Written at: 4 January 2022
Story Word Count: 5,801
Language: English (UK)
Pairing:
- Hiccup (Toothless) x Light Fury
"Toothless, why are other dragons afraid of us?"
Few days had passed. It was early in the morning. Hiccup and Luna were resting on a sea stack. The Light Fury was resting, while Hiccup was busy writing something on a certain map. He was in his human form, sitting on the rock.
There was nobody else there but them. The sky was bright, with no clouds anywhere. Luna was wearing a saddle. The saddle was made of leather. Hiccup had made a saddle for her since she insisted on having him ride her when he was in human form. Hiccup could not deny her.
"Because of our prowess." Hiccup absentmindedly answered. "They know what we can do. We have a long, bloodied history in both dragon wars. Our species were revered as the best amongst others."
That made Luna frown. "I've heard of dragon war, but never heard of our species doing that."
"I didn't expect you to." The boy replied, not looking away from the paper. "It was erased from history, somewhat. I was meant to be the last of my species. Everyone had moved on from that war."
The Light Fury tilted her head. "What do you know about it?"
"Dark Chaser was considered a one-dragon army. They were bred for war." Hiccup responded. He turned to look at the surprised Luna. "Light Chaser is related to Dark Chaser, but your species never went through what my species did."
"Oh." Luna looked down. "… sorry."
"No offense taken." The boy dismissed her. "That's why everyone is scared of us. Well, me for the most part. Historically, I was bred for war."
"How did you run away from them?" The Light Fury questioned.
"By becoming immune to their call."
That surprised Luna. "You're immune to alpha call?"
"Yes." Hiccup nodded.
"How?"
"I honestly don't know." The boy shook his head. He grabbed the paper and stood up from the ground. "I'm just glad that I do. I might be the last of my species to ever survive without being the minion for war."
Luna crooned and nuzzled Hiccup on his side. "I'm glad you're the leader."
Hiccup smiled. He pat her head. "Thanks, Luna."
The Light Fury purred. The boy mounted onto her back and looked at the map. "Okay!" He started, humming. "The map is finally done. You'd reckon an old, coded map would be easy to crack, but nooo… it had to be difficult."
"Coded map?" Luna questioned.
"It's something that I found on the village." Hiccup explained to her. "It took me years to crack it. Apparently, it led to a treasure."
"Oh! A treasure map!" The Light Fury was excited. "That sounds like a fun adventure!"
"Glad to know you're going to enjoy this one, at least." The boy grinned. Then, he read the first clue. "Okay. First one. Where the land meets the sea, in the crook of the master's knee, that's where your search will begin."
Luna frowned. "That's a strange clue."
"I think I know." Hiccup slowly spoke. He tried to remember something. "In the crook of the master's knee… I think I've seen them in the portrait back at the village. The painting have a background, and the 'crooked knee' was pointing at a rock formation."
"Great! Uh… which rock formation?"
"Probably somewhere at the Isle of Berk." The boy frowned as he stared at the map. Then, he remembered something. "Oh! Oh! I know the place. Let's go, Luna!"
The dragon was enthusiastic. Luna took off into the air, taking them both to Isle of Berk.
Hiccup and Luna arrived at the Isle of Berk. They were at the other side of the island, away from the village. The boy jumped off the dragon and looked around. There was a single crooked rock formation there. Notably, there was a large glacier floating next to it.
"That might be the one." Hiccup pointed at the rock formation.
"… that looks like a human leg." Luna commented.
"I'm glad we have something in common." The boy absentmindedly spoke as he looked at the treasure map. "Second clue; From here you see the sea that's been sewn, look to where water turns to bone."
That confused Luna. "Water doesn't turn into bone."
"They don't." Hiccup replied, looking around. "It's a riddle. Water doesn't turn into bone. They turn into ice."
"Oh, that makes sense."
"And if the answer is correct…" Hiccup muttered as he looked ahead to the glacier. "There should be something in that glacier."
The boy mounted onto Luna. "Let's go."
Luna flew up into the sky and headed towards the glacier. It was a short trip, as there were not that much distance to reach. The Light Fury circled around the glacier, looking for something unusual. Hiccup suddenly spotted something at the other side of the glacier.
"There!"
Luna looked at where he was pointing. It was a cavern inside the glacier. The Light Fury flew down into the cave. She landed on the balcony. Hiccup jumped off her. They both began walking into the cave way.
The place was large, but not that deep. It led to a dead end. Hiccup and Luna looked around for something. Then, the Light Fury spotted something embedded inside the icy ground. "Toothless, I found something."
Hiccup approached her. "Great job, Luna."
The Light Fury beamed at his praise. The boy looked at the treasure map once more. "Call on Magni; you'll go astray. Freya, though, will show the way."
"Who's Magni and Freya?"
"They're Norse gods." The boy answered, thinking. "Viking legend. Magni is god of strength. Freya is goddess of fire. Right, don't break the ice to get it. Luna, could you steam your fire to melt the ice?"
Luna opened her maw and breathed plasma flame. It melted through the ice, revealing the object below. It was a piece of forged metal.
Hiccup pocketed the map. He picked up the object and inspected it. It looked like a gear of sort. "Huh."
"That's the treasure?" Luna asked, looking disappointed.
"No." Hiccup replied as he pocketed the object. "It's something that would lead us to the treasure."
Suddenly, the ground started shaking. Hiccup and Luna took off running out from the cavern as it began collapsing behind them. Upon reaching the icy balcony, the Light Fury took off into the air. Hiccup jumped, transformed into dragon form and flew up to follow Luna.
The two looked back to see the collapsed cavern. They hovered there for some time. "That was close." Hiccup let out a relieved sigh.
Luna seemed to be excited. "What's the next clue?"
"Uhhh…" Hiccup tilted his head, trying to remember what was on the map. "It was… At the edge of the world, amidst the raging sea, in the serpent's mouth lies another key."
Luna stayed silent for some time. Then, she brightened. "Oh, I think I know exactly what that one is."
"This might be something else entirely."
Hiccup and Luna arrived at tight, huge sea stacks formation. There were a lot of equally large cave ways, where dragons could fly through them. The place was huge, and it went far and wide. They could not see the end through their sight.
"No, no." Luna explained. She looked at something on their side. "See that thing over there? That look like a serpent mouth."
Hiccup turned to look at where she was looking at. It was a huge rock that looked like a snake head. The mouth was open, which led to an entrance into sea stacks formation path.
"… I guess that checks out." The Night Fury admitted.
Both Night Fury and Light Fury moved to enter the serpent mouth. As they did, however, Hiccup shouted. "STOP!"
They immediately stopped and hovered. "What's wrong?"
Hiccup was tense. "Did you sense that?"
Luna tilted her head. "I don't sense anything."
"It must be something that only I can sense." The Night Fury assumed. He frowned. "Something will happen if we go through this. Luna, I'm going to try this alone. Could you fly out and watch me from the air?"
"Sure." Luna obeyed. She flew out and hovered high in the sky.
Hiccup flew through the serpent head. He felt something triggered behind him. Suddenly, there was an explosion, and the sea stacks began collapsing around him. They were heading down to crush him between them. The Night Fury immediately dashed forward.
Hiccup dodged and weaved through the obstacles. He entered a cave way, quickly went out of it and it collapsed behind him. He reached a branching path, all but one path collapsed before he could reach them, and he was forced to enter that pathway. The collapsing rocks behind him made it even more exciting.
Hiccup kept up the flight for half an hour. He could see Luna flying above him, trying to find a way to help. Suddenly, he saw something ahead of him. It was an object on a short sea stack, which led to a dead end.
The Night Fury dashed ahead, flying towards the object. He grabbed the object with his paws and flew up high into the sky. He barely made it out as the sea stacks collapsed behind him.
Hiccup cheered as he held up the object in victory pose. "HAHA! Yes!" He shouted.
"Toothless!" Luna reached him. She looked concerned. "Are you okay?"
"That was exciting." The Night Fury breathed out. "Look what I got."
Both Hiccup and Luna inspected the object. It looked like a piece of a key. "What is that?"
"It's a piece of key." Hiccup answered. "It's probably meant for something."
"What's the next clue?"
"The world is right when stars align. When not in sync, the danger you'll find." Hiccup recited as he inspected the key. It seemed to resonate with his dragon magic for some reason. "That sounds ominous."
"Does it mean we have to wait until night-time?" Luna questioned.
"I don't think so." The Night Fury hummed. He looked deep in thought. "The problem is, where to go next? Maybe…"
The black dragon focused onto the key piece on his hand. He pushed his magic into it. The key suddenly crackled with green electricity, surprising them. Hiccup blinked when he suddenly knew where to go next. When that was done, the effect was gone from the key.
"What was that?" The Light Fury exclaimed.
"That's just an ability of mine." Hiccup muttered. He looked much more focused and serious. "No dragon or human could do what I can. I've never had something doing that before."
Then, he realised something. "It was as if this whole puzzle was made specifically for me."
The two dragons fell silent. Then, Luna finally spoke up. "That sounds scary."
"Yeah." Hiccup slowly nodded. He placed the key piece into his backpack. "I think I know where to go next. We're going back to Isle of Berk."
Hiccup and Luna flew back to Isle of Berk. It was afternoon when they reached the island. The two dragons landed at the edge of the forest. The Night Fury pulled out the key and dropped it on the ground. He transformed to his human form and picked up the key.
Hiccup pulled out the first piece and matched it with the second piece. It fit and snapped together. He shook it a bit and realised that it somehow had glued themselves together. "That makes things easier."
Luna looked around. She looked uneasy. "There's no human anywhere here."
"As expected." The boy replied as he pocketed the partially complete key. "Vikings don't usually wander around this area. They said it felt wrong for them to wander here. I never felt anything."
"… I think I'm going to believe the Vikings on this one."
That surprised Hiccup. "What?"
"It felt wrong for me." Luna admitted, warily looking around. "Like something is telling me to turn away."
Hiccup moved to scratch her. The Light Fury purred. She blinked as she felt that feeling went away. "… what did you do?"
"I did nothing." Hiccup replied, keeping his hand on her scales. "I think it has to do with me touching you." The boy mounted onto Luna's back. "I'll stay on your back, so you don't feel it. Ready for the trip?"
"You bet!"
"Alright. Let's move ahead, but don't move too fast." Hiccup explained. As Luna began walking forward, the boy continued explaining. "We need to find a round wall. Just follow my direction. It's not that far from here."
Hiccup and Luna spent half an hour inside the forest. They did, however, found what they were looking for.
It was a tall, round wall. It looked like multiple circles stacked together symmetrically. There were several symbols carved on the wall, and some of them had star symbols on them. They were all aligned on the circles.
The boy jumped off the dragon. They slowly approached the wall. Hiccup placed his hand. Green electricity sparked on the circle as Hiccup felt something intruded his mind. He suddenly gained knowledge and on the strange magical contraption. Looking around the contraption, he willed them to move. He moved each circle to have the stars aligned together.
The stone began sliding and rotating on the wall. It snapped into place, vertically aligning them. When that was done, Hiccup took a step back. The round stone began sliding downward, revealing an underground path that led into the darkness below.
When it was done, Hiccup and Luna entered the path. The stone closed behind him after they entered.
The boy and the dragon arrived inside a massive cavern.
The place was huge. There were hundreds of Fireworms – tiny yellow dragons that glows, with skin that burned hotter than the sun. The tiny dragons were roaming up high in the cavern, ignorant of their presence.
"Okay, that looks dangerous." Luna commented, somewhat uncomfortable.
"Let's hope they don't attack us." Hiccup spoke as he noticed four pedestals at the centre of the cavern.
They both approached the pedestals. There were keys on the pedestals, each made of different materials. Hiccup pulled out the map to remind himself of the next clue.
"Something pure and something strong, look first to yourself and you won't go wrong." Hiccup read the map. He looked onto the keys at the pedestal. "That one is wood and that one is stone, so that's not the one. So that leaves iron and gold key parts."
Luna then noticed something. The Fireworms looked agitated. "Uh… Toothless?" She started.
Hiccup looked up. He almost cursed. The tiny dragons were slowly coming close to them. The boy moved to choose between an iron key part or gold key part. He looked at the gold and found them rough. "But what's look first to yourself?" He thought aloud. He moved to check on the iron key. It was clean and he could see his reflection. "Of course!"
The boy grabbed the iron key and pocketed it. The Fireworms suddenly dispersed and flew away. Suddenly, the ground underneath them collapsed. Luna screeched and tried to jump, but something hit her in the head. That knocked her unconscious.
Hiccup acted on instinct. He quickly transformed to his dragon form and grabbed onto Luna. They were falling into the cavern and the rocks on the top prevented him from flying away. Deciding on what to do, the Night Fury wrapped her wings around the Light Fury. He used his body to protect her as they fell onto the ground.
The two crashed onto the ground. Thankfully, the rocks had stopped collapsing halfway there. It meant that they were trapped inside. The two dragons stayed still, feeling pain and ache on their body.
The Night Fury was the first one to move. He groaned as he looked down to check on Luna. Her head was bleeding, possibly having a concussion. The boy turned dragon used his dragon magic to heal his friend.
Luna woke up in a flash. She immediately stood up to look around her. Hiccup screeched in pain. The Light Fury had sprung up and jumped on his wing. "OW!"
The Light Fury realised this. She immediately moved aside. "I'm sorry, Toothless!"
"It's fine." Hiccup grunted. He casted dragon magic onto himself. The injuries immediately vanished. "You're really jumpy today, aren't you?"
That made Luna blush. Hiccup stood from the ground. He turned to look at the Light Fury. "Are you feeling okay?" He asked as he moved to sniff her sides.
"I- I think." Luna looked down. From the position, she realised that Hiccup had grabbed and protected her from the debris when they fell. The Night Fury had taken all the blunt for her. That seemed to attract her more. "Thanks for holding me."
"Well, I'm not going to let you die on this little adventure of ours." Hiccup smiled at her. The black dragon looked down. He saw an oddly shaped hole on the ground under him. "And I think I found the way there."
Hiccup transformed to his human form. He pulled out the partially completed key and the last piece. The boy assembled the key together and it snapped into place. He wiggled them. As expected, it glued itself together like the rest of them.
He inserted the key into the hole. It fit into the hole. He turned the key and heard something clicked. Suddenly, the platform under them began to rise. Luna and Hiccup jumped off the platform. They waited as the platform was revealed to be a large pedestal. It revealed a large hidden passageway under them.
"It sure is getting more dangerous." Hiccup commented.
"At least it's not boring." Luna tried to cheer him up.
The boy smiled at her. "Yeah. It's definitely not boring."
The boy and the dragon looked down. It was a free fall hole that looked very deep. However, it looked large enough for them to fly down. "Alright. I think I'm going to ride you for this one."
Hiccup mounted onto Luna. "Let's go. I think it's almost over."
They flew down into a massive room. It was pitch black, but Luna and Hiccup could clearly see the place around them. The place was so big, they could fly around in the air without much issue.
The whole place was full of gold, jewellery and various wealth. There was a massive goblet at the centre. Hiccup and Luna were awed. They had finally found the treasure!
The boy noticed the goblet. "Luna, fire on that goblet."
Luna did as he was told. She fired a plasma blast into the goblet. It suddenly lit up, giving light source for the whole place. It revealed several pedestals close to the goblet. The dragon flew down and landed close to it.
Hiccup jumped down. He approached the pedestals. The boy noticed an urn at the centre of the pedestals. There was the name 'Hamish I' ornated on it, meaning that it contained the ash remains of Hamish the First.
"That's strange." Hiccup frowned. He looked to the side to see one of the pedestals. It was a stone ring with a rolled-up parchments tied to it. The boy grabbed and slid out the parchments. He unwrapped and read the first parchment that he found.
"This treasure was passed from father to son. I leave it to you, the next worthy one, for only a dragon could get this far." Hiccup read. His eyes were wide with shock. "From one to another, be proud of who you are."
"Dragon?" Luna tilted her head.
The boy shakily moved to check the second parchment. There, he saw it.
It was a picture of Hamish the First and a dragon. The dragon was proudly sitting next to Hamish the First. Hiccup recognised the dragon. It was a strong-looking Skrill. The two looked proud and happy together. The Skrill had some green electricity sparkling on its back. It looked like Hiccup's dragon magic.
"No…" Hiccup's eyes was wide. He shuddered his breath. "It- It happened before…"
"What happened before?"
Hiccup turned to look at Luna. "Luna." He started. "I have to tell you something. I was not always a dragon. Back when I was young, I was a human."
Luna's eyes widened. "Toothless… what are you?"
"I'm a dragon." Hiccup responded. "A human that turned into a dragon."
"How did that happen?"
"I don't know." Hiccup admitted. "I guess the gods just… want to make my life better. I don't even know or understand how or why I got turned into a dragon."
"But apparently, this has happened before." The boy whispered. He looked down at the painting he was holding. Luna moved closer to see it. "The human is Hamish the First. He was the one who founded Berk and gathered all this wealth. The dragon next to him is Hamish the Second."
"Hamish the Second is an Electric Storm?" Luna muttered. She was still in shock at the revelation. "Did he turn into dragon as well?"
"I think so." Hiccup replied, still looking at the painting. "But if he's a dragon, then the next offspring should be a dragon. No, I think he was turned when he was an adult. He knew that this would happen again someday."
The two stayed silent. They were shocked at the revelation that was revealed to them. After some time, Hiccup moved to check the third parchment. It was a long text of something.
Your presence meant the world would be ending soon. Do not be afraid, as your burden is lighter than mine. I had done what I had to do, for the sake of our existence. Defeat the King of All Dragons, as it was the only way to save their souls. It was your destiny to save them all.
"He's talking about the King." Luna muttered. She looked at Hiccup. "Does that mean you're meant to defeat the King?"
"He said it's my destiny." Hiccup replied, thinking. "But that doesn't make any sense! He said the world is ending, but everything is fine. Am I meant to be a sign of something?"
The two fell silent. They did not know what to say. Hiccup noticed that there was a fourth parchment under the third one. It looked to be glued together. He slowly peeled the fourth parchment, revealing a strange painting.
It was a painting of a horizon. However, there was a pitch-black wall that seemed to be absorbing everything at the distance. There were massive, equally large black tendrils coming out of the ocean. It looked to be destroying everything on its path.
Underneath the painting, there was a text. "The all-consuming void. I have done my part. You must do yours."
"What does it mean?"
"I don't know." Hiccup confessed.
Suddenly, the ground began to shake. A pedestal rose from the ground in front of them, revealing a strange object. It was a strange sword hilt; made of unknown metal and handle. It looked otherworldly to them. Hiccup moved to pick up the object. He felt himself resonating with the object.
Suddenly, the sword briefly crackled with green electricity. Hiccup suddenly knew how to operate the object. He grabbed the handle and willed something for the sword. A long, red glowing blade sprung out from the hilt with a loud pop. That surprised both Luna and Hiccup.
The blade was a straight, double-sided broad sword. It was red in colour and the edges were white. The blade felt extremely hot. There were strange symbols on the blade, something that they did not recognise at all. He swung them around and found them fit on his hand.
Luna was intimidated by the sword. "That… looks very scary." She squeaked.
"It's the sword that Hamish the Second made." Hiccup muttered. "This is his sword. This is the thing that he made himself."
"Toothless, who is Hamish the Second?"
"Hamish the Second was my ancestor." Hiccup answered. That seemed to surprise Luna. "The treasure map was passed down from generation to generation. Apparently, I was the only one that found it."
"Your ancestor is a dragon." Luna spoke aloud.
"Apparently so." Hiccup replied. He willed something on the sword and the blade vanished. He pocketed the sword into his armour. "This changes everything. The King already told me that there was a prophecy about the end of all dragons when they learned that I exist. Something much bigger is at play here."
Suddenly, two pedestals rose from the ground. There was a hammer on one pedestal and a quill on the other one. Hiccup and Luna approached it. On the ground, there was a text that looked like a clue.
"In between the body and mind, a choice must be made on what you find." Hiccup read. "At this moment you must look to yourself, as only one path will give you true wealth."
Suddenly, the treasure room began to collapse. Stone pillars fell as rubbles started to fill the room. Luna seemed to panic. "Toothless, it's collapsing!"
"We need to solve the puzzle before we got buried alive." Hiccup spoke as he frantically thought aloud about the solution. "Hammer or quill. Okay. Uh… I don't know! Is there a third option?"
As if the gods answered his question, a third pedestal rose from the ground. This one had a fish on top of it. Hiccup stared for some time. "Okay, that one is obvious."
"Toothless!" Luna screamed as she dodged a large rock from crushing her.
Hiccup moved to grab the fish. At first, nothing happened. But then suddenly, everything froze. Literally.
The rocks stopped moving. Everything was shimmering with green colour. Then, as if time was going in reverse, the whole place snapped back in place. The stone pillars righted itself and the debris rose from the ground. When everything was done, it was as if it never happened.
Hiccup and Luna let out a relieved sigh. The boy looked at the fish on his hand. It was a large cod. It looked fresh and nothing out of ordinary. Luna seemed enthusiastic to see it. "Do you want it?"
"Oh yes!" Luna looked excited. "Cod!"
Hiccup threw it to her, and Luna ate it. When that was done, the boy looked around the place. "Now, how do we get out of here?"
Suddenly, a wall suddenly slid down from the ground. It revealed a cavern that led to the outside. They could see the afternoon sky from there. As it did, there was a pedestal that rose from the ground in front of them. The pedestal had a massive tome on it.
The boy and the dragon approached the pedestal. Hiccup inspected the tome and read the title. "Dragon Magic by Hamish the Second." He read aloud. "This is going to be useful."
"There's something under it." Luna pointed out.
Hiccup looked under the book. There was something underneath the tome. The boy tried to pick up the tome but found it hard to do. It was as if the thing was meant to be carried by a dragon.
"Okay, I think I know." The boy decided. Hiccup transformed to his dragon form and lifted the tome. It was easier to carry it like that. He put it aside to see what it was underneath. There, he saw a smaller tome there. It looked like a journal that he often carry everywhere as a human, but bigger and for dragons.
The boy opened the journal. "If you are reading this, reach the edge of the world." Hiccup read aloud. "Do not be afraid. The truth will guide you."
"Edge of the world?" Luna was confused. "But the world is round."
"They mean that we need to fly as far as possible." Hiccup spoke, reading more of it. "We'll see that black wall that was consuming everything. He call it the Void and it was slowly closing in on us. Hamish the Second had apparently sacrificed himself to reset the consumption. That brought everything back, but it was only temporary."
Then, the Night Fury realised something. "That's what he meant by doing his part." He spoke. "He failed to become the King of All Dragons. Apparently, that could permanently stop the Void from consuming everything."
"But what did he do?" Luna wondered.
Hiccup flipped some pages of the journal. "… Hamish the Second sacrificed his soul to revert the damages." He spoke as he skimmed through the texts. "He died, so others can do what he failed to do."
"You have to become the King of All Dragons?" The Light Fury eyes went wide. Then, she looked down. "I- I mean, I'd love you if you become one, but how are you going to challenge the King?"
"We don't have the dragons to directly challenge him and his nest." Hiccup firmly spoke. "We don't have the firepower."
"How did Hamish the Second failed?"
The Night Fury flipped more pages on the journal. He skimmed through the texts, before concluding. "He was betrayed. The alpha dragons refused to cooperate, even when they know what was happening. They moved to attack Hamish the Second, but they were consumed by the Void. When the King of All Dragons was consumed by the Void, all was lost. He sacrificed himself to bring everyone back, somehow. That reverted everything, including memories of what happened."
"That was… bad." Luna muttered. "How much time do we have?"
Hiccup flipped more pages. He reached near the end of the journal. "Hamish expected his sacrifice to last for… around 300 years before everything was consumed again." He spoke. His eyes widened. "That's around… 7 years from now!"
"Then we don't have much time." Luna realised.
"We're not ready at all!" Hiccup exclaimed. He started to panic. "I can't fight against an alpha nest. The King had over billions of dragons all around the world and other alpha dragons at his command!"
"Okay, okay. Toothless, calm down." Luna soothed him. "I believe you can figure this out. Where should we start?"
Hiccup looked up to the ceiling. "We need to start slow." He spoke his thoughts. "Maybe start with becoming an alpha dragon. Hamish the Second failed because he tried to do them straight away. From there, we can carefully expand ourselves, and maybe, challenge the King of All Dragons when the opportunity presents itself."
The two fell silent. They mulled over what they had just learned from the book. After some time, Luna asked. "Can we go to the 'edge of the world' to see this Void?"
"Yes." Hiccup nodded. "We'll do that tomorrow. We need to go back."
"Okay. I'll accompany you."
Hiccup moved to collect the books. He put them inside the backpack. The books were heavy, but his backpack was sturdy enough to carry them. After everything was in place, the two dragons went out to the exit and flew up into the sky.
They did not notice the path closing behind them.
Hiccup and Luna flew back towards the Secret Island. When they reached the nest, they saw a crowd of dragons on the ground around the food sector outer entrance.
They were confused. "Uh… what?" Luna blinked.
Hiccup and Luna approached them. There were a lot of visiting dragons landed there, trying to get in. However, his dragons were preventing them from entering nor letting them fly. Some fireballs were thrown around.
The Night Fury landed at the entrance and roared. That stopped everyone and made them cower in fear. His dragons looked smug once they realised that their leader had returned.
"What is going on here?" Hiccup demanded. He sensed that those dragons in front of them were Red Death dragons. "And what are you doing here? Your nest is banned from ever coming here!"
"Please, Toothless." The Monstrous Nightmare in front of him pleaded. He bowed and showed complete submission to him. "We need food. None of us have anything. Red Death would kill us!"
"You lost that right when your nest attacked our nest!" Hiccup snarled. "Be grateful that we did not kill you on sight!"
"You're the humblest and kind Dark Chaser." The dragon slowly crawled forward and began kissing his paw. "Please, we'll do anything for them."
Hiccup spun and slammed his tail to the dragon. The Monstrous Nightmare went flying back into the crowd. The Night Fury growled and snarled at him. "Sod off, you muppet! Get off my nest before I end you right here!"
The visiting dragons faltered. They finally backed down and relented. However, one dragon stood up and shouted. "This is not fair! How can you share with them but not us?!"
The others seemed to follow. "We want food! We need food!"
"I don't want to die to Red Death!"
The crowd of dragons were getting angrier. The security dragons swooped down to take down the aggressive ones. However, some of them flew up and dashed towards Hiccup, teeth and fangs bared.
Hiccup smirked. He suddenly blurred up to the sky. He exposed his claws and instantly cut their head. Four Nightmares and two Gronckles instantly lost their head. The Night Fury went back to where he sat before and firmly stood there.
That instantly sobered the rioting dragons. They stopped as they watched the headless dragon bodies fell to the ground. They were terrified. They did not even see him move!
"Leave!" Hiccup growled. "Or I'll make an example to the rest of you."
The rioting dragons immediately scrambled back. They flew away from the nest, going off into the sky at the distance. The security dragons patrolled around, making sure that no other dragons tried to break into the nest.
After some time, Scorpion and Luna landed next to him. The Deathgripper nodded. "Thank you, Leader. They tried to force their way in despite being turned away."
"Just get rid of the body and see me at meeting area." Hiccup grunted before flying up to the sky. Luna moved to follow him.
Several hours later, Scorpion arrived at the meeting area. Inside the cave, Hiccup and Luna were already there, talking with each other. The Deathgripper came to them and cleared his throat, getting their attention.
"What do you need, Leader?" He asked.
Hiccup turned and looked at him. "Start Independent protocol." He declared.
Scorpion's eyes went wide like saucer. Independent protocol was something that Hiccup came up with in case he would never come back to the nest. The sector leaders would assume complete leadership over the nest until he returned.
"O- Of course, Leader." Scorpion hesitantly nodded. "May I ask why? I do not see any reason why-"
"Luna." Hiccup interrupted, looking at her.
"Yes?" She asked, confused.
"I want you to follow Scorpion." Hiccup ordered.
"Okay." The Light Fury hesitantly nodded. She walked and moved to sit next to Scorpion.
"I am starting this protocol because Red Death had made her move." Hiccup explained. "We denied her of our food. I had killed some of her dragons. When those dragons return to her without food, she would definitely try to invade us once more."
"We could defend ourselves!" Scorpion argued. "Please, Leader. Don't leave us."
"I am not leaving you." Hiccup firmly spoke. "I am doing what is right for my dragons. For all of you. I will deal with her myself."
It was when Scorpion and Luna realised what he meant. "No…" The Deathgripper whispered. They both paled. They realised that Hiccup was about to go and directly challenge Red Death herself!
"Toothless, she'd kill you!" Luna argued. She knew Hiccup need to become an alpha dragon, but it was too soon!
"Have faith." Hiccup comforted her, smiling.
"Leader, you would not stand a chance!" Scorpion argued.
"Well, I've been preparing for this moment." Hiccup replied. "I would be only dealing with her myself. Her dragons would most likely busy doing something else."
"How can you be so sure?" The Deathgripper questioned. "Why now? What makes this the opportunity for you to challenge her?"
"Remember the Vikings from Berk?" Hiccup responded. Seeing a nod, he continued speaking. "They would be going to attack Red Death nest. They would be providing distraction for her dragons. From there, I will attack and challenge her alone."
The two dragons did not know what to say. They still looked incredulous at the fact of what Hiccup was going to do.
The Night Fury began walking out of the cave. "I'm trusting you two until I come back." He spoke as he walked. "Do not follow me on this."
With that, he left the cave, leaving the two dragons alone there.
The whole place was silent for some time. Luna looked worried, while Scorpion looked angry.
After some time, Luna looked at Scorpion. "What is Independent protocol?" She asked.
"It means that all sector leaders would assume full responsibility and control over the Secret nest until he returned." Scorpion explained to her, still looking angry. "I can't believe that… Toothless would challenge her all of sudden like this."
Luna was worried. "Should we follow him?"
"No." Scorpion shook his head. "Not us." He paused, before looking at her. "… but you can."
"What?" That surprised her.
"We are under oath to never follow him when the Independent protocol started." Scorpion explained to her. "We meant to keep it a secret from everyone as long as possible. You're the only one who know about this. You're the only one who could help."
"But I'm just one dragon!" Luna argued, horrified. "What am I supposed to do?"
"You serve directly under him." Scorpion told her. "You may be new to all this, but I have no choice. You are a Light Chaser. You're meant to be with him."
That stunned Luna. Did he know that she was trying to make Hiccup court her?
"Now go help him." The Deathgripper insisted. "He would be heading to Helheim's Gate where Red Death resides. Avoid her dragons. Help our leader win this fight!"
"I- I'll try." Luna hesitantly spoke. She ran out of the cave, leaving Scorpion behind.
Hiccup was not sure if he made the right decision or not.
Ever since his nest got attacked, he had been planning on how to retaliate against Red Death. There was not much that he could do. Red Death had far more dragons than his nest. Red Death was an alpha dragon. Fighting Red Death usually meant death to the offending dragons, either by her dragons or herself.
Hiccup was glad that he was fully immune to alpha call or influence. It meant that he had no problem fighting Red Death herself without any possible mental influence. The main problem comes from her dragons. He could deal with few thousand dragons, but Red Death had far, far more dragons than that. Which was why he had moved to attack now than later.
Hiccup was flying relatively high in the sky. He was heading towards the Helheim's Gate. The Night Fury was not carrying backpack. There was nobody in the sky around him, but he sensed some of them hiding inside the fog.
The dragon noticed several ships down below. He observed the ships to see if he could identify them. The sail had Hairy Hooligan tribe insignia. It was the expedition party from Berk.
He saw his father there, focused on the fog. Hiccup shook his head. They would be used as a distraction for Red Death's dragons, while he would be dealing with Red Death himself. Based on observations from Intelligence sector, she always summoned all her dragons to attack whenever her nest was invaded.
With those thoughts, he turned himself invisible and entered the fog. He was unaware of the pair of light blue eyes watching him further above in the sky.
Hiccup arrived at the Dragon Island. There were explosions and cries of battle from the fog behind him. He sensed that all Red Death's dragons were currently fighting the Vikings. There was nobody inside the Dragon Island besides Red Death herself.
Hiccup pondered on how to tackle the situation. He needed to get Red Death out of that mountain. The Night Fury wondered if blowing up her nest would make her come out.
Deciding that was the case, Hiccup turned himself visible. He dove down to the mountain area and fired a full-powered, dragon magic infused plasma blast. His body crackled with green lightning as he fired a powerful attack directly to the mountain.
The mountain exploded with a massive boom. It shook the ground and caused turbulence in the sky. Hiccup stabilised himself and flew back up to the sky, looking down to the nest that was crumbling down onto the ground.
After some time, a gigantic dragon came out of the nest. It was a giant, blue-red coloured quadrupled dragon, with six eyes that could see all over the place. The tail was spiked, going along its spine and back.
This dragon was recognised as the Red Death.
Hiccup eyed the dragon. Red Death was searching the sky to look for the dragon that attacked her nest. She then saw Hiccup flying around the island. Her eyes narrowed. "You."
"Red Death!" Hiccup declared. "I challenge you for your status as Alpha Dragon!"
"You may try." Red Death narrowed her eyes.
Hiccup up high into the sky. He stalled, before diving right back down. An ear-splitting shriek was heard coming from him as he dove right towards Red Death. The Night Fury started by firing a powerful plasma blast to her face. It exploded and made her took few steps back.
Hiccup circled around. Red Death shook her head as she recovered from the attack. It did not hurt her much, but it was painful to get hit by plasma. "I accept your challenge!" Red Death roared. "You will not last long against me!"
The giant dragon fired a large flame towards him. Hiccup made a vertical loop and dove down, dodging the flame. He fired two regular full-powered plasma blast right to her head. It impacted right to her eyes. She did not have the chance to close some of them, resulting some of her eyes being destroyed.
Red Death roared as she lost some of her eyes. Then, she saw something at the corner of her eyes. She looked smug. Confused, Hiccup looked at where she was looking. His eyes widened. It was Luna! She was hovering there, watching them fight!
The giant dragon fired an extremely strong flame towards her. Luna did not expect her to fire an attack towards her. She froze upon seeing the flame. Hiccup immediately dashed towards her, going for defence. His body crackled with green electricity as he strengthened his body with dragon magic.
Hiccup hugged and covered her body with his wings as flame engulfed their body. The Night Fury clenched his teeth as he felt his back burned with fire. The flame was powerful. After minutes of being scorched, the attack finally stopped. The Night Fury immediately flew back up while carrying the Light Fury with him.
The Light Fury was terrified. She had just arrived at the scene and saw both Hiccup and Red Death fighting each other. The giant dragon saw her and attacked her. Hiccup had just taken an attack for her.
"You daft!" Hiccup snarled right at her. "What did I told you about not following me?"
"T- Toothless!" Luna stuttered.
Hiccup gritted his teeth. After they reached certain altitude, he released her. "Go! Fly away!"
However, Luna refused. "I'm not leaving you!" She spoke, determined. "I'm your dragon. I'm not supposed to leave you!"
"I am challenging her for her status as an alpha dragon." Hiccup responded. "There wasn't supposed to be any interference. You're not supposed to be here!"
"I don't care!" The Light Fury firmly spoke. "Don't treat me like I need to be coddled. I'm a Light Chaser! We don't back down from a fight!"
Hiccup looked down. They were in the clouds and Red Death was searching for them. The Night Fury looked back to Luna. "Stay. Put." He ordered. "Don't interfere."
"No." Luna stubbornly spoke.
"Luna." Hiccup warned her.
"I want to fight her with you!" Luna declared. Hiccup rolled his eyes as she spoke. "Why are you so insistent on believing that paper about Hamish the Second? We don't even know if it's true! We haven't checked if it's true. You told me that I'll be your assistant when I'm done with your training. I'm doing- MMPH!"
Hiccup suddenly tackled her, pulled her into a hug and forced her into a kiss. Luna froze. Her body heated up at the sudden affection that he was showing her. The kiss instantly validated all her love to him. It was her first time kissing another dragon!
After some time, Hiccup let her go. Luna looked stunned. She was furiously blushing. "W- What?" She stuttered.
"I know what you've been trying to do." Hiccup simply spoke. "You're trying to make me court you."
Luna was angry. "Then why haven't you?" She shouted, tears in her eyes.
"Because I'm not ready. I'm not powerful enough." Hiccup answered. That surprised Luna a bit. "This is why I'm doing this. It's not about Hamish the Second. If I win this, I will ascend and become an alpha dragon. It would be safer for me to do anything I want. I planned on courting you after all of this."
"I like you, Luna." Hiccup admitted. "I have a crush on you the first time I saw you. When I saw you trying to make me court you, I knew you will return my feeling. I want to become powerful enough to protect you and my nest. This is it. This is my moment."
The Night Fury healed himself with dragon magic. He took a deep breath, before continued speaking. "Luna, go to the fog and stay invisible. Don't interfere. If you do, the challenge will forfeit and that would be it for us."
Luna was hesitated. The Light Fury snapped out of her thoughts, before staring at him with determined expression. "Okay." She nodded. "I'll be waiting for you. Good luck."
With that, Luna turned around and fly away. She fired plasma blast and flew through it, turning herself invisible. Knowing that she was off, Hiccup flipped himself down and dove right towards Red Death.
The giant dragon was looking around for him when Hiccup appeared right on top of her. The Night Fury sent a powerful plasma blast, reinforced with dragon magic. His body crackled with green electricity as purple-green plasma flew towards her side. It impacted and pushed her to the side, making her crash there.
Red Death growled as she got up from the ground. "How dare you used that tactic against me!" She roared. The giant dragon slowly spread her wings and flew up towards him.
Hiccup noticed that Red Death was flying. He flew up into the sky, towards the clouds. The giant dragon moved to follow him there. It was something that he wanted her to do. Once he reached the clouds, the Night Fury turned himself invisible.
The giant dragon reached the clouds and looked around the place. The cloud was thick, and it was hard to see things around her. She saw glimpses of the flying Night Fury but could not pinpoint where he was.
Suddenly, a plasma blast struck and hit her wing. Red Death roared in pain as she turned to look at the aggressor. However, there was no one there. Moments later, another attack blasted her wing. Then, another one came. The pattern became repetitive as Hiccup started spamming plasma blasts at her wings.
To any outside observer, it looked as if Red Death was being struck down by the gods themselves. The giant dragon was roaring and snarling, angry at the trickery that was being displayed by the Night Fury.
"ENOUGH!" Red Death roared. She sprayed flame all over the clouds. The fire instantly dispersed the clouds, revealing Hiccup flying around. His body flickered in and out of existence, before settling to fully opaque.
Hiccup realised that the time was up. They were extremely high up in the sky and he had damaged her wings enough. The Night Fury dove down straight to the ground. The giant dragon swooped and followed.
The Night Fury focused on flying to the ground while listening for any cue behind him. They almost reached supersonic speed, and the ground was coming very close to them. After some time, he felt heat coming from his back.
Hiccup waited and charged up a regular, full powered plasma blast in his maw. He heard gas behind her, and a spark. Right at that moment, he turned around and fired it right into her mouth. The attack prematurely ignited the flame inside her mouth, making her clamp her mouth shut.
The attack exploded inside her, disorienting her. The Night Fury immediately pulled up into the sky. He barely touched the sand as he pulled up. Red Death spread her wings to slow her down, but all it did was tearing her wings apart. Hiccup had put holes into her wings and those holes become bigger and wider, rendering her flightless.
Red Death crashed headfirst into the ground and rolled forward. Hiccup dodged and weaved around the obstacles in front of him. He entered supersonic speed as he tried to escape the collapsing giant dragon. After some time, he finally made it out. He slowed himself down as he observed the place around him.
The giant dragon collapsed upside down, with her belly exposed. She was no longer moving, meaning that she was dead. He had done it. Hiccup had defeated the alpha dragon.
The Night Fury landed on top of her. He took a deep breath as he prepared himself as to what he was about to do. It was time for him to take what was rightfully his. Normally, he would need the King of All Dragons to do it for him. However, he could to it himself.
He concentrated on his dragon magic and then pushed them into Red Death.
The body of the recently dead giant dragon crackled with green electricity. The crackling became more and more visible and violent. After some time, with a loud crack, the electricity instantly moved over and transferred towards Hiccup. It instantly settled into him and disappeared into his scales.
Hiccup growled as he closed his eyes. He could feel the sheer power entering his body. Blue glow appeared on his back, throat and appendages. He felt his scales hardening, mind becoming clearer, and more senses opened to him. He was becoming far more powerful than ever before.
The Night Fury opened his eyes, revealing a pair of glowing eyes. Knowledge invaded his mind. It was the same experience that he got many years ago when he merged with the Night Fury. More abilities opened to him as he ascended into an alpha dragon. The ascending dragon roared up to the sky as pure, unadulterated power filled him.
Hiccup could feel dragons inside the Helheim's Gate, yearning to be claimed. The knowledge given to him had told him he could bound them to him, making them his mindless slave that would do nothing but obey his order. He did not need their consent to make them do his bidding.
He could read their mind simply by knowing where they are. They did not even need to hold his call. He could fully control them like an owner to an obedient pet. Those holding his call could never let go of, not even if they wanted to, unless he released them himself.
He realised that his ascension had made him beyond any normal alpha dragon. The Great King could never do this. It was unexpected, but not unwelcome. All that power invigorated him. At the back of his mind, he yearned for more. The feeling was intoxicating, and it was something that he never felt before.
Hiccup calmed himself down. He restrained himself from doing anything. It would not do good to become drunk with power. He would never become the second Red Death. He had promised himself to be kind to his dragons. He swore himself to retaliate against her.
Hiccup was not Red Death. He would not do what she had done to them.
Hiccup sensed Luna landing next to him. The Night Fury looked at her. Luna gasped upon seeing him. Parts of his appendages were glowing blue. The Light Fury instantly recognised him as an alpha dragon.
The new alpha dragon smiled as he stared at her. "Like what you see?" He coyly spoke.
Luna tackled her and moved to nuzzle his neck. Hiccup purred as he comforted her. The Night Fury licked her forehead, before whispering to her. "I take that as a yes."
Luna pulled back to observe him more. She looked amazed at his appearance. "You did it." She breathed out. "You became an alpha dragon."
"Of course, I did." Hiccup gave her a smug look. "I did win the battle, after all."
"So, uh…" Luna looked down. She came close to him and began rubbing her body against him. "… does that mean you're going to court me now?"
Hiccup leaned his head onto her. "Just after you consent yourself to my call."
"Fine." Luna rolled her eyes. She leaned back to him. "… I consent myself to hold your call, o alpha."
Hiccup rolled his eyes at her theatrical. He extended his call and captured her mind. Luna gasped as she felt powerful presence inside her mind. It was far more powerful than the time when Red Death captured her with her call. The Light Fury swooned at the presence in her mind.
Luna almost collapsed. The call had complete control over her, but she was still herself. Hiccup was concerned. "Are you okay?" He asked.
The Light Fury shook her head. She gave him a weak smile. "Sorry. You're just more powerful than Red Death, Toothless."
"Well, I do have to be more powerful than her if I want to defeat her." Hiccup replied with deadpan expression.
"Oh." Luna spoke as she looked down. Looking at the dead body of the alpha dragon, it reminded her of something. "… speaking of defeat. Where's her dragons?"
Hiccup extended his senses. The call allowed him to sense living dragons extremely far away around him. "… they were flying away from the place." He slowly spoke. "I think they realised that their alpha died. They were busy fighting the Vikings, last time I check."
The Night Fury further calmed himself down. He vanished the blue glow on his body. It made him indistinguishable from before, except slightly bigger and stronger body. He focused on concealing his status.
Luna frowned. She could not sense him as alpha dragon anymore. However, she still acknowledged it, since she was holding his call. "What did you do?"
"Hiding my status." Hiccup simply spoke as he finished what he was mentally doing. "Dark Chaser and Light Chaser were famous for our stealth. It would not do well if other dragons knew I am an alpha dragon."
"Oh." The Light Fury slowly nodded. "I'm not sure if that's necessary, but I can see the reason why."
Hiccup moved to sniff her. "Hmm… you still smell like a wild dragon." He commented. "How strange. Other dragons should know, so why would it be…"
That confused the Light Fury. "I can feel your call inside me." She spoke, confused.
"Probably just another strange thing about my call. Not worth thinking about it now." Hiccup shrugged. Then, he smiled. "I guess this means the start of our courtship."
"On top of a giant dead dragon that you killed." Luna rolled her eyes, smiling. "I'm flattered. And impressed. I look forward on knowing you more on this courtship. I'm definitely accepting it."
Hiccup smiled back at her. "Start of our courtship it is, then."
Suddenly, Hiccup saw something. He looked to the front to see several Viking ships approaching from the fog. Luna noticed this as well. They both stood on top of the dead dragon, staring at the incoming ship.
Vikings slowly entered the area. They carefully approached the gigantic dead dragon. They were astounded at the sheer size of the dragon. Most of them noticed a pair of familiar dragons standing on top of it, but they were more focused on the dead, gigantic dragon that they were standing on.
"Odin, that's huge!"
"What is that dragon?"
"Mother Freya, that thing is bigger than our ship!"
Stoick and Gobber were at the front. They stopped upon reaching the dead dragon. They looked up, unsure on what to do. It was the same dragon that had given them food. They did not know what to do.
After some time, the chief spoke. "Why?"
Hiccup straightened himself. "Red Death is dead." He declared, getting the Viking's attention. "You had fought her dragons at the Helheim's Gate. You had given me the opportunity to kill the monster that brought death and suffering."
"You had fought well against her dragons." Hiccup continued speaking. "In turn, I slayed the monster inside the nest. With her gone, there shall be no more dragon raid at Berk."
Stoick gritted his teeth. "Why did you help us?" He growled. "You had done nothing but make us suffer. Now you choose to help us?"
Hiccup pondered on what to say. There was no other reason why, besides protecting his nest. However, he could not tell him that, as it would imply that he had a nest somewhere. After some time, he finally settled on something.
"I did not choose to help you." Hiccup spoke, surprising them. "If it was up to me, I would leave you to die by her flames. We are under command of someone higher than us. We were told to defeat the dragon that had terrorized the archipelago for 300 years."
"Who commanded you?" Stoick demanded.
Hiccup dramatically paused. "The Dragon Conqueror." He revealed.
Whispers spoken amongst them. The Vikings could not believe that there was such thing as Dragon Conqueror. The chief questioned. "Who is the Dragon Conqueror?"
Hiccup laughed. "You should already know who, Stoick the Vast." He answered. "They are living amongst you. You are the chief of your village, after all."
Everyone was stunned at that declaration. Hiccup decided that was enough. With those spoken, both Hiccup and Luna flew up into the sky, flying away into the fog.
Hiccup and Luna were flying back towards the nest. They were flying in silence, as they focused on flying. The Light Fury were deep in thought, thinking about something in her mind.
After some time, Luna asked. "Why did you tell them that?"
"Hmm?"
"The whole Dragon Conqueror thing." Luna clarified. "Were you really commanded by someone?"
"Oh." Hiccup nodded in understanding. "Nope. The Dragon Conqueror is me. Someone called me that a long time ago."
The Light Fury slowly nodded. "I guess an alpha dragon kind of counts as dragon conqueror." She slowly spoke. "With the whole controlling dragon stuff."
The two fell silent. They did not know what to say to each other. Luna seemed to have something in her mind. Hiccup was focusing on their flight.
"Hey, Toothless…" Luna started, getting his attention. "You really believed on what Hamish the Second said, did you?"
"… Yes." Hiccup admitted. "There's too much coincidence."
"Tell me more about Hamish the Second."
"According to the stories, Hamish the Second sacrificed himself when he was fighting dragons." The Night Fury told the tale. "That's what my father told me. The sacrifice part did fit the narrative, but we kind of know what really happened to him."
"He sacrificed himself to fight the Void." Luna pondered.
"Yes."
"So, what can he do?" The Light Fury asked. Then, she corrected herself. "… Actually, what can you do?"
"I got some cool abilities that I only have, as well as Hamish the Second. Turning back into human is just one of them." The Night Fury spoke, pondering. "I told you this before. I'm immune to alpha call. That's why I can challenge her like that. I don't have to worry about her nagging me to put her call on me."
"That definitely helps." Luna laughed. Then, she let out a sigh. "… I'm still courting you. You're not getting rid of me that easily."
"I'm still courting you too." Hiccup coyly spoke, looking ahead of him. "I hope that doesn't change anything between us. With me used to be human, I mean."
"Oh no, it's just…" Luna paused. "Surprising. I guess that's what makes you special. It does explain why you manage your nest like that. You have different understanding on what it means to be a leader than everyone else."
"I did adapt some human concepts to my nest." Hiccup admitted. "Sectors, nets, food storage – it makes things easier to do. I mean, it worked for them. Why not copy that? It worked for us too."
"I guess so." The Light Fury shrugged. After some time, she asked. "Does your dragon know about this?"
"Most do." Hiccup shrugged.
"I mean, the whole 'you used to be human' thing."
"Oh." The Night Fury looked down. "I don't know if they know."
"It's best if you tell them." Luna suggested. "They are your dragons. They deserve to know."
Hiccup paused for a moment. After some time, he let out a sigh. "… I guess you're right." He admitted. It could filter out those who were loyal to him and those who did not.
After some time, they approached the Secret nest. Hiccup and Luna flew into it, going towards the Security sector.
Indigo, Obeah, Scorpion and Ghost were inside the meeting area. They were discussing something when someone entered the place. "Hello."
They turned towards the newcomer. It was Hiccup and Luna. Scorpion was the first one to speak. "Leader!"
They approached them. "You're back!" Ghost exclaimed.
"That was quick." Indigo commented.
"Where did you go?" Obeah asked, looking incredulous.
"I'm taking over the leadership back." Hiccup declared. "Now, I want all of you to gather everyone at the living sector. Everyone. I need to make an announcement."
"Wait, just a second!" The Prickleboggle exclaimed, somewhat angry. "Leader, you can't just come here, telling us that the Independent protocol was over and ask for announcement. We want some explanation!"
That stopped everyone. After some time, Indigo spoke up. "She's right." She nodded, agreeing with her. "Where did you go? What did you do?"
"You cannot summon everyone back without any real reason." Scorpion spoke, realising something. "You just returned! Why do you need to summon everyone?"
Hiccup revealed his status to them. His appendages glowed blue, revealing his nature as alpha dragon. The sector leaders gasped as they recognised him as alpha dragon. They tentatively took a step back as they realised that their leader had ascended to alpha status.
After some time, Hiccup hid his status. His body went back to normal. "Does that answer your questions?" He dryly asked.
"I'll summon the others!" Scorpion hurriedly spoke. He looked ecstatic as he rushed out from the cave. The other sector leader looked at each other, before massive grins spread onto their face. They rushed out from the cave, going to alert everyone as well.
Hiccup and Luna looked at each other. The Night Fury smiled as he shook his head. "I guess I really made their day."
"I think you did." Luna nodded, smiling at him.
Later that afternoon, Hiccup sat at the centre of the nest living quarters area, on a thin, elevated rock stack where he could see the whole cavern.
Roughly one thousand and five hundred dragons were sitting and watching at the balcony. They did not have any visitors that day, mostly because visiting dragons had heard of Red Death dragons trying to get in. They were expecting another attack from Red Death nest.
It was unusual that everyone was called back for an announcement. The sector leaders were ecstatic when they told everyone to gather around. They did not tell them what the announcement was all about, which made them curious. As a result, the whole nest was summoned back and waiting for the time.
The sector leaders were sitting at the front of the balcony. Scorpion was not present. They were waiting for the rest of them to come.
After some time, more dragons came in. They landed and sat on the balcony. Scorpion came in and landed next to Hiccup. "Everyone is here… Leader."
Hiccup nodded. "Thank you."
Scorpion nodded back. He flew towards where the rest of the sector leaders were.
"Right!" Hiccup roared. Everyone went silent and put their attention to him. "I'm sure everyone is wondering why you've been summoned."
There were some chatters amongst the dragons, wondering why they were summoned. Hiccup gave them smug look. "To be honest, I'm a little bit excited about this." He looked happy.
"All of you know who I am, but something had changed with me, so I'm going to reintroduce myself." Hiccup happily spoke. He was brimming with excitement.
The Night Fury revealed his status. His appendages glowed with blue colour, as he spread his call to the whole nest. The dragons gasped as they felt them. Their eyes widened upon recognising what their leader truly was.
"My name is Toothless." Hiccup declared himself. "The Alpha Dark Chaser!"
The dragons cheered. They were ecstatic to see that their leader was now an alpha dragon. They could feel his power in the nest. It was powerful, far more powerful than any other alpha dragon that they served before. The call they felt made them feel comfortable, safe and relaxed. It made them more confident with themselves.
Hiccup could feel the undying loyalty of his dragons. They were brimming with excitement, roaring with vigorous passion and enthusiasm to serve him more. He knew that his dragons were loyal to him. His new status as an alpha dragon would make him even more loyal.
The new alpha dragon was happy. He let his dragons cheer for some time, letting them relish that moment. However, after some time, he heard the sector leaders roared aloud. That slowly silenced the dragons. He could feel that everyone was holding back their excitement.
After things calmed down, Hiccup spoke. "Let us begin with the first thing in order."
"Red Death is dead." Hiccup declared. The dragons gasped. "I challenged her position as an alpha dragon. We fought fair and square without any interference. I won."
The dragons was about to cheer once more. However, Hiccup continued speaking. "Second thing in order."
"How many of you know I could turn into human?" Hiccup questioned. He was surprised to see the whole nest raised their paws or heads.
"… did all of you know of my back story?" Hiccup hesitantly asked. The dragons still held up their paws or heads. "… really?"
Scorpion decided to speak. "Leader." He spoke, getting his attention. "We know of your back story. We all know."
Indigo took over the stage. "We know you used to be human." She explained. "We know you consider yourself a dragon. We know of your past."
Ghost raised his head and spoke. "We do not care of your past." He declared. "We do not care of your abilities. We do not care of your rights or wrongs."
Obeah took a step forward. "You led us to prosperity." She boomed her voice. "You made us won an impossible battle. We are all undyingly loyal to you, as you had led and helped us in times of need!"
The dragons roared in agreement.
Hiccup was touched. He looked around to see all the dragons agreeing with the sector leaders. The alpha dragon was proud of his dragons. They already knew of his back story and did not care of them. It validated his feeling that he had done well on leading and herding his nest.
After things calmed down, Hiccup wondered. "How did everyone know about me?" He asked.
"Leader." Scorpion spoke up. "You never hid yourself. Our scouts saw you transform and interact with humans. Intelligence sector heard you. It was none of our concern, but words do get around."
"Do not underestimate the power of gossip and bored dragons." Indigo declared.
The dragons roared with laughter. Hiccup found himself chuckling. He had taught his dragons well. "Very well!" He boomed, silencing everyone.
"Now for the last thing in order." Hiccup started. "Those who wished to have my call, break your call from your alpha and consent yourself to me."
Hiccup winced as he felt everyone breaking their calls at once. It was one of the perks that he had – sensing others breaking their calls and becoming wild dragon. They immediately bowed to him, showing submission and consent to his call. The Alpha Night Fury spread his thrall and captured everyone inside the nest.
His dragons gasped as they were captured by his call. Their new alpha was powerful, beyond anything that they had ever felt before. It made them felt validated to know that their leader was truly powerful. He was an alpha dragon. Their alpha dragon. He was meant to be powerful than everyone else!
After it was done, the dragons began talking amongst each other. Hiccup could sense where everyone was. It was surreal to know where all his dragons were. Everyone was at the nest, that was for sure.
After some time, Scorpion roared. "LONG LIVE TOOTHLESS!"
"TOOTHLESS!" The dragons roared.
"LONG LIVE THE DARK CHASER!"
"DARK CHASER!"
"LONG LIVE OUR ALPHA!"
"ALPHA!"
"LET US CELEBRATE HIS ASCENSION!"
The dragons roared with excitement. Scorpion flew up and circled around the cavern. The rest of dragons followed. They dove down towards the nest terminal and headed straight to the food sector, roaring, cheering and shouting all the way there.
That left Hiccup sitting there, dazed and surprised at what happened. He heard Luna and other sector leaders flew towards him. They landed right in front of him.
There was not enough room at the platform. However, they gave him a bow anyway. "Alpha." They chorused.
"From Leader to Alpha." Hiccup hummed. "Can you start calling me Toothless instead?"
"No." The sector leaders spoke, sounding amused.
"I'll call you Toothless." Luna spoke. She nuzzled him. "We're in courtship, after all."
That surprised the sector leaders. "You're courting Luna?" Obeah questioned.
"Yes." Hiccup nodded.
"When did that happen?"
"After I defeated Red Death." Hiccup answered her. "Why she was there was beyond me, but she witnessed me defeating her."
The sector leaders looked at Luna, eyes wide. The Light Fury nodded. "I was there." She admitted. "Toothless… defended me when Red Death tried to kill me. I didn't know it was a challenge, so I was told to hide."
"She got the front seat to watch me kill her." Hiccup nodded his head.
"But what about her dragons?" Ghost asked, curious.
"They were distracted fighting Vikings." Hiccup told him.
"Huh." Ghost hummed. "I remember our intelligence telling us that there would be an attack by Vikings against Red Death nest."
"It was an opportunity I couldn't pass." Hiccup nodded at him.
They were silent for some time. Then, Obeah decided to speak. "Should we follow Scorpion and others at the food sector?"
"Let us celebrate our new alpha!" Indigo declared. She backflipped off the ledge, spread her wings and flew down towards the food sector.
Hiccup chuckled. "Let's go."
With that, everyone flew down and headed to the food sector.
For the first time in his life, Hiccup felt truly happy.
The next day, Hiccup led his dragons to move all the wealth and treasure of Hamish to the Secret nest. While it served no purpose for dragons, it can be used as decoration. It pleased everyone that they had a massive hoard to flaunt their nest. Once everything was set, Hiccup and Luna flew together alone as fast as possible, heading to a random direction without stopping.
"How far is this place?" Luna questioned. They had been flying since early in the morning. It was evening and they had not stopped yet.
"I don't know." The Night Fury answered. "But I think we're close." He squinted his eyes, before widening it. "Oh gods, that was it."
Far from them, they could see the all-consuming wall of black void that they saw in the picture. There were tendrils coming off from the water, lashing and moving around the place. The black wall seem to absorb lights that went to them. Most parts of the walls had tendrils as well, but these ones do reflect lights. The wall expanded far into the horizon to their side. It seemed to be endless, going both to the space beyond and far aside.
The two of them stopped and hovered in place. They could only stare in shock. It was so enormous; they could see them from afar. They stared for some time, before realising that the black void was moving. The wall was slowly moving closer. The process was extremely slow. It was hard to notice, but it might be more noticeable if they come again next week or so.
"Oh gods…" Luna gasped. She was terrified by the void. "What… is that?!"
"The all-consuming void." Hiccup answered, not looking away from the black wall. He looked grim. "This is bad. It was closer than I thought."
"Toothless." The Light Fury whispered. "What are we going to do?"
"For now… nothing." The Night Fury replied. "… don't tell anyone about this. While Hamish the Second's diary told us that memories were erased, we don't know that for sure. We can't risk the King attacking us."
It was an order from her alpha. Luna slightly bowed her head. "I- I understand."
The two stared at the void in silence. The Light Fury was the first one to turn back. Hiccup followed her behind.