Helloo! Next chapter is here, I hope you enjoy!

Shout Outs!:

CHSHiccstrid

Good! It broke my heart to, had to be remedied. Hmhm, I am.

SmolAvidReader

They do, they so do. You're welcome, I figured we'd all need it after the last several and what's to come

OminousAnonymousAnomaly

Good, glad! They all deserve a happily ever after.

Journal 2, Entry 8: "A Chief Protects His Own"

Hiccup sat at the head of the table in the Great Hall, the leaders and consorts of all Berk's allies sat around or stood by the table. There were mixed expressions as Hiccup explained Loki's idea and how it would benefit everybody.

Alvin was the first to speak his mind, scowling and trying not to direct it at Hiccup and thus Loki—he may not serve or be fond of the god but he was still that. "You would have us hide like cowards."

Hiccup calmly refuted the idea, feeling Loki's magic bristle through their bond. "No, but Grimmel proves that the more concentrated the dragons become, the stronger our enemies will become. Hopefully we won't ever have another Grimmel but at this rate our children, their children and so on will never know peace. People will keep coming, wanting to weaponize and enslave the dragons."

Alvin snorted. "Sounds mostly like Berk's problem. There are very few dragons left on Outcast Island—thanks for that by the way. Blasted beasts kept setting fire to what little was flammable."

Dagur glared at his once ally-turned-betrayed-partner-turned-begrudging-ally. "And if it's Berk's problem, then it'll keep becoming ours. They'll either have to keep coming through our waters with their armadas or we'll have to keep sailing to Berk and losing good men. Not that I'm against a good fight, but the Berserkers have suffered a noticeable loss after Drago and the Warlords' armadas."

Mala hummed with a nod. "The Defenders of the Wing fight to protect dragons, however with these increasing odds and our enemies becoming stronger than that of even Viggo Grimborn, protecting the dragons—not to mention my people—is becoming nearly impossible. I am for this plan. It will allow us and the dragons to live at peace while still being able to interact with our allies and not sequestering ourselves off from the world entirely."

Dagur and Heather shared looks and silent words. Heather squared her shoulders and spoke. "The Berserkers stand with the Defenders and Berk. It would be best for everyone's interests on Berserk to create this New Barbaric Archipelago."

Atali nodded, grim at the thought that things had to come to this. "The Wingmaidens stand with Berk as well. To let things continue as they do now only endangers the Razorwhips we are sworn to protect, as well as endangering our lives and our allies the more we have to fight off these invaders."

Alvin huffed, glaring at everyone outside those of his own tribe as they looked expectantly at him for his official answer. "Seems I've been outvoted."

Loki's nose wrinkled as he smirked. "Not necessarily. You can still decide not to join and we will create the shield that excludes your island and you will not be able to call upon your previous allies for help when the inevitable occurs."

Alvin scowled at Loki before turning to Hiccup with a chuckle. "Are ya sure 'e isn't yer blood father as well?"

Hiccup looked away and buried his head, grumbling incoherently.

Loki smirked at Hiccup.

Alvin frowned, eyeing both of them. "Oh, don't tell me…"

Hiccup shook his head while Loki chuckled. "It was a part of the ritual to bring him back."

Alvin tiredly rubbed his eyes. When he finally looked up again, all eyes were on him. "What?"

Loki raised an eyebrow. "Your decision."

Alvin sighed. "To cut ourselves off from our allies is foolish. We have none left outside of this Archipelago. The age of Vikings is coming to an end. I am not stupid enough to not realize we have only the peace to terrorize each other because those who were hardy enough to call themselves true Vikings have ceased to exist.

"The Outcasts will stand with you despite the fact that I still think this is cowardice."

Loki rolled his eyes. "Then think of it as preserving your culture. As you so elegantly put it—Vikings are dying out. Now, they won't."

Alvin scowled at him. "No, we're just going to hide and disappear from the world, leaving us as myths."

Hiccup sighed, tired of the arguing but grateful everyone at least agreed to the outrageous idea; he could only imagine what his ancestors would say about this.

Dagur stood, glancing at everyone. "Now that that's settled, anything else on the agenda?"

Hiccup shook his head.

Dagur grinned. "Good! I'm kidnapping you—you have quite a bit to make up for dying on me."

Hiccup groaned and shot a pleading look at Loki who only snickered and shrugged as Dagur dragged him out of the Hall.

Hiccup rubbed his eyes as he walked out of his hut, the noon light nearly blinding him after spending all morning locked in his hut with Loki going over the runes and spells necessary for creating and fortifying the New Barbaric Archipelago. He almost stumbled and fell down his steps when he ran into Tuffnut.

Tuffnut winced and shot him an apologetic smile. "Sorry, didn't want to interrupt your session."

Hiccup frowned and sat on the step next to him. "Okay, what is it? You never care about interrupting anything when it's Loki and I—even if it's just sitting back and watching silently."

Tuffnut stared at the ground and didn't say anything for a long time. "It's Ruff. She's… she's dating Snotlout—officially. He wrote this awful poem and she liked it, finally accepted his offer to court her."

Hiccup tilted his head, carefully choosing his words. "Well, at least he's not Eret?"

Tuffnut scowled at him and he winced.

"At least you know him. Truthfully, you've known him longer than you have me. You really couldn't expect her to stay single forever. Honestly, I'm actually surprised she didn't go find Throk after Eret announced his and Minden's budding relationship."

Tuffnut groaned. "The only good thing to come out of this."

Hiccup chuckled. "Hey, think of it this way. When they have kids, you can teach them how to ruthlessly Loki their father. It's the uncle's prerogative after all."

Tuffnut cracked a tiny smile. "Yeah." He shivered violently then. "Egh! You're nasty—Snotlout and my sister having kids!"

Hiccup laughed and pat Tuffnut on the back. "It looks like you'll have to get used to it."

Tuffnut groaned loudly.

*O*

Loki rolled up the parchment of notes that he and Hiccup compiled for the daunting task and carefully stowed them in the trunk. He sighed as he turned to the close door. Almost two months had passed on Midgard and if he stayed much longer his presence would be missed—or more likely, demanded to be accounted for. Besides, there were a few things he still needed to research before they started setting up the wards and shields.

He grasped the handle, but paused in opening the door. He listened to his Chosen and his follower chatting outside. He quietly chuckled, finding amusement in the brother's ire at his sister's choice of suiters. He waited until the discussion wrapped up before stepping out.

Both boys beamed at him, Hiccup immediately suggesting the idea of some pranking to distract Tuffnut, both of them quickly agreeing.

The village was not quite as happy when all their fish literally grew wings and began flying about through flaming hoops. The dragons, on the other hand, were ecstatic.

Hiccup sullenly walked out of the Great Hall. It was times like these that he wondered how his father ran the village—everyone and their dragon had complaints or something that needed fixing.

Toothless bounced up to him, tongue hanging out happily.

Hiccup chuckled and rubbed his snout. "How was your day, oh great alpha?"

Toothless snorted, not in annoyance but showing he didn't particularly care. He warbled and turned in a tight circle before bouncing around more.

Hiccup shook his head, previous wearies forgotten. "Okay, we can go flying now."

Toothless lit up and took off running through the village.

Hiccup's happy look fell into confusion. "Toothless? Hey, bud, wait up!"

He ran after his other half, finally catching up with him at the forge where he sat expectantly with the old saddle and tail. Hiccup smiled sadly at the gear. "Still going on about that, huh?"

Toothless cooed and rubbed up against him but his eyes held a silent threat.

Hiccup sighed and shook his head, kneeling down to grab the tailfin. "Fine, but I'm still going to figure out a better way to combine the manual and automatic tail fins. You do need to be able to fly on your own when I'm busy and you need to be alpha'ing."

Toothless snorted unhappily but resigned. At least Hiccup wasn't fighting him on the matter.

The switch was quickly made and they shot into the sky.

They played in the clouds for quite a while before Toothless hissed and arced away.

Hiccup looked over and chuckled when he spotted the Light Fury flying at a distance but following them. An idea struck him and he leaned closer to Toothless to whisper it to him.

Toothless snorted and shook his head, wanting nothing to do with the Light Fury. He was still too scarred about her involvement with Grimmel despite her merely being a pawn.

Hiccup rolled his eyes and tugged on the connecting straps. "Look, there's no way you're losing me. Just a little race, it'll do you good to blow off some steam."

Toothless still grumbled and made no movement to acquiesce.

Hiccup's shoulders slumped. "Please bud?"

Toothless tried to glare at him but couldn't quite get him in his line of sight. He huffed and barked at the Light Fury, Hiccup's face instantly brightening and pressed closer to Toothless—foot ready and eager to twitch the gears into place.

The Light Fury cooed and eyed Hiccup warily but was far too ecstatic about Toothless finally acknowledging her to fully care about the human on his back.

Toothless' eyes narrowed, earflaps tucking against his skull and pulled his legs closer.

Hiccup grinned and clicked the gear into a new position. Toothless shot forward with a new burst of speed, earning a playful yelp from the Light Fury as she sped after him.

*O*

Loki walked out of the royal library, nose buried in a book. This was ultimately a mistake that allowed Thor to come alongside him and grasp his shoulder with an unrelenting grip that he didn't notice until it was occurring.

"Brother! I was beginning to fear I wouldn't see you again."

Loki withheld a snort but his rolling eyes. "Yes, because not seeing me for a few months means I am never returning."

Thor frowned and stopped, halting Loki as well. "Loki-"

Loki held up a finger, face almost indifferent. "No, I do not wish to hear it."

Thor sighed and glanced at the book, relieved to see it had nothing to do with dark magic. "What is your new project?"

Loki's eyes narrowed and closed the book. They held stares for a long minute before Loki said dismissively, "Hiccup's home still needs protection. I won't allow what he built to fall so easily."

Thor nodded, hiding the minor wince that Loki was still so fixated on the past. "Put it away for a few nights. There is a grand party on Vanaheim, come join us."

Loki cast the book away to his 'pocket' and flatly stared at Thor. "Thank you, but I shall decline."

Thor frowned and grabbed his arm before he could leave. "I'm afraid it wasn't a request. You've locked yourself away for too long now, brother."

Loki sniffed. "It's barely been a year—it has hardly been 'too long'."

Thor sighed before he suddenly smirked. "Don't make me go ask mother to speak with you."

Loki's head whipped around, seething gaze threatening to unleash his magic. He carefully sized up Thor and his intent, growling when he decided that yes, Thor would involve their mother. "I hate you."

Thor grinned and laughed lightly. "And I love you."

Loki's lip twitched, caught between a smile and a snarl. "That is not a good combination."

Thor shook his head. "No, but I know you love me as well."

Loki reluctantly let Thor drag him away towards the Bifrost. "Oaf."

Thor laughed boisterously, waving to his friends who were mildly surprised that he'd actually managed to convince Loki to join them at the party.

Hiccup stared at the dozens of dragons that congregated around his hut. He looked around for Toothless, but didn't see his best friend anywhere nearby. Feeling along the bond, he found him on the other side of the village. Toothless sent comfort over the bond with traces of annoyance leaking through. He shook his head. It was probably another Nightmare-Changewing clash—turns out they had similar tastes in mating grounds and neither was happy about it.

He grabbed the handle to his hut, pausing when the dragons surrounding him fell silent. He looked behind him, warily watching them but they merely stared back expectantly—not so much as a warble escaping them. Unnerved, he turned back around and entered the dim hut.

A high pitched squawk nearly scared him back to Fólkvangr. One hand on his heart and the other on his dagger, he glared at the perpetrator. "Chicken! What are you doing in here!?"

She bawked, little talons scraping the floor.

He shook his head and grumbled to himself. He started to cast a spell into the dead fireplace when his magic tingled uncomfortably as another touched it, his Jötunn and Æsir pulled together tightly and slammed into the Familiar bond. He could hear Toothless screeching in confusion as he started to panic.

A happy growling chirp was his only warning before he was tackled to the ground.

Hiccup lay still on the floor, staring wide-eyed up at the little white creature practically laying on his chest, chittering without a care in the world. He didn't dare move, barely breathing, until Toothless burst through the door, spines and mouth glowing blue.

Toothless' stance faltered then fell, eyes wide—laughing while he physically fought not to.

Hiccup was shaking, his magics confused and angry as to what the familiar thought was so funny. "T-To-Toothless, get 'im off. Pl-ease."

Toothless sighed and warbled at Hiccup, licking his cheek, before cooing to the hatchling and nudging him off Hiccup.

The white hatchling whined, a little roar echoing sadly to Hiccup as Toothless purred and curled around the young creature to keep him from chasing after Hiccup.

Hiccup scooted back until his back hit the wall and managed to take several deep breaths. It wasn't until then he felt Loki's panic over their bond because of his panic that he tried to calm his magics, only getting so far as calling off their panic induced retreat and ceasing their nearly suffocating hold on the Familiar bond, allowing him to think rationally again.

Toothless graciously gave him several minutes to recompose himself after being surprised by the Bewilderbeast hatchling. That was the cause of most of his panic, the sheer expectancy of the 'attack'.

Several dragons cooed outside the hut, a few shoving others away to look inside at the alpha and Alpha-species hatchling playing with each other and at the human they all felt an odd connection to—confused as to why he seemed terrified of the hatchling.

Toothless looked up at Hiccup after he'd calmed down and cooed.

Hiccup nodded and slowly stood, taking a few, cautious steps closer to the pair. "I-I'm okay bud…"

Toothless snorted then lightly growled at the hatchling trying to escape his hold.

It whined in annoyance and started biting his paw, being quite ineffective due to a lack of teeth.

Hiccup carefully sat on the other side of Toothless' head. He removed his bracer and reached out to touch the little Dýrsvell's head. Impatiently, it stuck its snout into his palm. Hiccup stiffened while it cooed happily and wiggled free of Toothless' grasp, barely hearing his warning growl.

Hiccup sat rigid as it curled up in his lap and proceeded to fall asleep.

Chicken squawked indignantly and tottled over, flapping up to the young Dýrsvell and nestled on his back like she was mothering chicks again.

Toothless huffed and ruffled her feathers, earning a glare and bawk. He ignored her and curled around Hiccup and his magics, purring and holding them tightly so he would know that this Dýrsvell stood no chance, not that it would attack.

Both relaxed a bit and sank deeper against Toothless. He was almost asleep when a loud voice started telling several dragons off as she clomped up the steps. He cracked open an eye when the steps stopped in shock.

Astrid cooed and curled up next to him, scratching the hatchling's tiny crown.

Hiccup huffed but rested his head on her shoulder.

Toothless' rumbling laughter resonated from under them as he extended a wing over the hatchling and Hiccup, barely managing to cover Astrid's legs.

*O*

The villagers took quickly to having the young Bewilderbeast around. All the dragons still mothering hatchlings of their own took especially well to him. He, they later learned, loved running after the twins and watching them cause destruction which Hiccup would berate them for—claiming that they did not need to teach him such behaviors when he would grow to be the size of a mountain. They argued the exact opposite, saying they were teaching him how to defend the New Archipelago. It was an ongoing argument that both sides knew would never end.

Hiccup looked over at the napping Dýrsvell as he worked on the rune sequences for the shields of the New Archipelago—once Loki came back, they would begin setting them up. The Dýrsvell shifted in his sleep.

Hiccup smiled. He was kind of cute. His magics were far less becoming of the small-for-now creature, but slowly started lessening their shields as the dragon never sought to create a bond like the previous had. They wouldn't fully trust the creature for centuries at least, but they were no longer about to suffocate him in their terror.

He set down his charcoal and leaned back in the chair. After some thought he removed his bracer and focused on the blue skin, turning it pink without the bracer's help. He turned back to his notes and started writing again.

Loki silently walked through the palace halls. Too many months had already passed and while he knew this was going to have to be their new normal, as it had been before, it made the time apart no less excruciating. Especially now.

He'd already collected a new set of books he wanted Hiccup to study while he was gone. Now it was a waiting game of when to leave. There was another party scheduled for the halls of Asgard and it would be the opportune time to slip away.

As he brooded and walked, a presence slipped silently alongside him. He made no move to signal he had any notion of their presence. As he rounded another corner they eventually sighed and spoke. "Have you come so low to ignore me as well, my son?"

Loki winced a little at Frigga's tired tone. "I am sorry, mother. It was not my intention."

She grabbed his arm and stopped, forcing him to face her. "Loki…come and study with me for a time."

His shoulders fell but nodded.

"How is Berk dealing with its… change?" She asked as they walked back out to her gardens.

Loki's eyes hardened at the question, remembering how pitiful her people looked before. "Not well. His familiar suffers greatly."

Frigga slowly nodded, hands holding each other tightly. "It is an awful thing to break. It is a wonder he has not gone mad."

Loki swallowed thickly and glanced at her. "Is that common?"

Frigga sat wearily at the table. "Most do not form bonds as deeply as they did, a blessing and a curse, but the stronger the bond the sooner…But none have also ever formed a bond with a dragon, bonds between Dýrsvells and their Commanders aside."

Loki breathed evenly and slowly as he sat with her. "He has many dragons depending on him…he wou-will not so easily give into that madness—he will fight against it, if only to remember Hiccup and what he would wish for him."

Frigga smiled sadly. "Yes, I'm sure that helps. And what of you, my son? Will you give in or live as Hiccup would wish?"

Loki's lips twitched, a frown ghosting over his face. "I have little left to live for now. Thor is the heir-apparent even if it is not officially spoken. But I will not do anything stupid if that is what you fear."

Frigga studied him intently, a frown soon marring her lips. "What is it you found on Berk?"

Loki blinked, confusion and fear filling him for a moment before he thrust it back down. "I found nothing."

Frigga stood, eyes hard and stared him down despite being the shorter of the two. "I am your mother, Loki, I know you when you tell the truth, lie or omit something in a truth. Now. What did you find?"

Loki's lips curled as he turned his head away and finally sighed. "Astrid had a child—Hiccup's child."

Frigga blinked and took a shocked step back. "Truly?"

Loki nodded, still not looking at her. Hiccup is just going to love this. "Yes. And I-I cannot allow him to grow up without protection."

Frigga carefully set her hand on his arm, her other reaching up for his cheek. "I know you won't. Maybe someday I can meet him?"

Loki smiled forlornly. "Maybe. Someday."

Hiccup smiled, half asleep, and pulled Astrid against his chest. She sighed and snuggled into him more. Toothless purred from his place encircling the bed, having finally made the compromise to not sleep on the bed, but drape his wing over them. They all remained blissfully half-conscious.

This was disrupted by a pouncing white dragon.

Hiccup groaned, shooting upright as the hatchling landed on his stomach. Astrid whined as her sleep was disturbed—she hated the first moments of waking up, especially if it wasn't on her own terms. Toothless sprang up with a hiss, glaring at the hatchling who'd carelessly landed on his wing.

The hatchling Dýrsvell hadn't a care in the world and wormed his way in between all of them until he could curl up on Hiccup's chest. He lay there for a minute, allowing everyone to regather their senses.

Hiccup grunted as he settled back into bed. Astrid glared at the baby for disrupting them but swung her legs out of bed—she was awake now. Toothless huffed and sniffed Hiccup who patted his snout before walking away, grumbling about breakfast.

He pushed the tiny Dýrsvell off of his chest and grabbed his leg, both of them following Toothless out of the room and to the main room where the supposed alpha was waiting impatiently for his fish. He shook his head and went outside to retrieve the basket and plopping it on the floor for him. "You are a spoiled dragon—there are buffets out there for you and your dragonic ilk."

Toothless snorted and rubbed up against him before digging into the basket.

The hatchling Dýrsvell tried to snag a fish but Toothless growled at him. He whined and lowered himself to the ground, making his eyes as wide and as cute as possible. Toothless' hard look stayed on him for several tense seconds before finally rolling his eyes and throwing him a couple fish. He chirped happily and eagerly gulped them up whole then started nudging Toothless gratefully.

Toothless grumbled about his loss of food but Hiccup caught the fond look in his eyes and quietly snickered to himself. He grabbed a pan to sear some fish for himself and Astrid—he refused to let her or his mother do the cooking. He grabbed the pan and a couple good looking fish then began hunting for a couple herbs to sprinkle on the fish—a delectable recipe Fishlegs had stumbled upon.

He grumbled as he searched for the herbs but they eluded him. I could have sworn I hung them right there…where on Midgard-?

"Looking for these?"

His head shot out of the cupboard and beamed. "Loki! Uh-yeah."

Loki smiled and handed them to him. "They were on the mantle."

"Ah…okay, yeah, that makes sense." He grabbed the fish and pan, glancing back at Loki. "Want any?"

"Sure. Your cooking is divine."

Hiccup ducked his head to hide his cooling cheeks. "How is Asgard?"

Loki's smile fell into boredom and ire. "Nothing new…Though my mother now believes Astrid had your son."

Hiccup's muscles seized, the clattering of cups not far behind them told of Astrid's shock.

Loki took a seat well away from the Shield Maiden. "She knew something was up on Midgard, it was the best excuse—for me and Hiccup."

Astrid said nothing but continued to glare at him for such an implication.

He remained fixated on Hiccup, ignoring her fury. "So, what is new here? You gave me quite the fright w—Ahh!"

He was tackled off of his chair by a white blur, only able to get a good look at it after it had pinned him to the floor and vibrated on his chest.

Hiccup groaned and ran over, pulling the young dragon off of his patron's chest with several apologies.

Loki stared at the Dýrsvell as it whined and squirmed in Hiccup's grip, trying to get back to Loki. "It's alright, Liten Listig, let him come to me."

Hiccup let him go and he bolted for Loki again, quickly nestling up to his chest and sinking into his lap contentedly.

Loki continued to stare in shock as he slowly brought his hand up and slowly stroked the hatchling's crown. A tiny string of magic crept up his arm and curiously poked at his Jötunn core. A surprised gasp broke through his lips as his Jötunn happily wrapped around the tender string. Oh. That was not what he'd intended.

The hatchling purred under his hand and quickly drifted off to sleep.

Hiccup felt Loki's surprise and cautiously took a step towards them, staring warily at the little Dýrsvell. "Loki?"

Loki broke out of his reverie to smile lightly at him. "I-I am alright…"

"W-what happened?"

"We… formed a bond…"

Hiccup frowned, staring unsurely at the hatchling. "A Familiar or…?"

"The other." Loki said quietly.

Hiccup shifted uncomfortably, jumping slightly when Astrid laid her hand on his shoulder and smiled reassuringly at him. "I-is it—is it, bad?"

Loki thought for a moment, feeling the new bond, then shook his head. "No, it feels right. It's not forced, it just—clicked."

Hiccup nodded slowly but still warry. "Well…I guess you're officially a Dragon Rider now."

Loki chuckled and shifted to sit more comfortably with the hatchling, marveling at the odd but echoingly-familiar bond. It was silent for a while before he finally asked, "Does he have a name?"

Hiccup shook his head. "No—I've been forbidden from naming anything ever again and no one else has come up with any good ones. He's all yours."

Loki looked down at the white creature in thought before a smirk warped his features. "Jörmungandr."

Hiccup arched an eyebrow. "The snake that's not your kid? You really want to add confusion to that?"

Loki beamed. "It's going to bite Thor in the butt."

Hiccup laughed and glanced at the newly named Jörmungandr. "Literally or figuratively?"

Loki chuckled. "While literally would be great for laughs, by the time he learns of his existence Jörmungandr will be too big and swallow him whole."

Hiccup's shoulders shook as he retrieved the fish from the pan and served it.

*O*

Hiccup stood with Loki on the southernmost tip of Itchy Armpit. Hiccup had etched the runes he knew into the rock while Loki worked on a sequence of other runes. Once they were done, Hiccup turned to Loki, but his gaze stayed locked on Loki's runes. "I know these will prevent people from seeing the islands and even shielding them if necessary…but won't people know that something's wrong if they just hit a barrier?"

Loki hummed, looking at the string of runes. "Yes, thus these new runes. They are an extremely complicated magic because they deal with the mind—in order to prevent the type of situations you just mentioned, they will confuse and compel those who come within their boundaries to go around—all the while thinking that they had confused their course and made an error."

Hiccup sighed with a relieved nod. "Well, one down…almost a hundred to go?"

Loki winced and placed a hand on his shoulder. "It's the only way to ensure their strength."

Hiccup took a deep breath. "I get it—doesn't mean it won't be tiring."

Loki laughed dryly. "Come along, we can at least get another set up on the next island."

Hiccup smiled and mounted Toothless who'd shaken off his nap. "Just like the good ol' times again, huh bud?"

Toothless warbled and waited for Loki to mount before leaving Itchy Armpit.

*O*

They jumped from island to island over the next month, setting up all the warding stones. Loki and Hiccup spent much of their spare time practicing magic, always careful to ensure that Hiccup's bracelet was on and hiding him from Heimdall. Over that time, Hiccup progressed in leaps and bounds with his shapeshifting magic and could now be human—er, Asgardian now—or Jötunn at his whim without aid of the bracer.

He stared at its place on his mantle, a bit forlorn at the memories accompanied with it, some good and others—others he'd wish to forget.

They were finally back at New Berk where the last warding stone was to be placed as a command stone. All chiefs and leaders were gathered for the final activation, some more eager and glad for it than others.

Hiccup stood by the chosen and engraved stone with some trepidation. Not fearing their failure, Loki had put too much work into them for that, but for the consequences. Yes, he'd talked about hiding their world, had dreamed about it from time to time for almost three years now—but to actually do it…Once it was done, there was no going back.

Loki gently grabbed his shoulder, silent question in his eyes.

Hiccup took a steadying breath and nodded, gripping his hand for a second before taking a step out to address the leaders.

Loki watched proudly as his child addressed the chiefs for a final speech about why they were shielding themselves, rousing them into a great cheer that they would live on as the last of the Vikings—something the outside world would never be able to take away while protecting all dragons from being hunted into extinction.

He turned and met Loki's eyes and smiled. They stepped up to the stone and cast the last of the spells.

A green light shone through the engravings, Then enveloped the rock, it glowed brighter before pulsing outward and though very few saw it—every other stone lining the perimeter of the New Archipelago glowed brightly. After a minute of the energy building, walls of transparent green spread from the rocks until they met each other and continued to grow until a dome was formed—so high into the atmosphere that it seemed to touch the stars. Giving even the highest flying dragon plenty of space to roam.

Once the shield was complete, the glow and color vanished—so did the islands and all land within its borders. Replaced with the illusion of empty seas and skies.

Hiccup collapsed as soon as the spell was done. Even though it didn't require any more energy to power the runes, he had done a lot in a relatively short period of time. Loki caught him before he could hit the ground, smiling proudly at him. "I think that's more than enough for today…or the week."

Hiccup quietly grunted but barely had the strength to grip Loki's tunic as he lifted him bridal style and carried him away. Toothless warbled and tried to nudge under his arms but he held fast to Hiccup, compromising by allowing Toothless to fly them back to the village and Hiccup's hut.

He gently laid Hiccup down in the bed and Toothless curled up around him. Loki barely made it to his own room and promptly collapsed, magically drained as well.

Astrid entered hours later after customarily dealing with the leaders—most of whom were celebrating in the Great Hall, a party sure to continue on for a few days at least—and smiled at her husband.

Toothless was too far gone into sleep to even try and move him to cuddle with Hiccup so she left to spend the night with Stormfly. It had been quite some time since they last had and it was a delightfully warm night…

*O*

Loki managed to spare himself the annoyance and humiliation of sparring with Thor and his friends and traversed the great golden halls. He turned down the hallway that would lead to the library, his place of respite. Also, Thor had mentioned a quest he and the others were planning on embarking and he knew by his tone that he was intent on hunting him down and dragging him along with them—he would put the quest off if he must to ensure Loki came with.

Annoying, but unfortunately a must to keep up appearances. Still, that did not mean he was going to run in, magic blazon, without proper knowledge of that part of Alfheim. Home of the Light Elves it may be—but it did not mean it didn't have some terrifying creatures lurking in its darkest shadows. Thus the reason for their 'quest'.

He was so engrossed in those thoughts of what it might be that they were to hunt and any possible dangers that he nearly walked into Heimdall who stood at the library's entrance. He jerked to a stop just before they crashed and looked the Gatekeeper in the eyes. "Yes?"

Heimdall stared him down and nothing in his expression was pleased. "I have been looking down on Midgard."

Loki raised an eyebrow. "And?"

Heimdall's eyes narrowed against him. "Before I could not see only the island Berk had moved to. Irksome, but understandable—especially considering the enemy you later told me you were against. But now he is gone and only recently the entire sea and all her lands have disappeared. What have you done, Loki?"

Loki said nothing for a long time, staring down Heimdall with an unblinking gaze. Finally, he relented with an annoyed sigh. "I hid their lands to prevent any others from attempting to use the Berkians, their dragons, or any of their allies. They can now live in peace without fearing forces far beyond what they ever should have had to face and fight."

Heimdall glared at Loki and said lowly, almost growling, "Don't ever do that again. I have my sight for a reason—to subvert it is toying with dark energies and fates."

Loki snorted and walked into the library. "There's hardly anything dark about it. But as you wish, all-seer. I have no more need to hide anything on Midgard again."

Heimdall watched Loki leave, his gut twisting with both anger and pity. Eventually, he left, believing his message was well received. That did not mean he wouldn't be keeping a close eye on the youngest prince though.

Hiccup watched Loki as he held his hands against the ground, grabbing Hiccup's hand so he could feel the magic as well. "To create a new branch in Yggdrasil, you must establish a seed, and this will only work for inter-realm travel. And since we've put up wards to block out even the Bifrost, it is imperative that any new branches grow from within the New Archipelago as the starting point and branch them out from here, lest Yggdrasil becomes confused."

Hiccup nodded, feeling Loki's magic and how it was 'sowing' the branch since Loki refused to let him try it yet. In a few centuries, perhaps, he had said. He felt Loki's magic seep into the ground before branching out quite a ways, then met the barrier before passing through it. It continued for a while before he felt it connect with the large branch at Stonehenge.

Loki breathed deeply and steadily as his magic drained but it was worth it to have a connection point closer than old Berk. He sat back with a tired but happy sigh once it was done.

Hiccup stared thoughtfully at the ground where the new branch now resided. Loki caught his faraway look and bumped his shoulder. "What have you thought of now, Liten Listig?"

Hiccup hummed, awkwardly breaking out of his deep thoughts, turning confused eyes up at Loki.

Loki sighed and repeated the question.

Hiccup's cheeks warmed, still an odd sensation even after spending months in his previously normal skin. "Just,wondering if there was a way to open Yggdrasil without one of us—I mean someone with magic there to open it. I was just—what if I'm out exploring at some point and the gang are with me and I get hurt, or what if they're out alone and I'm not there but there's a branch and they need it…they won't be able to use it."

Loki leaned back in thought before saying slowly. "It has never been attempted as far as I know of…that does not make it impossible though." He turned to Hiccup with a smile. "If you wish to try, I will help you in this endeavor as much as possible."

Hiccup nodded, a determined light in his eyes. "Yeah, yeah I'd like that."

Loki nodded and pulled Hiccup close to him. "Then we have quite the project to work on together."

Loki wandered the Halls of Asgard, yet another Yuletide was upon them and Asgard was jubilant with her celebrations. Though Loki couldn't find it within himself to share the same amount of their joy, a small smile stole his lips at the thought of sneaking away late into the night to see his Chosen, but he found himself growing more and more distant from Asgard with every month he spent both away on Midgard and separated from it.

He snorted at the notion. Never would he have thought he would've preferred the land of mortals to the Realm Eternal—but his heart was no longer here. Only his duty.

He finally came to the Hall where celebrations were already underway. Thor quickly spotted him and dragged him around for several hours, momentarily distracting him. Thor felt his heart flutter at the few, small smiles Loki cracked in his presence. He clung to Loki after that, desperate to bring out more of that old joy—even if it meant acting like a buffoon to do so. Something that the Warriors Three were only too eager to help with after they'd had several mugs of good ale.

Frigga approached them late into the evening, mirroring Thor's joy at seeing Loki truly smiling after so long.

Loki spotted her presence first, no surprise there, and excused himself from the group.

Thor watched him go with some sorrow but prayed to the Norns that their mother would keep his spirits up.

They wandered to the edge of the throng, standing on a balcony overlooking the realm. Frigga glanced at him, relaxed but tense internally. "It is good to see you smiling again."

Loki hummed and nodded, eyes and thoughts far away. "Do you remember when we saw Hiccup that Yuletide?" He chuckled. "He truly believed I wouldn't come that day."

Frigga warily smiled at the memory, glancing at Loki—afraid this trip down memory lane was going to end badly. "Yes, he was quite happy."

Loki's shoulder fell as he thought, only stirring out of it when Frigga grasped his shoulder, worried. "W-what would you say—do, if—never mind."

Her brows dipped as her eyes narrowed. "If what?"

Loki shook his head. "Nothing, it was a stupid thought."

She turned him so he faced her. "Loki, something has been troubling you these last few months, every time you see me. What is it?"

Loki's forehead wrinkled as he debated silently, irked when his feelings won out. He couldn't keep hurting her like this. "Come, I wish to show you something."

Her eyes narrowed suspiciously but followed him out of the palace and trekked through the forest. He paused by a cave and waited for her to catch up then grabbed her hand. Her breath was stolen as they traveled Yggdrasil directly and landed on Midgard surrounded by stones. She smiled softly, realizing he wanted to show her Hiccup's son.

Loki smiled as well but there was something devious there. He didn't move immediately, instead he focused on something distant. He frowned as he searched for Hiccup's mind over their bond—it was still tricky business to communicate with him telepathically since he was only in the beginning stages of mind magic and mostly 'spoke' through broken emotions with the occasional word.

Loki!? Where *confusion*?

Loki chuckled at his attempt. I need you to open the barrier, the Britannia branch.

More confusion was sent through both bond and mental link. Loki, being one of the two to set up the barriers, had full access into or out of the New Archipelago—so him needing the barrier open only meant…Who…? The rest was lost in a jumble of thought-words mixing together. Loki sighed. He was really going to have to work with Hiccup on keeping his thoughts clear and not mixing together like they were prone to do.

My mother.

The link was silent for a long moment, hope and unease pulsing over it. Sure?

Loki nodded, ignoring his mother watching him in confused fascination. Yes.

Okay…Several minutes passed, presumably to let Toothless fly him to the command stone. Open~

Loki turned and held a hand out for his mother who took it after a hesitant moment. Loki stepped onto the minor branch and felt the barrier slip past them, Frigga shuddered as it did, feeling its minor resistance before allowing passage.

They landed on a grassy cliff overlooking a calm ocean, the stars and near full moon lighting up the world. She turned and smiled warmly at the black dragon that greeted them but felt her heart stop at the sight of who was next to him.

Loki broke contact to stand next to the dead boy, setting a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Mother, I-I am, I cannot…"

She said nothing as she slowly closed the distance between them and reached up to touch Hiccup's warm cheek. Tears stung her eyes as her gaze shifted between her son and his child. "H-How? This is impossible…Did he not die?"

Hiccup winced and held her hand. "No—No, I did. It's… complicated."

Frigga turned concerned eyes to Loki and both her hands cupped his cheeks, jaw trembling. "Loki, my son, what dark magics did you have to conjure~?"

He carefully removed her hands and held them while reassuringly staring into her eyes. "Nothing nearly as much as I had to defeat Grimmel. Mother, please do not fret, I am fine—whole and well. So is Hiccup."

She shook her head, grasping Hiccup's arm while still holding Loki's. "Loki, I don't think you understand that sort of price…To bargain with Hela-"

Loki smiled but withheld a laugh. "I fully intended to—but she gave me his soul as a gift."

Frigga's worry and fear skyrocketed. "Loki-!"

He shook his head. "Mother, I told you, it is fine. She is furious with Odin. She did it to spite him. Hiccup is not in her control—even if he dies again, where his soul goes is mine to determine. Well, except Valhalla for obvious reasons. And she has no connection to me because of it."

Frigga was still trembling, firmly holding both Loki and Hiccup, fearful that this was only just a dream and even more afraid that it was real. Loki cupped her cheek and stared solemnly into her eyes. "Mother, please, trust me. I would not have done this if there was any risk of freeing Hela or it going badly."

Frigga took a shaky breath and set her nerves. A tear slipped down her cheek as she turned to Hiccup and hugged him tightly. "Oh, my child."

Hiccup smiled and returned the embrace.

So, a bit choppy, we have just about a millennia to get through and I don't want to spend umpteen amount of chapters on it, will take however long is necessary but the next few are going to be kinda jumpy like this to get through everything that needs to be done before the official start of the MCU.
Hope you enjoyed and see you soon!