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)

24. Lycanwing - Betrayal (4)

Chapter Number: 24 / 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 - Betrayal (4)

---

Deep within Dragon Island inside a massive volcanic cavern. Small fountains of lava pouring down from the ceiling, filling the place with incredibly hot liquid. Despite this, the lava pool below never rise above the large cave path entrance.

There was a massive stone platform in the middle of the lava pool. At one side of the platform, 12 dragon generals were waiting for the greater alpha. It was rare for Furious to call in a meeting, but considering the rumours, that was to be expected.

Eventually, Furious arrived. He appeared at the other end of the platform. The greater alpha appeared as a pitch black flame with shape of a Night Fury. He was towering above them all. Given the rage in his yellow eyes, they knew what the meeting would be about.

"Someone is not doing their job." Furious whispered. His voice echoed throughout the cavern. They could hear the concealed fury. "Castinus."

A large green Monstrous Nightmare straightened himself. Given the appearance, he was a titan wing. "Yes, Alpha."

"Your army were scheduled to patrol the central Barbaric Archipelago." Furious slowly moved forward. The black flame licked the ground under him. "You have your responsibility."

The generals took a step back. They could feel the anger and malice radiating from the greater alpha. Castinus the green titan wing Monstrous Nightmare was afraid. "I- I do, Greater Alpha."

The greater alpha dragon stopped few metres from him. "Then why-" He hissed. "-is there an unhandled deviant incursion in your region?"

"I- I was coordinating dragons to attack human village, sir." Castinus stuttered the answer. "General Nemo put up a public request for any available flock to raid a Lava-Lout outpost. They were supplying mainland weapons to the humans."

"So, you abandoned your duty to earn some scales."

"I-"

SCHUNK!

A solid black flame suddenly lurched from behind. Castinus barely uttered a word when it stabbed right from his rear. The impaled Monstrous Nightmare stared with fear as it brought him right in front of the greater alpha.

"Two years ago, I made it clear that patrol duty is non-negotiable." Furious whispered at the green dragon. "Instead of continuing your duty, you opted to take requests meant for roaming flocks."

Castinus felt excruciating pain. He was suspended in silent scream. The black flame burned through his flesh, leaving the bones and scales intact. Within seconds, the black flame leaked through his mouth and eyes, burning the organs from within.

When the black flame vanished, all that left were bones, claws and scales. They clattered on the ground; the scales draped over remains of bones, teeth and claws. The eyes were hollow. It was obvious that the dragon was dead.

The spectating dragon generals straightened themselves. Try as they might, it was difficult to conceal their fear. They knew the consequence of disobeying critical orders.

They never thought the consequence was death.

Furious moved away to see the other generals. "I will remind you of this once." He hissed, making them flinch. "Handling deviant incursion is your highest priority. If one was ever reported, you will respond to the crisis."

Silence. The greater alpha narrowed his eyes. "Is that understood?"

"Yes, Greater Alpha." The generals chorused.

"Dismissed."

The dragon generals literally fled the place. They rushed out through the cave path, flying as fast as they could. Nobody wanted to face an angry greater alpha. After what they had just witnessed, they had no intention of staying too long.

---

After they left, Furious remained inside the chamber. He stared at the remains of the dragon.

When he heard that there was deviant incursion at Berk, Furious personally went there to check on the island. The size of that monstrous amalgamation made him wonder how Hiccup killed something that big.

The greater alpha dragon knew Hiccup killed it. He knew of the draconic cannon he made. Furious was proud to see him grow so much. However, he was uneasy with Berk Vikings in possession of such thing.

It had the potential to challenge alpha dragons.

'I need to seriously consider telling him about himself.' Furious mentally grumbled. 'He might leave to Hidden World. Considering what he could do, it would probably for the best.'

When the Vikings dumped the bodies into the ocean, he did the autopsy to understand what was going on. The first thing to note was the Vikings; they knew who that thing was. His name was Ascal, and he was apparently a Northern Alliance spy they killed last year.

The second thing to note was the dracophage residue. That explained what happened. He could not believe Hiccup could be so reckless. At least he was still alive.

However, the most alarming part was the Northern Alliance mark.

Northern Alliance was concentrated within northern Greater Archipelago. From what he remember, Merciless recently made significant breakthrough in his war. This led to a total collapse of their defences.

The war at the north was coming to a close. They were just cleaning up remnants of the crisis.

It made sense why Merciless announced his retirement two years ago. He knew the war was ending soon. The deviant incursion in Barbaric Archipelago meant that they were getting desperate. Furious had to think of something to protect his son.

'That future is shrouded. They know how to hide from foresight. They are planning something big.' Furious thought worryingly. 'They made too many attacks on Berk. I have to guess what they were planning.'

He wondered if it was connected to the deviant incursion at Berk few years ago. They also bear the mark of Northern Alliance. Everyone was there to watch; Ascal was most likely there as well.

Furious moved to stare at the flowing volcano. He pondered different cases involving Isle of Berk. Compared to other island, there were too many things happening for the last 15 years. It all happened since Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third was born.

That was when Furious remembered something. 'There was that dragon raid at Berk 14 years ago.' He thought. 'Nobody was scheduled for that raid. It was a rogue flock.'

From there, the greater alpha dragon connected the dots. He froze as he came to realisation. Berk was a target because they have something incredibly valuable. Something that could change the tide of war if they succeed.

'... I'll need to do more research on this one.'

---

The generals continued their work after the meeting.

Armond was a yellow titan wing Deadly Nadder. He was a General of the Red Rage, 10th Dragon Army division. The tracker class dragon had finished his preparation for the day. He wanted to rest before the next dragon raid.

While roaming around Dragon Island, Armond saw someone familiar. Grosvenor the gluttonous titan wing Monstrous Nightmare was alone at an open corridor near a cliff. He was inspecting something at the wall.

Curious, the yellow Deadly Nadder moved to check on the general. He landed few metres behind him. "Grosvenor."

The gluttonous Monstrous Nightmare glanced back. "Armond." He drawled his voice. "Another joint assignment?"

"No. I just want to talk." Armond answered. He approached to see what he was looking at. "We need someone to replace the 4th division general."

"Grrk." Grosvenor snorted. He looked back at the wall. "Castinus was never competent. It would take a week to replace him with someone better."

The yellow Deadly Nadder did not respond. He was staring at what the gluttonous dragon was looking.

It was a crude symbol of something. Armond could not make out what it was. Given the appearance, the symbol was most likely made using a chalk. The yellow Deadly Nadder frowned. "Did you made this?"

"No." Grosvenor answered. "I am investigating it."

"What's the case?"

The gluttonous Monstrous Nightmare simply hummed. "Where were you during the deviant incursion?"

"I was leading my army to patrol the eastern border." Armond answered. He understood what Grosvenor was implying. "Did you suspect I was not doing my job?"

"Worse." Grosvenor glanced at him. "A heretic."

They fell silent. It was another word for deviant spy and traitor. The yellow Deadly Nadder stared at the gluttonous dragon. "That's..." Armond did not know what to say. "Quite an accusation."

"No one noticed an hours long deviant incursion in the middle of central Barbaric Archipelago." Grosvenor looked back at the wall. He was deep in thought. "Even if Castinus neglected his duty, roaming dragons are bound to notice. And yet, there was no report, until that light appeared."

Armond widened his eyes. It meant someone had evacuated the area prior to the attack. There was no witness of the event. "A deviant general?"

"Grmm..." Grosvenor hummed in confirmation. "Nemo is the heretic."

Nemo was considered an honest dragon general. He was one of the few generals that was popular amongst their army. The dragon was considered honest and honourable, which was a rare trait for a Dragon Rebellion general.

Of course, this made him disliked by other generals.

The yellow Deadly Nadder deadpanned. He knew the rivalry between Grosvenor and Nemo. He got himself worked out for nothing. "Grosvenor, accusing Nemo of treachery is low, even for you." Armond commented. "He was dealing with immigration flock at the border. I saw him myself."

The gluttonous Monstrous Nightmare scowled. "I wasn't asking your opinion." He retorted, before frowning. "Was he with his whole army?"

"Yes. He split his army to handle different parts of the border."

Grosvenor glanced at him. "Did you saw all his army?"

"No. He said half of them were at the northern border."

The gluttonous dragon looked back at the wall. "Then he is a suspect."

"Grosvenor, we know you have something against Nemo." Armond reasoned. "Unless you have proof that he's a spy, you're using this opportunity to have him replaced."

"Replaced." Grosvenor sneered at that word. He turned to face the yellow Deadly Nadder. "He is suspicious."

The yellow Deadly Nadder exhaled his breath. "How is he suspicious?"

"Nemo is too clean for a dragon general." The gluttonous Monstrous Nightmare pointed out. "No one is innocent in Dragon Rebellion. Including you."

"I haven't done anything wrong-"

"You smuggle dragons to Hidden World for Amethyst Scales." Grosvenor interrupted. Seeing his surprised expression, the gluttonous Monstrous Nightmare smirked. "You extort dragons you meant to draft. You are not free from sin."

Armond was surprised he knew about them. Then again, Grosvenor was known to be smart compared to other generals, albeit materialistic and cruel. It was why Furious kept him around. "What about Charcoal?"

"Irrelevant. He's only a general for 2 months. He barely experienced what we do." The Monstrous Nightmare dismissed, before speaking with serious tone. "Nemo have been a general for 50 years."

"That hardly matters. There are honourable generals out there."

"Not in Dragon Rebellion." Grosvenor leaned closer. He stared at the yellow Deadly Nadder with serious expression. "There is no honour to be found here."

Armond did not back down. "You haven't looked close enough." He challenged. "Nemo was last seen at the church of sky. He brought his mate and hatchlings there. I think that's a clue to his character."

"Grmph." The gluttonous Monstrous Nightmare harrumphed. He rested himself on the ground. "By the word of religion, I have seen the lunacy of fanatics of every denomination be called the will of sky."

The yellow Deadly Nadder remained silent. Grosvenor continued to speak. "I have seen too much religion in the eyes of too many murderers." He lowered his voice to a whisper. "Believing poisonous words from venomous zealots, whose tainted the pond with Deathgripper venom."

"Grosvenor, where are you going with this?"

"Nemo is not religious." The gluttonous Monstrous Nightmare darkly answered. "He arrived precisely to be seen by certain dragons. He was there to be witnessed."

Armond exhaled his breath. He did not want to argue his logic. "Just bring this up to Greater Alpha when you're done." He remarked, before turning around to leave. "I have better things to do."

Grosvenor did not answer. The yellow Deadly Nadder took off into the sky, leaving the gluttonous dragon alone.

---

The next morning, Hiccup woke up in his room. He was feeling tired from last night. After safely storing his book, the boy had gone straight to bed. However, the boy had some difficulty sleeping because he failed to inform his father.

'I wonder if I should leave without telling him.' The boy grimaced at that thought. 'Best write him a note when it comes to that.'

Hiccup sat up on the bed. He moved to grab his mechanical sling when he noticed something interesting. At his left gauntlet, there was some sort of mechanical block shaped like folded wing. It was sealing the Kinship Stone within, meaning that it was stuck inside.

"What the..." The boy mumbled as he inspected them. The straps were gone; the stone had somehow embedded itself into the armour. "How did it-"

Suddenly, the mechanical wing unfold itself, and the crystal began to shimmer. Hiccup widened his eyes as he felt another sense opened to him. He could feel creatures half a mile away around him. Few moments later, the mechanical wing folded on its own, and the sense disappeared.

"... whoa." Hiccup shook his head, recovering from whatever that was. It felt like some sort of mana sense. Given that it was now part of his armour, somehow, he needed to check on that later.

Suddenly, the boy heard someone shouting outside the window. "Hiccup!"

Hiccup looked out through the window. Looking down, he noticed that Gobber was standing in front of the door entrance. "Gobber? What is it?"

"Dragon training, lad!" The blacksmith called out. "You're the teacher! Did your dad told ya about this?"

"He did." Hiccup replied. "I'll come down in a second!"

The boy jumped off from his bed. He strapped his long sword and mechanical sling. Once he was ready, Hiccup took a deep breath, before walking out from the place.

---

"Welcome to Dragon Training!"

The Dragon Training Arena was located at a large, rocky cliff clearing not far from the village. The corners were expanded with wooden balcony that edges to the ocean down below.

The entrance were long wooden bridge paths that connected to the village. The location was isolated from the whole village, most likely in case one of the dragons broke out.

The arena itself took most part of the clearing. It was sunken down from the surface, and the top was covered with metal cages. The entrance had a metal gate that prevented anyone from moving in and out.

Inside the arena, there were shields and weapons near the entrance. Surrounding half of the arena were five dragon pens. Each of them was closed with metal reinforced gates. Those gates had levers next to them.

Astrid, Snotlout, Fishlegs, Ruffnut, Tuffnut and Gobber were there. Hiccup was following not far behind. They were all inside the arena, observing the place. The five of them had just recovered from the Night Fury attack.

"No turning back." Astrid whispered. She noticed that Gobber was checking the dragon pens.

"I hope I get some serious burns." Tuffnut boasted, elbowing his sister.

"I'm hoping for some mauling." Ruffnut boasted, looking at her brother. "Like on my shoulder or lower back."

"Yeah, it's only fun when you get a scar out of it." Astrid nonchalantly spoke to them.

"Yeah, no kidding, right?" Hiccup spoke with sarcastic tone, getting their attention. "Pain. Love it."

Tuffnut groaned. "Oh, great. Who let him in?"

Before anyone could say anything, Gobber spoke aloud. "Let's get started!" He shouted, getting their attention. He was standing near the stacks of shields and weapons. "The recruit who does the best will win the honour of killing his first dragon in front of the entire village."

"Five of us faced a deviant and lived." Snotlout smirked as he jerked his thumb at the brawny boy. "Does that disqualify him, or...?"

"Can I transfer to the class with the cool Vikings?" Tuffnut whined.

Hiccup rolled his eyes. Gobber walked up to him. "He's not here for dragon training." He announced as he pushed him to stand aside. "Hiccup is here to train ye how to fight deviants."

That got their attention. The Viking teens groaned and scowled at that. "I want out." Tuffnut decided, before turning around to leave the place.

"No one leaves the dragon ring until I say so!" Gobber barked, making them stop. "Or else I'll tell yer father it was you who burned his beard."

"Oooh!" Ruffnut elbowed her outraged brother. "He got you there, Tuff."

Tuffnut simply pouted. "Whatever."

"Seriously?" Astrid was incredulous. "Him?"

"He knows how to fight dragons. Especially deviants." The blacksmith raised his brows. "I thought you already know that."

Snotlout huffed and crossed his arms. "Anyone with dragon weapons can kill them." He sneered. "He just won't share them."

"That's enough of that!" Gobber raised his voice, shutting them up. He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Ye won't be facing any of that today."

The young Vikings fell silent. Gobber began his speech. "If you want to survive against a deviant, you must survive against the common dragons." He declared, before gesturing at the doors. "Behind these doors are just a few of the many species you will learn to fight!"

The man began walking around the dragon pens. "The Deadly Nadder!"

"Speed: eight." Fishlegs seemed to whisper. "Armour: sixteen."

Gobber gestured to one of the dragon pens. "The Hideous Zippleback!"

"Plus eleven stealth times two." The large boy muttered.

"The Monstrous Nightmare!"

"Firepower: fifteen."

"The Terrible Terror!"

"Attack: eight." Fishlegs seemed to get louder. "Venom: twelve!"

"CAN YOU STOP THAT?!" Gobber snapped at the boy.

Fishlegs shrunk under his glare. The blacksmith rolled his eyes. He reached for the lever at one of the dragon pens. "And... the Gronckle."

"Jaw strength: eight." Fishlegs whispered.

It was then everyone realised what Gobber was about to do. "Whoa, whoa, wait!" Snotlout tried to stop him. "Aren't you gonna teach us first?!"

Gobber chuckled. He grabbed the lever. "I believe in learning on the job." He spoke, before turning the lever.

The gate flew open, revealing a female Gronckle charging towards them. "FREEDOM!"

The teen Vikings took off running, while Hiccup simply walked to the weapon rack. The rock dragon flew to the corner and began eating rocks. Just as she did that, Gobber shouted. "Today is about survival!"

Hiccup rested himself at the wall. He heard the blacksmith shout. "If you get blasted, you're dead!"

'How am I supposed to teach these Vikings how to fight deviants?' Hiccup pondered as he watched them go. He was leaning against the wall. 'They're not ready for any kind of fight against those things.'

"Quick!" Gobber shouted. "What's the first thing you're going to need?"

"A doctor?!" Snotlout panicked.

"Plus five speed?!" Fishlegs shouted.

Astrid had more sense than the others. "A shield!"

"Shields! Go!" Gobber shouted. He watched as the teenagers ran to the shield rack. "Your most important piece of equipment is your shield!"

Hiccup glanced at the Gronckle, who had finished eating the rocks. She was looking around for target. 'Snotlout is right for once.' He thought. 'They'll need a doctor by the end of this.'

The teen Vikings rushed to grab their shields. Everyone heard Gobber speaking. "If you must make a choice between a sword or a shield, take the shield!"

"COME ON, LADS!" The Gronckle roared. She was speaking an accent that Hiccup did not recognise. "Ah'll rip yer baws aff 'n' feed thaim tae th' Deathgrippers!"

Hiccup wondered where they got the Gronckle. He never heard that kind of accent from a dragon before. 'Hidden World dweller, maybe?' The brawny boy wondered. 'I wonder what layer she's from.'

"Get your hands off my shield!"

The brawny boy blinked when he heard them. Looking at the weapon rack next to him, the twins were fighting over a shield. "There's like a million shields!" Ruffnut scoffed.

"Take that one, it has a flower on it." Tuffnut suggested as he gestured the rack with his head. "Girls like flowers."

Ruffnut ripped the shield off from his hand. She swung the object and hit him in the head. "OW!"

"Oops." Ruffnut shrugged mockingly. "Now this one has blood in it!"

The Gronckle flew towards them and fired a fireball. It blasted the shield, knocking them away from the place. "UP YER ERSE WI' IT!" She roared.

"Tuffnut! Ruffnut!" Gobber called out. "You're out!"

The twins were still dazed from the blast. "What?"

Gobber looked over the others, who were running around dodging the rock dragon. "All dragons have limited number of shots!" He called out. "How many does a Gronckle have?"

"Five?" Snotlout guessed, before dodging a charge from the dragon.

"No!" Fishlegs shouted. "Six!"

"Correct, six!" Gobber exclaimed, smiling at them. "That's one for each of you and an extra!"

The Gronckle noticed that Fishlegs trying to sneak up on her. Upon realising that he had been spotted, the large teen raised his shield over his head. "Dozy cunt." She spoke, before sending a fireball at Fishlegs. It hit the shield, shattering it into pieces.

Fishlegs took off running to the entrance, screaming. "AAAAHHH!"

"Fishlegs, out!" Gobber called out. He noticed that the Gronckle was doing something. "Hiccup, look out!"

"COME AT IT!" The boulder dragon roared as she charged at the brawny boy. She grinned when her target remained still-

Ka-POW!

-until her target struck an uppercut on her jaw, sending her back several metres away. "OW! Ya bloomin' plum!"

"Awa' n bile your head!" Hiccup shouted at the dragon. He emphasized his accent. "Ya fud!"

"HAUD YER WEESHT!" The Gronckle roared, before realising who she was screaming to. The attire indicated deviant dragon hunter. She also saw the Kinship Stone in his gauntlet. "Yer maw's git balls n yer da' loves it!"

"You look like you've went ten rounds with a tea bag!"

"Tea ba-" The boulder dragon was outraged. It was an insult to her scale colour. "You've got an arse like two weans fighting under a duvet!"

"Away an' take yer face fer a shite!"

While Hiccup and Gronckle were insulting back and forth, Astrid and Snotlout were sneaking behind the dragon. The two of them were standing right behind the Gronckle.

Snotlout quickly straightened himself. "So, anyway." He started with suggestive tone. "I'm moving into my parents' basement."

"Come at me, ye eel!" The Gronckle roared at Hiccup, challenging him for a fight. "Fight me!"

"Git rid o' th' ithers, then we'll ram!"

"You should come by sometime to work out." Snotlout suggested. He was getting louder. "You look like you work out!"

The Gronckle turned around to face the two young Vikings. "There!" She shouted, before sending a fireball towards them. Astrid rolled away and the fireball went straight to Snotlout. It hit his shield, which shattered upon impact.

"Snotlout, you're out!" Gobber called out.

Astrid rolled and stood right in front of Hiccup. The boy realised what she had done. "Not bad." He complimented. "But no."

Hiccup turned around and leapt up to the cage above. Astrid could only stare as the boy literally climbed out from the arena. Unfortunately, this was enough distraction for the Gronckle, who fired a fireball right onto her.

BOOM!

Fortunate for her, the fireball hit her shield. She survived the impact, but she lost her grip on the shield. The petite girl panicked and ran off to grab her shield.

Gobber was alarmed to see this. "Two shot left!" He called out, before looking at the brawny boy on the railings. He gestured to come and help.

Astrid managed to grab the shield, but its momentum pulled her hands. The shield rolled elsewhere, while the petite girl crashed onto the wall. The Gronckle behind her charged ahead. After she was cornered, the boulder dragon charged up her shot.

BOOM!

The fireball hit right above her as something suddenly pulled the Gronckle away. "OOOSHEEE!" She roared as lasso rope appeared around her neck and dragged her away. Hiccup managed to get her on time.

Once she was far enough, the brawny boy rushed to tie down the Gronckle. He wrestled her legs and tied that down, before wrapping around to tie down her maw and wings.

When that was done, Hiccup jumped off the dragon and threw the other end of the rope atop the cage. It crossed over the metal pieces, before going back down. The boy grabbed the rope and pulled.

The hogtied Gronckle was lifted off the ground. Hiccup kept pulling until he reached the end of the ring. After he was there, the brawny boy tied the rope to the nearest pole. "There. All done."

Gobber and the young Vikings stared at the hanging Gronckle. She was hanging upside down, immobile from the thick rope. The boulder dragon slowly spin around, glaring at everything it could see.

"Good work, Hiccup." Gobber complimented.

"Glad that sorted out." The brawny boy expressed his relief. "I thought you had it."

The blacksmith helped the petite girl up. "Sometimes, ye need to trust someone you hate the most." Gobber advised, ignoring the glares. He moved to face the brawny boy. "Hiccup, what ye think so far?"

"I don't know what you want me to say." Hiccup admitted.

"They lived to survive another day!" Gobber exclaimed, before crossing his arms. "But what if that was a deviant?"

The brawny boy exhaled his breath. "It depends. Most deviants varies, but there are something common with them." He began. "For one, deviant Gronckle don't need to eat rocks to use their fire."

"Second, they can be faster and more aggressive than normal Gronckle." Hiccup listed the differences. "And lastly, their scales are much thicker than normal ones."

The blacksmith raised his brows. "Would they survive against one?"

The brawny boy glanced at the teen Vikings, before looking back at him. "No." Hiccup answered. "They won't survive."

"And that's why ye train." Gobber moved on from the topic. "Go take some rest. Hiccup, I'll see ye at the Mead Hall."

---

After the debacle at the dragon ring, Hiccup went straight to the Mead Hall.

Considering most Vikings were heading for expedition, there was not that many people inside. The boy was sitting around the corner, reading his book and drinking a tankard of mead. He was studying to prepare for his latest discovery.

The problem with studying bacteriology was the lack of equipment. From what he knew, most of the good ones were in the German states; it was simply not possible to import them.

The next path for import was from London, the capital of Great Britain. However, it would take months to get them there.

It meant that he was in another dead end.

'The Swedes are still busy licking their wound after the Finnish War. Most of the scientific advancements are further down in central Europe.' Hiccup mentally grumbled as he flipped the page. 'I could probably fly there and back, but at that point, I might as well migrate to Hidden World with my family. I could get something better there.'

It was possible to reach London faster if he rode Gryphon the Valstrax. However, she was not fast or strong enough to endure prolonged flight. The young Valstrax was roughly as fast as them. She needed to be older to achieve the same speed as Aymar.

'Maybe I was expecting too much from her.' Hiccup mused. 'My book doesn't have anything on Valstrax. It's very much possible that she's still a fledgling.'

The boy saw a group entering the Mead Hall. Glancing at them, those were Astrid and her friends, along with Gobber. The young Vikings did not look happy; they briefly glared at him as they enter. The blacksmith, however, was approaching him. He sat on the opposite side of Hiccup.

Hiccup simply nodded. "Gobber."

"Hiccup." Gobber rested his arms on the table. He leaned to the boy. "About the dragon training."

The boy closed the book. "I don't want to train them."

"I knew ye'd say that." The blacksmith grumbled.

"The feeling's mutual, Gobber. They hate me too." Hiccup expressed his complaint. "I'd rather teach a boulder how to hunt."

"Look. I know ye don't like 'em. " Gobber stared directly at his eyes. He was serious. "I don't hate or dislike them, but I got my fair share of horrible dragon training students back then. You should consider this yer first experience dealing with this."

"And I'd rather teach a boulder how to hunt." The boy was serious as well. "I'll make 'em move around and swing blades like a proper deviant hunter. It's much easier doing that than teaching them."

The blacksmith shook his head. He was exasperated at the sarcasm. "Did ye told your dad about this?"

"He forced me to do it. I don't know what else to tell you." Hiccup shrugged. He gulped down the tankard, before continued speaking. "'could've been easy for him to ask me something else, but he wanted me as a teacher. It's not like I have a choice."

"You'll get them done. Don't worry." Gobber assured him. "What's the first thing you think is important for 'em?"

The boy stared at his book as he pondered that question. When Alexander Haddock began training him, he was not really starting off from scratch. Hiccup was dragonsmith first; deviant hunter second. It could be argued that most of his works were serving deviant hunters.

His former mentor occasionally put orders through messenger.

"Sensing deviants." Hiccup decided. He looked back at the blacksmith. "They need to learn how to tell dragons apart from deviants."

"How long does it take?"

"About an hour for me. It might be longer for them."

"Then we'll start from there." Gobber agreed. "Ye alright with after-training schedule?"

"I'm fine with it." Hiccup nodded.

"Good!" The blacksmith stood from the chair. "That's it then."

"Wait, Gobber." The boy stopped him. "I have something to ask."

"What is it lad?"

"Have you ever gone to Prussia before?" Hiccup questioned. "Delitzsch in Saxony, specifically."

"Hmm..." Gobber frowned as he stroked his beard. "One of those German city place?"

"That one. Yes."

"Only heard of Prussia. That's too far mainland." The blacksmith shrugged. He sat back on the chair. "Why?"

"I've been trying to get equipment to study diseases. The Germans have the stuff I need." Hiccup explained his problem. "I've checked the British catalogue from Johann, but it would take months to get them here."

Gobber raised his brows. "What kind of disease are ye studying for?"

"Lycanwing."

There was a pause. The blacksmith looked deep in thought. "... If this is about the tale before, I heard them from folks in southern Sweden." Gobber explained, before remembering something else. "Come to think of it. They got same stories about wolves too. Werewolves, they called them."

"Okay, Gobber. I get it." Hiccup stopped the man from telling the tale. While the conversation proved fruitless, at least he had a lead on where Lycanwing might originate from. "I'll come and visit when I have the time. Maybe after my dad went back home."

"Hahah!" Gobber laughed as he stood from the chair. "Good choice! Yer gonna love it."

"I'm sure I will." The boy nodded. "Thanks, Gobber."

"Anytime, lad."

---

Later that day, Hiccup went to the cove. The boy carried four baskets of fishes with him, along with the red dragon-scaled book he had obtained.

Considering Gryphon, Toothless and their hatchlings were still at the nest, Hiccup went to work on studying the Lycanwing disease. He wanted to get them done as soon as possible.

However, given the alchemic nature of the study, most of his time ended up waiting for his work to finish brewing. Considering he had to go through trial and error on Lycanwing, it meant that there was a lot of waiting.

As a result, Hiccup ended up reading and studying Life-Force instead of focusing on his alchemy study.

It was the state that Gryphon and Toothless found him in. When they arrived at the cove, Hiccup had his head engrossed at a large red dragon-scaled book. He was resting at a tree trunk near the open cave. Toothless simply walked to him, before shadowing the boy from sunlight.

Hiccup looked up to see the newcomer. He smiled upon seeing the black dragon. "Gryphon! Toothless! You're here!"

"Yeah. It's been a day." The mother dragon exhaled her breath, before lowering her head. The Night Fury hatchlings jumped off from her head. "I have a plan to get to Caldera."

The boy closed his book. "Did you plan this with Gryphon?"

"Yes." Toothless nodded. "She has an idea to get us there."

Hiccup grabbed the fish baskets, before placing them right at the tree trunk. "Here you go." The boy opened them, revealing baskets full of cods. "I got your favourites."

"Oh yes, cods!" Toothless licked her lips, before moving in to gulp down some food.

Gryphon sniffed the pile of fishes. She pushed the cods away, revealing a bluefin tuna. "Tuna!" The Valstrax chirped, before taking a bite.

The hatchlings quickly rushed to the boy. They nudged Hiccup's leg, asking him for food. "Daaad." Calian whined. "I want food."

"Hrrk!" Toothless suddenly choked, getting their attention. The mother dragon was regurgitating the fishes she just ate. "Krrk!" She belched tenderised fishes on the ground. "Here you go."

"Yaaay!" The hatchlings cheered, before rushing to eat their food.

Hiccup felt relief. He did not have to transform to feed his children. "Thanks, Toothless."

"We just ran out of fishes at the nest. We thought about bringing you along to search for food." The mother dragon explained the situation. "I didn't expect you to bring fish from your village."

"That's because most Vikings at the village are gone for few weeks. Those fishes will rot if not eaten now." The boy sat down on the trunk, resting the book on his lap. He looked at the Valstrax. "You said you have a plan?"

"Yes." Gryphon nodded. "It's very simple. We fly as high as we can, then fly across the border all the way to Caldera. Most dragons can't reach over 2 kilometres height. We can go much higher than that. I can carry my siblings in my pockets, and they can sleep inside."

"It is a sound idea." Hiccup nodded. "But you're forgetting something."

"What?"

"I'm currently wanted for capture by Merciless." The boy answered. "He want me to become his alchemist. The moment we crossed the border, Merciless will hunt us down."

"Oh yeah..." The Valstrax faltered. "Merciless is a Night Fury greater alpha."

"It's not a bad idea." Hiccup clarified. "It could probably work if we cross over Europe to Arabian Peninsula instead, but I don't think anyone can fly over 6,000 kilometres distance without stopping."

"We can sleep while flying." Toothless suggested. "We can store fish in Storage Crystals."

"Yes, but I can't sleep while flying." The boy reminded them. "Of all dragons that can't sleep-fly, I'm the only one that can't do it. I don't even know how Gryphon did it."

"It was instinct for me." Gryphon helpfully explained. "You can stay as human and ride on our back. You can sleep and help us navigate. When we get there, you can turn into dragon to pass the entrance."

Hiccup paused at that. "That could work." He agreed. "The next problem would be doing this without anyone knowing. The moment we leave for Europe, Merciless will have free reign to hunt me down."

The Valstrax was curious. "Does he really want you that bad?"

"Yes." "Yes." Both Hiccup and Toothless answered.

The mother dragon was the one who explained. "Most dragons know Charcoal as a former general, but some know him as an alchemist." Toothless began the tale. "It's extremely rare to find an alchemist, even in Hidden World. Remember the Dramillion that came to visit?"

"You mean Harald the Dramillion?" Gryphon tilted her head.

Hiccup was confused. "Harald came to visit?"

"Yes. He was looking for you." Toothless nodded as she looked at her mate. "He wanted alchemy training from you."

"I can't teach him alchemy. It took me years to learn by myself, and I barely scratched the surface." The boy gave his answer. He scratched his head. "If he want an alchemist, he need to find one in Hidden World."

"But you were his general once." The mother dragon pointed out. "He doesn't seem to trust anyone else to teach him."

"And I am currently wanted in Greater Archipelago." The boy retorted.

There was a pause. Toothless shrugged her wings. "That's fair."

"We'll figure out how to flee without Merciless knowing later. For now, I have something to play around with." Hiccup smirked as he showed the red dragon-scaled book. "Look what I found."

Toothless immediately recognised it. "Is that...!"

"Mana: Principles, Techniques and Tools, written by Marduk, also known as Hiccup the First." Hiccup answered her curiosity. He was pleased with himself. "The original dragon book."

The mother dragon took a sharp breath. "Does it say what volume that is?"

"It does." The boy opened the book. The first page explained what Life-Force was about, but the one at the cover had more information about the book. "This is the second volume. It talks about advanced Life-Force spells and techniques."

"There are twelve volumes of that book. There is only ever one book for every volume." The mother dragon recited the history. "The original first volume book is held by my father, and copies of them were made for public education. They said the rest were lost in time, but you found the second volume."

"More like given to me. My dad has one this whole time." Hiccup flipped to the page he left off. "I think the books are still around. This thing is a draconic book; they are mostly indestructible."

"I never knew you can forge a literal dragon book." Toothless leaned to read the content. She raised her brows when she realised the language. "It's written in really old Greek... this is definitely an original."

"It has many interesting things." The boy moved to show her. He pointed at something on the book. "Here. Look at this spell. They called it Ironwire."

The mother dragon stared with deadpan expression. "Charcoal, I don't know how to read old Greek."

"Oh." Hiccup blinked at that, before showing his hands to her. "Here. I'll demonstrate."

The boy clenched his hands and placed them together. He concentrated as he slowly moved his fists to opposite sides. Toothless widened her eyes when a blue wire appeared from his hands. They were shimmering with light; she realised that it was a pure manifestation of mana.

Hiccup moved his fists around, controlling the blue wire. It moved and formed circular shape with it. He threw them over to the basket of fish, before pulling it up. A cod fish went flying into the air. The boy moved the wire to catch the fish. The blue wire caught them just in time and held it in a circle.

The boy raised the fish at eye level. The fish was suddenly sliced by the blue wire just as it disappeared. Hiccup grabbed the chopped fish as they fell. When that was done, he stared at the shocked expression of the mother dragon. "What do you think?"

Toothless blinked as she processed what happened. "That-"

"WHOA!"

The Night Fury hatchlings immediately crowded around Hiccup. They were talking at the same time, excited and awed by the display their father put up. Hamish was rapidly speaking to his father. "What was that? Are those wires? Why are they blue?"

"I want to learn them!" Calian exclaimed, staring at his father with pleading expression. "Please?"

"Daaad." Iris whined. "I want to know too."

Hiccup quickly dropped the chopped fish. "Slow down! Calm down." He exclaimed, but that did not stop them. "One by one. Kids, please!"

Amelia and Helena were standing on top of the book. The two hatchlings were nudging their father. "I want to learn too."

Helena roughly pushed her sister off. "Me first!"

"Hrrk!" The spring-green eyed hatchling fell to the ground.

Thankfully, Gryphon was there to catch her. "Careful." She warned as she put her back onto the book. "Don't push your sister."

The dark-acidic eyed hatchling looked embarrassed. "Sorry, sister."

"Let's eat the tuna!" Hamish exclaimed, before rushing to the fish pile.

Others were quick to follow. They rushed for the tuna. "Yaay!"

"Wait!" Gryphon alarmedly followed.

Hiccup raised his brows. He glanced at Toothless, who shrugged her wings. After the hatchlings were busy enough, the boy closed the book. "I also found something else."

"What is it?" Toothless asked.

"Something interesting I learned today." Hiccup stood from the ground, before heading to the open cave. Unlike before, there were chairs, tables, books and all sorts of alchemical things. He placed the book on the table. "My father had a dragon friend."

The mother dragon followed him inside. "Dragon friend?"

"My father, Stoick the Vast, befriended a Night Fury." Hiccup answered as he continued his work. He turned off the burners and inspected the fluids. "She was kidnapped by a dragon, probably before I was born."

It took a moment for her to process that statement. "... what?"

"I know. I was surprised too." Hiccup admitted. "He told me himself."

Toothless was surprised and confused. "What did he say, exactly?"

Hiccup reached for their circuit bond. He mentally showed the memory last night for her to see. "Check my memory."

Toothless paused as she processed the memory. After watching them, she realised something. "Your ancestor was best friend with my dad. And then one of your ancestors was best friend with Furious." The mother dragon summarised. "And then, you have me as your mate. It looks like destiny. The history checks out."

"I'm not exactly the superstitious type." The boy slowly responded. "But if I'm destined to have interesting life, then this might just be the beginning."

"It does make sense. Your ancestor is Hiccup the First, and my father is Wodensfang, his best friend." Toothless recognised the pattern. "It explains why you smelled like a dragon. Your ancestor is a dragon turned human. It makes sense if you're a dragon, but that doesn't explain why your dad smells almost human instead of full dragon."

"He told me his Night Fury friend was taken by a hostile dragon." Hiccup pondered. "A Night Fury couldn't just be... taken like that without a big fight, especially female dragon. No offence, Toothless."

"None taken."

"And there's no way for him to know if she was abducted, unless they were together when that happened." The boy pondered that thought. "It also means that they're always together."

"I don't think she would stay in the village with your father. Your village is not friendly with dragons at all!" Toothless assumed. Then, her eyes widened with realisation. "Unless... the Night Fury was not really a Night Fury. The dragon might be a human, just like you."

Hiccup thought it made sense. If his ancestor was a dragon turned into human, then it was not far off. His father's dragon could be turned into human the same way. "If that's the case, there should be some news about someone taken away by a dragon in the village." He concluded. "But last time I check, in the past 20 years, the only one ever taken by a dragon was..."

Toothless simply stared at Hiccup. She saw his expression dramatically changed into shock. That made her concerned. "Charcoal?" She asked. "Are you okay?"

"The only person that was ever taken by a dragon-" Hiccup spoke as he stared at her. "-was my mom. Valka Haddock."

"Wait." Toothless started, eyes wide. "Your mom is the dragon?"

Hiccup was a bit hysteric upon coming to that conclusion. "My dad bred his Night Fury! And I'm their offspring!" He exclaimed. "It crazy, but it made sense! That's why he told me that! That's why I smelled like a dragon! All my life, I'm a dragon in form of a human!"

"Wait, Charcoal, hold on, stop." Toothless tried to calm him down.

"Skies above, this is insane!" Hiccup scratched his head.

"Charcoal, hold on there. We need to get some proof." The dragoness started, getting his attention. "If your dad is his Night Fury's mate, he must've had some of her stuff in his roost. You said he's off to find Dragon Island at Helheim's Gate, right?"

"Yes."

"You should search his place. Don't take that conclusion seriously." Toothless nudged him. "Also, that doesn't answer why you smell like a dragon, but he barely smells like one."

"Yeah, I can search his room tonight." Hiccup mumbled, still in shock by his own assumption. "Gods, I can't believe how plausible that was."

"Hey, it's okay." The mother dragon softly spoke to him. "We're making progress. Sometimes, the craziest fact makes the most sense."

The boy took a deep breath. "... I guess you're right." He admitted, before smiling at her. "Thanks for being here, Toothless."

"Dad?" Gryphon called out as she entered the place. The Night Fury hatchlings were in her pockets. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Just figuring something out." Hiccup exhaled his breath, before focusing on the group. "So, it's going to take some time to prepare. What do you want to do while we wait?"

"How about teaching me the ironwire spell?" Toothless tilted her head. She was excited to learn new mana technique. "It looks useful."

"It does look useful." Gryphon agreed.

"They have a lot of uses. I used them to cut the tree trunk outside." The boy moved to grab the red dragon-scaled book. "That's just one of the many things in this book."

"Hrr..." The mother dragon stared for some time. She seemed to have gotten a different idea. "Actually, do you think our hatchlings are ready to learn about mana?"

Hearing that, the Night Fury hatchlings looked at their parents with pleading look. Hiccup exhaled his breath. "They can start after they learn how to use their fire."

It was Hamish that spoke up. "Mom taught us how to use fire."

"Yeah!" Winter exclaimed, nodding at his brother. "Mom taught us how to hunt!"

Toothless stared at the boy with knowing look. Hiccup rolled his eyes. "Alright then." He relented, before walking out from the open cave. "Mana lesson it is."

The hatchlings cheered. "Yaaay!"

---

"Alright. Where did Astrid go wrong in the ring today?"

Later that night, Gobber, Astrid, Snotlout and others were at the Mead Hall. It was night-time, and the place was dark. There was only a lantern illuminating their place. Hiccup walked to sit next to Gobber.

"I mistimed my somersault dive." Astrid spoke, focused on the blacksmith. "It was sloppy. It threw off my reverse tumble."

"Yeah, we noticed." Ruffnut spoke in sarcastic tone.

"No, no, you were great!" Snotlout praised her. "That was so 'Astrid'."

Gobber shrugged. "She's right." He responded. "You have to be tough on yourself. Hiccup, what do you think?"

The others immediately glared at him. Hiccup wanted to snap but held himself back. "It's their first day." He commented. "The fact they survived is all that matters."

"Thank you, Hiccup." Gobber praised him. "You need to live and breathe this stuff."

The blacksmith pulled out a book and dropped them onto the table. Hiccup recognised it. "The Dragon Manual." Gobber introduced. "Everything we know about every dragon we know of."

Suddenly, there was a thunder outside. The blacksmith looked up, before speaking. "No attacks tonight. Study up." Then, he left the place, leaving the teens alone inside the Mead Hall.

"Wait, you mean, read?" Tuffnut asked, incredulous.

"While we're still alive?" Ruffnut questioned.

"Why read words when you can just kill the stuff the words tell you stuff about?" Snotlout questioned.

"Oh!" Fishlegs piped in. "I've read it like, seven times."

Everyone turned to look at him. The large teen continued speaking. "There's this water dragon that sprays boiling water at your face."

'Scauldron.' Hiccup thought.

"And- And there's this one that buries itself for like a week-"

"Yeah, that sounds great." Tuffnut interrupted. "See, there was a chance I was going to read that..."

"But now..." Ruffnut trailed off, before walking away. Her twin went to follow from behind.

"You guys read." Snotlout spoke as he stood from the seat. "I'll go kill stuff." The burly boy left the place.

Fishlegs moved to follow them. "Oh, and there's this one that has these spines that look like trees..."

Hiccup looked down at the Dragon Manual. It reminded him of the books that he had. Looking up, he saw Astrid leaving the place. Just as she was about to leave, they looked at each other. Upon seeing him, the petite girl glared at him, before turning away and left the place.

The boy grimaced at that. He exhaled his breath, before standing up from the seat. It was time to go home and find out more about his himself.

---

Later that night, Hiccup went back home. The fireplace was off, but that was to be expected. The boy carefully walked towards his father's room. He slowly opened the door and entered it. The room was surprisingly unlocked. Upon entering the place, he closed the door behind him.

Hiccup noted that the room was larger than his own. There was a bed around the corner. On the opposite side, however, there was a large flat rock. He looked there and inspected the rock. The centre part was charred in circular pattern.

There was only one dragon that scorch their bed: Night Fury.

It confirmed what his father told him before.

There was a table at the middle end of the room. Hiccup moved to reach it. There was a wooden box with a latch on the table. The boy was curious. He slowly opened the latch. The small box opened by itself.

The box was filled with pitch black dragon scales. Those were in oval shapes of varying sizes. Hiccup picked up the biggest scale, touching it with his hand. It felt rather old. They were most likely scales of his father's Night Fury friend.

He placed them back and closed it shut. He did not need to steal it.

The boy moved to the exit door. He paused as he noticed something. Somewhere at the rock bed, there was a hidden lever behind it. He could see them from the doorway. The boy moved to reach for the hidden lever. He grabbed and pulled the lever.

Clack!

Right after turning them, the whole bed rock suddenly flipped around. Hiccup was completely unprepared for it. He was standing on top of the bed rock to reach it. He fell underground and hit the surface below. The rock bed above him turned back up, leaving nothing amiss.

Wham!

"Ow..." Hiccup whined when he landed on the ground. He did not expect that to happen. Standing up from the ground, he looked around to check. It looked like an underground cave clearing. There was a pond and a cave entrance. The place was large enough to fit a large dragon.

The boy began moving forward. "Where does this lead to-"

Suddenly, Hiccup stepped on something. He raised his foot and realised that he was standing on top of something made of leather. The boy grabbed the object to see more of them. It was a saddle, and there was a name on them.

Valka

'That's my mother's name.' Hiccup realised.

The boy moved to check if there was anything else on the saddle. There was a small pocket on the side. He opened it and pulled something out.

It was a journal. He placed the saddle aside and opened the journal. It was almost destroyed, mostly due to age. It looked like it had never been opened for a long time. There were some entries that was still intact.

The dragon raids are getting worse. I fear for my husband's life, because I could not protect him anymore. I have done my best to protect him from the dead witch that tried to kill him. But as a result, I have become a human. I have made my choice and sacrificed my life a dragon. May the skies forgive my sins, because I cannot stand this anymore.

'This is his dragon's journal.' Hiccup thought, horrified. He flipped some pages and read the next readable entry.

-so happy that it's finally here! We finally have a son together. We named him Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third. Old Wrinkly told me that he have a [...]. Stoick doesn't want to believe it. I think he's afraid. He said the [...] of us.

He said our son would be a [...] Night Fury. The [...] Whatever it was, I believe in our son. He will do great things in-

Part of the entries were destroyed by decay. The ink was blurry, and some did not make any sense to him. However, that was everything Hiccup needed to know. The boy dropped the book, terrified. "I..." he whispered. "My mother is a Night Fury..."

The boy felt mixture of emotions. Anger that his father had kept it from him. Sadness for the demise of his mother. Confusion because he was unaware of the context of his mother and father relationship. Fear for not knowing anything about himself.

Everyone kept secrets from him, and they were bigger than anything else he had ever experienced.

Hiccup pushed that emotion away. It was not the time to think about it. Walking deeper into the clearing, he noticed a cave way just around the corner.

The path was heading around the corner. The boy carefully entered the cave way. Heading around the corner, he paused when he saw a glowing pure white crystal.

Given that his mother was a dragon, it was most likely that she had some crystals with her. Those looked like Cog Stone - artificial crystal used to rotate physical objects

Hiccup remembered using them for sea scooters with the help of Henry the Woolly Howl. However, he did not remember them glowing or shaped like that.

Regardless, given the placement, it might be a 'lever' to open a door. Hiccup placed his hand on the glowing white crystal and pulsed his mana.

Suddenly, there was a flash, and the boy disappeared.

---

Not expecting sudden effect, Hiccup fell on his bum. He landed in a dark, open place. The place was unknown to him.

The boy was not sure what to make of it; it was rather hot in temperature, and there was a familiar, rumbling sound. It did not take him long to realise that he was in Dragon Island.

Hiccup did not have any light source. Instead, he used his Kinship Stone to provide one. The mechanical wing unfolded itself as the stone began to glow. The illumination brightened the place, as well as the inhabitant. The boy widened his eyes when he saw something in front of him.

It was a massive black dragon, looking like a Night Fury. The shape was ever-changing, almost chaotic. He could not see more since the dragon was curled on the ground, and the head was as big as the village.

There were dark, fluid-like tendrils moving around the chamber, as well as floating black orbs that looked like eyes. The dragon was obviously asleep.

Hiccup took a step back, which made a bit of noise. Yellow eyes snapped open and stared directly at him. The boy flinched when it suddenly pierced into his mind, going through them within seconds. Then, it began to move and stand from the ground. He panicked as he rushed to find a way out.

"Wait."

The boy stopped upon hearing that. The voice was familiar. He slowly looked up to the massive pair of yellow eyes. They were so far up above him. "... Furious?"

"Charcoal?" The eldritch-looking Night Fury responded. He was surprised to see him. "How are you..."

There was a pause as they stared at each other. Eventually, the giant dragon decided to speak. "You found the crystal." He spoke in his mind. "You discovered what happened."

Hiccup slowly regained his bearings. "... you lied to me." He whispered. "I was never your son."

Furious widened his eyes. That sentence felt hurt in his heart. He did not expect Hiccup to find out on his own. The fact that he found the crystal meant that he knew about himself for quite some time.

He knew this would happen. Furious knew Charcoal would find out; his foresight predicted it. He should have told him that secret all those years ago. It would have prevented this situation.

However, Furious was so afraid to lose him, he ignored his own advice. He had to think of something to salvage the situation. He could not lose another son.

"Charcoal, I am your father. You are my son, even if you are adopted." Furious seemed to retort. "I... didn't expect you to discover this so soon."

"You altered my mind and changed my identity." The boy searched around for a way out. "You made me believe I served under Merciless."

"You did serve under Merciless." Furious insisted. Hiccup could feel him searching for context in his mind. "The other mana circuit set in you was from my deceased son. You are my son; I want you to be my son. And my son used to serve under him."

Hiccup had no idea how to respond to that. He was still searching for a way out. "You took me from my home."

"I took you from your home, because you are a Lycanwing." The eldritch Night Fury retaliated. "How do you think I found you? I sensed you transforming in your room, having no mind of your own. Had I not taken you away, the Vikings would have killed you."

Hiccup paused as he stared at him. "Do you give your words for that?"

"I give you my words for it." Furious agreed. "If you don't trust me, I'll show you the memory."

The boy reached the telepathic connection the eldritch dragon made. He read and watched the memory he showed him.

Hiccup watched his younger self transforming into a Night Fury in the middle of the night. There was no scream, but had he been awake, he would feel the painful process.

When the transformation was done, the dragon was not of his own. He almost trashed the room, until Furious took control of his mind.

The dragon went completely still, before carefully putting everything back in place. The memory ended when he flew out from the house through the window, disappearing into the night.

When that memory ended, Hiccup simply faltered. Furious was telling the truth. However, that did not explain some other things. "But... why did you lied to me?"

"Because you were not ready." Furious answered.

Suddenly, Hiccup felt one of the tendrils stabbed his neck. Instead of blood, it melded itself into him. He could feel something blending with his mana; it passed through his circuits.

The boy felt his body limped as he was lifted off the ground. Hiccup kept going up and up, until he saw the eldritch Night Fury at eye level.

The boy grunted when he felt his body transform. He began to glow as he grew into quadruped dragon. At the same time, more black tendrils pierced into his growing body. When the light ended, Hiccup had become Charcoal. There were multiple tendrils attached to his body.

Two giant yellow eyes stared at the terrified Night Fury. "But I've waited long enough for this."

Charcoal gasped as he felt something from within. Furious was somehow altering him, forcing some sort of controlled mutation. He shut his eyes as something was ripped away from him. The young Night Fury felt pressure building up, before something finally popped out.

"Harr..." The young Night Fury felt immensely relieved. Opening his eyes, he saw a large bright white-purple, grape-like crystal. It was as big as his head, and it was attached to a tendril.

Charcoal recognised what it was. "The Lycanwing Crystal."

"We call them; Aberrant Stone." Furious whispered in his mind. "Do you know what they are for?"

"No?"

"Forcing controlled mutation." The eldritch Night Fury revealed. "You have mutated enough for me to pull them out. I have cured you from Lycanwing disease."

Charcoal did not know what to say. He felt both relieved and scared; relieved that he was finally cured from Lycanwing and remained as a dragon; scared of what Furious would do to the crystal. There were too many unknown things, and it scared him.

As expected, Charcoal felt something changed within. The crystal began to shrink and disappear as it was used. The young Night Fury limped as he began to change once more.

His body shimmered as he turned back and forth between forms, alternating between human and dragon. Eventually, it ended with Charcoal in his dragon form.

Furious looked pleased with himself. "There you go." He whispered in his mind. "Try it."

The young Night Fury regained some of his mobility. He looked at his paws; it turned almost humanoid, before turning into human hand, and turned back to his dragon claws.

Charcoal stared with wide-eyed expression. He could turn his body to become human or dragon, and something in between.

Charcoal did just that. His body shimmered as he began to shrink to humanoid shape. Instead of finishing the transformation, he stopped somewhere in the middle.

He could not properly see himself, but he could feel draconic hands and scales. His clothes were also humanoid.

"How do you feel?"

The humanoid dragon looked back at the giant yellow eyes. Charcoal did not know what to say. "I still want my answers."

Charcoal felt himself transforming back to his full dragon form. Then, he was lifted much higher up, before reaching a familiar-looking balcony.

It was the main entrance into Furious' lair. The tendrils slowly detached themselves from him, and once he landed at the bright balcony, they fully retreated into the darkness.

There was a moment where he heard something moving in the darkness. Not long after, the familiar figure of Greater Alpha Furious walked out from the darkness. His yellow eyes were incredibly saddened.

"Charcoal." Furious began. He did not know how to start the conversation. "I'm sorry."

It took Charcoal some time to process what happened. He did not expect the crystal to transport him there. "All this time..." The young dragon whispered. "You knew what I am."

The ancient black dragon knew that was coming. "Yes."

There was another pause. They did not know what to say. Charcoal did not expect him to be there. He had suspected that Furious had something to do with this, but hearing the full fact was a whole different matter.

Furious lowered his head. "I'm sorry for hiding this from you."

"You lied to me." Charcoal whispered. He remembered their conversation last year. "You told me it was your biggest secret."

"It is my biggest secret!" Furious insisted, before clarifying. "Just... one of my many big secrets."

The young dragon was about to argue when he realised something. While the secret did not seem that impactful, it was very much so to his life. At least before he knew who he was.

"It's not your biggest secret to me." The young dragon retaliated. His eyes glistened. "I trusted you to keep your promise. Why did you lie to me?"

There was a brief silence. The greater alpha dragon hesitated to answer that question. "Because I'm afraid."

"Afraid of what?"

"Afraid that I'll lose another son." Furious confessed. His wings slumped to the side. "... I thought I could tell you when you're ready."

"I have to find out everything about myself." Charcoal growled. "All by myself. You were never going to tell me!"

"And you think your human father is going to tell you?" The greater alpha dragon retaliated. Seeing his surprised expression, he continued speaking. "Your father knows what you are. He knew everything since he was very young. He was supposed to tell you long ago."

"What are you talking about?"

"Charcoal, you were never a human." Furious answered that question. "You're a pure, full-blooded Haddock Night Fury. You hatched from an egg!"

The young dragon took a step back. "I am born human!"

"Your mother is a Night Fury, cursed to be a human." The greater alpha dragon insisted. "Your father comes from a long line of Night Fury blood. Hiccup the First is a dragon. His dragon name is Marduk."

Charcoal could only stare. "How can I trust your word if all you did was lying to me?"

"I'm not lying. Please." Furious pleaded. "My mind is open to you."

The young dragon entered the mind of the greater alpha dragon once more. He did not trust a word Furious had told him. Instead, he searched and read the knowledge himself.

According to Furious' mind, Valka was a female Night Fury who immigrated out from Hidden World. She was roughly the same age as Stoick Horrendous Haddock. They met at the age of 15, where Stoick found her trapped inside a net. Instead of killing her, they became friends together.

Stoick wanted to become a deviant dragon hunter. It was partially why he spared her instead of killing her. Other than Gobber and Stoick's father, the village had no idea of their friendship. They only vaguely aware of his wish.

They also met Alexander Haddock, but he was too busy handling deviant crisis in Americas at the time. He refused to train them because of his schedule. As such, they had to train how to hunt by themselves.

For 10 years, Stoick and Valka went on adventure across Barbaric Archipelago. The region was relatively safe, meaning deviants were rare and weaker compared to the mainland. They hunted deviants that wished to harm the village.

However, it all came to an end. Valka was cursed by a witch to become human. They retired from the adventure and decided to live together at Berk. They eventually fell in love and married five years later.

Months later, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third was born. Valka gave birth to an egg, which hatched into a human.

Both Stoick and Valka knew about Furious. Valka was the one who told him everything about their lives. However, after she was kidnapped, Stoick started going for expedition to hunt him down. Furious had no choice but treat Berk like many other villages.

Stoick thought Furious had gone rogue and killed his wife.

Charcoal was in shock. "... you knew." He whispered. "All this time... you knew..."

Furious lowered his head. "Yes."

The young dragon continued reading his mind. He searched for explanation to his phenomenon. Furious was aware that Charcoal was an unusual case. It was related to his family history.

The Haddock family line was draconic.

Hiccup the First, the ancestor of Haddock family, was a Night Fury named Marduk. He was the human described in the Legend of Haddock. Long time ago, he sacrificed himself and became human to end the war between humans and dragons.

His dragon form was sealed, and he was to remain human. He was also cursed to only be attracted to humans. The curse and seal were passed on to his children, which would later formed the Haddock family.

For every generation, the dragon blood was diluted with human ones. When they discovered a way to break the seal, the true form had already become bipedal dragon with wings.

In 900s, only children born from first partner would retain their blood. In 1500s, it shrunk to only first born from first partner.

The family tree was very complicated.

Stoick was meant to be the last. However, the curse never stopped him from falling in love with Valka Haddock. They thought Hiccup would be born as human. They had accepted the fate of Haddock family.

When she gave birth to an egg, they realised they had found a loophole within. They inadvertently refreshed the dragon blood. Hiccup was born as full-blooded Night Fury without the curse. All that left was the seal.

Stoick knew about this, which was why he never told him about it.

However, that seal was partially broken when he became a Lycanwing.

Furious tried to break the seal, but the disease prevented him from doing so. For some reason, somehow, it had taken control of the seal. It was impossible to break them without killing him. He determined that Charcoal's mana circuit had to adapt in order to break that seal.

When Charcoal mutated and broken through Furious' False Mind, it had also broken the seal. Ironically, the Lycanwing disease had mutated and adapted itself within his body. It was how he was able to transform between human and dragon form at will.

What Furious did was extracting the Lycanwing disease. It was possible because the seal was broken. Then, he used the Aberrant Stone to integrate the transformation ability into his mana circuit. This resulted in a better, more flexible shape.

Furious was tracking his presence in his mind. "I tried my best to break your seal." He confessed, getting his attention. "I thought that breaking your seal would give you freedom that you want. I thought you could leave your village and stay with me as a dragon."

Charcoal narrowed his eyes. "You have no right to make that choice."

"You're right. I don't." The greater alpha dragon admitted. "But I know you don't belong in your village."

The young dragon wanted to argue. He wanted to retaliate. However, there was no argument he could use against that.

He remembered the time when Snotlout bullied him for being weaker. Astrid would taunt him whenever he made a mistake. Tuffnut and Ruffnut often pranked him. The only one that tolerated him was Fishlegs, but he was a coward that helped them bullying him.

There was also the fact that they stole things from him.

The village disliked him for being small. When he got bigger, they did not want to associate with him because he was different. Charcoal had come to terms with this after the failed Alatreon hunt. He stopped caring after reaching his own enlightenment.

His father, Stoick the Vast, was the only one who care for him. Despite his tough love and lack of emotional intelligence, he did his best to help him fit within the village.

Stoick was a flawed father who tried his best.

The biggest turning point was after he killed the giant Monstrous Nightmare. The village became largely neutral, and his father started to trust his judgment. The fact he trusted him to design ships and cannons was testament to that.

Gobber told him that he could be more than just that.

"Yes. I don't belong in my village." Charcoal answered, staring at the greater alpha in front of him. "Because I have outgrown them."

Furious was surprised to hear that. "Outgrown them?" He repeated. "Charcoal, they don't like you. I've seen what they did; what those children did; and your father. They shouldn't treat you like that."

"They shouldn't, but I endured." The young dragon straightened himself. "I was never one of them, because I've always been more than that. I was more than just a Viking. I am a dragonsmith and a deviant dragon hunter."

It was the conclusion he got when he achieved his enlightenment. He had always been different. For so long, he tried to adapt in the village. He tried to gain their acceptance by doing things he knew, such as making contraption. This only made things worse.

In his effort to adapt, he had forgotten the milestone he made throughout his journey. He knew many different languages, when the village barely knew how to read. He surpassed his mentors within few years, when it took them decades and centuries to learn.

He accomplished so much in pursuit of acceptance he barely got.

The greater alpha dragon probed his mind through their connection. Charcoal allowed him to see his enlightenment. It took him few minutes to understand what he meant by that.

Furious found himself impressed and relived by the conclusion. He did not have to convince him to leave his village behind. "I understand." He whispered as he closed his eyes. "... what do you want to do now?"

"I want to migrate to Hidden World." Charcoal answered. "There's nothing for me and my family to gain here. The surface is getting too dangerous."

The greater alpha dragon wanted to stop him. He did not want Charcoal to leave the region altogether. However, he was reminded of his discovery yesterday. The Northern Alliance had set their target to the Isle of Berk, and he knew what they want.

The faction was not to be underestimated. They were in possession of a deviant greater alpha dragon.

Unless he negotiated something with Merciless, he could not guarantee Charcoal's protection in the region. At least until Northern Alliance had been eradicated. Charcoal and his family would be safer in Hidden World under Wodensfang.

Charcoal caught Furious' thoughts. "Northern Alliance planning something?"

It was when Furious remember that he was still in his mind. "Charcoal-"

"No." The young dragon interrupted. "I want to see this."

Charcoal searched his mind for any knowledge about his concern. He discovered that Furious had done his investigation on the recent deviant incursion. It was connected to different anomalies that occurred within Isle of Berk.

According to Furious' research, the Northern Alliance was looking for powerful dragon species to be turned into a deviant. They knew about Haddock Night Fury, which made the island their prime target. The incursion that happened in the past 15 years were all their doing.

Ascal the deviant spy had been at Berk for decades. The Northern Alliance sent him there when they heard about Hiccup being born from an egg. It was unknown how they knew, but they sent a spy to observe. They wanted to know if Hiccup was worth kidnapping.

They were responsible for the Lycanwing attack all those years ago.

When Hiccup was old enough, during the treaty signing, they sent a deviant Monstrous Nightmare to test him. They knew Alexander Haddock would be there to bail him out. Just like many other Vikings, Ascal was there to observe.

They accelerated their plan when the deviant meant for Spain was killed in Barbaric Archipelago. Hiccup was considered responsible for this. Even Furious thought Hiccup did it to limit their influence in Europe.

At the same time, the Northern Alliance lost their spy.

Furious used Psychic-Force to read the Vikings' minds about the latest incursion. What he found was short of amazement and alarming. He saw the result of draconic cannon. He was impressed.

Regardless, the greater alpha dragon had concluded that they were there to capture Stoick the Vast. It was why they tasked Ascal to lead the incursion. The setbacks had changed their plan.

They were getting desperate.

Valka Haddock was kidnapped 14 years ago. The dragon raid was unscheduled, meaning it was planned by the Northern Alliance to take her away. It was unknown if she was alive, or if they managed to break the curse.

However, since they made an attempt to take Stoick away, Furious believed the former. He had to ask Merciless for information regarding her. That was yesterday.

According to Merciless, Valka Haddock was alive.

"Hrrk!" Charcoal took a step back as Furious kicked him out from his mind. Staring at the terrified yellow eyes, the young dragon whispered. "My mom is alive..."

"Charcoal. I just found out about this yesterday." Furious carefully spoke. He knew what he was thinking. "I don't want you to go to Greater Archipelago. Remember your arrest warrant."

The young dragon pondered what he just discovered. He could not believe what he found. "It was all their plot." Charcoal whispered. "They want Night Furies on their side."

"Charcoal!" The greater alpha dragon snapped, getting his attention. "I don't want you looking into it. I will handle this."

"How can I trust you to handle this if all you ever did is lying to me?!" Charcoal demanded. He was angry at the response. "They did this! They want powerful dragons!"

"They are desperate!" Furious roared back. He took a deep breath to calm himself. "Charcoal, please. It was a mistake for me to think about it. You're not supposed to know."

"What are you going to do about it then?" The young dragon demanded once more. "This is my family!"

Furious was angry. He knew Charcoal still considered Stoick his father. He should have never thought of that with Charcoal in his mind. It angered him that he wanted to charge head first for someone that neglected him.

Worse, he wanted to see someone that was never involved in his life.

"Stoick is not your family!" Furious roared. "I am!"

Silence. Charcoal stared with wide eyed expression. The greater alpha dragon was shaking with anger. "You're telling me that a man who barely care about you..." He whispered. "... is your father?"

The young dragon quietened. "He raised me."

"No. I raised you." Furious hissed his voice. "Ever since you have Lycanwing, I did the job that your father supposed to do. He was supposed to break your seal ten years ago, just like his father does. He was supposed to tell you everything ten years ago, just like his father does!"

Charcoal fell silent. The greater alpha dragon continued speaking. "I made sure you can survive as a dragon. For five years, I made sure you're safe from harm. I trained you with everything I know, while I searched for your cure. Is that not enough father for you?!"

The young dragon did not answer. He looked away, avoiding his stare.

Furious really did consider him his son. The sacrifice he made could not be ignored. For Charcoal, he did many things considered on par with Stoick the Vast.

That was the problem. Despite being a flawed father, Stoick did care for him. He did his best to protect him from harm. Despite his questionable method, he tried to help him adapt. It was the effort that mattered.

Furious was far from perfect. He had his own struggle to push through. They had problems with trust in their father-son relationship. The current situation was testament for that. Despite all this, they knew they meant well in their actions.

Charcoal realised he had to make a choice.

The young dragon pushed Furious out from his mind. "You've been a father to me." He admitted. Forest green eyes met the yellow ones. "But I can't ignore my birth father."

"Blood is not always thicker than water, Charcoal." Furious patiently explained. He sounded bitter. "My brother and I were raised by Gronckles, and we weren't even related by blood. My birth parents abandoned me because they couldn't be bothered sending me to the Imperial Egg Storage!"

Charcoal did not know what to say. "I still can't ignore him."

"Your father doesn't want you to know that you're a dragon." The greater alpha dragon further explained. "Your father was supposed to tell you everything. Your ancestors, including Stoick the Vast, were told about their heritage when they turned 5-year-old. Why not you?"

"I don't know!" The young dragon was frustrated. "He's probably afraid of what will happen next."

"And you think that's a good trait for a father?"

"I don't know." Charcoal sounded sarcastic. "Is it a good trait to maintain a never-ending war because they're afraid of what will happen next?"

There was a pause. Furious did not expect that answer. His anger died down as he thought of a response. "That's fair." He admitted. "But Charcoal-"

"No." The young dragon interrupted. He felt headache brewing in his head. "Just... let me think about this. I need some time alone."

The greater alpha dragon wanted to stop him. He mentally restrained himself from pushing it. "Okay." Furious took a step back. "Don't tell anyone. Please."

"I won't." Charcoal whispered, before walking out from the lair.

---

The young dragon did not fly away. He remained at the front of Furious' lair. Charcoal rested himself at the edge of the lava pool. He was massaging his ear nubs to ease the headache.

"Hrr..." Charcoal grumbled. 'Why is everyone hiding things about me?'

It had been his irritation for so long. Furious had plenty of secrets related to him. While he expected that from him, he did not expect them from Stoick. Charcoal wondered what his human father was thinking when he decided to keep everything secret from him.

Worst of all, the Northern Alliance knew about them. Charcoal wondered what he should do. The plan they orchestrated was incredibly deep. They were looking to obtain Night Furies and they were desperate for them. He must do something to foil that plan.

'They're looking to capture my father. If they have him, they can use him to capture my mother.' Charcoal pondered. 'They know how to break the seal. They're looking to breed Night Furies of their own. They'll have dragons that can match the arch alpha. If that happens, even Hidden World will not be safe.'

He wondered what he should do in that situation. He could always tell him about it, but that might lead to Stoick charging forward to Greater Archipelago. It would make him easier to capture, and thus, accelerated their plan.

Charcoal could always stay at Berk to protect him. However, there was no telling what they would do next. Worse case scenario, they might learn about his family. He must take action to mitigate this situation.

Preferably before Furious does.

"Charcoal?"

The young Night Fury blinked. He stood from the ground and turned to face the newcomer. It was Nemo the titan wing Deadly Nadder. "Hey, Nemo."

The dragon general was confused. "What are you wearing?"

Charcoal realised he was still wearing his draconic armour. He quickly thought of something. "I... started training to become a deviant hunter." The young dragon explained. "One of my friend introduced me to someone in Wodensfang's army. They gave me this outfit."

"I assume Henry set you up?" Nemo raised his brows. "You don't look comfortable in that outfit."

"I just have a headache. That's all." Charcoal gave him a smile.

"If you want, I have something to help numb the pain." The Deadly Nadder tapped the ground. A tiny sickly, purplish-green, thornless cactus flesh appeared on the ground in front of him. "Dewberry cactus flesh. The cactus grows delicious berries, but the flesh is a great head pain reliever. I have some in case I have to deal with Grosvenor."

The young dragon moved to eat the cactus flesh. He grabbed it with his tongue and gulped down the vegetable. Charcoal felt his headache numbed after few seconds. "Thanks, Nemo."

"It was no problem." Nemo fluttered his wings a bit. "How was your deviant hunter training?"

"Not much." Charcoal shrugged his wings. "We just did some theory work. There's no action yet."

"I heard you get paid a lot to work as deviant hunter under Wodensfang." The dragon general commented. "I'm thinking about retiring and work on something else. I need to look for something with higher salary."

The young dragon was confused. "I'm surprised you got paid. Furious never paid me."

Nemo let out a sigh. "This region doesn't really generate scales for everyone. Only quarter of my army got paid for their service." He expressed his complaint. "Couple Nature Shards and low grade Amethyst Scales aren't enough to raise 20 hatchlings, even if you hunt your own food."

Charcoal pitied the dragon general. He knew how he feel, since he had six hyperactive Night Fury hatchlings to raise. He could imagine what raising 20 hatchlings would look like.

It also reminded him of Nemo's mate. Agatha the Deadly Nadder. She must be incredibly exhausted dealing with them.

That made him wonder. "Has Agatha ever been paid for her service?"

"No. The army you commanded was a penal division. Exoneration is the payment." Nemo answered. He looked sad, presumably from remembering that day. "We're not supposed to tell you that."

"Harr..." The young dragon was annoyed. He did not like thinking about it. Charcoal tapped his claws as six Amethyst Scales appeared in front of him. "Here. Give these to Agatha."

Nemo stared at the purple, octahedral-shaped crystals with awe. It was slowly pulsing with power, which indicate extremely high quality. "How did you..." He whispered. "Those are A grade scales."

"Yes."

"And you're giving them to me?"

"They're for Agatha. Consider them her long-awaited salary." Charcoal remarked. The amount was more than enough to build a comfortable nest to raise 20 hatchlings for years. "Tell her that her former general had gotten her salary from Furious."

The Deadly Nadder carefully approached. He moved his claws to pull the Amethyst Scales into his mana pool. The crystals disappeared in yellow yellow flame. "I'll be sure to tell her."

"Go on now, before Furious change his mind."

"I will." Nemo nodded, before moving to fly away. However, he remembered the reason why he was there. "By the way, did you see a Scuttleclaw on your way here?"

"Scuttleclaw?" Charcoal repeated. "I've never seen that dragon before."

"Imagine a Nadder that look like a Zippleback with one head." The dragon general described. "I'm looking for a male purple-blue Scuttleclaw. He's a rogue from Caldera."

The young dragon found that strange. It was rare for rogue dragons to reach the surface. "What did he do?"

"He killed his own father to protect his siblings." Nemo answered, before realising what he had described. "That's what the report says. Did you see any dragon with that description?"

"I don't see any purple-blue Scuttleclaw on my way here." Charcoal answered. "I'll be sure to report them when I see one."

"That's all I ask." Nemo nodded, before taking off into the sky. He went up into the open sky above volcano, then turned to fly toward his destination.

After he left, Charcoal rested himself once more. He continued his brooding. 'Killed his own father, huh.'

That was when he felt the headache returning. It was significantly less than before. He found it difficult to think. 'Great. I might need more dewberry cactus.' He grumbled. 'I might need to ask Nemo for more later.'

He wondered why the Scuttleclaw killed his own father. From how Nemo said it, he was biased to the side of the rogue. It was most likely that the father was abusive to them. Otherwise, the father did something that prompted them to attack.

It reminded him of his own situation.

'... I can't believe I'm thinking about it.' Charcoal thought. He was surprised with himself. 'It should never be an option. What am I thinking?'

If Stoick died, the Northern Alliance must look for another candidate. This would paint a target on his back. However, if they fled to Hidden World before they learned about his death, they would be under Wodensfang's protection. It might save them from kidnapping attempt.

However, the thought of killing his human father made him anxious. Granted, it was common in different Viking tribes, but Hairy Hooligan tribe stopped doing that centuries ago. Additionally, Charcoal did care of his father.

'I don't want to make a choice. I don't want to choose between my family and dragonkind.' The young dragon thought. 'Why does my life have to be this complicated?'

Charcoal reached his mind to talk with Toothless. Unfortunately, she was asleep. Gryphon was asleep as well. He cursed under his breath. They were supposed to be awake. However, considering they had to deal with the hatchlings, he could not hold it against them.

He must do what was right.

"Sir Charcoal the Night Fury?"

The young dragon blinked. He turned to face the newcomer. It was a young Light Fury with leather backpack strapped on his body. "That's me."

The white dragon straightened himself. "I have a package for you." He opened his backpack and pulled out a package. It was something wrapped in thick cloth and hemp string. "Here you go."

Charcoal stood from the ground. He accepted the package. "Thanks." He expressed his gratitude. "Who sent them?"

"I don't know. It's a scheduled package from the Imperial Postal Service." The messenger dragon answered the question. He was apologetic. "There's no sender name or return address."

The black dragon inspected the package. It felt like a large book. "Any idea what's inside?"

"Classified by Arbitrator authorities. We're not allowed to know."

That was strange. "When was it sent?"

"About 400 years ago."

Charcoal was surprised. "That's a very long time."

"There's no limit on how far you can set the schedule for a package." The Light Fury elaborated. "The Imperial Postal Service simply make sure that the package arrives on time."

The Night Fury was confused to hear that. It was a package sent four centuries ago; he was not even born yet! He wondered how they knew he would be there. "Okay. Thanks for the package."

The messenger dragon bowed, before taking off into the air. He disappeared into the caverns above.

Charcoal cut the hemp string with his claws, before unfurling the thick cloth. It revealed some sort of red dragon-scaled book. The Night Fury knew what it was. The package was an original volume of 'Mana: Principles, Techniques and Tools'.

The embroidered golden scales had a carving of a snake. Opening the book, Charcoal noted that it was the 7th volume. It was genuine. There was a folded paper note slipped in there. "What the Hel...?"

Suddenly, the young dragon felt someone approaching. He quickly pulled the dragon book into his storage mana. It disappeared in blue flame.

Right after it was gone, Furious appeared from his lair entrance. "Charcoal?" He carefully called out. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Just a bit of headache." Charcoal approached the greater alpha dragon. "I need some fresh air to think."

"Harr..." Furious exhaled his breath. He must have been too quick when explaining the situation. "Do you plan to leave for Hidden World?"

"Yes, but not through Caldera. I'm currently wanted in Greater Archipelago." The young dragon answered. "We're planning to fly through the mainland to Arabian Peninsula. There's a Hidden World entrance there. Toothless said the arch alpha is friendly with Longfin Empire."

The greater alpha dragon frowned at that. "The Arabian Peninsula is under control of the Ottoman Empire." He explained what he knew. "Despite having dragons, they're not friendly with Arch Alpha Mukhtaar el-Yasin and his dragons. The caliphate and dragon authority has been at odds since 11th century. Try to avoid landing while in their surface territory."

"I'll keep that in mind." Charcoal nodded. He decided to bring up the previous topic. "Do you have a plan to deal with Northern Alliance in the region?"

"Not at the moment, no." Furious admitted.

"I see."

There was a long, awkward pause. They did not know what else to say. Charcoal turned around to leave. "I guess I'll go now." He decided. "Good bye, Furious."

For some reason, Furious knew something was wrong. However, considering he said his name instead of calling him 'father', he decided it was best not to press the matter. "Good bye, Charcoal."

The young dragon took off into the air. He flew out from the volcano, heading to the fog beyond.

---

The Helheim's Gate was a foggy sea with plenty of rocks and sea stacks. The thick fog darkened even the brightest days, which made them incredibly difficult to navigate.

Sailors typically avoided the place, mainly because of the dragons, and because not many had ever survived the venture. At least without rupturing their hull.

However, dragons had no problem navigating the place. Most usually flew through the fog, but few could avoid the fog by flying above them.

That was exactly what Charcoal was doing. Flying above the fog, the Night Fury felt conflicted. He had to take action; the fate of humans and dragonkind depended on it. At the same time, he did not have the heart to do it.

Charcoal could feel his eyes watering. 'How am I supposed to do this?' He thought. 'I can't kill my own father.'

It was then he understood the meaning of doing the right thing instead of the easy one. Stoick the Vast was his father. Remembering their moments, despite what the village did, he was the one that truly cared for him.

The mere thought of killing his father brought ache in his heart. Charcoal remembered their time together; the Viking who cared and saved his life. He was the one who had faith in him, despite everyone rejecting who he was.

Boom! Boom!

Charcoal snapped out from his thoughts. There were flashes of light at the fog, indicating its location. There were familiar shouts and roars, as if dragon raid was happening inside.

The young dragon shuddered his breath. The headache persisted for reasons unknown. Regardless, he steeled his will as he prepared himself. Once he numbed his emotion, Charcoal dove into the fog.

While the fog was thick, the Night Fury could see them. There were three longships in total, and they look heavily damaged. Dragons were retreating since the longships were sailing out. Charcoal would have to be the one to finish the job.

'If the ships are destroyed, they would assume that the expedition had failed.' Charcoal thought, slowing down and preparing his claws. '... I just need to take my father. No one else.'

The Vikings on the ship seemed to be cautious. That was expected, considering the attack had suddenly stopped. The Night Fury waved his claws as blue wires sprung out from them.

It shot through the ships and wrapped itself around them. Vikings were quick to move and crawl out of the way. They did not know what was happening.

Suddenly, they heard some sort of metallic clang. Two of the ships were suddenly sliced into hundreds of pieces.

Woods, leathers and metals flew everywhere as the blue wires cut them like hot knife on butter. The Vikings fell into water. There was no blood in the air, since Charcoal avoided killing them.

The third ship was the last one Charcoal needed. He detached the blue wires from his claws, and they attached itself to the ground.

The longship immediately halted to a stop, as the wires pressed them into the sea below. While the ship was not sinking, that prevented them from going anywhere.

Stoick the Vast was on that ship. Charcoal watched as his father gave commands to his Vikings. Some of the Vikings were in the water, crawling up onto any surface they could find. The chief saw someone he needed to get, before jumping down into the water.

That was the opportunity Charcoal needed. Before Stoick even touched the water, he was snatched midair by the black dragon. The chief struggled under his grip. The Night Fury held onto his back, before throwing him onto a large rock formation.

Stoick rolled around the platform, before pulling his axe and slammed them to the ground. It stopped him right at the corner - there was only fog, rocks and water below. Once everything calmed down, he stood from the ground and pulled out his axe.

Charcoal transformed as he landed on the platform. He took on humanoid shape, but not quite his human form. The black dragon had turned humanoid. He was still wearing his clothes, but his head was that of a Night Fury.

Charcoal did not want his father to recognise him. It was better if he looked like a deviant.

The two men stared at each other. Stoick was prepared to fight, while Charcoal braced himself to attack. The humanoid dragon pulled out his long sword. It refused to ignite its flame. Regardless, Charcoal took a deep breath, before rushing to attack.

Clang!

The axe and sword clashed together in a deadly dance. Charcoal swung his long sword down, which redirected to the side, then spun his sword following the momentum. Stoick used his shield and axe to block the swing, which pushed him to the side, away from the cliff behind him.

The humanoid dragon continued his advance. He swung from the side, but Stoick parried with his shield. The chief rushed to attack; he dashed with shield at the front, axe ready to swing.

Just as he did, Charcoal retreated and swung his sword. There was just enough distance for him to slice the axe handle into two.

The axe head flew across the platform, before sliding off the cliff, falling into the abyss. The two men paused as they realised Stoick had been disarmed. The chief dropped the handle, before pulling out his broad sword. They stared at each other, waiting for the first strike.

Eventually, Charcoal did. He swung his sword, blocked by the shield, narrowly dodged a stab, and repositioned himself. He swung and parried a low swing, redirected a stab, before spinning forward to elbow the helmet.

Stoick saw this coming; his shield blocked his arm, dropping his sword, he punched the humanoid dragon with his free hand.

Charcoal flinched back when the fist struck his jaw. Stoick stomped the hilt of the sword, sending it flying, before catching the handle midair.

The humanoid dragon recovered just enough to fight again. The chief moved for a swing, avoiding sword to his head, and bashed his shield to push him back. They put distance from each other, before readying themselves once more.

At that point, it was obvious to them that they were evenly matched. They were equal in strength and skill. Charcoal steeled his resolve as he changed his stance. He could not bottle the emotion for long. He needed to make it quick.

This time, Stoick was the one to attack. He ducked under a high swing, before retaliating with a low one. Charcoal read the movement, swung downward and parried the blow. However, he stomped the broad side of the sword, forcing Stoick to let go, before moving for a wide swing.

The chief used his shield but tilted them enough for the sword to hit the arm grip, making them stuck. Stoick threw the sword away, loosened his shield, before moving to bash Charcoal with it.

The humanoid dragon used his gauntlet to block the hit. He pushed them aside, before moving for a punch.

Stoick caught them in time, but Charcoal was prepared. He charged his mana and slammed his free hand to his chest. The chief grunted as he stumbled back. The impact had ignored his armour and went straight to his body.

Seeing clear opening, the humanoid dragon took the opportunity to pull out his dagger and rushed forward.

'He is your family.'

Charcoal hesitated at that thought. He stumbled forward, which delayed his rush. Stoick pulled out his own dagger and moved for a thrust. The humanoid dragon did not dodge nor stop his momentum. He crashed onto the chief.

The dagger pierced through his heart.

Then, silence.

The fight had finally ended. Charcoal dropped his dagger, before sliding away from the chief. He collapsed on the ground, accepting his fate. He could not kill his own family, even to save others.

Looking down, he touched the dagger embedded into him. It felt fitting to be killed by someone defending themselves.

Stoick moved to pick up his own sword. The fight was over, but it exhausted him. Standing up, he carefully moved to the down humanoid dragon. He needed to finish the fight. The chief stared at the forest green eyes. He was confused to see him silently crying.

Regardless, he raised his sword-

Suddenly, Charcoal's Kinship Stone activated itself. The mechanical wings unfolded, and the blue stone began to shimmer. Stoick completely stopped upon seeing them. He recognised the stone; it was the same one he gave to his son. The outfit and the sword - they were the same as his son.

The humanoid dragon looked like his son.

That was when it struck him. Stoick realised who he had been fighting. "... Hiccup?"

Shame.

His father recognised him.

Charcoal shuddered his breath. "Dad..." He whispered. "... I'm sorry."

The father threw the sword away. He moved to check everything; the mechanical sling, the Kinship Stone, the eyes - it was definitely Hiccup. Stoick felt tears dropping from his eyes. "No, no, no." He whispered. "Hiccup. Why..."

Charcoal choked as he felt blood in his mouth. "... I guess I wasn't even good as a dragon." He whispered as he stared to the sky. "I should've looked for other ways first..."

"Hiccup, why." Stoick whispered, almost demanded. "Why?!"

There was no answer. Charcoal had gone completely still.

Realising that was the end, the father simply cried. He pulled his son into a hug, wondering how they reached that point. Everything was forgotten as he grieved for his son. He did not know what to think.

For the second time in his life, Stoick had lost his family.

---

Meanwhile, Toothless was at the nest.

The mother dragon had recently woken up from her sleep. After checking and gathering her hatchlings, as well as waking up Gryphon, she checked her circuit bond with Charcoal.

When that failed, Gryphon made her attempt. They felt alarm when that failed as well. It usually worked even when they were unconscious. Something happened to him.

The last thing she remembered was Charcoal sneaking into Stoick's room. Something must have happened while they were asleep.

Which was why they were preparing to leave. The hatchlings decided to hold onto their mother this time. After preparing themselves, the two dragons went outside the nest. The sky was bright that day; no cloud was on sight. Toothless considered it the best weather to fly.

However, they were dragons on a mission. They needed to find Charcoal.

"Toothless!"

The two female dragons looked up.

Amber the Light Fury had returned! Toothless was ecstatic. "Amber!"

The white dragon landed at the balcony. "Did you miss me?"

"Skies above, I thought I'd never see you again." Toothless expressed her relief. However, she noticed something different with her best friend.

Amber was much bigger; roughly the same as her. Given her shape and posture, the white dragoness looked just as strong. Toothless saw her muscular figure and realised that she had gotten much stronger than before. It looked as if she had gotten a second puberty.

"Amber." The black dragoness slowly started. "What happened?"

"They accidentally mixed me up with a dragon candidate. Suddenly, I grew bigger and know how t fight." The Light Fury flexed her large strong wings. "It's very easy to escape Révélation after that. I even got the information back."

Toothless was impressed. "How do you feel?"

"Amazing. I can fly much faster now." Amber smirked as she posed her body. The white dragoness was showing off at this point. "I think I have to stay away from Caldera for a while. They didn't bother pursuing me to the surface after I escaped."

"They can't declare you rogue without revealing Révélation. My dad most likely exiled you." Toothless guessed. She seemed rather distracted."Anyway, did you see Charcoal on your way here?"

"No. Why do you ask?"

"I can't find him anywhere." The mother dragon explained. "I tried to use our circuit bond - It's a thing for us to communicate from long range. But it doesn't work."

That concerned Amber. "Maybe he's sleeping?"

"I can read his mind even when he's asleep." Toothless further explained. "Something happened with him. We need to find him."

"Where do you think he could be?" The Light Fury questioned.

"Berk. Isle of Berk." The mother dragon answered. She was concerned. "That's where he was before."

Amber looked at the silver dragon. "And who's this?"

"Hey." Gryphon raised her claw. "I'm Gryphon. My dad adopted me last year."

Amber was about to respond when they heard flaps of wings. Looking up, they saw several dragons flying around the place. Toothless recognised one of them - General Nemo, mate of Agatha. The large Deadly Nadder was flying down to land at the balcony.

Upon arriving there, the Deadly Nadder looked at Toothless. He looked serious. "Toothless, where's Charcoal?"

"I don't know." The mother dragon answered, preparing for a flight. "I was just about to look for him."

"No. Something just happened." General Nemo stopped her. He looked urgent. "We need you to come with us. It's for your safety."

The mother dragon felt dread. Something must have happened to Charcoal. "Okay."

"Wait." Gryphon stopped her. The Valstrax was suspicious. She focused on the dragon general. "Where are you taking us?"

"Dragon Island." General Nemo was getting impatient. "We need to move to safety. Now."

"Come on." Toothless prepared to take off. "Let's go."

Instead of following, Gryphon cast something powerful. The dark blue barrier of anti-mana spell pulsed out from her, striking every dragon around them. It disrupted every persistent spell within the area, revealing what they truly were.

Most of the dragons around them were revealed to have some abnormalities, such as extra pair of eyes and limbs. They had persistent spells hiding their deviance, which were dispelled when Valstrax cast the spell.

It was obvious what they were.

Worst of all, they surrounded them.

Toothless was shocked. The feeling of wrongness was unmistakable. "Nemo?" She whispered. "You're a deviant?!"

The Deadly Nadder general knew the ruse was up. "I'm sorry, Toothless." He apologised. "We need your hatchlings."

General Nemo took off into the sky. Dragons gave them some distance as he turned around to face the island. Suddenly, his body was surrounded by fire, before being engulfed by them. The ball of fire grew bigger and larger. It became as big as the island itself.

When the fire dissipated, General Nemo had become an enormous Deadly Nadder. His wings fully covered the sun and sky, and his spikes were the size of Viking houses. He even had three pair of eyes on his head. He had become an enormous, deviant titan-wing Deadly Nadder.

The giant blue dragon reared as he charged his flame. Toothless rushed into the nest. "INSIDE!"

Gryphon and Amber barely just entered the nest when Toothless fired an ice bolt, blocking the entrance with large ice block.

FWOOOOOOOOOMM!

Huge magnesium flame enveloped the whole island. The cliff island was literally melting from the heat. It looked like heaven itself decided to rid of its existence. None of the flame went inside, since it was blocked by a thick chunk of flaming ice.

Inside the nest, the place was heating up. Gryphon felt fear. Amber panicked. "What do we do?"

"Follow me!" Toothless roared, before flying down to the ground floor.

The three dragons rushed down and entered the hot spring. The hot air was literally boiling the water. Toothless ignored them and went to the corner, which had large pile of rocks blocking something.

She pointed her claws at them. Blue wires sprung up and wrapped themselves around the rock. Toothless swung them aside, throwing the rocks away. This revealed a hidden spiral cave path going downward.

Amber had to gape. "Toothless, how-"

"No time." Toothless rushed into the previously hidden cave path. "Let's go!"

The three dragons headed down into much lower area. Given the temperature, it must be underground in the sea. They kept running until they find a large clearing.

It was the emergency escape path. Toothless and Charcoal built them in case of an attack. They had a plan to hold back the attack for their escape.

While the first part was not entirely done, the escape part was ready.

There was a certain sea scooter parked on a large pond of water. It had a large flooded cave path underneath, leading into the deep open sea. The contraption had been modified to allow their hatchlings inside. There were even glasses for them to see outside.

Toothless flipped the latches and opened the inner room. She opened her wings, before moving her hatchlings into it. "Come on. Come on."

While being moved, the hatchlings were afraid. "Mom?" Amelia asked. "What's going on?"

"Don't worry. You'll be safe." Toothless soothed, before pushing her into the sea scooter. "We're getting out of here."

Amber was quick to help. She held the latch open. "Inside. Hurry!"

Gryphon realised her plan and its flaw. They most likely had water dragons patrolling the ocean. The Valstrax quickly thought of something. She noticed large barrels of gunpowder scattered around the place. It was then she realised what to do.

Meanwhile, Toothless was busy. While the hatchlings were being moved, the heat was creeping in. The place was getting brighter. Amber looked back to see melted stones slowly pouring down from the entrance. "Toothless?"

The mother dragon ignored her. Once the hatchlings were inside - all six of them, thankfully - she closed and locked the inner room. Toothless moved to mount the sea scooter; her body pressed onto the dull white crystal.

Toothless connected her mana circuit to the crystal, taking control of the sea scooter. "Amber, move on top!"

The Light Fury carefully mounted on top of her best friend. When she did, blue wires wrapped around them both, securing them to the sea scooter. Toothless did not want to take any chances. "We're going underwater- Gryphon, what are you doing?"

The Valstrax had stacked gunpowder barrels in one place. Gryphon looked back at her. "They have water dragons." She explained. "I'll distract them while you swim away."

"Gryphon-"

Amber tried to jump out. "Wait, I can help-"

"No! They want the hatchlings!" Gryphon interrupted. "Keep my siblings safe! Go!"

Toothless quickly went to work. The propeller began to whir as they went into the water. Cold water touched their scales, but their head remained relatively dry. There was an air bubble spell around their head.

After they left the place, the Valstrax went to prepare. She cast an illusion spell on herself; six Night Fury hatchlings suddenly appeared in her pockets. The deviants might notice her deception, but that chance would be extremely low in a chase.

Gryphon swiped a trail of gunpowder on the ground, which created a spark. The makeshift fuse burned and headed straight to the barrels. She charged her thrusters in preparation for a launch.

The Valstrax launched herself just as the barrels exploded.

BOOOOMMM!

The explosion was enough to blow a large hole. Gryphon shot through the hole right as water began to flood. She kept going up, before finally reaching surface. The Valstrax intensified her thruster-wings to reach the sky.

Dragons saw the hatchling illusions and moved to follow her. The deviant titan-wing Deadly Nadder was after her. They were somehow able to keep up! Realising danger, Gryphon abandoned her idea. She stopped climbing for altitude, and instead rushed for speed.

"Stop!" Nemo roared. "We just want the hatchlings!"

The Valstrax did not respond. She saw something at distance, and she knew what she had to do. Gryphon made hard turn to another direction while maintaining her speed. The silver dragoness intensified her thruster-wings, putting strain on her rapidly depleting mana.

FWOOOOOOSH!

Gryphon glanced back. The deviant titan wing Deadly Nadder and his army were still following her. Reaching for pockets in her outfit, she pulled out an iron sword, before letting go.

The sword narrowly missed the deviant dragon. Given the speed, that could have punctured through his wing membranes. Nemo responded by firing giant stream of magnesium fire at her.

The Valstrax manoeuvred just enough to dodge them. The deviant titan wing Deadly Nadder stopped, before roaring. "We can do this all day until you exhaust yourself!"

The Valstrax focused on the thing at distance. It was a forest island; she was close enough to where she wanted to be. There were dragons at the island. "HEEEEELP!"

BOOOOOOOMMM!

Suddenly, massive purple plasma blast struck the deviant titan wing Deadly Nadder. It blew the wing off his body. "GROOOAAAAA!"

Gryphon looked back to see something extremely fast flying by. "Thank the skies!"

SPLASH!

Having just one wing left, Nemo the deviant titan wing Deadly Nadder eventually crashed into the ocean. He looked up to see the offender, only to hear the angry roar of an unfamiliar black dragon. "KRAAAAA!"

BOOOOOOOMMM!

This time, the plasma blast struck his head. It blew a chunk of his skull, killing him instantly. The deviant dragon was finally dead.

The deviant dragon army saw this. They realised they had crossed over the Greater Archipelago border. When they turned around to leave, they saw a huge flock of dragon army at their rear. Those were part of Merciless' army.

"GROAAAAA!" The dragon army roared, before charging to attack the deviants.

Not expecting them, the deviant dragons quickly scattered. Merciless' dragons were quick to rid of them from the sky. "GRAAA!"

Meanwhile, Gryphon had finally reached for safety. Her thruster-wings died just as she landed on the island beach. She ran out of mana; the thrusters had eaten half of her stamina. The Valstrax collapsed out of exhaustion.

The illusion ended just as she went down. Looking up to the battle in the sky, the dragoness was glad that was over.

The first dragon to see her was her saviour. The dragon gracefully landed in front of her. He was a large acidic green-eyed Night Fury. The identity was unmistakable, considering she had intentionally crossed the border. "Greater Alpha Merciless..."

"You sure made a lot of mess, nephew." Merciless commented, staring at her. "It was smart for you to cross the border."

"Kar..." Gryphon chuckled a bit. She realised the greater alpha probably knew about Charcoal. "Are you going to ransom me for my dad?"

"I'd rather know whatever shitshow my sister got herself into." Merciless grunted, before moving to help Gryphon up. "Come on. Let's get you treated."

---

Meanwhile, the sea scooter was deep in the open sea.

Everything seemed calm when they got out from the flooded cave. Toothless and Amber saw Gryphon shooting out from the cavern and up into the sky. This pulled away the water dragons from the area, allowing them to escape.

Gryphon made her sacrifice to save them.

The sea scooter kept going straight for quite some time. The two dragons had been silent. Their mind was still processing what just happened. They were glad that they were safe.

"Skies above..." Amber whispered. Her voice did not echo, as if absorbed by the water. "That was... what was..."

"Hk..."

The Light Fury heard something. Glancing down, Amber realised Toothless was sobbing. "Toothless?" She softly asked. "Are you crying?"

"Dragons don't cry." The mother dragon whispered her voice.

Despite what she said, Toothless was crying. Her heart strongly ached as she thought about her situation.

Charcoal was missing. Their home was destroyed. Gryphon sacrificed herself to save her. It was so sudden and abrupt, she did not know what to do next.

Amber exhaled her breath. "... it's okay to cry." She whispered back.

"I-" Toothless seemed to sob. "... I don't know how we got here. I... skies above..."

They fell silent once more. The sea scooter propeller began to slow down, before finally stopping. Having been pushed to full power, the Amethyst Scale inside finally run out. They slowly sink underwater.

The Light Fury seemed to grimace. "Toothless." She whispered. "The thing just stopped."

The mother dragon blinked. She pushed her mana to the crystal under her. The sea scooter sprung up to life as it began draining her mana. The acceleration was slow, mostly because Toothless limited the flow. She did not feed them much of her mana.

"I'm sorry." Toothless whispered back. "I... I had to involve you in this."

"Hey, it's okay. I'm here to help." Amber gave her response. "It's not like I left for vacation. I was doing some work for you."

"We... we found out who the youngest mana circuits set belongs to." The mother dragon began to explain. "It was... Hiccup the Third. My Precious Thing."

The Light Fury widened her eyes. "Your Precious Thing is Charcoal?"

"We didn't even know he was Charcoal this whole time." Toothless answered. Her voice was shaky. "He had this... disease called Lycanwing that made him turn into dragon. I..."

"Toothless, it's okay. You can tell me everything later." Amber carefully interrupted. She was soft on her voice. "You said he could be at Isle of Berk?"

"Yes."

"Then let's go there." The Light Fury instructed. "We'll find him there and figure this out, okay? I have the Book Stone on his circuit's identity. We'll find out more when we get there."

"Okay. Okay." Toothless shuddered her breath as she steered the sea scooter. "Isle of Berk. We're going there..."

---

Author Note

So, the identity of the deviant spy has been revealed. Nemo was the deviant all along. He orchestrated a plan to get the Night Fury hatchlings, and he almost succeed. Thanks to proper planning and assessment, the plan was foiled.

Does that mean Charcoal (Hiccup) died? Well, the story is about 32 chapters long. There's still about 10 chapters left in the queue. Whatever happens, Charcoal is still around. It'll take more than a stab into his heart to actually kill him.

Now, I tried my best to make it clear that Nemo had influenced Charcoal in some way. From feeding him that plant and the headache, as well as Furious noticing something was wrong; I want to make it less obvious for Charcoal, but kind of obvious for anyone reading this chapter.

Personally, the problem is Nemo himself. When I plan for the rewrite, there's no hint about Nemo being the traitor whatsoever. However, after re-reading them several times, I noticed that the reveal feels a bit sudden. It just doesn't feel right that everything was just... suddenly there.

And so, I added some hints. The Light Fury detectives found out about it first; they suspected a deviant spy amongst Furious' ranks. But then, after the deviant incursion, Grosvenor was the second one to find out.

Furious suspected something, but he was more inclined to believe incompetence than actual malice. He had a gut feeling that something was wrong with Charcoal, but ignored it to avoid straining their relationship even more.

All of this was leading up to the plot that Nemo the deviant Deadly Nadder concocted.

The Betrayal.

What about Agatha? The 20 hatchlings? They'll definitely come up in future chapters.

Now, for the past part. Other than being a segway to the next part, the whole section was sort of dedicated to show just how dangerous Northern Alliance actually is. The faction was primarily active in Greater Archipelago, so they can't really do much except for couple skirmishes and espionage.

The fact Grosvenor suspected something just now meant that Nemo did something risky. Nemo's full blown attempt implied how desperate they had become. Now that everything's out in the open, it's a matter of what each party would do in this situation.

---

End Note

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