Chapter Text
When Hiccup Horrendous Haddock (the Third) woke, it was drizzling. He slowly got up, remembering the past day’s events.
Trying to run away.
Getting caught by Astrid.
Finding the nest.
The Nest!
The giant dragon that ate a Zippleback! The reason why the dragons were attacking. The plan.
The-plan-the-plan-the-plan-the-plan-the-plan.
The plan: Hiccup was going to tame a dragon. Instead of killing it, he would help it. He’d show everyone what dragons really were like! For once in his life, he wouldn’t be Hiccup-the-hiccup of Berk. He’d prove his worth, and save the dragons. Yes, he thought to himself, today is going to be a good day.
Hiccup determinedly strode across the room, pulling on his boots and vest. As he exited through the doorway, he was soon accosted by the solid mass of sheer Viking- ness that was Stoick the Vast.
“Son!” he greeted, giving Hiccup a hearty slap on the back. “Ready for your big day?”
Hiccup wheezed, struggling to regain his breath. He wasn’t entirely sure his father knew his own strength. Still, he forced himself to keep his eyes on the (proverbial) prize: taming the Nightmare. Saving the dragons. Saving Berk.
Today is going to be a good day.
Resolutely ignoring the pit of snakes writhing in his stomach, Hiccup strode to the arena. After all, this might be scary, but if he could sway Astrid, of all people, he’d have the whole of Berk eating out of the palm of his hand in minutes.
Right? Right. Of course he would. Piece of, uh, bread and honey.
Donning his helmet and shield, Hiccup stood at the entrance of the training grounds. The rain had stopped, and the sun shone down over the arena. It was a good sign. This was it. He was ready to show everyone the truth about dragons.
Turns out, Hiccup hadn’t been ready at all. After some yelling, screaming, dragon abduction, and more yelling, Stoick had sailed away with the adult population of Berk; Toothless acting as his compass to guide him to the Nest.
Oh, yeah, and Hiccup was disowned as well. All in a day’s work! Hurray.
Now where was he? Without Toothless. Without Gobber. Without his own father. Hiccup was alone.
Or, he thought he was. Astrid, the force of nature herself, proved him wrong. Maybe he had changed her mind with his compassion, his choice not to kill. His empathy, which forged a friendship (a partnership , however brief) with Toothless.
Filled with newfound determination, Hiccup and his newfound allies soon took to the skies, riding the dragons left on Berk. It was time to get Toothless, save Stoick, and defeat the Red Death.
Easy.
Alright, so perhaps their plan was easier said than done. Hiccup was sensing a rather concerning theme here, but there’d be time to worry about that later.
Hiccup and his ragtag group of dragon riders had reached the Dragon Nest just in time to distract the Red Death from burning the Berkians to a crisp. As usual, Hiccup had excellent timing. Mentally patting himself on the back, he listened to Fishlegs’ inferences about the Red Death, and quickly redirected the rest of the riders where they’d be needed. Meanwhile, Astrid led her dragon near the flaming ships, where Toothless was trapped.
Surrounded by the inferno, Hiccup yanked the muzzle off of Toothless, and tugged at the chains. Despite his efforts, the shackles failed to come off. Muscles straining, Hiccup barely noticed the Red Death’s massive foot crashing down until it was too late. Both Hiccup and Toothless fell into the water, with the chains dragging Toothless down to the bottom. Even underwater, Hiccup continued to try to free Toothless, even though they both knew it was useless. Air running out, Hiccup’s vision started to darken.
The next thing he knew, he was being hauled out of the water by a big burly figure, who then jumped back into the ocean. Spluttering on the rocky soil, Hiccup blearily scanned the surface of the water, just in time to see Toothless leap out and deposit Stoick , of all Vikings, onto the patch of land beside his son.
Well that was a surprise. Hiccup turned to Toothless, as the dragon jerked his head in a silent command. It was time.
The boy and his dragon (or was it the other way around?) took to the skies, just in time to save Astrid and her Deadly Nadder from being sucked into the Red Death’s deadly vacuum. Toothless safely deposited Astrid down on the rocks, and turned back to send a plasma blast at the Red Death at Hiccup’s command. Enraged, the Red Death unfurled its giant wings, which were papery from disuse.
It had taken the bait, and had flown after Hiccup and Toothless. Higher and higher the trio flew, rising into the dark storm clouds that surrounded the island. Then, as they entered the cloud cover, Toothless banked to the side. Together, Hiccup and Toothless flew circles around the Red Death, and aimed plasma blasts at its wings.
The Red Death started to grow more irritated, which meant their plan was working. Just one more well-timed shot, and they’d be rid of it for good. But, then again, when had any of Hiccup’s plans worked so well? Never. And true to the past, everything started to go sideways. The Red Death reared in the sky, and blasted its flames in a circle.
Toothless’s fake tailfin caught on fire, and they started to fall towards the ground. As the Red Death loomed closer, Toothless managed to fire a blast straight into its mouth. Hiccup could only hope that it was enough. Both dragons plummeted, as the Red Death’s wings started to deteriorate. The Red Death hit the ground first, causing a cloud of flames to surround Toothless and Hiccup. As Hiccup tried to maneuver what was left of Toothless’s tailfin, the duo flew out of the fire into the air above.
And then the Red Death’s spiked tail sent both of them tumbling back into the inferno.
Today was supposed to be a good day.
Under the World Tree reside the three Norns. They tend to their craft, the timeline, with the utmost care, weaving the flow of time into one magnificent tapestry. Past, Present and Future all work together in harmony, and will continue to do so until the end of time. Diligently weaving, the Norns rarely make mistakes, for they are true masters of their craft.
But even the most skilled beings have their off days. Unfortunately for Hiccup, his bad luck struck again, at the worst possible time.
On this specific day, Verðandi’s fingers slip, creating a prominent contradiction in the threads of time. See, fifteen-or-so years ago, Skuld had crafted a brilliant future for Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third, involving dragon riding, Isle-uniting, dragon-enslaver fighting, and much more. Verðandi’s slip, however, negates that quite effectively, by changing Hiccup’s fate from a Hero In Times Of Crisis , to a Has-Been Turned Into a Crisp.
Oopsie.
Urðr glides over, as perfectly as usual, because the Past is always rose-tinted; better than the Present in every single way. She frowns at the error, pulling at a stray crimson threat in hopes of unraveling the mistake. Skuld approaches from the other end, the Future glowing with the hope of the present generation. Working together, the three Norns slowly detangle the Present.
Or, well, they try to. Somehow, Urðr’s fingers tangle with Skuld’s, and a shimmering copper thread turns back on itself, forming a kind of… loop. Verðandi reaches over to tug it free, but the copper thread is stuck fast. The Norns’ eyes meet. A loop has formed, and it’s stuck tight. It’s not unprecedented, but quite an inconvenience. Time can’t go on until the loop has completed, after all.
Now, with nothing left to do but twiddle their thumbs, Past, Present, and Future sit down to await the unraveling of the loop. Some things are best left undisturbed, after all.
The Norns sit back and watch the loop unfurl and...
The world resets, unmakes itself and…
Hiccup wakes up.