Chapter 4: I Choose You

FRIENDSHIP

ALL LIVES TOUCH OTHER LIVES TO CREATE SOMETHING ANEW AND ALIVE

Snivels probably would have found Hiccup a lot faster if it weren't for a couple of unforeseen complications.

Number one, the boy's scent kept zigzagging back and forth all over the woods. And two, the Snivy's bandages kept getting caught on low-hanging branches and shrubbery.

Stupid Vikings and their stupid dragon traps!

He'd gotten stuck again, this time in a prickle bush. (What was a prickle bush doing on Berk, anyway?) The more he struggled, the more tangled he got in the branches. He tried taking the bandages off, but Kyrie had done their job well. The knot was tied tight, and there seemed to be infinite thick layers of cloth that wouldn't come off fast enough, no matter how he grabbed and peeled at them.

His Vine Whip kept getting tangled in the branches when he tried to maneuver them, and it was no use to heal the dozen or so small cuts on his body with Synthesis while he was still stuck in the prickles. And neither of the other two moves he knew how to use would be much help.

Snivels would never make it as this rate. For all he knew, Hiccup and/or the Night Fury could be dead right this very moment.

I can't give up. I won't give up!

Up in the trees, he could hear the local wildlife scampering and flittering across the branches and among the leaves. With any luck, one of them could be a Pidgey or a Skwovet or really any kind of commonly-found Normal-type.

"Help!" Snivels called out. "Can anyone hear me? Please, I need help!"

No answer. Nothing but the chittering of squirrels and the chirping of sparrows.

Snivels couldn't just sit there and wait for someone to happen by and find him stuck (again). Not while Hiccup was out there getting into Arceus knows what kind of trouble. He had to get free, no matter what it took.

When he heard a twig snap, he thought one of the prickles had broken off. But then he heard the rustling of leaves and realized with a jolt that something was headed right toward him.

If it was a wolf or a wild boar, he was in no position to defend himself from an attack. As the sounds of rustling and snuffling got closer, he fervently prayed to Arceus that whatever was coming was a fellow Pokémon, or something harmless like a deer or a rabbit.

After a long, tense moment, something small and red and scaly nosed its way through a cluster of bushes. The little reptile stumbled forward on two legs, his proportionately sized wings and long tail brushing against the leaves, causing some to scatter. His big green eyes blinked at Snivels.

The Snivy stared back at him. He recognized the critter instantly. "Red?"

At the sound of his name, the dragonet gave a delighted squeak and rushed forward. Three more baby Dramillion, each a different color, charged out of the bushes after their big brother.

"Green! Blue! Yellow!" Although he hadn't been actively thinking about it, the knowledge that the quartet of siblings hadn't been victimized by the dragon traps brought Snivels great relief.

There were far too many dragonets who had lost their parents in the war, and vice versa. The four Dramillions had only been a few days old when Snivels found them. They'd just lost their mother, so he'd taken it upon himself to look after them. ...But that's a whole other story.

Red stopped just short of the prickle bush, trembling with excitement at the sight of Snivels, even if the Snivy was stuck in a prickle bush. His younger brother and two sisters skidded to a stop behind him, tripping over each other's talons and crashing into Red.

Snivels laughed with delight. "You guys have no idea how happy I am to see you're okay!"

"Snivels!" chirped Yellow, the youngest of the bunch. "You is okay!"

"I will be okay just as soon as I get myself out of this prickle bush," the Snivy quipped. He tried to squirm, but all that accomplished was getting the bandage even more tangled in the branches.

"Snivels is stuck?" asked Blue.

Snivels sighed. "Yes, I'm stuck."

Red, being the oldest sibling, didn't waste any time. He stepped up the prickle bush, grabbed one of the branches with his teeth and pulled. It took quite a bit of straining, but eventually it broke off with a *snap!*

"What are you doing?" asked an alarmed Snivels. "Be careful!"

The red dragonet spat out the branch and bit the next one. He was quickly joined by Green, who practically pounced at the bush and tore at the branches with her own teeth.

Snivels watched with anxious eyes as the two dragonets snapped the branches off one by one. If either of them got even the tiniest splinter...

But their efforts were working. Now that the branches were out of the way, Snivels had more wiggle room. He could see Blue and Yellow hanging back, the former's wing outstretched to prevent the latter from charging forward to join their elder brother and sister in assaulting the offending bush.

Red's teeth closed on the off-white cloth of Snivels's bandages that were still tangled up in the prickles. He gave a strong tug, and there was the sound of fabric tearing.

All of a sudden, Snivels was tumbling out of the bush and onto the soft grass. The bandage and gauze, Kyrie's handiwork, were still tangled in the prickles.

Snivels barely had time to breathe before he was smothered by about ten dozen dragon kisses from the four young Dramillions.

"Guys!" the Snivy half-sputtered half-laughed. "St-stop! Okay, that's enough!"

The four dragonets each gave him one last lick for good measure before backing up a few steps. All of them, Yellow especially, were still trembling with excitement.

Now that he could breathe again, Snivels picked himself up off the forest floor. He smiled at the quartet of siblings. "How did you find me?"

What followed was a jumble of chirps and squawks in a language that was almost incomprehensible to the human ear. Aside from fellow dragons, Pokémon were the only creatures that could innately understand Dragonese.

From what Snivels could tell, Red, Green, and Blue were each telling their own account of how they'd tracked him down. Yellow, on the other hand, was enthusing how happy she was that he was here and he was okay and how sorry she was that she almost got them caught in the trap.

The four dragonets collectively fell silent under his gaze, a mix of disbelief and impatience. The kind of look that said, Alright, you've had your fun, now what really happened?

Glancing at his younger siblings, Red admitted the truth.

"We is lucky."

That, Snivels believed. He could imagine it clearly - the four young Dramillions returning to the scene where the netter trap had been set and finding it empty. They must have been pretty worried, maybe even terrified, when they couldn't find him. And by sheer chance, they just happened to be near enough to where he'd gotten stuck in the prickle bush to hear his cries for help.

Then, from another part of the forest, an ear-splitting screech echoed through the trees.

Yellow gave a cry of fright and curled up under Red's wings. "Scary noise! Me no like."

Snivels felt a chill go down his spine. There was only one creature he knew that could make a sound like that - a Night Fury. And where there was a Night Fury, there had to be...

Hiccup!

He'd nearly forgotten; the poor young human was in trouble!

"Guys," Snivels said in what he hoped was a calm and soothing voice, "listen - there's someone in these woods who might be in trouble. He needs my help, understand?"

Green tilted her head. "Can we come?"

Snivels was silent as he weighed the pros and cons in his head. On the one hand, confronting an unfamiliar dragon, especially one as elusive and powerful as a Night Fury, could be quite dangerous. On the other hand, the four baby Dramillions shouldn't be left alone in the middle of the forest where there could very well be other traps for unsuspecting dragons to walk into.

Not to mention it would probably be better for all of them if Snivels could actively keep an eye on the little ones.

"Alright," he conceded. "But follow me and stay close."

The quartet of siblings nodded obediently.

It was hard to pinpoint exactly where in the vast forest the roar had originated from based on sound alone. But Snivels still had an advantage - Hiccup's scent.

Mostly clean fabric, smoke and metal, with a dash of charcoal.

The scent trail was leading deeper into the woods, and it was rather potent. With any luck, Hiccup was somewhere nearby.

Snivels wasted no time following the trail of Hiccup's distinct aroma, stopping only to utter, "This way," to the four little Dramillions.

There was still some zigzagging, but not as much as before. Wherever Hiccup had been headed to, he seemed to have elected to take a more consistent path. And as Snivels got closer, he could detect other scents - the earthy aroma of fresh dirt and broken wood, the dry and smoky smell of dragon scales, and a touch of iron.

Blood has iron in it.

But whose blood was it? Hiccup's...or the Night Fury's? Snivels didn't know which would be worse, but, as much as he didn't want to find out, he was the only one who could save them both.

Those next few minutes of tracking Hiccup's scent were probably the most stressful few minutes Snivels had ever known. He was calmed somewhat by the muffled sound of Red, Green, Blue, and Yellow's footsteps on the dirt and grass behind him. They were making good on their word to follow him and stay together. As long as they did so, they'd be safe.

It felt like an eternity before he found the first sign that they were getting close to their destination.

A rather large tree had been split in two, with one half standing upright, and the other bending down toward the ground. It looked as if the tree had been struck by lightning, except that it wasn't burnt. There was a huge track of plowed earth running beyond the tree and vanishing over the next hill.

"What happen?" Red asked.

It was clear to Snivels what had happened - something big had plunged out of the sky and violently skidded to a halt. And Snivels knew exactly what that something was.

"Wait here and stay hidden," he told the dragonets. "I'm gonna check it out."

Hopping over the fallen tree, the Snivy followed the track of dirt to the top of the hill. Rounding an exposed tree root, he turned back to see the four baby Dramillions huddled together. They watched with wide, frightened eyes as he climbed up to the crest of the hill.

Snivels didn't know what he was expecting to find when he reached the top. But what he saw was quite jarring.

Ropes were strewn across the forest floor; there was no sign of a dragon. And lying facedown, just a few feet away from a large boulder, was the scrawny form of a teenaged human boy.

Oh, no.

Had the Night Fury killed Hiccup? Was Snivels too late?

With tentative steps, the Snivy crept down the slope. Maybe the Night Fury was still nearby; there were still a trace of dragon scales in the air. But what exactly had happened? Did the dragon break free? Was the dragon hurt? If so, how badly?

Dragons didn't attack without reason, Snivels knew. Whatever condition Hiccup was in, the Night Fury had acted in retaliation.

The whole time Snivels had traversed the short distance from the top of the small hill to the bottom, Hiccup hadn't moved. Not even a little.

He didn't smell dead. And he didn't smell like iron, either. Which meant that smell had to be the Night Fury's blood.

Now that Snivels was standing right next to the body, he pressed his leafy hand on the side of Hiccup's neck. Much to his relief, he could feel the steady thrum of the boy's pulse under his fingers.

He's alive.

But where was the Night Fury?

Anyone else would have assumed that the dragon had broken free of the bola and attacked his would-be killer. But Snivels knew better than to make assumptions. There was something about the scene that didn't quite add up.

The ropes...

The remains of the bola that had been launched from that weird cannon thing, or whatever Hiccup might have called it, were the only visual clue that a dragon had even been there. From the way the trees and the ground had looked, Snivels had to guess it was a pretty rough landing.

He was still trying to get over the fact that a Viking had actually succeeded in downing a dragon as swift and elusive as a Night Fury. Then again, Hiccup was clearly no ordinary Viking. (If he even was a Viking at all. Was that big chief guy really his father? Like, his father-father?)

I better get a closer look.

Treading lightly, in case the Night Fury was still nearby, Snivels left the unconscious Hiccup lying in the dirt and approached the damaged bola. He grabbed the nearest rope and lifted it up off the ground, examining it closely.

That's interesting.

The ends of the rope weren't frayed at all - they'd been cut cleanly, perhaps by a claw, or a tooth...or a blade.

There was the unmistakable musty scent of metal, mixed with the mild twine of rope and salty human sweat. Something was glinting in the morning light, in the dirt next to Hiccup's body. A weapon, maybe?

...Well, that was a stupid question. Of course it had to be a weapon of some kind. Even a complete and total idiot would know better than to go out hunting for a dragon without something to defend himself with. And as far as Snivels was concerned, Hiccup was practically a genius.

Now that he had no further need for the bola, Snivels let the cut rope fall to the forest floor. The pieces of the puzzle were starting to come together now - the Night Fury crashed into the woods, all tangled up with ropes, probably injured in the fall. Hiccup finds the dragon, but instead of killing the poor creature he sets them free.

But why did he let the dragon go? And where was the Night Fury now?

Snivels would have to figure that out later. Right now, Hiccup needed his help.

He hadn't seen or smelled anything unusual or alarming while he was checking for Hiccup's pulse. The young Viking(?) must have passed out from the shock of whatever had happened. If the Night Fury had retaliated, there wasn't any sign that they had. ...Except maybe for the faint smell of salmon mixed with fiery dragon's breath.

Speaking of dragons...

"It's okay, guys," the Snivy called. "You can come out."

Red was the first to pop up from over the top of the hill, his eyes searching for Snivels. As the oldest of the dragonets, the responsibility of the safety of his siblings would fall unto him whenever their parents weren't around. But since the war left them with no mother and no father to take care of them, someone else, in their case Snivels, had to fill the parent role instead.

Snivels waved to get the red dragonet's attention. "Down here."

Almost the moment Red's eyes landed on the Snivy, he took off running down the hill. ...That is, if you could call it running. The slope was a bit steep, so the baby Dramillion slipped a little on the way down.

Green, Blue, and Yellow soon followed. The littlest and most excitable of the dragonets lost her footing entirely and went tumbling head over tail to the bottom of the hill where Snivels was waiting. The unexpectedness combined with Yellow's rather adorable, dazed expression provided some much-needed levity to the situation, as Snivels chuckled at the sight.

Now that they were all gathered, Snivels's attention quickly returned to the unconscious Hiccup. He tried to remember what he'd learned about what to do when someone faints. Usually when a Pokémon fainted, it was from exhaustion and sustaining too much damage in battle. The main course of treatment for that was rest, medicine, and plenty of nutrition-packed berries.

Considering the fact that the patient in this particular case was human, he doubted that was the necessary treatment. But they could at least turn Hiccup onto his back, so his face wasn't in the dirt.

Bracing himself against Hiccup's shoulder, Snivels beckoned the four dragonets to come closer. "Help me flip him over."

The quartet of siblings lined up behind him, bracing their shoulders against the unconscious boy's body.

"On three," Snivels said. "One..."

He tightened his grip.

"Two..."

They all tensed up in preparation.

"Three!"

All five of them gently pushed. Well, Snivels hoped they were being gentle enough. It was a slow process, but sure enough Hiccup's body was rolling over. He was on his side now...and then with one last good shove from his five little helpers, he flopped onto his back.

Snivels barely had enough time to catch his breath before he heard a soft groan...and he saw Hiccup's face twitch.

He's waking up.

Briefly, Snivels was relieved. But then it occurred to him - how would Hiccup react when he saw the four dragonets? Dramillions didn't come to Berk often, if at all. They lived on a whole other island quite a way away. Had any of the Vikings on Berk ever seen a Dramillion?

After what he'd experienced in the past twenty-four hours, it was incredibly hard for Snivels to imagine someone as kind and selfless as Hiccup hurting a dragonet.

We'll be alright. Snivels was certain of it. I can trust him.

"Hiccup?"

The last thing Hiccup remembered seeing before he'd blacked out was the Night Fury flying deeper into the woods. And that was right after his poor eardrums had been assaulted by the dragon's loud, screeching roar.

When he came to, he was lying on his back (which was weird, because he was pretty sure he'd fallen flat on his face). And he could hear something; it was faint at first but gradually became clearer as he neared full consciousness.

"Sni-vy?"

Wait. What was the Snivy doing all the way out here? Had he really followed him this whole way? And how?

Hiccup forced his eyes open, and found himself staring up toward the sky.

How long had he been unconscious? It didn't look like much time had passed. But with the kind of luck he'd been having lately, his fathet was probably back home waiting to chew him out for disobeying his orders for the umpteenth time.

"Sni-vy?"

There was something odd about the way the Snivy had said that - a sort of vocal spasm exactly in the middle, sandwiched between the two syllables.

It sounded like...a hiccup.

He tried to sit up, but his whole body felt numb. It took him a minute to regain control of his limbs; his arms and legs tingled as they moved. No sooner after he'd sat up, his head started spinning.

"What happened?"

The Snivy shrugged. "Snivy vy."

Then there was a sort of squeaky chirrup sound unlike anything Hiccup had ever heard.

Gradually, the throbbing in his brain subsided and his swirling vision slowed to a stop. To his surprise and bewilderment, there were four little dragons standing less than five feet away from him.

Hiccup yelped and scrambled back. His hand found the knife he'd dropped in the dirt and grasped it like a lifeline, ready to strike in case the dragons tried to attack.

But they didn't. Instead, they ducked and hid behind the Snivy.

He stared, dumbstruck. He'd never seen dragons like them before. Bipedal, small arms, short thick neck, small head, long tail, not much bigger than a cat. What kind of dragons were they, and what were they doing on Berk?

Wait a minute.

Was this the same Snivy he'd rescued? It didn't have a bandage on its tail, and now that he had a good look at it there were small scratches on the Grass Snake Pokémon's body, but its tail was completely unscathed. It couldn't be the same one...could it?

"Um," Hiccup tried to speak. What could he say? "Is...is that you, little guy?"

"Vy," the Snivy said, nodding.

But how? Pokémon were very resilient creatures, but even they couldn't heal from such a serious injury that fast. Unless...

"How did you...?"

The Snivy followed his eyeline to its leafy tail. Then it nodded, as if remembering something. With slow, graceful movements, the Grass Snake Pokémon raised its tail up. The green leaf caught a beam of stray sunlight and glowed.

Hiccup watched in amazement as the Snivy's whole body glowed green and sparkled. Before his eyes, the scratches on the Snivy's body disappeared. After a few seconds, the glow faded and the Grass Snake Pokémon was completely uninjured.

That was Synthesis, wasn't it?

So, the Snivy could heal himself. He didn't need Hiccup to look after him anymore; he could stay here in the forest where he belonged.

But what about those little dragons? Why weren't they attacking? And why did they seem to know this Snivy? There must be a story there.

...Was Hiccup even awake?

He wasn't sure what he'd dreamed and what was real. Perhaps he was still passed out on the forest floor. Or perhaps he was asleep in bed, back home. Maybe this was all one long nightmare.

But Hiccup was sure he could remember working with Gobber in the forge in the early morning. And the talking to Stoick had given him when he made a mess of things once again. And Astrid's perfect figure silhouetted against an exploding fireball. That was definitely real.

Hiccup stood up on shaky legs, tucking his knife into his belt. The Snivy stared up at him calmly.

Was the Night Fury real? The ultimate prize a Viking could get, felled by a lucky shot from the Mangler. The large dark shape lying motionless in the clearing. The iridescent green eyes boring a hole into his skull.

No, that had to be real. Hiccup couldn't have conjured that from his own brain.

"So," he gulped, "are these...friends of yours?"

The Snivy nodded again. Then he turned to the small red dragon and stroked its muzzle.

Hiccup decided it was best to not question his own sanity at this point.

"Well, you're all healed now," he said. "So, I guess this is goodbye." He backed away slowly, stopping only when he accidentally bumped into the boulder - the same one he'd hid behind while approaching the downed Night Fury. "See you around...maybe." That last part was uttered under his breath as he turned away and headed back from whence he came.

He didn't know why he felt so disappointed. He was never going to keep the Snivy anyway. That Pokémon was born in the wild, so he belonged in the forest, not in a village full of loud, angry Vikings.

Still, it felt nice to have a companion alongside him for a change as he went about his usual routine. Even if said companion seemed to have some sort of affiliation with the enemy.

He probably couldn't tell anyone about the strange dragons he'd seen. If they didn't believe him about the Night Fury, then they certainly wouldn't believe his claims that he'd potentially discovered a new species. Plus, he wasn't supposed to be out in the forest in the first place.

Maybe he should have stayed home like he was told. It was all so simple then - kill dragons or be killed by dragons. But he had to go out, to find the Night Fury. And he went and messed the whole thing up, like he always did.

Well...it was fun while it lasted, I guess.

Even if Hiccup never saw the Snivy again, he'd never forget them. He didn't want to.

Snivels watched silently as Hiccup trudged up the hill, away from him and the dragonets. Their encounter had gone a lot better than he thought it would. Even if Hiccup had tried to attack the four baby Dramillions, he'd have to get through Snivels first.

On a side note, there were worse things to be called than a 'little guy'. Still, it'd be nice if he could at least tell Hiccup was his name was.

He'd been working on that, right before the Night Fury was shot out of the sky and everything spiraled out of control. There were so many unanswered questions to what had transpired, and now Hiccup was leaving him behind in the middle of the woods.

Snivels absentmindedly scratched the sweet spot on Red's neck that all dragons had. Now that he'd seen a slice of Hiccup's life in a Viking village, it was impossible to not feel sorry for the poor kid.

No one had mentioned anything about Hiccup's mother, not even Hiccup himself. And none of the women in the village had tried to intervene when Stoick was scolding his son. It wasn't hard to figure out what had happened to her, with a war going on and everything.

Which meant that Hiccup didn't have anyone - no friends, no mother, no proper father - to support him. Except maybe Kyrie. But that wasn't nearly enough.

Snivels couldn't leave him like that. Not after all that Hiccup had done to help him.

Finding his way back home would have to wait. The Pokémon of Orre could take care of themselves, and there was another need greater than his that had to be fulfilled.

"Guys," he said, his voice cracking a little in anticipation of what he was about to do. "That boy...Hiccup, he needs me. I know I promised to find you a new home, but the truth is I don't know how to get to Orre from here. Even if I did, I can't just let him go it alone." He turned to Red. "Your siblings will look to you now. Take care of each other, protect each other. I don't know when I'll see you again, but it might not be for a while."

He hugged each of them around the neck - first Red, then Green, then Blue, and lastly Yellow. He could feel his eyes getting wet, but he blinked the tears away. He had to be strong, for himself and for the dragonets.

"Miss you, Snivels," Yellow crooned.

"I'll miss you, too," Snivels said.

It took him longer to let go than it should have. But he did, because that's what he had to do.

"Good luck," was the last thing he said to them before he turned and ran.

He glanced back only once, to make sure the dragonets weren't following him. They couldn't come to the village; the Vikings would surely kill them without hesitation. He did see Yellow try to run after him, but Red grabbed her tail in his mouth to stop her.

Red was smart and responsible, he'd know what to do. And he understood what Snivels had been trying to convey.

This was something he had to do by himself.

"Hiccup!"

Snivels could see the lanky form of the young Viking (who was not really much of a Viking at all) up ahead. He saw the boy stiffen at the sound of him calling out his name in the Pokémon language.

As he neared, he realized Hiccup had stopped walking. Slowly, the boy turned around.

Snivels slowed into a walk. The sight of Hiccup's eyes widening to the size of dinner plates made him smile. This boy had already sacrificed so much - his time, his energy, and now his happiness - for his wellbeing, and he'd never expected anything in return. If there was only one person Snivels could trust on this island, it was him.

He stood at Hiccup's feet, looking up at him hopefully.

You helped me. You have proven you are worthy. I trust you.

I choose you...to be my trainer.

Hiccup's eyes lit up with realization, and the corners of his mouth turned upwards into his own smile.

Originally, there was only Blue, but then a lightbulb went off in my head and I added the other three as a reference to the first installments of the Pokémon video game franchise. In order from oldest to youngest: Red, Green, Blue, then Yellow.

As for how Snivels met and befriended them, that's a story for another time.

Now, how about that new trailer for Legends Z-A? Is anyone else excited to return to Kalos? Who knows what new adventures await?

Speaking of which, it's time for a new legend to begin...

Reviews are very much appreciated.