Chapter 203
Hiccups POV:
It's been four weeks since I got back from my trip across the nine dimensions and I had to say that this time had been peaceful so I was able to enjoy a little down time and test out my new dragons' abilities and see what they could do and I was impressed. To begin with there's my frost fury Lucia who had two blasts with one being a regular one while the second would freeze anything that it hit. She spent most of her time in the nest I prepared in the stables for my cold loving dragons but besides that she mostly just helped me by patrolling the cold region of my island.
Pele on the other hand breaths a strong fire blast that I found could use as a torch that's so hot it could pierce through dragon proof metal so she helped me out in the forge by cutting out pieces from sheets of metal. She wasn't the only one helping me out in the forge though as my iron fury, Argento also gives me a hand in the forge with her own unique blast. Argento breathes an extremely hot Plasma Blast that can be used to weld metal together or completely melt it away but it can also be turned into a highly strong stream that can cut through gronckle iron so she helps melt the metal down.
Gaia on the other hand found a job in landscaping when it concerned my crops and garden and joined Flora in helping tend to my garden but not in the same way as Flora. While Flora used her blasts to tend to the living plants Gaia was able to use her digging ability to uproot dead flowers or harvest crops from the roots and by doing this, she also plowed the land. I also used her in the mines to help dig through the rock and use her echo location to discover hidden caverns full of diamonds to be harvested by the automatons. Along with this she has a Plasma Blast but it's ten times stronger allowing them to use it alongside her digging capabilities to become a truly great addition to my mining crew.
Ariel has joined my aquatic dragons in my underwater exploration by joining my tidal class dragons who went with me on these trips, but she had a different job to the others. When on land she can launch a normal plasma blast but when she fires in the water the blast is covered in a unique gel-like substance that surrounds it. This allows it to be used under water and when it's used underwater the gel makes the blast take a different form making it thinner and longer so the blast streams through the water without being put out until it hits its target. She used this blast to make holes in rocks that buried the ships that I loot or to scare off predators that often surround the ship so I can loot them without no fear. Along with this she's been supplying me with her gel that I've been experimenting with, using it to try and create underwater bombs and had been making some progress and knew they'd be handy later on in my future adventures.
Yamanu is going through some special stealth training using a special helmet made from her scales mixed with gronkle iron with a single peer stone built into it. This helmet can flatten with her body and thanks to the scales I built into the helmet it changes color with her, so it doesn't expose her when she's using her camouflage. She'd been going through some intense training to improve her stealth skills in the various environments so I could use her in stealth missions and use the peer stone in her helmet allowing me to see what was happening with her. I was also training her in combat abilities since her defense mostly consisted of her stealth ability and her paralyzing spray that only lasts long enough for her to hide so I was teaching her how to fight using her body.
Electra is still patrolling the island and going through training using some training dummies I made that pop up at random in the dragon training area. She'd swat them with her tail, pounce on them or blast them with her own plasma blast but I'd been having her mostly use physical attacks since I wanted her ready if she reached her shot limit and she seemed to rely on it too much. Along with this training I'd also trained her by throwing flying clay discs out into the air which she'd then have to hit with her blasts destroying them. I know she'd be a major asset during big battles against fleets since with a single blast, she'd be able to level an entire ships side sinking it and taking it out of the battle.
Bona spent her time helping bones using bones to construct armor for future use but this armor wasn't for me but for other dragons and in return, Bones allowed her to take a few bones for her own nest. Along with this I'd been training her to help in missions to capture enemy troops which I knew she'd be helpful in considering what her plasma blast could do. Her plasma blast is a ghostly green in color but unlike others it releases a paralyzing mist surrounding it that it releases as it flies through the sky. Once a person is struck by it, they'll be dead in seconds but when it hits the ground the mist is released in the explosion paralyzing all around it allowing her to strike. Finally, there's Sylvia who with her ability to use multiple types of blasts has been helping me in various places using different kinds of blasts but most of the time she just patrols the island. She mostly just patrolled the island though, worked on her aim during target practice and helped where she could with the various jobs around the island.
It wasn't all training though since Astrid and Blanca wanted to check out the new place in the colder regions and I was all too happy to take them on a short vacation there to get away from the people who were curious about the other realms and wouldn't stop pestering me about it. I could tell they liked the place since they both claimed we should visit from time to time since as Astrid put it, it was nice to get away from everything and just enjoy some time alone with nothing to worry about and have me all to themselves, even if it was only for a few days. I had to say I enjoyed it as well since I was able to enjoy some uninterrupted time with my wives enjoying the peace the snow-covered land offers. Some of my favorite activities was riding my sleigh with them, flying over the land with them on their own dragons, sitting down on the couch in our room while enjoying the sunrise with them on either side of me and just lying in bed with them.
Along with that I also had to spend a lot of time in the forge making extra tail fins for Toothless and repair his old ones due to the damage done to them. The reason for the damage to his old fins and need for spares is due to his constant attempts to try to woo the other furies always ended badly with his tailfin damaged and him needing some form of treatment. Whenever this happened though I'd just rub his head and told him not to give up since Astrid was, the same way but I never gave up and now she's my wife. After I told him this he went out to try again and came back five minutes later covered in goo, soaking wet and in need of a new tail fin after his other one was burned to a crisp leaving hot metal rods. I just smiled and took him to get cleaned up and tend to his new bruises while encouraging him to try again on a later day as I was running out of spare tailfins.
I admit that I didn't understand why he was going after all the females, but I chalked it up to him being an alpha meaning like me he could have multiple wives. Despite his endless efforts to woo the females he didn't let it get in the way of being a good father to Twilight who I knew the females found to be adorable. I'd often find them playing around with her while she gladly seeks them out to play with but when she does this Toothless is always keeping an eye on her to make sure she didn't get hurt. At times though I think whenever she played with one of the females, she'd try to talk Toothless up to them to try and help her father out a bit and although I could tell the girls didn't believe her, they like me found it adorable how she was trying to help her father.
Presently though I was standing on the docks looking at my parents with their dragons standing behind them with Toothless at my side and Twilight on his back. The reason for this is my parents had called me here for some reason and judging from the crates on their dragons backs it looked like they were going somewhere. I turned to my dad as he looked at me and said.
"Son, I called you here because me and your mother are going to the annual meeting with chief Grant of the Stone Cutter tribe." I nodded. "I've decided to leave you in charge of the village as acting chief while we're gone." My eyes widened.
"What?"
"Hiccup, I know this is a shock but you're going to be chief one day and this'll be good practice for when that time comes." I nodded.
"Yeah but this is so sudden." He placed a hand on my shoulder.
"I know but I have faith in you and besides that, I've seen how you handle things and know that you'll be fine."
"Thanks dad but I'm not sure I can do this."
"I felt the same way when I first became chief but then I realized I didn't have to do it all alone." I raised an eyebrow. "You have two wives Hiccup, along with multiple dragons and beasts at your beck and call." He patted me on the shoulder. "When things are tough, don't be afraid to delegate some of your jobs." I nodded.
"Alright dad." He smiled.
"Today though, you can just relax since I've already done the jobs for today, so you won't have to worry about anything besides planning on who to help you with what problems." I nodded.
"Alright dad." He then pulled me into a hug.
"I'll miss you son." I smiled and hugged him back.
"I'll miss you to dad." When he let go my mom pulled me into one and repeated what my father said while I just smiled and let her go before, they mounted their dragons and took off and when they were gone I turned to Toothless. "Well bud, we better go let Astrid and Blanca know what's going on." He crooned. "I know bud, but I wasn't exactly get given a choice." He growled. "Trust me bud, everything will be fine." With that said I mounted him, and we took off.
Nightfall
I was laying down in bed with my wives while I was going over what's happened today after my parents left for their meeting with Chief Grant on his tribe's island. I started out by telling Astrid and Blanca what happened, and they were excited for me saying they knew I was going to be a great chief, even if it was only temporary. Sadly, our joy was like my position was only temporary since Astrid realized tomorrow is Berks gripe day, the day where all the villagers come to gripe and complain about their issues to the chief who can tell them what to do or help them with the problem, later on.
When I heard this, I felt a headache already beginning to form as the memories of how my dad was after each 'gripe day' in which he'd come back home groaning and needing two ice blocks for his headache. Honestly people came to him with the most annoying problems like kids tipping yaks, need for more construction materials, people brawling in the street and other annoying things. When the headache came, they sent me to take a bath to calm my nerves which is something I was all too happy to do since it normally did help with my headaches and to relax my nerves. When I was done, they told me to go for a flight to help calm my nerves but to take one of my other dragons as Toothless had gone to try his luck with the females again.
I ended up taking my chariot with Phlegon pulling it allowing me to enjoy a trip up in the sky followed by a ride around my islands paths so I could enjoy the scenery from the ground. This was a wonderful thing to relax me since as much as I loved being up in the air it doesn't allow me to enjoy the scenery up close and see what's truly happening down on the ground. When I was done enjoying my trip around the island, I returned home to find a dinner of Chinese noodles, and boar steak had been prepared for me with the girls saying they felt I deserved a night of peace before the headaches of tomorrow. When I was done eating, I went to bed since tomorrow is going to be a long day which brings us to now since sleep didn't come easy to me with my worries about my coming time as acting chief. I looked down at the girls and smiled knowing that whatever challenges I face, with them at my side I could take on any challenge with no fear whatsoever.
1 day later
It's been two days since my parents left and I am happy to say yesterday which was Berks annual gripe day had come and gone and I now have a better understanding of why my father is often in a bad mood at the end of the day. Seriously, I was stuck in the great hall all day, sitting in my father's chair listening to some of gripes and complaints people had with me wanting to scream at the top of my lungs since they were the most ridiculous things I've ever heard. Honestly, 'Not so silent Sven' was complaining about his sheep wrecking his house, Gobber was complaining about his relatives coming for a visit, some of the farmers were complaining about the fertilizer not smelling good, one of the men complaining about his wife losing her razor so she couldn't shave her legs and other such things. If that wasn't bad enough some of them actually brought samples like one guy brought a sample of the fertilizer while the one complaining about his wives' legs showed them to me and mentally scarred me for life.
When the day was finally over, I could not have been happier or gotten out of the great hall faster, especially since I was using my ox flame boots speed mode. Honestly, I was ready to ready to pummel the living daylights out of the next person who complained to me so when I got back to my island, I immediately made my way straight to the training room and into the mirror. I spent over an hour taking on various opponents to release my frustrations from the day and ended up leaving to find Astrid and Blanca waiting outside for me wanting to know what happened. I told them I'd tell them over dinner before they had me go and take a bath to wash all the sweat off my body from my long workout session since they told me I smelled when covered in sweat.
After that I was treated to my favorite dinner of Chinese noodles with a side of chicken and a cup of mead with a desert of yak butter parfait, all prepared by my wives who told me that they felt I could use a good ending to the day to help with the headache I had. I was grateful for this and even more grateful to have such wonderful women in my life, but my joy was short-lived as when dinner was done, I had to go through the list of jobs I had to get through tomorrow. I checked it out in my private room since I wanted to get some peace and quiet while I went over everything, I'd have to do tomorrow which I knew was going to be a pain. When I was done going over my list of things to do, I was able to go to bed where Blanca and Astrid were waiting for me.
Now my first say as acting chief has finally come with me standing in the middle of town with Toothless at my side while I looked down at the list of jobs for the day. I'd already assigned Astrid to handle the dragon riders who are now going through drills while Blanca was helping Gobber prepare the islands guest house for his relatives. Today however I needed to knock down an old fence, deal with some wild boars that were causing troubles for some farmers, deal with some yak tippers, welcome a new baby into the tribe, settle a problem between Bucket and Mulch, bring in a fresh supply of gronkle iron, help some of the wood collectors and whatever pops up in the day. I took a breath and turned to Toothless and said.
"Well bud, we've got a full day ahead of us so let's get to work." He growled and nodded before I mounted him, but I saw him looking longingly at the island and I rubbed his head. "Don't worry bud, the females will take good care of Twilight while we're doing todays chief duties." He growled and nodded before we took off.
Afternoon
To describe my morning, all I could say was it was busy but at the same time I was grateful for some of my gifts from the gods as they had made many of my jobs a whole lot easier. Knocking down the old fence was a piece of cake using my lion gauntlets while channeling white crystals while my dark green Loki balls helped me catch all the boars and take them to the store house for the people who managed them to deal with. The yak tippers on the other hand were a bit more difficult to deal with since they tried to hide after we arrived in the field, but my jaguar mask made tracking them down easy by using scent and sound, it was easy to find them hiding under a wagon. I ordered them to get every last one of the yaks back onto their feet before I summoned Amr and ordered him to make sure they actually do their job and if they slack off, give them a blast of his black flames until they agree to get back to work.
The other jobs on the other hand weren't that difficult though since they were simple things to do like welcoming the new baby into the tribe since I'd seen multiple welcoming ceremonies to the point I could do it in my sleep. The couple were grateful to me for welcoming their new son into the tribe and declaring the name Hamish before I gave him a wooden dragon as a gift. As for the issue between Bucket and Mulch, they were just having an argument over Mulch's price for a bag of nuts which even I had to admit was outrageous and I've got more gold than I know what to do with. With that problem I just had to ask Mulch what mattered to him more, a single bag of nuts or his lifelong friendship with a kindhearted man like Bucket.
After that the other two jobs on the list were easy to do with the help of my dragons since when it comes to the gronkle iron deliveries, I just had to bring in a few gronkles and load them up with the right combination before having them throw up the iron in the forge. As for collecting the wood was easy since I just had to have my razorwhips come to the logging section of the island and follow the orders of some of the wood collectors. My razorwhips had the easy job of slicing down the trees and then cutting them up a bit while some of the loggers who had their own dragons had to direct their dragons on where to drop off the lumber.
Sadly, though my day of Chief duties has not come to an ending yet as now I was in Gobbers house helping him deal with a rat that he claimed was a clever one. I was sitting down in his chair while rubbing my forehead to try and ease the headache that was forming while Gobber went on and on about the trouble the rat had been causing him. Looking around though I could understand why he was so angry since in his quest to capture or kill the rat he'd destroyed his home using his stone bludgeon attachment. I watched as Gobber paced around the floor and as he said.
"I'm telling ya lad, that rat is tricky." I slowly nodded. "I swear that wee beasty is more cunning than the boneknapper that kept coming after me for my belt buckle." I rolled my eyes since I'd heard this story enough times in my life.
"And what do you think this rat wants?" I shrugged.
"Probably just wondered in and figured it was a cozy to stay or it just likes the smell of your hut."
"I don't care its reason, I just want it out of my hut."
Before I could reply there was a squeak from above us and we looked up just in time to see a brown rat fall from a rafter and land on Gobbers face, grabbing onto his moustache as he screamed. Gobber than slammed his bludgeon towards the rat which then dropped from his moustache before the bludgeon could reach it and I could only watch as Gobber slammed the bludgeon into his own face. I actually winced when the bludgeon hit his face making him collapse onto the ground while I looked down at the rat on the floor but before it could run away I used my ninja reflexes to snatch up the little guy using my prosthetic. I looked back at Gobber who was slowly getting back up groaning before he looked at me and asked.
"Where'd the wee beasty go?" I held it up.
"Don't worry Gobber, I got the little guy." He smiled.
"Good, now I can squish the little bugger for all the trouble he's been causing me." I stepped back.
"Gobber, the little guy was just trying to live so it better to just let it out in the forest." He growled but nodded before we walked out as he said.
"Well thanks for the help lad but now I have to clean up my home." I smiled at him.
"Don't worry Gobber, I'll deal with this little guy while you clean up your hut." He smiled.
"Fortunately, this mess isn't anything old Gobber can't handle."
Before I could reply there were two simultaneous yells of joy I recognized as the twins cries of joy but the only time they let out this kind of yell is when they've discovered a new way to cause destruction. Next thing I knew, Barf and Belch came charging down the hill behind Gobbers hut in a flaming wheel formation but before I could react they smashed through Gobbers hut, destroying it. Barf and Belch then slammed into one of the giant torches knocking it over onto the storehouse while Barf and Belch fell to the ground before they stood back up on shaky legs while the twins ran up cheering out how awesome that was before Gobber finally snapped out of his shock and yelled.
"MY HOUSE!" This helped shake me out of my own shock before I turned to the twins and yelled.
"RUFF AND TUFF!" They both turned to me as I walked towards them. "Do you two realize what you've just done?" Ruffnut replied.
"Taught our dragon a sweet new move."
"Not only did you damage the store house by knocking over one of the torches but you also destroyed Gobbers house." Tuffnut then said.
"Well at least we got an awesome new move down." I glared at him.
"You've also got a large punishment coming your way." They're eyes widened before Ruffnut asked.
"And what gives you the right to pass out punishment?"
"The fact that I'm currently the acting chief, a job my father bestowed upon me before he left." She looked down.
"Right, forgot about that."
"Well you shouldn't forget it and here's something else you shouldn't forget." They looked at me. "You are both going to be repairing the damage you've done to the storehouse, the torch and rebuild Gobbers hut and until all the repairs are done you'll both be on suspension from the dragon riders." They're eyes widened but before they could complain I held up a hand that wasn't holding the rat. "If you have complaints then keep them to yourselves as this is the price you pay for destroying other people's homes." I then turned to Gobber. "I'm so sorry about your home Gobber." He smiled at me and patted my shoulder.
"It's alright lad, I've lost my hut more than enough times during the days when it was Viking vs dragon." He then glared at the twins. "I'm just glad you're punishing the ones responsible for this by having them rebuild my house." I nodded before the sound of wings flapping caught our attention as the voice of Astrid cried out.
"HICCUP!" We turned towards the voice and found Astrid coming to land before us. "What happened here?" I explained everything to her before I said.
"Do you think you could keep an eye on the twins while I take care of things around the village?" She nodded.
"You got it chief." With that said I took off to release the rat into the forest.
2 days later
It's been two days since the incident with the twins and since then, things have been calm compared to that first official day as an acting chief. Now I was sitting in the Great hall with the council members going over ideas to help improve Berk with me needing to listen to every one of the ideas and either approve or dismiss them for one reason or another. I was now listening to not so silent Sven talking about an idea for a sheep house connected to the homes of sheep farmers making me groan before I looked at him and said.
"For the last time Sven, they're sheep and they belong outside in the grass."
"Oh, but they get so lonely."
"We'll think of a solution for that later but for now we have other issues to discuss." Spitelout then said.
"We need to think about what we should do with the women, children and elders if Berk is attacked with forces that are able to break through our lines since if they can get to the Great Hall then they'll be able to take hostages." There were murmurs of agreement as I nodded since this was a possibility no matter how strong our defenses were there's always a small chance and if they were able to take Berk we'd need to evacuate immediately but it was then I remembered my old hideout and an idea struck me.
"I think I have an idea." All eyes turned to me. "Before I had my island, I lived in a large cave on the other side of the island and it has an entryway into the sea." They all nodded. "We can turn it into a bunker with a few ships for evacuating the island." There were murmurs of agreement before Spitelout asked.
"But where'll we get the ships and the supplies?"
"I'll bring in some ships from the ship graveyard that we can restore and have my dragons start gathering wood and supplies that we can take there but it'll take some time to build." They all nodded. "I'll give the job of foreman to somebody I know can be trusted to handle this project and see to it that the riders help out where they can whether it be delivering building materials or stocking the supplies." They all nodded. "So, we are all in agreement on the creation of an emergency bunker on the other side of the island?" Everyone nodded making me smile. "I'll start drawing up the blue prints as soon as this meeting ends." They all nodded before we continued with the meeting.
Nightfall
I was sitting in my forge at my desk going over the designs I had for the new base since this bunker would need a large storehouse for food, a lot of defenses, many bunk beds for the people and of course a large dock with enough ships to take all the people. This was a large project that would take days even with the help of the dragons but for the safety of my people I was happy to help, anyway I could. It was then I felt a familiar pair of arms wrap around my shoulders from behind before a voice said.
"So, this is where you were?" I kept my eyes on my design and kept working as I replied.
"A chiefs work is never done my lovely leopardess." She giggled before replying.
"Well I think this chiefs work can wait till morning since both his wives think it's time for him to come to bed." I sighed and put my pencil down next to the plans.
"Maybe you're right Astrid, finishing these plans can wait till morning since for now I could use a goodnights rest."
"Good, because Blanca's waiting for us in bed." With that said I stood up and allowed myself to be led to the bedroom.
1 week later
It's been a week since we started work on converting my old cave into an emergency bunker
What used to be the library has been fully converted into the new bed room with multiple bunk beds that were all lined up and could hold all of Berks elderly, women and children. My old bedroom was now a strategy room where the ones leading the evacuees could now go over plans for what should happen if Berk was fully taken. My old store room was still just a store room only now it was once more filled with multiple large shelves that had medical supplies, regular and other such thing. As for my food storage room, it was fully stocked with barrels of dried food like jerky and fruits along with more than a few flasks of clean drinking water. Then there's the dock that now had a fleet of ten ships with the exit to the ocean being blocked off by a barred door that was covered by a net, holding stones to act as camouflage so that entry way was protected.
Speaking of protection, the walls leading to the forest now had hidden slots for archers to fire out of in case invaders got near to this area to buy time for the people to evacuate the island. The way in is through the tunnels that lead from the secret passageway in the wall at the back of the Great hall behind a tapestry and to ensure there we no cave-ins, I'd lined the walls with gronkle iron and made sure to build multiple doors that would close up when the door leading into the bunker closed. All in all, the bunker was ready for use and earlier this morning I'd declared it to the village with everyone cheering which is when my parents arrived wanting to know what everyone was cheering about. After I welcomed them back I informed them of the project and what's happened in the time they were away before as expected, my dad demanded I take them to the bunker for an inspection.
This brings us to now with me standing in the middle of the cave that was once my home and waiting for my father who looking around the new bunker to examine it and see if it was worthy of the chief's seal of approval. It was then my father walked out of the store room with a smile on his face with my mom at his side who also had a large smile on her face as my father said.
"I have to say Hiccup, I expected you to do well as an acting chief but this entire place goes far beyond my expectations." I smiled.
"Thanks dad but I'm just happy I was able to put this old place to good use." I looked around. "This place was my home for a long time so it's nice to have it put to use once again." He smiled and nodded.
"Well now it's now a bunker with the chiefs official seal of approval." He then placed a hand on my shoulder. "You did all of Berk proud son." I smiled as he took his hand off. "Now let's get back to the Great Hall as lunch time has arrived and there are a few chicken legs calling to my stomach." We all chuckled before we took off back to the Great Hall.
AN: And that brings an end to this chapter and yeah, I know it wasn't that exciting or long but I wanted a cool down chapter after all the excitement of the last one and besides, I'd been meaning to bring up his old base being converted into something else and give Hiccup a chance to get some experience as chief. Anyway I hope you'll review kindly and have a nice day.
