Hey everyone, I'm back with a lovely addition to this fine story!
A note: we are skipping "Smoke in your Eye" since in this AU Dagur is missing and the Outcasts are still under the control of the Berserkers.
Enjoy!
…
Brothers
Chapter 41: Plane of Possibilities
I thought I could forget the whole "Eel" stuff that happened, but things haven't really been the same since then…
For one, I keep having nightmares of the incident occasionally…pretty gnarly ones if I may say so myself. Not only that, but a new person had entered my life who was a big deal now. Dith showed up every now and then, he seemed to be more of an observer than anything…kind of reminds me of the show Quantum Leap…man…what I would give to watch that show again given the context.
Toothless knew something was off, but he didn't know exactly how to tackle the issue. I suppose he knew I still had nightmares, but he had NO IDEA about Dith and I still wasn't sure whether I should tell him or not. After all, wasn't it his goal to find a way for me to return home? As I thought previously: I could go at any time, right? I could literally say I'm done and be gone from this place, but to leave now isn't doing anyone justice…especially Toothless.
So, I'm staying, until I know for sure things will be alright between Hiccup and Toothless. All I could do for now is go about our days…try to live our lives as we've lived it so far: day by day.
Plus, winter is coming (where have I heard that from…I don't remember…some T.V. show or something.) Berk is going to need all the help it can get again.
Something of BIGGER significance happened around this time (at least events that had an impact on Stoick and the others.) Berk had an encounter with three young Thunderdrums that were causing trouble all over. The riders tried to somehow resolve the issue by taking them to the Ex-Queen on Dragon Island (by now it seemed best for any new dragon we encounter to live in that region.) Unfortunately, they would always follow the group back to Berk.
It wasn't until Thornado...Stoick's personal dragon…is released by his rider to care for the three hatchlings. It seemed pretty bittersweet, all that had happened between the two and to have them be separated. Though to be honest they won't be far from our island: they would remain on Dragon Island. Belin the Terrible Terror has been a great help to us, helping organize everyone. Gosh, he's getting pretty mature for being almost as young as me…then again, we're both practically teenagers now (if only just barely of course.)
Anyway, a day passed by since we left Thornado on the island, and Toothless and I were idle in the forge. Hiccup was in the back helping Gobber make some equipment for some of the dragon riders while Tooth and I sat curled near the entrance.
"Sleep better today?" The Night Fury asked as I lifted my head to meet his, "meh, could be worse…"
"I guess I'll take that as an improvement" he rolled his eyes at me before I scoffed back in return.
"It's not like I should keep dwelling on things, right? You've been hammering that in my head for so long now" my tail flicked back and forth in amusement.
"I know, I know…I'm just looking out for you."
"I appreciate that" I nodded.
Toothless looked around, eyeing the auto-fin that was hanging from the wall nearby and a thought crossed him. He was bored, no doubt about that…and today the weather allowed for some good flight conditions. It seemed too tempting, why wouldn't he do it?
"I say we race" he suddenly muttered before my ears rise all the way up at his suggestion.
"This again?"
He leaned toward me with a mischievously cocked eyebrow, "you still have YET to beat me…and I won't stop mentioning that to you until you doooo."
I push him away, "funny dragon."
"Come on, humie, I got faith in you, let's do it! Today might be the day you finally beat me!" He jumped out of his curled position to jump up and down like a child. I rolled my eyes and sighed, "fine I guess, if it stops you from embarrassing yourself, great Night Fury."
"Sweet, I'll let Hiccup know!" The black dragon started making his way to the humans before I decided to join him. The Fury grabbed the autofin with his mouth and got to the Vikings. He sat on his haunches and like a dog he wagged his tail and begged Hiccup to mount the device.
"Ah bud, I guess I could let you guys go out there but be back within the hour or you'll miss lunch!" Hiccup petted his dragon before grabbing the fin and adjusting it on Toothless's tail. I lightly punched the dragon's side with a paw as he looked at me with a dumb grin on his face, "we got more than enough time."
I stepped back and chuckled, but I seemed to have bumped into the table behind me, opps! I turned around to make sure I didn't drop anything…
I jumped in the air in surprise, for I am met face to face with Dith…who seemed to have come out of nowhere, "salutations, Callahan."
"D-Dith?" I shake my head, "you couldn't have been more subtle with your entrance, huh?"
"I suppose-just wanted to see your reaction" he retorted before I rolled my eyes and turned away to see everything and everyone frozen in place. I sighed, turning back to face the ethereal being with a raised scaly brow, "so…what's up?"
"You ask me, Flint. You want Toothless to know or not?" It's as if he read my mind…or heard it from somewhere earlier. Oh, wait…I WAS thinking about it earlier, wasn't I?
I hesitantly nodded, unsure whether it was the right thing or not.
"Allow me if you will" he snapped his fingers, and everything unfroze. As the conversations between Hiccup and Gobber resumed mid-sentence, they stopped upon noticing me. They were looking in my direction and their eyes had widened. I looked behind me and realized that they were actually looking at Dith himself!
"W-who is that!?" Hiccup stood up, dropping the tailfin as Gobber the Belch quickly grabbed and attached a hammer to his prosthetic, "an intruder!"
Toothless was shocked too and he quickly growled at Dith in response, lowering his body as a show of aggression, "get away from them, Flint!"
I stood up and waved my arms back and forth to try and diffuse the situation, "W-wait, you guys don't understand!"
Suddenly, a flash blinded me for a brief moment and when I opened my eyes again, I saw that everything was as it was not 30 seconds earlier…as if Dith re-winded to the moment before he resumed time. I snapped back at him with a full display of my fangs in anger to him, "w-what was THAT for!?"
Dith showed a neutral expression but soon pointed to the frozen group again. My curiosity got the better of me when another flash occurred, and they were un-paused again.
"H-hey, wh-who are you two!?" Hiccup muttered, standing up and dropping the tailfin again. Gobber, once again, attached a prosthetic, "how'd they get N'ere!?"
Toothless had his green eyes wide open…and he was staring straight at me. I look down and gasp: I was now wearing clothes! I bring my "paws" up to see they're no longer paws…they're human hands again! What's so strange is that they FEEL like hands…as if I was actually changed back into a human! Toothless, having seen my human form on occasion thanks to the Ex-Queen, couldn't believe it! His lower lip quivered from shock, and he didn't know how to respond. The dragon thought maybe it was a dream…hell, I kind of did too, but it wasn't…this was real.
"F-Flint…" he muttered softly, but I could no longer understand him. Tooth's language was now a series of unintelligible grunts and chirps.
"Gentlemen, please, allow us to introduce ourselves" Dith began.
"Wh-who are you?" Hiccup stopped Gobber with a hand when the latter tried to retaliate.
"I am called Dith and this is my associate: Flint Callahan. He is from the future, and I am not from this universe technically speaking" he put it bluntly. I crossed my arms and sighed, "really…that's your introduction?"
"Would you like me to re-wind this part?"
I motioned a hand for him not to. Toothless stood up and walked toward me, sniffing my hand. He stood on two legs and suddenly brought me into a hug as Dith stepped away. Once the moment passed, the Night Fury stepped away and landed on fours again. Again, he tried talking to me and I sighed, "Toothless, I can't understand you anymore" I said regrettably before the dragon immediately gave me a face filled with sadness. Hiccup and his mentor were shocked at the revelation, "h-how do you know Toothless…"
"Hiccup, I think you should be asking what they're here for…"
"Nothing, we are simply observers" Dith smiled a bit before I looked at Haddock, "Hiccup…it's me: WildWing."
The teen almost couldn't take it, yet somehow, he couldn't find the thought to be true, "what!? No way!"
Dith snapped his fingers and suddenly, as if magic: I was my Night Fury self again, but soon Dith changed me back to prove a point.
"I…I don't believe this…"
"Sorcery I tell 'ya."
"That is what humans would call it, of course" Dith chuckled softly to himself at that before I walked towards Toothless. Dith, meanwhile, walked to Gobber and said, "I really like what you're doing with dragon dentistry…keep at it" he patted the medieval Viking on the back as the latter remained still in shock from all that's happening.
I crouched down to be at eye level with Toothless. He stared into my human brown eyes as I looked into his green orbs. Something in me wanted to analyze the situation…really think about this moment. We said or did nothing for a few seconds. I put a hand on the side of his snout…feeling his black scales with my own human hands for the first time. I started breathing rapidly, this…something about all this didn't feel right…like it shouldn't happen…
I soon calmed myself before I sighed deeply to the dragon, "I'm sorry Toothless…I'm so sorry…"
I stood up as he gave me a questioning face. I turned to face Dith and I said regrettably, "go back."
With a flash, everything went back to the way it was a few minutes ago, which means I'm now a Night Fury again and the three across from us (Hiccup, Gobber, and Toothless) will have no memory of what happened just now.
My head drooped as I sighed deeply, regretting what I just did before Dith crouched down to meet me, "may I ask why?" I heard him say.
"It…it didn't feel right. Not like this."
"Sooo, you wish for this to remain…a secret to them?"
I nodded, "for the time being. I think when it's the right time…maybe…maybe we could tell them about you."
"Annnd…what if that time never comes?" Dith raised an eyebrow (something he didn't have by the way…as if he shaves them.)
"Then it doesn't." I responded.
"Then you'll have to live with that decision" Dith shook his head.
"Like I did with Sophia." I scoffed back coldly.
He stood up, dusted himself, and smiled, "you know. I CAN make things different than they were just now. You don't need to have these regrets linger in your head. I know they hurt you, I of all people know your pain. I'm giving you an opportunity here."
"It's not right, okay!?" I growled at him in my teen voice as he remained motionless, not flinching once at my gesture.
"I have a lot of questions for you…about me…about the others…how things actually ended between Hiccup and the dragons, but it's not…right." I scoffed, pacing back and forth as he eyed me silently, "this is all just some sort of game to you…"
"Incorrect" he simply said. As soon as he said that I am transported into a field…a picturesque grassy field. The sky is light blue, and the sun's light warms my black scales. Above us, however, are bubbles…many of them…and they're all chrome in appearance.
"Wh-where…"
"This is the Plane of Possibilities" Dith muttered, waving his gray hand around as if he were an instructor in class pointing to a PowerPoint.
"Wow…it's literally a plain, quite literal" I rolled my eyes. He ignored me and continued, "each of those bubbles is a universe…any of them my kind can enter in this endless realm to see. There are limitless possibilities here. I've studied them for eons…trying to understand why they should exist…or whether it's all futile." Suddenly, he crouched down and directed my muzzle to his face with a frail finger, "I understand your direction. You wouldn't want your life to have a reset button, or to play it out differently. But explain to me why…probably any other human would love to have the opportunity you have."
"Everything I've been through…with Hiccup…with Berk…with Toothless…it all felt like it just went down a path that made sense. To have it change or to have the knowledge, or ability, to change the outcome if something were to happen to them…it…downplays the importance of it all. It's no longer special…to me…to anyone else."
"How intriguing" Dith stood up, scratching his bald chin in solitary thought, "you make all this all the more interesting. This is why I chose you."
"Promise me this…" I give him a serious expression as my dragon pupils narrow slightly at him.
"I'm listening."
"When we're done here…you promise NOT to change anything I've done to his world. Promise me you won't interfere, AT ALL. If I get hurt, if I feel pain…if I feel cold…miserable…if I'm on the verge of death…I DO NOT WANT YOU TO INTERFERE."
"It shall be so" he crossed his heart in a cartoony fashion, but his face seemed to suggest he is sincere, "still, would you like me to tune in every once in a while?"
I rolled my eyes, sighing very loudly for him to know, "just don't change a thing. I want things to continue where they left off."
"So, the forge then?" He leaned toward me, clearly excited by this.
I looked away, nodding.
He smiled softly and snapped his fingers, and with a flash, I was back on Berk…in the forge…in the same universe I landed in. Time resumed as it was as though nothing had happened. Gobber moves away to arrange some items while Hiccup is attaching the auto tail fin to Toothless. The latter looked over to me with curious eyes.
As I stood there, unsure what to do…I felt a faint whisper in my ear: it was Dith speaking.
I must say, you do look quite remarkable as a Night Fury, Flint Callahan.
I did a mental groan in my head, but Dith soon vanished, and I'm left with the others once again. Man…what a crazy day this has been…
"Flint, are you alright…you look like you just saw a ghost?" The teen Night Fury asked as he tilted his head.
This should be my story, but I won't let it be just me. Like before I'm NOT going to be the only one following it as I go. Hiccup, the Vikings, Berk, Dragon Island, everyone else…they're all part of this story. I won't treat all this like it's something I can just press reset and make changes like on paper. I want this to stay personal to me…stay special, because everything, this version of Toothless's world, is special to me.
I nodded back to him: it was slow at first, but my confidence grew even more, "yeah, I just had a thought in my head. You're right, we SHOULD race, and this time…I will beat you!" I lowered myself as a challenge to the other dragon as he smirked confidently back at me, his wings unfurling a bit at the challenge, "that's the spirit."
…
That's the end of this chapter! We're close to ending Defenders of Berk and testing the waters to Race to the Edge (which will be abridged and most likely be changed in some areas, if not by a lot.)
But anyway, I hope to see you all next time, peace!
