fishlegs had said before pointing at the wild dragon across from them, "hit it, girl!"

As the Typhoomerang flew in to try and finish the two off, Meatlug began spinning excessively before she struck the feral beast relentlessly with her robust hide. Finally, their opponent had had enough and began flying away. Amusingly, both Meat and Fish end up dizzy from their special attack; however, once they recovered, Fishlegs patted his dragon, "let's go help Hiccup!"

While all that was happening, I managed to finally kick ToothCup off me before I ran for the cliff to fly away from them. As soon as I reached the edge I stopped, for the water appeared blood-red and the horizon was black as my scales. The destroyed moon returned as well.

Flint…

Callahan…

I stood on my hind legs, clutching my narrow head with my paws…begging for all of this to stop once and for all. I finally collapse on my back as the duo runs up to me:

"WildWing!"

"Flint!" Tooth added in his language, nudging me.

I, unfortunately, had no energy left in me.

Some time passed. The moon now hangs right above. Fishlegs prepares a concoction with a pestle and mortar as Toothless continued holding onto my unconscious body. Hiccup paces across from him, scoffing silently to himself, "I'm glad we scrapped the whole…trap idea" he said to himself.

After the potion is finished, Fish hands it to the other Viking who guides it to my mouth. As my nostrils catch the foul scent coming from the bowl, I wake up, and I reel back and squirm. Unfortunately, Tooth is adamant. He softly pulled me by the scruff of my neck as his rider slowly approached again, "It's alright…this should help, WildWing" Hiccup smiled fondly, pouring the medicine into my mouth.

It's not long before I react to it and all eyes locked on my form.

"D-did it work?" Fishlegs asked as Meatlug walked to stand beside him.

"Looks to be" Haddock nodded.

Right as the Viking said that: I begin to gag…and shortly after I throw up the remnants of the eel toward the others!

"Wild…" Hiccup stepped a bit closer. Toothless, still holding me, tried to dissuade him but there was no stopping the brown-haired human. I shake my head, eyes readjusting to the light around me.

"Flint, how are you feeling?" Toothless asked worryingly, lowering his head to meet mine. Sure enough, my vision returned to normal…my perception of the "real" world returned to normal. I was healthy again.

"He appears to have gone out of it" Meatlug prompted with a kind, motherly, smile on her muzzle.

Out of instinct, I licked the side of Tooth's face with my forked tongue before the two humans breathed a sigh of relief.

"He's back."

"Welcome back, little bud!" Hiccup patted me on the head before the slightly larger Night Fury finally got off me. Meatlug just had to join at the moment, licking her rider as a show of affection before they hugged.

Unfortunately, our moment of relief is soon interrupted by a distant roar in the sky above.

"Ah, guys…I think we ought to finish this reunion on Berk."

"Couldn't agree more" Hiccup nodded, getting on Toothless, "Wild, are you okay to fly?"

I nodded softly, joining the others once they launched into the sky and we finally left Eel Island behind once and for all.

By midnight, we returned to Berk, and met up with Astrid to take the cure to the Great Hall to heal everyone.

There, the humans were treated, and it isn't long before the epidemic is eradicated. Fishlegs and Hiccup wrote notes in the Book of Dragons and then said our goodbyes to them and Meatlug.

We entered the Haddock residence after a long, stressful, day: I curled up on the bed as Toothless eyed me. I had been very quiet since I was cured of my "condition."

It isn't long before the other Night Fury is tempted to join my side, "Flint…I-I know this isn't easy for you. I can't imagine what you went through."

I said nothing in return.

"I've known you for too long. I know that face, I see it all the time when something like this happens. I'm here for you, we all are…you know that."

"I-I…know…" I said softly, lifting my head from the ground, and meeting his green eyes.

"Hey…it's alright" Toothless said, nudging the side of my face with his nose, "you're fine now, no one got hurt…and everything's back to normal."

Is it though…I don't think it is…things will probably never be "normal" again?

With that, the dragon sighed and patted me on my shoulder with his paw, "I'll be over here if you need me, Flint."

As he walks away, I stuttered, inspiring the reptile to turn around to face me again, "I saw something."

"I know. Those eels did a number on you."

"No…I don't…I don't think it was the eels…"

He raised an eyebrow at this, "what do you mean?" He tilted his head before I look away and sigh, "It's probably nothing…"

"Tell me" Toothless walked up and licked the side of my face.

"I saw a strange man…he spoke to me briefly…he knew who I was, but before he could explain things…he vanished."

"Flint…" he stopped me with a paw, "that was probably just a vision…it was probably the eel messing with your head. Take my word for it, don't worry about it too much. I'll be nearby, just call for me" Toothless finished before making the walk back to bed.

Again, I rested my muzzle-chin against the covers, huffing softly in response:

I would believe you, Toothless, but this person…I…I KNOW them…

It wasn't a hallucination…it was an introduction…

I felt a gust of wind hit my scales and then everything fell silent. At first, I thought I had fallen asleep, but I had the scrape of a footstep, and I quickly lifted my head. At that moment, my eyes shrunk in surprise and my ears flattened against my head. I gasped in shock, but I was frozen in fear and confusion.

Standing across me now, blocking Toothless from view, is the same strange man from my hallucinations earlier.

I apologize, Callahan. We seemed to have cut off there for some time…

He looked around, noting the difference in place. I, meanwhile, stood up and made a defensive pose…showing my teeth, "y-you weren't a hallucination, I knew it."

Certainly not. Still with that memory loss, I see

"Enough!" I shouted but they remained still with a neutral expression on their greyish face, "who are you and what do you want?"

Allow me to provide a moment of clarity, I brought you to this realm.

I shook my head, refusing to believe such an accusation, but soon it all fell into place…and I quieted down. I glanced over to Toothless to see if he would intervene…but he was frozen in place. The entire world seemed to have been put on pause as if a remote control caused it.

Soon after, I look up to meet their curious gaze upon mine, "w-why…" I simply asked in my pre-teen voice.

He nodded, kneeling with one leg to be at eye level to me:

I need results. Believe me, Flint Callahan: I am not acting in bad faith. I suppose I ought to explain everything again. A few minutes ago, at least to me, we met in your apartment in Miami, and-I'll just show you...explaining it all like this just won't do…

Suddenly, they leaned toward me and placed two fingers against my black-scaled forehead…giving me no time to react. As if it were magic, we were both transported to my apartment in Miami…back to the present era…back to when I was human…and I am shown a sort of flashback of the events as they happened.

As my human self, I was sitting by the couch…lamenting over Sophia. It was night and I had just got off work…I prepared to head to bed until sad times overtook me as they did from time to time. I heard a rattle down the hall before I stood up to investigate.

I was witnessing everything from the eyes of human-Flint, but I had no control over his actions…I was simply an observer.

Flint cautiously went into his room and was met with a stranger beside his desk. They were examining the sketched artwork that Sophia had made for the man back at the bar he worked at weeks prior.

"Magnificent. No matter what she does…she still has the same talent" the man muttered before Flint grabbed a bat that was resting against the wall next to his door.

"W-who are you!?"

The man finally turned, and the human version of Flint gasped at the otherworldly appearance the cloaked stranger had, "Flint Callahan. I'm not here to hurt you."

Flint made a threatening gesture toward them with the weapon and said, "I don't know what you want, but you're going to leave…now!"

"Of course, It'll happen soon enough." They placed the photo down and slowly made their way toward Flint who cautiously moved away to guide the man out of his apartment. Instead, the strange man made his way down the hall instead of the exit and Flint gasped, "h-hey! Not that way!"

Flint began to move toward them with the bat raised; however, the intruder suddenly made a 360 turn, and with a snap of his fingers…the bat was gone. Callahan yelped and stepped back before the man across from him nodded, "h-how did you do that!?"

"I am capable of many things. Please, sit down" he gestured to Flint as they felt they had no choice now…they knew that this weird person had control of the situation now. Thus, he hesitantly went to sit down on the couch before the man calmly joined him, "what I am about to say may confuse you."

"Ah…o-okay…if you want money…whatever you want."

"I want you to listen" they retorted, silencing Flint, "I found you through Sophia. She proved to be such a magnificent person to work with. I…owed it to her to…give you the same opportunity I gave her and her other variants. Her original universe, your universe, may prove to be the most interesting find for me."

"W-what are you talking about?" Flint gave the most serious and the most confusing expression he could ever give in his life, but the other man simply continued, "something about you struck me…I observed you for some time…even after you and Sophia departed. Callahan, you possess the same qualities Sophia had that I need use for."

Flint finally stands up and yells at the man, "cut the shit. W-who or what are you!?"

The stranger gestured a hand for the younger man to sit down once again and they hesitantly did.

"My name is Dith. I am from a realm that exists outside all the universes which is known as the Plane of Possibilities. My kind help create alternate outcomes in universes to see their results and we study them. The information we gather, we use to help guide the Prime Universe and its inhabitants."

"You're crazy" Flint deadpanned but the man simply scoffed, "if I had variants, I certainly would have one that would be" they returned in gesture, "funny enough, there's a reality where you're insane."

He snapped his fingers again and the scene changed to where an alternate Flint is in a mental institution…in a stray jacket…talking to himself. The original Callahan had almost no time to react, but it was enough to tell him that whatever was happening…is real…

Silence filled the air until the human finally sputtered, "so…y-you're telling me there are other universes out there?"

"Trillions, with many more yet to be created simply from thought" the man nodded, grinning slightly…pleased by Flint's curiosity.

Callahan looked up, almost with a furious expression and a look of surprise, "Sophia…it was you…it was you who followed her that night…the night I met her…"

The opposing male nodded again, "that was the night I approached her. She agreed to help. I offered her the same opportunity; however, she yielded no results from my observations. I brought her back…and now I am here."

Flint looked down before the gray man moved slightly closer to put a hand on the young adult's shoulder, "this study I am conducting has been done 9703 times before with countless participants, human and not…but they all had the same outcome. You, Flint Callahan, may prove to me that I can break the chain…and create a more positive timeline."

Flint just scoffed, looking at the man, "and you want me to believe you are somehow a space god that can do crazy stuff like some…wizard?"

The man smiled, almost mischievously too, "I'll tell you what, Callahan. Give me five minutes and if you are not satisfied, I will bring you back. Are we in agreement?"

Flint looked at the man and his outstretched hand. He just rolled his eyes but decided to finally yield.

"Fine, whatever."

They shook hands and the mysterious humanoid broke away and clapped once, "splendid, you won't regret this!" He snapped his hands, and the two men were gone from the apartment.

As if instantly, an unconscious Flint Callahan "magically" appeared inside a cove in the middle of a boreal forest…and he had been transformed into a Night Fury.

It was the same place where he would first wake as a dragon and where he would have his fateful meeting with Toothless.

I looked away, shocked by everything I saw. I was back inside the Haddock residence with the frozen Toothless. "Dith" stood there, pleased by my reaction, "you've been through a lot. I can see that your progress has been most intriguing. It appears the timeline has become so fluid that you may have changed the outcome of the future."

I shook my head, "t-this was what you were talking about…Berk…the dragons…everything!?" I yelled, pain in my voice.

"Absolutely" Dith simply retorted.

"S-so…this is all real!? I'm in the past after all?"

"Of course, 713 A.D. to be exact…1,300 years in the past."

I looked away…stunned by this revelation, "a-and Toothless…the dragons…the Vikings…they exist in my universe?"

"Of course, Flint, and I brought you here to create a Tangent universe…I thought this was explained to you already."

I growled back in my usual draconic tone…narrowing my eyes, "okay…so…you want me to 'change' things, but you never specified!?"

"Allow me to" the man began pacing back and forth in the room, "I know all about your friends on Berk...they have had the most impact on me in my studies, so I decided to dedicate my research to them. I was fascinated with the idea of humans and dragons co-existing…"

"Let me guess…" I began to say; however, I was ultimately stopped by the man:

"Their co-existence did not last long."

Took the words right out of my mouth.

"Unfortunately," Dith continued, "through the many different timelines I created, they all ended the same: the Vikings and Dragons would depart, and dragons would be forced into hiding."

I look away…toward Toothless. Right then in there, I felt my heart sink.

Forced into hiding…so I was right…but then, that means…Hiccup and Toothless, they'll…they'll be…no…they can't…not after everything we've done!

"H-how long do we have?" I looked up at him before the gray man hesitated.

"Flint. In most timelines…it happens within a few years upon them being together."

"So…not much time left…" I sighed.

The man shrugged in my direction, "I cannot say for sure. This time I have tried a different approach. I planned to have somebody beside the Night Fury. I put you in that cove, knowing he would find you. I figured if you and he could bond…" Dith said as he glanced at the bigger Night Fury across the room "…perhaps the two of you might succeed."

"Well, I suppose your plan is working" I scoffed sightly.

"Perhaps. Only 'time' will tell" the mysterious man murmured silently.

Silence filled the frozen room until I sat up and looked at him again, "h-how many attempts did you make?"

Dith smiled again at this, "I've made 9703 versions of this world…and it all ended with the same results: dragons were driven underground. After my communication with you was cut short not too long ago in this dimension, I studied everything you had achieved. One thing which always happened in other realities is that the Queen of Dragons would always meet her demise, until I…you SAVED her, proving to me that the outcome can change. With the Queen alive and dragons amassing, it's only a matter of time before the world under…takes notice." Soon enough, he coughs once to distill the air, "however, more than five minutes have passed, I'm sorry it hadn't been the same for you. Do you wish to return home?"

My ears lifted as I raised my head to stare at him.

Return home…now?

B-but…Toothless…

I guess Dith here is being sincere with his question.

No…I can't leave now. I'm NOT leaving until I know for sure the others will be okay.

"no" is all I said, "not yet at least."

He nodded and gave a thumbs up, "I'll be around. Just do what you normally do, try not to overthink things, Flint Callahan. Also-" he added as I turn my head to the side in a curious manner, "I wouldn't tell Toothless about any of this."

I nodded once in agreement. Maybe it's for the best, for now.

"Thank you for your contribution" the man finished. And with that, a flash of light blinded me, and a second later…Dith the Observer was gone. Time had returned and everything was alive again…including Toothless.

"Flint?" He asked.

I shook my head and looked at him.

"You okay?"

I simply nodded back to the dragon, lying my head down against the mattress again, "yeah. I think I feel a bit better. Thanks for being the best, Toothless" I smiled at him, and he returned the gesture. We bid each other goodnight as we looked away for the last time today before we welcomed sleep.

Determination filled me more than ever before. With this new revelation from Dith, I know now what the end goal is now…maybe I knew all this time and I just needed confirmation: to prove to the world that humans and dragons can live together.

I won't let you guys down.

Alright! That's a wrap for this chapter.

So, this one in particular had me going back and forth because I wanted it to make sense and I hope it did. I'm not sure if my decision to explain Flint's appearance in the httyd world would make sense this way but I hope it made sense.

Let me know what you all think. Until then, see you all next time!