When the next scene began, they all immediately knew it was going to be a sad one. Not-Hiccup was standing in front of the ocean, still around the same age as the last scene, and stared at a flaming boat that seemed to drift away from him and the teens, Gobber and Valka. He had tears in his eyes and Toothless heard the gasp coming from Hiccup, Astrid and Stoick. They were clearly more aware of what was happening than he was.
Standing with his back to the rest of them, Not-Hiccup looked like he was fighting to find the words to say. "I, uh… I was so afraid of becoming my dad." He said solemnly and Toothless' ears lowered. He had a feeling he was witnessing the funeral of Stoick. And if the looks Astrid and Hiccup sent the shocked and alarmed man were anything to go by, he was right. What the hell happened?! "Mostly because I thought I never could. How-How do you become someone that great, that brave, that selfless?" The tears began to spill from his eyes.
Hiccup's face turned pale. "No… B-but-but it's only a few years from now. It-it can't be true…" He blinked furiously and glanced down at Toothless for a moment before hesitantly pulling away from the cooing dragon and moving over to sit by his father. Toothless couldn't even blame him – this was a tender moment, watching his own father's funeral like that? – But that didn't mean he could stop the sad croon that left his mouth as he watched the hatchling and his father holding onto each other for dear life.
Giving him a look, Astrid hesitated for a moment before she reached out a shaky hand and rubbed his head reassuringly, offering Toothless a soft smile. Yeah, Toothless definitely liked her. He purred sadly and quietly at her touch and didn't shove her away despite all of this still being fairly new. With Hiccup, it was almost freakishly natural. But with Astrid… he assumed he didn't mind solely because he no longer had Hiccup with him to offer any kind of comfort.
Speaking of which, where was he when all of this was going on? Where were the other dragons? Where were the humans? They were clearly not back on Berk, so the Vikings of the village weren't even taking part in the funeral. But what happened? Was there a battle? Probably with Drago, Toothless guessed miserably. Something must have gone horribly wrong within all of this Stoick found himself dead.
"I guess you can only… try." Not-Hiccup continued and his expression looked like one of a lost boy, trying to find someone to comfort and help him in his time of need. Eventually, though, he looked on with determination blazing in his eyes. Toothless wanted to say it was anger, but it wasn't. He was just really focused again. He turned around to the other grieving Vikings. "A chief protects his own." He nodded his head as if agreeing with the words in his head for the first time. Toothless crooned and warbled. "We're going back."
Not-Astrid's face broke into a hopeful smile at his willingness to go again and not give up – even though Toothless had no idea what they were getting themselves tangled in again – while Ruffnut and Tuffnut looked down, their expression still down and a little confused.
"Uh… with what?" One of them asked.
"Uh, he took all the dragons." The other noted.
Not-Hiccup smirked. "Not all of them."
The next thing they all knew, their little group was riding dragon hatchlings in a narrow space made of ice, Not-Hiccup in the lead. They all sounded terrified as the dragons swerved and flew dangerously and without being controlled in the least. Toothless huffed – yeah, riding babies wasn't the best idea. But it made sense if they were the only dragons left after… Drago took them all? It had to be Drago, right?
"I don't wanna die!" Fishlegs yelled.
"We can't fly these things!" Tuffnut objected.
Fishlegs was headed towards a pile of snow on his out-of-control dragon. "Yeah, no kidding!" He hit the snow with a dull thud and then came out the other hand, screaming at the top of his lungs. The dragon didn't even seem affected by that. Toothless rolled his eyes. He wanted to believe he was never that crazy as a hatchling, but… what did he know? He was pretty reckless nowadays, so who knew how terrible he was back then?
Not-Astrid caught up to Not-Hiccup, who managed to control his dragon better than the others, it seemed. Toothless lifted his head with pride and gave Astrid a look that made her roll her eyes with a smile at him. "But won't that Bewilderbeast just take control of these guys, too?" She asked.
Not-Hiccup smiled at her. "They're babies. They don't listen to anyone."
"Yeah, just like us!" The male twin added proudly.
Gobber's dragon, apparently, took to smashing himself and Gobber on the walls of ice, making the Viking very displeased. Toothless couldn't blame him – this looked painful. "This is – whoa! – very dangerous – oof!" He somehow caught up to Not-Hiccup as well and yelled at him as loudly as possible, trying to be heard over the trills of the babies. "Some might suggest this is poorly conceived!"
"Well, it's a good thing that I never listen." The boy said.
"You really never do listen," Stoick grunted and Hiccup pressed himself closer to his father, though now there was a teary smile on his face. The man brought his large hand down to Hiccup and wiped his tears away. "Don't worry, son, everything is going to end up fine. I'm sure of it." He said and Hiccup nodded once, his brows furrowed a bit as his eyes kept on staring at the wall.
Being separated by a wall of ice that kept on cutting him off midsentence, Gobber tried to talk to Not-Hiccup again. "So… what is your… plan?"
"Get Toothless back and kick Drago's – " He was separated from Gobber once more by the ice before he could finish the sentence and Hiccup flinched when his father gave him a stern glare. Astrid just snickered quietly, her shoulders shaking from the suppressed laughter. Not-Hiccup's eyes widened a little before an apologetic, slightly worried smile spread on his face at the sight of a large obstacle of ice in their path. "And… that thing." He said and they all managed to avoid hitting it except for Gobber who hit the ice head-on with his dragon before the two seemed to spiral down.
When the scene flickered, they were back on Berk. Well, near Berk. Toothless watched, horrified, as they all saw an Alpha crawling on the side of the island, dragons flying in a circle over his head. They were all clearly under his command now. Berkians were all around, staring in terror at the sight. The riders on top of the hatchlings looked both scared and angry.
"Distract the Alpha," Not-Hiccup ordered to the others. "Try to keep his focus off of Toothless."
He led them all, ignoring Tuffnut and Eret's (Eret?! What was he doing there?!) words being spoken behind him, his focus seemingly being only on Not-Toothless. And it took Toothless a moment too long to realize that Not-Toothless was flying in front of the Alpha, carrying Drago on his back. A menacing growl escaped his mouth at the sight of it and he couldn't believe this man actually forced his future self to carry him like that. Ugh, and how heavy was he? It must feel horrible!
At first, the Alpha noticed it when Not-Hiccup got closer but eventually the others managed to distract him by throwing sheep in his face and blowing Berk's horn… Generally, they were an annoying bunch, which wasn't very surprising. Waiting for a while and letting the team do their job, Not-Hiccup slowly approached Not-Toothless and Drago. To everyone's surprise, except Toothless – and maybe Hiccup's, if Toothless could read his expression right – the boy didn't look at Drago, but at the Night Fury. He breathed in and out slowly, heavily, as if preparing himself for the next moments. To Toothless' horror, Not-Toothless' pupils were nothing but slits, gazing at him with no recognition.
Toothless huffed and snorted and growled and whined. He was so anxious, that Astrid had to pull her hand away, face scrunched up with concern. From his place next to Stoick, Hiccup looked over and furrowed his brows in worry at Toothless' mood. "Hey, it's going to be okay, bud." He said, but Toothless knew he had no idea what he was talking about. No one could fight the control of the Alpha – it was too much! He didn't stand a chance! And if Drago ordered Not-Toothless to shoot at Not-Hiccup, then –
He stilled and stared blankly at the magical wall. They saw a funeral. They saw a funeral that lacked all the dragons because Drago already had them all, including Not-Toothless. It shook Toothless to the core because he didn't think there were a lot of things that could actually harm Stoick, the chief of Berk. But what if… what if Drago was responsible for all of this in a way he didn't even consider before? What if… what if he made a dragon do it against their will? What if…
The thought made him shake his head violently. He didn't want to believe that was true. He didn't want to believe Drago could make him try and hurt his rider or his family in any sort of way even though he knew it made sense. The Alpha was a lot more powerful than Toothless was – it would be easy for him to make the Night Fury obey. But how would he ever be able to look at Hiccup again after such a thing? How could Hiccup come back for him?! Did he know the truth? Was he there?
Suddenly there were bright, forest-green eyes right in front of Toothless and he found himself staring at Hiccup, his expression serious and yet gentle. "Toothless, listen to me. None of this is your fault, no matter what happened or what might happen." He said and there was a gleam in his eyes, something knowing and understanding. Toothless didn't need to ask to know that the boy had the very same guess about what had transpired earlier with his father's death. And yet he didn't look at him like he hated him – he looked at him like he needed him to pull out of this. "It's not your fault. You're under this dragon's control – you're under Drago's control." He pressed on and Toothless began to calm down a little at the earnest expression on his face. "You would never hurt him, not on purpose. I know that."
Toothless blinked furiously for a few seconds before finally crooning sadly, accepting Hiccup's gentle touch with a ping of shame. He wasn't an idiot – he knew they could be completely off with their assumption. But he also knew that his luck seemed to be pretty much awful, which matched Hiccup's luck. So together… it just made sense that something as horrible as this would happen. So he crooned and trilled a little when Hiccup sat back down next to him, his father coming to sit beside them and Astrid sitting on Toothless' other side. It felt like having the strangest family imaginable.
Drago looked annoyed when Not-Hiccup approached him. "You certainly are hard to get rid of, I'll say that." He greeted Not-Hiccup.
The rider didn't even mind him, though, instead getting closer to the controlled dragon Drago was riding. Not-Hiccup looked at him with wide, pleading eyes, his voice shaking a little. "Toothless… hey." He almost whispered. "It's me, bud. It's me, it's me." He began to hold his hand out, but moved extremely slowly, just to be on the safe side. Toothless fought the urge to look away, knowing this couldn't go right. Especially with the Alpha being so close to them. "I'm right here, bud. Come back to me."
Laughing at his useless attempts, Drago looked amused. Hiccup just clenched his hand into a fist, glaring at the wall and looking determined, as if he was the one out there right now, trying to fight against all odds. Toothless wanted to tell him he had no chance of getting this to work out, but since he couldn't, he just rumbled. "He's not yours anymore. He belongs to the Alpha. But, please, oh great Dragon Master, try to take him." And the Alpha moved even closer, focusing on Not-Toothless. "He will not miss a second time."
Hiccup's breath hitched at the words and Toothless was afraid the boy would finally pull away, but instead, Hiccup seemed to lean even more into him, as if offering him comfort by letting Toothless know he wasn't going to leave him, no matter what he did under the Alpha's control. Toothless appreciated that. Even if he realized that the shot that killed Stoick was meant to end Hiccup's life. Apparently… apparently the chief saved his son from Toothless. And oh, Toothless was grateful. He didn't think he would have been able to live with himself knowing he was the one to kill Hiccup.
"It wasn't your fault, bud. They… made you do it." Not-Hiccup said, getting closer and closer. Not-Toothless didn't react. He just stared at him, his eyes unseeing and glazed over by the effect of the Alpha. This was a nightmare. But, to Toothless' surprise, Not-Toothless' pupils began to dilate for a second there before they narrowed again. Frustrated, Not-Toothless shook his head, clearly fighting to get in control of himself again. Toothless picked his head up – how was this possible? Roaring a little in distress, Not-Toothless' eyes kept on moving from narrow to wide. "You'd never hurt him. You'd never hurt me."
Not-Toothless opened his mouth, teeth exposed, and was clearly going to try and attack Not-Hiccup, if it weren't for the fight he put up against the influence of the Alpha. And then, all of a sudden, Not-Hiccup's hand landed on his head and Not-Toothless' eyes widened completely as he crooned in recognition at Not-Hiccup. Drago narrowed his eyes at that. "How are you doing that?"
Ignoring him, Not-Hiccup kept on going. "Please, you're my best friend, bud." He whispered and the Night Fury's eyes widened a bit before they turned to slits once more, the Alpha working harder to keep him under his command. Not-Hiccup didn't mind that. "My best friend." He repeated. There were tears in his eyes when he watched as Not-Toothless growled in annoyance and closed his eyes, pushing away from his touch and shaking his head again. Patiently, Not-Hiccup watched, his hand still between them, until Not-Toothless warbled softly and opened his eyes, looking at him with a gummy smile. Not-Hiccup's face broke into a grin. "Attaboy! That's it! I'm here!"
Toothless' tail swished back and forth in delight behind his back. He fought and won. He fought the Alpha and WON! He managed to break through the haze of following him thanks to Hiccup! He didn't even mind it when Drago got upset and hit Not-Toothless in the head. In fact, he was just celebrating even more at the sight of Not-Toothless grunting at the man, catching his staff in his mouth and twisting in the air until Drago was thrown away from him. Smiling at Not-Hiccup once more, Not-Toothless began to lose altitude, lacking a rider now.
"Yeah-ha!" Not-Hiccup called enthusiastically and then jumped off of the baby dragon he was riding to follow Not-Toothless. "Hang on!"
"Hiccup," Stoick said and Hiccup turned to him only barely, too busy trying not to get completely soaked with Toothless' drool as the Night Fury jumped around him, nudging him and trying to lick him. "If you don't want me to die even sooner than this, you have got to stop free-falling from dragons." The man said sternly but his seriousness melted away at Hiccup's breathless laughter from Toothless' relentless attack of affection.
Laughing and trying to swat Toothless away without really putting any effort into it, Hiccup offered his father an apologetic smile. "S-sorry, Dad." He said and then spit out in disgust when Toothless licked his face. "Oh, ew! T-Toothless, stop, stop, stop!" He laughed and rubbed at the dragon's head when Toothless pawed and nudged at his hand. "I'm glad you're okay, too." He added with a whisper, meant only for Toothless. Finally stopping goofing around, Toothless crooned at him, returning the sentiment.
On the wall, Not-Hiccup fell towards Not-Toothless, reaching out his hand to try and get to him faster. "Almost there, buddy, almost there." He called and Not-Toothless looked at him with trust shining in his bright eyes, still smiling at his rider. And then he roared and turned around, allowing Not-Hiccup to get on top of him right before they hit the surface of the water. Together, they flew back up. Not-Hiccup glared at the Alpha and Drago, who were standing on top of him. "We need to get those two apart."
Not-Hiccup tore a piece of a red flag and then they moved on to narrowly avoid a blast of ice from the Alpha. Not-Toothless roared back at the beast but then focused on Not-Hiccup when he spoke.
"We gotta block him out, Toothless. Do you trust me, bud?" He held up the fabric above the Night Fury's eyes and the dragon looked unsure, yet he warbled and allowed him to do so. "We can do this. You and me." He tied the fabric around Not-Toothless' eyes and then put his hand on top of the Night Fury's head. "As one." He steadied the tailfin like he did in the beginning, and Toothless held his breath. The Vikings seemed concerned as well, remembering the catastrophe that was Not-Hiccup's earlier attempt at doing this stunt. "That's it. Now let's try this one more time!"
The village all cheered for him when Not-Hiccup and Not-Toothless came back to fight Drago and the Alpha. They screamed and yelled and jumped in the air, urging them on and basically counting on them to save the day. "Take him down, babe!" Not-Astrid's call reached their ears and the girl in the room flushed and shuffled her feet awkwardly, avoiding eye contact. Toothless warbled happily from his spot at the sight of Hiccup's flustered smile and rumbled at Astrid until the girl managed a small, embarrassed smile.
They flew in front of the Alpha and Drago shouted at the dragon to take control of Not-Toothless. At that, Not-Hiccup leaned down a little, putting his hands on the sides of the Night Fury's head. "Shut it out, Toothless." He waited for a second and then shouted, "Now!" And they avoided another blast of ice.
Laughing, Drago watched as Not-Toothless flew up, his blindfold falling away as he flew upside down. Drago's laughter ceased, though, at the sight of the empty saddle of the dragon's back. The man barely had enough time to turn around and gasp before Not-Hiccup was in his face, gliding with the help of his artificial wings. The boy laughed in triumph as he swooshed past Drago, releasing gas with his strange, flaming sword. A moment later he pressed a button on the sword and a spark made the gas turn to flames that blew Drago off the Alpha and to the ground.
Not-Hiccup watched on with a smile and then lifted his gaze. His face fell. "Not again…" He muttered at the sight of the Alpha's tail in his way. Behind him, Not-Toothless flew as fast as possible to try and catch up to him. "Toothless! It's now or never!" He yelled and Not-Toothless narrowed his eyes in concentration. On his back, his little dorsal blades split and flapped. Toothless watched with amazement – he didn't know he could do that. "Come on, bud!" This seemed to help him because he reached Not-Hiccup and together they climbed up into the air, avoiding the tail at the last moment. "Hold on… yeah! We did it!"
Not-Toothless smiled goofily at their success and stopped flapping his wings, letting them fall down and towards the ground before he extended them again to let them glide and land softly. The moment he was on the island again, Not-Toothless growled and hissed at Drago and Not-Hiccup jumped off his back, pulled out his sword, letting the blade slide out and making it flame on. He threw it forward and it prevented Drago from reaching his hand out towards his staff again.
"Hold him there, Toothless," Not-Hiccup said, his hands working quickly to detach the fabric wings he had. Toothless and Hiccup both tensed at the sight of the Alpha glaring at him from behind his back. "It's all over now." Drago seemed to notice the Alpha, though, because he smirked at them and Not-Hiccup turned around, unsurely, only to curl in on himself when the Alpha blew ice at him. "Oh, no!" The ice hit him a moment after Not-Toothless jumped forward to protect him. The next second there was an icicle where they last were.
Toothless and Hiccup were rendered speechless. Toothless was formidable to fire, not ice. He didn't know how they could possibly survive that. But it did mean a lot to him to know that he'd rather die along with Hiccup than live in a world where he was no longer around. He couldn't even blame his future self – they were closer than even Astrid and Hiccup were, if he could read everything right.
"No…" Astrid whispered, horrified. Her hand was held over her mouth like she was trying to stifle her voice as much as possible. But her eyes were still exposed and Toothless could see the tears welling in there.
Stoick's body was frozen as if he was trying to sympathize with his son on the wall. "Hiccup… no…"
"Why… I-I-I don't understand… why-why would…" Hiccup closed his eyes, his shoulders sagging. He looked like he was trying to make sense of the thoughts swirling in his head. And then he opened his green eyes and bore them into Toothless. "Why would you do that?! You-You should have escaped and saved yourself or…" He trailed off for a moment and then shook his head. "I don't know! B-but you shouldn't have jumped in like that! Toothless, you can't die. Not for me!" He said and his voice cracked at the last word.
Warbling, Toothless wished he could actually explain everything to Hiccup. But the boy didn't understand what he said. He could only guess. And even if his guesses were mostly spot on, he didn't think that would be enough this time around. So, without words, Toothless snuggled in close to Hiccup in an attempt to try and make him understand his choices in the future without saying a word to the distressed boy. Hiccup didn't seem to understand, but he hugged Toothless back, nonetheless.
On the magical wall, the scene continued to play out, showing Valka as she dismounted her baby dragon next to the ice before rushing over to knock uselessly on it, crying out for Hiccup. Toothless couldn't even imagine how hard it must have been to lose her husband and son the very same day after just reuniting with them. And Not-Astrid's stunned and hurt look made him feel even worse. Because yes, Valka clearly cared about her son, but she didn't know him as long as Not-Astrid. So yes, she felt the agony of losing her family, but to Not-Astrid… this must have been like getting stabbed in the chest with a dagger only for someone to twist the blade to inflict further pain.
And then everyone in the room gasped when a familiar shriek came from within the ice, accompanied by a bright, blue light. Toothless and Hiccup glanced at each other before turning back to the wall, looking mystified, like Astrid and Stoick. Valka stepped back, wonder written all over her face, and then ran away, along with an alarmed Drago, right before the ice exploded, revealing a glowing Not-Toothless, curled protectively around a stunned Not-Hiccup. The boy peeked out from under the Night Fury's wing and looked like he couldn't believe what he was seeing, just like the ones in the room.
"Toothless… is glowing." Hiccup noted, expression blank.
Astrid cocked her head to the side. "I didn't know Night Furies could do that." She said, sending a look towards Stoick. The man was busy smiling in relief at the sight of his son, still safe and sound. And, more importantly, alive and breathing. But he did nod a little in agreement with Astrid. Then the girl turned to look at Hiccup and Toothless. "Did you know?"
"Wha-no." Hiccup blinked confusedly at the magical wall and then turned to Toothless. "Did you know about it, Toothless?" And when Toothless shook his head, snorting, Hiccup beamed down at him. "You never cease to amaze me, bud." He said in awe and put his forehead against Toothless' for a moment before he raised his head again, allowing them both to watch as the scene played out.
Roaring viciously at the Alpha, Not-Toothless looked like he was going to pounce. But before he did, he turned back to Not-Hiccup, sending him a questioning warble, as if checking to see that he was alright. Staring at him, Not-Hiccup's shock melted away and he smiled at the dragon, crawling back as Not-Toothless leapt up and onto one of the thin icicles the Alpha had created during the fight, right in front of the Alpha. He spread his wings and glared up at him, no longer scared or fearful. Toothless almost admired his future self – he was crazy and nuts and completely out of it, but he was so brave, it was ridiculous.
"He's challenging the Alpha!" Not-Hiccup called out with amazement as he watched, a smile still on his face.
His mother stepped closer to him, looking at Not-Toothless as well. "To protect you."
Hiccup gasped and stared, just as mesmerized by the entire thing as his future self. His hand rested on top of Toothless' head as if he was trying to encourage him despite the two of them not really being present in this future just yet. Toothless appreciated this all the same. If he was going to do something that crazy, at least he knew he had Hiccup's support.
Shooting plasma blasts at the Alpha, Not-Toothless roared and sneered and hissed. He jumped out of the way right before the giant dragon broke the icicle he was perched on and landed on a different, wider one, not stopping his attack for a moment. Above the Alpha's head, the other dragons seemed to finally snap out of the haze they were under since the Alpha was using too much of his concentration to fight against Not-Toothless. Jumping again, Not-Toothless landed back next to Not-Hiccup and his mother and roared to the other dragons, calling for them. And they listened, switching sides from the Bewilderbeast to Not-Toothless.
Clearly unsatisfied by this turn of events, Drago yelled at the Bewilderbeast, climbing on top of one of his tusks and ordering him to fight back and gain control over the dragons again. And the giant beast clearly tried, yet the dragons of Berk didn't relent and moved over to Not-Toothless' side. Toothless couldn't believe this was happening. He was fighting one of the strongest dragons out there to keep Hiccup alive… and he was winning!
Climbing onto Not-Toothless' saddle, Not-Hiccup and the Night Fury perched themselves on another icicle, glaring at the Bewilderbeast and Drago. "Now do you get it?" Not-Hiccup called. He gestured behind him towards all of the dragons that came over to their side. "This is what it is to earn a dragon's loyalty. Let this end. Now."
Drago watched and heaved, and then his gaze intensified. Toothless grumbled. He wasn't going to give up. "Never! Come on!" He gestured with his hand and the Bewilderbeast got ready to attack once more.
Growling to the other dragons, Not-Toothless opened his mouth, readied his attack, and then fired, the other dragons firing right after him at the Bewilderbeast. Stoick barked out a laugh, clearly enjoying the sight of them winning, even if he wasn't around for it. Astrid no longer had tears in her eyes – she was now grinning confidently at the wall, nodding her head at the action. Only Hiccup still looked like he couldn't believe what he was seeing. Maybe because he didn't expect a dragon to fight for him like this. Well, Toothless was ready to prove the boy wrong. He nuzzled Hiccup's hand playfully and the boy turned his awestruck gaze to him, blinking at Toothless like he couldn't believe he was really there.
For a few seconds the dragons kept on blasting the beast relentlessly and the moment they were all done and out of shots, Not-Toothless got ready, building the fire in his body, before firing at one of the Bewilderbeast's tusks. With a great explosion, it broke and the Bewilderbeast cried out in agony. Hiccup flinched a little at that but Toothless just felt proud. He watched as Not-Toothless roared at the beast who looked almost sheepishly at him before finally backing away.
Not-Hiccup grinned. "The Alpha… protects them all." He stated proudly, putting his hand on top of Not-Toothless' head. They all watched as the Bewilderbeast, Drago still on top of it, went back underwater, leaving them alone. All of Berk celebrated, cheering at the victory, but for a moment Not-Hiccup just looked down into the ocean, looking worried. When there was nothing to see but waves and splashes of water against rocks, he steered Not-Toothless away from the edge and towards the village.
Getting off of Not-Toothless, Not-Hiccup stayed close as the dragons all around landed close to Not-Toothless. The Night Fury looked around, a bit uncertain, until Valka's dragon landed in front of him and bowed his head. Not-Toothless straightened up proudly at that and quickly, all of the dragons of Berk bowed down to Not-Toothless, showing their respect.
"You're the new Alpha." Hiccup said, his voice barely above a whisper, but they could all hear it. Toothless held his head high, proud of his accomplishments, and Hiccup laughed before he turned his wide eyes to Toothless, looking like he was feeling just as proud as Toothless felt. Toothless didn't even know what the others' reactions were, too busy staring up at Hiccup. He was just closing his eyes to allow Hiccup to touch his head when he felt something change.
When he opened his eyes again, he found himself back in the forest, his limbs tied up once more and one of his wings spread awkwardly next to his body. His clear head was suddenly filled with the familiar hum of the queen once more, urging him to do her bidding. The pain in his tail returned to him completely, reminding him of the fact that he was, in fact, grounded for the time being.
And then he heard someone inhaling sharply and Toothless warbled questioningly. A confused hum followed it before he could hear a gasp and the sound of footsteps approaching him quickly. The next thing he knew, Hiccup was standing next to him, looking horrified. The knife he had in the scene from the future was in his hand but he didn't look like he was going to use it to try and… cut out Toothless' heart or anything.
"Toothless!" The boy panted and smiled down at him before he seemed to hesitate a little. "Remember me, bud?" He asked, almost timidly, like he truly believed there was an option that Toothless wouldn't remember who he was. When Toothless crooned at him, pupils wide, Hiccup sighed in relief and beamed down at him before putting his hand on Toothless' head. "I'm gonna get you out of here in a second, bud." He promised and then set to work, using his knife to cut the ropes free. "Hold on, hold on. I'm almost done…"
Toothless pounced the moment he was free and for a second Hiccup looked up at him, horrified. It quickly turned into a grimace when Toothless licked him all over, covering him in slobber. A part of Toothless was aware of the fact that they were now going to have to live a different sort of life. Maybe not entirely – a lot of things would probably stay the same – but some things would surely change after seeing the future and starting this whole thing with a bond already formed between them. Plus, if they remembered this experience, then Stoick and Astrid probably did as well.
But he didn't mind. Yes, they had to take care of the queen to get Toothless completely free, but other than that, Toothless didn't mind whether or not things would change. So long as Hiccup was there to accompany him, he was going to accept whatever their fate would unfold. And obviously, even if it wasn't the same, it would still be dangerous and chaotic – they were still, apparently, a magnet for trouble, after all.
Hiccup wiped the drool away with a disgusted grunt and then sat up, holding Toothless' head with both hands. "I'm happy to see you, too, bud." Hiccup chuckled a little. "I-I'm sure we'll have plenty of time to figure everything out later, like… like finding out who that Viggo guy is or-or looking for my mom… but right now… I think we need to get you back in the air and then take care of that tyrant queen of yours." Hiccup grinned. "We can do this. You and me. What d'ya say, bud?"
Toothless warbled happily.