Charcoal and Toothless

by seafury

History does not repeat, but they whisper its lessons. Through triumphs and tragedies, they sang their symphony. In treacherous world of war and hate, two dragons braved the world. Through songs of history, they sang their own song. Perhaps it would end well this time. (Book/Franchise AU; Lycanwing Hiccup x Female Toothless)

27. Lycanwing - Summa Mensura (3)

Chapter Number: 27 / 32
Book Number: 1 (Lycanwing)

Summary:
History does not repeat, but they whisper its lessons. Through triumphs and tragedies, they sang their symphony. In treacherous world of war and hate, two dragons braved the world. Through songs of history, they sang their own song. Perhaps it would end well this time.

Major Pairing:
- Hiccup (Lycanwing Night Fury) x Toothless (Female Night Fury)

Notices:
- AU and OOC book and franchise characters.
- Contains some movie/show canon aspects.
- Book HTTYD aspects and characters.
- Female Toothless.

Warnings (each book may have different warnings):
- The warnings below may occur non-consensually (mind control).
- Mentions of depression, addiction and suicide.
- Possible character death and incapacitation.
- Mentions of sexual degeneracy.

"What is this?" – Normal Speech
'What is this?' – Thought
"What is this?" – Telepathy / Reading / Flashback (Depends on context)
"What is this?" – Dragonese (Dragon speaking)
"What is this?" – Voiceover

---

Lycanwing – Summa Mensura (3)

---

For the next twenty-four days, Hiccup and Toothless continued their work for survival.

While Vikings were busy with making semi-draconic weapons and warships, Hiccup and Toothless spent their time experimenting with many different things. The two certain dragon books provided them with plenty of knowledge to try and implement.

They had no intention to make surface humans more powerful. As such, most knowledge they used were defensive in nature. The dragon books would be extremely dangerous at the wrong claws. Since they were not staying for long, it was best to restrain themselves.

As such, half of their time were spent together with their hatchlings.

Their hatchlings had proven to be a very quick learner. What most dragons learned in few weeks; they learned them in few days. This was something they inherited from Charcoal. By the end of the week, they were already learning Psychic-Force from Charcoal.

Amber the Light Fury had been a great help on hatchling care. It was attributed to her experience as hatchling caretakers for her kins back at Hidden World. Considering how much of a pervert she could be, that was to be expected.

Whenever Hiccup and Toothless were away, Amber would take care of them.

The lockdown situation in Barbaric Archipelago was getting worse. There were riots at major nests, and dragons were trying to escape. The raids had been suspended, since the military were busy quelling unrest and enforcing border lockdown.

Dragon Island was in a complete lockdown. There was some sort of misdirection compulsion effect in Helheim's Gate that made everyone turn away. The authority had to move to different major nests because of this. Surprisingly, this did not cause any disruption in governance.

Whatever Furious was doing at Dragon Island, it must be dangerous.

"Did you see it?"

The boy was at the dragonsmith room in the smeltery, staring at something inside a small box. Toothless was in her human form, holding the box for him. They were testing large leather goggles with transparent crystal glasses.

Staring at the box, the content was covered with black rectangles and white lines. At least, that was what Hiccup see through the goggles. He could not actually see the content because the goggles prevented him from doing so. It was being visually redacted.

"I can't see it." Hiccup responded, before walking around the girl. While it showed Toothless' back, he could not see the box content at all. "… and I still can't see it. This one works fine."

Toothless closed the box. "That's the last of them." She commented, glancing at a large pile of similar goggles on the ground next to her. "I hope it's enough for everyone."

The boy took off the goggles. "It should be enough for the whole village." Hiccup remarked as he inspected the crystal glass. "... I think the grind needs to be a bit finer, but we don't have any sander that can go smoother."

"Hiccup!"

Hiccup turned around to see the entrance. Alexander Haddock was standing there, along with Stoick, Spitelout and Gobber. "Alex!"

He rushed to hug the man. Alex grunted as the boy collided with his chest. "Alright, kid! Calm down." The draconic Viking pat him on his back. "You're getting bigger now. It's like getting hugged by a bear."

The boy eventually let him go. He put the goggles into the pile. "Did my dad told you about everything?"

"Ehh… most of them." The draconic Viking pat his shoulder. There was proud look on his face. "I can't say much, but I'm proud you got yourself out from Furious. That's no easy feat!"

"I guess you're not cursed, then." Hiccup assumed, staring at his scaled arms. "You're just part dragon."

"That's just there to calm the folks, lad." Alex gave him apologetic look. "Ye can't just say you're part dragon without anyone freaking out. Why don't you tell me about your mate?"

"Oh. Uh…" The boy quickly moved to stand next to the girl. "Alex, this is Toothless. Toothless, this is Alex. He's my uncle."

The brawny girl simply smiled. "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet ye too, lass." The draconic Viking gave a sharp nod. He approached and stood in front of the couple. "So… I heard you're off to hunt an ancient Night Fury."

"Furious doesn't allow anyone to leave. We're trapped in this region." Hiccup informed. "Dragon Island has been sealed off by some sort of compulsion spell. No one knows what he's doing, but I think he's planning something big."

Alex grimaced as he stroked his beard. "That's going to be a problem." He commented, before smirking. "But I brought some folks you might know! Come on in, lads!"

Entering the dragonsmith room were a certain girl with blonde hair and blue eyes, and a large burly boy with black hair and brown eyes. They were much bigger compared to two years ago, but Hiccup still recognised them. "Cami! Thuggory!"

"Hey, Hiccup!" Camicazi smirked as they approached. "You're getting a lot bigger than years ago."

Thuggory had to look up to see the brawny boy. "You are big now!" He smiled brightly. "Bigger than me! They won't hurt you anymore!"

"Well, I haven't punched anyone to death yet." Hiccup commented as he began cracking his knuckles. "This might not be my final size."

The smaller girl looked at the bigger one. "And who's this?"

The brawny boy moved to introduce her. "Camicazi, Thuggory, this is Toothless. She's my wife." He explained, surprising them. "Toothless, this is Camicazi and Thuggory. They're my friends."

"Whoa…" Thuggory breathed out. He was awed by their size and height. "You two are big."

Camicazi crossed her arms as she stared at the brawny girl. "So, how did that boy catch a girl like you?"

Toothless looked down at her. "The same way everyone does it." She answered. "How did a girl like you never caught one?"

"They keep asking me when I say no." The smaller girl offhandedly answered, smirking. "So, I kept slitting their throat."

The brawny girl was interested. "How many?"

"4. You?"

"35."

Camicazi whistled upon hearing that. "They never get the message, do they?"

"You can disembowel and dump the body in front of their friends, and they wouldn't get the hint." Toothless wrapped her arms around Hiccup. There was a glint in her eyes. "He's the only I fell in love with. The feeling's mutual."

Hiccup gave a tired smile. "She almost killed me the first time we met." He remarked. "I guess it's a matter of intent."

"Really?" The smaller girl was interested. "How did you meet her?"

Others quickly paid attention. The brawny boy began the tale. "I was wandering around when I caught someone that's not supposed to be there." Hiccup told the story. "Toothless here was curious about something. I defeated and captured her, cleared some misunderstanding, before sending her out."

"The only one that ever caught me. He was very respectful about it." Toothless smiled as she reminisced that moment. "It's a love on the first sight."

Camicazi nodded with approval. She moved to stare at the brawny boy. "I like her." The smaller girl commented. "I think you're perfect with her."

"Thanks." Hiccup simply smiled. "Now, we just need to find one for you."

"Oh, it's going to be a lot more than just that." The smaller girl unfolded her arms. She was smirking. "I can tell you're a romantic kind. Someone that knows when to stand up and back down. I just need to find someone that respects me like you do."

"Ahem." Alexander Haddock moved to stand behind the two heirs. He placed his hands on their shoulders. "These two are my apprentices in deviant monster hunting."

Hiccup raised his brows. "Did you take them in after you declared me done?"

"Aye. Their parents wanted me to train them." The draconic Viking nodded. His expression was serious. "You told the Meathead merchant that you're off to kill a god."

The boy was about to respond when he heard someone entering. "[English] Now that's not something you see every day."

The group turned to see the newcomers. Spitelout, Stoick and others moved away as they allowed the newcomers inside.

The first one was an old man that looked healthy for his age. He looked like in his 50s. He had white skin and blue eyes, wearing white shirt with leather vest, belt, pants and boots.

The man also had a musket strapped on his back. The belt had leather pouches, which was where a broad brimmed hat was hung. Given overall appearance, Hiccup assumed he was an American.

The man was followed by another man. He looked like someone from British upper class, complete with black suit and bowler hat. Hiccup recognised the sabre on the hips; it was draconic. The slight silhouette implied things hidden under that suit.

The last one that entered the forge was a woman. The brownish grey outfit she wore reminded Hiccup of a British explorer, but her appearance hinted Prussian origin. She had a folded draconic bow and quiver on her back. They look like his creation.

The three newcomers carried themselves like deviant dragon hunters. Hiccup could recognise one based on their stance and appearance. The boy moved Toothless' arms off him. He looked at the draconic Viking. "You brought your friends?"

"We were headed to America when your father found us and showed the wyrmsteel sword." Alexander scratched the back of his head. "We had to make a pick since we were answering emergency there. I had to pull a favour to get someone else to deal with it."

There was an awkward silence. The newcomers were amused when the draconic Viking suddenly looked a bit lost. "They're foreigners." He realised. "They don't speak Norse."

Feeling sympathetic of his former mentor, Hiccup approached the newcomer. "[English] Hello." He greeted in their language. "[English] Welcome to Berk. My name is Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third."

The three deviant dragon hunters were happy to hear him speak their language. The first one brightened. "[English] Finally! We got someone that speaks English." His voice sounded elongated, as if drawling the vowels. It sounded melodic. The man offered his hand. "[English] The name's Finlay Harper."

Hiccup accepted the handshake. "[English] Deviant dragon hunter?"

"[English] Yours truly." The man - now known as Finlay - gave an easy smile. "[English] Alex put a lot of words on you."

"[English] Really?"

"[English] Mmhmm. He said you're the one that made half of our draconic equipment." Finlay let go of the hand. He looked around the place. "[English] Now that I'm here, I can see he's not larking on us."

The British man approached them. "[English] Samuel Evans." He spoke with posh accent. The man offered a handshake. "[English] I've been wanting to meet you for a very long time."

Hiccup accepted the handshake. "[English] I hope I come to your expectations."

Others looked at the third newcomer. The woman simply smiled. "[English] The name's Katarina Turner." She introduced herself. "[English] I was told you're the one who made my bow."

The boy leaned to see the folded bow behind her. "[English] I remember Uncle Alex ordered one from me." He commented. "[English] It looks well taken care of."

"[English] Thank you."

There was a brief pause. Hiccup turned to face the others. "[English] Thanks for coming to help." He expressed his gratitude, before remembering something. "[English] Wait, this region is in lockdown. Did you come here with some paperwork?"

Finlay was the one to answered. "[English] We can worry about leaving later." He crossed his arms. "[English] As much as I like to talk more, a rogue greater alpha is nothing to joke about. You need to tell us everything if you want us to help."

"[English] Right." Hiccup moved and grabbed some wooden chairs from the corner. "[English] This will take a while."

After everyone were seated, the brawny boy began telling his tale. He started with Northern Alliance faction and what they had been doing in the region. Hiccup told them about the Lycanwing attack; the first deviant incursion involving Monstrous Nightmare; the second one involving centipede deviant; and the attempted kidnapping of their hatchlings.

Hiccup explained that those things had been traced to Northern Alliance and why they were focused on them. The faction were testing him to see if he was worth kidnapping. However, given they made an attempt on his family, it was safe to say that they had shifted their focus on them.

It was why they were trying to leave.

However, Furious' response was both selfish and detrimental for everyone. The brawny boy explained who the greater alpha was and what he had done so far. While Furious did a good job investigating the situation, his response had been appalling and irrational.

The deviant dragon hunters paid attention to his story. They were silent as they listened what Furious had done. The hunters did not look happy; what Furious did was illegal under Wodensfang's authority.

The greater alpha should have been ousted weeks ago.

After the brawny boy was finished, Finlay was the first to speak. "[English] Let me get this straight." He started. "[English] You are a Haddock Night Fury, and that's why Northern Alliance is looking."

"[English] Yes." Hiccup nodded.

"[English] Personally, I don't pity the life you live in." The cowboy-like deviant hunter commented. He pulled out a metal flask from his pocket. "[English] No matter where you are, with that kind of power, you'll never have peaceful time for the rest of your life."

"[English] I've already accepted that." The brawny boy admitted. "[English] That's why we're trying to escape. We'll have a better life in Hidden World."

"[English] Even if you go somewhere else, your past will catch up on you." Finlay shrugged. He shook the flask and realised the liquid was frozen. The man continued speaking. "[English] You treat the disease, not the symptom. You have to think something different."

"[English] What am I supposed to do?"

"[English] You're a hunter." The cowboy-like deviant hunter reminded. "[English] It's your job to catch rogues and kill deviants."

Hiccup realised what he was implying. "[English] I'm not strong enough."

"[English] It takes four experienced hunters to deal with something like the Monstrous Nightmare you fight. I don't even know if I can fight a giant centipede deviant without an army." Finlay crossed his arms. There was respect in his eyes. "[English] But you did all that by yourself. I'd reckon you're strong enough."

"[English] Or lucky." Katarina commented.

They ignored her. Hiccup was hesitant. "[English] I was lucky."

"[English] You're either the luckiest kid alive, or the best hunter I've ever met." The cowboy deviant hunter commented. He leaned forward to the brawny boy. "[English] I tend to believe the latter. It's the deeds that make a man."

The brawny boy was frustrated. "[English] What was your point, anyway?"

"[English] The point is, running away is not going to make you safer." He stood from from his seat, approached the nearby lit furnace, and put his flask close to the heat source. "[English] You could defeat Furious; another would take its place. If you want to make sure, you need to take his place."

Hiccup widened his eyes. "[English] Oh, no. No, no." He shook his head. "[English] I don't want to be the greater alpha. I don't even know the first thing to be one."

"[English] Don't think you have a choice, son." Finlay turned and stared at the boy. "[English] You've carved your name on this region. No man can walk out of his own story."

---

After that conversation, the deviant hunters discussed their plan to defeat Furious. They searched for every avenue to bring down the greater alpha. They need every advantage they could get.

They were not betting on Sheldon construct; they did not expect Gryphon to return with an Astral Grain. Given how much exists in the world, it was best to assume that there was none.

Thankfully, Hiccup and Toothless made different inventions to help with the hunt. There were creations specifically made to fight against Furious, while others were things made to help with general deviant hunting.

"[English] -solved the first obstacle; scrambling the cognito-hazard. That's what we call the effect." Hiccup showed them the leather goggles. The deviant hunters, including Alexander Haddock, looked thoughtful as Hiccup explained everything. "[English] We call this: scrambler goggles. It visually removes the parts that can affect your mind. We made plenty for the whole village."

The four deviant dragon hunters leaned to check. The crystal glasses looked sturdy. Samuel was the most interested. "[English] How does this work?"

"[English] You just wear them." The brawny boy answered. "[English] Unless you cracked the glass, which is very hard to do, it'll keep on working."

"[English] And that cannon over there?" The British hunter pointed at the draconic cannon nearby. "[English] I can tell it's draconic."

"[English] It is draconic. It consumes raw mana and fires powerful plasma projectile." Hiccup explained. He walked to stand next to the draconic cannon. "[English] This thing was finished three weeks ago. You can punch through mountain with it."

"[English] I reckon that's enough to kill it." Finlay commented.

"[English] No." Alexander Haddock shook his head. "[English] You need something more powerful than this. A greater alpha dragon is not one to be underestimated."

"[English] Ah, well, that looks good enough for my town." The American hunter shrugged. "[English] But this ain't Mississippi."

"[English] It really isn't Mississippi." The draconic Viking grimaced. "[English] You're facing a dragon that can kill an army by just looking at them. Number doesn't matter, even with goggles. They have power of mind control. You don't have that kind of dragon in America."

Katarina glanced at Alexander. "[English] When was the last time you faced a deviant with power of mind control?"

"[English] Once. That's a long time ago." The scaled-arms man answered. He crossed his arms. "[English] I tricked the bastard to try and mind control a crab. He died from brain death trying to understand crab mind."

"[English] The same tactic could work then."

"[English] Probably." Alexander frowned as he thought of the solution. "[English] If this... cognito-hazard power is something he does passively, then it doesn't matter if a crab saw his true form or not. He enters your mind from your own memory. You can't recover from that without a medical professional dragon."

"[English] ... I suppose we could do this the old-fashioned way." Finlay shrugged, before focusing on the boy. "[English] What else do you have?"

"[English] We made some utility to help with deviant hunting." Hiccup moved to the table, which had some devices and contraptions. The brawny boy grabbed a rectangular metallic thing and showed it to them. "[English] I named this; TONER."

The rectangular object was roughly the size of his palm. Given its dark colouring, it was most likely made with wyrmsteel. The bevelled corners and small hinge at the top indicated that it could be opened vertically like a small pocketbook.

Alexander carefully took the contraption and further inspected it. The TONER instrument was the most peculiar thing. It was very smooth and lightweight. While there were some tiny rectangular gaps at the metal, there was no indication on what it was for.

Hiccup moved to help him use the device. "[English] Here. Let me help."

The brawny boy flipped the contraption open, revealing its function. There was a glass, crystal-like display at the top side. The bottom side had metallic buttons with symbols and texts. Alexander recognised the symbols. "[English] This is-!"

"[English] The very first aurapex created in a very long time." Hiccup revealed. "[English] It was a long forgotten craft, before utility crystals even existed. Toothless and I modernised the method and created this."

Aurapex was an old kind of mana construct. Before the advent of utility crystals, like Storage Crystal and Relocation Stone, aurapex was the instrument for many different utility. They were primarily used by the wealthy because it was difficult to make.

In many ways, they were inferior when compared to latest utility crystals. They had shorter life cycle and decay faster than their crystal counterpart. Dragons could not pull them into their mana pool. When utility crystals were invented, aurapex quickly become obsolete.

As time went on, dragons forgot how to make them. No one bothered to learn because it was harder to make. Any existing aurapex left unused decayed and turned into dust. Countless wars destroyed libraries and archives, further erasing this knowledge.

Eventually, everyone forgot they even existed.

The aurapex technology was lost in time.

When Hiccup discovered them on the seventh volume of 'Mana: Principles, Techniques and Tools' book weeks ago, he realised it was not much different than dragonsmithing. They could be considered the precursor of dragonsmithing, since most of its technique looked similar.

Toothless was the one who saw the missing piece. Similar to crystals, aurapex was created from demand of utility. However, while crystals were part of mana study, aurapex was part of artifice. The former was mostly created using complicated spells, while latter was forged with fire and steel.

With the advent of latest wonders, it was possible to improve them.

Hiccup spent weeks bringing that technology to the current era. Utilising superior dragonsmithing techniques and Toothless' vast crystallography knowledge, they created something greater than either.

The second-generation aurapex instrument.

Instead of being inferior to crystals, the modern aurapex had similar lifecycle to fuel crystal. It addressed the inconsistency and decay; it would not turn into dust when left unused. The quality and life cycle depended on material, allowing for easier quality control.

It also ended up being much smaller, allowing for more functionality added into aurapex. Dragons could pull them directly into their mana pool; they could use them from there. Humans could use them because of its construction.

The second-generation aurapex was better and more efficient than conventional crystals.

The deviant hunters and the Vikings leaned to see. The draconic Viking pressed the button with eight arrows in radial pattern. It was the symbol of mana perversion. The display showed information about his surrounding.

Mana Deviance Sensor
Scanning area within 10m every 1 second(s)...

0.02u perverted (linger)
0.1u dracophage (linger)
12u aberrant (object)

The group were impressed to see them. "[English] I have never seen anything like this." Samuel Evans whispered. The British deviant hunter was excited. "[English] This can be useful for my research!"

"[English] The contraption runs on Amethyst Scale. How long it lasts depends on set range and use." Hiccup continued speaking, getting their attention. "[English] The furthest range is about 500 metres. At maximum, an A grade scale can last for an hour. The instrument itself can run two hours at maximum capacity."

Alexander was impressed. "[English] Sounds like alternative for crystals."

"[English] It is. Aurapex technology was lost because utility crystals are just... better in every way." The brawny boy admitted, making them pause. "[English] The second-generation aurapex is superior to crystals. The TONER instrument is a showcase of what they can do."

"[English] You discovered the original method and improved them." The draconic Viking summarised.

"[English] ... that sounds about right."

Alexander Haddock was more than impressed. Hiccup had conquered the art of dragonsmith. If it was anything to went by, second-generation aurapex was a monumental achievement since utility crystal was invented.

Regardless, they had work to do. "[English] There's more buttons here for a simple mana sensor." He remarked as he inspected the aurapex. "[English] What other things does this instrument do?"

"[English] It can do a lot of things. TONER is short for multi-purpose, short-range, sensor, scanner." Hiccup further explained. "[English] It's basically several utility crystals combined into one instrument. It's designed to be carried on a hunt."

"Hmm..." Alexander hummed. He noticed something on the result. "[English] It says there's an aberrant object somewhere."

The brawny boy blinked. He grabbed the small wooden box from the table. "[English] It must be detecting this." Hiccup explained. "[English] Aberrant is the term we use for diluted mana originating from eldritch things. Not quite like Furious, but enough to have cognito-hazard effect. We used this to test the scrambler goggles."

The draconic Viking began playing with the buttons. It switched to different sensors, including temperature, light intensity and some others. "[English] This is very useful for a hunt." Alexander closed the contraption. "[English] But we're facing a rogue greater alpha, not a deviant."

"[English] No, no. It's useful!" Katarina Turner interrupted. The Prussian-American deviant huntress looked excited. "[English] If it can sense mana like dragons, it can detect spell traps. Most hunters fell because of traps!"

Alexander returned the contraption to Hiccup. "[English] I guess that's one example." He commented. "[English] Do you have anything else? Preferably something that can hurt."

"[English] We've been refurbishing some equipment from Hamish's bunker." Hiccup explained as he led them to another section of the room, which had a large contraption and a small archery range. "[English] There's not much that's left, so we use everything we can."

The contraption was a ballista, but it looked more like an oversized crossbow reinforced with iron. It was the length of two Vikings and width of one, but the height was much shorter – about a metre tall, not including the mount. There was even front handle to help carrying.

Underneath the ballista body was some sort of mechanism made of metal, which was connected to the rear section.

The mechanism itself was interesting. The rear section had two handles to grip, and a thin metal strip close to the thumb spot. It had a sighting device like crossbow. The lower section was thin, with a wooden leather handle, and a rail in the middle.

It was the most peculiar ballista they had ever seen.

Alexander raised his brows. "[English] What is that?"

Toothless was the one to answer. "[English] It's a repeating ballista." She moved close to the contraption. "[English] It can fire 175 ballista arrows per minute."

Katarina was interested. "[English] What kind of projectile does it shoot?"

"[English] It shoots crystal-powered, dracophage-infused exploding bolts." The mother dragon turned human answered. She grabbed a large ballista arrow from the ground and showed it to them. "[English] One is enough to stop deviants on their tracks."

The ballista arrow was about 5-foot long, and it looked more like an iron stake than an arrow. Toothless clicked something at the rear; large arrowhead and fin-shaped fletching sprung from the shaft. They were slightly translucent, as if made with supernatural means.

Toothless continued speaking. "[English] We're still figuring out how they actually work. We know it's designed to be mounted on a dragon." She explained, before clicking the rear once more. The translucent parts disappeared. "[English] The arrow is locked in place, so you can fire them from any direction."

"[English] Well I'll be darned." Finlay moved and grabbed the ballista arrow. Inspecting it, he noticed something. "[English] Dragon technology. You don't see that every day."

"[English] That's the training arrow." Toothless moved to grab another ballista arrow. However, it was only the shaft, and it had woad blue paint around the front and back. "[English] This is the real arrow. You can take off the front and back; you use this one for a fight."

The draconic Viking grabbed the coloured shaft. "[English] And all this was from the bunker?"

"[English] We refurbished everything, including the arrows. Yes."

"[English] I never really understand how dracophage works." The American hunter commented as he returned the arrow. "[English] It's good against deviants. But is it lethal to normal dragons?"

"[English] Kind of." The brawny girl answered, making them pause. "[English] It explodes on impact. The explosion would break the casing and send shrapnel everywhere. It wouldn't kill normal dragon, but dracophage causes dragon seal effect. If it hits and enter their body, they can't use their fire for a while."

"[English] I suppose that's the right name for it." Finlay nodded approvingly. "[English] Lethal to deviants, but not enough against the normal ones. Just enough to discourage 'em."

Alex returned the arrow shaft to Hiccup. "[English] How many do we have?"

"[English] Enough to arm a small navy fleet." The boy answered. He placed the arrow shaft away. "[English] Some Vikings tried them outside yesterday. It took them just few minutes to learn how to fire and load them."

Alex moved to check out the ballista itself. "[English] Let's see how this works then." He grabbed the handles and aimed them at the front. It was facing thick wooden logs at the front. "[English] How do I use them?"

Toothless began moving his grip and posture. "[English] This is how you hold them. This is how you aim, and to fire, pull this lever for safety, charging handle to arm, and press the trigger with your thumb." She instructed, before grabbing a long metal box from the corner. It had a handle and a thin open part that exposed the ballista arrow. "[English] You load them by sliding this into the railing."

When she slid them in, there was an audible click. "[English] It locks them in place. You unlock them by pushing this and pulling the box." Toothless gave her instruction. "[English] This one has 10 training arrows. Pull the handle and let go."

Alex did as he was told. He grabbed, pulled all the way back and let go the handle. The moment he released it, the bowstring was reeled back, and an arrow appeared from the bottom. "[English] Do I just fire now?"

"[English] Yes. Push the trigger."

The draconic Viking pushed the trigger.

Clack! Clack! Clack!
Clack! Clack! Clack!

A volley of arrows went shooting out from the repeating ballista, impaling the wooden logs. Roughly three seconds later, it finally stopped firing. They looked up to see the target. It was riddled with ballista arrows.

Toothless nodded in approval. "[English] It's easy to move the repeating ballista." She added. "[English] The legs and limbs can fold, and the arrows can stay there. There's a powerful spring and lock that keep them in place."

"[English] Well, I'll be darned." Finlay was impressed. "[English] We could use one of these."

Alexander simply hummed. He was interested in that weapon. "[English] The biggest threat when fighting rogues and deviant alphas are the minions." He commented. "[English] This would solve half the battle for us."

"[English] There's more at the back if we need them." Hiccup added.

"[English] We'll think about that later." The draconic Viking dismissed. He turned to face his deviant hunter friends and crossed his arms. "[English] We're going for briefing this afternoon. Hiccup's a dragonsmith, so load up."

Before they could respond, Alexander had started walking out from the place. "Stoick, come with me."

"Aye."

The rest simply stared when the two Vikings left the forge. Finlay focused back to the boy. "[English] I suppose you have .525 inches dracophage munition?" He requested. "[English] Or anything that fits in a Hall rifle?"

Hiccup pulled out his journal and pen. He wrote the order. "[English] No, but I can make them." The boy answered. "[English] I have something special if you're willing to change the barrel."

The American hunter began unstrapping his rifle. "[English] Let's see what you got then."

Katarina approached as well. "[English] Do you have arrow heads?"

"[English] Yes." The boy glanced at her bow. "[English] I have utility ones."

"[English] Do you have explosives?" Samuel piped in. "[English] I would like to see your assortments."

Hiccup smiled at that. He closed the book. "[English] Sure."

---

Later that day, after Hiccup provided them with equipment, he brought them to the cove. They introduced them to their hatchlings, along with Amber the Light Fury. It took most of them some time to get used with friendly dragon.

The surprise came when Hiccup and Toothless turned back to their true form: dragons. The newcomers reacted well with their transformation. The newcomer Vikings, however, were in shock. While they were already told, seeing them was a whole different matter.

"No point on hiding it then."

Alexander was at the forest cove, along with the others. Toothless, Charcoal, Amber and the hatchlings were at the centre. The two adult Night Furies were not wearing their outfits.

Thuggory and Camicazi were there as well, accompanied by Stoick the Vast. They were still processing the fact that their long time friend was a dragon all along.

The newcomers simply waited. Finlay was counting bullets in his pouch; Samuel inspecting the Night Furies; and Katarina was drawing them in her own journal.

Charcoal heard what the draconic Viking said. "Everyone knows by this point." He muttered. "I just don't want to freak them out."

"I can see where you're coming from." Alexander replied. He understood what was said. "But if you hide it, everyone will get suspicious."

"I'm just not comfortable." The father dragon admitted. He shifted his wings when the British hunter began poking them. "[English] Sorry. I don't get admirers."

"[English] Sorry? I'm the one supposed to say that!" Samuel was outraged, before focusing on something else. "[English] But I must ask. Have you been shot with a blunderbuss before? The scar on your scales indicates scattered pellet shot all around your underside."

"[English] I've never encountered blunderbuss before, or any gunpowder weapon for that matter." Charcoal gave him a strange look. "[English] The scars I have comes from battles. The ones you're pointing at comes from molten glass."

"[English] Molten glass?!" The British hunter widened his eyes. He looked excited. "[English] What is the tale behind them?"

The father dragon paused at that question. It was best to avoid the topic of Dragon Rebellion. "[English] Don't fly at sea level when it's raining lava." Charcoal decided. "[English] When lava drops into the sea water, they turn into glass and explode."

"[English] Ah, I see." The British hunter sagely nodded. "[English] What were you hunting that caused this... rain of lava?"

"[English] ... it was from an erupting volcano." The adult male Night Fury answered. "[English] In literal sense. There's no deviant hunting involved."

"[English] I see." Samuel nodded in understanding. He noted Charcoal's discomfort. "[English] Most dragons proudly show their battle scars. You don't seem to like them."

"[English] Well, I look like a scratching post!" The father dragon remarked irritably. The scars were reminders of his Dragon Rebellion participation. "[English] How do you understand me, anyway? Did my uncle taught you how to do it?"

"[English] Oh, he doesn't have anything to do with this. I can understand you just fine." Samuel replied with a bright smile. "[English] I think it is time for us to bring our other friends."

Charcoal stared as the British hunter pulled out some sort of thing made of bone- no, whistle made of whalebone. "[English] Other friends?"

Samuel took a deep breath, before blowing into the whistle.

FWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

It was high pitched whistle. While the sound was barely audible for humans, it was incredibly loud for dragons. They winced when the whistle was sounded. Thankfully, it only lasted for a second.

After that, they waited. Charcoal perked up when he heard dragons flying into the cove.

Three dragons landed near the foreigners. The father dragon stared as the newcomers approached their companions. Charcoal could not believe it.

They were actual, skies-forbid, dragon riders.

Finlay Harper was petting the frills on his dragon companion. The dragon itself looked like a quadruped, silver Monstrous Nightmare with frills and short horns. The large dragon was enjoying the attention. He shifted his chest, adjusting the saddle he wore. "[English] Did you have fun?"

"[English] I sure did." Finlay nodded, before introducing them. "[English] Everyone, this is Arda. He's my friend and partner for my hunts."

Samuel Evans pushed his own dragon friend. It was a large, steel-coloured male dragon. The quadruped dragon looked somewhat different compared to the first one; he did not have frills. Instead, there were two pair of horns on his head. The saddle he wore was also bigger.

"[English] I present you, Lightflake!" The British hunter joyfully introduced. "[English] He is my partner, my companion, and my best friend. The most handsome dragon in London!"

"[English] Samuel, please. That joke is getting old." The steel dragon, Lightflake, blushed at the praise. "[English] I am the only dragon allowed to live in London."

"[English] And the only dragon to ever be knighted by King William the Fourth himself." Samuel boasted as he patted his companion. "[English] The deviant yokes never saw us coming!"

The last dragon and their companion, Katarina Turner, approached the Night Furies. Charcoal could only stare at the most peculiar dragon he had ever seen.

The dragon looked like a combination of a wolf and a hawk. The quadruped dragon had thick, chocolate fur with dark grey parts on around his eyes, wings and tail. The wings looked like hawk wings; the paws had talons instead of claws; the tail looked a bit like a lion with feathers at the end.

However, it was not the most interesting part.

Unlike others, where only a saddle strapped on their neck, the wolf-hawk dragon had other assortments of things, such as wooden chest plate and arm pads. He had a pair of braided hair with red cloths holding them together. There was even tooth- human tooth necklace around his neck.

Toothless could only stare as well. "[English] I... don't think I've ever seen your species before."

The wolf-hawk dragon bowed his head. "[English] My name is Catwalk. I am a Heopard." He introduced himself. "[English] Pleased to meet you."

The mother dragon could not help but ask. "[English] Where are you from?"

"[English] I was born and raised in America." Catwalk answered. He understood the confusion. "[English] My species is native in America. North America."

Katarina decided to speak. "[English] We grew up together in the wilds." She explained. "[English] Catwalk is my brother of all but blood."

"[English] Before I forget." Arda the silver dragon chimed in, getting their attention. "[English] We left Kadaris in charge of the camp."

Charcoal was surprised. "[English] You have another dragon?"

"[English] Kadaris is not a dragon." Finlay was the one who answered. "[English] He's my squire. A good one at that."

"[English] Okay! It's time for briefing!"

Everyone turned their attention to Alexander Haddock. The man had Stoick standing next to him. They looked like they just finished a conversation. "[English] Finlay, Samuel, Katarina, Thuggory, Camicazi, let's move somewhere private." He began. "[English] The rest of you; stay here."

"[English] Alright then." Finlay shrugged. "[English] Lead the way."

The humans moved to a different spot at the cove. The dragons simply watched when they began talking amongst themselves. They could not hear what was being talked about. It seemed private.

Eventually, Arda decided to speak. "There goes our partners."

Charcoal was surprised. "You can speak Norse."

"We call them Standard Dragonese. It's the spoken language for most surface dragons." The silver dragon nonchalantly responded. "It's a shame our partners never learned them."

"I never knew it's a common language for surface dragons." The father dragon admitted. "Then again, I don't know how things are outside this region."

"That's surprising. It was your ancestor's greatest achievement." Catwalk the wolf-hawk dragon expressed. The Heopard was confused by the lack of awareness. "Hiccup the Second pioneered trade between Hidden World and surface dragons."

Charcoal paused at that. He never heard anything about it. "He did this 700 years ago?"

"Yes. In early 1100s, he implemented postal service for major nests across the surface world." Catwalk lectured the history. "He created the framework for surface dragon messengers. It established trade and knowledge exchange between Hidden World and surface dragons."

"I was told that it was immigrating dragons that introduced them to surface world." Toothless chimed in. She was confused to hear that. "That's what they taught us at school in Hidden World."

"Well, historical records of American dragons says otherwise." The Heopard insisted. "The first and last Arch Alpha of North America was a Night Fury. His name was Oaktail. He reigned for over 400 years. It was said that Hiccup the Second worked with him to make this happen."

The mother dragon widened her eyes. "That was my uncle."

That surprised everyone. Amber was the one to speak. "Your uncle?"

"Yeah. My father told me he was killed in Hidden World about 300 years ago." Toothless explained. "He never told me he was an arch alpha."

That surprised the newcomer. Lightflake decided to ask. "You're Wodensfang's kid?"

"I am."

"How can you not know this?" the steel dragon expressed his confusion. "All dragons know this."

"Most American dragons know this." The Heopard corrected him. "There are only few hundreds of us."

"Oaktail was poisoned by the Spanish in 1560s to get rid of dragons around the continent." The wolf-hawk dragon told what he knew. "He ordered full return for all dragons to Hidden World after that. Not everyone followed, but majority did."

"That was at the height of Americas colonisation." Charcoal realised. He did not know what to think. "Why didn't he fight back?"

"We don't know. We have no records of any given reason." Catwalk admitted. He sat on his hindlegs. "While most decided to return, very few remained. My ancestors remained in Americas to fight back."

Charcoal darkened his expression. He understood that the whole thing was at the height of colonisation. It became apparent that colonisation was a threat to dragon settlements. The story was just another proof of that.

Toothless was confused. From what she knew, Oaktail was the older brother of her father. He was incredibly ancient. She had heard tales about his exploits from her family; he was the most cunning of them all. It was most likely that he foresighted his death by poison ahead of time.

Or humans discovered a way to circumvent that.

"You sure know a lot about our history than we are." The father dragon pointed out. "I didn't even know my own history."

"My partner and I are archaeologists." Catwalk puffed his chest. He was proud of his own knowledge. "We specialise in uncovering ancient surface dragon structures and histories."

Charcoal was interested. "Do you know any history about Barbaric Archipelago?"

"Barbaric Archipelago was once considered the archipelago of secrets. Pirates and empires like to bury their treasure in this region for safekeeping." The wolf-hawk dragon answered. He looked deep in thought. "That's how Wilderwest Empire came to be. When it fell, Arch Alpha Wodensfang forbids anyone from getting resources and precious metals out from the region."

"Why?"

Toothless was the one who answered. "To prevent European colonisation."

Catwalk smiled at that. "I see that knowledge matches with mine." He expressed. "The Hidden World censorship revolving surface dragons is biased to keep the balance. Arbitrators made sure this region is not worth colonising for. Not that the climate isn't a deterrent already..."

"I wonder why." The silver dragon was sarcastic.

"European colonisation could further fuel Dragon Rebellion." Charcoal chimed in, getting their attention. "The death of Hiccup the Second was the catalyst that restarted the war in Barbaric Archipelago 700 years ago. Fanatics came out to the surface; over half of the region's human population were slaughtered overnight. Imagine that happening in Europe."

"Wait." Amber approached them. She stared at the quadruped silver dragon with strange expression. "You're Arda. Professor Arda from Lomia layer?"

The silver dragon brightened. "Ah. I'm surprised anyone recognised me here." He commented. "Yes. I'm a research professor. I haven't been in Hidden World for a long time."

Toothless glanced at her. "You know him?"

"He's sort of famous in mana research community. I heard about him while studying in Lomia." Amber the Light Fury explained. "He published a lot of dissertation about deviants and anomalies. I didn't know he moved to the surface."

"I don't plan to return anytime soon." Arda the silver dragon elaborated. "The surface has plethora of things to research. You can never get bored here."

They were about to talk more when they heard the humans returning. They did not look happy at all. The Night Fury hatchlings, who had been paying attention, moved to climb and hide under Toothless' wings.

Upon arriving, Alexander focused on the father dragon. "Charcoal, do you have anyone outside Barbaric Archipelago?"

"Only Gryphon. She's in Greater Archipelago."

"I want you to bring her back for the fight." The draconic Viking explained. "Make sure she brings as much Nature Shard as she can. We're going to need them for the draconic cannon."

Charcoal thought that was a sound plan. He mentally focused to the silver jet dragon connected to his mind. "Gryphon, are you there?"

There was a brief pause, before Gryphon responded. "... yes dad?"

"I need you to grab as much Nature Shard as you can. Trade the Amethyst Crystals with Merciless for them." The father dragon answered. He mentally showed her the relevant memories. "Can you do that?"

"Yes! I will help!" The Valstrax responded, before expressing excitement. "Dad, I got two Astral Grain!"

Charcoal was shocked. "Really?"

"Yup! Uncle Aymar came to me and gave me two." Gryphon eagerly answered. "He said don't pull them into mana pool if I don't want to explode."

"Good work, Gryphon. Thank you for your help." The father dragon expressed his gratitude. Then, he focused on the draconic Viking. "Gryphon has the Astral Grain."

Alexander widened his eyes. "Then we need to escort her." he decided, before turning to face the others. "[English] Change of plan. We got the Astral Grain. We need to escort them."

Finlay crossed his arms. "[English] Are you going to stay back?"

"[English] I need to help the Vikings prepare the fleet; they need to know how to support us. Charcoal and Toothless have to get the weapons ready." The draconic Viking explained his reasoning. "[English] You three are the only free ones with dragons."

"[English] That's fair." The cowboy deviant hunter relented. "[English] We'll wait at the border then. Who are we looking for, exactly?"

"[English] You'll be looking for a Valstrax named Gryphon at the border."

"[English] We better start then." Finlay hopped onto his silver dragon companion. "[English] Let's go, folks! Let's get this over with."

Samuel and Katarina mounted onto their dragon companions. After they secured themselves, the foreign dragons took off into the air. They circled around the cove for a moment, before flying off into the distance.

---

After the foreigners left, Charcoal had to tell Gryphon about the escort. Considering what she was carrying, the Valstrax was happy to hear that. It was best to have protection while carrying such precious package.

After that, Charcoal went back to his human form to work on his things. He decided to stay at the cove to accompany his mate, his hatchlings and her friend. Alexander, Thuggory, Camicazi and Stoick had gone back to the village.

Hiccup continued his training, which had gotten increasingly important ever since Furious' visit. Not only Furious unsealed his eldritch ability, the greater alpha also injected his eldritch knowledge into him. It had the answers he need to counter eldritch abilities.

The young dragon must train that power in case Furious tried to use it against him.

It was not the only thing he practised, however.

Hiccup was sitting at the centre of the cove, reading the sky wolves handbook. There were literature books around the place. Occasionally, he glanced at Toothless and Amber, who were entertaining the hatchlings with spells at the corner.

'The handbook explains that divine spells are effective to things other than deviants.' Hiccup summarised as he read the book. 'It's also effective against eldritch aberrant and undead.'

However, most divine spells would require belief to the Christian God. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit. They were all considered one; the God itself. At least that was what the book said.

Being raised around Nordic faiths, Hiccup had some trouble wrapping his mind around that idea. There were more than one Norse gods; why did Christians only have one? It did not help that most dragons believe that nature were split between the stars, the sky and the moon.

'I wonder how they draw the power of divinity from God.' Hiccup thought. He placed down the book and stared at his right hand. 'They never described how it works. I managed to do the spell, but...'

The dragon in human form focused on his hand. A blue, translucent rod appeared at his palm. It was shimmering with his mana. It was meant to be a divine-induced mana spear, as explained in the book.

However, his mana spear was hollow. It had no divinity.

Hiccup threw his mana spear onto a wall. It travelled for few metres, before vanishing into nothingness. Frustrated, he closed the book. 'Maybe faith is part of the spell.'

"Charcoal."

The boy looked up. Alexander Haddock was standing next to him. His expression was soft. "Do you have time?"

"Yes." Hiccup pocketed the handbook. "What is it?"

"Your father told me about what happened in Helheim's Gate." Alexander sat down in front of him. He crossed his legs and stared at the boy. "... how do you feel?"

"I tried to end my own father." The dragon in human form sounded sarcastic. He picked up a different book. "It sounds like something Dagur would do. I wish I wasn't so trusting to certain types of strangers."

"Dagur?"

"Berserker's heir." Hiccup answered, staring at the man in front of him. "He was at the deviant incursion years ago."

"Ah. Oswald's son." The man slowly nodded. "His father tried to get me to train him. I refused because he can't get along with Thuggory and Camicazi."

"I'm not surprised. Our relationship with Dagur went bad after the incursion." The boy commented, before opening his book. He put them on his lap. "Camicazi called him unstable. Most Berserkers are. They have a lot more energy and aggression than most."

"Sounds like he needs training in self-control." Alexander noted. "Just like you last year."

Hiccup raised his brows. "... sure."

They fell silent. The boy turned to read the book, while the man glanced to check on the dragons. Toothless was showing off her ironwire spell to her hatchlings, and Amber was trying to replicate that.

It was nice to see some peace in the middle of impending battle.

"I always wondered, you know."

Alexander looked back at the boy. Hiccup was staring at the book. "I wondered why things are always like this." The boy continued speaking. "Even as a dragon, I often question why things the way they are."

The man stayed silent. The boy grimaced. "Furious told me that he and his brother tried peace once. They brought humans and dragons together in Barbaric Archipelago." He turned to stare at his former mentor. "It lasted over half a century."

"I can't speak for them, but I know Hiccup the Second is a good man." Alexander commented. "He did lots of good things for dragons in the surface."

"But it was never enough." Hiccup admitted. He was saddened to hear that. "I always want to end the war, both as Hiccup and Charcoal. There's a lot of movements about change out there. Why can't we have that here?"

The man grimaced at that question. "I'm not one for that question, lad." Alexander remarked, getting his attention. "I've seen plenty of change. Some are not for the better. I'd be cautious every time something changed."

There was a pause. The boy stared at him. "You were there when Hiccup the Second was around." Hiccup realised. "You've met him before. You're older than him."

"... I am."

Hiccup moved to sit next to his former mentor. "I need some help on history work." He showed his book. "It's for my chiefly study."

The man raised his brows. "Chiefly study?"

"Politics. As the future chief of Berk, I need to know a lot of things about how to lead the village." The boy explained his situation. "I'm not as big and strong like most Vikings back then. I had to compensate them with knowledge."

"And now, you're the smartest, biggest and strongest Viking." Alexander commented. "If you ignore the fact you're a dragon, that is."

"Yeah. I still studied anyway. There's always more to improve." Hiccup responded. He flipped some pages, before stopping at a list. They were names of countries in Europe. "Have you ever heard of 'Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen'?"

The man frowned. "That sounds French."

"[French] Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen of 1789." The boy recited in different language. "It was made by revolutionary France in early stages of the revolution. It was the core values of their revolution."

Alexander paused for a moment. He leaned back and crossed his arms. "Did they ever implemented them?"

"In a way." Hiccup shrugged. "Some laws they made during Napoleonic era looks similar to the declaration. For example, 'presumed innocent until guilty' came from the declaration."

"Oh, I see where this is going." The draconic Viking smiled. Hiccup asked him because he probably lived through it. "Did you know that the declaration is based on something else?"

"The United States Declaration of Independence. 1776." The boy answered. "Parts of them looks similar. The equal rights article is similar."

"Did you know something similar before that?"

"The Bill of Rights. England, 1689." Hiccup answered once more. "Before that is the Golden Bull of 1222 signed by Andrew the Second of Hungary. Before that is Magna Carta, which was agreed in 1215 by King John of England. There's more before and around those years, but those are the first things in mind."

Alexander smiled. "What about here?"

Hiccup was confused. "Here?"

"Yes. Hiccup the Second tried something like that in 1106." The draconic Viking explained. "Declaration of Rights of People and Dragonkind."

"... I don't think I've ever heard of that before." The boy admitted.

"The declaration was proposed by Furious and Hiccup the Second to the Wilderwest Empire." Alexander explained. "It's short and simple. There's only few points. Humans and dragons are born equal in rights; they have rights to fight against aggression and oppression; and no human or dragon shall be forbidden to befriend one another."

Hiccup slowly nodded. He was unaware of such declaration. "Furious never told me that." The boy admitted. "Then again, he gave up on peace and considered it a lost cause."

"It was the foundation of roaming flocks across the surface world. It was why some deviant dragon hunters have dragons as their companion." The draconic Viking further explained. "You've probably heard this from the foreign dragons. What Furious and Hiccup the Second did is far more than simple peace in Barbaric Archipelago."

The boy paid attention. Alexander continued speaking. "Before Furious came to power, Greatness the Red Death suppressed them during Dragon Rebellion. When Furious came to power, he continued that suppression." He explained. "But those outside greater alpha influence still held onto that declaration. Roaming flocks; small nests; deviant hunter settlement; everyone believed them."

Hiccup widened his eyes. That explained something about Furious. The greater alpha had lost faith in his own declaration. The death of his brother-of-all-but-blood was too great for him to overcome; he abandoned his ideals to avoid the pain.

While part of him agreed with Furious, the logical part of him disagreed.

The declaration was ahead of its time. They were trying to establish liberty in a world where serfdom and feudalism was considered the best kind of governance. The fact that they survived so long was an achievement in on itself.

It made him wonder if they were partially responsible of Enlightenment movement amongst surface people. He wondered if such movement also existed within Hidden World. Many kingdoms and empires around the world had been suppressing that ideal for centuries.

Revolutionary France tried to make that happen.

But then, Napoleon happened.

However, that was not the end. Enlightenment movements were spreading. Given the age of his literatures, the movement had been spreading for the last century. It was the age of reason. It produced the idea of liberty, equality, and freedom.

There were places built upon the ideas of Enlightenment. United States of America was the first in mind. The rest were kingdoms changing under the movement, such as Great Britain.

Each movement produced different kinds of thoughts. Secularism, nationalism, liberty, republicanism, and so on, so forth. They were birthed in many different places, made to solve different problems. Problems that most refused to solve.

Problems that caused the French Revolution.

"Some European kingdoms talked about liberty." Hiccup began to speak. He was responding to what was stated before. "If dragons held that declaration, why didn't they take a side during French Revolutionary Wars or Napoleonic Wars?"

"Because there's no more dragons in Europe other than here. They can't tell the difference between deviants and normal dragons, and as such, largely treated as threats to settlements." Alexander answered. "Most stopped trusting dragons after deviants tried to take control of Great Britain. There's more dragons in Americas and deeper parts of Africa."

"I think I've heard your stories about something like that." The boy commented. "But never Great Britain."

"It was King William the Fourth of Great Britain. It happened few years ago. The deviant tried to melt him and take his form." The draconic Viking elaborated. "Lightflake and Samuel were the ones that exposed the plot. I was told it was a close one."

Hiccup understood. "I remember Samuel boasting about Lightflake being the first dragon to be knighted."

"Aye. That's the tale." Alexander nodded. "You can ask him about the tale when they come back."

The boy was about to respond when he heard someone flying into the cove. Looking up, he saw a familiar-looking Deadly Nadder landing close to Toothless and her hatchlings. She had about twenty hatchlings on her back.

It was Agatha. Hiccup saw the urgent look on her face. She looked exhausted and desperate. "Something's wrong." He said to his former mentor, before standing up and approached the group. Alexander moved to follow him.

The man and the boy approached the group. Hiccup was the first one to speak. "Hey, Agatha."

The Deadly Nadder turned to face him. She was surprised. "Charcoal?" Agatha whispered. "That's you?"

"Yeah. It's me."

"You're the one that captured me and shed my scales." Agatha realised.

Toothless narrowed her eyes. "Really?"

Hiccup surrendered his hands. "Hold on. I used those scales to make this outfit." He paused, before remembering. "As well as Toothless' scales. She never knew where I disposed those scales."

The black-scaled dragoness was about to say more when Amber interjected. "It doesn't matter." She declared, getting their attention. "Amber, did you see Nemo anywhere?"

There was a long pause. It had been months since the attempted kidnapping. The dragons felt dread as they remembered what happened. They thought Agatha had already known about it.

Amber the Light Fury paled upon hearing it. "Was- is that your mate?"

"Yes." The Deadly Nadder quickly nodded. "He's a dragon general. Titan wing Deadly Nadder. You can't miss him."

"Agatha." Toothless carefully interrupted. "When was the last time you see him?"

"He vanished about one and a half months ago." The Deadly Nadder answered. There was concern in her voice. "He said he was going to Dragon Island, but I couldn't find him anywhere. No one under him knew where he went. It's like he just vanished!"

Hiccup, Toothless and Amber glanced at each other, wondering how to break the news. The two dragons eventually stared at the adult male Night Fury in human form. They expected him to tell the news.

The boy exhaled his breath. He focused on the Deadly Nadder. "Agatha." Hiccup began.

"Your mate is a deviant."

There was a long pause. Agatha was incredulous. She turned to stare at Toothless, who looked serious. Amber the Light Fury also looked the same. They were serious about what was said. "What?"

Toothless was the one to speak. "Nemo was a deviant spy for Northern Alliance." She explained. "He turned into a giant deviant dragon and tried to kidnap our hatchlings. Our nest was destroyed; we barely escaped."

"No." The Deadly Nadder took a step back. She was in shock. "But... he's not a deviant! He's a dragon general. I've checked him with Identify several times. I was with him couple weeks ago!"

"Nemo was chasing Gryphon the Valstrax to Greater Archipelago when we were trying to escape." The black-scaled dragoness softly explained. She recited what she remembered from Hiccup. "Greater Alpha Merciless intercepted him when he crossed the border. I'm sorry."

Agatha was speechless. Her eyes began to water. "I- I-" She stuttered. "I was with him couple weeks ago..."

They fell silent. Nobody had anything to say. The Deadly Nadder sat on the ground, wondering how it all went wrong. She was in shock from the information given to her. Agatha could not believe that Nemo was gone.

Hiccup approached the Deadly Nadder. "I gave Nemo some A grade Amethyst Scales." He softly spoke. "It was your salary for serving under me. Did he gave you the scales?"

"... no." Agatha whispered. She stared at the boy in front of her. The dinosaur dragoness was grieving. "I didn't receive anything. I- I had to hunt fish myself. I can't feed everyone, and Amber saw and helped me until my mate came back. I thought he'll come back to help and..."

It was as far as she could say. The dinosaur dragoness collapsed in her grief and exhaustion.

Hiccup, Toothless, Amber, and others could only stare as she cried in front of them. The hatchlings on Agatha's back were confused and afraid. They had no idea what to do with a grieving dragon.

Eventually, Toothless decided to do something. "Let's give her some time alone." The black-scaled dragoness muttered, pushing others back with her wings. "Charcoal, get our hatchlings for study. Amber, go take her hatchlings and feed them. I'll be here for her."

Everyone moved to follow that order.

The six Night Fury hatchlings crowded around Hiccup as he led them into the open cave. Amber gestured the twenty Deadly Nadder hatchlings to come; they reluctantly followed her when she took off into the air. Alexander awkwardly walked out from the cove.

Hiccup briefly glanced at the grieving Deadly Nadder. Toothless was quietly comforting her. He hoped for the best for her wellbeing.

With that in mind, he disappeared into the open cave, along with his hatchlings.

---

Hiccup spent the time teaching advanced mana theories with his hatchlings. It was mostly an overview on what mana could be used for, as well as its dangers. The young dragon wanted his hatchlings to know the power they could wield.

When evening came, Amber returned with the Deadly Nadder hatchlings. Agatha was calm enough for her hatchlings, but she was still grieving from the loss of her mate. Regardless, the Light Fury was available to tend the Night Fury hatchlings.

That was important, because Camicazi and Thuggory visited to bring him to the dragon ring. They wanted to see Astrid fighting a Monstrous Nightmare. With Hiccup freed from his work, he accompanied them to the show.

"Today, we will celebrate the coming age of our Viking!"

It was evening at the dragon ring. There were a lot of Vikings standing on the balcony, just outside the cage. Most of Berk Vikings were there. Stoick was sitting at the chair, giving speech to everyone. He was holding a hammer.

Hiccup was present in his human form. He sat on a tall rock, along with Camicazi and Thuggory. They were there to see the dragon ring from distance, mostly to avoid crowding with the Vikings at the balcony. They wanted to see how the fight went.

Spitelout was standing next to a stationed repeating ballista. He did not trust the fight to go well. The chief second-in-command would be the one to shoot the dragon if Astrid failed to kill them.

Alexander Haddock was at the corner, watching the sky around them. A collapsed repeating ballista rested on the wall next to him. It looked ready to deploy at moment's notice.

"Today, Astrid Hofferson becomes ONE OF US!" Stoick boomed his voice.

The petite girl was standing right at the entrance of the arena. She tuned out what the chief had to say. Instead, she thought about what Hiccup had told her.

Astrid was angry at him for not allowing her to tell the others. She was irritated at the fact that their chief knew but did nothing about it.

There was also that Night Fury she saw at that place behind Helheim's Gate. Astrid wondered what that Night Fury was about, but she knew it was responsible for the dragon raid. The petite girl could not wait to kill the thing. It would bring endless glory to her family!

However, she need to do something about what Hiccup had told her. She need to do something about it.

'If I could show them…' Astrid thought, before realising something. 'Wait, I can show them!'

Gobber appeared from the cage. "It's time, Astrid." He encouraged her. "Knock him dead!"

The others appeared behind her. Snotlout, Fishlegs, Tuffnut and Ruffnut came to support the petite girl.

"Show 'em how it's done, my girl!" Tuffnut shouted.

The Hofferson nodded. She smirked, confident that she could do it. After all, Hiccup had done it before. She was sure she could do it. The credit would be given to herself. It would completely change their lives forever.

Meanwhile, Hiccup noticed Toothless approaching the rock he was sitting on. The dragoness in human form climbed up the tall rock and sat right next to him. The boy could tell she looked disturbed. "How was it?"

"She's not a deviant. She never knew Nemo was a deviant." Toothless muttered. Her voice was a bit low. Hiccup could hear her just fine. "Agatha used Identify whenever Nemo came back. She didn't know deviant spies could hide their mana perversion. He never came up as deviant from her spells."

It was something Hiccup and Toothless would have done as well, if they did not have their circuit bond. Scent and appearance could be faked. Dragon kidnapping was a real thing, especially for prominent figures, like dragon general. It was reasonable to use Identify to make sure they were who they are.

"I had to share our food with her." The dragoness in human form whispered. "She struggled to feed 20 hatchlings by herself. She was starving. Some of her hatchlings were very hungry before Amber fed them."

Hiccup darkened his expression. With no income to hire dragons to fish, Agatha had to do everything by herself. The Amethyst Scales meant for her were most likely sent to Northern Alliance.

He should have known to give them directly.

"Was he abusive in any way?" The boy questioned.

"Not at all. They set some boundaries in their relationship, but that's about it." Toothless muttered. She was staring at the dragon ring below. "Amber did check her mind. She's clean. There's no sign of tampering."

"Nemo avoided using deviant abilities." Hiccup concluded. He was frowning. "With many ways to detect mana perversion, it makes sense for him to be socially manipulative. It's the same with Ascal..."

The quiet conversation was interrupted when the Vikings fell quiet. Astrid had entered the arena. The petite girl casually grabbed her axe, before looking up at the crowd. "I'm ready!"

The dragon pen flew open. The Monstrous Nightmare rushed out and crawled all around the place, including the cage. "Whoa!" Vikings retreated a bit when the male red dragon breathed its flame. They cheered at the show. Given the spectacle, it would be an interesting fight!

Astrid was calm, but nervous. The Monstrous Nightmare landed in front of her, ready for a fight. However, something was wrong. He sniffed the air, before looking down to the shieldmaiden in front of him. "… What are ye doing?"

That was a good question. Astrid had her hand outstretched. Her axe on her side. She was confident in her pose. It was confusing the dragon.

"It's okay…" Astrid soothed, remembering what Hiccup had told her. The shieldmaiden moved closer, not looking away from the dragon. "I just want to be your friend."

The dragon was nervous. "What are ye, befriending me holding an axe like that?" He spoke, incredulous. His eyes flicked between the axe and Astrid, before growling to make her back off.

It was then Astrid remembered one of the steps. She had forgotten to disarm herself. The petite girl was nervous. She was not quite sure if it was a good idea. 'For glory!' She thought, before throwing her axe away.

The axe clattered onto the side. Astrid moved closer. "It's okay…"

At the rocks, Camicazi and Thuggory were confused. The Bog-Burglar heiress decided to ask. "What was she doing?"

Hiccup widened his eyes. "She's trying to tame the dragon."

Toothless barely hid her excitement. "She's going to get herself killed."

It seemed Stoick the Vast realised what she was doing. "Stop the fight."

"No! I need you all to see this." Astrid called out, staring at the dragon. "We can tame these dragons. They're not what we think they are. We don't have to kill them."

"Wh- tame me?" The Monstrous Nightmare questioned, somewhat incredulous. "Ye think I'm an animal?"

"I SAID STOP THE FIGHT!" Stoick roared and smashed his hammer onto the railing.

"That's it! Back off!" the Monstrous Nightmare snapped, almost biting Astrid's hands off.

The shieldmaiden quickly backed off. She went to reach her axe. Before she reached it, the Monstrous Nightmare breathed liquid fire and destroyed the axe. The petite girl rushed to run out from the arena. She was panicking. Her mind screamed to run away from the place.

"ASTRID!" The girl heard her friends shouting at her. They were standing at the entrance, frozen in fear. She took off running towards the entrance, hoping for anyone to do something.

"Tryinna trick me again?" The Monstrous Nightmare roared in challenge. "I'll end yer life right here!"

The shieldmaiden saw the red dragon breathed his fire. It was heading towards her. It was something she never experienced before. All the training she ever did was forgotten. There was only one thing in her mind.

Astrid screamed.

"AAAAAAAAHHH!"

"Shite." Spitelout cursed as he manned the repeating ballista. He pulled the charging handle and fired a shot. There was a clack, and an arrow was sent flying. The second-in-command missed and hit the ground, but the arrow exploded and made the dragon flinch.

That was enough for Astrid to run. The shieldmaiden ran to the entrance. The others were gesturing for her to come. She could see Gobber running down towards her. She was unarmed. She need to get away. She need to run!

Spitelout was about to fire more when Stoick gestured him to stop. The chief looked back at the rocks. "Hiccup!"

Meanwhile, Astrid was in trouble. Liquid fire went bursting behind her. It hit the wall right next to the entrance, which forced her to stop. The Monstrous Nightmare suddenly appeared and came bouncing right between her and the entrance. "Got you now!"

The red dragon smashed his claws and pinned the girl onto the ground. Astrid could only stare at him with wide, fearful eyes. The dragon was getting ready to finish her off.

The shieldmaiden cursed herself for trying something like that. She cursed Hiccup for making her do it. She cursed the blasted boy for getting her killed!

BOOM!

The Monstrous Nightmare was suddenly thrown all the way back. He smashed with a wall, cracking them. The red dragon got up to face the offender, only to see a brawny boy standing in front of the downed Hofferson. Hiccup was the one who punched him in the face.

The boy cracked his knuckles. "Alright!" Hiccup declared. The crowd fell silent. "You have ten seconds to return to your cage."

The red dragon glared, before rushing to them once more. He opened his maw-

BOOM!

This time, the Monstrous Nightmare was flung straight into his dragon pen. Gobber reached the lever just in time to close the pen, locking him inside. They heard loud banging against the steel door. The red dragon was angry for being deprived of his target.

Everyone calmed down afterwards. Hiccup turned around and faced the petite girl. He was angry. "What in the name of Odin were you doing?!"

Astrid simply glared at him. "Your father ruined it."

Hiccup was about to respond when Stoick boomed his voice. "Astrid has failed to kill the Monstrous Nightmare!" He declared, angry at the outcome. "This dragon ring is- WHOA!"

Suddenly, something pulled Stoick into the open sky. Spitelout was the first to shout. "Stoick!"

A rather large Deadly Nadder had snatched him. Vikings moved out of the way as the second-in-command turned the repeating ballista around.

Before he could fire, another Deadly Nadder appeared. It spread its wings, exposing its body to the crowd. Its body began to glow-

FLASH!

"AAH!" Vikings shouted in pain as it suddenly blinded them. They were disoriented from the flash, feeling sudden vertigo out of nowhere. Hostile large dragons began advancing from distance. They circled around the place, as if looking for someone.

Toothless, Camicazi and Thuggory narrowly avoided the flash by jumping down. Once they gathered themselves, they pulled out their scrambler goggles and wore them. The mother dragon turned human pulled out the TONER instrument and flipped it open.

According to her instrument, they were not deviants.

They were aberrations.

The mother dragon in human form cursed. "It's Furious!" She closed and pocketed the trinket. "Man the ballista. I'll get Stoick. Go!"

The two heirs nodded, before wearing their own scrambler goggles. They rushed for the repeating ballista near the cage, while Toothless moved to jump off the cliff. She need to transform to catch the Viking chief. They could not let him be kidnapped!

Before she could transform, something kicked her back all the way onto the cage. "Ow!" Toothless hit the iron bars, before sliding down into the dragon ring. "Whoa!"

Hiccup was just in time to catch her. "Got you!"

Toothless quickly got off from him. "It's Furious! They got your father!"

The brawny boy hardened his expression. "Then we need to move!"

Meanwhile, Vikings were slowly recovering from the flash. Alexander Haddock was the first one to recover. He quickly wore his scrambler goggles, right before the same Deadly Nadder flashed another visual hazard. The goggles worked; he was unaffected by the light.

The draconic Viking rushed for the collapsed repeating ballista. He grabbed the front handle, before swinging them to the side. It hit an aberrant Deadly Nadder that tried to bite him.

The man rested the ballista, pulled the charging handle – bow limbs snapped in place as it loaded an arrow, before hoisting them to his hips.

Left hand on front handle, right hand on grip and trigger, Alex did not bother deploying the wooden tripod. He fired them from the hip, striking dragons that tried to get close.

Clack! Clack! Clack!
Clack! Clack! Clack!

The repeating ballista struck three Deadly Nadders and felled them. Others saw this, and they quickly moved away from the sight, using obstacles to cover their flight. Interesting enough, instead of flying away, those dragons burned and fell when struck.

"DRAGON ATTACK!" Alex roared his voice, hoping for Vikings to hear him. He was shooting down dragons with the repeating ballista. "GET TO THE VILLAGE!"

Those that recovered quickly rushed for the bridge. Some dragons tried to attack the bridge, but Camicazi and Thuggory had reached the other ballista. They fired onto the offending dragons. Their aim struck true as dragons fell from the sky. The two heirs were covering the Vikings on their escape.

Hiccup, Toothless and others at the dragon ring were rushing out from the place. They need to leave to help the others. However, the entrance suddenly fell shut, trapping them inside. The group turned around to see the offender.

It was a male White Fury, except something was wrong. His body had black vein-like lines flowing along his scales. The eyes were familiar shade of yellow, which reminded them of Furious. There was also the fact that he looked familiar to Toothless.

The white dragon had crushed the mechanics. "That is as far as you will go." He nonchalantly spoke in Norse. "I'm going to need you here."

Hiccup widened his eyes. "Goggles up!" He called as he pulled out his scrambler goggles and wore them. Toothless and Gobber did the same. Thankfully, the goggles did not scramble their visual, meaning it was safe for now.

Snotlout was angry. "What about us?!"

Gobber gestured them to follow. "Come on, lads!" He called. "I'll push the gate. Let's get out of here!"

While the Vikings were busy trying to leave, Hiccup and Toothless were at the front. They connected their mind through their circuit connection. The boy was the first to think. "It's Furious."

"I know. Something is preventing me from transforming." Toothless thought. Her hands began to shimmer, then translucent purple claws appeared. "He's wearing a body of someone I know."

Hiccup narrowed his eyes. "Who is he?"

"The heir of a large Light Fury flock. He's quite powerful." The female thought, before speaking aloud. "That body... where did you find him?"

"He was looking for you five years ago." Furious in Light Fury body gave his answer. "You could say I did you a favour. He wants to force himself on you. He's quite a breeder, so I thought… why not make use of him instead of killing him?"

As if on cue, more Light Furies appeared around them. They were large and looked incredibly strong – roughly the same size as Toothless and Charcoal in their dragon form. The couple tensed as they moved closer to each other. The appearance of white dragons was unexpected.

"Six Light Furies. They look much older for five-year-old dragons." Toothless thought, assessing their strength. "Charcoal, they have more mana than us."

Furious in Light Fury body moved closer to the couple. Toothless readied her translucent purple claws. Hiccup straightened himself. He stopped in front of them. "I'm going to need you at Dragon Island."

"You should negotiate my consent first." Hiccup suggested. He glanced back for a moment to see the Vikings escaping the dragon ring. "I'm not going anywhere until you have my consent."

WHAM!

The controlled white dragon was thrown back several metres away. He landed on his feet and skidded to a halt, before looking at the offender. Toothless had punched him in the face. Her fists were enveloped with shimmering purple flame.

"No, fucking, thank you!" The girl snarled. "Go fuck yourself!"

Furious in Light Fury body narrowed his eyes. "I did it for his own good." He took a step back, allowing other Light Furies to approach. "But I guess there's no other way."

Hiccup and Toothless readied themselves to fight. The boy readied his hand. Blue flame sprung out as Brimstone long sword appeared on his hand. Its blade was enveloped with deep red flame. "There's always a way."

The controlled white dragon seemed to smile. "I know, but you'll never agree to it." He responded, making them pause. "You'll thank me for this. I will see you tomorrow." Then, he vanished.

After he disappeared, the Light Furies prepared to attack. The girl glanced at her mate. "Any plan?"

"No." Hiccup readied his long sword. "Let's improvise."

---

Meanwhile, the Vikings outside was still fighting aberrant dragons. The unarmed ones had safely rushed back to the village, while the rest moved to take down the dragons. Camicazi was shooting dragons with the repeating ballista, while Thuggory used his spear and shield to knock dragons away.

The small girl fired the repeating ballista at approaching dragons. Her aim struck true; the arrows exploded. They heard roars as dragons fell from the sky. "They're more vulnerable to dracophage!" Camicazi called out, shooting more rounds at the enemy. "I lost count at 30! We need more arrows!"

Thuggory bashed a Deadly Nadder with his shield, before thrusting his spear. "HA!"

It struck true to its chest. "GRAAA!" The aberrant Deadly Nadder roared as it reeled back from the stab. The dinosaur dragon trashed around as the wound began to burn. It glared at the burly boy, before breathing out its magnesium fire.

The burly boy brought his shield up to block the flame. When the fire ended, he paused for a second, before thrusting his spear right at the front. "Got you!"

That did the trick. The spear went through its neck, splattering blood everywhere. However, instead of red blood, his goggles scrambled them. It did not feel like blood when it splattered on him. Whatever that was, the sight would have affected his mind.

Thuggory pulled out his spear, before moving to strike another target. "HA!"

At the other side of the dragon ring, Alexander Haddock was near the gate entrance. He was covering Gobber and the teen Vikings on their escape from the ring. The draconic Viking was firing the repeating ballista from his hip. "Move! Don't look at the blood!"

Tuffnut, who had just got out, looked up in surprise. "What blood?"

Gobber pushed him forward. "He said don't look." He scolded, before pulling others out from the dragon ring. The blacksmith was holding up the iron gate. "Move! Don't look back or you're dead!"

The teen Vikings rushed out from the place, heading for the wooden bridge. They were halfway there when Snotlout decided to look back. The burly boy saw the sight of Thuggory killing a Deadly Nadder, splattering some sort of black blood. He felt sheer terror by the sight of it. "AAAAAHH!"

Others did not have the chance to look back when Snotlout pushed everyone off. The burly boy was rushing down the bridge, running for his life. "AAAAAHH!"

"Go! Don't look back!" Gobber shouted once more. After everyone was out from the dragon ring, the blacksmith closed them shut. He ran off to the bridge, rushing to escort the teen Vikings. "Keep running!"

Meanwhile, Alexander Haddock was still firing the repeating ballista. The draconic Viking focused on hitting the nearest ones. He must hold them off. If they were pushed to dragon ring, they might as well be dead.

BOOM!

Something exploded near Alex, which sent him back staggering to the dragon ring metal cage. The repeating ballista fell into the dragon ring, clattered on the ground. There were some pieces of wood, but it looked largely intact. However, they were unreachable for the draconic Viking. "Shite."

Looking up there was a large Gronckle hovering there. His scrambler goggles redacted parts of its wounds. Given that it looked angry, Alex must have shot at it before. "Double shite."

---

Inside the dragon ring, Toothless and Hiccup were fighting for their lives. They were using everything they had to survive the attack. The mother dragon turned human manifested her mana to produce solid claws on her hands. She was busy dodging Light Furies.

"Gah!" Toothless grunted as she barely moved out of the way. The girl sensed two more coming from behind. She ducked from the first and rolled on the second. Just as it passed, she grabbed the tail and pulled. That stopped its momentum.

The aberrant Light Fury was smashed to the ground. The girl pulled to smash it in opposite direction. It clawed the ground to stop itself, but that did not work. The claws scratched the ground as Toothless swung and slammed it on the opposite side.

Other aberrant Light Furies saw this and turned their focus on her. They rushed for the girl, but she was faster. Toothless swung the Light Fury, using it as an improvised hammer to hit its kins.

Four dragons were smacked to the wall, disorienting them. The mother dragon turned human finished by slamming the Light Fury on the ground. She pulled out a Nature Shard crystal from her pocket. "Let's see if this works."

Toothless let go of the tail and leaped onto its back. The aberrant Light Fury was still disoriented from being thrown and slammed around. She smashed her hands onto its back, further disorienting the dragon. The girl cast ironwire as she connected her mana circuits with its mind.

Naturally, its mana circuits rejected her attempt. Toothless pumped the mana from Nature Shard into mana circuits in its brain. Parts of the crystals crumbled into ash. The blue ironwire turned green as raw mana flowed through it.

The brain mana circuits were overwhelmed, frying them inside out. The aberrant Light Fury instantly went limp as its brain was killed. However, instead of dying outright, something peculiar happened.

The brain and its mana circuits suddenly regenerated itself. It traced back the ironwire connection to Toothless' own mana circuit. The mother dragon in human form suddenly found herself in control of the aberrant Light Fury below her.

The white dragon suddenly got up and moved aside, dodging an attack from its kin. Toothless yelped as she lost concentration of her spell. Despite this, the aberrant Light Fury was still under her control. Its mind had nothing in it, and it was connected to hers.

"That will do." Toothless remarked. Looking down, she realised that its eyes had turned acidic green like her own. It had no thought process whatsoever. Looking at the other aberrant Light Furies, she smirked upon seeing their shocked reaction. "Who's next?"

Meanwhile, Hiccup was glad to only fight one dragon. He was struggling to fight more than one enemy, especially something faster than himself. The aberrant Light Fury was keeping him occupied while others focused on his mate. The boy need to end the fight as fast as possible.

"Kra!" The Light Fury leaped, forcing Hiccup to duck, and landed at the opposite side. The boy rolled out of a claw swipe, swung his sword to force a retreat, before firing his mechanical sling. A small knife flew and struck one of its eyes, blinding it. "KRA!"

Hiccup smirked; he had just created a blind spot. However, his smile vanished when the dragon began to heal. It was regenerating the broken eye. Few seconds later, the eye had fully healed. The boy slumped his shoulder. "Oh, come on."

The Light Fury leaped for an attack. Hiccup ducked to avoid the claws, but it spun around just as it landed. The boy was knocked off his feet.

While midair, Hiccup threw a blue wire to the iron cage, which wrapped itself around a bar, and pulled himself up. The boy narrowly avoided a bite. He let go and safely landed on the ground.

The boy briefly glanced at his mate, who was making a Light Fury to fight the rest. "They can regenerate!"

"I know! They even regenerate circuits!" Toothless thought as the Light Fury she rode slammed onto another white dragon. She leaped off its back, before landing on the ground. The girl rushed to get the stunned dragon, while avoiding three others. "You need to burn the brain circuits and take control of them!"

Hiccup pulled out a Nature Shard crystal from his pocket. The Light Fury in front of him was waiting to strike. The boy dashed forward for a hard low swing, which it dodged by jumping. Hiccup used the momentum to round kick the dragon.

That hit the snout and made it flinch. The boy rushed for a stab, which the dragon narrowly avoided. Hiccup moved for a different low swing.

Seeing opportunity, it swung its claw at his sword. However, that was a fake out. The boy pulled his sword back before it hit, spun around and elbowed its jaw.

The dragon reeled from impact. Hiccup smacked its snout and forced a circuit connection. Then, he pulled his hand, forming blue ironwire to its snout, and pulled. The pain alone made it scream. "KRA!"

Hiccup impaled its head upward with his sword, which struck right into its brain. That damaged the brain and its mana circuit. He connected his ironwire with that circuit. There was no resistance whatsoever. He channeled the raw mana from Nature Shard into it, burning the brain's mana circuit.

When he pulled the sword out, the head regenerated. The body fell limp on the ground. Hiccup straightened himself when he suddenly felt some sort of second body in his mind. The aberrant Light Fury's eyes slowly turned forest green, similar to his own.

"Hiccup!"

The boy turned around to see his mate getting pinned by a Light Fury. Four of the Light Furies were limp on the ground; they were regenerating to close its wounds. Hiccup saw something not far from him – a repeating ballista with broken tripod.

He dropped his sword – which vanished in blue flame, fell prone and grabbed the ballista. The boy aimed at the Light Fury and pressed the trigger.

Clack! Clack! Clack!
Clack! Clack! Clack!

Small explosions popped as the Light Fury was peppered with dragon seal arrows. "KRAAA!" It roared and let go of the girl.

The dragon raised its wing to cover itself. Hiccup shot that part, but the dragon seal arrows did nothing to it – Body Reinforcement spell stopped the impact. Not all body parts were covered, however. The boy stopped firing as he searched for a weak spot.

Toothless saw her opportunity and went for it. She got up and readied her translucent claws, then embedded them into its shoulder. The dragon moved to throw her away, but she used the momentum to jump up, let go and land right on its back.

The Light Fury moved to shake her off. Hiccup shot its vulnerable legs and tail, forcing it to cover itself. That limited its movement. Toothless manifested her claws. She embedded right into its skull, adjusted her posture, then pulled. "GAAAAAH!"

"KRAAAA!" The Light Fury roared as Toothless literally pulled its skull out. There were some cracking sound, and then-

Crack!

The skull was ripped off, exposing its brain. Red blood splattered everywhere. Throwing the bone aside, the girl grabbed the brain and ripped it off. She connected her mana circuit to its regenerating brain and channeled raw mana into it, burning its mana circuits.

When that was done, the aberrant Light Fury fell limp on the ground.

---

Silence.

Everyone paused as they gathered themselves. The aberrant Light Furies were defeated – alive and under control, but laying on the ground. Outside the dragon ring, aberrant dragons had fled as well. Things were finally calming down.

It was the most intense hour of their life.

Alexander Haddock was wrestling with an aberrant Gronckle when it escaped and fled the place. He moved to checked the iron cage. "Ye alright in there?"

Inside the dragon ring, Hiccup stood from the ground. "We're fine!" He called as he collapsed the repeating ballista. "You?"

The draconic Viking rested himself against the iron cage. "Managing." He replied, exhausted. "I think we got them."

Toothless threw away the brain from her claw. "Furious have Stoick the Vast." She reminded, before dispelling her manifested claws. "I think he brought him to Dragon Island."

"We'll think of that later after the clean-up." Alex called out, before getting up. He moved to check on Camicazi and Thuggory, who was laying down on the ground. "You two okay?"

"Yeah." The small girl breathed out. She was exhausted and she was covered in black blood. Not that they could actually see the blood, since their goggles redacted them. Her broadsword was on her side. "… I think I need a bath. With hot water."

Not long after, they heard the iron gate lifted open. Hiccup had replaced the broken iron gear with a spare one. The couple slowly walked out from the dragon ring. The boy was carrying the collapsed repeating ballista.

When they exited the dragon ring, they stopped to look around the place.

There were one or two dead aberrant dragons on the ground; the wound and blood were redacted by their scrambler goggles. There were no other Vikings around. The sky above village looked clear as well, meaning that they only attacked the dragon ring.

BOOM! BANG!

Something shot out from the village, hitting something relatively high in the sky. Some sort of giant Changewing appeared, revealing its presence there. Hiccup recognised the projectile. "They used the draconic cannon."

Toothless pulled out TONER instrument from her pocket. She flipped it open, aimed at the giant Changewing, before pressing a button. It revealed what it was. "Aberration. It's part of Furious."

BOOM! BANG!

This time, it struck right on its head. It created a huge explosion, which took a good chunk of its skull. The aberrant Changewing did not even roar as it fell from the sky. They leaned down to see the creature fell into the ocean water below. SPLASH!

They sighed in relief. Hiccup was happy to see his cannon in action. "The cannon worked!"

"Trial by fire, as they say." Alex commented.

They fell silence once more. Staring at the dead aberrant Changewing, they noticed that the dragons they killed were floating. However, There was no blood in the ocean. Their scrambler goggles did not redact the wound, revealing some sort of fire spark burning them inside out.

"Right. Clean up." Hiccup remembered. "Their blood reacts with water. We need to throw down the bodies. Make sure no blood is around."

Toothless made another effort to transform. However, something was blocking them. "I still can't transform." She informed. Focusing on her senses, the brawny girl realised the cause. "I think it's the blood."

"Get the Light Furies to throw them. Their blood is safe. Bring them to the cove when you're done." The boy grunted, before resting himself on the ground. "… long day, and it's not afternoon yet."

The brawny girl looked down at him. "We'll clean this up, but you do the talking." Toothless offered. "How's that?"

"… fine. I'll try."

---

Author Note

In the original, Charcoal was kidnapped and Stoick had to be the one to go there. This time, Stoick was the one being kidnapped, and Charcoal had to save him. It makes more sense this time, since Stoick called Charcoal to get the Monstrous Nightmare back into its cage.

Now, it looks like Charcoal got to know more about his legacy. Dragons in other parts of the surface world seemed to revere Hiccup the Second. Humans in Europe doesn't seem to like dragons. This paints a picture for the next book.

We'll see how it goes when we get there.

For visual reference, the TONER device is based on Nintendo Gameboy Advance SP. They have more button to press.

---

End Note

Thank you for reading my story. Thank you for leaving reviews and comments.