Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“The dragon raids have gotten worse, again.” Gobber told his Chief.

The Chief rubbed his head, he wished he had known what Hiccup was going after when he died all those years ago. As he looked over the destruction he thought about the day when Hiccup was supposed to kill his first dragon and the letter he had found in his vacant room instead.

~

Dear dad and people of Berk,

If you find this you will have noticed I’m gone. Know this is not an act of cowardliness, but I can’t do it. I cannot kill a dragon, because they are not what you think they are. They don’t want to attack us, the only reason they attack time and time again is because they are mind controlled, which, I know, is hard to believe. That is why I have to go. I’m going to try and take out what is controlling them and you can check if I’ve succeeded. Should the raids stop, I was victorious, if they continue, know that I died trying to protect the people of Berk.

You should not feel sorry for me if I die. This is my own choice and I know I could never have a place in a village that kills dragons, that’s just not me. The attention my dragon training has gotten me is also not me. I was always the laughingstock of the village, Hiccup the Useless, and I understand. I’m not even a real viking, don’t feel bad for always kicking me down. I’ve let it go, you are forgiven.

I know I will probably never return, so goodbye, may I see you in Valhalla.

Hiccup.

I’m sorry that I can’t tell you what I am going after, but I do this, because I know you will try to fight it should I fail, but I can’t let more vikings die in a war that has been going on for too long.

~

Stoick shook his head, it was no use do dwell on the past. His heart ached. He missed his son and still felt guilty for not seeing the potential he had. He could be a warrior and he could think, unlike Snotlout, by who it seemed that sometimes he could do neither. In these six years of shadowing Stoick to learn what it’s like to be a leader he had learned nothing, it was so bad that even Spitelout had said that he wouldn’t hold it against him if he chose someone else to follow in his footsteps. He looked over his village again and set to work. There were no time for thoughts, fires had to be put out and houses had to be rebuilt.

~

A man was woken up by his dragon as they exited the mist. He had been sleeping from his long journey and his muscles would do the flying automatically in his sleep, years of flying had given him that ability. The man yawned and rubbed his eyes. Then he looked down on lands familiar, but forgotten. He breathed in the air and said: “You smell that, Toothless? That’s North Archipelago air, it’s been a long time, eh. What do you say about finding a place nearby the nest to set up camp?”

Hmpf, it stinks here.

“Yeah, I know, bud. Haven’t you missed that stank?”

No, why would I?

“Smartass”

Dumbass

“Why are you suddenly so mean?”

Because were back to fight the Red Death, you know, just the big dragon that cost you your foot and almost killed you, but of course I shouldn’t be mean to the dumbest person in the world.

“Sorry, mister grumpy-pants. I know you hate this, Toothless, but we need to know why the amount of raids has suddenly gone up after 300 year of it being the same. Something is wrong and you know we’re the only ones that can help.”

Toothless growled unhappily and Hiccup offered: “How about this, you get to pick the place we set up camp and I won’t do anything reckless alone.”

The dragon thought it over. Then he purred happily and smiled his gummy smile. Hiccup smiled as well. He had missed this place, even after all that had happened here. Besides a lot had changed. He had changed. Hiccup the Useless was long gone. Sure, he still wasn’t as buff as most vikings were, but he had built up muscles and and had learned how to fight. He looked under him. These were lands he knew well from the air and the ground. It was kind of nostalgic if he had to be honest. He went of the course he knew so well. He wasn’t going to Berk, he was going to the nest.

~

Toothless chose a spot on a deserted island near the nest. Hiccup wanted to be closer to he nest, but he knew that Toothless would never let him and he had promised that Toothless could pick their camping spot. They got to work setting up their camp. Toothless was, of course, in charge of the fire, while Hiccup looked for food and set up a bed. When all was done the sun was starting to rise. The two travelers sat down in their little camp, ready for some sleep. Hiccup had become used to Toothless’ nocturnal rhythm. He yawned and stretched then leaned back, lying in his dragons embrace.

He woke up with a yawn and rubbed his eyes. Toothless’ ears perked up at the sound of Hiccup waking. He bounded around happily. “Good morning, bud. Sleep well?”

A roar. “Good to hear. So, I was thinking that our best course of action is trying to get in with the group after a raid, but we’ll have to know when one leaves. Ideas?”

Most people in the area know their patterns, probably. You could ask one of them.

“Good idea! But you can’t come. Way too suspicious to ride a dragon in these parts. So, I’ll need a boat and a story.”

Be a the dumb one of the village tied to a mast for insanity

“Thanks Toothless, but no. You’re very rude, you know that? Stupid lizard.”

A small blast burned his face. Hiccup glared at his scaly friend. He huffed and turned away. Toothless poked him with his head as an apology. “Fuck off.” Hiccup said.

But he had shot a glance at Toothless and he had to sigh and say: “Oh, come on, those eyes are so unfair! How do you do that every time?”

Toothless just smiled his gummy smile again and Hiccup threw his hands in the air and stood up. “Come on, bud, we have a boat to built and we need to scout the area, see if the nest has changed.”

Toothless made an unhappy sound, but didn’t complain.

Chapter Text

Stoick didn’t want to be here. Here being a small trading town. Trader Johan wouldn’t go there, because it was outside his route, so Stoick had taken it upon himself to get the parts necessary for a new defense against the dragons. Berkians almost never came here. He had brought Astrid and some others with him and they were on their way to the only inn in town. There they would stay the night. Tomorrow they would leave.

Stoick hummed to himself, even though he didn’t want to be here, he was glad to be away from the almost constant attacks. If their observations were right they should be back before the next attack. He pushed open the door and got their rooms. He scanned the inn, mostly empty with some vikings talking in a group, all but one. One lonely man who was sitting at the bar, drink in hand. He was skinny, not at all like the others there and his pint of mead was almost bigger than his head, but there was an air of danger around him that made everyone think twice about talking to him. A large hood was hiding his face, and he wore strange clothes that were not from here. Stoick turned to the inn owner and asked: “Who’s that?”

The inn owner looked over and said in a hushed voice: “He says he a traveler. Came from the south on a boat all alone. Speaks perfect Norse. He didn’t really say anything else, just asked about if we knew when and where the dragon will strike.”

Stoick had watched the man. When he had asked is question his head had shot up a bit, almost not noticeable, but it was there. Then when the inn owner answered he looked uninterested, but if you were a trained warrior you could see he was listening. When Stoick approached he reached under his hood and put on a mask that hid his face partially.

Stoick sat down next to him and said: “Why are you asking about the attack patterns of the dragons?”

The stranger glanced at him and Stoick briefly saw green eyes and a bit of brown hair. Then he said: “I’m looking for a way and I need to go back with the dragons for that.”

“That is very cryptic. What’s your name?” Stoick said.

“Why would I tell you that? It’s hard to know who you can trust.”

“That’s why I need it. I’m not handing information about when my village is under attack over to a stranger.”

“Smart move, Stoick the Vast.”

“Ah, I see you’ve heard of me. I didn’t know stories about me reached the outside of the Archipelago.”

“They don’t, but I’ve been here some time ago. Heard about you from the people at a trading post. You can call me Singultus.”

“That’s a strange name.”

“It’s Latin. From the south. Anyway, you know my name, the information, please.”

Stoick huffed at the strangers eagerness, yet he felt drawn to him. A need to trust him. That scared him and he mulled over the strangers words again. “Where do you need to go? Why do you need the dragons? And why don’t you show me your face?” he asked instead of answering.

The stranger sighed as if he had seen this coming and this was all to familiar. He finally said: “I’ve angered some people. They are looking for me and I need to get to a hiding spot, but it’s near a dragon route and I don’t want to be there when they fly over. As for my face, well, I can’t have anyone give them a description of it when they ask. Safety precaution.”

“Hmm,” Stoick rubbed his beard thoughtfully, “I can believe that. The dragons will attack Berk in three days, if we are correct. Travel safe, Singultus.”

The stranger nodded and said: “Thank you, may you reach your village safely, Stoick and may our paths cross again.”

Then he stood and threw some coins on the table and went up the stairs. As he walked away Stoick noticed the prosthetic on the strangers left foot. He kept on watching until he was out of sight. Astrid came up next to him and asked: “Who was that?”

“A traveler.”

“What did you talk about.”

“The dragons, he needed some direction in navigating these lands with them. Now, lets get some sleep. We have a long journey ahead tomorrow.”

Astrid nodded and followed her chief upstairs.

~

Hiccup was sitting at the bar when he heard a too familiar voice ask the inn owner who he was. He listened intently when the inn owner answered and he hid his face. His gut had been correct, because soon enough heavy footsteps came his way and a big figure sat down next to him.

It was his father, who then questioned him about his questions about the dragon attacks. It took a lot of willpower to pretend he didn’t know him and to keep his voice steady. He hadn’t expected that he had missed him so much as he did and he only realized that now. He tried to remain as cryptic as possible, if there was one person who could unmask him it was his dad. Ugh, he didn’t even know what he was doing here. He had specifically chosen this place because Berkians rarely showed their faces here.

Stoick asked him about his name and he smiled a bit to himself when he told him it was Singultus, Latin for hiccup. He really had to keep himself together when his dad said it was a strange name. Gods, he should know. After some made up reasons he had his information and he tried to get away as soon as possible. He hadn’t been unmasked, yet, no use trying to risking it longer than necessary. He bid his goodbyes and retreated upstairs, sighing in relief when he made it to his room.

The next morning he left as soon as possible. He had an impatient dragon to get back to and Berkians to avoid.

Chapter Text

The trip to the trading post was three days ago already. Stoick had completely forgot about his talk with the traveler from the south, he had other things to worry about. Things like the dragon attack that was currently taking place. Everywhere around him fights were fought and fires burned. People were yelling all around him, shouting warnings and battle cries. He himself was engaged in a battle with a nasty Monstrous Nightmare when he heard a shout he hadn’t heard in years: “Nightfury!”

All around him heads shot up and panic started to spread. He knocked the Monstrous Nightmare on the head and left to find the one who had shouted. He kept his gaze to the sky and, sure enough, there it was. The loud roar and purple blast before something went up in smoke. Stoick followed the blast to see what needed putting out and to try to figure out where it would strike next. It hit, it hit, it hit the ground, just the ground. A nice empty spot between a viking and a Deathly Nadder. The blast tore them apart as the Nadder fled. Stoicks eyebrows flew to his hairline, that was new. He kept his eyes trained on the sky looking for the beast. He saw nothing until it struck again. This time on the other side of the village, again it didn’t hit any structures, but, again, the ground between a viking and a dragon. The beast kept on doing it. Like a mediator it flew through the sky splitting up fights wherever it went, hurting neither dragon nor viking.

Stoick and Gobber watched the dragons leave. Gobber said: “Say, Stoick, that wasn’t normal dragon behavior, right?”

“No, it wasn’t.” Stoick replied as the last dragon got out of sight.

Around them the people of Berk collected. All were confused and all of them wanted to know what happened. After one too many question Stoick roared: “Okay, Okay, enough. Yes, you heard correctly, a Nightfury has been spotted, but it appeared to have changed in its six years of absence. It didn’t kill, neither viking, nor dragon. All it did was split it apart. We will see if this continues, it saved lives, we’ll worry about it when it becomes a problem.”

Undignified yells came from around, but Stoick ignored them. He gave orders for rebuilding everything and retreated in the great hall to think about this change.

~

Hiccup had been watching the nest for the entire day. If his father was correct they would attack today. That evening it was time. The dragons left their nest and headed towards Berk, he quickly called Toothless and hopped on to follow them. When he arrived the had to stop to control his emotions. His old home brought back a lot of memories and it didn’t help that it hadn’t changed at all. It was as if he had left yesterday. Even the fires that were burning due to the attack were as they were.

Wait, oh yeah, attack. Hiccup snapped out of his nostalgic haze and focused on the fight that was unfolding beneath him. He hadn’t been spotted yet and he would’ve liked to keep it like that, but faith wouldn’t have it. He spotted a Terrible Terror in need. A viking was closing in and the poor thing was all alone and wounded. Without thinking he swept down and grabbed the little guy. He shot up again and heard the viking scream: “Nightfury!”

He silently cursed himself, but guessed that that was just the way it was. He put the Terror on his shoulder and set in his attack, well, not really an attack. He watched where he could interfere with the battle without hurting either parties. As he was soaring through the sky dodging attacks and fighting back, he wondered why these had always seemed impossible to win when he was younger. Now, it was almost easy and he knew that should he try, he could easily win. It seemed like a lot had changed after all.

He spotted the twins, still bickering while protecting each other from a Gronkle and soon he saw Astrid fighting as fiercely as he remembered his dad. After that he spotted Snotlout taunting a dragon and he smile-sighed to himself, somethings didn’t change at all, same went for Fishlegs who was frantically running away from a Zippleback while muttering weaknesses to himself. Hiccup rolled his eyes and shot between the pair. That drew a shriek from Fishlegs, who dove for cover. The Zippleback set a few steps backwards and looked at the sky. Toothless roared. Run, do not harm the human. Take some sheep from North and go.

The Zippleback nodded and flew away. Then the battle was over. Hiccup didn’t stick around to find out how the people reacted to a Nightfury being spotted after so long, instead choosing to follow the flock of dragon to the nest.

They entered the nest and shot off to the side, the Terrible Terror sped away as soon as they landed. Due to his bond with Toothless, the dragon was able to block the Queen out of his head and go unnoticed. They hid out under a protruding rock and watched. The dragons dropped the loot into the mist just like he remembered, he scanned around hoping to find something, anything that could help him figure out why the amount had changed.

Then suddenly he saw it. A Deathly Nadder and a Monstrous Nightmare had failed to bring back enough food. Hiccup flinched back and waited for the Queens head to appear out of the mist. It appeared and Hiccup froze when he came face to face with the dragon that almost killed him, but he was shaken out of his frozen state by an other head that appeared next to that of the Queen. A hatchling, a young queen dragon! The dragons needed to feed two mouths instead of one, it all became so much clearer and more dangerous. He had thought he could kill the Queen alone after all these years of growing, becoming stronger, learning how to fight and inventing new things to help him, but it seemed like that idea had just gone up in smoke. One Queen he could handle, two, was too much. Even he could admit that to himself. He would need to come up with a plan and involve the vikings. He would need to go home. He wiped a hand over his face and whispered: “Fuck.”

Toothless shot him a look, but Hiccup ignored him. He climbed on his back and whispered: “What do you say about getting out of here, bud?”

Good plan.

And they were off, slipping out as a Zippleback dropped his offerings.

~

Stoick was overlooking Berk as they made the last repairs. He was still thinking about the Nightfury that had appeared last attack. He had found the guy that had spotted it first and heard that it had swept down to save a Terrible Terror and the guy had also believed that the beast had a rider, but he had a head injury and it had been in the heat of battle and he had also stated that he wasn’t sure. Stoick rubbed his beard again and furrowed his brows. There was a bird, that wasn’t so unusual, what was, however, was the fact that the bird was flying straight at him and that it was carrying a message. Stoick allowed the bird land on him and freed it from it’s last. When he had removed the paper the bird shot off. Stoick furrowed his brows again and read the message.

~

Stoick the Vast, people of Berk,

Tomorrow a black dragon will appear in the sky, do not take it down. I will be riding it and I will come in peace and it’s urgent. Just, hear me out before you shoot.

A friend

~

Gobber had read over his shoulder and hummed. “That sounds important. I say we hear the guy out.” he said.

“Hmm, but we ready the catapults. Inform the village.” Stoick said and then he stalked off.

Gobber shrugged he was used to his friend antics.

Chapter Text

Astrid was sitting in her window. She had spend almost all her free time there since the attack. The attack with the Nightfury. She sighed again and thought back to a boy with brown hair who got too good too quickly. Hiccup.

She was the only one who knew who he had run off with, but she had never said a word. Stoick was already in too much pain and hearing that his son had befriended a dragon would probably be too much, besides she thought he was dead, but now she doubted that. There was a rumor that the Nightfury had a rider and she knew only one person who that could be and there also was that stranger Stoick had talked to. He was a bit taller than her and had a small built, but she hadn’t seen his face so she couldn’t be sure. Yet, he had asked about the attack patterns of the dragons and suddenly a Nightfury was there. It was just too suspicious.

It was also something she didn’t want to be true. Sure, she wanted Hiccup alive, safe and home, but it would also mean that he didn’t do what he’d said he do. In his letter he told everyone that he was going to stop the dragon raids of die trying. But if this was true he wasn’t dead and the raids hadn’t stopped. It would mean that he had just ran away, chose the easy way and made everyone believe he was a hero and died a honorable death. He would’ve lied to her.

She groaned and threw a stone out the window angrily, smiling a bit when it hit Snotlouts head and he fell down. Then the smile disappeared and she wished for the millionth time she could talk to someone about this.

~

The whole village had assembled at the edge of Berk, all eager, but scared to see a dragon-rider. It was something that went against everything they stood for, but it was also exciting and new. They all peered at the horizon hoping to be the first one to spot the mysterious rider. The two vikings manning the catapults were the lucky ones. One yelled: “Dragon, East.”

Everybody looked in the direction. From the lights of the sun a dark silhouette appeared. It was a black dragon with on it’s back a man with a white flag, signaling peace. About twenty meters from the crowd the dragon stopped, staying in one place. The man stood up in the saddle and the dragon made a soft noise. The rider said: “It’s okay, bud. Just standing, not leaving.” then he turned to the crowd and loudly said: “People of Berk, I come in peace, I mean no harm to you and I hope you don’t mean to harm me or my friend.”

By the word friend he bended down to pet his dragon. A murmur went through the crowd and Stoick spoke up: “Who are you? And why has a dragon-rider come to Berk, a territory that is not safe for dragons? What is so urgent?”

“You already know me,” Astrid held her breath, the moment of truth, “I am Singultus.”

Astrid sighed in relief, not Hiccup then. She studied the stranger more closely. He was scrawny, not viking-like at all, just like his clothes. He wore a suit made out of dragon scales, black like his dragon with red designs on it, with shoulder-pads that made him appear bigger than he was. He also bore a shield and a strange sword handle in the shape of a dragons face. She now also saw his prosthetic. It was metal and she could see it had been cleverly made, if you didn’t know, you almost wouldn’t notice he didn’t have all his limbs. She tried to see his face, but the helmet he was wearing had spikes on it and it covered his entire face.

Astrid focused on the dragon, a Nightfury. She had only seen one before and she couldn’t help, but feel that this was Hiccups dragon. The dragon also missed one of his tailfins and the replacement was red, but looked like the brown one she had seen so long ago. She shook her head, it wasn’t him. It couldn’t be and focused on Stoick, who questioned the stranger again: “How do you expect us to believe a lair? A liar without a face, no less.”

The crowd agreed and Singultus nodded thoughtfully. “I cannot show you my face, that was not a lie, but like you said. These parts are not safe for dragons, how would you’ve responded to a dragon-rider?”

Stoick was silent and the rider said: “That’s what I thought, now, please listen to me. You can listen and decide what to do with the information I give you. You’re the only ones I can turn to.”

He waited for a signal from Stoick to continue. Stoick quietly conversed with Gobber and finally said: “We’ll listen, but if we notice you’re lying, you’re done for.”

Singultus looked at the catapults and nodded. “I’ve been to the dragons nest and I know where it is and why the raids have worsened.”

Murmurs went through the crowd and he continued: “The Dragon Queen, the Red Death, has a hatchling. Two queens, with one of them growing, is at least twice as much food.”

Stoicks eyes went wide and he yelled: “Where is the nest! We’ll take it down!”

Singultus held up his hand and said: “I can’t tell you that, because you will hurt the dragons. They’ve done nothing wrong. They have to do the Queens bidding, they’re being mind controlled. I have a plan, but I can’t do it alone.”

“Then we will find the nest and take it down without you.” Stoick said.

They couldn’t see Singultus’ face, but they could feel the eyeroll as he said: “How will you suddenly be able to find it after 300 years of not being able to?”

Stoick mouth formed a thin line and he looked away angrily. “See,” Singultus said, “You need me and I need you. We have to work together if we want this to end.”

Stoick remained silent until a smirk came on his face. He said: “How can we form plans when we can’t see your face? You can’t keep your helmet on the entire time.”

The stranger thought about it and said: “I’ll come back tomorrow and then I’ll be able to show me your face. Can I land safely then?”

Stoick and Gobber consulted again, with big hand movement and significant looks. In the end Stoick threw his hands up and said: “Fine, but the dragon stays at your side at all times and if he makes one wrong move.”

The threat hung in the air as a silence washed over everyone while they waited for the stranger to react. “I’ll keep a close eye on him, no problem. He’s a sweetheart.”

The dragon made a sound and Singultus said: “Yeah, yeah, I know, you’re a vicious beast, good for you, but sorry if I don’t tremble with fear when you bounce around like a happy puppy.”

The dragon made a sound again and Singultus said annoyed: “No, bud, you will not prove me wrong tomorrow.” Another sound,

“No, we will have a serious talk about this when we get to our camp.” Again the dragon made a noise.

“Do you always have to get the last word?” A small purr sound.

“Smartass.”

Then he turned to the people of Berk again and said: “Don’t worry he’ll behave. He’s just a little shit sometimes.” Ignoring the dragons sound he continued, “I’ll make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid.”

Then he waved his goodbye, dropped back on the saddle and flew away.

Chapter Text

Hiccup was pacing back and forth. How? How was he ever going to convince them he was Singultus, and not Hiccup, without his mask? Sure, his voice had deepened and his face had become more square, but he was still that scrawny boy with brown hair from six years ago. Stoick and Gobber would take one look at him and see right through him.

He looked back into the water to see his reflection. Green eyes; can’t change those, a bit of scruff; not shaving can help, it’s not he best idea, but it’ll help, long brown hair; it was a good decision to grow it out, freckles; was there any way to get rid of his freckles? He racked his brain and nothing came up. He ran his hand through his hair again and silently cursed. That made Toothless look up from his place nearby. Hiccup stared into his green eyes and said: “All this is futile. You are a dead give away, bud. Well, to Astrid at least. I should probably just go up there and say ‘It’s me, Hiccup, surprise!’”

Toothless cocked his head to the side. Do you have a death wish?

“No, but I can’t hide who I am. Look at me, I’ve not changed at all.”

Toothless shot him an unimpressed look. The dragon studied his rider more closely and thought to himself that although some big unchangeable things had stayed the same, he wasn’t the boy he had befriended. With his growth spurt Hiccup had changed a lot. He had become more manly and his face had hardened. That last part had also come through his travels. They both had seen stuff they’d rather forget and fought fights they never wanted to repeat, they had become warriors, survivors and they had both gained eyes with too much wisdom for their age. He watched how Hiccup continued to stress and shook his head. You’ve changed more than you realize. It’ll be fine. Vikings can be pretty dense. Just style your hair or something.

Hiccup shot him an exasperated look and then thought about his words. He tapped his chin as the look disappeared. “You know what? That’s not just a bad idea.”

He nodded to himself and went over to all his stuff to find stuff he could style his hair with. With his arms full he dropped to the ground and set to work, using the water as a mirror. An hour later and his look was complete. He got the attention of his dragon and twirled. “What do ya think?” he asked.

He had two braids on his left side and the rest he had had divided, with the upper half coming together as a low ponytail and the lower parts just hanging down naturally. Toothless smiled a chirped. Looks good!

“Thanks, bud, now lets hope it works.”

Worrier

“Weird lizard.”

Toothless stuck out his tongue and Hiccup rolled his eyes. It was actually quite amusing how human Toothless had become over the years. He, of course, didn’t notice how much dragon he had become himself.

~

The entire village had again decided to abandon their work in favor of watching the dragon riding stranger arrive. Stoick sighed to himself and turned his gaze back onto the horizon. He really hoped this Singultus had a good plan, a plan that could end this war.

His eyes wondered from left to right and stopped on a black dot, the rider. Soon the rest of the village had seen the figure heading for the shore as well and an excited ripple went through the crowd. Nothing very exciting happened on Berk (well, of course dragon attacks, but those had become so normal that they didn’t count), so no one wanted to miss this. The rider was now very close and people made way for him to land. His dragon touched down and he got of gracefully.

He was wearing the same armor he had been wearing yesterday, but now as his foot touched the ground he took of his helmet and shook his head to get rid of his helmet hair. He seemed familiar, but Stoick couldn’t put his finger on it. Singultus stuck his hand out and said: “Good to finally meet you completely face to face.”

Stoick grabbed it in a firm grip. “Likewise.” he said, the he focused his voice on all the bystanders, “You’ve seen him, now go back to work! A village doesn’t run on his own.”

Some displeased grumbles were heard as the crowd dispersed and the rider got an amused smile on his face, like he remembered something funny, but that smile left as soon as he noticed Stoick looking. He turned to his dragon and called: “Bud, here, please. We promised no funny business, no matter how much you want to.”

The dragon made a sad sound and Singultus sighed and said: “Come on. We talked about this. Otherwise no mackerel.”

The dragon made shocked and offended noise which made the dragon-rider huff out a laugh. The he got mock stern and said: “Oh, yes. I would. Now just for once in your life listen to me.”

It almost seemed like the dragon rolled its eyes at that as it huffed. Singultus gawked and said: “I am not bossy.” then after a beat, “You know what? I’m not even going to listen to you bully me.”

And he turned away from his dragon, arms crossed. Stoick felt the need to interrupt as it looked like this could go on all day. He’d seen this sort of thing before, he knew. “Can you understand it?” He finally decided on asking.

Singultus focused back on him with a look that said that he had completely forgotten Stoick was there. He, however, recovered quickly and said: “Oh, yeah. It’s taken some years, but I know exactly what he is saying. It will surprise you how expressive dragons can be with their seemingly limited sound repertoire.”

Stoick nodded, but didn’t question it further. If he did, he probably wouldn’t like how similar dragons were and he couldn’t handle that right now. “So,” he said as he let the stranger to the Hall, “the plan. Lets discuss it.”

~

Hiccup felt really weird. He was sitting in the Hall, the same Hall he had spend quite a bit of time in, in his youth, as a stranger. He was holding a familiar mug and was drinking mead, a drink that tasted as good as he remembered. He took a sip a sighed. Stoick was watching him while he drank and when he looked comfortable enough he started again: “The plan, explain.”

Hiccup put his mug down and said: “Ah, yes, the plan. So, as I stated before, the Queen has a hatchling. A hatchling is the dragon term for a child. Once it is fully grown the Queen will either die and her child takes over, or the child will start her own nests and then you have two dragon nests to worry about.”

“That’s not good.”

“That’s not good at all. Now, I have a strict rule against hurting dragons, but for these two I’ll make an exception. They are extremely dangerous and they exploit other dragons, harming them in the process. I saved my own from that fate and I do not wish it on any other dragon.”

“You said something about them being mind controlled.” Stoick said skeptical.

“I know you don’t believe me, but dragons will never put themselves in harms way. They’ve died here in vast numbers stealing more food then necessary for one dragon to survive, but only because they couldn’t hunt enough food for the Queen alone. If she wasn’t there, they would’ve left you alone after the fist few times it went wrong. They can hunt enough for themselves, they don’t need your food.”

“How do you know? Maybe those bastards like to see us suffer.”

Hiccup raised an unimpressed eyebrow and said: “I know because I’ve seen. We can discuss this all day, but that would be a waste of time, so, on dragon stuff you just have to trust that I know more about them.”

Stoick grumbled a bit and then he agreed. “So, the plan. Tell me.”

Hiccup nodded and began: “I would have done it alone if it wasn’t for the hatchling. I can’t fight both dragons so, I need you all to take on the hatchling.”

“Hey, we can take the big one.” Stoick interrupted.

With a tired expression Hiccup explained: “No, you can’t. It’s unlike anything you have ever seen before, you all will die if you do that. No, I’ll take the big one, but I need you to keep the hatchling grounded so it won’t come after me when I go after its mother.”

“The plan is, you lead out the Queen? And we make sure her child doesn’t follow her into the air?” Stoick concluded.

Hiccup smiled happily and nodded, his dad got it! He was finally listening to him and all it took was disappearing for six years and pretending he wasn’t Hiccup. Stoick frowned and said: “We can try, but how can we stop a dragon from flying away?”

A smirk crossed over Hiccups features and he said: “Well, I’m going to need a few riders for that.”

Chapter Text

“Welcome students to dragon training. This is not your typical dragon training. No, for today you are not learning how to kill dragons, but how to befriend them.” Hiccup said.

Around him stood Astrid, Fishlegs, Snotlout, Ruffnut and Tuffnut. It was very strange to see them all here again. They had all changed, just like him, but there was no sign of recognition in their eyes, save Astrid who looked at him with something he couldn’t place. Snotlout opened his mouth first: “Why are we even here? We don’t need to befriend dragons!”

Hiccup rolled his eyes and answered: “It’ll be important for the fight. Don’t you want to be important?”

He was lucky he knew his students already, because Snotlout puffed his chest and said: “Well, what are we waiting for, lets befriend some dragons!”

Hiccup sighed, but plastered on a smile and said: “First, unarm yourself.”

The group protested and Hiccup put his hands up in defense. “Dragons can smell weapons, especially viking weapons, if you don’t unarm yourself the dragon will never trust you. You guys also need to “unlearn” your reflex to attack a dragon on sight.”

Fishlegs was the first to put his weapons on the rack and the others were grumbling while they followed his example. Hiccup had always known that Fishlegs had a good brain between his ears. When they returned to their previous positions, Hiccup continued: “It is very important to create a bond with your dragon, because the bond they have with a human can be strong enough to completely block out the Queen. That’s why Toothless over there has no problem going to the nest and returning back here with out a problem.”

As he said Toothless the dragon looked at him from his place in the shadows and flapped with his tail, the name also made Astrid frown and Hiccup remembered that he had introduced her to Toothless before everything. He shrugged to himself and thought, ah, whatever, it happens, it’s not my fault that I thought she had probably forgotten the name, besides calling Toothless anything other than Toothless feels weird.

“So, we start easy. A Terrible Terror. In packs they can be little shits, but alone they are the best to begin with”, he told them as he let the Terror out of its cage.

Snotlout looked around for a weapon, but was stopped by Fishlegs. The Terror carefully walked out of her cage and looked around. Her glazed slid over the vikings and landed on Hiccup. Hiccup had crouched to the ground and held out a bit of fish. Instantly the Terror became interested. She quickly walked over to Hiccup and snatched the fish out of his hand to quietly eat, when she was done she walked over to Hiccup and snuffed his pocket. After she was done with that and Hiccup had assured her that he really didn’t have anything else, she waked around and curled up in a ball at his side. Hiccup smiled and petted the dragon. He looked back and was met with wide eyes. “How did you do that?” Tuffnut asked.

Still smiling Hiccup said: “Terrors love fish. Give them some and they’re your friend forever. Now, what shall we name her. Every dragons needs a name.”

“Oh, I know, I know, Martha!” Tuffnut exclaimed.

Ruffnut elbowed him in the side and said: “That’s stupid, Tuff. It’s obviously more of a Bertha!”

“No, both those names are dumb! It’s a dragon the name should strike fear in the hearts of those who hear it. It should be Soulcrusher!” Snotlout said.

Astrid rolled her eyes. “All those names are dumb.” she told them.

From his place behind Toothless growled. They’re thieves! Little thievers, I tell you.

Hiccup laughed. “You got to let that go at some point, Toothless, but a good suggestion. What do you guys think of Thiever?” he said.

“Wait, what did just happen? Can you understand what he’s saying? Can you speak dragon? Is it a universal language or does it differ from species to species?” Fishlegs questioned.

Hiccup let the onslaught of questions wash over him and though about each carefully. “Yes, I can understand Toothless and I can talk dragon, though it can be hard to make all the sounds. I usually just speak a human language to Toothless. He can understand them, but due to his underdeveloped larynx he can’t recreate them. Most stuff is for every dragon the same, I think.” he stated finally, “Now, lets see what she thinks of her name.”

He focused on the purring dragon next to him. He scratched her for a bit and made some ineligible sounds. The Terror listened to the sounds and then seemed to laugh. “Did it just laugh?” Snotlout asked.

“Yeah, she did. She also likes her name, Thiever it is.” Hiccup said.

“What did she laugh about?” Tuffnut asked.

“Wel, I” he started giggling.

The others frowned and looked from Hiccup and Toothless when the dragon stared to glare at his rider. Between giggles he spluttered: “I told, I told her why Toothless suggested it. It’s, it’s, because the first time we flew, we encountered some Terrors and they, and they, tried to, they tried steal his fish. Pfff, hahaha, he’s still so salty about it even though it was six years ago.”

Then he burst out laughing again, confusing his companions even more. Toothless huffed and turned away from him. After a few more seconds of giggling he sobered up and straightened his back again, but it was a lost cause. Whatever fear they might’ve had for this mysterious figure was gone the moment he dissolved into childlike giggles. He had been cute, too cute and all the scariness had vanished. “Why are we starting with this small dragon?” Snotlout asked, “We can handle way bigger.”

Hiccup rolled his eyes and said: “Because, Snotlout, this one is small and can’t do a lot of harm. She also likes it here way more then the others. It’s much safer to “unlearn” your dragon killing instincts with a small content dragon than and angry big one.”

Snotlout looked taken aback, but Fishlegs asked: “How do you know she likes it here? Did she tell you? Did the other tell you they don’t like it here?”

Hiccup smiled and said: “They didn’t tell me anything, but if you look around you can see why.”

Everyone looked around trying to figure out what he meant. He gave them the time and when they couldn’t figure it out, he said: “The net above, it’s big. If she hated it here she could just leave. Nothing would stop her. The others, however, can never leave no matter how much they hate it here. The cages are also all around the same size. For this small one here that means room to run around, for the others, not so much. They rarely get to go outside and when they do it’s to get smacked around by trainees.”

All nodded, when you put it like that it was quite logical. They felt quite bad for the dragons, but shook it off as quickly as it came. No dragon pity was allowed. Pity a dragon, you’re dead. Hiccup got their attention again. “Now, who wants to pet Thiever?” He beckoned them closer and when no one moved he said: “Come on, she doesn’t bite.”

“That’s the problem, Singultus, she does.” Astrid said.

Hiccup frowned then looked at the peacefull dragon who had decided to take a nap in the sunlight. Then he looked back at Astrid and petted Theiver again. He looked at her challenging and said: “See, she doesn’t bite. Get some fish and you’ll be fine.”

It was Tuffnut who moved first. He got a piece of fish and shrugged. “She looks like a dog, all curled up like that. I’ve always wanted a dog.”

Thanking the Gods above he helped Tuffnut give her the fish and showed him were to scratch. Soon The dragon was purring again and the others had moved closer, eyes wide with wonder about this development. Snotlout was after that. He stated: “If Tuffnut can survive then I certainly can.”

Hiccup didn’t comment that he doubted that, but helped him as well and soon five people were scratching Thiever. She almost glowed with the amount of attention she got. From a distance Hiccup looked at the group. He was scratching Toothless absentmindedly and told his friend: “This went easier than I thought.” then after a beat of silence, “I’ve never seen anything so strange in my entire life.”

Me too, are you sure those are the same people you grew up with?

“At this point? No.”

Should you not go and teach, or something?

“And you say I’m bossy.” he huffed.

The dragon swished his tail and Hiccup rolled his eyes. He walked back to the group muttering something about mean dragons. He cleared his throat and said: “Now that you guys have seen she is not a threat I want you to spread out in the arena."

He watched as they did what he said and suddenly a sense of weirdness came over him. This was his home and these were the people he grew up with, yet none of them knew it was him and that was all it took for them to listen to him. He stood there for a while taking that in, completely overwhelmed for a second. He was snapped back to reality by Snotlouts yelling. He shook his head to get rid of the feeling and made some chirping noises and roars to the dragon in his hands. He lowered her to the ground and said: “Remember, a dragon is not a threat. Treat her kindly.” The he set the dragon lose.

It shot away towards Fishlegs who shrieked and tried to get away, but the dragon was faster. She caught up to him and started climbing him. Fishlegs froze, screwing his eyes shut. The others made moves to get their weapons and help him when they realized that an attack wasn’t going to come. The dragon had only climbed on his shoulders and taken his helmet. Then she had dropped to the ground again, treasure on her head. Hiccup chuckled at the sight. It wasn’t every day that you saw a dragon in a helmet. Slowly Fishlegs opened his eyes to see where attack had gone to. When he saw the dragon with his helmet he had to smile. He said: “Ahw, she looks adorable.”

“Don’t switch that quick Fishlegs. It’s still a dragon.” Snotlout said.

“Hiccup cut him of and said: “You all failed, but what Fishlegs said is good. If we want this to succeed you need to realized that dragon doesn’t equal attack. Fishlegs I want you to ask for your helmet.”

“Uh, Thievers?” he began. The dragon looked up.

“Could I please get my helmet back.” Thievers didn’t move.

“See this is stupid, it doesn’t listen.” Snotlout huffed.

Hiccup was fighting not to punch him and said: “Stop calling her it or I will call you Snothat from now on.” Snotlout made an offended noise which Hiccup ignored.

“She doesn’t listen, because she doesn’t understand Norse. Try explaining it to her through gestures. Dragons are extremely intelligent animals and I’m sure she’ll understand,”

Fishlegs looked a bit unsure, but started nonetheless. After two minutes of trying Thieves perked up and walked back over to Fishlegs. He flinched, but it was lightly. He stayed still as she climbed on him and walked over his arms. When she was next to a hand she leaned forwards and let the helmet drop in his palm. Then she jumped off of him and curled up in the sun to nap. Hiccup applauded and said: “Well done, Fishlegs!”

The others looked dumbfounded from the dragon to Fishlegs and back again. “She actually listened.” Snotlout whispered.

“That’s so cool! What are we going to do next?” Tuffnut exclaimed.

Hiccup smirked and asked: “Well, I’m going to fly with Toothless for a while, he’s getting restless and you are going to play with Thiever. Terrors like chasing reflective lights from metals.”

He got on Toothless, but before he could take off Ruffnut said: “Wait, you’re leaving us alone?”

“Well, yeah. I don’t want a grumpy dragon. He can be very mean if he hasn’t flown enough and I trust you can play with this sweet little girl for an hour or two, besides I believe in learning on the job.”

He smirked knowingly at the last part and Astrids eyed him suspiciously. He walked out of the arena and said: “Can’t wait to see your progress when I get back.”

After which he disappeared in the sky.

~

Stoick had been avoiding the arena all day, trying not to be curious about what Singultus would do. In the end curiosity won over and his feet carried him to the arena. He was quiet and snuk up on the edge to peer over. What he saw made him very confused. The group was laughing while a Terrible Terror jumped through hoops and played dead. He was about to comment on it and make his presence known when Singultus came back. Stoick decided to see what he would have to say about it. Singultus got of his Nighfury and approached the group. “Good work!” he said, “You are way more comfortable around her than before.”

The group smiled and Snotlout said: “When are we going to get on with the big guys. We can do anything right now.”

Some of the others groaned and Singultus rolled his eyes. It seemed like he had become familiar with Snotlouts ego. “If you think you can handle it, we will start tomorrow.” he said smirking.

The group paled, but Snotlout wouldn’t give up that easily. “Okay, sounds good.” he huffed.

Singultus shook his head, but gave in. “Well, then I will see you tomorrow at eight.”

Snotlout swallowed, but said nothing. Damn that Jorgenson pride, Stoick thought. Fishlegs cut in: “Are you sure, Singultus? I mean we only played with this little one for a day, is that enough?”

“Don’t be scared, Fsihlegs. It’ll be fine. Just no weapons or sudden moved and let me talk to them first.”

Fishlegs nodded and Stoick appreciated how easily Singultus had calmed him down. Then he walked away from the edge and entered the arena. “So, what have you lot done today?” he asked, announcing his presence.

Everyone turned to him and the Berkians straightened their backs a bit. Singultus stood up from where he was kneeling next to the Terrible Terror, but he didn’t look startled by his sudden appearance. He dusted of his knees and said: “How nice of you to join us. Was the view from up there not sufficienct?” he said.

Stoick thought, hm, so he noticed me. As if he could read minds he said: “Yes, I did see you up there. You care to pet Thiever here?”

“Theiver.” Stoick asked, deciding not to comment on the fact that he had been spotted.

“Yeah, everyone needs a name. Including out lovely gal here.” he pointed at the Terror who purred happily.

Stoick shook is head in disbelieve, but didn’t comment. Then he walked away. “I’ll come look tomorrow, try not to get my warriors killed.”

He didn’t see how Singultus screwed up his face behind his back and mouthed his word mockingly and rolled his eyes. The others looked at him with wide eyes. No one dared to make fun of the Chief, not even outsiders. who were intimidated by his heavy stature, but this small stranger did so without reason it seemed. Astrids eyes narrowed again and she filed this away for later. Something was not adding up.

Chapter Text

The next day they were all in the arena waiting for Singultus to show up. Snotlout was just grumbling about how he was going to leave if he didn’t show up when he walked through the door. His long hair was windswept and there was a slight blush on his cheeks. Behind him his dragon followed as he purred happily. It was clear that they had just come back from a flight. “Good morning.” he said, sounding way too chipper for this hour.

They grumbled some good mornings back. Singultus smiled at them and waved to Stoick who had taken place above to see everything. Turning back on the rest, he started explaining: “Okay, so today we’re going to make friends with the big guys. I need to ask you all to leave your weapons outside the arena and to stand near the wall. Even though you’re more comfortable around them, they are scared and will attack if provoked. I smell like dragon and I know what to do. Stoick up there will release them and I will train them. After that they will chose a rider and we can start training. Are there any questions?”

Fishlegs hand shot up and he asked: “If they’re so dangerous, why do we need to release them all at once?”

“Good question. Dragons are flock animals. They work together and make decisions based on what everyone thinks. If we get one, we get them all and that’s easier then training them one by one.” Singultus answered.

Fishlegs nodded that he understood now. They left the arena to get rid of their weapons and returned to stand against the far wall. Stoick had been looking at the events beneath him and was quite interested how this small man would train four dragons at once. When Singultus gave him a sign he opened the doors and watched the dragons get into the arena.

The dragons circled around, but stayed away from the vikings when they made no move to attack. Then they turned to Singultus who was standing in the middle, completely unarmed. They circled around him, watching him intently for weakspots. Stoick wanted to interfere, to get these dragons away from Singultus, but he stayed put.

Then just as the Monstrous Nightmare wanted to attack he got the handle from its scabbard and made it extend into a flaming sword. Everyone gasped and the dragons stopped circling him. He moved the sword in hypnotizing motions and the dragons calmed down, some even lying down. The only dragon that was unconvinced was the Zippleback who looked at him with narrowed eyes. Singultus noticed and grabbed a small metal tube from a storage place on his leg and popped it into the sword. Then it released Zipplebackgas which spread around him. He set it aflame and the dragons looked at him in wonder. “I’m one of you,” he said as he put back the sword and stretched both of his arms.

The dragons then started to nuzzle him and he laughed at their enthusiasm. He looked over to his Nightfury and said: “Hey, Toothless, why didn’t you just love me so easily?”

The dragon huffed and rolled its eyes, which made Singultus laugh more. Then he turned to the dragons around him and started making dragon-esk sounds. The dragons seemed to understand and they turned to the vikings. They started making their way to them slowly and Singultus said: “They will chose a rider. Spread out a bit and stretch your arm out like I did.”

The group complied. They were still speechless of what they had just witnessed. These were the dragons they had trained with, vicious beast who attacked unprompted, but that scrawny man had made them turn into lovable puppies just like that. Still wondering they let the dragons come closer. In the end the Gronkle chose Fishlegs, the Deathly Nadder Astrid, the Monstrous Nightmare Snotlout and the Zippleback chose the twins. They all looked at their dragons with wide eyes, not sure what to do next. Singultus smiled and said: “They won’t bite, just scratch them, go on. Today we are building a bond with them. We are making sure that they trust you enough to let you ride them, come tomorrow.”

The vikings shared a look, but did what he said. Slowly they started enjoying it more and by the end of the day every dragon had a name and a smile when it returned to its cage.

~

The day after that Hiccup started flying lessons. He showed them how to first and rode the dragon in question himself first. After that the rider would try themselves. It was quite a good day and Hiccup felt like he had made some progress. He couldn’t train them how he usually would, there just wasn’t enough time. The Queen was an ever looming threat and time was of the essence. He had feared that the dragons wouldn’t like the vikings after what they had done to them, but so far so good. So he counted his blessings. He was walking through the village and noticed it was busier than normal. Big stones were being carried and weapons were being sharpened. Hiccup realized that tonight they expected an attack. He made his way to the Great Hall were he was stopped by Stoick. It still felt weird to see his dad looking at him with so little recognition. He looked at him questioningly and Stoick said: “You might have noticed, but tonight an attack is coming. I saw your training we use the dragons.”

“What! No!” Hiccup exclaimed, that was way too dangerous, couldn’t his dad see that?

“Yes, we are. They are a valuable asset and we need all the protection we can get.” Stoick shut him down.

“No, it’s too dangerous. The bond is still weak and the riders too inexperienced. I can’t let you do this, they could get hurt.” a tiny crowd surrounded the two.

“You’re too worried about the dragons, you should worry more about your kind.”

Hiccup was really getting angry now. “Don’t you think I care about people? When I say this is dangerous I don’t mean for just the dragons. We need them, but if they fall under the Queens spell again they will rogue and we will lose our greatest asset. It’s too dangerous.”

“I do what is best for my people. You are young, you know nothing yet. I made this dicision and it is final.”

He started to walk away when Hiccup called after him. He said: “You say I know nothing, but I’ve been through more than you can imagine. I’ve seen things I would rather forget and I would love to change how somethings went.”

“What is so dangerous?” Stoick spat.

“I’ve faced the Queen alone and failed. Lost my leg if you hadn’t noticed, but that, that isn’t the worst. No. I’ve faced a Bewilderbeast, a dragon alpha. A dragon bigger than a mountain, with tusks that can wipe out forests in a sweep, who breaths ice that can turn oceans into tundras and who can control thousands of dragons without needing to use fear like the Queen. He’s even able to control humans and let me tell you, nothing is scarier than not being in control of your body, but seeing what it is doing and only being able to scream in your head.”

“You said dragons weren’t dangerous. That sounds dangerous to me.”

Hiccup chuckled humorlessly. “You wish dragons were the enemy, but no, just like every time a human wanted more than he could get on his own. Pathetic.”

Astrid cut in, she asked: “You said it was able to control your mind. How is that possible? Can the Queen do that as well?”

The crowd buzzed and looked at Hiccup for answers. Hiccup sighed and regretted telling them this, but it was for the dragons so he could bear it for them. “The Queen cannot do this. She needs to be feared by her dragons, whereas the Bewilderbeast can control them in an instant. He’ll have to let a hundred dragons go for a human and the human has to agree with being controlled and well, after the right kind of torture being controlled isn’t such a bad option and Drago Bludvist can be a very persuasive man. A dragon hunter, knew of every species and knew of every weakness, even that of a Bewilderbeast. After he was killed I studied what he found and learned a lot about dragons then I burned it so that no one could ever use the dragons to do harm like he did again.”

He stared lifelessly ahead of him and said: “I’ve seen too much and I know more than I want to know,” he snapped back and went on, “when I say something about dragons, I know how it will end and you better listen. I’m only here, because I can’t do it alone. I tried it, it didn’t work, but if you are not listening to me, I will try alone and I will die, taking the location of the nest with me.”

With that he pushed past a stunned Stoick and he said: “I will provide air support tonight. Lock the other dragons away.”

As he left he shook his head. He hated to think about what happened back then. He survived, he had a future to focus on, the past was the past. Toothless came up next to him and butted him with his head. Hiccup startled a bit and said: “It’s alright, bud. You know what mood that gets me in. Lets just fly a bit, yeah?”

Is there going to be an attack tonight?

“Yes, but we’re going to help, so it’s going to fine.”

Ego

“Thanks for that encouragement. Lets just go. I know you want to stretch your wings a bit.”

Toothless bounded around happily and Hiccup laughed. He got on and they were off into the night, leaving some shocked villagers behind.

~

The attack came and the dragons stayed in their cages. Hiccup supported them like he said, but this time he hit some houses. He’d never say it was pettiness, but Toothless knew. He hated to talk about Drago and he hated that they never listened to him. Today had been a combination, although they had listened in the end. They shot through the air. It still was an amazing feeling even after all those years.

When dawn came all dragons were out of sight and the village looked over the carnage they had sown. It was terrible. Four houses had survived the rest had gone up in smoke. People were treating the wounded and saving or salvaging as much as they could.

Stoick frowned. It was getting out of hand, they never had an attack this big and destructive. He turned to Gobber and said: “This is the last time. I won’t wait until they attack again. We’ll strike first.”

Gobber nodded. “Should I assemble the council?” he asked.

Stoick looked around and shook his head. “No, let them rest for now, it was a long night. Ask Singultus and Astrid to meet me. I’ll be home.”

Gobber nodded again and took off. Stoick sighed and rubbed his forehead. Being Chief had it’s perks, sure, but sometimes it just gave him a headache. He made his way home, one of the only ones left standing.

~

Gobber had called him and Astrid to the Chiefs house, his house. Technically. Gods, this was weird. He climbed the familiar steps next to Astrid, who was looking quite nervous. Hiccup wondered why she would be, had she not attacked as fierce? No, that’s not Astrid. Then why? He shot her another glance, but her face was unreadable. He sighed, even after all these years and all the experiences he still had no clue what Astrid was thinking.

They reached the front door and Astrid knocked, from inside they heard “Come in.”

Astrid took a deep breath and opened the door. The moment they were inside Hiccup looked around. Almost everything had stayed the same. His moms stuff was still where she had left it and even his stuff was still there. His throat closed as he saw the helmet his father had given him before he left standing next to his mothers. He looked around again. His stuff was there, his father had grieved and missed him. He now looked at Stoick from a new light. Here in his house without the village or his helmet he looked older. Deep lines were on his face and Hiccup felt something tug at his heart. He wanted to hug him, say that he was here that he was alright, but he knew that couldn’t, no, this was too important.

When the door fell close behind them Stoick said: “I have decided that this was the last attack, we strike before the next one happens. Tomorrow I will call the council and we will start preparing. I need you two to go and scout the area and see the Queen and her young again. I need to know weakspots.”

Astrid nodded, but Hiccup said: “We don’t need to scout I can tell you what you need.”

Stoick shook his head. “As much as you have done here, I will only trust another viking. Astrid is the best choice, she will come. Go today.”

Then he shooed them out of his house. As the door fell close behind them Hiccup started: “So, uhm.

Astrid cut him off: “In fifteen minutes at the arena, get some rest.” and walked off.

Chapter Text

Hiccup was shuffling nervously next to Toothless. He and Astrid would ride together on the Nightfury and it would bring back a lot of memories. It would be the moment of truth: did Astrid know. A bag was dropped at his feet. He looked up and saw Astrid, hand on her hip, eyebrow raised. “You here?” she asked.

He quickly nodded and got on Toothless. He held out a hand to help her on, a hand that she promptly ignored like she had done so long ago. He smiled to himself and rolled his eyes, somethings never changed. He gave her his cord and said: “Fasten yourself, just in case.”

“Don’t you need it?” she asked.

He looked over his shoulder and smirked: “Did you really just ask that? I have my own wings.”

Then he put on his helmet and took off. Their descend was steep and Astrid clung to him. He smiled again, this was going to be interesting.

They flew for two hours before they caught up with the flock that had raided Berk. From then they flattened themselves on Toothless and prayed that the dragons wouldn’t notice them. They entered the nest and snuck off to the side, where they hid. Sitting besides Toothless they watched as the dragons threw their food into the pit. Astrid, who had seen that before, didn’t look very surprised. Hiccup decided that this would be great for his cover and commented: “You don’t seem so surprised that they drop all the food.”

Astrid looked at him with a raised eyebrow and said: “Are you really going to play dumb?”

Hiccup started panicking and stuttered: “What? What do you mean?”

She rolled her eyes and said: “First of all, you told us,” Hiccup sighed in relief, “And secondly, I know that you’re not Singultus, Hiccup.”

He chocked on the air. “What? I don’t know what your talking about.”

Astrid glared at him and he put his hands up in defeat: “Okay, okay, it’s me. How did you know? Do others know?”

“Relax, only I figured it out. You’re a better actor than I thought.” she smiled.

“Thanks, I guess. Lot of experience.” he said, “So, what tipped you off?”

“It were the little things, you know. Same dragon, with the same name and same handicap. You still have those green eyes, the same nose and stature, though you did fill out and changed your hair.”

“So, it was my appearance?”

“Yeah mostly, but I started looking, because I knew that dragon. But your behavior could use some work.”

His eyes opened wide, he was scared. “Really?”

“Well, not much, but you got tears in your eyes in your old home, knew how to handle Snotlout, Fishlegs and the twins, and you mocked the chief behind his back when he questioned your capability, that’s something you’ve always hated and no one would dare to do that. You know how strangers are around him.”

Hiccup nodded, he did know, but in that moment he couldn’t help himself. No matter what he did or who he was his father still questioned him. Astrid saw his expression and put a hand on his shoulder. She met his eyes and said: “He doesn’t question you. He changed since you left. He thinks he lost both wife and son to dragons, but he can’t grieve, because Berk needs him. You need to tell him who you are.”

“NO!” Hiccup exclaimed.

A few dragons looked their way and they were quick to hide behind Toothless who growled at the dragons, who turned away uninterested. “We need to leave, we’ve been here before. You know what to tell dad.” Hiccup said.

Astrid nodded, but said: “We will talk about this.”

Then they made their way outside.

~

Back at their camp Hiccup tried to walk away, but Astrid grabbed his scruff and no matter how strong he was Astrid could always stop him. “Hey, Astrid. I, uhm, thought I’d go and get some fire wood, you know.” he said while gesturing with his arms.

Astrid shot him an unimpressed look and said: “Look, Hiccup, this might be a game for you. It must be fun to see everyone run around not recognizing you, but for us it isn’t. Stoick hasn’t been the same since you disappeared. He drinks, he’s sad, he doesn’t laugh as much and when he does it’s fake. Everybody knows it, but he’s the Chief and he makes the right decisions so we let him be, but everyone feels for him. No one even dares to bring up your name. It’s horrible. He hates himself for not seeing your potential and your skills. He’s rarely even home, but if he is he doesn’t come out all day and we can hear him humming sad songs. So, you got to tell him!”

There was a stunned silence. Hiccup frowned as he thought about it. His father missed him, mourned him? That couldn’t be right, he was always a disappointment, not someone his father was proud of. Astrid was lying, she must be. He snapped: “Don’t lie to me! It’s not a good look on you. I know my dad would rather have anyone else as a son than me. He probably celebrated my death.”

Astrid made some frustrated sounds and she threw her hands up. “I know you have self-esteem issues, but you need to trust me on this. You know the saying, you don’t know what you have until you’ve lost it? This is a classical case of that. When you were gone everyone realized that Snotlout was going to become Chief now, they missed your inventions that helped and the extra hands in the forge. Your dad suddenly missed someone to come home to, a growing memory of your mother and your wit. I know, he told me when he was drunk, you know how hard it is to get Stoick drunk enough to forget he told me?” she snapped.

Hiccup paled. Was it so bad? That’s a lot of mead. He rubbed his face. He didn’t know what to do, he was looking around helplessly when an excuse came up. “I can’t tell him, because he would call the attack off.”

“What do you mean? He believes in this plan, he wants this war to end. Why would he call it off?” she asked confused.

“Because it’s my plan. He never believed in my plan, neither did the village. And he’s not starting now, not after I lied about who I am.” he answered.

“Of course he will. He missed you. He’s rational, he sees a good plan and goes through with it.” Astrid said, getting annoyed with Hiccups excuses.

“No, he won’t. Can’t you see that? This is the first time he ever listen to me. You know what it took? I had to fake my death, disappear for 6 years and pretend to be someone else. He believes in Singultus, I’m not throwing away everyones safety, because he’s sad sometimes, had a change of heart or is missing me.” he yelled.

He was breathing heavily and looked at her challengingly, he knew he was right. Astrid stared back for a couple of seconds, then she sighed and threw her hands up. “Fine,” she huffed, “you’re right.”

Hiccup cheered internally and turned away, but he stopped when Astrid said: “But, your telling him after the battle.”

He wanted to protest, but she was faster: “And that’s final or I’ll tell him when we get back.”

Hiccup sighed in defeat. “Fine. I’ll tell him after, you happy?”

“Very, now I need a drawing of this Dragon for Stoick and if I remember correctly you are quite the artist.”

She gave him a few pieces of paper and left to tend to the camp. Hiccup sat down grumbling, but did as she said. While he worked he thought about ways to get away from here after the battle. He couldn’t face his father, but the more he thought about it, the guiltier he felt and the more it dawned to him that he wouldn’t walk away from this. The lump in his throat was hard to swallow, he owed his father an explanation. He looked down to his drawing of the Queen. Scarily accurate due to his close encounter with her, he looked at the paper it was drawn on and got an idea. He might not live to tell his father, but the paper would tell his tale. It had always been easier to write his father than to tell him face to face.

Chapter Text

They were loading the ships. Anticipation was rising in the ranks of vikings that boarded the boats. The riders were feeding their dragons and checking the saddles. Hiccup made his last round tugging on straps here and there and nodding to himself. If this went awry it would be his fault and every death that occurred today would be on his hands. He needed this to go well.

“Remember, hit inside the mouth with all the firepower you have.” Hiccup said.

“That doesn’t really comfort me, Snotlout.” Hiccup said.

That made the twins giggle and Astrid smile. He still had his sass. Snotlout bushed and turned away mumbling insults under his breath. “Kidding, I believe in all of you, but we need this to go well. If you guys don’t keep the hatchling on the ground, I’m done for, same goes for everyone else there.” he said.

They all gulped. They knew the importance of their mission, but having it spelled out for them just before the battle was nerve-wrecking. From below a voice bellowed: “Were leaving, all aboard.”

“That’s our cue.” Hiccup said and he hopped on Toothless.

They all flew above their assigned ship, with Toothless in front, above Stoicks ship. Soon they were at the fog and Hiccup smiled to himself when he saw some of the vikings scared looks. They all thought they were near the end of the world, but in reality the end of the world was much further away and in the other direction. Not many words were shared in their journey and sooner than expected they were at the nest. Everyone gasped at the sight of gigantic mountain. Stoick said: “It was always so close.”

Gobber agreed and Hiccup swooped down onto the deck. “You remember the plan?” he asked.

“Of course we do. Don’t underestimate us, we’ll get its attention.” Stoick said and he jumped off the ship.

Hiccup rolled his eyes. In the air he regrouped with the other riders. “Go for the eyes and remember to fire in its mouth.” he reminded everyone again.

“Yeah, yeah, we know.” “Yeah, lets get to the dragon killing.” that were the twins.

The Zippleback moved at that and they immediately went to comfort it. Hiccup smiled fondly, they all had accepted the dragons and when he looked at them he could believe that they could continue this peace. Astrid came up next to him. “You think you can do this?” she asked.

Hiccup look at the vikings beneath him and sighed. He was really scared to be back here and he unconsciously rubbed his left leg. They were almost done with setting up and he turned to Astrid to answer. “I have to, but if I don’t make it. Give this to my dad. He deserves an explanation.”

The first stone was launched and Hiccup took a deep breath. It was starting.

~

The walls broke and Stoick climbed the rubble to look inside. He had seen the drawing, but he wouldn’t believe it until he saw. “Fire again.” he ordered.

He saw all he dragons inside and yelled: “Brace yourself.”

After that all hell broke lose, the dragons didn’t attack them, but everyone attacked on instinct and soon they heard a mighty roar. Everyone stopped and the dragons quickly scattered. Above him Singultus yelled: “She’s coming!”

Then the mountain burst open even more and a gigantic monstrosity appeared. The drawing was very accurate and Stoick froze. The dragon got ready to fire and Singultus yelled: “Hide!”

Then it set all their boats ablaze in one big swoop. Stoick was horrified. He thought about what had happened if they had found the nest sooner and had come face to face this without a plan. He hid like everyone else and watched Singultus swoop down and blast it in the face. Its murderous eyes spotted him and the fire followed him. He expertly dodged them and hit it a few times again. He also started yelling and soon the Queen spread its wings and followed him into the dark clouds.

When they had completely disappeared everyone got out of hiding. They looked a few seconds at the exploding sky, but Astrid yelled: “We have a task, lets go.”

“You heard the lady. In the nest we go.” Stoick yelled.

That got everyone moving. They went inside moving cautiously. Singultus had said that it was half the size of the Queen, but after they had seen her that was not a comforting prospect. It would still be the the largest dragon they had ever faced. The teens with their dragons were in front leading the way. Walking through a few tunnels they came in a big room with in the middle a dark shape. Everyone stopped in their tracks.

They got in formation and launched their attack. The riders shot its back and it roared as it woke. It turned around and the vikings ran to it trying to hit it. They would’ve been easy targets, if it wasn’t for the riders distracting it hitting everywhere they could. This went of for minutes that seemed to last eternity until it looked at the sky and roared opening its mouth wide. “Quick, everyone up. Hit in its mouth!”

They started flying up when a voice from above yelled: “Watch out. Take cover!”

The vikings looked up to see Singultus with the Queen hot on his trail. Seeing the big dragon advancing on them everyone panicked and the ran out of the mountain. Stoick, Gobber and the riders were last, protecting the last of the people. They saw Singultus killing the hatchling dragon. When its body hit the ground the Queen let out an outraged cry and her eyes attached on the man who killed her child. From their position they could see Singultus eyes widen in fear. She prepared to fire and Singultus saw his chance. “Toothless, fire, buddy this is our chance.” he yelled.

He was so focused on getting his shot that he didn’t see the Queens tail moving to hit away the rocks above him. When Astrid noticed it was too late. She yelled: “Watch out!”

Singultus looked at her and then above him. He saw the tail come down and watched as the rocks fell while Toothless delivered the final blow. The Queen was prepared to die for the revenge for her child. Toothless shot away trying to get away from the falling boulders. The group could only watch as the rocks hit Toothless’ tail and they went down. Stoick ran to them first. When got to them, just inside the damage area. Toothless was bleeding, tail stuck under a rock. Singultus was bleeding heavily out of a head wound. He was blinking trying to stay upright. Stoick put his hand on his shoulder and asked: “Are you okay?”

Singultus looked at him confused and reached his hand out and asked: “Dad?”

Then he fell forwards.

Chapter Text

Dear dad,

If you’re reading this I’m dead. Singultus was not real, he was me. I know you might not believe me, but I haved a scar on my chin to prove it. I guess I owe you an explanation about what happened, but first I need you to promise to take care of Toothless, if he survived. He’s probably heartbroken and he can’t fly without me, so give him some food from time to time and tend to his wounds.

Back to my story. It began six years ago when I shot down a Nightfury, but no one believed me, because I’d never hit something before. I was mad and went to search for him myself. After a while I found him. He was lying on the forest floor trapped in my nets, I was happy. Finally I could prove to you that I was one of you. I got my knife and, I couldn’t do it. I looked into his eyes and saw myself. Lonely and scared. Since no one believed me anyway, I cut him free and though that that was that.

I went to dragon training and heard that a dragon will always, always go for the kill, but he hadn’t. I went to look again and found him in a cove, but he wouldn’t fly away. I wondered why and saw that he missed a tailfin. That was my fault. I felt guilty and I set out to fix it. We became friends and it was amazing, he was the first to accept me for me and he enjoyed my company. I loved it and it was great. Everything I learned from him I used in dragon training and soon I was top of my class and everyone was so proud of me. It was so weird. Then I won and I had to kill a dragon. Something I knew I couldn’t do. So, I decided to leave.

But that plan was ruined by Astrid who went to ask me how I suddenly got so good and she found Toothless. She ran to tell everyone, but I stopped her and asked her to let me show her. She agreed, but we came stuck in a flock of dragons returning from a raid. We followed them to the nest and saw the Queen. Astrid now also believed that dragons could be good, but she also said that we had to tell you, but I didn’t think you would take it well. So, I told her I would train the dragon I had to kill and show you that they were good and made her promise not to tell.

It was a good plan, but the more I thought about it the more I became convinced that everyone would freak and someone would get hurt. I knew if that would happen that no one would believe me if I said that there had been enough violence. That’s why I wrote my letter and left all those years ago. I was going to stop this war and tell you after. At least then you wouldn’t be able to be very mad at me.

But as you know I lived and the raids didn’t stop. Know that I didn’t run away like a coward. I went there and faced the Queen, but I failed. I would have succeeded, if it wasn’t for one flaw in my plan. Every dragon has a firing limit, even the Nightfury. When it was time to deliver the final blow he couldn’t shoot anymore and we went down in a sea of fire. I lost my leg there, but Toothless didn’t take me home. After all the tales I told them and the things he had seen, he didn’t trust you. He took me to an island where they worshiped a dragon that ate the lava that threatened them. They treated me and gave me my prosthetic.

There I decided that I wouldn’t return. For all you knew I died a honorable death and you wouldn’t miss me, so why go back and face your wrath when there was a whole world to explore. I set out on a journey on which I made many friends. I’ve been to so many places and I learned so many languages, fighting styles and other stuff. It was great, but had its downs, of course. I did fight Drago and his Bewilderbeast and also some Dragonhunters. Yet, I didn’t plan on going back, but then I heard about increased attacks of dragons in the North-Archipelago and I had to go back. If after 300 years the Queen changed, well that was nothing but trouble and it was still my home.

I returned, but I knew no one would ever listen to me, so I went as Singultus. Someone strange, sure, but also someone with knowledge that you didn’t question.

I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before, but I knew that you wouldn’t go through with the plan otherwise. Astrid found out because she remembered the injury of my dragon and his name. I, again, made her promise to wait until after the battle. A battle I knew I would probably not walk away from.

If you get this it means that we won, because otherwise we’ll all be dead and not just me. If we won that means the war is over. The dragons will no longer attack and we can befriend them. I wanted to share this idea with you long ago, but now I can say that I’m not the first and that I’ve seen it work. That is my wish for Berk.

Gods, Berk, I missed that place and if I could, I would stay, but I can’t since I’m dead. I didn’t realize how much I missed it and you until I was there again. Gobber in the forge, you walking in the village, Snotlout being a dumbass, Fishlegs with a book, the twins pranking someone, Astrid training and village just being lively. I missed it and if I knew how much I did I would have collected the courage to go back sooner even if it had just been flying by.

Greetings from Valhalla,

Hiccup

~

Stoick wiped away a tear. For the millionth time he wished he had been more proud of his son. His son who was more capable than any other viking he had ever met. He looked to the pale figure on the bed. He wasn’t dead yet, but it seemed like it was only a matter of time. “My son.” he whispered and he took Hiccups hand, “come back to me.”

From the corner Toothless made a sound. Stoick looked to the sad dragon and smiled sadly at him. “It’s though, eh. You miss him too?”

The dragon nodded and curled up around him and Hiccup. Stoick was shocked for a second, but then he relaxed and scratched the dragon like he had seen Hiccup do before. “I wish I could make it up to him.” he told the dragon.

The dragon looked at him and cocked his head to the side, then he looked from Hiccups letter to the door and then to Stoick. Stoick frowned and followed the dragons gaze as he repeated it a few times. After another two times he got it. “Are you saying that I can make it up to him by honoring his wish?”

Toothless smiled at him and Stoick couldn’t help but smile back. He stood up determinedly. He finally had a purpose, a way to make things right. He would make it up to his son, he would do it fast enough, so that his sons final moments could be spend in a village he could be proud of. Before he was out the door he told Toothless: “Warn me if he changes.”

Then the door shut behind him.

Chapter Text

Hiccup groaned as he opened his eyes. Right in his face was Toothless staring at him with big curious eyes. “Gods, this is familiar. If I lost another limb while I was out, I’m gonna be mad.” had said.

He sat up and looked around. His eyes looked around suspiciously. “I am in my house,” he stated, and then panicked “I am in my house, you are in my house. Why am I here? Why are you here? Does my dad know? How did I get here? What happened?”

Toothless didn’t tell him, but nudged him to the mirror. While he was walking Hiccup check himself over. Still three limbs, a lot of his scars with only a big burn on his shoulder and back extra. He looked in the mirror and stepped back when he saw himself. Then he leaned forward to inspect his face more closely. His right ear was missing partly and a scar ran from his ear, under his eye and over his nose, another split off from under his eye to the corner of his lip. Around his head were bandages and when he turned he could vaguely see a bloodstain on the back, right on the place where coincidentally was a huge headache. He prodded them a bit and said to Toothless: “Well, it could’ve been worse. Now I just have help in avoiding eye contact, no one wants to look at this.”

Toothless looked unimpressed at him and Hiccup pushed away his head, saying: “Don’t judge me.”

Then he took a breath and opened the door and almost fell over in surprise. Berk was full of dragons. He blinked a few times and turned around to walk back into the house. “Jup, I’m dead for real now.”

A big hand on his shoulder stopped him and a familiar voice said: “No, but you tried your damn hardest.”

Hiccup turned and saw his dad. He couldn’t help the tears that sprung into his eyes and said: “Dad.”

“Yes, that’s me.” tears were also forming in his eyes and he opened his arms.

Without any shame Hiccup launched himself forwards and let himself be wrapped in two strong arms while he cried. He remembered those arms from when he had fallen or when people had been mean to him as a kid and he never thought he could feel them again. When there were too many people around them for them to ignore the broke free and wiped away their tears. “I’m sorry for ever doubting you son, I hope I can make it up to you.” Stoick said.

Hiccup smiled and said: “And I’m sorry for leaving and making you think I was dead for six years.”

“Well, that’s a bit our fault, from what I’ve read.” Stoick replied.

Hiccup turned red. “You read my letter?” he squeaked, “I told Astrid to give you that in case I didn’t make it and clearly,” he pinched himself and waved his arms, “I made it.”

Everyone around them laughed. Stoick slapped him on the back and ensured him that she only did when it looked like he wasn’t going to. “You’re a strong one.” Gobber said.

“Gobber!” Hiccup yelled, excited to see his mentor as himself again instead of having to pretend to not know him.

“That’s indeed my name.” Gobber joked, “Fixed your tailfin, quite a contraption.”

He gave Hiccup the tailfin and Hiccup smiled at him gratefully. Then he waved away the complement, saying: “It’s not that good, I made this when I was 15 and only ever got around to upgrading the materials, not the design.”

“Well, it’s a damn good design.” Gobber said.

Hiccup looked around him again and said in wonder: “I can’t believe this. Who could’ve ever pictured dragons living peacefully in Berk!”

Stoick smiled and said: “No one, but it seemed like all we needed was a bit of this.”

He gestured at Hiccup who recognized this exchange form all those years ago. He smiled and said: “You just gestured to all of me.”

Stoick smiled even broader. Someone from the crowd yelled: “Nightfury!”

All dove for cover as the dragon bounded through the people to get to his friend. “Hey, bud.”

It was a surprise, you’re surprised. Don’t ever do that to me again!

“Sorry, sorry, I didn’t know you were my mother.”

Hmpf, you better believe your stupid ass needs someone to look after you, everyone thought you would die.

“Sorry, buddy, I mean that, but how about we go test this bad boy.” he held up the tailfin and saddle.

Toothless got very excited and all the people laughed. Hiccup breathed the air and got up in the sky. It felt good to be home, his home. His home of the sky was now welcome in the home of his youth and Hiccup never thought the smell of sea, dragon and fish could smell so good together.