HTTYD 2 – Vikings of Berk: The Alpha Dragons

Five years after the events of 'Defenders of the Skies'…

Almost five years had passed since Berks' first Snoggletog with dragons; which was also the year that Hiccup and Astrid had 'officially' become a couple.

During that time, Berk had been transformed: The dragons had moved in, and near- every Viking who was deemed 'responsible enough' was now partnered to one.

Virtually every conceivable dragon- related problem had been considered, and resolved: Feeding stations had been erected in various locations throughout the village; Massive stables had been built, large enough to house all of the dragons who didn't have riders, as of yet...

The last concern to be resolved had been fire- prevention, and it came as no surprise to anyone to hear that Hiccup had found the solution. (And a "top- of- the- line" system it was, too.)

This left the inhabitants of Berk with a considerable amount of leisure- time. And when you live with dragons, you quickly develop a craving for more 'exciting' hobbies than carving or weaving, though those remained viable and useful skills, nonetheless.

Before long, a suitable location had been chosen, and the villagers set to work building stands. While they worked, Hiccup, Astrid, Fishlegs, and their dragons brainstormed ideas for possible games.

From the moment that the first contest began, it was abundantly clear to everyone that the 'Dragon Races' could be chalked- up as a success.

Present day… (Midmorning)

Astrid;

Todays' Dragon- Race competition had just finished: Astrid and Stormfly the winners, as they had been many times before.

The blue Deadly Nadder and her Rider flew their usual victory- lap of the arena, Astrid high- fiving their fans in the crowd, as they went.

Then, at the first opportunity, they rose up into the sky, until they vanished into the belly of a cloud.

At some point, during todays' race, Hiccup and Toothless had vanished – Again.

Astrid had a 'pretty good' idea where to find them, though: For months, now, Hiccup and Toothless had been mapping the 'unknown regions'; taking a particular interest in what lay to the north of Berk.

The reason for Astrid and Stormfly's abrupt departure: Astrid knew that Stoick, the Chief of Berk, and Hiccup's father; would want to know where Hiccup had gone.

More specifically: He would know to ask her; She was Hiccup's girlfriend, after all.

As Stormfly angled northwards, Astrid thought back to the moment of the race she and Stormfly had just won, when they'd stolen the black sheep – which was worth ten points, from the Twins…

Astrid had just leapt back onto Stormfly's back, the black sheep under one arm. The crowd was roaring in approval, but Stoick's voice was still audible: "WELL PLAYED! HAHA! – THAT'S MY FUTURE DAUGHTER-IN-LAW!"

The memory made Astrid smile; 'I guess we won't have to worry about getting consent, when the time comes.'

She knew there was nothing to worry about on 'her side': Hiccup; Son and heir to the Chief of Berk; Dragon- Trainer extraordinaire; and he'd helped Astrid clear 'Fearless Finn' Hofferson's name; after the misunderstanding regarding the Frightmare… When Astrid's parents heard that she and Hiccup had become a couple, they were thrilled.

Some time later;

They'd been flying for perhaps an hour and a half when Stormfly spotted the black dragon and his Rider; 'Down there!'

Astrid, who had spotted them a split second after Stormfly had, grinned; as Stormfly began her descent.

As they drew closer, Astrid was able to make- out more details: the red shoulder pad Hiccup wore on one shoulder, decorated with the image of a pitch- black dragon in the center; the new leather flying- suit – with the built-in glider that was Hiccup's latest 'experiment', and the armor … The armor…

The change had taken place almost four years ago – a year after Hiccup had forged it; but Astrid was still trying to wrap her mind around what had happened.

At first, whenever Hiccup donned his dragon- scale armor, the pieces remained as they had when they were first forged; and the first few times he had worn it.

Then, when Hiccup donned the armor on what would be the first morning of the second year, the pieces – with the exception of the helmet – had melded together; creating a sort of seamless, unbreakable, second- skin.

After this had happened the first time, the Night- Fury Elder – the same one who'd first given him the ore, explained that; 'From now on, after you don your armor, and the pieces seal, no hand save your own will be able to remove them.'

Hiccup had worn the armor every day since; and it wasn't long before he'd developed a new flying- suit to wear over it.

Stormfly landed a minute later, and Hiccup glanced back, to see what had made the sound. The moment he saw the new arrivals, he smiled, gave her a seated bow, and said; "Afternoon, milady; where've you been?"

Astrid made her way over, pausing to scratch Toothless behind an ear, as the black dragon made his way over to join Stormfly; "Oh, keeping up my winning- streak; What else?" She sat down next to Hiccup; "The important question is: 'where have you been?"

Hiccup sighed, "Avoiding my dad."

Astrid's eyes widened; "Oh, no… What happened now?"

"Oh… Oh; you're going to love this!" Hiccup said. As he spoke, Astrid held out a hand, and Hiccup handed her the pencil he'd been using, and shifted over slightly, to give her room to work.

Hiccup continued where he'd left off; "I wake up, the sun is shining, the Terrible Terrors are singing on the rooftop. I saunter down to breakfast thinking all is right with the world, and I get 'Son; we need to talk…'" As he spoke, Hiccup rose to his feet, about to launch into his impression of his father.

Astrid rolled her eyes, and moving her shoulders in a way similar to how Hiccup had, said; "'Not now, dad; I've got a whole day of goofing off to get started!"

She laughed, and Hiccup chuckled along with her.

"Yeah, sure… That's – That's a really flattering impersonation," Hiccup said, a small smile on his face. "Anyways… 'You're the pride of Berk, son; and I couldn't be prouder…"

Astrid couldn't resist; "'Gee, thanks, dad! Pretty impressed with myself too!" – As before, both Astrid and Hiccup chuckled.

"Can I finish?" Hiccup asked, holding back a smile, and not trying 'too' hard to hide it.

Astrid nodded, and Hiccup continued for the third time; "'You're all grown up, and since no chief could ask for a better successor, I've decided…'"

Astrid's eyes widened; "… To make you chief!" She leapt to her feet; "Oh my gods! Hiccup, that's amazing!" Then another thought occurred to her: "So… What did you tell him?"

Hiccup shrugged; "Nothing; by the time he turned around I was gone. Then we were all at todays Dragon Race; Toothless and I slipped away the first chance we got, and… Now we're here."

"Oh…" For a moment, Astrid wasn't sure what to say. Finally, she settled on, "Well; it's a lot of responsibility… The map will have to wait, for sure; and I'll have to take- over the lessons at the Dragon Academy, since you'll be too busy – But…"

Astrid had been pacing while she spoke, but she stopped then; finally understanding what was bothering Hiccup.

It was Hiccup who said it; "It's not me, Astrid; All those speeches, and planning, and running the village; that's his thing…"

"I think you're missing the point, Hiccup; I mean 'Chief'… What an honor!" Astrid paused for a moment, then added; "I'd be pretty excited!"

Hiccup sighed again; "I… I'm not like you…" Astrid felt a flicker of worry on hearing those words, and it must have shown in her face, because Hiccup added; "You… know exactly you are – You always have; But I… I'm still looking: I know I'm not my father, and I never knew my mother… So what does that make me?"

They'd sat in silence for almost a minute, before Astrid said; "You would be a great Chief, Hiccup; Look at Berk: Life is much better now than it used to be, and it never would've happened without you… As for running the village, you've been making plans, and solving problems for years, now. If you ask me, your dad's seen what you can do, and he wants to give you the room to work: He knows you can do it."

Gesturing out at the landscape before them, Astrid said; "What you're looking for; isn't out there, Hiccup…" She placed a hand on Hiccup's chest, over his heart. "… It's in here; you might not see it yet, but I do."

Hiccup managed a smile, and Astrid could that what she'd said had helped, but she could tell that something was still bothering Hiccup.

"Something is missing, though," Hiccup said, finally. "I can't shake the feeling that I'm supposed to find something, or someone, up here; someone who has answers that I'm going to need…"

The moment the words were out of his mouth, Hiccup's eyes fixed on something in the distance; "You know… There is something out there!"

"Hiccup!" Astrid rolled her eyes, and would have said more, but Hiccup placed a hand under her chin, and, with a gentle but firm pressure, turned her face until she was looking in the same direction as he was.

She saw the column of smoke rising into the sky, and everything that she'd been about to say vanished; replaced by "Oh."

"'Where there's smoke, there's fire'… Lets go see what's burning." Hiccup folded up his map, and gathered his other supplies. Then he got to his feet, and made his way towards where Toothless and Stormfly were waiting; Astrid close behind him. By the time they reached them, Toothless and Stormfly were on their feet; ready to fly.

A short time later;

When they were, perhaps, two- thirds of the way to their destination, they shot over a ridge, and stopped; stunned by what they were seeing: A massive area of woodland had been burned; the only remains being the charred skeletons of the once- densely packed trees.

"What happened here?" Hiccup asked, as he and Toothless surveyed the carnage.

"What could've done this?" Astrid asked, a few seconds later.

The next big surprise came a few minutes later, once they'd shot through the charred remains of the forest, and between two rocky pillars that rose up out of what appeared to be a medium sized bay.

In the middle of the bay, rose a colossal mass of ice; will smaller, though still large, spikes of ice jutting up and out from the main icy body.

Neither Hiccup nor Astrid had seen anything like it before. The same could not be said of their dragons, however: The moment Toothless saw it; he pulled up short, appearing hesitant.

When Stormfly saw it she acted much the same as Toothless had, though she also said; 'Earth and Sky… Is that what I think it is?'

Toothless nodded; 'It looks like my Colony's Elders said it would; but I never thought I'd see it in person… It's supposed to be almost- impossible to find by chance!'

"What is it?" Astrid asked, clearly surprised by Stormfly and Toothless's reactions.

It was Toothless who answered; 'It is the home of the White- Sentinel; The Alpha- Dragon of the North!'

Hiccup glanced back at Astrid and Stormfly; "Stay close." Then he and Toothless continued forwards, and Stormfly followed.

The two dragons started a cautious lap of the icy 'island'. When they reached the far side, they began to see damaged ships; trapped in the ice.

"What happened here?" Hiccup muttered, as they took in the scene.

After a quarter of an hour, without any sign of life below them, Astrid noticed something, "Hiccup!"

Hiccup glanced back at Astrid, then down to where she was pointing.

A split second later, another voice shouted, "Fire!" – And a net was launched into the air, unfurling as it rose…

Toothless dodged the net easily, but Stormfly wasn't so fortunate: the net wrapped around her; and she and Astrid began to lose altitude.

Stormfly struggled against the net as she fell, and – startled by the unexpected motion, Astrid fell from her saddle; "HICCUP!"

Almost before the word was out of her mouth, Toothless caught her in his forepaws; and they were swerving back towards where Stormfly had fallen.

A crowd of men had gathered around the Deadly- Nadder, ropes and weapons in- hand, as they worked to secure the captured dragon.

Stormfly launched a volley of spikes at the men, though none of them hit their mark. Then they saw another figure jump down from an ice- shelf, using his momentum to force Stormfly's head to the ground, "Watch the tail!" – It was the same voice that had shouted 'Fire!'

A wailing sound filled the air, as Toothless dove towards them; Hiccup on his back, and his forepaws firmly gripping Astrid by her shoulders.

The man who'd spoken had only enough time to look up, and ask; "Is that what I think it is?" The speakers' eyes widened when he spotted the black- dragon speeding towards them, and he and his men scampered backwards, out of harms way.

Toothless let Astrid drop the last few feet to the ground, and landed next to her. Hiccup jumping down from Toothless's back, and unsheathing 'Fury' in a single smooth motion.

The moment her feet touched the ground, Astrid shouted "Stormfly!" Then she turned her attention on the men, demanding; "What are you doing?"

She directed her question at the man she assumed to be the groups' leader; being the only one to have spoken since their arrival.

The man didn't even glance at her, his eyes were fixed on Toothless; "Well, I'll be… That is a Night- Fury… Thought they were all gone for good!" He glancing around at his men, he added; "Looks like our luck's taken a turn for the better, lads: I don't think Drago has one of those in his Dragon Army!"

Toothless growled, and, speaking so only Hiccup could hear, 'said'; ''Dragon Army' ... I don't like the sound of that!'

"'Dragon Army?" Astrid asked, in a low voice.

Hiccup took a step forward, his sword still out, but held by his side; "Look, we don't want any trouble…"

The man turned to look at Hiccup; "You should've thought of that before you stole all of our dragons, and blasted our fort to bits!" As he spoke, he gestured at the damaged structures behind him and his men.

A murmur of agreement rose from the men gathered behind the man; who still had yet to introduce himself.

"What are you talking about?" Astrid asked, incredulously.

"You think we did this?" Hiccup asked.

"Dragon- trapping is hard enough work as it is, without do-gooder dragon- riders sneaking in to rescue them!" The man continued, still ignoring Hiccup and Astrid's questions.

Hiccup and Astrid exchanged a look, and Hiccup said; "What 'do-gooder…' There are other Dragon Riders?"

"You mean other than yourselves, and your thieving friend from last night; you tell me!" The man said, acknowledging Hiccup's question for the first time.

"You may have an ice- spitting dragon on your side, but we've still got our work to do! … How do you suppose we explain this mess to Drago Bludvist?"

Hiccup frowned; "Drago what-fist? … Does anything you say make sense?"

Then another man from the group spoke, the first to do so; "Drago's expecting another shipment of dragons for his army by tomorrow."

"And Drago don't take well to excuses!" a third man chimed in.

The leader of the group spoke next; "Drago gave me this the last time I showed up empty- handed…" He pulled the upper part of his shirt down, showing Hiccup and Astrid an ugly scar, on the upper part of his chest; "He promised he'd be less 'understanding' in the future."

Hiccup took a deep breath; "Alright, look: We don't know anything about a dragon- thief; or an ice- spitting dragon; or your lunatic- boss with the Dragon- Army… Just give us back our dragon, and we'll go; Strange, hostile person who we've never met before."

As Hiccup spoke, he saw the man give a slight nod that couldn't have been anything other than a signal to more of his men.

"Oh, where are my manners," the man smiled, and gave them a mocking bow. "I am Eret, son of Eret; the finest Dragon- Trapper alive!"

As he straightened, he pulled a short sword from a sheath belted to his back; pointing it in Hiccup's direction, though the two were several feet apart.

"After all," Eret continued; "Not just anyone can capture a Night- Fury!"

"This is Toothless," Hiccup said, gesturing to Toothless, who uttered a low growl. Hiccup added; "He says 'We're leaving – Now'."

Eret chuckled; "They all say that!"

Hiccup raised an eyebrow, "Really? Do 'they all' say it like this…"

The instant Hiccup finished, Toothless projected his 'voice' for all to hear; 'We're leaving – Now.' With that, Toothless launched a plasma- bolt at one of the icy pillars that rose over the place where the bulk of Eret's men were gathered.

Eret's men scattered to avoid the falling ice, and Hiccup bolted towards Stormfly; using Fury to sever the ropes and netting that held the Deadly Nadder in place.

By the time Eret and his men regained their footing, Toothless and Stormfly were in the air: Hiccup and Astrid on their backs.

Before they rose out of hearing distance, Eret bellowed after them; "YOU WILL NEVER HOLD ON TO THOSE DRAGONS; YOU HEAR ME? DRAGO IS COMING FOR THEM ALL!"

A moment later, the men on the ground vanished from view; and Toothless and Stormfly were winging their way back to Berk, as fast as their wings would carry them.

They'd heard a lot, and, while they weren't sure what it all meant, one thing was clear: The sooner they got back to Berk, the better.

Later, back on Berk;

Stoick made his way through the packed forges, towards the place where Gobber was working. When he reached the smith, Stoick lowered his voice, and asked; "Any sigh of him?"

Gobber shook his head; "They've probably flown off the edge of the world, by now." Turning to Stoick, he asked; "Are you sure you want that kid running the village? You could always delay your retirement, a little."

Stoick shook his head; "He's ready; you'll see."

A familiar sound made him turn around, towards the entrance to the forge, just in time to see Toothless and Stormfly landing, in the village square.

Hiccup and Astrid leapt down from the backs of their respective dragons, and hurried towards them.

"AHA!" Stoick bellowed; "There he is: The pride of Berk!"

Gobber looked up from his work; "So: You finally decided to show up for work!"

"Sorry, got held- up," Hiccup said, as he made his way towards where his father was standing; "Hey, dad… Can I have a word?"

"Something to tell me?" Stoick asked, cheerfully.

Hiccup rolled his eyes; "Not the 'yes' you're thinking of, but yes…"

"Excellent; good man!" Stoick said, already turning away. "And a wise chief! Now; the first thing you need to know: 'A chief's first duty is to serve his people', so…"

Stoick checked the number painted onto a wooden tile that was hanging from a hook on the wall; moved to the window – and the line of people waiting outside, and called; "Forty- one… Forty- one!"

One of the men in line started, and hurried forwards; "That's me! That's me!"

When the man reached the counter, Stoick listened while he described a piece of furniture that he wanted to have made. When he'd finished, Stoick nodded and said something, then turned to make his way back into the inner- part of the forge.

Hiccup tried again, as they walked; "Dad, I need to tell you something that's 'a little' more important than building…"

Stoick held up a finger; "Uh-uh-uh… Lesson- two: 'No job is too big or too small when it comes to serving your people'!" As he spoke, Stoick opened a supply cupboard, and started passing tools and other building materials to Hiccup.

It took another few minutes, but he finally managed to get his father's attention. Once he had, Hiccup got right to the point; "We came across a group of trappers; Dragon Trappers…"

"You know, you're going to get yourselves into serious trouble, one of these days," Gobber commented. "Not everyone appreciates our new way of life."

"Gobber's right, son; best we keep to our own," Stoick said, nodding. "Besides; you've got more important things to think about: Once we make the big announcement…"

By now, the rest of the 'original' Dragon Riders had arrived at the forge, no doubt having heard that Hiccup and Astrid had returned.

Hiccup decided that the time for subtlety had passed; "They are building a Dragon Army."

That got everyone's attention, and silence fell; both in and outside of the forge.

"At least, the guy they work for is…" Hiccup paused, trying to remember the name. "Dargo Bloodyfist, or…"

Stoick and Gobber exchanged a look, then Stoick turned back to his son; "Bludvist? Drago Bludvist?"

"Uh, yeah…" Hiccup frowned. "Wait; you know him?"

Instead of answering, Stoick rushed to the entrance of the forge; bellowing orders as he went.

Five minutes later, in the Berk Dragon Stables…

"GROUND THE DRAGONS; SEAL THE GATES; CLOSE THE STORM- DOORS!" Stoick bellowed as he ran, followed by Hiccup, Astrid, the other Riders, and their dragons.

"What's happening?" Hiccup asked, as they ran. "All this because some guy you knew is stirring- up trouble in some far away land?"

Stoick finally slowed, and turned to face them; "Because Drago Bludvist is a madman; with no conscience, or mercy! And if he is building a Dragon Army... Gods help us all!"

Seeing that his father was about to turn away, Hiccup hurried in front of him; "Lets ride back out there: We'll follow those trappers back to Drago; and talk some sense into him…"

"No: We fortify the island." Stoick said, before turning away.

"It's our duty to protect the peace," Hiccup argued.

Stoick glanced back; "The peace is over, Hiccup; I must prepare you for war." With that, he was gone; bellowing more orders as he went.

Astrid saw the change in Hiccup's bearing, and knew what it meant. She took two steps forward, and placed a hand on Hiccup's shoulder; "Hiccup, don't!"

Hiccup turned to face her; "I have to." He kissed her on one cheek; and an instant later, he was gone: sprinting towards where Toothless was standing.

The second Hiccup was in the saddle, Toothless leapt into the air, speeding towards the nearest storm- door; which was already beginning to close.

By then, Astrid was on Stormfly's back, and the blue Deadly- Nadder was also in the air; heading for the same storm- door that Hiccup had used.

As they neared the door, Stormfly roared something that must have meant, "wait up" in dragon, because they found Hiccup and Toothless circling a few hundred feet above Berk.

They exchanged a quick nod, and then they set out in the direction of the ice- mountain; where they had first encountered Eret and his men.

A short time later;

Hiccup and Astrid had been in the air for almost an hour when they and their riders got their first glimpse Eret and four of his men.

The Dragon- Trappers were keeping a sharp lookout for dragons, so it didn't take long for them to spot them, as they drew steadily nearer.

The trappers launched nets, but – unlike before, the dragons had room to maneuver, and evaded them without apparent effort.

A few minutes later, Toothless and Stormfly landed on the deck of the Trappers' ship. Hiccup removed his helmet, secured it to the front of Toothless's saddle, and leapt down onto the deck. A moment later, Astrid joined him, though somewhat hesitantly.

"And here we were, worried we might turn up empty- handed!" Eret smirked, drawing his sword as he spoke.

Around him, his men were also producing weapons; Astrid had her axe out, and next to her, Stormfly growled.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa… There's no need for things to get out of hand." Hiccup said, appearing entirely at ease, as he took- in the scene.

He smiled and shrugged; "I mean... take a moment; think this through: Wooden boat; fire- breathing dragons; big ocean… How – how good is your swimming, may I ask?"

"Not good," one of Eret's men admitted, glumly, sheathing his blade as he spoke.

One by one, Eret and his men sheathed their blades, though none of them looked happy about it.

Hiccup nodded to Astrid, and she slid her axe back into its sheath, just managing to hold back a smile.

Eret vented his frustration by snatching up a shield, and sending it spinning off over the open ocean. Stormfly immediately shot after it.

She returned to the boat a moment later, dropped the shield at Eret's feet, and backed away.

Eret glared at Hiccup suspiciously; "What kind of game are you playing?" As he spoke, he absentmindedly picked up the shield, and threw it again.

As she had before, Stormfly shot after it, returning it to the deck at Eret's feet, a moment later.

"No game; we just want to meet Drago," Hiccup said, trying not to smile at the expressions on the faces of Eret's men; as their eyes flicked from Eret, to Stormfly, and back.

Eret frowned, puzzled; "And why would you want to meet Drago?"

"Because I am going to change his mind about dragons." The moment the words were out of Hiccup's mouth, Eret and his men burst out laughing.

Eret's laugh died a moment later, however; when he glanced down, saw the shield at his feet, and realized that he'd just been playing with the Deadly Nadder.

His eyes widened, and he frowned at the shield for a moment. Than he returned his gaze back to Hiccup, as though he was no longer sure what to make of him.

"He can be really persuasive," Astrid admitted, taking a step forward and smiling at her boyfriend; who smiled back.

"Once they see you as one of their own, even the testiest of dragons can be trained," Hiccup continued. "And, once you've earned their loyalty, there is nothing a dragon won't do." As he spoke, he gave Toothless a friendly rub on the snout, and the dragon gave him a light thump on the arm.

Eret shook his head, "You won't be changing any minds around here." He kept his tone even, but Hiccup got the feeling that Eret was trying to convince himself, just much as Hiccup and Astrid.

Hiccup decided to go one step further: "I can change yours," Hiccup told Eret, gesturing to Toothless's saddle as he spoke; "Right here, right now… May I?"

A split second later, something plucked him up off of the ship; lifting him into the air.

It was Hookfang, and – sitting on the Monstrous Nightmare's back, was Snotlout.

For a moment, Toothless looked as though he was about to leap into the air after them. Once he recognized the new arrivals, he snorted, and settled back down on the deck.

From where they stood on the deck of the Trappers' ship, Astrid, Stormfly, Eret, and his men could still hear Hiccup; "Snotlout; what are you doing?"

Then, more faintly, they heard the sound of Snotlout calling something across to Ruffnut.

Astrid rolled her eyes: Ever since Snotlout had (finally) stopped pestering her, soon after she and Hiccup had become a couple, Snotlout and Fishlegs had started competing for Ruffnut's attention. (It was kind of funny, but a little sad at the same time.)

Then Astrid saw Ruffnut glance down, and do a double- take; her gaze directed a little to Astrid's left… at Eret.

"Great; that's just what we needed!" Astrid said, shaking her head, her voice heavy with sarcasm.

That was about when Hiccup convinced Hookfang to let go of his arms. Hiccup dropped about ten feet, while he unfastened the clip that kept his glider closed, and the 'wings' unfurled.

Hiccup's fall slowed, and he had full control of his descent. A few seconds later, he landed on the deck next too Astrid; and was retracting the glider flaps.

When he'd finished, Hiccup looked around; "What are you guys doing here?"

A moment later, Gobber and his dragon landed on the deck of the Trappers' ship, and Gobber said; "We're here, to rescue you!"

Hiccup rolled his eyes; "We don't need to be rescued... I had everything under control!"

"HICCUP!" another voice boomed.

Turning in the direction of the voice, Hiccup saw Skullcrusher, his father's new dragon- partner; land, and he saw the outline of his father on the dragon's back, through the mainsail.

Then Stoick dropped onto the deck, and started to make his way towards where Hiccup stood.

Eret confronted Stoick when he was about halfway to his destination; "Looks like you picked the wrong ship! I am Eret, son of…"

Stoick pushed Eret out of the way, sending the younger man flying across the deck. Eret tried to get back to his feet, but Gobber's dragon took a short leap from where he'd landed, and pinned Eret to the deck.

"Saddle up; we're going home," Stoick ordered, gruffly.

Hiccup stood his ground; "No."

Stoick, who'd already made to return to his dragon, stopped, and turned back to face his son. There was a moment of uncomfortable silence, then Stoick said "Of all the irresponsible…"

Hiccup cut him off; "I am trying to protect out dragons, and stop a war; how is that irresponsible?"

"BECAUSE WAR IS WHAT HE WANTS, SON!" Stoick said, half- shouting, now.

"If Drago wants war, than he'll push for it until we have no choice but to give it to him." Hiccup's voice was as firm as Stoick's, though not as loud; "The only question that leaves us is this: Do we go back to Berk, raise our defenses, and let him come to us – with no idea what he can or will do until he does it, by which time it may be too late to stop him; Or do we act before he does, and take advantage of our tactical options, before Drago pins us down?"

Hiccup was silent for a moment, "Dad; you said you wanted me to take- over as Chief…" Snotlout, Fishlegs, and the Twins uttered exclamations of disbelief, but Hiccup tuned them out; "You said that 'a Chief's first duty is to serve his people'; you said that 'a Chief protects their own' – and you're right; but a Chief also has to go about his duties in the way he believes is best. That's what I'm trying to do now, but I can't be both a leader and a follower – nobody can… So: Do you want me to lead, or do you want me to follow?"

Hiccup looked his father in the eye; "We need to know as much as we can about Drago, and what he's planning, as we can; and we need to know before he reaches Berk… If you've met him, that's as good a place as any to start."

For almost a full minute, nobody spoke.

Finally, Stoick sighed; "Years ago, there was a great gathering of Chieftains; to discuss the dragon- scourge we all faced…" He paused, glancing over at the assembled dragons; "No offence."

'None taken; it was a different time,' Toothless said. 'Continue.'

Stoick nodded, and resumed the tale; "Into our midst there came a stranger, from a strange land; covered in scars, and clad in a cloak of dragon-skin. He carried no weapons, and spoke softly… He claimed that he, Drago Bludvist, had devoted his life to freeing mankind from what he called 'the tyranny of dragons'; that he alone could control the dragons; he alone could keep us safe – if we chose to bow down, and follow him…"

Ruff and Tuff burst out laughing, at this. Finally, Tuffnut wiped his eyes and said; "HA! Good one!"

Stoick nodded; "Aye, we laughed too; until he wrapped himself in his cloak and cried 'Then see how well you do without me!' … The rooftop suddenly burst into flames, and a swarm of armored dragons descended upon us… I was the only survivor." Turning back to Hiccup, Stoick said; "Drago cannot be reasoned with."

Hiccup considered what his father had told them, but he knew what he had to do; "Maybe not, but I still have to try… Toothless!" The Night Furry bounded to Hiccup's side, and Hiccup clambered into the saddle on his back.

When Stoick tried to argue, Hiccup preempted him by saying; "This is what I'm good at; and if I could change all of your minds, I can change his too."

Hiccup glanced at Astrid, who smiled, and nodded. Hiccup returned the smile, and said; "Lets go, bud!"

Immediately, the black- dragon leapt skyward, rising higher and higher with every beat of his wings.

Below them, Astrid hurried towards Stormfly, but Stoick stopped her; "No: Lead the others back to Berk… I've had enough mutiny for one day."

Astrid's heart fell: It was a direct order, so she had no choice but to do as she was told. Glancing up, in the direction Toothless had flown, she thought; 'Please be careful, Hiccup; be safe…'

By now, the other riders had mounted their dragons, and were rising into the air. Stormfly joined them, and they angled in the direction of Berk.

Above the clouds;

Hiccup was more than a little annoyed with his father, but he decided not to dwell on that. He stretched out on Toothless's back. After a minute, he said, "Don't worry bud… I'm not going to let anything happen to you."

A sudden growl jolted both Hiccup and Toothless back to their surroundings; they knew what sound meant: Another dragon was close by; Very close by.

A shadow fell across Hiccup's face; "Oh; come on dad, really?"

An instant later, Toothless's voice sounded in Hiccup's head; 'Unless your father's gotten a new dragon; a total- makeover; and lost about three- hundred pounds since last we saw him, that's not your father!'

Hiccup eyes snapped open, he sat up in his saddle, and looked around. He spotted the other dragon, a Stormcutter; just in time to see the rider on its back beckon for him and Toothless to follow them.

Then the other dragon shot ahead, vanishing into the clouds below, mere seconds after they'd first appeared. Instinct told them to follow, so Toothless dropped out of the clouds, after the other dragon.

Once they'd been flying for almost an hour, more dragons began to appear in the sky around them. Several veered closer to them, curious to see who they were, though one got a little 'too close'; knocking Hiccup's dragon- scale helmet free of where it had hung, on Toothless's saddle.

Hiccup hated to leave it, but the same 'feeling' that had told him to follow this mysterious dragon- rider told him that the helmet would, somehow, 'find its way back to him'.

After what must have been close to an hour later, they saw an island rising out of the ocean ahead of them; only it wasn't an island…

As they drew nearer to the solid mass that rose ahead of them, Hiccup gasped: It was the icy- structure that Toothless had called 'the home of The White Sentinel'. An instant later, the dragon they'd been following vanished into one of the caves.

Toothless paused, and began to circle, perhaps half a mile away from cave entrance.

Hiccup considered the entrance for a few minutes, then, speaking through their bond, asked; 'What do you think, Toothless?'

'We need answers, and our path seems to keep leading us here… Perhaps this is where we are meant to find those answers.' Hiccup agreed, so Toothless made for the cavern entrance; arriving only a few minutes later.

The tunnel was large enough for Toothless to fly, so they remained in the air until the tunnel emptied into a large, pitch- black cave.

"If I hadn't spent the past five years bonded to a Night- Fury, this might actually worry me, a little; or if I couldn't do this…" As Hiccup spoke, he unsheathed Fury, and willed the blade to catch fire; a handy little trick he'd discovered, a few years earlier.

Immediately, the blade began to flicker with blue flames, which illuminated the cavern, the dozens of dragons already standing in the room… and the silhouette of the mysterious- rider who'd lead them there.

The figure was moving towards Toothless; crouching low to the ground – as though trying to walk on all fours… or to appear as though that was what it was doing.

When the figure was only a few feet away from Toothless, the figure did… something, with one hand; and Toothless slumped to the floor: apparently in some kind of daze…

The figure moved towards Hiccup, then, as though it intended to do the same thing to him. Instead, it froze, mere feet away from him; "Hiccup…? Could it be?"

Hiccup froze: that voice… there was something about that voice; "Should… Should I know you?"

The other rider rose to a standing position, and removed its mask, revealing a woman's face; "No, No; you were only a babe… but a mother never forgets."

Hiccup's eyes widened; it couldn't be… But before he could ask even one of the questions that suddenly filled his mind, 'his mother' said; "Come!"

With that, she spun around and hurried away: leading him deeper into the cave.

Hiccup hurried after her, Toothless, who was back on his feet; following close behind him. Despite his many attempts to get answers out of his 'mysterious dragon- rider- mother', he didn't get any of the answers he'd been hoping for.

Finally, as Toothless was giving him a boost, so Hiccup could clamber up the last ledge, Hiccup called; "… What have you been doing? They said you were dead! – Everyone says you were eaten by…"

He reached the top of the ledge, and out into sunlight, with Toothless behind him. Hiccup's eyes widened as he took in the scene before them; "… Dragons!"

Hiccup and Toothless were standing in a massive cavern, with hundreds of dragons, all flying in all directions.

A sound from behind them made Hiccup turn around, and he saw his mother – and the dragon she'd been riding, 'hanging' in an alcove just above and to one side of the exit from the tunnel they'd just come through.

"This is where you've been, for twenty years?" Hiccup asked. Valka nodded, smiling tentatively. "You've been rescuing them!" Valka nodded again.

Hiccup stared around the massive cavern, trying to find words that 'fit' what he was looking at. Finally, he simply said; "Unbelievable!"

While Hiccup was taking in the cavern before him, the Stormcutter gently lowered Valka as close to the ground as his tail would allow. At which point, she hooked the curved end of the staff she carried around a spike in her dragon's tail, and lowered herself the rest of the way to the ground.

"Upset?" Valka asked, when she was about halfway down.

"What? … No!" Hiccup said, quickly. "It's just… A lot to take- in, all at once; it's not every day you find out your mother's come kind of… crazy, feral, dragon- vigilante lady!"

"Oh," Valka laughed, lightly, "At least I'm not boring, right?"

Hiccup had to smile; "Well, there is that!"

Valka seemed a little relieved; "So… you like it?"

"I… I don't have the words!" Hiccup said, before Toothless began bumping him lightly on the arm with his snout.

'Well? … Aren't you going to introduce me?' The Night- Fury asked.

"Oh, right; sorry about that, bud!" Hiccup turned back to Valka; "Mom, this is Toothless; Toothless, this is my mother – who I'm also just meeting for the first time… Gods, life is weird; sometimes!"

Valka frowned, uncertainly; "Did… did he just…?"

'…Talk?' Toothless supplied, helpfully; 'Yes, I did.'

Valka blinked, then, gesturing to Toothless as she spoke, she asked; "May I?"

Toothless dipped head, silently granting permission, and Valka moved forward.

"Oh, he is beautiful!" Valka murmured. Clearly pleased, Toothless nuzzled her face with his snout, and Valka chuckled.

Valka moved on, examining Toothless's scales. A moment later, she exclaimed; "Oh, and look: He's your age; No wonder you get along so well!"

Hiccup, who stood a little to one side, shook his head in amazement, "Wow!"

When Valka finished examining Toothless, she turned back to Hiccup; "He may very well be the last of his kind…"

'Actually, I'm not: The rest of my colony migrated to Berk; almost five years ago, now,' Toothless said.

"So… your father knows?" Valka asked Hiccup, in a hushed voice.

"Yeah," Hiccup said. "But Berk has changed, mom: We've made peace with the dragons! Pretty much everyone on Berk now has a dragon of their own!"

"Peace?" Valka asked, disbelief evident in her voice. She sighed, and shook her head; "I wish that were possible, Hiccup… Believe me: I've tried, but some minds won't be changed."

Toothless took a step forward; 'It's the truth.'

Valka looked first at Hiccup, than Toothless, than back to Hiccup; "How?"

After a moments' silence, Hiccup said; "When I was younger, dad used to send me to work with Gobber in the forges a lot; to build- up some muscle… I got pretty good at building things; and, as I got older, I started to experiment. Then, when I was fifteen; I started to work on a smaller, more portable net- launcher. Once it was done, I waited for the next raid… It wasn't easy, growing up as a 'hiccup': At the time, I thought the only way to make things better would be if I could catch a dragon and…" He fell silent, not wanting to finish the sentence.

Toothless took- up the tale, then, 'I've never participated in the actual 'raids', but I would often try to protect those who did… Mostly by flying around, and occasionally diving towards one skirmish or another: trying to keep the attention of those below focused on me… I was faster than the others, and with the night- sky at my back, I would not be an easy target; surely I could evade any attack...' Toothless glanced at Hiccup, and uttered a soft warble, before turning back to Valka. '… Or so I thought: Imagine my surprise when Hiccup's net closed around me! I tried to swerve away, but encountered resistance. I quickly realized that the net was connected to something on the ground. I dropped slightly, and spun in the air: to bring the rope within reach of my teeth… Doing so cost me some of my remaining momentum; but I was still able to exert some control over my descent, and put some distance between myself and the village.'

Hiccup had been listening to Toothless's part of the tale as intently as Valka, as he and Toothless had never discussed it. They had, by unspoken agreement, decided that it was more important to move forward, than to look back.

Toothless looked at him, then, and Hiccup knew it was his turn again; "I found Toothless in the woods the following afternoon… I'd told the others that I'd shot- down a Night- Fury, but of course: nobody believed me. I… I was going to kill him, but when I found him, still tangled up in the net; and looked him in the eye…"

"You saw the same thing I saw when I looked into Cloudjumper's eyes, for the first time," Valka gestured to the Stormcutter, her dragon, as she spoke; "That dragons weren't monsters…"

Hiccup shrugged; "It was more than that; this… 'Connection' opened up, between us: Toothless used it to learn our language, and how life worked on Berk…" Hiccup paused for a moment; "Around the same time, dad seemed to have a change- of- heart, and he said I could join Dragon Training; along with Astrid, and the others…"

Valka looked at him curiously, "And… who is Astrid?"

Hiccup blinked; "What? Oh… Astrid's… Well: She's my girlfriend; it'll be five years this Snoggletog. She's… She's incredible."

Valka smiled; "I see; go on…"

Hiccup grinned as well; "It's a long story."

Valka raised an eyebrow, just as Hiccup did when he was amused, and shrugged; "Well, I think I can find the time."

Hiccup also raised an eyebrow; "You first, mom; I mean: What happened? … How did you get here?"

Another thought occurred to him, and he got to his feet; "Actually, before you start, I've got a feeling Cloudjumper might have something to add to the story…"

As Hiccup spoke, Valka's dragon leapt down from his alcove, and came forward. Before Valka could speak, Hiccup placed one hand on the Stormcutter's forehead, and gave him the knowledge he'd given to Toothless, and the other dragons on Berk.

A few minutes later, Hiccup removed his hand, and took a few steps backwards. The Stormcutter shook his head, blinked a few times, and returned his attention to Hiccup. Then Hiccup, Toothless, and Valka felt the touch of the Stormcutter's mind, and Cloudjumper 'said'; 'Ah, Much better! Thank you; Hiccup … You've grown, since I last saw you.'

Cloudjumper settled next to where Valka, and Hiccup returned to his previous position, next to Toothless. Then Cloudjumper turned to Valka; 'Perhaps you could tell your story first? ... My part in it would make more sense that way.'

Valka nodded, and began; "Berk was a land of 'kill or be killed', but I believed peace was possible. More than once, I'd see a member of our tribe about to strike the killing- blow; and I'd stop them: holding their sword- arm back long enough for the dragon to flee to safety… It was a very 'unpopular' opinion. Then, one night, a dragon broke into our house; finding you in the cradle! I rushed to protect you, but what I saw… it was proof of everything I believed: Cloudjumper was standing over you, and you were trying to grab of the end of his tail; which was hanging in the air above you! … I think my arrival startled him, and his tail dropped slightly, scratching you on the cheek. That was when Cloudjumper and I first made eye- contact; and I realized that I'd been right, all along: this wasn't a vicious monster, but an intelligent, gentle creature; whose soul reflected my own! … Stoick arrived, a moment later; and the blade of his axe embedded itself in the wall between us; He shouted for me to run. I'm not sure how it happened, but suddenly the house was on fire… Stoick rushed to your cradle, and carried you to safety; and Cloudjumper picked me up, and brought me here."

Valka had kept her gaze fixed on the ground at her feet, finally lifted her eyes to Hiccup's; "It broke my heart to stay away, but I believed you would be safer, if I did; You and your father nearly died that night; all because I couldn't kill a dragon…"

Sure that his mother was about to look away again, Hiccup smiled, reassuringly. He placed a hand on Toothless; "Hey, don't feel bad: It seems to run in the family!"

Valka smiled, at this; and seemed to relax for the first time, since they had begun their conversation.

A thought occurred to Hiccup, then, and he turned to Cloudjumper; "You knew who I was… who I am, didn't you?"

Cloudjumper shifted, then, and said; 'I did; yes.' He glanced from Valka, to Hiccup, and back; 'As you may recall when we left Berk, Valka, we spent some time in the company of the other dragons, who were part of that raid?'

Valka nodded; "You seemed to be having some kind of conversation with them…"

Cloudjumper nodded; 'I was telling them that the first of the "peace- bringers" had arrived; and that he – that is to say: you, Hiccup, were a hatchling, on Berk. I told them that we could no longer risk such close- encounters as the one from which we were then returning; because if you died, we might never again have a true chance at peace.'

There was a brief pause, then Cloudjumper turned to Valka; 'I know that a part of you has always wondered why I chose to bring you here… At the time, I did not understand that the man, who burst in, this 'Stoick', was your mate. More to the point: you and I were beginning to form a bond; and my sole encounter with 'Stoick' involved him throwing a weapon that might have hit either of us… To be blunt: I did not believe that you were any safer there than I was, and I was not willing to wager your life, on the chance that I might be mistaken in that assumption.' There was another short pause; 'I also know you have long wondered after the source of our conflict, Valka, but, now that the means is open to me, I can finally tell you: For decades, I and many others, were trapped in the service of a Red- Death; forced to either bring her food, or become her next meal… Once your son and Toothless formed their connection, and Toothless's presence on Berk became known; he explained our situation to the members of your tribe. I do not know all of the details; but on that day, humans and dragons fought together, against a common enemy.'

Valka turned to Hiccup, wide-eyed, "Is this true; a Red- Death?"

Hiccup nodded, "It's been an 'interesting' five years, to say the least." Toothless rolled his eyes, at this, but he made no comment.

Cloudjumper also turned to face Hiccup, 'Judging from what I've heard, Hiccup, "interesting" seems a mild way of putting it. I have, however, only heard bits and pieces of the adventures the two of you have shared, over the years; and I look forward to hearing them from you, and in their entirety.' Cloudjumper paused for a moment; 'I recall hearing something about you and your friends 'annoying' a group of close eight- hundred Fireworm dragons in a single afternoon… Something about wandering into their cave?'

Hiccup frowned, "'Wandering into…' Oh: that must've been when we went looking for the Treasure of Hamish the Second!"

Valka's eyes widened; "You went looking for Hamish's Treasure! Hiccup; do you have any idea how dangerous that could've been? … You're lucky to be alive!"

Hiccup smiled; "Mom… We found it."

"You … found it?" Valka's voice was little more than a whisper. "But… People have been searching for that treasure for centuries ... Some of them never came back!"

Hiccup smiled; "It turns out Hamish- Two was a 'hiccup', same as me: He designed his riddles so that only someone who trained their minds, the way he and I have, would be able to solve them ... He wanted another 'hiccup' to claim his treasure."

Valka was silent for almost a minute, her eyes on Hiccup the whole time. Finally, she said, "Tell me everything."

Hiccup nodded, and began to talk; beginning with the night he first 'encountered' – the nice way of saying 'shot- down'; the Night- Fury; Toothless.

When Hiccup reached the part about Toothless defeating the Outcasts in Berks' Dragon Arena, Toothless smiled, and said; 'Ah ... Good times; good times!'

Hiccup rolled his eyes, and Valka smiled, seeing the satisfaction in Toothless's expression.

Time seemed to stand still, as Hiccup continued to talk: describing first The Battle of The Red- Death, Hiccup's vision- conversation with Thor, and a full account of the search for the Treasure of Hamish the Second; before moving on to the many other adventures he and Toothless had faced together, in the years since.

Two hours after their 'return'...

Astrid;

Astrid and Stormfly settled back on the small island where the others were waiting, returning from her most recent 'scouting trip'; "I don't like it: They should've been back by now with Hiccup!"

Astrid had done the best she could: She knew they couldn't disobey a direct order from Chief Stoick, but she'd spent enough time around Hiccup to learn a thing or two about finding loopholes in orders.

Not that it had done them much good: Stoick had told her to "Lead the others back to Berk"; so, the moment they'd crossed into Berks' territorial waters, they'd set- down on the nearest island that was large enough for all of their dragons to land on. –– That was as close as Astrid dared get to outright disobedience, but the wait was driving her crazy.

Near by, Ruffnut mumbled about 'Eret, son of Eret'… That didn't help Astrid's mood.

When the third hour of their wait was drawing to a close, Astrid thought of something; "What if Drago shot them down? … What if they need our help?"

Dragon- armor or no, the thought of losing Hiccup... She didn't even want to think about it. Astrid turned to the others; "We've got to find them!"

"Uh; but Stoick said…" Fishlegs started to say.

Astrid's temper flared; "It doesn't matter what he said if they've all been captured! Come on!"

Snotlout was tired of sitting around; Tuff was bored; and Ruff wanted to see Eret again. None of them argued: rushing, instead, to their dragons, and mounting up.

Reluctantly, Fishlegs followed.

They rose into the air, and took off to where they'd last seen the Trappers' ship.

Hours had passed since they'd last seen them, but dragons travelled far faster than one could by boat. Astrid was sure that the Dragon Trappers wouldn't be hard to find; and if they could find the Trappers, they could find Drago.

With any luck, they'd find Hiccup somewhere along the way.

An hour and a half later;

Eret and his men had thought they were in the clear: once Hiccup and Toothless had flown off, and Stoick had sent Astrid and the other riders back to Berk.

Unfortunately for them, they didn't know to factor-in the 'lingering traces' of Stoick's 'overprotective Viking- father' instinct: Stoick knew his son and Astrid had had an 'encounter' with Dragon- Trappers, and these were clearly the Dragon- Trappers.

Stoick and Gobber's dragons immediately went to work: blasting chunks of ice off of nearby glaciers, until the ice was packed so tightly around the Trappers' boat, that it wouldn't be going anywhere, anytime soon.

When he was satisfied, Stoick glared down at the Trappers; "I'll deal with you later."

Then Skullcrusher carried him into the sky; Gobber following on 'Grump', his Hotburple, to begin their search for Hiccup.

Eret and his men had set to work trying to free the ship, but were making little progress. They were so distracted that, for the first time in years, neither Eret nor his men were keeping an eye out for dragons.

Astrid could clearly see Eret on the deck, holding an ice block to his head as he said, "We've got nowhere to go; nothing to sell; and no heads to call own! If we don't turn up with dragons, and fast…"

Before Eret could finish his sentence, Stormfly had snatched him up off the deck, and lifted him into the sky. Leaning over, a little, in her saddle, Astrid called; "Careful what you wish for!"

Shouts rose from below them, and several men launched nets; all of which missed.

"What is this?" Eret demanded, from where he hung below Stormfly.

"A kidnapping," Astrid replied. "You're going go show us the way to Drago."

Eret scowled; "And help dragon- riders sneak into Drago's camp? Just kill me now!"

"That can be arranged: Stormfly; drop him!" Astrid said.

Eret had just enough time to say "Huh?", and then he was falling.

Still smiling, Astrid said; "Stormfly, grab him!" Immediately, the Deadly Nadder dove after Eret.

A moment later, Eret's voice reached them; "ALRIGHT! ALRIGHT: I'LL TAKE YOU TO DRAGO!"

A moment later, Stormfly snatched Eret out of the air, and they rose to rejoin their friends. Then, once Eret had caught his breath, he began to give them directions to Drago's camp.

Seven miles south of the Home of the White- Sentinel…

Stoick and Gobber;

Stoick and Gobber had been searching from dragon-back for close to two hours, now; and they hadn't seen so much as a glimpse of Hiccup and Toothless.

They made slow progress: zigzagging back and forth; so as not to miss any clue Hiccup might have left, as to his final destination.

Then it had started to snow, which made it harder for Skullcrusher to track Hiccup and Toothless's scent, and the trail almost impossible to follow.

"Bull- headed, just like his mother!" Stoick grumbled, as they flew.

"Nah, he's just twenty, and a Viking… I mean: could there be a worse combination? Hah; When I think of how stubborn and senseless you were back in the day…" Gobber paused, thought for a moment, and frowned; "Oh ... Well ... Not much has changed, actually."

Stoick sighed; "You know what he's like, Gobber; he won't give up: If Hiccup finds Drago before we find Hiccup…"

"Stoick; nothing can hurt Hiccup…" Before Gobber could finish his sentence, something on the ice- sheet below them caught Stoick's eye; and he had Skullcrusher move- in for a closer look.

A few minutes later, Skullcrusher rose to rejoin Gobber; on his back sat Stoick, who was holding Hiccup's dragon- scale helmet in one hand.

As Stoick held the helmet out, so that Gobber could see it, the metal grew warm, though only for a moment. Stoick frowned and pulled it back, slightly; as it had before, the metal first warmed, and then cooled.

"Stoick, what is it?" Gobber asked.

"The helmet… It gets warmer when I hold it here," he lifted the helmet until he felt the warmth on his hand; "But if I move it to either side, it goes back to normal."

Gobber frowned; "Well that doesn't make any sense…" Then his eyes widened, "Unless…"

"The armor!" Stoick breathed. It seemed impossible, but it was the only explanation that made sense; "The helmet is still connected to the armor… It wants to get back to Hiccup, so it's showing us where to go!"

From then on, they made fast progress: Stoick in the lead, holding the helmet out in front of him. Every time the metal cooled, Stoick moved the helmet to the left and right until the metal warmed again, and they would adjust their course accordingly.

An hour later, a large mass of icy spires rose out of the ocean; perhaps two miles ahead of them, and directly in front of them.

In the Home of the White Sentinel;

Hiccup had spent the better part of the past hour giving his mother a summarized version of what life had been like on Berk, during the past five years.

From the Battle of the Red Death, and his vision- conversation with Thor; To the series of events that lead to Toothless being reunited with his parents, and the Night- Furies' forming an alliance with the Vikings of Berk; and the ore that they had given him – which was now his sword and armor, and of the Dragon Trance.

And, of course, Hiccup talked a great deal about Astrid; and he could tell that, the more he said, the more Valka seemed to approve of her.

He talked until they heard voices in the tunnel they'd come through to get here; voices that both of them recognized: Stoick's, and Gobber's.

Hiccup's eyes widened, and he spun around: staring at the tunnel opening; "How in the name of… How could they have found us?"

He turned back to his mother, "Mom; I'll be right back… Toothless, wait here: If dad doesn't see you, he'll ask where you are; and I'll actually have a chance to speak."

Toothless nodded, and Hiccup hurried back down the tunnel.

The moment he saw Hiccup, Stoick said; "We're going back to Berk: Now… Where's Toothless?"

Hiccup decided to go with the shortest, most straightforward answer: he gestured over his shoulder, at the opening behind him, and said; "He's out there, with mom."

Stoick frowned; "Hiccup, your mother is…"

"Alive," Hiccup finished. "Yes; she was telling us about the night her dragon brought her here; Cloudjumper – Sorry: that's what she named him; the Stormcutter… It turns out Cloudjumper was trying to get her to safety: After you threw your axe into the wall between where they were standing; he thought they were both in danger, and brought her here."

Stoick's eyebrows rose: He had never told Hiccup that he'd thrown his axe into the wall, so the only way Hiccup could've known would've been if…

He looked toward the entrance Hiccup had come through, and saw "Valka..."

His sword, which he had drawn before entering the cave, dropped out of his hands. He removed his helmet, and dropped it next to the sword.

Hiccup turned to see his mother standing in the tunnel entrance; looking both tired, and sad; "I know what you're going to say, Stoick…"

Moving slowly, as though Valka was an illusion that might vanish at any moment, Stoick moved towards her. He looked as though he wanted to speak, but couldn't find the words.

Valka spoke again, saying what she expected to hear from Stoick: "How could I have done this … How could I have stayed away all these years … Why didn't I come back to you; to our son?"

Valka fell silent for a moment, took a deep breath, and continued; "Well… What sign did I have that you could change; that anyone on Berk could? I pleaded so many times to stop the fighting; to find another avenue… but could I make you listen?"

The could hear the emotion in Valka's voice, she took a step back, as though she were scared; "I… I know that I left you to raise Hiccup alone, but I thought that you'd be better off without me… and I was wrong; I see that now, but… Oh; stop being so stoic, Stoick, go on: shout, scream… say something..."

That was when Stoick reached her, and placed one hand gently on her cheek. Valka's eyes widened, and she realized for the first time, that the look in Stoick's eyes wasn't anger...

Finally, Stoick said; "You're as beautiful as the day I lost you." They embraced, then, and the tension that had filled the room mere moments before… melted away.

They parted, a moment later, and Stoick turned to face his son. Hiccup immediately noticed a change in his father's expression, and bearing; "You were right, son: a Chief needs to do what he believes is best, when he goes about his duties; and one can't be both a leader and a follower… You asked me which I wanted you to do; I'll tell you now: Lead, son… lead."

Valka moved forward, a small frown on her face; "What's this about 'chiefs' and 'leading'?"

Hiccup smiled; "Yeah, I was getting to that part: Dad's been talking about retiring, and he wants me to take over running the village."

Valka looked at Stoick, who nodded in confirmation, then back at Hiccup. For a moment, she seemed unable to speak. Then she pulled Hiccup into a hug; "Well done!"

When they parted, a moment later, Hiccup turned to his father; "I know I've been a little… 'Reluctant' about taking- over, but I do have reasons; they're just… a little complicated."

"I know, son; you always do," Stoick sighed; "If I'd stopped long enough to remember that… if I'd listened…"

Hiccup raised an eyebrow, and finished my saying; "… Than I might never have flown off, earlier; and we might not have found Mom … Maybe it was one of those things that just had to happen."

Stoick shrugged; "In either case: I'll hear them now."

Hiccup hesitated for a moment before starting; "Do you remember when I told you about our training- exercise on Dragon Island; the time when we ran into Dagur, and he saw Toothless – and found out that we were training dragons?"

Stoick frowned, not sure where this was going, but he nodded; "Of course; that was when you found out that Dagur had killed his father, Oswald, so he could take control of the Berserkers; but…"

"Dagur also tried to convince me to do the same to you… I left that part out; didn't even want to think of it, to be honest," Hiccup explained. "Especially after Dagur claimed that his father had 'retired'… If you'd asked me any time before that – even if it was only to plan ahead; I'd have been more open to the idea: It would've meant that I could get advice, if I needed it. Afterwards, however, the idea of a Chief's 'retirement' took- on a 'darker' meaning: The idea of me planning to take- over, with you still alive and well … It felt too much like I'd be taking Dagur's advice."

Hiccup paused for a moment, and noticed that Stoick, Valka, and Gobber were staring at him, wide-eyed, but beginning to understand what Hiccup was saying.

Hiccup continued, "This morning, though, I told Astrid about how you wanted me to take- over as Chief; I didn't mention the 'Dagur- problem', though… Astrid pointed out that I've been doing a lot of planning and problem solving; and how well things are turning out. She said 'if you ask me, your dad's seen what you can do' and that 'he knows you can do it'…"

Stoick nodded; "She's right... You've already changed Berk for the better, and I know you'll be a great Chief, son; I've known it for years."

Hiccup smiled, then another thought occurred to him; "There's something else I should mention, too: You all know about the vision I had; the conversation I had with Thor, after The Battle of the Red Death…"

There was a brief pause, then Valka said; "I thought you said you didn't remember what Thor told you…? Her voice was soft, worried; much as it had been when she'd been afraid that Hiccup might not forgive her for leaving him and Stoick.

Hiccup turned to face his mother; "I don't 'remember' exactly; It's like trying to see through a thick layer of fog: sometimes the fog shifts, but once it closes the memory fades, and it never lasts for more than a few seconds… I can't shake the feeling that I need to know, though; and something tells me that this is where I'm supposed to find the answers…" Hiccup gestured towards the entrance he and Valka had last used.

'It is,' a voice said. They turned in the direction of the voice, and saw Cloudjumper, standing in the tunnel entrance. 'Come … It is time for you to meet The Alpha; only he can tell you what you need to know.'

As they emerged into sunlight, Stoick looked around, taking in the scene before them, "Incredible…"

When Valka heard that, she smiled; "I've lived among them for twenty years… Learning about them; discovering their secrets…" She paused; "Oh, that reminds me: Toothless; I've got something to show you that I think you'll like!"

Hiccup's Night- Fury loped over to her, and Valka reached over to scratch a patch of skin on the upper part of his back: An instant later, another row of fins shot up, running up the spine of Toothless's back!

Toothless glanced back, and his eyes widened; 'Whoa… Why didn't I know about these?'

Valka smiled, and shrugged; "But now you'll be able to make those tight turns!"

Toothless was clearly thrilled with the new discovery.

They were about to continue walking, when Stoick asked; "Who is this 'alpha', anyways; and why is he so important?"

Somewhat to Stoick's surprise, it was Valka who answered; "Every nest has its Queen, but The Alpha is the King of all dragons: With his icy breath, this graceful giant built this sanctuary; for all of us who live here under his care, and his command!" Valka led them forward to where the land dropped away. There she stopped; "This is the home of the great Bewilderbeast; one of the very few that still exist."

Before them, in the center of the massive chamber, lay an immense white dragon.

It lay there, peaceful, unmoving; its eyes closed, as though he were asleep.

A moment later the Alpha's eyes snapped open, and He got to his feet, turning his head to look in their direction.

Two massive tusks rose curved up, on either side of his massive spiked head. He was far larger than the Screaming- Death, larger even than the Red- Death… So large, in fact, that no words could not properly describe him.

Cloudjumper, Skullcrusher, and Grumpy bowed to the Alpha, as did Valka. A moment later, Stoick and Gobber followed their lead. Hiccup and Toothless also gave short bows, and then straightened; somehow, they all knew that that was all that the Alpha wanted from the two of them.

A moment later, the others also straightened.

Then a presence reached out to them, and the Alpha the 'spoke', just as any dragon on Berk might have; 'AHH… SO THE "PEACE- BRINGERS" HAVE ARRIVED… GOOD, GOOD. WELCOME, HICCUP; WELCOME, TOOTHLESS… AND TO THOSE WHO TRAVEL WITH YOU, AS WELL: WELCOME.' The Alpha examined each of them in turn, and then he returned his attention to Hiccup and Toothless; 'I HAVE BEEN EXPECTING YOU, HICCUP AND TOOTHLESS, FOR SOME TIME, NOW… THE THUNDERER TOLD ME YOU WOULD COME.'

Hiccup blinked; "Thor told you… You can tell me what I need to know?"

The white- Bewilderbeast hesitated for a moment before answering; 'NOT EXACTLY, HICCUP; YOU SEE, THOR DID NOT ACTUALLY "TAKE" YOUR MEMORIES AT ALL… WHAT HE DID WAS MAKE IT SO THAT YOU COULD NOT REMEMBER WHAT HE TOLD YOU ON YOUR OWN. YOU WOULD NEED PERMISSION; YOU WOULD NEED TO BE TOLD TO REMEMBER.'

The Alpha paused for a moment, to let that sink- in; then added; 'UNDERSTAND, THOUGH, HICUPP; ONCE I GRANT YOU PERMISSION, YOUR MIND WILL BE TRYING TO PROCESS MORE INFORMATION AT ONCE THAN IT EVER HAS BEFPRE… IT WILL NOT BE PLEASANT, THOUGH THE DISCOMFORT SHOULD NOT LAST LONG… DO YOU UNDERSTAND?'

Hiccup nodded; "I'm ready."

The Alpha nodded; 'IT IS TIME YOU KNOW WHAT YOU TRULY ARE: REMEMBER YOURSELF; DRAGON-LORD!'

The last two words seemed to echo in the heads of those listening: 'DRAGON- LORD!' … 'DRAGON- LORD!' … 'DRAGON- LORD!'

For a moment, Hiccup simply looked confused. He opening his mouth, as though he were about to ask a question. – A moment later, he tensed, his forehead creasing. Then he dropped to his knees, clutching his head with both hands…

Before Stoick, Valka and Gobber could rush to Hiccup's side, Toothless blocked their path. Speaking so that only the three of them would hear, the black- dragon 'said', 'Stop! The last thing Hiccup needs, right now, is more information to process: Unnecessary movement and noise… They will only make it harder for him!' Toothless couldn't tell what the humans were thinking, but he could read their expressions just fine; 'Hiccup isn't trying to process the information; he's just absorbing it as it comes… Another few seconds, and he'll be fine!'

Eight seconds later, Hiccup's posture relaxed, and he got to his feet, blinking. Toothless stepped aside, and Hiccup's parents rushed forward.

Valka reached Hiccup first, and pulled him into a hug; "Hiccup! ... Are you alright?"

Hiccup smiled, "I'm fine… To be honest, it was a small price to pay: I remember; all of it." He blinked again; "I'll need some time to get my thoughts back together, but… I'm fine."

Though satisfied with Hiccup's reassurances, both Valka and Stoick insisted that he sit, drink some water, and recover. – As Stoick said: "We're going to need that brain of yours to figure out a way to deal with Drago."

The top of a hill, overlooking Drago's base- camp;

After flying for close to an hour, following Eret's directions, Astrid and the other Riders and Dragons set- down just inside the entrance of a cave.

In front of them, there rose a hill of hard- packed snow. Eret nodded towards the wall, "Drago's camp is on the other side of that."

Astrid and the others dismounted, and started to make their way towards the hill Eret had indicated.

Noticing this, Eret said; "Hey, I got you here; now get this thing off of me!"

Astrid glanced back, "Never take a toy away from a dragon; don't you know anything?"

As Astrid turned to follow the others to the top of the hill, Astrid heard Eret mutter; "Why does this keep happening to me?"

A few minutes later, the five riders were peering over the top of the hill; getting their first good look at Drago's camp. "What's down there?" Astrid asked.

Mere seconds after the words were out of their mouth, they heard the sounds of a struggle coming from behind them.

Spinning around, they saw dozens of men surrounding their dragons; shooting darts at their dragons… Even as they watched, the last of their dragons lost consciousness, and the men turned on them, weapons drawn.

Astrid took one look, and her heart fell: There'd be no fighting their way out of this.

Five minutes later;

"Drago!" Eret was now walking at the front of their group, as Astrid and the other riders were marched into the camp below. Just behind them, their dragons had been loaded onto a large cart; chained to the two armored dragons that were pulling it.

At the sound of the name, a man stepped out of the shadows; clad in a cloak of dragon- skin… He looked just as Stoick had described: This was Drago Bludvist.

He didn't speak, at first, merely signalled to one of his men; who moved forward, snatched Eret's sword from its scabbard, and withdrew.

Eret appeared unnerved by this turn of events, but he pushed right along, "Well ... As you can see: I am right on time with a new batch of dragons; just as I promised!"

An instant later, Hookfang regained consciousness; he reared his back, and roared. Immediately, men rushed to subdue the Monstrous Nightmare...

Before any of the riders could react, Drago moved forward, "Drop the ropes!" The men obeyed, and moved aside, as Drago began to make his way towards Hookfang.

When he was ten feet away, Hookfang shot a column of fire at him, but Drago merely covered himself in his dragon- skin cloak, and continued forward.

Hookfang roared at Drago, and Drago roared back, waving his staff over his head as he did. Drago roared again, and Hookfang blinked, and slowly lowered his head to the floor. A moment later, Drago set his boot on Hookfang's head, and keeping his eyes fixed on the dragon at his feet, said; "You – belong – to – me, now."

Eret stepped forward; "And, as an added bonus: I brought you their riders; No extra charge!"

"What?" Astrid demanded, her heart falling even further. "Are you kidding me?"

Eret didn't so much as glance at them; "Turns out, there's a whole bunch of them out there!"

Drago did not so much as look at them. Instead, he turned on Eret, and grabbed him by the throat; "How many?"

"Drago doesn't have them after all," Astrid whispered, keeping her voice low enough that only her friends would hear. As she said the words, her heart sank even further: Drago might not have Hiccup, Stoick, or Gobber, but he had them now…

Astrid decided to take a chance, and try to scare Drago; "Hundreds ... An entire island!"

Eret still had Drago's hand around his throat, but he rasped out the words; "Oh, I… I wouldn't worry about it… They won't know where you are, I promise you that…" Drago let go of Eret, who dropped to the floor; gasping.

"Oh, yes they will!" Astrid countered. "They know we're missing, and they have tracking- dragons! If you so much as touch us, Hiccup is going to kick…"

Drago frowned, "Hic-cup?"

From the floor, Eret rasped; "He's not a problem; really!"

Astrid took a step forward; "He's 'only' the son of Stoick the Vast; his heir to the thrown of Berk; and the greatest dragon- master this world has ever seen!"

This got Drago's attention; "'Dragon- Master'? ... I, alone, control the dragons!"

By now, Astrid's friends had realized what she was trying to do, and they were more than willing to help: In an instant, their worried expressions were gone; as easily as though they'd been acting scared the entire time they'd been here, and simply could not maintain the pretense one moment longer…

"Nope," Tuffnut said, smirking.

"Sorry," Fishlegs said, grinning widely.

Snotlout snorted; "Yeah, right; as if!"

Ruffnut just laughed.

Astrid turned back to Drago; "And unless you let us go, right now; he will blast his way in here on his Night- Fury, and blast your entire fleet of ships to splinters!"

Drago again grabbed Eret by the throat, and lifted him into the air; "First it was one dragon- rider, and now all of Berk! You lead them to me!"

He threw Eret back to the ground, and shouted for all to hear; "STOP ALL PREPARATIONS! WE MUST ATTACK THE DRAGON- RIDER'S NEST NOW: WE SHALL TAKE- DOWN THEIR ALPHA; THEN WE SHALL TAKE BERK!"

A great shout rose from the men of Drago's army, and they rushed to obey Drago's newest orders.

Astrid glanced back at her friends, and she saw the same shock, worry, and fear on their faces as she now felt.

Then Drago gestured towards Eret, and several of his men moved towards the trapper, weapons drawn… Before they could strike Eret down, Stormfly leapt from the cart, and sent them flying backwards with a single sweep of her tail.

Then more of the darts hit Stormfly; and she slumped to the ground, unconscious.

"Stormfly ... NO!" Astrid cried; struggling to get free, but Drago's men closed in around her and her friends; binding their hands with lengths of rope. All Astrid could do was watch as Drago's men subdued her dragon.

Then they again heard Drago's voice; "Get rid of Eret, and the dragon- riders; as well."

The air seemed to freeze in Astrid's lungs as she heard those words; but she knew there was nothing that any of them could do…

Off to one side, Eret's hands were also being bound; but he didn't seem to notice: His eyes were fixed on Stormfly, as though he was unable to fathom why the Deadly Nadder had bothered to save him.

Ten minutes later;

Astrid was standing just behind Eret, at the end of a gangplank that extended from the boat that Drago's men had loaded them onto. Behind them stood several of Drago's men, armed with spears, and about to force them to jump into the freezing water below… With their hands bound, they would drown in a matter of minutes.

Eret peered over the edge, then turned face Astrid. He grinned at her, and said; "Huh, looks refreshing… Please: Ladies first!"

Astrid glared at him, "You steaming heap of dragon…"

But Eret wasn't looking at her; "Duck!"

Astrid ducked. When she glanced up, a moment later, Eret had somehow cut his bonds, and was holding one of the guard's spears. A split second later, he caught the second spear in his free hand.

Then Eret was on the deck on the ship; spinning both spears at once, as he grappled with Drago's men. When he saw one of Drago's men produce a dart- gun, he knocked it out of the man's hand with one of his spears, dropped the second spear, and caught the dart- gun in his free hand.

Then he spun, and shot a dart at each of Drago's two remaining men; who were running off to sound the alarm.

Both darts hit their mark, and the men collapsed to the deck, unconscious.

Eret turned back to Astrid, and cut her bonds, and moved on to the others. When he finished, he said, "Come on; we're going to save your dragons! … Make sure to check every trap: they're here, somewhere!"

He glanced at Astrid, then, "Remind me to thank that Nadder of yours; I would've died back there, if it weren't for her." He was gone before Astrid could answer.

The first dragon Astrid found was Meatlug. The moment she recognized the Gronkle, she waved to Fishlegs, who was a little further down the row; and pointed at the open hatch of the trap she'd just checked.

Fishlegs hurried over, and ducked through the hatch, to check on his dragon.

A moment later, Astrid heard a whistle. She turned around, and saw Eret looking in her direction. He nodded once, and pointed at the hatch he'd just opened. Relieved, Astrid hurried over to the hatch that Eret was standing next to, and leapt inside; followed by Eret.

It was almost fifteen minutes before Stormfly regained consciousness. By then, Astrid and Eret had removed the roped that had bound her wings to her body, and her legs together.

The first thing Stormfly saw when she opened her eyes was Astrid, standing over her; "Are you alright?"

'I've been better, but I'm fine… Where are we?' The Deadly Nadder asked.

Eret stepped forward; "We're hiding in a dragon- trap on one of Drago's boats; The door's open, but we need to lay low… The others are with their dragons."

He was silent for a moment, then he asked; "Why did you help me, back there?"

Stormfly shrugged; 'You may have done some bad things, but you're not a bad person: dragons can tell these things.'

Eret frowned; "But… I'm a Dragon- Trapper; my men and I trapped you once already, then I lead you and your friends into this mess…"

Stormfly looked more closely at Eret; 'Are you really a Dragon- Trapper? … Still? Ask yourself this, Eret son of Eret: If you could "atone" for what you did by bringing us here, and reenter Drago's service as though nothing had happened, simply by betraying us now, would you? ... Think about it for a moment."

Astrid shifted, a little uneasy, but she didn't say anything.

Eret considered the question for a moment, and then something changed in his expression. Finally, he said; "No… I wouldn't."

Stormfly nodded, pleased with the answer; 'And why not?'

Eret took a little longer to answer this question. Finally, he said; "Before today, I've only seen the one side of dragons; it never even occurred to me that there might be another side to them. Now that I know… It just doesn't seem right."

'If you no longer believe that it is right to trap dragons, than you are no longer a dragon- trapper,' Stormfly concluded. 'Perhaps you might like to try dragon- riding, instead?'

Eret considered this for a moment, then he smiled; "You know, I think I may just take you up on that offer… A new view of the world may be just what I need!"

Twenty minutes later, the boat began to move: They were on their way.

Meanwhile, at the Home of the White Sentinel;

Hiccup, Stoick, Gobber, and their dragons had spent the past hour listening to Valka talk about some of the things she'd learned; during the years she'd spent living in the Alpha's Sanctuary.

After a while, Valka asked if the rest of them were hungry. When they admitted that they were, Valka smiled; "Good: It's 'feeding time'!"

They clambered onto their dragons' backs, and they and the wild- dragons rose into the sky, arching up and out, over the ocean. There they stopped, and just… flew in circles.

Then, without warning, the Alpha's head broke the surface of the ocean below, his mouth open, and full of fish! With a slight motion of its head, the white- Bewilderbeast sent the fish flying skywards…

Immediately, the dragons surged forwards; snatching fish right out the air! Valka, meanwhile, began snatching fish out of the air with the ease that came after years of practice; explaining that they'd eat once they returned to the nest, built a fire, and cooked the fish.

In a matter of seconds, Toothless's mouth was packed as full as it could get. He turned back to face Hiccup; showing- off 'his catch'; 'Wow… That guy is good!' Hiccup waited until Toothless was facing forwards again; and rolled his eyes.

Several hours after their return;

It was early evening when a loud noise, coming from somewhere outside the Alpha's Nest; jolted Hiccup, Valka, Stoick, Gobber, and their dragons out of their respective thoughts.

Immediately, they rushed out one of the entrances, and froze; stunned by what they were seeing: Hundreds of warships gathered offshore, and hundreds upon hundreds of men, forming ranks before the nest... Drago's army had arrived.

"Oh, no…" Valka took in the scene before them, her expression one of horrified disbelief.

Stoick put an arm on Valka's shoulder; "We are a team, now." Then he turned to Hiccup; "Son; I'll think you're going to need this…" As he spoke, Stoick handed Hiccup the dragon- scale helmet, which he'd just retrieved from Skullcrusher's saddle. "We found it on the way here."

Gobber stepped forward; "You know, there's a funny story about that…"

"Not now, Gobber!" Stoick said, cutting Gobber off. Turning back to Hiccup, who had donned his helm, but left the faceplate up. "Come on, son!"

They rushed back into the nest, to ready their dragons.

"We'll tell the Alpha, and meet you out there!" Valka called over her shoulder, an instant before she and Cloudjumper vanished from view; moving deeper into the nest.

Two minutes later, Toothless and Skullcrusher shot out of the nest; their riders on their backs, and shot towards the army below.

Before they'd gotten close enough to attack, and explosion rocked one of the boats, and four very familiar dragons rose into the sky.

More than a little surprised, Hiccup and Toothless angled towards the Deadly- Nadder, and the two riders on her back. Once he was within hearing distance, Hiccup called across to Eret, "Welcome aboard; dragon- rider!"

"Thanks… I think!" Eret called back.

"Where have you been?" The relief in Astrid's voice, and on her face, was obvious.

Hiccup glanced up at the nest, and saw his mother and Cloudjumper rising into the sky. He shrugged, "Oh, you know, just… catching- up with Mom!" – As he spoke, Hiccup nodded towards the upper portion of the nest.

Both Eret and Astrid glanced up, in the direction Hiccup had indicated. Their eyes widened, as they saw first the Stormcutter, and then the figure on its back.

Then they saw the head of a massive dragon rising out of the nest; following Hiccup's mother towards the fight.

Astrid turned back to Hiccup, awe on her face; "That's your mother!"

Hiccup smiled and nodded; "And there's more: It turns out that Thor didn't actually 'take' the memories of my conversation with him… I just needed permission to remember; The Alpha's permission!"

Astrid's eyes widened; "You mean … you remember?"

Hiccup nodded; "All of it! It's…" Hiccup shrugged; "I'm still trying to wrap my head around it, actually… It's huge: Far bigger than I thought!"

Turning his attention to Stormfly, Hiccup said; "Could you explain it to Astrid for me, but only to her… I'd like the two of you to keep it to yourselves – At least for now..." Hiccup glanced at Astrid for a moment, smiled, then continued, "And Stormfly... 'There Will Be Five: I am The First; now tell The Second!'"

Stormfly took a moment to answer; when she did, Astrid and Eret heard awe in her voice: 'You mean … Yes: I will; Thank you!'

Toothless swerved in the air, and for a brief moment, Hiccup hung upside down next to Astrid. He kissed her lightly on her right cheek, and said; "We'll talk later! Stay safe!"

Then Hiccup and Toothless were gone, speeding off to rejoin the battle below.

It took Astrid a moment to find her voice; "What did Hiccup mean, Stormfly?"

Speaking so that both Astrid and Eret could hear, Stormfly said; 'It means that Hiccup understands who he is, now, and that I can tell you, Astrid; but neither you nor I are to tell anyone else… I do not, however, believe that now would be a good time: We're in the middle of a battle, and you can't allow yourself to be distracted!'

Astrid's heart was pounding; "I need to know, Stormfly... You know me: I can handle it!"

Stormfly seemed to sigh; 'Very well, Astrid… Eret; can you loosen your grip on the reigns, a little? ... Thank you.'

The next time Stormfly 'spoke', only Astrid was able to hear her; 'I will tell you the gist of it now, and go into more detail once we have finished here…' Stormfly glanced back, and Astrid nodded in agreement, and understanding.

'The memories Hiccup has just regained center around three main topics: The task he was given, which you already know; Details surrounding the forging of Hiccup's armor and sword; and, Lastly: the reward he has earned, and is – even now, in the process of claiming; via the Dragon Trance. You have seen Hiccup use it before... You have seen the power he possesses while in the 'trance'; but you do not yet know its true purpose: Since it first went to work on him, Hiccup has begun a long, gradual transition; which will end when his mortal- life does, and he claims his rightful place as "Dragon- Lord; First of the Five" – the newest "generation" of Asgardian Gods.'

Astrid's eyes widened: 'Hiccup… Hiccup is going to become a… a God?' She hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Stormfly; the last thing Hiccup said before he left… What did he mean?"

Astrid again detected the same sense of awe in the mental- link from Stormfly's mind; 'He was referring to The Five Dragon- Lords who will one day be; who will guard the peace between humans and dragons until the end of time… He and Toothless is The First pair, the Leaders. When he asked me to "tell The Second", he was asking me to tell the human of The Second pair; His second- in- command... Astrid, he's chosen you: We are to be the second pair!'

For a full ten seconds, Astrid's mind seemed to go blank with shock, save for a single thought: 'Hiccup is going to become a God, and he's also planning to make Stormfly and me Gods too?'

Hiccup was right: This was huge! Remembering what Stormfly had said about not getting distracted, Astrid pushed the thought away… She wasn't immortal yet; "Come on, Stormfly: Let's earn our keep!"

Astrid scanned the battlefield; trying to find the place where she and Stormfly could do the most damage to the enemy- army...

Off to one side, she saw Hiccup's mother standing atop her dragon; spinning a staff that she held in one hand, as she directed the dragons in battle. As Astrid watched, a dozen Hideous- Zipplebacks zipped by her: one head breathing gas, and the other lighting it; while both heads curled forward as they neared the ground, forming a giant wheel…

Seconds later, a dozen spinning, flaming Zipplebacks were rolling across the field; sending Drago's men running for cover, or simply leaping out of the way: over, and over, and over again.

One of the Zipplebacks got caught in a trap, but before Dagur's men could approach to subdue it, Toothless appeared – seemingly out of nowhere, and launched a plasma- bolt at the trap.

Seconds later, the Zippleback rose into the sky, again; It dipped its heads in a silent 'thank you' to Hiccup and Toothless, then it was gone; off to rejoin the battle somewhere else.

Astrid watched as Toothless rose into the sky again, preparing to make another pass, and Astrid glanced down at the ground. A second later, she spotted Drago; who was also watching Hiccup and Toothless, a scowl on his face.

He muttered something, and – though Astrid was too far away to hear, she had a bad feeling it might have been "'Dragon- Master'…"

Then she saw one of Drago's armored- dragons slam into Valka's dragon, and he dropped towards the ground. Hiccup's mother vaulted free; seconds before her dragon hit the ground, she paused long enough to check that her dragon was ok, and then she turned to confront Drago.

Astrid turned to Eret, and, pointing towards the confrontation, said; "There!"

Eret looked in the direction she was pointing, and his eyes widened. He nodded, and Stormfly surged in that direction.

As they watched, Drago and Valka began to fight, staff on staff. Valka was holding her own, and – as they moved within hearing distance, they heard her say; "You will not take our dragons, Drago: they are under the protection of The Alpha!"

Drago smirked; "Then it's a good thing I brought a Challenger!" He turned away from Valka, then, towards his ships; and, spinning his staff over his head, he roared once… and then again.

Something moved under the ships, and something huge rose into view. As the water fell away, they saw it: A black- Bewilderbeast – another dragon from the same species as The White- Sentinel… A challenger for what was His.

A moment later, Toothless was next to them, and Hiccup said; "Oh no… Not another one!"

"What? What is it, Hiccup?" Astrid saw Hiccup's expression, and knew that the situation had just gotten a lot worse.

Hiccup turned to them; "Astrid; the Alpha, the White- Sentinel, as the dragons call him; is the King of Dragons: their protector… But the black- Bewilderbeast is under Drago's control: If he defeats the Alpha, he'll be able to control all of the dragons; and, since Drago controls him…"

Even as Hiccup spoke, the two Bewilderbeasts collided, and the fight for dominance began.

Hiccup continued, speaking fast: "There's more: When Alpha- dragons clash in the wild, it's usually a drawn- out battle: Alphas are supposed to protect the dragons in their care, so victory goes to the one who lasts the longest – and can best protect those under it; but Drago doesn't care about protecting dragons… He'll have his Alpha go for the first opening it sees! We need to get those two apart!"

A sudden noise drew their attention to the ground below: Valka had attacked Drago while he was watching his Alpha rise from the ocean.

Unfortunately, her first blow had little affect on Drago, and his counterstrike knocked her to the ground, her staff flying out of her hand. Now he stood over her, ready to land a killing blow.

Then another voice shouted "DRAGO!" An instant later, Stoick slammed into Drago, knocking him off his feet.

By the time Drago again rose to his feet, Stoick had helped Valka up, and returned his attention to Drago. Anger burned in Stoick's eyes, and he spun his axe in one hand; ready to fight.

Stoick glanced at Valka; "You'd better try to stop them!" As he spoke, he nodded towards the clashing Alphas.

Valka nodded; "I'll do my best!" She hurried back to Cloudjumper, and clambered onto his back.

"You!" Drago said, his eyes on Stoick. "I watched you burn!"

"It takes more than a little fire to kill me!" Stoick countered, then the two men charged at one another.

Toothless and Stormfly circled above; making sure no one tried to interfere in the fight below them.

A short distance away;

Cloudjumper shot up between the two Alphas, as they circled each other; on his back, Valka spun her staff; trying to make the two Alphas back- down.

A moment later, both Valka and Cloudjumper heard the Alpha's voice in their heads; 'LEAVE- OFF, BOTH OF YOU: THIS IS MY FIGHT.'

"You know what's at stake, though!" Valka implored. "This is Drago's Alpha… Drago doesn't care about protecting dragons: His Alpha will go for any opening it sees!"

'I KNOW,' The Alpha said; 'BUT IT DOES NOT MATTER; IT IS YOUR SON'S LIFE THAT MATTERS NOW: HE IS "DRAGON- LORD; THE FIRST OF THE FIVE"… NOW THAT HE KNOWS HIMSELF, HE WILL BE MORE POWERFUL THAN EITHER OF US. NOW: GO… YOUR FIGHT IS ELSEWHERE.'

Then the two Alphas closed again, and Cloudjumper had to dart out of the way. Valka looked back; just in time to see Drago's Alpha knock the White Sentinel off his feet, then plunge his tusks into the white- Bewilderbeast's stomach.

The white dragon uttered one final roar, of pain, then he dropped to the ground; dead…

Valka's eyes widened, and she cried out; "NOO!"

Her shout drew the attention of the others, who spun in the direction that the sound had come from: When they saw the fallen Alpha, Hiccup, Astrid, Stoick, Gobber, and their dragons stared in wide- eyed dismay.

Drago backed away from Stoick, chuckling, "We've won."

Drago's Alpha raised his head, and roared: The wild- dragons rose into the sky, landing around the New Alpha, and bowing in submission.

"STOP!" Hiccup shouted, as he and Toothless dove towards where Drago was standing, followed be Stormfly, a moment later.

He leapt down from Toothless's back, set his helmet down on Toothless's saddle, and hurried forward with Toothless by his side.

Astrid and Eret also dismounted and hurried forwards, Stormfly close behind them.

Drago took one look at Hiccup, then turned to Astrid, sneering; "This is the 'great dragon- master'? … The son of Stoick the Vast?" He turned back to face Hiccup; "What shame you must bring to his name!"

Hiccup ignored this; "All this loss… and for what: To become unstoppable? – To rule the world? Dragons are kind, amazing creatures that can bring people together!"

Drago snorted; "More like tear them apart." As he spoke, Drago undid a buckle, and lifted his left 'arm' away from his shoulder: It was a prosthetic… The shoulder, where the arm had once connected, had healed over; showing that it was an old wound.

"See?" Drago continued; "I know what it is to fear… My family; taken… When I was a boy; left with nothing…"

Astrid saw Hiccup's shoulders tense, then Hiccup said; "A dragon would never do that unless it was provoked… But that's not what this is about; is it? You use dragons to control people, don't you? … To control those who follow you, and get rid of those who won't."

The rest of the Berk riders and their dragons had gathered, a short distance away; joined minutes later by Valka and Cloudjumper. All of them had heard what Hiccup had just said, and now stood, silent, and wide- eyed, as they finally began to understand what was happening.

"Clever boy," Drago chuckled; "Not that it does you any good, now: for he who controls the Alpha… controls them all." As Drago spoke, he raised his staff; gesturing towards their dragons.

Then he turned towards his Alpha, Drago spun his staff over his head, and roared; once, and then again… The Alpha turned in their direction, and Drago shouted "TAKE CONTROL OF THEM!"

The Alpha roared, and their dragons began to struggle… Then, one by one, they rose into the air, and joined the swarm circling above Drago's Alpha – seemingly unable to hear their riders as they tried to call them back.

Only Toothless remained, still struggling; and visibly losing ground… Drago lifted his staff: pointing first at Toothless, and then at Hiccup, "Kill him."

Drago's Alpha noticed, and roared another command at Toothless. The Night- Fury tensed, and struggled against the Alpha's commands even harder…

Suddenly Toothless whirled around, so he was facing Hiccup; though he continued to resist the Alpha. Slowly his mouth opened, and his throat began to glow blue, as a plasma- bolt formed, seconds away from being launched…

Then, 'speaking' so all could hear, Toothless shouted, 'HICCUP: MOVE!'

Hiccup immediately launched himself to one side. The moment he left the ground, something hit him, and sent him flying.

A split- second later, the plasma- bolt flew, but it did not hit the icy pillar that rose up behind where Hiccup had been standing... Stoick had leapt forward, intending to push Hiccup to safety, and the bolt had struck him in the chest; Now he lay, unmoving, at the base of the pillar.

Toothless's eyes cleared, and he stared at Stoick's body in disbelief. Then he rounded on Drago, 'DRAGO; YOU WILL PAY IN BLOOD FOR THIS!'

Drago grunted; "Unlikely." Then he turned to his Alpha; "MAKE HIM YOURS; THEN WE FLY TO BERK!"

Using the privacy of their bond, and the few seconds remaining to them, Hiccup told Toothless what he wanted him to do. When he finished, Hiccup added; 'Be careful, bud.'

Also speaking through their bond, Toothless replied, 'Drago's Alpha caught me by surprise once, Hiccup; it will not happen again.'

Then Drago's Alpha roared again, and for a few seconds, Toothless struggled, before again going still. Then he took a short leap, landing next to Drago.

Drago climbed onto Toothless's back, and chuckled again; "So much for the 'great Dragon Master'… TO BERK!"

Toothless rose into the sky, with Drago on his back. The Alpha rose, following close behind; and followed, in turn, by both the wild- dragons, and their own.

Twenty minutes later;

The dragons, and Drago's fleet, had vanished from view; bound for Berk...

They had gathered around Stoick's body; Hiccup, Astrid, and Valka knelt beside him, and the others stood a few feet away. Nobody had spoken since Drago, their dragons, and the wild- dragons had left.

Finally, Astrid broke the silence, "I can't believe we've lost: Our dragons…" She turned to Hiccup and, in a softer voice, added, "Your father…"

Hiccup slowly rose to his feet, "Drago thinks that he's won; that doesn't mean that we've lost."

In an instant, all eyes were on Hiccup.

Then Valka let out a breath; "I'd almost forgotten… The Alpha helped restore your memories of your vision with Thor!"

Fishlegs's eyes widened; "You… You remember?"

Hiccup nodded; "Yes… The reward Thor promised me; certain details about the forging of 'Fury', and my armor… Everything."

Valka also got to her feet; "Hiccup; when I tried to stop the Alpha from fighting the Challenger that Drago brought, he told me that he already knew the risks; he said that 'it was your life that mattered now'… 'Now that you knew yourself, you'd be more powerful than either of them': He… he called you…"

"'Dragon- Lord; First of the Five'… I know," Hiccup finished. "It was the reward Thor promised me; for unifying the dragons and Vikings."

He turned to face the others; "Before I say more, though, I want each of you to give me your word that you won't share what I'm about to tell you with anyone else, unless I say otherwise… I'll explain why later."

Hiccup's mother looked surprised, but she nodded in agreement.

For Astrid it wouldn't have mattered if Hiccup had said he'd 'rather you didn't tell anyone': If Hiccup wanted a secret kept, she would take it to her grave, "Mine too."

One by one, the others also promised that they'd keep what Hiccup told them a secret unless he said otherwise. Even Snotlout gave his word, albeit reluctantly.

When they were finished, Valka turned back to her son, "Hiccup… What did the Alpha mean, when he called you a 'Dragon- Lord'?"

Hiccup was silent for a moment, them he said; "The five 'Dragon- Lords' are the ones who will be responsible for guarding the peace between humans and dragons; from now on: They ... We ... will be a new 'generation' of Asgardian Gods. That was the true purpose of the Dragon- Trance: to initiate a gradual, controlled transition from a mortal human, to an immortal- God… At this point, all I need to do is live, so that the transition can gradually complete, when my … my 'mortal- existence' comes to an end; when the level of energy I'll generate can no longer be contained in a human- vessel."

The silence lasted for almost a minute, then Tuffnut said; "Ok, don't get me wrong: that is awesome, but… What good does that do us now? – I mean; Drago's on his way to Berk, and he took our dragons…"

Hiccup almost smiled, "Oh; Toothless will come through…"

Valka hesitated, "Hiccup ... Drago took Toothless; he's... "

"Biding his time," Hiccup said. "Toothless didn't leave because he was forced to, he went because I asked him to."

When he saw the expressions on the others' faces, Hiccup actually did smile; "Toothless is an excellent dragon, but he wouldn't have been able to get us all back to Berk by himself." Hiccup paused, gesturing around them; "Night is falling... By the time Drago reaches Berk, the Night- Furies will be making their circuits of the island. Toothless will throw Drago off, gather enough of them to bring us back, and come back for us... Before he does, though, he'll send word to The Colony; telling them to prepare for war."

The moment the words were out of his mouth, the mood of the group began to lift: It was good to have a plan again; and better to know that hadn't really lost, after all…

"This time, when we face Drago, it will be…" Hiccup's eyes glowed yellow; "… with our full strength gathered." Hiccup's eyes returned to their normal color, and sorrow returned to his face; "In the meantime, we need to give my father… a proper sendoff."

The village of Berk, an hour before midnight;

Drago, his Alpha, and their new dragons were, perhaps, less than a mile from Berk when Drago signaled to his Alpha. The massive dragons roared: summoning the dragons of Berk to come to him, immediately.

Crashes rose from many of the homes, as the dragons forced their way out, and took to the skies; flying towards the massive dragon who had called them.

They were closely followed by their human riders; all of whom wanted to know what had stirred- up their dragons at this hour of the night.

One man chuckled as he followed his dragon outside; "Alright: what are you up to? You know 'The Gathering' isn't for another…" That was when he saw the massive dragon in the distance, roaring; and calling the dragons to it. All traces of amusement left his face in an instant: "Beard of Thor…"

A crowd quickly gathered, everyone talking in worried tones.

Then Drago rose into view, sitting on Toothless's back, his Alpha rising behind him. "Your chief is dead!" Drago announced. "Nobody can protect you now!"

An instant after he'd spoken, Toothless folded his right wing against his chest, and spun: throwing Drago off his back, and sending him flying into the side of the Alpha- dragon's head – barely missing one of the spikes.

Toothless called to his clan- mates, and nine other Night- Furies dropped out of the sky, to join him.

Speaking so that the both his clan- mates, and the Vikings below could hear, Toothless 'said'; 'The White- Sentinel has fallen,' Turning to two if the Night- Furies, he said; 'Gather the rest of our kind: Tell them Drago Bludvist is here; tell them to prepare for war!' Turning to the other seven Night- Furies, he added; 'The rest of us are needed elsewhere: The Riders are waiting for us!'

Without pausing to ask questions, the Night- Furies Toothless had spoken to first wheeled around; angling towards the caves where their Colony had settled.

The other seven Night- Furies followed Toothless, back the way he'd come, vanishing from sight a few minutes later.

"Blasted Hiccup!" Drago, who hadn't heard Toothless's message, grumbled; "Boy's been playing me for a fool the entire time!"

Below him, the people of Berk hurried to take cover. They understood enough of what they heard to know that: Stoick was (possibly) dead; and that Hiccup was alive and planning something.

This meant that they'd need to stay alive long enough for him to work; and be ready to help in whatever way they could – which also meant staying alive.

An hour later, at the remains of the white- Alpha's home;

It had taken some searching, but they had finally found an intact rowboat; made of good, solid wood. They had laid Stoick's body into it, and pushed it off from shore.

As it drifted out to sea, Gobber began to speak – his voice thick with emotion; "May the Valkyries' welcome you, and lead you through Odin's great battlefield. May they sing your name with love any fury; so that we may hear it rise from the depths of Valhalla, and know that you have taken your rightful place at the Table of Heaven! A great man has fallen: A warrior; Chieftain; Father; and Friend…"

Astrid was standing next to Hiccup, and she saw the anger and sadness on his face. At one point, Astrid put a hand on his shoulder, and whispered, "If there's anything I can do, let me know... I'm always here for you!"

Hiccup turned to look at her, and she saw the anger leave his face. Also whispering, he said, "I know, thanks."

As Gobber finished his recitation, he moved forward, and handed Hiccup a bow and arrow. Astrid took a step back, and Hiccup notched the arrow, lighting the tip in the fire they'd built. Both Hiccup and Valka said their last goodbyes to Hiccup's father, Valka's husband.

Hiccup shot the first flaming- arrow: to set his father's funeral pyre on fire… It hit the middle of the pile of kindling; at the head of the boat, and a thin column of smoke rose into the air.

Then the others loosed their flaming arrows, as well; and they arched through the air, hitting the boat, a moment later. The fire roared to life, a moment later.

When they knew the extra arrows wouldn't be needed, both they and the bows were quickly discarded: they were souvenirs of something that none of them wanted to remember: a battle that had gone badly.

Once Hiccup had fired the arrow, and tossed the bow away, Astrid returned to stand by his side. Neither spoke, they just stood together, watching the fire burn.

Valka joined them, a moment later, and placed a hand on Hiccup's shoulder; "You came early into this world… You were such a weak thing; so frail, so fragile… I figured you might not make it, but your father; he never doubted: He always said you'd become the strongest of them all; and he was right."

Astrid's breath caught, and Hiccup and Valka looked at her. When she turned to face him, Hiccup saw that her eyes were brighter than usual, "Thank the Gods you did make it, Hiccup; I can't imagine what life would be like without you…"

Hiccup smiled; "Well, I'm happy to say you don't need to: I'm not going anywhere… At least: not anywhere that you won't be able to come; this place isn't exactly screaming 'home' to me."

Astrid smiled, and was about to say something, when Hiccup's eyes slid out of focus… It only lasted for a few seconds, but Valka noticed it too. Before either of them could comment on it, or call to the others, Hiccup said; "Toothless is on his way back!"

Thirty- five minutes later;

They initially appeared as black dots on the horizon, but over the course of the next five minutes; their outlines resolved into the shapes of dragons.

Five minutes later, the Night- Furies were landing a short distance away from where Hiccup and the others were waiting.

The moment Toothless landed, he and a female Night- Fury, who appeared be close to Toothless's age, loped forward.

'Hey; we're here!' Toothless called to the Vikings. As they moved, Hiccup caught the female glancing at the new set of fins running up the center of Toothless's back, though Hiccup had a 'sneaky feeling' that this was just an excuse for glancing at Toothless.

Hiccup smiled, careful to keep his amusement from crossing to Toothless's side of their connection.

Toothless and the other Night- Fury paused next to Valka, and Toothless asked; 'Could you do the "hidden- fin" thing for my friend, here?'

Valka considered the female Night- Fury for a moment, smiled, and scratched the necessary spot: the extra fins immediately shot up along the center of her back.

The female Night- Fury thanked Valka, than went to stand by Astrid, which Hiccup took to be another clear sign that the Night- Fury female had a 'more- than- passing interest' in Toothless.

Hiccup glanced at Toothless, and raised an eyebrow; Toothless smiled: 'I think I earned a few "points", back there!'

Hiccup smiled, and nodded, but didn't speak: the Night- Fury that Toothless was talking about was less than fifteen feet away.

Then one of the other Night- Furies spoke up; 'We're on a deadline, here; so lets mount and move, people!'

Nobody needed to be told twice: Everyone quickly clambered onto a Night- Fury's back, and the black dragons rose into the air.

Forty- five minutes later;

Their first glimpse of Berk was not an encouraging one: The flock of dragons at the Alpha's back had grown; since it had now taken control of the Berk Dragons, as well.

Icy spikes rose from various points of the island; also the work of the Alpha.

There was no sign of the villagers; hopefully this meant they had taken cover, and were awaiting their return.

As they closed the distance, Drago noticed them. They could hear him shouting commands to the Alpha; they couldn't make out the words, but most likely it was 'Take control of them!'

The Alpha roared, and the Night- Furies tensed slightly, but they appeared otherwise unaffected by the Alpha's commands.

'Not this time,' Toothless growled back; his 'voice' hard with anger.

'We were on good- terms with the White- Sentinel, but we were never His,' added a second Night- Fury.

'We belong to ourselves,' 'said' a third.

The Night- Furies who had accompanied Toothless dropped them off at the top of a small hill; a short distance from Drago's Alpha, but still out of the way. Then they shot off to rejoin the others of their Colony. (The only exception was Valka, who had convinced her Night- Fury – who was also a mother, though her 'hatchlings' were nearly grown – to stay; so Valka could help her son, if the need arose. It wasn't hard, seeing as the Night- Fury in question was also Toothless's Aunt.)

Meanwhile, Hiccup and Toothless had shot around the nearest mountain, and were appearing around the other side; blasting towards Drago and the Alpha…

Astrid and the others watched from where they stood, a place from which point they could also see the villagers; who, as hoped, had taken shelter behind houses and anything else that would provide adequate cover.

But the moment they saw Hiccup and Toothless, they began to move into the open, shouting and cheering; to watch the fight.

As Hiccup and Toothless shot over her, Astrid took a few steps forward, shouting; "TAKE'EM DOWN, BABE!"

Hiccup considered Drago and the Alpha, for a moment; "We need to get those two apart." As he spoke, Toothless shot back towards Drago, passing Hiccup's mother, on the way.

Drago, aware now that the Night- Fury couldn't be reliably controlled, shouted, "STOP THEM!"

The Alpha moved forward, breathing a cloud of freezing fog… Toothless rose above and around it, while Hiccup jumped off Toothless's back. He was blown back about ten feet by, by the current of wind generated by Toothless's passage; then he unfastened the clip that kept the wings of his glider closed, and the wings opened.

Drago had been following Toothless with his eyes, since that was where he also expected to find Hiccup. A moment later, he spotted the black dragon, and realized that the saddle strapped to his back was empty!

By the time Drago turned back in the right direction, Hiccup was holding one of his recent 'projects' in one hand. It was a cylindrical object that just fit into the palm of one hand: it contained Hideous Zippleback gas, and had a device on one end that would generate a spark, when clicked.

Hiccup opened the upper end of the container first, allowing a cloud of the gas out, right around where Drago was standing. Then, just before Hiccup was carried out of range, he clicked the other end.

The resulting explosion sent Drago flying off the black- Bewilderbeast, and he landed on the ground a few seconds later; momentarily stunned. A second later, Drago's staff landed two feet away from his head; the tip plunging into the dirt.

Toothless extended his new retractable fins along his back, and came around. Hiccup settling back into the saddle just seconds before he would've slammed into the black- Bewilderbeast's spiny tail.

"Phew: Good timing, bud," Hiccup said, as he settled back into the saddle. "I was just having a Red- Death flashback!"

Toothless snorted; 'Same here ... Let's not make a habit of doing this.'

Hiccup managed a grim smile; 'You mean fighting deranged- lunatics, or facing oversized dragons?' – Toothless's only answer was another snort, though Hiccup had a feeling the black dragon was also rolling his eyes.

Toothless landed about ten feet away from Drago. Then, without bothering to dismount, Hiccup drew 'Fury' from its sheath, willing it to catch fire. When Drago reached for his staff, Hiccup hurled the sword: the blade cut through the staff five inches up from where it protruded from the earth; and the upper portion clattered to the ground.

Drago snatched his hand back, the blade missing his fingers by inches… Then he went for the sword instead.

Before his hands could close around the hilt, Hiccup held out his hand. Immediately, he sword launched itself out of the ground; the hilt landing in Hiccup's palm, a few seconds later.

In a surprisingly calm voice, Hiccup said; "It's over, Drago."

But Drago wasn't looking at Hiccup and Toothless: He was looking over their shoulder. He smirked; "Or is it?"

Hiccup turned around, and he saw Drago's Alpha standing behind them. His calm expression never wavering, Hiccup reached down, picked his Dragon- Scale helm, and slid it back onto his head, and pulled down the faceplate; "Oh, ok: If you insist."

A second later, the black- Bewilderbeast breathed its icy breath, and a new forest of icy spires formed around Hiccup and Toothless.

A hush fell over the crowd, as they stared at the icy spires in disbelief. Drago surveyed the ice spikes, and chuckled.

The expression on Astrid's face was one of utter devastation: She knew what she'd seen, but didn't want to believe it… Couldn't believe it.

The Night- Fury carrying Valka shot forwards, and Valka leapt of its back, crossing the remaining distance to the ice spikes on foot. She fell to her knees, pounding the ice with her fists; "No… Hiccup… No!"

Drago watched for a moment, then turned to the villagers; "YOU SEE? YOUR SO- CALLED 'DRAGON- MASTER' IS FINISHED…"

Then another voice, one the villagers instantly recognized, 'said', 'Finished, Drago? ... To the contrary: We've barely begun.'

At the same moment, something deep inside of the newly- formed ice- spikes began to glow blue, growing brighter by the second…

Valka noticed it seconds after it first appeared. She hurried back towards the Night- Fury, who picked her up off the ground, deposited her next to Astrid, and flew off to rejoin the rest of its kind.

Drago's eyes widened, and he, too, hurried to put some distance between himself and the icy pillars.

Behind them, there was a flash, and the icy spires dissolved.

A moment later, the Toothless appeared, Hiccup still on his back. Gasps arose from the crowd: The spines on Toothless's back were glowing a brilliant blue, and there were blue patches on the dragon's forehead, and on both wings.

The top of Hiccup's Night- Fury helm was also glowing; and there were blue patches on both of his shoulders, as well as a line running down the underside of both arms. And Hiccup's eyes glowed a brilliant, burning yellow.

Toothless rounded on Drago, then; but Hiccup placed a hand on the dragon's head; "Not yet ... Drago is nothing without the Alpha: We deal with him first."

Toothless let out a low growl, and turned away.

"What are you?" Drago demanded; his eyes wide, and the first signs of fear on his face. "What… What are you?"

Hiccup and Toothless ignored the question, and Toothless leapt up onto one of the ice spikes, facing the Alpha.

Then both Hiccup and Toothless raised their heads skyward, and roared at the Alpha.

Astrid turned to Valka; "What… what are they doing?"

The Alpha immediately roared back, taking several steps forward as it did

Valka's eyes widened; "They're… They're challenging the Alpha!"

As she spoke, Toothless began to launch plasma- bolts at the Alpha; each impact pushing the Alpha's first to one side, then the other.

After four blasts, Toothless roared; this time Hiccup remained silent, and the roar was directed at the dragons that were circling, behind the Alpha.

The effect was immediate: All of the dragons began to shake themselves; as though coming out of a trance, and many of the Berk Dragons began looking around in apparent confusion.

Then Toothless roared again, and the dragons began to fly towards him; gradually filling the sky at Toothless's back.

Drago's Alpha swung its tusks towards the ice- spike Toothless had landed on, but by the time it hit – the ice spike shattering on contact, Toothless had already leapt to a fresh spike, and launched a fifth plasma- bolt.

Then Drago was running towards His Alpha, shouting as he came; "NO, NO, NO, NO, NO! – NO! FIGHT BACK! FIGHT – BACK!"

The former- Alpha lowered one tusk to the ground, and Drago clambered up, and onto its head.

With the dragons returning to 'their' side, the villagers of Berk moved further into the open, forming a solid line of people.

At the front of the group stood Astrid and Valka; and if looks could kill, the expressions on their faces would have reduced Drago to ashes even faster than dragons' fire would have – and theirs weren't the only angry faces in the group.

Gesturing at the dragons gathered behind them, Hiccup said; "Now do you get it? – This is what it is to earn a dragon's loyalty… We didn't order them to come to us; we simply freed them from you." Hiccup paused long enough to let that sink in, then continued; "If you surrender now, we will make your deaths quick: that is the most we can do, after what you have done."

Drago glance behind him, at the ocean, and smiled; "This fight is not over yet, boy: The Alpha and I still live, and then there's them." He gestured over his shoulder, at the ocean: Drago's fleet of ships was closing in on Berk.

A number of villagers glanced out in the direction Drago had indicated, and a shiver of unease moved through the assembled Vikings.

Hiccup merely smiled; "Yes, your fleet; I was wondering when they'd show up." The moment the words were out of his mouth, the crowd settled. Then one of the Berk Dragons moved forwards, and growled something to Hiccup. Whether it was an offer, or a question, the listeners didn't know, but the intent was clear.

Hiccup shook his head, "No; we have already promised this fight to others." He turned back to Drago; "Did you really think to catch us by surprise simply by dividing your forces? – Especially forces that we were already aware of?" Hiccup shook his head, then glanced back in the direction of the village, and shouted "NOW!"

Then, from behind houses; ice- spikes; and the other obstacles they had been using for cover, the Night- Furies rose into the sky.

The air filled with roars, wing beats, and the wailing shriek that accompanied them, as the Night- Furies surged forward, around Drago, and towards his still- distant fleet.

"Well; that's been taken care of." Hiccup returned his attention to Drago; "Now: I believe we were discussing your surrender?"

Drago was wide- eyed, and breathing hard. It was several minutes before he was again able to speak. When he could, he shouted, "NEVER, COME- ON!"

Drago's Alpha growled, and moved forward. Toothless turned to the dragons behind them, and growled an order…

Immediately, a fireball glowed to life in the maw of each of the dragons gathered at their back.

Hiccup merely shrugged; "Very well, as you wish: We revert to the original plan."

Then Toothless launched another plasma- bolt, the first strike: his right, as the New Alpha- Dragon of the North.

The moment his blast had struck, the other dragons opened fire: wild- dragons; the Dragons of Berk, and even the armored- dragons now liberated from Drago's control.

A minute later, a wall of smoke blocked Drago and the black- Bewilderbeast from view, though they could still hear Drago shouting; "WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH YOU? FIGHT BACK! … FIGHT!"

Then the head of the black- Bewilderbeast rose above the smoke, roaring. By some unspoken signal, the other dragons stopped firing; though they remained where they were.

Toothless's throat glowed blue, and he launched his sixth plasma- bolt. It hit near the base of the Alpha's left tusk; which, with a sound like a glacier breaking, broke off, and fell to the ground. It landed with a thud that made the ground tremble, even where the villagers were standing.

The Bewilderbeast roared in pain, then dropped to the ground, staring at the remains of his tusk in evident disbelief.

Then, 'speaking' with both his mind, and aloud – in the language of dragons, Toothless roared; 'GIVE ME A REASON: I'LL DO THE OTHER ONE, TOO!' Then, in a low growl, he added; 'Try me…'

As he spoke, Toothless's throat glowed blue, in preparation to launch the second bolt.

Then, in the language of dragons – the only one the Bewilderbeast knew, the dragon said; 'I… YEILD…'

Then he turned, and dove off the cliff top. As he vanished from view, the Vikings of Berk burst out cheering. Astrid and Valka's expressions changed to ones of mingled pride and relief.

Hiccup allowed his eyes to return to their normal color. As they did, the glowing blue lines and patches on his armor, and Toothless's scales, also faded to normal.

They leapt to the edge of the cliff, to check for any sign of Drago, or the Bewilderbeast, but saw no sign of either of them.

Satisfied, they rejoined the other villages.

Above them, the dragons were coming in for a landing; setting down in every available space. Finally, Cloudjumper landed in front of Toothless, just as Hiccup was getting down from the saddle.

The Stormcutter settled in front of Toothless; 'You did good… Alpha.' Then Stormcutter bowed to Toothless, and – one by one, the other dragons did likewise.

Toothless looked around, taking in the scene. He smiled, then raised his head to the sky, and roared. As he did, the other dragons followed his lead; raising their heads to the sky, roaring… Adding their 'voices' to his.

When they fell silent, Toothless turned to Hiccup. Hiccup placed a hand on his Night- Fury's head; "You never cease to amaze me, bud… Thank you."

Toothless shrugged; 'I can't blame you, there: I never cease to amaze me, either!' He smiled, smugly.

Then the dragons turned, and rushed towards their Viking riders; who hurried forward to meet them.

When he heard Astrid cry "Stormfly", Hiccup turned to watch as she ran towards, and hugged her Nadder; laughing, as she did.

Off to one side, he also saw Valka reuniting with Cloudjumper.

"That was some pretty good dragon- wrangling," A voice said, from behind Hiccup. Turning, he saw Eret standing behind him. "You'd make a good trapper."

A moment later, Skullcrusher joined Hiccup as well. Hiccup gave the dragon a rub on the snout, and then he turned back to Eret; "You know, Skullcrusher's going to need someone to take care of him, now."

It took Eret a moment to grasp what Hiccup was saying, his eyes widened; "Me?" Skullcrusher gave him a light thump on the arm. Eret looked from Hiccup to the dragon, and back; "I'd be honored."

Valka came forward next; "Your father, would be every bit as proud as I am."

Hiccup was silent for a moment; "I'm really glad you're here, mom."

She smiled, "And here, I'll stay."

Astrid joined them a moment later. Hiccup smiled; "You know, it only just occurred to me, but I've never officially introduced the two of you, yet: Mom," Hiccup placed a hand on Astrid's shoulder; "This is Astrid; Astrid: this is my mom."

Astrid smiled; "This is… such an honor."

Valka beamed; "Likewise, Astrid… I've heard a lot about you." She nodded towards Hiccup, "And from what I've heard, and seen, I think we're going to get along wonderfully."

Astrid's posture relaxed, even though she hadn't appeared either worried or tense. (Something about hearing those words just… had that effect.)

Then Astrid turned to Hiccup, her smile widening; "You see; I told you it was in here!" She placed a hand over Hiccup's heart, and then used it to unfasten the glider- clip. The wings sprang into position.

Valka laughed, and Hiccup smiled, "Still… still doing that one! That – that's hilarious… Come here!" He pulled Astrid close, and kissed her on the lips.

Silence fell around them, as the villagers turned towards them, many of them smiling.

Even after the kiss ended, Hiccup and Astrid stood as they were for a moment more, and then separated. Astrid's expression was more relaxed than it had looked in what felt like forever, but had really only been that morning… So much had happened in a single day.

A moment later, Toothless nudged Hiccup's arm with his snout; 'Hiccup, I 'think' it's your turn now.'

Hiccup turned an instant before Gothi; the mute village healer, and elder, poked him in the arm with her walking stick.

When he looked down at her, the short woman indicated for him to kneel. Understanding, Hiccup went down on one knee.

Gothi rubbed her fingers in the bowl that she'd brought with her, gathering enough of its contents onto her fingers to do what she needed to do: She drew the Chief's Mark on Hiccup's forehead, then motioned for Hiccup to get to his feet. He did, and turned to face the crowd; Gothi held her arms out towards Hiccup, presenting him to the crowd.

Gobber stepped forward, and looked at Hiccup's forehead, and he and Hiccup exchanged a look. Then Gobber turned to the crowd, and announced "THE CHIEF, HAS COME HOME!"

The humans burst into applause and cheers; the dragons lifted their heads to the sky, and roared. Many, including the Night- Furies – who had just 'finished with' Drago's fleet, added their roars and plasma- bolts to those of the other dragons; so that the sky seemed to light- up, above them.

To be continued…