Chapter 104

Hiccups POV:

I don't know how long I was out but for a while all I could see was darkness as if I was just floating around in it once again like when Cronus killed me for the first time. I opened my eyes I quickly shut them because of the bright light that shined into my vision temporarily blinding me and also causing a bit of pain as I groaned. I slowly opened my eyes to see a shining blue sky above me as I slowly sat up and looked around to try and figure out where I was. I was lying down on the softest bed I'd ever felt with white silk sheets, pillows and a blanket. I looked around to see what room I was in only to discover the bed actually rested in the middle of a large white marble pavilion with a roof that had a large hole in the center allowing me to view the sky while white marble pillars held it up. I groaned as I sat up, took the blanket off my torso and discovered I was only wearing my pants but I shrugged it off before I threw my feet over threw my feet over the edge. I stretched out my muscles hearing a satisfying cracking sound as my back cracked before looking around to see more of the place since for some reason I knew I was safe here. I stood up and walked up to the end of the pavilion and saw now that I was in a large garden that was so beautiful it took my breath away.

The pavilion I was standing in was built in the middle of a circular white marble pool with the clearest blue water I had ever seen while behind each pillar of the pavilion facing the water were white marble statues of women holding pots of water over their shoulders that were pouring water into the pool. There was a white marble path leading across the pool from the garden to the pavilion so I knew I wouldn't have to swim away. From what I could see of the garden the grass was the nicest shade of green, the different dirt beds held flowers of different types all in full bloom showing true beauty. I made my way across the path slowly while taking time to admire the beauty of the garden by smelling the flowers, stopping to admire the white marble statues of various figures that had vines of flowers growing on the bases. When I reached the one of the gardens ends I found a white marble railing cutting off the garden and when I looked past it I understood why it was there since on the other side was drop that was so long I couldn't even see the ground below. It was at that moment a voice from behind me asked.

"Are you done exploring the garden?" I quickly turned around to see a beautiful young woman, wearing a loose flowing light green tunic pinned by the seams to her waist while her long flowing blond hair was tied back with a small golden band but the most noticeable thing about her was her forest green eyes that seemed to sparkle but I didn't let my guard down.

"And you are?" She smiled and bowed.

"I am Aikaterini and I am one of the nymphs who tends to this garden, oh great Heracles." She stood back up from her bow.

"Alright but could you tell me where I am?"

"This is the garden of the gods atop of Mount Olympus."

"Why am I here?" She gave me a smile.

"You were brought here to recover after your battle with Cronus under the protection of the gods."

"Why in the world would the gods waste their time helping me when they should be dealing with Cronus's forces?"

"His forces have already been dealt with, the chest holding his remains is now under their personal guard and they felt it best that you recover in a peaceful place where you would not be disturbed by your future fans." I sighed and sat down on a white marble bench next to me.

"I really don't deserve all this special treatment." I looked down at my hands in my lap. "I know I helped take down a couple of monsters and helped bring down Cronus but it was the improvements Gaia gave to my sword that allowed me to do it." I felt hands land on my shoulders before to see Aikaterinismiling down at me as she began massaging me and I had to admit it was nice.

"You worked hard to become the man you are now and when offered a place at Cronus's side you turned him down instead of joining him at the promise of wealth, power and anything you desired." Her fingers dug deeper into my skin releasing some of the tension in my shoulders.

"I just did what I feel was right since if I didn't then Cronus would've destroyed the cities I've come to admire and enslaved the people I've come to call my friends and comrades." She sighed.

"I can see there's no changing your opinion so I'll drop the subject but know that you've truly done this world a favor by stopping Cronus six days ago." My eyes widened as I quickly turned to her.

"Six days ago?" She nodded. "Is that honestly how long I've been out?"

"I know it must be a shock to you but your body needed time to recover from your battle with Cronus." I just stood up and turned to face her.

"I have to get back to my dragons and Plutarach!" I looked around before turning back to her. "How do I get back to Sparta?"

"Please calm down, you shall be returned to the land of the mortals but before you can the gods wish to speak with you."

"Where can I find them." She smiled.

"Just follow me and I shall take you to them." I nodded and followed her towards a large white marble palace on the other side of the garden. "Just follow the hall and you shall arrive in the meeting room of the gods where they are waiting for you." I nodded and ascended the stairs into the palace.

5 minutes later

I finally made it to the same room where I first met the Greek gods and found them all once again sitting down in the same thrones as before all smiling at me. I made my way into the center of the room and bowed to them making them all chuckle before Zeus said.

"There really is no need for you to bow to us Hiccup after the great service you did for Greece and us in defeating Cronus and the Furies."

"That doesn't change the fact that you are gods while I am a normal mortal." They all chuckled as I stood back up.

"What do you mean?" Hephaestus asked.

"Do normal mortals go up against monsters, travel the world, save entire cities from beasts that no man has faced and lived, forged a sword from a star, has mystical beasts at his command, lives on his own island with multiple territories, has the blessing of multiple gods, trains dragons to ride and to help tend to his island and to top it all off."

"I see your point but still I'm just a mortal." Zeus replied.

"Never the less you have our thanks for defeating Cronus and the furies."

"What happened to them?"

"The furies are now rotting in the deepest and darkest solitary cells in Tartarus for betraying us, freeing Cronus, all the damage they did to the mortal realm and for aiding Cronus in his conquests." He sighed and looked down as he shook his head while muttering something about traitorous assassins before he turned his attention back to me. "As for Cronus he's now imprisoned in the golden chest we sent you where he shall remain for all eternity."

"How do you know someone won't release him to continue his reign of terror?"

"I am the only one who knows of its location, the three keys to open the chest are held by me, Poseidon and Hades and along with that whoever wished to return Cronus to power would have to venture into the chest which is also another dimension with Cronus separated into fifty pieces that have been scattered and hidden in that world."

"Not taking any chances this time, I take it."

"We made that mistake once and look what happened."

"It's not your fault, you were all betrayed by those you thought you could trust."

"Thank you Hiccup but now I'm sure you have questions so feel free to ask them." I nodded.

"Has it really been six days since my fight with Cronus?"

"Yes, it has since after your fight your body needed time to recover from the amount of pressure that was placed on your body and it is during this time there are those may have used this opportunity to take your life for your wealth, respect for killing such a great warrior, control of your beasts and other such reasons."

"What about my dragons and Plutarach?" Athena replied.

"There's no need to worry about any of them as they have all been well taken care of and have actually been helping in Sparta while awaiting your return." Apollo then said.

"Your dragons have mostly been helping with gathering and transporting materials, keeping guard, helping out with harvesting things all under the supervision of Hippolyta and Leonidas who were more than happy to vouch for them." Hermes then said.

"As for that Griffin of yours, I'd say he's doing pretty well for himself." He said with a smile I didn't recognize.

"What do you mean?"

"After the griffins who were enslaved by Cronus were set free they were all confused and to put it bluntly a complete mess until Plutarach came along." He chuckled. "I have to hand it to you Hiccup, you trained that Griffin of yours well."

"What did he do?"

"He took command and calmed them all down so he could actually explain to them what happened before he became their new leader." He then smirked. "Sadly, now he's facing the same problems you're often facing." Hearing this I was worried.

"What problems?" It was then a thought came to me. "He's not being challenged by the other males, is he?"

"Oh, his problem isn't with the males but with the females if you get me." I was confused for a second before it hit me making me immediately felt sorry for Plutarach as I slapped my forehead.

"Don't tell me- "Hermes chuckled as did all the other gods.

"Yep, he's got the ladies all lining up to get him as their piece of wing candy and like you he does his best to avoid them."

"I take it he doesn't like the attention."

"No, he doesn't, especially with his new responsibilities as leader of the flock and him still worrying about you." It was then I realized something and I looked down.

"If the flock needs him then there's a problem." Zeus asked.

"What would that be?"

"How am I going to say goodbye to him?"

"And why would you need to say goodbye to him?"

"The flock needs him more than I do and this is his chance to be with his own kind then I'm not going to ruin it for him." I saw everyone smile at me.

"That's what I've always liked about you Hiccup, you think of others before yourself which makes me happy to tell you that you will not have to say goodbye to Plutarach."

"What do you mean?"

Plutarach is completely loyal and devoted to you after you freed him and have shown nothing but respect to him so he will follow you and the flock will follow Plutarach meaning you shall have an entire flock of Griffins at your command."

"I admit the idea is tempting but where would I keep them on my island since they enjoy high altitudes and the griffins roost won't support an entire flock without some serious construction that will take months to complete and the plans alone will take weeks."

"There is no need for that Hiccup." Zeus held his hand out as a glowing ball formed before he pushed it towards me to reveal a sky-blue crystal piece with a large chunk showing what looked to be huge piece of land sticking out of the middle. "We figured something like this might happen so we came prepared and had your island designed so there would be a section waiting for it." I smiled at the piece and bowed to Zeus once more.

"Thankyou." He just smiled.

"You should know that that piece has a few surprises waiting for you when it is placed."

"I look forward to seeing what they are."

"Along with this we have a few other gifts for you."

"You really don't need to give me anything as this is more than enough." They all chuckled.

"After what you did for us it'd be a crime not to reward you more but first." He snapped his fingers and my armor with the nemean lion pelt appeared in front of me. "I believe this belongs to you." I smiled at the sight.

"I thought it was destroyed."

"Your armor was destroyed but the pelt wasn't." Hephaestus then said.

"I personally rebuilt the armor myself using the same pieces from the original but don't worry I didn't alter your design in anyway except for one modification in the back but that's only because of one of the gifts we have for you."

"Thank you, Hephaestus."

"Don't mention it but don't put it on yet since one of the gifts we're giving you is going to require your torso to be exposed." This caught my attention.

"What is it?"

"Something we're saving for last but for now I built you a little something that'll go along nicely with that lions pelt of yours." He reached behind his back and pulled out two golden armbands. "Try these on and tell me what you think." I took the armbands and put them on my wrists while studying the engravings of a golden lion on them. "To turn them on just think 'Release the lions."

I did so before they began glowing red while heating up before the sound of two lions roaring echoed through the room as the bands expanded and turned into gauntlets. The fronts looked like silverish gold snarling lion with the black rings behind it that wrapped around my wrists while on the top and bottom were spikes made of the same metal as the head. I felt leather wrapped bars within the heads being pushed into the palms of my hands. (AN: If you're having trouble picturing them then look up the Nemean Cestus from God of War) I gripped them before I felt a surge of power flow through my body while the roar of a lion seemed to vibrate through my body. When it finished I felt as if I could punch a Minotaur and knock it out cold. I looked down and studied the gauntlets and had to say they looked powerful as the eyes glowed green with power. I was brought out of my thoughts by the sound of Hephaestus chuckling followed by him saying.

"I take it you're impressed." All I could do was nod and reply.

"I can feel the power within them flowing through me."

"That power is now yours to command but wield it wisely young hero since those gauntlets could knock out a fully grown giant with a single punch." I looked up at him amazed. "Don't worry about killing any mortal though since it all depends on your intentions that decide the level of power in the punch so as long as you don't intend to kill then the most they can do is throw a person back unconscious but unlocking the secrets of these gauntlets is up to you." I nodded. "To turn them back into arm bands just think 'lions' slumber' and they'll turn back into armbands." I nodded and turned them back into armbands as Helios stood up.

"Heracles before we continue I was hoping you could end my curiosity on something." I turned to him.

"Of course, lord Helios, what is it you wish to know?"

"I'm curious to know how that Pterippus you were given is doing?"

"His name is Phlegon and last time I saw him he was doing well last time I saw him." I then smiled. "These days he spends most of his time with a mare I received from the spirits of the Indian tribes."

"Oh yes I've heard about your adventures with them and by the sound of things might they be conceiving a foal soon?"

"Hard to say but should they do so I just hope it's born healthy above all else."

"Kind words mortal but the chariot he pulls doesn't last long does it?" I sighed.

"No they can rarely handle the speed I drive at so at most they last three runs before the wheels give out and bring the chariot down destroying it in the process."

"Well if that's the case then I believe the next gift shall put an end to that."

The floor opened up to reveal an amazingly beautiful chariot rising out of the opening. This chariot looked to be made of pure red stone with a night fury insignia made of gold imbedded at the front of it. The leather bridles looked as if it had been made of pure black leather with the outlining of the chariot itself was also gold as were the axle caps with the symbol of the sun on them and the yoke was made of the same red stone as the chariot. All in all it was beautiful and I was looking forward to racing it when I got home. I was brought out of my thoughts when Helios asked.

"What do you think?"

"It's beautiful."

"And powerful." My eyes were pulled away from the chariot to him hearing this hoping for an explanation to what he meant. "It cannot be worn down like the other chariots you've ridden as it is indestructible." I smiled hearing this. "Along with this it shall run smoothly on any form of terrain such as grass lands, rocky environments and when pulled by Phlegon you shall be able to ride it into the sky as if you were on land and while being pulled by that mare you were given by the spirits you shall be able to ride it across the water as if it were solid ground." I smiled liking the sound of it. "It does have other abilities but they are things you will have to discover on your own." I nodded.

"Thank you so much and now I'm looking forward to testing it when I get back to my island." He just smiled and nodded as Zeus stood up.

"Hiccup, you have done not only us but the world a great favor in vanquishing Cronus and it is through this you have more than earned this reward." Before I could reply a golden light shone from above blinding me as it came down towards me. When it reached me I was still blinded when I felt an incredible pain in my back as if a hundred burning hot needles were being pushed into my back. This pain made me drop to my hands and knees while screaming in pain as the gods just sat on their thrones and watched as I wreathed and prayed for this pain to end. The pain felt as if it lasted for hours before it finally came to an end when I felt as if I was going to pass out from the pain it finally ended and I began to breath heavily from the pain. I looked up at the smiling Zeus who said.

"Congratulations Hiccup, you've earned your wings."

I slowly pushed down on my knees to stand up to ask him what he meant before I felt something on my back as if it were part of me. I turned back to see what was now on my back and was beyond shocked to see a set of golden wings with golden feathers but the thing was the wings actually seemed to be a part of me like new limbs. As I examined my new wings Zeus said.

"These wings will aid you in your future so you shall no longer need those flights suits of yours as they can be easily destroyed which could put you in danger." He gestured to my new wings. "These wings like your flight suit shall allow you to glide above the land but you shall be able to feel the wind beneath them." I just nodded still in shock because of the wings. "I realize they may take time to get used to but should you wish to conceal them then simply pull them into your back and they shall shrink down before giving the appearance of a tattoo." I nodded. "They are also immune to any harm so you may also use them as a shield against anything that may try to harm you should your shield not be able to cover you fully." I nodded still trying to wrap my head around the fact that I now had wings. "Figuring out how to control them is something you shall have to learn on your own." I nodded as I was finally able to pull my attention away from the wings and turn back to Zeus.

"Thank you, so much mighty Zeus, but was there any way to make me getting them less painful." He smiled and shrugged.

"I'm afraid not for you see the wings needed to be connected to your nervous system which may have been painful but it shall be worth it in the future."

"Understandable."

"Now it's back to the mortal realm we must send you with the gifts we've bestowed upon you." I nodded.

"Before you do may I ask just out of curiosity may I ask how Greece is doing after such a tragedy as Cronus since I'm sure more than a few people are suffering after having their lives uprooted in such a way." They all looked down in sadness.

"A lot of people who were enslaved are having trouble trying to understand what happened, those who escaped are having trouble returning to their normal lives with what they lost, along with all this many lost their homes so all in all its all in utter chaos in most places and the only ones who are happy about this chaos are the type of scum who take advantage of it."

"Bandits?"

"Along with pirates, thieves, slavers, kidnappers and a few of Cronus's forces who were able to escape us."

"Looks like my time in Greece hasn't come to an end yet."

"So, you're going to stay in Greece?"

"Just until I've helped everyone deal with things, get their lives back on track and of course deal with a few the sick people who are taking advantage of the chaos." He looked at me for a moment before he burst out laughing.

"That's what I like about you Hiccup, you're always thinking of others before yourself."

"Just trying to do the right thing."

"And it shall always lead to well-deserved rewards."

As soon as he finished speaking there was a bright flash blinding me before I found myself in my armor with the nemean lion pelt, standing in the same clearing where my fight with Cronus took place with my wings sticking out of two slits in the back of my armor. Judging by the position of the sun I'd say it was early afternoon but as I looked around I could tell the damage done by both Cronus and our battle was no more as the ground that had large craters was now smooth grassy fields and the palace that once stood tall was completely gone as if it was never there. This fact allowed me to get a look at the city of Sparta that was looking a lot livelier then the last time I saw it. I smiled at the sight and getting a closer look my eagle eye, my smile only grew at the sight of my dragons flying in the air carrying things in the air while Plutarach marched through the fields leading a group of griffins. It was then I felt a puff of air on the back of my neck that seemed familiar and turned around to see Phlegon standing behind me looking down at me. I smiled and rubbed the top of his snout while asked.

"And what are you doing here Phlegon?" He just pointed his head down towards a grey marble tablet before I picked it up and read.

Dear Hiccup
We didn't think you'd want to wait to try out the chariot so while you recovered we had him brought to Greece. He's been mostly sleeping and roaming the fields away from everyone. We wish you luck in your future adventures and in your plans to help rebuild Greece and help its citizens recover.
Signed The Olympian gods

I smiled down at the tablet as it turned to dust while I gave Phlegon a pat on the neck and mentally thinking how sneaky those gods could be. I then looked at the chariot before smiling and turning to Phlegon as I said.

"Let's get you hooked up to the new chariot and see what it can do." He just neighed and nodded his head before we got to work.

2 weeks later

It's been two weeks since I got back from Mount Olympus after receiving rewards from the gods and in that time a whole lot has happened aside from me nearly drowning in dragon slobber from the greeting my dragons gave me. Aside from that things have been good but also very busy with everything that's been going on. To begin with I've been helping out with the rebuilding and repairing the damage to Sparta, which was once again standing proud along with a few small towns and farms. Once the people of Sparta were able to take care of themselves once more Leonidas and the brave three hundred personally came to me and presented me with the armor and title of a spartan general along with the promise that I'd always be welcome in Sparta as a thanks for my services to their people. Once he finished telling me that he began cheering me calling me the titan slayer as did the brave three hundred which made me blush in embarrassment and it got worse when two beautiful girls walked up to my sides and simultaneously kissed my cheeks. I froze up at this while they walked away and Leonidas chuckled before patting me on the back and saying I'd need to watch out for the girls as I just became a whole lot more attractive to a lot of them.
Once that was done I returned to the city of Athens to help repair the damage which fortunately was mainly only badly damaged in two areas while the rest of the city while damaged could easily be repaired faster. The repairs to Athens were coming along well but with all the damage done it was taking a while longer then Sparta but that didn't stop me and my dragons from helping out. Plutarach was also glad to have me back and even happier to demonstrate both his leadership skills and domination over the flock of Griffins. I had to admit the level of control he had over them was rather impressive and what was even more impressive was how he was able to get the more restless ones to behave and help out with the rebuilding of things. The people were very grateful for their help and it made construction go along a lot quicker for Sparta.

As for the gifts I got from the gods, I had been testing the ones I could like the gauntlets, chariot and wings as often as I could and I was impressed with what they were capable of. When it came to the gauntlets, saying they had a mean punch would be one of the biggest understatements ever made. I learnt this when I punched a boulder that was twice as big as my father and I ended up breaking it into large chunks with that single punch while not feeling a single bit of pain or pressure on my fist. Along with this test run a few of the Spartan warriors wanted to see how good I was with them and challenged me to a sparring match. I sent each of them flying back from single punches along with discovering that I could make the lion heads launch forward and hit someone with half the strength of a normal punch before they were pulled back by a single chain at the back of each head. With this new-found ability I learnt that when launched out the open jaws close up which allowed me to use one of the gauntlets to grab onto people and pull them back to me in order to deliver one mean punch with the other. The chains weren't that long though as they only reached seven feet in length so I couldn't use them as grappling hooks to climb but they'd do just fine in future battles.

The chariot was another thing that has come in incredibly handy and I knew would be helpful in the future with what it could do. I spent hours riding through the fields and up in the sky feeling the wind in my hair and the sun on my face as Phlegon pulled the chariot as if it weighed nothing. When I took it on a rough stony path up some mountains it rode so smoothly as if there were no rocks to begin with and it was on this mountain I discovered another capability of the chariot. While we rode down the rocky path a group of fifteen bandits ambushed us demanding I hand over Phlegon, my chariot and all my valuables including my prosthetic arm. I turned them down flat and as expected they attacked me intent on killing me but they didn't last long against me and the leader even tried to run but I just used my lion gauntlets to grab him and pull him back before punching him out.

I originally intended to use my star sword to restrain them with petrified branches before returning to the city to get help to bring them in for their crimes but before I could my chariot glowed right as two long squares of black marble with one on top of the other with both being one foot thick and twelve feet wide on four wheels rolled out from beneath it. The black marble that was on top then floated up with one thin pillar of black marble at each corner holding it up while some strange transparent blue wall formed between the pillars before vanishing. I was confused by this as a ramp came down at the front of it making it easier for me to load the bandits up since I figured this way I could at least transport them all if we went slowly to avoid any of them falling off easily. When I was loading up the fourth one though one of the three I had loaded up woke up and charged at me but when he reached the edge he ran right into the blue wall that shimmered like water as he was thrown back while I realized the blue wall I saw earlier was a barrier. It was at that moment I realized this thing wasn't just some wagon that I would need to tie things down on as I first suspected but a cage to hold the bandits. I smiled at it since the gods were truly kind and smart to give me the chariot with such abilities. With this knowledge I loaded up the remaining bandits and took them back to Sparta to be dealt with. Since then the cage has come in very handy for dealing with a great multitude of bandits who were taking advantage of the chaos.

Then there are my wings, which were without a doubt the most difficult thing to get used to, but could you blame me since they were literally a new part of my body that I had never had before. It took me four hours to get used to controlling their movements so they didn't pop out at random times but after that things got interesting. I learnt how to fold them into my back so they shrunk down and became golden tattoos on my shoulder blades. I also learnt I could fold them onto my back so they weren't tattoos but instead looked more like how Toothless folded his wings in and along with this I also learned I could wrap them around my body making it look like a cloak. As for my attempts at learning how to use them like my flight suit, it took me two days to fully learn how to do it properly but now I know how to glide, how to change direction and how much easier it was compared to my flight suit. I was even able to give them a flap to push me up a little higher but not by much and I could also do this to slow down my landings. All in all I was happy with my new wings and I could tell my dragons were to since I was able to glide next to them on my own now. Along with that they also gave me a memory that will always make me laugh and that memory was the reaction of my dragons along with Hippolytaand Leonidas when they saw I now had wings.

Along with testing out my gifts I'd also been busy tending to Athens reconstruction which was fortunately not as bad as it could've been since while I went to deal with Cronus no more of his forces came to raid the city. The repairs to these damages were coming along fast for a few reasons like how the people from Athens who were enslaved were all too happy to help in repairing their city in any way they could. Along with this my fame in Greece had increased to new heights bringing on the usual issues of people wanting to get close to me for my fame, wanting to hear the story and more but this time I was able to use it to my advantage. The news about my fight with Cronus spread across Greece quickly along with the news that I was in Athens helping repair the damage so more than a few people came to Athens to both meet me and help me the repairs. They normally did this by bringing in supplies such as tools, building materials, food for the people and workers to help out with the repairs. Thanks to them the speed that the repairs being done at had gone faster to the point that the current rate of the repairs I had the feeling Athens would be back to normal in another two weeks at least and two months at most, which would be a relief for many of the people myself included.

When I wasn't helping deal with the repairs or the people I was hunting down the crooks who were taking advantage of the chaos by either attacking travelers who were bringing supplies, kidnapping people who were on their way back to their cities, looting the damaged houses and more. When it came to those who were looting the houses my griffins and dragons were the ones who caught them since when I first found out about them I had them patrol from the sky in shifts while others helped with construction and when their shift was over they would switch duties. Sufficed to say the crooks that raided the houses made it to the edge of the city at most before they were captured and brought in. As for the crooks that attacked those on the roads, I personally dealt with them myself before using my chariot to bring most of them in and my dragons to carry those that wouldn't fit.

This brings us to where I am now which is flying up in the night sky on Toothless with Phlegon pulling the chariot on my left alongside Angel, Phantom and Reaper while on my right was Bones, Saber and Slasher. We were on our way to deal with a group of bandits who'd been causing trouble on the rout people were taking to Athens to deliver supplies along with dropping off the people who were forced to flee Athens. One of their victims was able to escape but took an arrow to the back shoulder which slowed him down but he was still able to make it close enough to Athens that one of my griffins spotted him and brought him to me. He told me everything he knew about the bandits such as their numbers or at least as far as he could tell, their weapons, who their leader was, their strategies, what they had stolen from people, their plans for those they captured and where I could find them, which turned out to be on a beach with some old shipwrecks that had been on the beach for years. I had been there once before so I knew with the wreckages it was a pretty good place to hide since the wreckages could be scavenged to make walls or hide in for ambushes. From what I could understand these crooks were pirates who were planning on selling their captives in foreign lands where they'd never be seen again.

It was at that moment that the sight of the old shipwrecks came into view as I used my eagle eye to get a better view of what was happening. There was a large bonfire in the middle of the wreckages where a large group of men dressed in dirty ripped clothing were laughing, drinking and dancing. Docked on the beach was a ship that had clearly seen better days since it looked like it was suffering from minor wood rot, pieces were missing, the sails had rips in them and the deck was a mess with overturned barrels, dried alcohol stains on the wood, old rags and clothes laying everywhere and more junk then there was to count. The next thing that caught my attention was the cages near the bonfire holding the people who I believed to be the captives who I came to rescue but they were too close to the fire for my dragons to attack the pirates without the risk of causing harm to them. It was because of this I gave my dragons had strict instructions not to attack unless absolutely necessary and even then, to be careful not to harm the hostages. We landed a three-minute walk away from the camp before I dismounted and began making my way towards the campsite while my dragons took off into the air. When I reached the camp, I hid behind one of the wreckages as one of the pirates who had his grey hair cut into a messy Mohawk with the back tied in a messy ponytail and a dirty un-kept beard taunted the captives saying.

"You'll all fetch a fine price on the foreign market, probably enough to buy us a new ship so we can send that floating tub off to be used as firewood." He then pulled out a sword. "Don't even think about trying to escape though because if any of you do." He smirked and ran his blade across the rusty bars. "Hopefully you're smart enough to understand that." It was then a little boy walked up to the front and said.

"Heracles will save us, just like he saved us from Cronus and his monsters." The guy just smirked and laughed as he turned to the men.

"You hear that men?" They all turned to face him. "This lad thinks the mighty Heracles is going to come to their rescue." They all laughed. "Well lad, I don't see him anywhere so tell me where is this mighty hero." It was then I decided to make my presence known and walked out from behind the boat before I said.

"Why don't you try looking over here?" All heads turned to face me. "Now listen up, if you let the hostages go, return all the things you stole and come along peacefully then I won't beat you crooks and try to convince those judging you to go easy on your sentences." They all just laughed before the one by the cage pointed at me and ordered.

"Make him bleed!"

Once he said the that five men armed with swords, axes and knives came at me as I released my gauntlets making them stop for only a moment. They then continued with their weapons raised and then simultaneously charged right at me but when they were five feet away from me I swung my left gauntlet at them while the lions head was released on its chain. The head contacted each of their heads as I swung it towards them. They all fell like stones to the ground unconscious with nothing but the sound of a dull thud. I smirked back at the remaining men who were now staring at me open jawed as the child smiled and yelled.

"FIVE MEN WITH A SINGLE BLOW, THE TRUE STRENGTH OF THE MIGHTY HERACLES!" The guy who was next to the cage yelled.

"SHUT UP RUNT!" He turned back to the men. "KILL HIM!"

With that said every one of the men charged at me with their weapons at the ready while I walked back behind the shipwreck so the leader couldn't see what was happening. I collapsed my gauntlets and released my crystal spear before two of the men got closer. As they ran around the bend I swung the pole of my spear towards them making both of them run head first into the pole knocking them out cold. It was then one jumped from above the shipwreck down towards me with an axe ready to cut into me. I sidestepped as I pulled my spear back into my arm and released my lion gauntlets once more. When the guy landed I delivered a punch into the warrior's stomach sending him flying right into two men who just rounded the corner making all three falls back. It was then I heard another man letting out a battle cry and turned around to see a man with a sword raised above his head charging right at me from behind after coming from the other side of the ship. He was close which meant I didn't have the time to punch him before he brought down his sword towards my head but I quickly held up one of my gauntlets catching the sword in the mouth of the lion. It was when the sword landed in the mouth that the mouth immediately closed on it as I delivered a punch with my free gauntlet sending the guy flying. As this happened I noticed the gauntlet holding the sword was heating up and seemed to be growling like a lion before a chewing sound mixed with metal being crushed filled my ears. I looked down at it and saw it was chowing down on the sword as if it were a strip of meat but no metal was being dropping from the mouth and I couldn't feel it in the gauntlet. When the sword was completely gone the head seemed to heat up for a second before cooling as another guy charged at me. I pointed the gauntlet that just ate the sword at him planning on launching the head of the lion at him but the head instead launched out a metal ball that I believe was once the sword right into the guy's stomach sending him flying through the wall of one of the shipwrecks. I stared at the new hole in the ship before looking down at the gauntlet as I said.

"Well that's new!"

I didn't get the chance to dwell on it for long before another guy charged at me from behind but this time I swung my fist as I turned making the lion head swing out and strike the guy in the side sending him sliding across the sand and head first into one of the ships walls. I looked around and saw a group of seven men charging at me with three of them throwing axes at me. I quickly dived out of the way of the axes and landed behind a wagon making me smile as an idea came to me. I slammed my gauntlet down on the side of the wagon making it flip up as I punched it with my other gauntlet sending it flying at them. I ended up striking four of them while three of them were able to jump out of the way and was now getting up while glaring at me. I turned my gauntlets back into armbands and released my starsword making them pause in shock before glaring and begin charging at me but I just slashed my sword across the ground but they didn't stop as I took a step back. When they closed in on me the branches burst from the ground wrapping around the men who dropped their weapons in shock as the branches wrapped around them making them scream with fear. I just smirked at them as I pulled my starsword back into my prosthetic and brought out my lion gauntlets as I said.

"Don't worry, I'll be back to take care of you guys as soon as I've dealt with your boss." They just glared at me as the branches became petrified leaving the men trapped while I turned around and made my way around the ship to face the leader who was staring at me in shock along with two other men. "Nice try but you're going to have to do better then a few men." A dark smile then dawned his face.

"If you feel that way then who am I to deny the mighty Heracles a true challenge." He turned to his two remaining men. "Boys, release the beast!" They grinned and walked into one of the ships before the sound of a metal cage opening echoed through the area filled by a roar that sounded familiar followed by the sound of chains rattling. "Let's see how you handle this beast we captured."

As soon as he said that his men came out pulling chains with the other ends wrapped around the neck of a short Cyclops that was around four feet shorter than the regular Cyclops I've faced while also locking cuffs around its wrists. This Cyclops looked a whole lot worse than any other Cyclops I'd ever faced, its knees, shoulders, left wrist and upper arms was covered in spiked metal armor while its head had a spiked helmet. The thing that caught my eye the most however was its left hand was gone and replaced with a large spiked ball. (AN: Picture the Cyclops enforcer from God of War.) The leader must've noticed the shocked look on my face as he smiled and said.

"A tree fell on its head when it was chasing us knocking it out allowing us to cage it and give it a few improvements."

"Improvements?"

"We welded the metal onto its body to strengthen its defense, took its left hand and gave it the spiked ball to replace it."

"As if that thing wasn't monstrous enough you had to turn it into a bigger monster then it already was."

"Well it's helped us in enough raids and now it'll help us deal with you." He turned to his men. "RELEASE THE BEAST!"
They walked behind the Cyclops before pulling the chains making the cuffs drop to the ground as the Cyclops let out another roar. It then charged at me with its spiked ball fist raised before it brought it down on me but I tuck and rolled out of the way of the Cyclops strike and backed away. The Cyclops turned to me and roared at me before pulling its fist with the spiked ball back and then punching it forward when much to my shock the ball came flying at me while spinning however I was able to dodge it but just barely. The spiked ball that I now saw was a Morningstar went smashing through the hull of one of the shipwrecks before being pulled back into the socket on the Cyclops arm as the leader laughed and said.

"Bet you didn't see that coming." I just shrugged.

"I've faced worse and I'm not just talking about Cronus." He just gave a laugh.

"Well let's see if you survive this fight."

I then needed to jump out of the way of the Cyclops that had tried to ram into me with its shoulder only to run into the side of a ship again. I knew I needed to figure out a way to get close to the Cyclops without getting crushed by the spiked ball since that made it more dangerous. Along with this the fact that it could launch the ball at me was something that would make things all the more difficult as well but it also gave me an idea but the Cyclops would need to launch its spiked ball again. Fortunately, when it walked out of the ship's hull it shook off some of the wood pieces and glared at me before raising its fist and then thrusting it forward launching its spiked ball at me. The only this time when the ball flew at me I pulled my right gauntlet back and as the ball reached a foot away from me I quickly pushed it forward punching the ball. There was an echoing sound of metal hitting metal before the spiked ball flew back at the Cyclops faster than when it was launched. The ball struck the Cyclops right in the unarmored gut making it drop down to its knees before I ran at the Cyclops before I jumped at it and punched it as hard as I could right in the chest sending it flying back and impaling it on the broken mast of one of the shipwrecks. I watched it twitch slightly as it coughed up a bit of blood before letting out its final breath before I turned back to the remaining pirates who were staring at me in shock. I just smirked at them as they stared at me before I began walking towards them as I said.

"Alright you three know what I'm capable of so why don't you save us all a lot of time and drop your weapons and surrender." The two men on either side of the captain dropped their weapons and lay down as the leader glared down at them and growled.

"Cowards!" He then looked up at me. "Unlike these useless cowards I will never surrender to anyone." I just shrugged.

"Let's get this over with then." I then thrust my left gauntlet forward launching the head forward grabbing the leader with its jaws and pulling him towards me before I raised my gauntlet to punch him but he just said.

"Please be gentle!" I just rolled my eyespunched him in the gut with my right gauntlet sending him flying back until he landed between the two remaining men unconscious.

"Well that takes care of that." I then turned to the cage holding the hostages who were cheering for me as I signaled my dragons and Phlegon down which they were all too happy to do before Toothless ran up and nuzzled me as I laughed. "Calm down bud, I'm fine." He just crooned as I looked around and gestured for the downed men. "Round up the crooks and throw them in the cage guys while I take care of the hostages." They each growled before walking around to begin collecting the men while I turned back to the hostages. "Don't worry, I'll have you all out in a minute."

I reached for the lock forgetting for a moment I was wearing my gauntlet but before I could pull it back the gauntlet actually bit down on the lock like it did with the sword and ripped the lock off before it began chewing it. I just shrugged and let it finish chewing the lock before turning the gauntlets back into their golden armband forms. I then pulled the gate open only for my legs to be tackled by the little boy from before who was smiling with tears of joy running down his face. I leaned down and patted his head as I said.

"Don't worry, I'll personally escort you all to Athens to make sure you all arrive safe and sound." He looked up at me smiling.

"Thank you so much for saving us, I knew you'd come to save us."

"Just doing what I can to help those in need." He smiled as I looked up at the people. "Are you all alright?" I received nothing but people confirming with the occasional comment saying how the pirates claimed they didn't want to damage any of the merchandise. "What happened to the supplies and resources you were all bringing to Athens?" A black-haired man with a short beard and a ripped white tunic stepped forward.

"They took the wagons and horses to one of the shipwrecks they converted into a barn." I nodded before looking at the people.

"Get the wagons and horses out of there while I check the ship for anymore pirates, hostages and any valuables they might have stored on the ship." They nodded but I could see some of them were nervous about being left alone. "Don't be nervous as my dragons are currently rounding up the pirates and are on the watch for any others so if you need help just call for help." They all nodded seeming less nervous. "Now be sure to help the young and the elderly while I'm checking out the ship and don't wonder off on your own since the pirates might have set a few traps I didn't see." They all nodded while giving murmurs of agreement while I called Toothless over after he dropped off another pirate into the cage before I mounted him. "Let's go see what's on that ship bud." He growled and nodded before we took off.

Five minutes later

I had explored the ships top deck from top to bottom while Toothless kept an eye on things from above and to say I was disgusted would be the biggest understatement ever made. Seriously I thought it was messy when I first saw it but now I realized that it was so much more disgusting up close since now I could smell the mess that I'm sure would make even Gobber gag. Along with the stench I almost stepped in what I could only hope was vomit after my foot fell through the floor when the rotting wood gave way. I decided it best I check below deck and opened the trap door before slowly climbing down a ladder that looked ready to break at any second. I kept an eye on the steps as I made my way down into a large room full of bunk beds that looked ready to collapse and old rusty cages pushed up against the walls showing they weren't doing so well. The floors were littered with stains from old spilt alcohol, old clothes and the occasional rusty old weapon while the smell of vomit and dried alcohol filled the air making me want to throw-up. I noticed a door at the back that I'm sure lead to the commander's quarters and slowly made my way towards it.

I heard noise from the other side and readied my gauntlets before I slowly pushed the door open and peeked inside to check for anyone but didn't see anyone. I slowly pushed the door fully open and looked around and I had to say it was disgusting. The floor was littered with old goblets that were clearly stained with alcohol as was the floor, at the back was a simple desk with an overturned inkpot and another overturned goblet, next to it was a small empty chest but the thing that caught my eye the most was the bed or to be more precise what was on the bed. There was a young girl with brown hair who had been gagged with an old rag, her hands sticking and feet were tied and there was an old moth-eaten blanket covering her body and judging from the toga on the ground she was naked beneath the blanket. It wasn't that hard to figure out what was going to happen to her if I didn't come and just the mere thought of what would happen to her made me sick to my stomach. When her eyes landed on me she immediately began to struggle and scream while tears began to fill her eyes until I held my hands up after turning my gauntlets back into armbands as I said.

"Calm down, my name is Heracles and I'm here to rescue you." She slowed down her struggles as I took out a normal dagger I had. "I'm going to cut the ropes around your wrists then leave you with the dagger so you can cut the ropes around your legs and then get dressed." I slowly walked up to her with her never taking her eyes off me as I gently took her hands and slowly cut the ropes before placing the knife next to her and then slowly walked to the door while never taking my eyes off her in case she tried something. "I'll wait outside for you." She just stared at me as she removed the gag before I walked out of the room and waited a few minutes before it opened once more and I turned to see the girl wearing a ripped toga that fortunately still covered her private parts. "Are you ready to get back to the other people?"

"What of the pirates?"

"They're all locked up in a cage waiting to be taken back to Athens in order to face justice while me and my dragons will be personally escorting the wagons back in case of anymore crooks decide to try and attack the wagons to steal their cargo." She nodded as we made it up to the top deck before I called Toothless down making her back up in fear. "Don't worry, he's not going to hurt you as long as you don't try to harm him or me." I then mounted him and offered her my hand but she hesitated. "Don't worry it'll be fine, trust me."

"How do I know you won't take me somewhere and have your way with me before selling me off to some slavers?"

"Besides the fact that the mere thought of someone forcing themselves on another person makes me sick to my stomach and want to throw up, I highly doubt the gods would've given me their blessing if I did any type of thing of the sort to the innocent." She nodded and took my hand before we took off into the night sky.

"It's beautiful up here."

"I know, it's why I like to fly so much."

She sighed and leaned her head into my back but I did my best to ignore it but heard her sigh when we landed before a man and women ran up hugging her while continuously thanking me for the life of their daughter. I just shrugged and told them it was no problem and how it was what I did but their daughter was giving me looks that made me feel a little uncomfortable. After that we did one more sweep of the area for any more crooks finding three of them hiding in one ship wreck and throwing them in the cage with the others before setting fire to their ship since it was looking ready to sink anyway we took off. On the way back, we did encounter another group of bandits but I quickly dealt with them easily enough before locking them in the cage which expanded to hold them. When we got back to Athens multiple guards came to greet us and were all too happy to take over dealing with the crooks so I could handle the people and telling the traders where to put the supplies so we could start work on repairs in the morning.

Nine days later

It's been nine days since I took on the pirates and brought them down and in that time a lot has happened in that time. With the pirates dealt with and the wagons being brought in we had enough to continue the repairs to a whole lot of damages considering there were so many wagons that were intercepted by those pirates. Along with that I did have to deal with some of the people I rescued including the girl I saved from the ship who I now knew to be named Agapi. She'd been flirting with me quite a bit while thanking me for saving her while also asking me if I could take her for more flights. It was clear she'd formed a crush on me but I was more focused on getting Athens back on track and then getting home to show my father I was alive and tell him what happened but keeping out the part about my near-death experience since if I did he'd have a cow.

Along with that I'd gone back to the ship wrecks and taken the spiked ball those pirates had replaced the cyclops hand with and decided to keep it as a trophy from that battle so it rested in my ship's storage hold alongside a few other trophies I'd picked up from cleaning up Athens. In addition to the spiked ball I had also found two axes from the minotaur's I took down, the talons of some harpies, the skull of a single cyclops and three helmets and two swords of undead legionaries. I took all of these as trophies from what could be my greatest adventure yet but knowing my luck things there were going to be battles coming that are going to be way tougher in the future. To go with my trophies more than a few of the sculptors were kind enough to gift me with white marble reliefs depicting my battles including my fight with Cronus and the furies. All of these reliefs now rested in the storage hold of my ship alongside my trophies. These weren't the only souvenirs I was taking back with me to my island though as four days after I took on the pirates I got a visit from Hermes who came to drop off some souvenirs from my battles with Cronus and his furies. I received a replica of Cronus's scythe and the belt of Megaera claiming I'd earned them but they were keeping the real scythe as that was a type of power no mortal or god should ever wield and I agreed with them on that. I also got another visit from Leonidas and army of fifty men all looking for me but it was not for anything had also dropped by to thank me for my aid in helping her people and told me that should I ever need help the Amazons would be there for me and I thanked her for this.

Now Athens was back on track, my trophies were in my ship's storage hold with my spartan armor, my ship had been stocked with supplies, my dragons were in their pens, Plutarach had settled down with his new flock, Phlegon was resting by his new chariot, my dragons were in their pens, I had said my goodbyes and now I was on my way back to my island and Berk. I was looking forward to getting back to my own island and seeing what the new piece was but I was not looking forward to seeing my dad or Gobber again since knowing those two my dad is going to yell his head off at me for my near death while Gobber was going to want all the details on my new gauntlets like all my god made weapons. Along with them I'd also have to deal with the rest of the village wanting me to retell the story of what happened, Ruffnut flirting with me, Snotlout trying to get his hands on my god made weapons claiming how good he'd look with them, Fishleggs would ask me for information about the beasts I faced along with the places I've been and add to all this the fact that Snotlout and the twins are going to pester me to teach them how to train dragons again I was definitely going to be spending more time on my island. I didn't mind that though since I wanted to check out my new island section out while helping the griffins settle in along with finding out the surprises this section has for me but for now I'll be happy to just go home and have a little R&R.

AN: And complete which brings an end to this Greek adventure which brings us closer to 'HTTYD 2' but it's not here yet as Hiccup still needs some things before he can do it so be patient. In the meantime, I'm sorry if this chapter was a little dull and sorry I left you on another cliffhanger last time as that was not my intention nor is it my intention to leave you on this one considering the piece. If I went into the detail of the piece then you would not see the update till next weekend and I'm trying to get a new post up once a week. Anyway I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and review kindly.