Ghost's Reign Chapter 23: Positing Theories, a How to Train Your Dragon + Big Hero 6 Crossover fanfic

Chapter 23, everybody! Time to see how the rumor mill is going.

So hopefully you've read Ghost's Fury before getting here because yeah calling back to the first book. Also Helga references The Iron Giant. And Momakase and Obake both get what they want. XD And reference Pocahontas to boot.

Helga had to admit, the trick with the promise of riding dragons definitely got everyone behaving.

What was also interesting was the fact that this didn't facilitate the usual Yokai behavior.

It became very clear, very quickly, that this was apparently a two-way street—the dragons wouldn't tolerate someone trying to force themselves on them, and the one time someone tried to attack someone to bump themselves up the queue the person's dragon had intervened, just barely keeping itself from attacking and flaming that Yokai. For his brief life afterwards, that particular man found himself completely shunned by the dragons; it was a clear enough message: disobey orders at your own risk.

Said man was quickly and quietly and permanently removed by Helga and Calhoun; they didn't need the risk that such behavior posed.

It also made her tail more pointed, she reflected as she watched the Nadder watching her.

"So this is the scheme, then," she said to it. "Obake has us all monitored, and if we step out of line you kill us?"

The Nadder chittered before grooming a wing—probably nonsensical of her to expect an answer. Despite the marketing, Obake was just a man, had barely been this side of adulthood when she first met him.

Huff, reflecting on that—yes, she didn't have the same issues with him that the rest did, and yes she had been banking on him fighting Callaghan…but that was the expected action following his behavior. Obake, at least, usually had a good reason for doing whatever he did.

Saying that, she had no idea what the logic with the dragons was.

"What's the endgame," she mused in the Nadder's direction. "What does Obake gain by putting the Yokai on dragons, especially after he bans marauding?"

The dragon looked at her, chittered again before moving to groom the other wing. About as helpful as she expected. She needed someone who spoke the same language to bounce off of.

Finding Calhoun suggested she was in the same dire straits as well.

"What," Calhoun sighed upon spotting Helga's amused expression.

"I didn't figure on you getting in on this," Helga said, indicating the Monstrous Nightmare with the saddle in its mouth.

"I'm not in on this," Calhoun spat. "Stop that," she said, using a boot to shove the saddle away when the Nightmare put it down. The Nightmare's response was to pick it up and put it on her other side. "Give me good news."

Helga considered the Nightmare, looked at the Nadder when it landed nearby and chittered. "Follow me."

There wasn't really anywhere they could go where there were no dragons—even the smaller warrens had Terrors infesting them—but at the very least, the cold storage was left unaccosted now. Ever since Obake had tacked those eels up on the doors the dragons had given the cold stores a wide berth—but then again, he had been sneaking those striped banners onto the cliffs, had tacked one or two on Sparkle's house….

Calhoun shut the door, cutting off the sight of the two dragons watching them worriedly. "Talk to me."

"Obake's been planning this for a while," Helga realized. "What he was doing to distract the dragons while Callaghan was gone—the banners and the mirrors—"

"So this was a long-term plan," Calhoun said. "But why? What purpose does this serve? I can get bringing them all down in an attempt to wipe the Yokai out—but then keeping them around? Taming them? Riding them?"

"I can picture him planning to wipe the Yokai out and then having the plan morph from there," Helga mused. "But then…." But then tamed dragons could be useful—travel faster and farther than a ship, not beholden to the wind and tide, armed literally to the teeth—Callaghan would never have gone for that, hated the dragons too much. Obake would have had to get rid of him first to achieve his goal.

And the Yokai on dragonback? Well that was the level of destruction a village-destroying revenant would favor.

Calhoun seemed to be on the same wavelength. "Maybe the dragons are obake."

"Doubtful." And problematic if truthful. "That would require me buying that Obake is actually a ghost."

"I don't buy that either, but he certainly seems to prefer the company of dragons to people."

"Obake's never been social to begin with," Helga pointed out. "And I'm going to guess most of his absences these past few months has been him taming that Fury."

"You didn't see him the other day, he actually seems attached to that little one," Calhoun told her. "I've spent years watching him, he doesn't spare emotion for anyone. Not without reason."

Helga made a pensive noise at that, arms crossed as she scanned a shelf of pickling—Calhoun wasn't wrong there, she knew for a fact how Obake could manipulate and use people. "The one Fury is the head of the dragon flight, correct?" she asked. "Maybe he used the little one to get in the big one's good graces."

Calhoun made a few grumbling noises as she considered this. "But then this bears asking…when he said he shot it down. He came back empty-handed, we all assumed he had missed—it was a Night Fury, after all. But this means he shot it down, had it all trussed up, and instead of killing it and bringing it in he decided to tame it." Tap her toe against a barrel. "Why though? Even a young one, if he brought it in, would have netted him top dog of the Yokai—he could have ordered Callaghan's removal then, could have cleaned house without all the rest of the convoluted mess."

Helga tipped her head. "Remember what Barb said? Obake never met a scheme he didn't like, the more convoluted the better. This probably all makes sense to him."

Calhoun made a sort of tch noise. "Deliver me from smart idiots."

Helga snorted at that—

Spun, knife in hand, Calhoun whipping a dagger out as well at the sound from further in—

Vinnie stood there, munching on some jerky. "I interrupt at a bad time?"

Helga groaned and sheathed her knife. "I could have killed you, you idiot—I should kill you."

"To keep the silence, or because I scared you?"

"You take that last bit to your grave."

"In retrospect we should have picked one of the emptier ones," Calhoun sighed. "Vincent, since you saw fit to eavesdrop—thoughts?"

"Technically I wasn't eavesdropping," Vinnie started—wilted a bit at their glares. "So I was in here for a valid reason and decided to keep listening when it sounded interesting."

"That's eavesdropping," Helga said. "Answer the question."

Vinnie took another bite of jerky, pondering this. "Eh…I don't disagree with any of your observations."

"By that wording you don't necessarily agree with any of it either," Calhoun said.

"For the record, I don't really buy the concept of Obake being an actual ghost."

"Neither do we," Helga said.

"Still leaves the question of what this whole scheme is," Calhoun said. "He says we're not raiding anymore, and then introduces a concept that would make raiding easier than ever. And if you've been watching the dragons…if I were in the habit of assigning human intelligence to animals, I'd say they were in on it."

"I noticed you have one too," Vinnie said, indicating her.

"Too?" Helga echoed. "You've got one tailing you?"

"So does Vitani."

And Carl and Dibs both…and Momakase, her dragon eyeing them as they left that last meeting…working through the conspirators, specifically. "Obake knows."

"What?" Calhoun asked.

"Obake knows about the coup," Helga said, gesturing. "That's why the dragons are focusing on us—he's probably trying to lure us into a false sense of security and then he'll get rid of us."

"Either that or he's bribing us," Calhoun mused. "But then again, he's not in the habit of trusting people…I could see that happening."

"Or he doesn't know, and you're getting worked up over nothing," Vinnie pointed out.

Helga shook her head. "No—Obake's too perceptive." As she had found out.

Calhoun considered this. "The good news is, either way we know to be on our toes. It's better to be prepared and have nothing happen than to ignore it and get blindsided."

"If all else fails I have explosives," Vinnie said.

"Of course you do."

"Right," Helga sighed, grabbing a jar of pickling. "Well. In the meantime…act natural, because the moment we step back outside we're under scrutiny again."

"I can't wait," Calhoun said drily, tugging the door open—

The Nadder that had been following Helga squawked in alarm and jammed the Nightmare's head up, snapping its jaw shut before it could breathe the mouthful of flame it had—they looked at the dragons, the door—

Helga was forced to acknowledge that the muted thumps she had been hearing were the Nadder flinging spikes at the eel on the door, pinning the length of it to the wood without missing. Look at the dragon in question, considering…."Not bad," she admitted.

"Don't," Calhoun said, holding a hand up as she walked away. "Don't get attached."

Fair advice. But in the meantime…no. Calhoun was right, she couldn't afford to let her guard down. She might have reason to feel moderately charitable towards Obake for what he had done for her.

There was no reason to believe that he felt the same way.

So in other news Obake was grateful towards Calhoun for giving him an excuse to postpone Dibs' saddle, he very much did not want to put the village idiot on a dragon and prioritizing the Nightmare saddle for the quartermaster made sense. Maybe he'd be lucky and Carl would pick her as his second. You know, if Obake ever convinced him that this farce had gone on long enough.

Moving on…Enoka had been done for convenience, Carl to get him off Obake's back, Calhoun because Dibs in the air would be trouble, a few other Gronkles in order of how useful their Yokai were and how little Obake detested them….

And then a saddle to preserve Obake's ribs.

He had to take a winding route to the kill ring to avoid the other Yokai, he didn't need to deal with bribes or threats, managed to get there without getting accosted. Momakase was there with Gogo, which wasn't much of a surprise—whistled to get her attention before retreating out of knife-throwing range.

Momakase's irritated expression shifted when she came level with him and saw what he was sitting on. "So I offered the right bribe?"

"A week, you said," he said.

"I didn't get confirmation."

"And I haven't handed this over yet."

Huff, look at Gogo bobbing her head at Tadashi, who was sitting with his saddle on and looking somewhere between uncomfortable and confused. Back at him. "Gimme."

"Do I have confirmation?"

"I have a knife."

"I have an angry Night Fury." Who would probably thank her, but details.

Momakase looked at Tadashi like she was weighing her odds. "Okay fine, no kill ring for a week."

"No ambushing me either."

"Now you're tacking things on."

"I want a week of peace, Momakase."

She was obviously debating on this, weighing which one would give her the greater pleasure…the unknown eventually won out. "Okay fine, one week where I don't bother you at all. Happy?"

"Ecstatic."

So good news, Obake didn't leave her to flounder and figure out how to put the saddle on Gogo by herself. Bad news…he wasn't going away and she'd rather have any slip-ups be private.

"I thought you might like to know that the grass has grown an inch since we've started," Obake told her.

"You'd better go off and mow it then," she shot back.

"That was a hint for you to actually get the lead out."

"Oi you don't rush these things."

Gogo huffed, indicating that yes, you did rush these things, or at least you didn't keep the impatient dragon waiting. Deep breath, deep breath—she was a Yokai, a fearsome fighter, and she wasn't going to let her reservations get the better of her. She had followed him on weirder schemes before—granted, she couldn't think of any right now, but….

Finally put her foot in the stirrup and haul herself up.

"I recommend strapping in," Obake told her, apparently oblivious to her having to take a moment to orient herself and process where she was—the back of a dragon, without the intent to stab it. And with the dragon not actively trying to kill her either, she reflected as Gogo looked back at her. Wait right straps—grab them, buckle herself in—scramble for the handles when Gogo stood, shaking her frill and wings out.

"How do I steer?" she asked Obake.

"Good question," he said. "When you figure it out, do let me know."

"Wait what—"

Gogo must have figured she was ready enough—launch into the air, Momakase scrambling to hang on, hugging the saddle handles for all she was worth and screaming into the leather, eyes screwed shut—why did she agree to this what was she thinking this was a stupid way to die—

"Are you going to open your eyes anytime soon, or do you prefer the stitching to the view?"

Look up sharply at Obake's teasing, mouth already open to snap back at him—

Had to take a moment at where she was, where they were.

It wasn't fully processing, only really doing it in little shards at first—Gogo flapping, the horizon so far away, the growing tickle in her stomach, Tadashi above and slightly ahead and to the right of them, Obake on his back and laughing at her, the feeling of the wind against her, the leather under her hands…finally did register when she looked down and saw the island and the ocean far beneath them.

They were flying. She was flying.

That tickling feeling in her stomach started bubbling up into delirious giggles—put her arms out as she leaned forward a little, imitating Gogo's coasting before putting her arms up and slowly leaning back until she was laying along Gogo's spine, feeling the sun and watching the clouds overhead…it felt like gravity was no longer an absolute, was more incredible and intoxicating than any sake she ever had, and she was very disappointed when Gogo did finally angle down to a rocky outcropping to rest.

"Well?" Obake asked when Tadashi landed on an outcropping slightly above them. "Do I get a week off?"

Momakase was too busy hugging Gogo's neck and trying to school her expression. "Trust me, I'm going to be much too busy to be bothered with you."