Chapter 2: Forbidden Friendship (2)

Days passed since that day.

Hiccup had been wandering around the forest more than usual. It was a place where he could gather his own thoughts. The boy often spent his time at the cove where he found Toothless. He hoped to see her again. She was a friend that was willing to listen to him.

This time, however, Toothless did not arrive. Hiccup had been spending his time at the cove, waiting for her. He wondered why she did not come to the cove yet.

"Hiccup."

That might be why.

Hiccup turned around to see his father standing at the entrance. "Dad?" He quietly asked. "What are you doing here?"

"I uh..." Stoick shuffled nervously. "I was looking for you."

The father and son simply stared at each other. They did not know what to say to each other.

After some time, Hiccup decided to speak. "Okay."

The chief approached his son. Stoick bent down to see him at eye level. "Hiccup, what's troubling you?"

"I don't know how I can be strong." Hiccup muttered, looking away. He rubbed his shoulder. "Other kids hurt me. I'm not strong."

Stoick was saddened. It was no secret that the village did not like Hiccup very much. He wanted to do something about it, but he thought it was necessary to make him stronger. He could not coddle his son.

'But who would provide him comfort?'

Stoick ignored his thoughts and focused to his son. "You don't have to be strong in body." He lectured. "You can be strong in here." He moved to touch his forehead. "And in here." He touched his heart.

Hiccup looked up to his father, confused. Stoick continued speaking. "You are smart." He firmly spoke. "You like to think. That's where you can be strong."

"But how can it stop them from hurting me?"

Stoick did not know how to answer that.

"... It's something you need to think about." He finally spoke.

Hiccup simply looked away. Stoick stood from the ground and offered his hand. "Come. It's time to go home."

"Okay, dad."

Hiccup held his hand. Then, the two Vikings walked out from the cove.

There was no forest path around the cove. That was expected. The place was far and isolated from the village. Strange enough, it was where Hiccup always spent his time whenever he went to the forest. It was where Stoick would always find him whenever he went off wandering in the forest.

The forest was quiet. It was evening. Stoick was a bit suspicious at the environment. Usually, there would be birds flying around, or animals wandering somewhere. However, it was quiet. Too quiet. Typically, it meant that there was a dangerous predator around.

"Stay close, Hiccup." Stoick muttered, pulling out his axe.

Hiccup was about to answer when something suddenly grabbed him. "AH!" He screamed when he was suddenly pulled away from his father. "DAD!"

Stoick whipped his head around to see a dragon flying away with his son. "HICCUP!"

The chief sprinted after it. He jumped over trees and obstacles on the way, rushing to catch the dragon that had taken his son. From the looks of it, the dragon was a Monstrous Nightmare - a large red dragon with two legs, horns on its head, and spikes on its back.

Stoick sensed something. He ducked right before flame charred his head. Glancing to the side, he saw another Monstrous Nightmare. He ignored it and kept running after his son.

Another Monstrous Nightmare appeared in front of him. Stoick simply dodged its fire and swiped his axe. It instantly decapitated its head. The chief did not lose his momentum and kept on running after the dragon, who were getting further and further away from him.

"HICCUP!"

Hiccup whimpered. The Monstrous Nightmare had him in its clutch. They had been flying low, close to the forest. It terrified him, because he smelt blood coming from the dragon.

After some time, the dragon landed on a clearing. It pinned the boy down on the ground. It looked down to him with sinister expression on its face.

"W- What do you want from me?" Hiccup whimpered.

The Monstrous Nightmare released him. Just as it did, it lunged and chomped the boy right on his stomach and chest. The sharp dragon teeth easily tore through his flesh and bones, tearing him apart.

"AAAAH!" Hiccup screamed.

An axe flew and struck the dragon. The Monstrous Nightmare screeched and let go of the boy. Hiccup collapsed onto the ground, whimpering in pain. Stoick came out to the clearing and pulled out his sword. He had his shield on his other hand.

"HAA!" Stoick screamed as he charged after the dragon. The Monstrous Nightmare sent a blast of fire, in which the chief blocked with his shield. The man swung his sword, giving the dragon a large gash onto its head.

"GROAAAA!" The dragon roared up into the sky. It was calling for its friends. Stoick took the opportunity to move and swung his sword, decapitating the dragon. Its head fell to the ground, as its body went limp.

Stoick looked at his son. Hiccup was dragging himself away from the dragon. The man was about to reach for him when more Monstrous Nightmares came in. They landed between them, and some wanted to eat his son.

'No.' Stoick thought. He was angry, irate at the thought of his son eaten by the dragon.

Suddenly, there was a loud, piercing shriek. "ka-ka-KA-KA-KA!" BOOM!

A large, powerful explosion hit the crowd of Monstrous Nightmares. Something black flew fast in the sky. It turned around, before diving once more. There was the familiar piercing shriek. "KRAAAA!" BOOM!

A purple ball of plasma flew from above, and Monstrous Nightmare close to Hiccup was blown away. The black dragon swooped in and landed right on top of Hiccup. Stoick widened his eyes as he realised what it was. "Night Fury."

Hiccup looked up. He recognised the dragon. "Toothless..."

Toothless looked down. Her eyes softened as she saw the condition that her human was in. "Kryuu..." She looked back to the offending Monstrous Nightmares, who had all their attention to them. Her pupils became slit, as she bared her teeth at them. "KRAAAAOOOO!"

"GROAA!" The Monstrous Nightmares roared back at her.

Hiccup could only stare at the interaction. He was losing consciousness. The last thing he saw was Monstrous Nightmares lunging towards them, and his father's terrified expression.

Hiccup groaned. His whole body felt painful. The boy tried to move, only for someone to hold him down. "Don't move. You're going to make it worse."

Hiccup paused. He slowly opened his eyes. He noticed that he was laying down on a bed inside Gothi's house. Looking around, he saw Gothi and Stoick there. His father was sitting next to his bed. Gothi was tending something behind him.

"Dad..." Hiccup whispered.

Stoick had tears in his eyes. He leaned forward and held his hand. "How do you feel?"

"... pain?" Hiccup squeaked. There was discomfort on his stomach, back and chest.

Gothi turned around and came to his bed. She offered him a cup of water. Hiccup slowly sat up, drink the water, and lay back down. When that was done, she placed the cup away. She wrote something on the ground, which Hiccup could not see.

Stoick looked down, before looking up to the elder. "Thank you."

Gothi nodded. Then, she walked away through the door, heading off to another room. That left Hiccup and Stoick alone.

The father and son stared at each other. Hiccup looked down to see under his blanket. His body was covered in bandages. They were thick bandages, implying that his injuries were severe. The boy relaxed himself, happy that he survived the encounter.

Hiccup could not remember much about the encounter. Then, he remembered Toothless. "Dad." He started. "What happened to-"

"The black dragon?" Stoick dryly finished his sentence. Hiccup slowly nodded.

Stoick shuddered his breath. He steeled himself. "The dragon blasted those Nightmares." He quietly explained to him. "'killed a lot of them before they flew away. It chased them off."

"Oh." Hiccup looked down. He was glad that Toothless had come to save him.

"Hiccup." Stoick spoke, getting his attention. "How did you meet that Night Fury?"

Hiccup widened his eyes. "Toothless is a Night Fury?"

"Toothless." Stoick hummed. He had sad expression on his face. "That's its name?"

Hiccup slowly nodded. Stoick closed his eyes and pursed his lips. The boy did not know what his father was thinking. The chief let out a deep sigh, before opening his eyes.

Hiccup could see great sadness and reminiscent in his eyes. It was a strange expression; something that he often saw when his father was crying at the fireplace.

"Why don't you start from the beginning?" Stoick quietly asked.

However, Hiccup was hesitant. "Are you going to hurt Toothless?"

"... No." Stoick whispered.

Hiccup mulled over for some time. His father was not angry, which was strange. Whenever something happened to him involving a dragon, his father would be angry at him.

"I met Toothless at the cove." Hiccup muttered. "She was trapped inside a dragon trap. I let go of her."

"Why?"

"She looked so... helpless." The boy confessed to his father. "I looked at her, and I saw myself."

Hiccup saw his father softened his expression. His eyes were watering. The boy did not know why it caused such reaction.

"When was the last time you met Toothless?"

"She was there at the Viking funeral for the bird." Hiccup muttered, not looking to his father. "She's my only friend."

Stoick inhaled a shuddering breath. "... I see."

The man rightened his hold on his hand. "Hiccup. Look at me."

The boy looked at his father. He looked firm. "You saw that Nightmare tried to eat you." He started. "Do you still trust Toothless?"

Hiccup did not answer for some time. Toothless had saved him from those Monstrous Nightmares. Then, with determined expression, he replied. "Yes."

"Do you think all dragons are like her?"

Hiccup did not have the answer to that. The boy nervously shifted on his bed. "I don't know."

Stoick gave him a sad smile. "Hiccup." He started. "Night Fury is different. They are the smartest dragon that anyone has ever seen. Treat her right, and they would be the most loyal dragon that you would ever find. But not all dragons are like her."

The man came closer to him. "Promise me not to befriend other dragon." He firmly spoke. "Tell someone when you found a dragon but keep Toothless a secret. Do not tell anyone about her."

Hiccup felt relief. At least his father accepted Toothless as his friend. "Okay, dad. I promise."

"Good." Stoick nodded. He let go of him and stood from the seat. "I uh... I should be going to do... chiefly stuff."

"Okay dad."

Stoick nodded at his son. He turned around and exited the hut, heading off into the village.

The chief of Hairy Hooligan Tribe was walking down the street. He had a destination to go to. The forge was quiet that day; not surprising, considering everyone was away at the docks. That did not mean the forge was empty, however. Gobber, his best friend, was inside.

Gobber was busy hammering a sword when Stoick came to the window. The blacksmith saw him and greeted the man. "Chief."

"Gobber." Stoick whispered. "Hiccup woke up."

Gobber paused. He dumped the sword he was working on into a bucket of water. It sizzled as heat dissipated from the sword. The man left the sword there and went to approach the window. "Did Hiccup really-"

"Yes." Stoick interrupted him.

The blacksmith widened his eyes. "How?"

"He released her from a trap."

"Wait, so it's like-!"

"Gobber." Stoick interrupted, gesturing to his head. "Ears."

Realising they were in public, Gobber apologised. "Sorry." Then, the man leaned forward to him. "How's Hiccup?"

"Gothi said he'll be fine in a few days." Stoick muttered.

"Oh, good." Gobber shrugged, looking back to the forge. "It's been two weeks without him. Thank Thor there's no dragon raid. The forge could've been more of a mess without him in a dragon raid."

Stoick let out a sigh. "What should I do with him, Gobber?"

Gobber glanced back at him. He grimaced. "You can tell him everything."

Stoick paused at what Gobber had said. The man frowned, staring at his friend with strange expression. "... maybe when he's older."

"Aye." Gobber muttered. "Probably the best. Maybe after his Dragon Training."

"Tell me when Hiccup talked to you about it."

"Aye, Stoick. I will."

Few days later, Gothi allowed Hiccup to leave. The boy had just gotten out of the house. He was walking down the path, heading towards the forge. He needed to check on with Gobber to make sure that his absence did not cause any trouble.

After that incident, Hiccup felt something different. He felt like something was released inside him, conflicting with something. He could not describe that feeling.

Gothi did not seem to know what was causing it, but since it was not causing any discomfort, they assumed it was probably fine.

Going down the rocky path, Hiccup saw a certain group of children walking around the corner. Those were Vikings that he did not want to see. The boy ignored them and continued his path to the forge.

Hiccup had reached outside the forge when he heard them calling for him. "Hey Hiccup!"

The boy slowly turned around. The group of children approached him. Those were Astrid, Snotlout, Fishlegs, Ruffnut and Ruffnut. Those Vikings were the ones he did not want to see or interact with.

"What do you want?" Hiccup meekly asked.

"We heard you got injured by a dragon." Astrid nonchalantly spoke.

"Oooh, did you get any scars?" Ruffnut asked, eager to see.

"Did you get any mark?" Tuffnut followed.

Hiccup was uncomfortable with those lines of questioning. He took a step back. "Erm..."

Snotlout lunged forward and grabbed him. "Hey!" He pulled up his shirt, revealing rows of bite marks across his stomach and chest.

"Oooh..." The children looked amazed.

"Quit it!" Hiccup exclaimed as he pushed himself away from Snotlout. He straightened and adjusted his clothes. "Leave me alone."

"Good marks." Ruffnut sagely nodded.

"Almost eaten by a dragon." Snotlout scoffed. "You can't even run right!"

"You should've not been there." Astrid spoke with narrowed eyes.

"Monstrous Nightmare have 15 attack and 16 speed." Fishlegs quoted, remembering what he read in Dragon Manual. "You're lucky to survive!"

Hiccup shuddered his breath. "Leave me alone."

"Maybe if you're strong, you won't get eaten by a dragon." The burly teen taunted him.

"Are you going to get more scars?" Ruffnut eagerly asked.

"He'll die if he got another one." Tuffnut dismissed her.

"Oh."

"Leave me alone." Hiccup nearly shouted.

"Why should I leave you alone?" Snotlout asked, confused. "You're my cousin! I'm just seeing if my cousin is fine, right Astrid?"

Everyone looked at Astrid. Hiccup was close in tears. They were silent for some time. Then, the petite girl looked straight at the boy. "You should've died back there."

Those words struck Hiccup. He did not know what to think. Hiccup were used to their presence of taunting him like that. However, he was almost eaten by a dragon. They seem to relish with the fact that he had nearly died. Astrid seemed to wish him dead.

"What's going on here?"

Everyone looked at the forge. Gobber was leaning onto the window, glaring at the group. "Yer upsetting the Vikings! Get off the line if ye don't have business here!"

The group shuffled on their feet. They gave Hiccup one last look, before turning around, leaving the area. Gobber glared at their retreating figure. After they disappeared around the corner, he looked at the boy. "Come on, Hiccup! More things to do here."

Hiccup looked down. He turned around and entered the forge.

Gobber watched as Hiccup entered the forge. The boy moved to grab the apron and wore them. Just as he did, Gobber decided to speak. "Ye know, there's nothing wrong with those wounds."

Hiccup paused. He did not reply. The older blacksmith continued speaking. "'lost my hand and leg. Ye uh... still have them." It was clear that Gobber did not know how to comfort him. "The point is... wounds are just reminder. Like how I lost my limbs, it reminds me to be careful next time."

Hiccup exhaled his breath. He wore the apron and looked at Gobber. "Thanks, Gobber."

The man gave him a salute. Hiccup walked to the pile of broken weapons. He needed to get them smelted.

Gobber watched Hiccup lifting a bucket of weapons. Just as he did, someone called his name. "Gobber."

The man looked outside through the window. Stoick was standing right to it. "Chief."

Stoick leaned to the side. He saw Hiccup working on melting weapons at the forge. After some time, he looked at Gobber. "How's Hiccup?"

"He just came." Gobber gruffly responded. "'might not be in mood to talk. Other kids didn't like how he almost got eaten by a dragon."

Stoick grimaced. Gobber leaned forward to him. "It's getting bad, chief." He whispered, trying not to be overheard. "The kids' been doing this for years. It might break him instead of helping him."

The chief let out shuddered breath. "At least he's safe." He muttered.

The situation reminded him of himself; the first time he was ambushed by a pack of dragons. It was the time he learned the notorious grudge between Haddocks and Monstrous Nightmares. There was no explanation to it, but he simply assumed it had something to do with his reputation.

"Aye, but how long are ye going to keep it like this?" Gobber quietly asked, concerned.

Stoick had no answer to that. He took one glance at Hiccup - who was busy throwing weapons into the smelter - before walking away to somewhere else.

"I'm sorry, Valka."

It was middle of the night inside Hiccup's room. The room was large, but mostly empty. There was a bed near the closed window, a table and a chair at the opposite corner. There was a wardrobe near the bed.

Notably, almost everything there was made of wood. That was not surprising, considering Haddock house was mostly made of wood, except for the fireplace downstairs. those were made of stone. It would not do well if their fireplace somehow burned down their house.

"Ngh..." Hiccup quietly moaned. The boy was restless in his sleep.

The young boy had fallen asleep right after he hit the bed. However, something inside him began to stir. He shifted his position and moved away his blanket. He felt heat coming from his body. He was not aware of this going on, as he was asleep the whole time.

Hiccup showed discomfort as he tried to do something to cool himself down. His breathing became heavy, as his body began convulsing. Something had awakened inside him, and it yearned for release. There was barely any resistance, as the boy was asleep.

Suddenly, the boy snapped his eyes open, revealing a forest green sclera, with slitted black pupil in his eyes. It was the eyes of a Night Fury.

Hiccup groaned as he stirred from his sleep. He let out a wide yawn, before slowly standing up from the ground.

Looking around, he noticed that he was inside a huge mountain that was very dark and red, and a huge pit in front of him. For some reason, he did not feel scared of it. He wondered how he got there.

'Strange.' Hiccup thought.

He started walking to see what was under the pit. Just as he did, he paused. He realised that he was walking on four legs instead of two. Looking at himself, he was surprised to see that he was not a human.

Hiccup saw paws under him. His paw was covered in jet black scales. Looking at his sides, he saw a pair of black wings, tail and body. He recognised the shape of this body. It was a body of a Night Fury. Hiccup realised that he was a Night Fury.

'I must be dreaming.' He thought. It felt right for him to be a Night Fury, somehow.

Hiccup tried to remember how he got there. He remembered going to sleep, and then waking up as a dragon. He tried to think about how he came to be; only to blink when he remembered that he had been a dragon his whole life.

'Yep. Definitely dreaming.'

"Hiccup." The dragon heard a familiar masculine voice in his head. "I didn't realise you came back here."

Hiccup tried to remember why that voice sounded familiar. The dragon recognised the form of communication as telepathy. The voice was Furious, the Greater Alpha that ruled over dragons in Barbaric Archipelago. Furious had raised him since he was a hatchling.

"Dad?" Hiccup tried speaking. It came out as a warble to him, but he understood the language.

"Son, welcome home." The telepathic voice - now known to have come from Furious - softly spoke. "I'm sorry that I'm not there to welcome you yesterday. I thought you'd arrive tomorrow. How's Greater Archipelago?"

Hiccup thought about the context. When he was 3 years old fledgeling, he had gone off to travel with a flock of dragons to Greater Archipelago.

He went to train there with Merciless, the ruling Greater Alpha of Greater Archipelago, because his father didn't let him fight and raid human villages in his nest.

Fighting dragon hunters and dragon trappers were the common thing for him under Merciless. There was the threat of Drago Bludvist and his dragon army, known as the Northern Alliance, in which they were fighting against as well.

He stayed there for 7 years, and he had just come back to Dragon Island, Barbaric Archipelago, where his father lived. He had served his time, and he gained a lot of experience on fighting; both against dragons and humans.

"It's warmer there. We were fighting Dragon Hunters." Hiccup mused, remembering his time there.

"Did you have fun there?"

"Uh... kind of." The dragon shrugged. He walked forward and looked down into the pit. There was nothing there but lava. "I'm not sure serving as a soldier is considered fun."

"I see." Furious hummed. "Well, this region is much tamer. I'm sure you still remember how things work?"

Hiccup tilted his head. He sat on his hindlegs and thought about it. Dragons in Meridian of Misery were at the state of war. They called it Dragon Rebellion, where dragons revolted against humans for their place in the world.

It had been going on for roughly 700 years now. Normally, Furious got his dragons to steal Viking food. The intention was to starve them to death.

Hiccup did not remember ever taking part in dragon raid at Barbaric Archipelago. However, he had done plenty in Greater Archipelago. He was often assigned to support dragons raiding the place; never reveal himself to anyone.

"I think?" Hiccup frowned.

"Merciless told me you had done well with your duty." Furious sounded pleased. "Your duty should not be different here. Dragon raid will start in 5 minutes."

Hiccup felt something placed into his mind. He thought about it and realised that Furious had somehow placed information into his head.

It had information about his role in the dragon raid, where it would be, how many dragons participating, and so on. He was ordered to support the dragons raiding the village.

The Night Fury straightened himself. He could not wait for his first dragon raid in Barbaric Archipelago. Furious never let him join his dragon raid, which was the reason why he moved to serve Merciless at Greater Archipelago, despite Furious' protests. "Yes, Alpha!"

"And Hiccup?"

"Yeah?"

"Remember to look after yourself." Furious soothed. "You are irreplaceable to me. Don't think too much about others."

"Okay, dad." Hiccup nodded. Looking up, he saw the night sky outside. The dragon spread his wings and took off into the air.

'What a strange dream.'

Every time Hiccup went off to fly, it was always an exhilarating experience for him.

It was a feeling that he did not feel often. Freedom was something he never experienced at his village. The way he soared in the sky, above everything that he could ever imagine.

The night sky was beautiful, as he could see the stars above the clouds. The moonlight illuminated the clouds, which were mostly translucent, despite being made of water.

It was the most realistic dream that Hiccup ever had. He did not want it to end, because he felt so free from everything. The sight was beautiful, even if they were there to march for a fight. The feeling of strength and power thrilled him, and he loved every single of it.

"Everyone ready?!"

Hiccup snapped from his thoughts. The target was getting closer. Looking around, there were dragons around him.

Most of those dragons were Monstrous Nightmares; Deadly Nadders - bird-like dragon with crown of spikes on its head, and tail with poisonous spines; Gronckles - boulder-like dragon with four legs, mace-like tail and body, and small pair of wings; and Hideous Zippleback - a two-headed dragon with four legs and two tails.

Those dragons were the raiding party. Hiccup was flying on top of them. Given the briefing from before, he needed to be the one to start the first shot. With that in mind, he flew higher and accelerated towards the village.

The village was located at a large island. As expected, the village was large. Most of the structures were built on dirt, and there was a dirt path that went along the village.

He recognised it as a Viking village. There were several weapon structures as well, such as catapults and ballista.

Hiccup thought about which one to take out first. The catapult was the most threatening for incoming dragons. With that in mind, he pulled up, stalled himself and dove down to the catapult. With a loud screech coming from his tail, he charged a plasma blast.

"KA-KA-KA!" BOOM!

Blue plasma blast went and struck the catapults. Hiccup flew fast and went past the village. He used the night sky as camouflage.

Dragons began pouring into the village, causing havoc and stealing their food. Vikings poured out from their homes, axes and swords on hand. The sound of battle filled the air. The dragon raid had begun.

Hiccup climbed up high once more. There were several other catapults that he needed to take out. He thought about which one to shoot. The one near the houses were manned, and it was taking out their dragons. Deciding on the target, he snapped his wings and dove straight to the catapult.

The loud screech alerted the Vikings of his presence. "NIGHT FURY!"

"GET DOWN!"

"KRAAA!" BOOM!

Plasma blast struck the catapult and destroyed them into smithereens. The explosion also caught the Vikings, which were flung away from the place. Hiccup flew past and flew by the ocean, before climbing up once more.

The Night Fury roamed high above the village. The rest of the catapults were unmanned, meaning he did not need to waste his plasma blast on them. He had eight shots out of ten.

It felt exhilarating to blow up those structures. The thill alone made him feel giddy about everything. It was the best feeling he had ever felt.

Hiccup looked down and noticed that most Vikings were crowding around a rather large structure. He recognised it as the forge. It seemed that the blacksmith was having trouble serving the demand. It would be a shame if something happened to it.

Deciding what he needed to do, the black dragon adjusted his direction and snapped his wings. He dove down as he charged a full power plasma blast towards them. The loud screech alerted the Vikings, as they scrambled away from the forge.

"NIGHT FURY!"

"RUN!"

"KRAAAAA!" BOOM!

The explosion obliterated the structure. Wood, stone and other various debris scattered all over the place, hitting Vikings unfortunate enough to be there. The explosion knocked everyone off their feet, and some that was unfortunate was caught in the explosion. Those Vikings did not survive.

Hiccup was still flying fast when he saw torches being hoisted. It illuminated the sky and revealed the dragons above. That one was simple for him to deal with. The Night Fury flew over and fired a plasma blast to the structure. "KRAAA!"

BOOM! The torch exploded in fiery explosion. It flung burning charcoal and oil everywhere, torching rooftops and houses that was unfortunate enough to be there. Hiccup thought that was satisfactory. The dragons should be able to roam freely above the village.

'Is this what it feels like to be a Night Fury?' Hiccup wondered.

It was an amazing feeling. He was untouchable. Nobody dared to look up to see him, and nobody could even see him in the night sky.

They were all at his mercy, and he could blow them up without fearing anything. He was the fastest and most powerful dragon in the whole archipelago.

Hiccup looked down to see a group of Vikings crowding together. They looked to be talking amongst each other; most likely organising themselves.

The dragon raid was still going on, and he needed to provide support for the raiding dragons. Seeing his chance to kill more Vikings, he dove down with bloodthirsty expression.

The loud shriek alerted the Vikings, but it was too late. Their fate was sealed. "NIGHT-"

"KRAAA!" BOOM!

The explosion obliterated the group. Blood and limbs splattered all over the place, painting the area red with blood. Other Vikings noticed this and began to panic. They began shouting to each other, as they themselves began running to somewhere else.

While flying through the forest, he heard them shouting. "Everyone, get to the cave!"

'Big mistake.' Hiccup darkly thought. He had five shots left. He did saw some cave entrances while flying over the island. If his assumption was correct, they would enter the nearest one. It would be his chance to destroy the village.

Hiccup saw Vikings evacuating everyone into a cave. They had abandoned their fights with dragons to defend their food. They evacuated everyone, including pets, livestock and others, into the cave.

Once the village was empty of Vikings, Hiccup snapped his wings and dove right to the cave entrance.

"KRA!" BOOM!

The explosion blew the entrance, collapsing them. Hiccup flew around the place and watched other cave entrances. The black dragon saw a Viking peeking out from one of them. He flew over, turned around and charged a plasma blast.

"KRAAA!" BOOM!

The attack blew that entrance. It collapsed the cave. Hiccup did not bother climbing back up. He was still moving fast, and he still had three shots left. Another glimpse of a Viking on a cave entrance, and Hiccup went to blew it up.

"KRAAAA!" BOOM!

Flying by, he saw a Viking hiding inside a cave-

"KRAAAAAA!" BOOM!

'One shot left.' Hiccup thought. 'Not that I need to use it, anyway.'

He climbed up high into the sky. The Night Fury roamed around the deserted village. With no open cave entrance remained, the Vikings were trapped and sealed shut inside the cave.

That effectively destroyed the whole village, as it meant that the Vikings could never get out from it. He had done his objective.

Hiccup felt the call from Furious. He was not sure how he knew, but everything was possible in a dream. The black dragon looked around and noticed that the raiding dragons were flying back. They had done their job of taking away food from the Vikings.

Feeling satisfied, Hiccup went flying back to Dragon Island.

Hiccup returned to Dragon Island. He flew into the place through the top and went flying down into the rocky platforms. He stretched his wings as he jogged to the corner. He laid down his body, feeling satisfied for his work.

"HICCUP!"

The Night Fury cringed. Furious did not sound pleased. He quickly stood up and straightened himself. "Yes, Alpha!"

"By the skies, Hiccup!" Furious shouted into his head. "I told you to support the raiding dragons by defending them!"

"I have done what you asked me to."

"Yes, but you took more risk by attacking them like that!" Furious mentally roared at him. Hiccup cringed.

There was a pause. Then, he heard Furious speaking again. He sounded exasperated. "Son, you have to understand that this is not Greater Archipelago."

"While things here are tamer, it doesn't mean you can be so reckless like that." Furious lectured the dragon, clearly concerned of his wellbeing. "What if they captured you? You could've been killed!"

Hiccup felt guilty. "I'm sorry, dad."

"Just... don't do that again." Furious replied, concern in his voice. "You must restrain yourself from doing more than you need to. It's for everyone and your own safety. If you keep doing that, they will bring people from Greater Archipelago to hunt you down. That will put everyone in danger."

Hiccup realised that it made sense. "I'm sorry."

"Just don't do it again."

"I won't."

"Good." Furious seemed to approve. "You're free to go."

Hiccup nodded. With that note, he ran and jumped into the pit, before spreading his wings and fly out from the volcano. He wanted to fly around some more.

Hiccup slowly opened his eyes. He was in his room at Berk. He looked around and noticed that it was daytime. Looking down, he was covered in blanket. He slowly uncovered himself to see human hands, legs and body.

'It was all just a dream.' Hiccup thought.

The boy let out a sigh. For some reason, he felt relaxed than before. He felt like losing an unknown weight on his shoulder.

It was a nice dream; him being a Night Fury, raiding villages for dragons and blowing things up. The flight was beautiful and exhilarating. He wanted to feel it again someday.

He thought about what it felt like in his dream. It felt right to be a dragon, somehow. He felt like he had been a dragon all his life. It did reinforce his thought that it was simply a dream. He was a human, not a dragon. He did wonder, however, what it felt like if he was a dragon.

'Probably just like the dream.' He thought.

Deciding it was enough for him to think about it, the boy jumped out from the bed and opened the window. The village was bustling with activities; Vikings walking around, carrying things and doing their own duties. It was morning and the sky looked beautiful.

Hiccup remembered that he was most likely needed at the forge. The boy went off running out from his room. He went down the stairs and rushed out from the house. He was eager to continue his work at the forge, now that he was feeling much better than before.

The boy did not notice his father at the fireplace. He watched his son running with a smile. It reminded him of his olden days, where he was much fitter and more energetic.

Hiccup was smiling as he walked towards the forge. He had gotten himself a good night sleep, and he was feeling much better than before. Some villagers stared at him with distrustful look, but he did not care. He felt better than ever.

"Hey, Hiccup!"

The cheerfulness dimmed for a moment. The boy stopped walking and turned around. Snotlout and the others were walking towards him. Hiccup wondered what they wanted from him this time.

They stopped in front of him. "Why are you smiling like that?"

Hiccup quickly wiped it off his face. "It's nothing."

"Oooh!" Tuffnut eagerly started. "Did you get another scar?"

"What? No!" The scrawny boy exclaimed. "I just have a nice sleep. That's all."

"He's definitely looking for another scar." Ruffnut elbowed her brother.

Astrid sighed. "He's going to get eaten again."

"Why do you want me to get eaten by a dragon so much?" Hiccup asked with small voice.

"Why are you smiling then?" Snotlout challenged.

"I just had a good sleep today." The scrawny boy responded, not sure what they wanted from him.

"And that made you smile?" Astrid asked, incredulous.

"It was a good sleep."

"How useless can you be if sleeping made you smile?" The petite girl demanded, making Hiccup flinch away from them.

"He is useless, isn't he?" Ruffnut smirked. Tuffnut snickered behind her.

"Hiccup the Useless." Snotlout realised. "Those rhymes."

The rest of the children laughed, but Astrid simply stared at him with a frown. "Do you even know what 'rhymes' mean?"

Snotlout looked offended. "Hey! I'm not that stupid!"

"You are." Tuffnut spoke, agreeing with Astrid.

Hiccup took it as his chance. He turned around and began walking again. He needed to reach the forge. It was his safe place from them.

"Oi, Hiccup the Useless!" Snotlout jeered at him.

"Leave me alone!" Hiccup shouted as he took off into a sprint.

The children simply watched as Hiccup ran down the street. He turned around the corner and disappeared from their sight.

Gobber jumped when the back door at the forge was slammed open. Looking back, he saw Hiccup standing there. The boy was in tears. He wondered what happened this time.

The adult rushed to him. "Are ye okay, Hiccup?"

"No." Hiccup muttered. He sniffed and wiped the tears from his eyes.

"Well, at least yer honest about it." Gobber muttered, frowning. "Was it the kids again?"

"Snotlout called me Hiccup the Useless." Hiccup confessed to him. The boy sniffed again, wiping the tears with his sleeves.

Gobber hummed. "Well, I wouldn't say you're useless." He commented. The man turned around to go back to his work. "Others just didn't see what ye do. They thought you did nothin'."

"But I'm a blacksmith."

The man paused. "... aye, you are." He replied. "Not many folks appreciate our work. We just make weapons for them."

Hiccup exhaled his breath. He moved to grab an apron from the wall. Just as he did, Gobber continued speaking. "If I were to title ye, you'd be... Hiccup the Dreamer."

The boy paused. "Dreamer?"

"Aye." Gobber nodded as he moved to lift stone floor cover at the corner, revealing rows of iron ingots underneath. "Yer different, Hiccup. Ye made those contraptions and think first instead of jumping in."

The man began moving some iron ingots out from the floor storage. "Ye sometimes spaced out when working. Ye always think about something; daydreaming about those contraptions of yours."

After getting some ingots out, the man closed the stone floor. Gobber grabbed the ingots and threw them into the furnace. It clattered inside and began to melt. The blacksmith looked at Hiccup, who were still staring at him. "Yeh. Hiccup the Dreamer. That's what I'd come up with."

Hiccup did not know why, but it seemed to fit. "Thanks, Gobber."

Gobber nodded. "Now get to work. I added more metal for ye."

The boy enthusiastically nodded. He moved to the furnace and looked to the side. There was a bucket of broken weapons there. Hiccup grabbed the bucket and threw the contents into the furnace.

Dragon Island was an island filled with mystery. As the name implied, it was a place where most dragons lived in Barbaric Archipelago.

Despite its grim and dark environment, it was the safest place dragons could have against humans. This was because of a very thick fog that blanketed the island and its surroundings.

Vikings would have great difficulty navigating to Dragon Island. This was mostly because of what was surrounding the Dragon Island.

Helheim's Gate was the name that Vikings used to describe the fogs and obstacles that made it difficult to find their way into the island. It was the thing that protected the island from Vikings.

The island was also the house of the Greater Alpha dragon of Barbaric Archipelago. This dragon had a name. His name was Furious.

As a Greater Alpha dragon, Furious had a higher hierarchy than normal alpha dragons. While typical alpha dragons would lead their nests or flocks, Furious ruled every dragon in Barbaric Archipelago. That was the power of alpha dragons, and it comes with its own hierarchy.

Most dragons never see Furious. Even if they did, all they would see was a giant eye the size of the pit. Furious was so massive, he hid underground.

Nobody had ever seen him. Furious never went out of his sanctuary underground, and nobody dared to enter his lair. Those that tried were instantly incinerated with lightning strike.

At least for those not close to him anyway.

Focusing on Furious, the alpha dragon was busy thinking about his latest addition in the nest: Hiccup. That dragon came about when he noticed the presence of a Night Fury at a Viking village out of nowhere.

It was a symptom that he recognised; Lycanwing. Furious feared for the safety of that dragon. As a result, he took control of him and fly him back to Dragon Island.

Lycanwing was a disease that transform human into a dragon every night, once every few days. He often thought that it was a mockery of what dragons meant to be.

Unfortunately, there was no cure for Lycanwing; the disease was incredibly rare to begin with. Typically, those who had the disease lived up to ten years, before succumbing to its death.

For most, anyway. The disease had a different effect to humans meant to be a dragon.

When Furious noticed that the dragon was a Night Fury, he wondered if there was a Lycanwing Night Fury somewhere in Barbaric Archipelago.

Lycanwing was rare, and Night Fury was even more so. The chance of encountering an actual Lycanwing Night Fury was so small, he might as well call it impossible.

When Furious assessed the situation, he was surprised when he read his mind.

Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third. Hiccup was a first-born Haddock, the descendant of Furious' late brother; Hiccup the Second. He remembered handing the children to Chucklehead, before burying his brother at Bay of the Broken Heart.

Suffice to say, Furious was not pleased at what Hairy Hooligan Tribe had done with his brother's descendant. It did explain why Hiccup the Third was a Lycanwing Night Fury.

There were thoughts of taking him away, but the disease would be a problem. He had to figure something out.

'Cruel humans.' Furious darkly thought. 'Even after so long, they were still cruel to their own kind.'

Furious had been the one to decide a compromise. He could not let Hiccup suffer alone under the cruelty of human. Instead, Hiccup would be dragon sometimes at night. The rest were spent as human amongst Vikings. While there was no cure, Lycanwing disease could be altered in some way.

That was not to say he was not careful. Furious had peeked into the future. He was shocked at what Hiccup could become. He was destined to become something more. Hiccup the Third was very valuable to him.

With the right choices, he could mould him to become someone to end the Dragon Rebellion.

'In our favour, of course...' Furious purred at that thought. 'Humans will burn...'

Humans had done so many terrible things against them. Furious would show him what humans had done to dragon-kind. He would show him the atrocities that they had done to his kind. Hiccup would hate; loathe the mere presence of humans.

Once he grew powerful enough, the world will burn on his paws.

'After all.' Furious darkly thought. 'What better way than to turn him against them?'

He would be the one to take care of Hiccup. He would adopt him; groom him to bring human their demise. Hiccup would become the strongest and smartest dragon that ever existed. It would be his perfect vengeance against his tormentor.

However, there was one problem that did not sit well with Furious. There was no more Night Furies in Barbaric Archipelago.

He needed to find a mate for Hiccup. The thought of mate made him shudder; Female Night Fury were naturally hostile to male Night Fury. Even if there was one, Hiccup would have a hard time courting her. It was not surprising that female Night Furies were hostile, considering most males were not exactly nice to them.

Furious thought it should not be a problem. Hiccup was strong. If there was anyone that could catch a mate and breed her, it would be him. The thought of more Night Furies roaming in Barbaric Archipelago comforted him. He would be the grandfather for his hatchlings. Furious would bid his time. Patience was virtue.

'... maybe not.' Furious thought, a bit distressed by that thought. 'I need to start asking others if they have female Night Fury in their flock; tell the others that we have a male here. I wonder if Merciless have one...'

Hidden World, or Caldera as surface dragons called the entrance point, was a place extremely far away and hidden from everything. As the name implied, the place was not an island, or a floating island, or anything like that. The place was a completely different world, hidden underground.

The entrance to Hidden World was a giant hole in the middle of the ocean, with some ridges preventing too much water flooding them.

In the sky above the entrance of the Hidden World, Toothless the Night Fury was flying. She had been travelling far from Barbaric Archipelago back to her birthplace. It was a long flight, and it took her weeks to reach it. However, she had done what she needed to do. It was time for her to return.

The dragon carefully dove down into the Hidden World. She tilted her upper tailfin, as so not to sound her signature diving screech. Going into the Hidden World through the entrance, she levelled herself.

Hidden World, as the name implied, was the world underneath the surface. It was a massive, endless maze of chambers and volcanic tubes.

This subterranean world had glowing fungi, corals and scintillating crystals that adorned the huge, cavernous caves and antechambers. There were waters at the place as well, in which they came through cracks from the ocean surface and formed waterfalls.

The environment overall was tropical. This was because the Hidden World was underneath the surface. There was bound to be magma on the caldera's floor, which in turn heats water and turned them into steam. It made everything warm and liveable for dragons.

Toothless flew through parts of the Hidden World. The place only had water as its surface, and there were pillars of giant mushrooms.

Going deeper, there was a sandy shore. It had giant mushrooms as well, but in addition to that, there were plants and corals decorating the place. The place was beautiful, as lights shined down to it and illuminated the place.

The Night Fury landed there. She let out a wide yawn, before smacking her lips. She was exhausted from the long flight.

"Kirin!"

Toothless perked up. A white dragon swooped in and landed in front of her. The dragon looked like her, except the fact that this one was white scaled instead of black.

Unlike Night Fury, this dragon did not have large scales covering her. Instead, there were small scales covering her body. This dragon had fewer, shorter and rounder head appendages than her, long single spine running down her back instead of spikes, and no sharp features at all on her body.

This dragon was Toothless' best friend and blood sisters. Unlike Toothless, who was a Night Fury, this dragon was a Light Fury.

"Amber." Toothless greeted.

The Light Fury - now known as Amber - looked excited to see her. "You're back!"

"I did."

"Did you get your adult name?" Amber questioned, curious.

Toothless stared at her wide, blue eyes. The main reason why Toothless went out was because of an old tradition of getting a new name once they went out of fledgeling age.

It was a rite that they had grown up and ready to break their bonds from their parents. While dragons could simply keep their name, most were encouraged to get a new name.

In case of Toothless - or also known as Kirin - she explored the world to find her new, adult name.

"... N- Yes." Kirin hesitantly responded.

That confused Amber. "You're not sure?"

"I'm not sure if it counts." The Night Fury looked unsure.

Amber sat on her hindlegs. "Did a male fury gave it to you?"

"No. It was given by a human."

The Light Fury reared, shocked at that statement. "A human?!"

Kirin nodded. Amber leaned forward, looking serious. "Tell me everything."

The black dragon decided to explain her everything. "It started when I was sleep-flying." She began the tale. "I, uh, wasn't really paying that much attention and got myself captured in a trap."

"Uh-uh."

"Then, there's this human fledgeling." Kirin paused, formulating words to tell the tale. "He was so small. He found me in the woods and... let go of me."

That confused Amber. "A human let you go?"

"Yeah." Kirin nodded. "He didn't run away to tell anyone about it. He just let me go."

"And what did you do?"

That made Kirin nervous. "I... made friend with him."

The Light Fury paused. Then, she nodded. "Okay. And then he named you?"

"Yes."

"What's the name?"

"... Toothless."

Amber opened her maw to respond, before deciding otherwise. "Hrr..." She looked deep in thought. "... it's not the worst, at least."

"You're about to laugh." Kirin - now known as Toothless - accused.

True to her words, Amber looked like she was holding back a laugh. The Light Fury swallowed her thoughts, before replying. "It's not the worst, at least."

"Oh yeah." Toothless agreed, smirking. "It's definitely not the worst, Elisabeth Amber."

The said Light Fury reared back. "That's not-"

"Lizard Breath Amber."

There was a long pause. "... Okay. That's a new one." Amber admitted.

"And like you said! Mine's not the worst." Toothless chirped her voice.

"Fine." The Light Fury whined. "But your name is Toothless because a human gave it to you."

"So?"

Amber was enthusiastic. "You have to tell me about this human." She eagerly asked. "What does he look like? What does he want? Tell me the details."

"Okay, but no more laughing at names."

"My claws are crossed."

Toothless rolled her eyes. "Let's see..." The dragon paused as she tried to remember about that human she met.

The Light Fury leaned forward, waiting for her response. Toothless hummed for a moment. "His name is Hiccup."

Amber snorted. "Pfft..."

"KRAA!" Toothless snarled and lunged towards the Light Fury. Amber laughed as the black dragon pinned her onto the ground. The two dragons began rolling around the sand, fighting for dominance.

Eventually, Toothless won the wrestle. She had Amber on her paws. The black dragon lay down on top of her, pinning her there.

Amber struggled for release, but no avail. "OKAY! OKAY!" She exclaimed. "I give up. Kirin, let me go!"

There was no response. Toothless simply purred on top of her. The white dragon paused for a moment. "... Toothless, can you let me go?"

"Nope."

"Harr..." Amber realised she would be in that position for a while. Wanting to hear more, she asked. "Who is that human to you?"

The Night Fury silently exhaled her breath. "That human..." She muttered. "He was so different than others."

"How so?"

"Most humans that I saw there were Vikings." Toothless muttered.

Amber choked on her breath. "Vikings?!"

Toothless ignored her interruption. "But Hiccup... while he said he's a Viking, he's not big like the rest of them." She muttered, reminiscing her time back there. "When we became friends, he just kept talking about things that he went through back at the village."

Amber was not sure what to say. The story was a strange one.

"I saw what they did to him." Toothless hardened her expression. "He had this bird that he begged his father to spare. His father made him take care of the bird."

"The bird was his Precious Thing." The Light Fury realised.

"Yes." Toothless nodded. "And then there's fledgling of his age. You know what they did? They took that bird from him and killed it."

Amber gasped. "They killed his Precious Thing?"

"Yes."

"And what did he do?"

"Nothing."

"NOTHING?!"

"There's five of them. He's just one small human."

"But..." Amber looked conflicted. "That doesn't make any sense at all! Vikings would kill if they lost their Precious Thing!"

"And what was he supposed to do, Amber?" Toothless asked. "He's so small, he might as well be a fishbone!"

Amber had no answer to that.

"There's also something else." Toothless muttered as she rested her head onto her neck. "Something... different about him."

Amber snorted. "You befriended a human. That sounds like something that happened two thousand years ago."

"No, no, no." Toothless corrected herself. "I'm talking about Hiccup. He smells like a dragon..."

"And now you're telling me he's a dragon." The Light Fury was sarcastic.

Toothless did not answer. Amber looked down to her best friend, who were staring at her with strange expression. "... he's a human, is he?"

"... I don't know." Toothless whispered, feeling confused. "He doesn't smell human at all. He smells like kin to me."

"A human that smells like a Night Fury." Amber commented, looking up to the bright ceiling. "That's something I've never seen before."

"And after I saved him from a flock of Monstrous Nightmare..." Toothless muttered. "His father is just... there, staring at me."

"He was attacked?"

"The dragons tried to eat him."

"... I can't see why a flock of dragons wanting to eat a human child." Amber admitted. There was confusion in her voice. "There's barely any meat for everyone."

"Unless they have something against them." Toothless pointed out.

"Most Monstrous Nightmare don't hold grudges like that." The Light Fury countered.

"This one does." The Night Fury retorted, before continuing her tale. "But that's not the strangest part. After I chased off those dragons, I tried to close his wounds. My saliva worked fast on him, somehow."

"Our healing saliva works with everyone."

"Not as fast for kin." Toothless retorted. She relaxed a bit, resting on top of the white dragon. "But that's not the strangest part. His father was there. He just... watched me licking him."

Amber looked confused. "Are you sure that's his father?"

"Well! He looks like your typical average Viking; big, beardy and large." Toothless was almost sarcastic. "It makes me wonder how Hiccup was his sire, but his scent checks out. He smells human, but... not quite."

"Can you describe it?"

"There's this tiny bit of scent that smell like kin to me. It's not like Hiccup that smell like a whole dragon." Toothless shrugged. "I can't put my claws on it. It's like I just stumbled upon a whole family mystery, and I have no idea what to make of it."

"What did you do next?"

"... I guess I just flew away." The Night Fury replied, remembering her tale. "His father probably took him back to... wherever he lives. I didn't bother looking back."

"Hrr..." Amber relaxed her head, looking deep in thought. "You should probably bring this up to Arch Alpha. He probably knows what's going on."

Toothless paused. "... Let's not involve my father into this."

"Why not?"

"It doesn't really matter at the end." Toothless answered as she moved away from her. "I'm back here, alive and well. I'm not coming back there."

"Wait, wait, wait." Amber quickly stood from the ground. "Toothless, you have to solve this mystery. This is your chance!"

Toothless groaned. "I don't want to solve this mystery." She whined. "It's hard enough hiding from warmongering alpha dragons. I'm not going to have myself dragged into this sky-forsaken war. My dad's gonna kill me!"

"Doesn't that make it thrilling?" The Light Fury encouraged. "Toothless, you befriended a human! Did you know the last time someone befriended a human? Over five hundred years ago!"

Toothless was uncomfortable. "I know how long ago that was."

"And did you know that Arch Alpha was the first one to befriend a human five thousand years ago?" The white dragon rapidly spoke. "It was said that they made history together."

The black dragon groaned. "By the skies, please no." She had enough with her father preaching about it long time ago.

"They were the ones to brought peace between humans and dragons!" Amber exclaimed, excited at telling the tale. "Humans and dragons sing praise of their legends. It was the most peaceful time for us!"

"And how did we end up like this?" Toothless dryly asked.

"Well..." The Light Fury looked nervous. "Something happened and relationship just went down from there. I didn't pay that much attention to history."

Toothless shook her head as she began walking away. "Whatever."

"Hold on there, we're not done yet." Amber called her out, following her behind. "Just think of the legends! You'll be a legend just like your dad!"

Toothless whirled to face her, angry. "I'm not my dad!" She snarled. "Stop comparing me with him!"

Amber reared in surprise. "Okay, geez!" She quickly backed off. "... you never roared like that. Are you okay?"

"Just..." Toothless took a deep breath, calming herself. "I don't want to get involved. That's all."

"Aren't you at least curious about it?"

Toothless looked away from her, not answering the question. Amber moved closer to meet her eyes. "Or you think this is related to your family?"

There was a long pause. The black dragon finally met her gaze. "I don't want to talk about it."

"... Alright." Amber finally relented.

"I don't want anyone else knowing this."

"I won't tell anyone."

Toothless finally relaxed. "Good." She turned around and began walking down the sand path.

The white dragon moved to follow. "So, what did you do together with Hiccup?"

"By the moon, stars and everything above." Toothless grumbled, ignoring her. "My friend has a death wish."