It had been two years since the last time Stoick saw a dragon.
The village of Berk was peaceful. There was nothing much to worry about. Food was plenty and everyone was happy. They did a lot of events to pass their time when there was nothing to do. The only problem was the lack of communication between them and other villages.
Life had never been easy.
"You have a good night, chief!"
Stoick looked up. "You too, Bucket!"
The chief was in the Great Hall. He was sitting alone with Gobber on his side. Stoick was reading the Book of Dragons. The page was showing the entry for 'Light Fury'. There was no picture.
Light Fury.
Speed: Extremely Fast.
Size: 7 meters.
This dragon is extremely intelligent; capable of prioritizing targets and finding every possible weakness of their target. They can render themselves invisible and fly unnoticed. The perfect assassin.
Never engage this dragon.
Your only chance: Hide and pray they're not after you.
The entry was written in Hiccup's handwriting. It was an entry that they added years ago when Hiccup fought against it. He had written it for the Book of Dragons, and Gobber had approved it months after he wrote it years ago.
"Still reading that, chief?"
Stoick looked up once more. In front of him was Phlegma and Ack. The two of them sat at the opposite side. They were both holding tankard of meads.
"Phlegma, Ack." The chief briefly nodded.
"Aye." Ack raised his tankard.
Phlegma looking over to see what he was reading. "Still looking for it?"
The two Vikings had become somewhat close to Stoick and Gobber. It happened after Hiccup left the village. Phlegma the Fierce was close to Hiccup since she taught him about swordsmanship. Both were there for Hiccup when he was kidnapped by the Outcast.
The chief let out a sigh. "I just can't get my mind off it."
Ack looked at Gobber. "How long had the chief been doing this?"
"Since afternoon." Gobber grunted.
The man shook his head. "Still thinking about Hiccup, I see."
He was correct. Stoick completely changed after that day. In the first month, he had completely isolated himself in his house. He delegated most of the work to Spitelout. After that month, he came out of the house and somehow returned to normal.
However, he had become obsessed on finding the Light Fury. It was the dragon that Hiccup rode when fighting against the Outcasts and Berserkers. It was the dragon that had saved him.
The only clue he remembered was the fact that its name is 'Luna'. It was what Hiccup called it.
Stoick truly missed his son. He blamed himself for neglecting him. They rarely interact with each other, outside of the occasional shouting match and bare necessity inside the house.
He admitted that he was protective of him. It was a promise he made to his wife before she was taken by the dragons. It was his duty as a chief to protect his own, and a father to protect his son.
He never realised that Hiccup would be protecting him as well.
That day, when it was revealed that Hiccup was the Dragon Conqueror, he was angry. He felt betrayed that his own son and blood would throw himself to the dragons. He had cursed his name for bringing those dragons to them.
However, as he spent more time thinking about it, he recalled and understood his actions. He loved him as a son to father. He sent his Night Fury to save him, not once, but twice. His Light Fury had moved to save him from Alvin when he was down.
He kept it hidden because he knew he would never accept him for who he was. He wanted him to be safe from harm. He still and truly cares for him. It was also the time when he remembered that his dragons had raided them before.
He realised that Hiccup did not care for the village. He only cared for him.
He was still angry about that part.
"Do you want to come with us on a patrol, chief?"
Stoick looked at Phlegma. She simply shrugged. "All four of us."
"Aye." Gobber nodded. He stood up. "'could've used some fresh air."
Stoick let out a sigh. He stood up from the chair as well. "I need some time to relax."
"Let's go!" Ack cheerfully spoke. He stood up as well. "The more the merrier!"
The forest was very peaceful. It was even more peaceful at night. Stoick, Gobber, Phlegma and Ack were walking down the dirt path. Stoick was at the front with Gobber, while Phlegma and Ack were following behind.
The chief was the one holding up the torch. The blacksmith looked around. "You know, I never thought how peaceful the forest was without dragons roaming."
"The patrol did not see any dragons at all for two years now." Phlegma commented. "It's a record."
"Aye." Ack nodded. "No more attacks. Things were getting boring."
"Longship Racing is next week." Stoick nonchalantly spoke. "You can work your frustration there."
"Aye, chief."
"Ow, stupid net."
The four Vikings froze. Stoick hissed. "Did you hear that?"
They paused, trying to hear whatever it was. After some time, they heard it again. "… stuck with this duty…"
They creeped towards the source. It was somewhere in the middle of a dense forest. The chief blew the torch, turning it off.
There was a hole in the forest. It was not that deep, but there was a dragon in there. They could not clearly see what the dragon was, but based on the sound, it might be a Deadly Nadder.
"Why did I even move to the fishing group?" They heard the dragon grumbling. It looked to be moving something fabric with its claws. "Oh, that's right. I thought it would be easy for me. This is definitely NOT easy for me!"
Stoick and Gobber pointed towards Ack and Phlegma. He gestured them to move to the other side. The chief and the blacksmith waited at the corner of the hole. The other two carefully moved, trying to make a sound.
"I should've just stayed at the Security sector." The dragon grumbled. Then, they noticed the dragon stopped moving. "Did I smell a human?"
"YAAA!" Stoick, Gobber, Ack and Phlegma jumped down the hole, trying to grab the dragon inside. However, the dragon flew up, making them crash down into the hole. The four of them fell, but they heard a zip and suddenly pulled upward into the sky. The four of them accidentally dropped their weapons as it slipped through their hands.
"HA!" The dragon roared as it flew higher, taking them with it.
The four humans screamed when the ground began to look distant. They were high up in the air.
"Oh, Thor almighty!" Phlegma screamed.
Stoick noticed that they were captured inside a net. Looking up, the dragon had ropes tied to its body. The ropes were tied to the net that was carrying them. The dragon looked like a Deadly Nadder, but it was bigger and deadlier.
After some time, they stopped screaming. They were still panicking at the altitude they were in.
"You think you can capture me, humans?" They heard the dragon roar. "Think again!"
"Private!" They heard another dragon coming. They turned to see a normal sized Deadly Nadder. "What are you doing?"
"I was cleaning my net, sir!"
"Why are there humans in your net?"
"Humans tried to capture me, sir!"
"And you thought it was a good idea to capture them?" They heard the Deadly Nadder roared. "This area is off limit!"
"Sorry, sir!"
"Chief, what do we do?" Phlegma spoke to Stoick.
The chief looked around. They could not cut the net or otherwise they would fall to their death. They could not climb up to get out, because they would fall to their death. They were at complete mercy of the dragon, solely because they were being held up in the sky!
Suddenly, Stoick got an idea. There were no dragons around, meaning that Hiccup had done something. It was possible that they were Hiccup's dragons.
"Dragon!" Stoick shouted, getting their attention. "Dragon! Bring us to your nest!"
"Stoick, are you crazy?!" Gobber exclaimed, horrified.
"I know what I'm doing!" The chief snapped at him.
The Deadly Nadder looked up to the titan wing Deadly Nadder in front of him. "Why does this human talk to us, Private?"
"I don't know, sir!" The dragon shouted.
"Hiccup!" Stoick shouted. "Bring us to Hiccup!"
That confused the dragons. "Hiccup nest?" The normal Deadly Nadder questioned. "There was no such nest."
"Squad Lead, the name sounds familiar to me." The titan wing Deadly Nadder told him.
"Stoick, calm down." The blacksmith shouted at him. "The beast can't understand you."
Suddenly, an idea popped up in Stoick's mind. "Luna!"
That gained more attention from the dragons. "Did that human just said 'Luna'?"
"What does he want from Alpha's mate?"
Seeing the reaction, Stoick looked satisfied. "Hiccup owns a Light Fury." He explained to Gobber. "He named it Luna."
"Did they really understand you?" Phlegma was amazed.
"OH!" The titan wing Deadly Nadder exclaimed. "I remember! Squad Lead, 'Hiccup' is Alpha's human name!"
"Ah!" The Squad Leader Deadly Nadder brightened. "That makes sense."
"Dragon." Stoick spoke, getting their attention. "Bring us to him."
The two dragons looked at each other, before looking down at Stoick. Then, the Squad Leader nodded at him. He looked at his teammate. "Let's bring them to Alpha."
With that, the two dragons flew away, carrying a net with humans in them.
Back at the Secret nest, Hiccup was resting inside the throne room.
The 20-year-old man was staring at the empty hallway. He was in his dragon form. There was nobody else inside the throne room but him and his six Deathgrippers.
Ever since the meeting last year, Hiccup had been plotting. The Secret nest served primarily as an intelligence nest for the King and his allies. His nest would gather information, process them and deliver the information to the King to act on.
It was all thanks to their effort that they were winning the war against the Dragon Hunters and Dragon Trappers.
The Dragon Hunters were the first one to collapse. The King had ordered the death to all the humans inside, and to free the dragons that they had in captive. All the bases were to be destroyed. Thanks to their effort, the Secret nest managed to gain a huge surplus of resources and contraptions to use.
Ryker Grimborn, one of the chieftains of the Dragon Hunters, was killed. While the war was happening, there was a coup happening inside their tribe. Hiccup informed this to the King, and he immediately ordered an attack to their island.
It resulted in eradication of the Dragon Hunters. Hiccup ordered a clandestine operation to clean up the place for information. While doing so, they found Viggo Grimborn. He was captured. Hiccup had ordered his capture if they found him, so he could extract information from him.
Unfortunately, King's dragons found them when they were carrying him.
They were forced to give him up, 'lest breaking their cover. He was executed on the spot.
Dragon Trappers was the second one to fall. Most of them were spread apart, meaning that they do not have any governing body. The King killed a lot of them. Hiccup managed to get his dragons quick enough to capture Eret, Son of Eret. He was a person of interest because of his interesting position as a Dragon Trapper.
The clandestine operation, thankfully, went unnoticed.
Eret was apparently employed by Drago Bludvist. However, after his debrief, he switched allegiance to Hiccup. He got him a Snow Wraith he named Skrill Chiller to perform clandestine operation against the King.
Because he was a Dragon Trapper, and Skrill Chiller smelled like a wild dragon, they were completely incognito in their operations. The King did not know that Hiccup have a Dragon Trapper on his side.
Eret, Son of Eret was also the first human to ever learned Dragonese, both in text and speech. He could not speak the language, as it would take several years to learn. However, understanding what dragons were saying made coordination easy to do. It helped that Skrill Chiller understand Norse.
Thanks to his effort, Hiccup made a book of Dragonese for humans to learn, just in case.
The King of All Dragons were busy targeting the Northern Alliance. Hiccup was extremely selective when feeding him with information. He had a plan already in place. If he were to stop both sides, he needed to make the right opportunity to strike.
Suddenly, a Deadly Nadder came into the throne room. "Alpha, there are visitors that wanted to see you."
Hiccup tilted his head. He was somewhat bored, since everything seemed slow that day. There were no dragon visitors at all, since everyone was busy with the war. Luna was busy spending time with her parents.
Hiccup was waiting for Valka and Cloudjumper. He had to stay in the throne room and be ready for visitors.
"Send them in." Hiccup ordered. The Deadly Nadder exited the throne room.
Hiccup waited for a moment. He frowned upon hearing some commotion behind the doorway. Then, he saw what was brought into the throne room.
A Titan Wing Deadly Nadder brought four humans in a net. He lowered it onto the ground and let the humans exit the net. Hiccup recognised them. They were Stoick, Gobber, Phlegma and Ack. They slowly got out, feeling a bit disoriented. After they were out, the dragon flew back and stood at the doorway.
The alpha Night Fury was shocked. His mouth gaped at the fact that the humans were there. How did they managed to convince his dragons to bring them to him? It was a breach of security!
The humans recovered from their disorientation. They were awed at the place around them. It was something that they had never seen before.
"How did you…" Hiccup stuttered, getting their attention. "… what?"
The humans instantly went closer together. Stoick moved to the front, while everyone stood behind him. They slowly approached the alpha Night Fury. They stopped right in front of the platform when the Deathgrippers growled them – daring them to come closer.
"Dragon." Stoick started. "I know you can understand me. I know you can speak."
He took a deep breath, before speaking. "Where is Hiccup?"
Hiccup recovered from the shock. He narrowed his eyes. "Why do you want to know?"
Gobber, Phlegma and Ack were shocked to hear the dragon speak. Stoick continued speaking. "Hiccup is my son." He firmly spoke.
"That's not enough reason."
"I know you're his dragon." Stoick continued speaking. "Tell him that I want to see him."
"Why?" Hiccup drawled.
"I…" Stoick was hesitated.
He felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked to the side and see Gobber there. The blacksmith nodded his head. Then, Stoick looked back to the dragon.
"… I miss him." Stoick confessed.
"Hiccup seemed to care a lot about you." The alpha Night Fury drawled. His tail swaying lazily behind him. "But you don't seem to care for him. Why do you want to see him now, now that he's gone from your village?"
Stoick clenched his fist. He looked down. "Because I care for him." He confessed. "For all my life, as a father, I spent my time trying to keep him safe. Even after everything he had gone through, I still wanted to protect him."
Then, the chief looked up to meet the dragon's eyes. "I promised to protect him with all my life." He spoke, determined. "Instead, he was the one who moved to protect me. I have failed as a father. I wish to change that."
Hiccup tilted his head. "Do you truly regret what you had done to him?"
Stoick's gaze was unrelenting. With a determined voice, he answered. "Yes."
The alpha Night Fury stared at him. After some time, he spoke. "The Hiccup you know were filled with fabrication of lies and deception." He explained. "He did it not out of malice, but rather, out of self-preservation."
"If you were to know the real him, you will not accept him." The dragon explained to him. "You would never accept him for who he is."
"If there was anything I learned two years ago." Stoick slowly spoke. "Is his heart. I know he care for me. I know he does."
"He does care for you." The dragon nodded. "He cares more of you than his own dragons. It is a fact that we already know. It is a fact that we accept."
"The problem was not because of what he had done." The dragon continued speaking. "But rather, who and what he really is. Are you ready to know him?"
"Yes." Stoick firmly nodded.
"Are you ready to know the real Hiccup?" The dragon insisted. "Do you promise to accept him, whoever and whatever he is?"
The Berkian chief firmly nodded. "Yes."
Hiccup contemplated the declaration. Then, he stood from the ground. "Very well." He spoke.
Then, he transformed to his human form.
Stoick, Gobber, Phlegma and Ack were completely, utterly shocked. Hiccup was a 20-year-old man. He was tall and muscular, somewhere around 6'5" feet tall. He wore his usual leather armour outfit and backpack. However, in addition to that, he wore a leather hooded jacket.
"What…" Stoick gaped. "What's the meaning of this?"
"Dad. It's me." Hiccup spoke.
"Tell me something that only Hiccup know." Stoick demanded.
Hiccup smiled at him. "13 years ago, I found the Freyr Lake."
Phlegma and Ack gasped. Hiccup continued speaking. "I was gone for three days. You found me inside my room. You asked me if I fell asleep in the cave. I said no."
Stoick hitched his breath. "Hiccup…" He whispered.
The man slowly walked up towards him. Hiccup simply stood there. Stoick came up to him. Upon reaching him, he stared at the green eyes that was his son. "… I miss you."
The chief enveloped him into a hug. Hiccup returned the hug. "I miss you too, dad." He whispered.
They stayed like that for some time. Then, Stoick released him. He looked at his appearance. "All this time…" He whispered. "You're the Night Fury all along."
"I am." Hiccup nodded.
The chief nervously chuckled. "I- I should've known." He mumbled. "It was the Freyr Lake, isn't it?"
"It was." Hiccup confirmed. "13 years ago, I became a dragon. I accepted myself as a dragon. Thankfully, I can turn back to human."
"And all those dragons…" Stoick looked around, mesmerized by everything around him. Then, he turned back to look at him. "They're really yours?"
"Every dragon in this nest is under my command." Hiccup nodded.
"How many?"
Hiccup smiled at him. "Over 3 billion dragons live here."
"Three…" Stoick choked, shocked at the number. "That's… so many dragons…"
"I have been leading and building my nest for 7 years now." Hiccup admitted. "It's been… quite an adventure, being leader and all that."
The chief felt proud. While his son was a dragon and herding dragons, he was the leader of those dragons. He commanded far bigger village than his tribe. Specifically, dragon village – dragon nest.
"Well, since all of you are here." Hiccup spoke as he walked down the platform. Stoick followed him behind. "I might as well welcome you as a guest."
He approached Gobber, who were still gawking at him. "Hey Gobber."
Gobber beamed at him. "Hiccup!" He moved to hug him.
Hiccup returned the hug. He noticed that Ack and Phlegma were still staring there. "Hey Ack, Phlegma."
"Hiccup!" The two of them come to them.
Gobber released the hug. Hiccup took a few steps back. "Nice to see all of you here."
"So, that's why those dragons never attacked us back then." Phlegma realised, remembering that time back at the Outcast Island. "They were all following you."
"Well, I don't really have any dragons at the time." Hiccup shrugged. "But I talked to those dragons and convinced them to raze the Outcast Island for us to escape."
"Nice to see you again, lad!" Ack cheerfully spoke. "And thanks again for saving us!"
Hiccup nodded to him. Seeing that everyone was close to him, he took a few steps back. "Let me be the one to welcome you here."
He spread his arms. "Welcome to the Secret nest!" He declared.
The six Deathgrippers slammed their claw and spread their wings, surprising the humans. Hiccup lowered his hands, and the dragons pulled their wings back.
"Currently, everyone is busy with their errands, such as gathering food, healing the sick, taking care of their family, defending the nest." Hiccup listed off. "We're the most advanced dragon nest in the world. There was nothing that we could not do to help others."
Stoick chuckled. "Never have I seen anything like this, son."
Hiccup nodded at him. "It wasn't easy." He admitted. "I had to make hard decision after hard decision. It did work out in the end, but some things were best left forgotten."
The chief grimaced. He could relate to that as a chief. He remembered making difficult decisions when leading his own village.
It probably explained why they raided Berk in the middle of a harsh winter. The dragons were most likely starving.
"The Secret nest was a neutral nest up until recently this year." Hiccup continued explaining. Then, he caught himself. "Sorry- I forgot you don't know. There are other dragon nests that exist around the world. They have their alliances, histories, wars – depending on how old the nest was. They are necessary for dragons to survive."
Stoick seemed to make the connection. "The Isle of Berk is under your territory." He realised. "Your nest is the strongest out there. That's why we don't see dragons at all."
"That's right." Hiccup nodded. "Any islands under my territory automatically fall under my protection. We don't really have that much territory, save for some island that served as auxiliary."
"So, you don't really control the dragons." Gobber muttered. "They just follow you."
"Almost all dragon nests have a leader." Hiccup patiently explained to him. "They worked just as you expected. You have one dragon on the top as a leader, and several dragons serving them."
"However." The man continued explaining. "Some nests have alpha dragons. Alpha dragons can control other dragons. There are only 5 recorded alpha dragons that I know of."
Stoick, Gobber, Ack and Phlegma diligently listening to him. Hiccup continued his lecture. "The first one is Red Death. That's the dragon at Helheim's Gate. She's dead. The second one is Tree Hugger – a Foreverwing. He's dead. The third one is Green Death. The fourth one is the King of All Dragons – a Bewilderbeast."
"The fifth one is me." Hiccup finished. "To dragons, I am known as Toothless, the Alpha Dark Chaser."
The four of them gaped at him. "Dark Chaser?" Stoick questioned.
"It's what dragons call Night Furies are." Hiccup simply explained to him.
"So, you do control dragons!" Gobber looked excited.
"Basically." Hiccup nodded. "It's necessary when you're dealing with over 3 billion dragons in one massive nest. Although, it's the politics that you need to be careful of."
"Dragons have politics?" Phlegma wondered.
"Yes." Hiccup confirmed. "I'm not talking about my nest. I'm talking about relations with other nest."
That gave Stoick a clue. "Chieftain gathering."
"Exactly." Hiccup eagerly nodded, happy that they get what he was saying. "Imagine chieftain gathering, but for dragons. Imagine this massive room with almost a million dragon nest leaders gathering together."
Stoick felt dread in his stomach. He could already imagine it. Hiccup continued speaking. "It took me 3 weeks attending that nest leader meeting last year. 3 weeks listening to dragons complaining about literally everything. 3 weeks of watching them politicking for trades, alliances and declarations."
"I had over 50 dragons challenged me. I accepted and killed them right there and then." Hiccup finished. "My dragons were anxious and angry by the end of it. Suffice to say, I was not the most loved dragon at the time."
"That sounds like a big mess." Gobber commented.
"The worst part is that I can't leave at all." Hiccup continued telling the tale. "Other dragons can just leave, but not alpha dragons. I was meant to attend. I had no choice because we're meant to be an example for everyone."
Stoick winced. He could very much relate to that. The Hairy Hooligan tribe was one of the strongest tribes out there. He often attended chieftain gathering out of necessity back then, before Drago Bludvist came.
"Anyway." The nest alpha spoke. "The Secret nest was a neutral nest up until recently. We…"
Hiccup paused. He looked at the doorway. The others seemed to notice. They heard commotion happening outside. The Titan Wing Deadly Nadder in the doorway looked back, before getting out of the throne room.
"What the Hel is going on." Hiccup muttered.
Before they could do anything, someone flew into the throne room. It was Cloudjumper. He looked bruised and wounded, with several large gashes on his body. He only had three wings left on his back. He looked to be holding something on his clutch.
The Stormcutter did not make it far before collapsing somewhat near the doorway. Dragons flew in into the throne room to check him. Hiccup rushed towards Cloudjumper.
Reaching the place, he looked at one of his dragons. "Did you attack him?"
"He came to our nest at this state." One of the dragons spoke.
Cloudjumper slowly looked up. He stared at Hiccup. "Toothless…" He whispered. He looked extremely exhausted.
Hiccup placed his hand on his body and healed him. The wing instantly grew back, and the wounds knitted together. It did not recover his exhaustion, however.
"What happened?" Hiccup demanded. "Who did this? Where's Valka?"
They heard a gasp behind them, but they ignored it. Cloudjumper slowly opened his claws, revealing a familiar figure on his clutch.
It was Valka in her green tunic. She looked maimed. She had a large claw gash on her stomach. Her body was bruised and scratched all over the place. Her hair was dried with blood. She was unconscious.
Hiccup carefully moved and pulled her away from Cloudjumper. He checked her condition. He looked at one of his dragons. "She's alive. Get the medical here."
A Deadly Nadder nodded. She flew and went out of the throne room.
Hiccup heard someone coming next to him. He looked back and see his father, staring at the body of his wife. He was in tears. "Valka…"
"She's alive all this time." Hiccup nodded.
Then, Stoick looked at Cloudjumper. "You're the one who took her!" He growled.
"Dad, no." Hiccup firmly spoke. His eyes hardened as he stared at him. "Cloudjumper have been together with mom for years. He has been protecting him. Do not blame him for this."
"Toothless…" Cloudjumper whispered. Hiccup sharply looked at him.
"Who did this, Cloudjumper?" The nest alpha asked. It was then he noticed the smell on him. The Stormcutter was a wild dragon. His eyes widened. "No… he didn't…"
"I- I'm sorry, Toothless." Cloudjumper whispered once more. "I tried my best… He ordered her death…"
Hiccup closed his eyes. He looked away for a moment, before moving to stare back at Cloudjumper. The Stormcutter was looking at him with pleading expression. Deciding on what to do, the nest alpha pushed his call and captured the Stormcutter.
Cloudjumper weakly smiled as he felt powerful call overwhelming him. "… I knew I would be serving you at some point… Alpha."
Stoick came close to Valka. He caressed her cheeks. His eyes were filled with tears. "Hiccup…" He whispered, anger creeping in his voice. "Who did this?"
Hiccup clenched his fists. "The King of All Dragons." He growled.
Valka felt pain.
It was the first thing that she felt when she slowly regained her consciousness. She slowly opened her eyes to see the familiar ceiling of glowing crystals. She recognised it as the living quarter in Hiccup's nest.
She squinted her eyes as she adjusted with the light. She tried to move her body but found herself unable to. The woman weakly groaned. She felt better than before, but she was still in pain. She held onto the fabric under him. She noticed that she was on a very soft, comfortable bed.
Valka felt someone holding her hand. A familiar, soft hand caressed her cheek. "Valka…"
Eyes wide, she slowly looked down. Next to her bed was someone that she completely did not expect.
It was Stoick the Vast.
The love of her life.
Tears began to build in her eyes. "Stoick…" She whispered.
Stoick's eyes watered. He gave her a weeping smile. "You're as beautiful as the day I lost you." He whispered.
The man pulled his wife into a hug. Valka began to cry. She slowly wrapped her hands around him. They held their embrace. They both truly missed each other. For 19 years, they were separated; one thought the other was dead, and the other was afraid their partner would never accept them.
It was the touching scene that Hiccup and Luna arrived to. Hiccup was in his dragon form. The two patiently moved and sat at the corner, waiting for them to finish their reunion.
Gobber, Ack and Phlegma entered the room. They noticed that their chief was hugging his wife. Valka looked to be awake. She was crying in their embrace. The newcomers moved to stand next to Hiccup. They occasionally looked at Luna with curious looks.
After some time, Stoick and Valka let go. The man wiped the tears from her eyes. The woman shuddered her breath. "Stoick, I… I'm sorry…"
"You are the love of my life." Stoick breathed out. "I love you."
Valka let out a joyous smile. "I love you."
Stoick softly kissed her.
Hiccup let out a soft smile. He was happy that his father finally reunited with his mother. While he was annoyed that his mother left him long ago, he was happy that they finally reunited.
The chief finally let go of her. He looked back to see the newcomer. Hiccup, Luna, Gobber, Ack and Phlegma were there. Valka noticed them as well.
The two dragons slowly approached them. They came next to her at the opposite side of the bed. "How do you feel?"
"Tired." Valka weakly spoke.
Gobber, Ack and Phlegma came next to Stoick. Valka moved her head to look at them. "Gobber? Phlegma?"
"Valka." Phlegma softly smiled. "I'm glad you're alive."
"We thought you were dead." Ack piped in.
Valka softly smiled at them. "I- I'm still here…" She whispered.
Suddenly, she was reminded of something. Her eyes widened as she started to panic. "Wait, where's Cloudjumper?"
"He's fine." Hiccup answered her. "He's still recovering since… yesterday."
Memories from before flooded her mind. She let out a gasp, before another feeling overwhelmed her. Betrayal.
Valka limped and relaxed herself onto the bed. She stared up to the ceiling, still processing the fact that she was still alive. Her eyes glazed over as she remembered what happened that day.
"Valka…" Stoick softly spoke. "… what happened?"
"I…" The woman breathed out. "I don't know…"
"Cloudjumper told me you were attacked." Hiccup spoke, getting their attention. "You were separated from him by the order of the King. He managed to reach you by breaking through his call."
Stoick looked away. He looked angry. Valka looked at him. "Stoick… please…"
"No." Stoick responded. "Hiccup told me everything. I don't blame him."
Hiccup had told him about the nature of alpha dragon. Dragons that can control other dragons, and the history behind it. It sounded absurd, but he understood. While the idea was new to him, he understood them more than anyone else.
After all, everything that the village did outside always bounce to him.
"Mom." Hiccup softly spoke. "Do you remember what happened?"
Valka shuddered. "I was resting in my place when Cloudjumper suddenly left me." She told the tale to them. "I- I don't know why, but I was cooking something to eat. But then, dragons came to me and…" She shuddered her breath. "They attacked me."
"I- I don't know why." The woman whispered. "I remembered them. I saved them from Dragon Trappers."
"That's because they were under the call of the King." Hiccup answered.
The woman softly gasped. "But Cloudjumper-"
"Broke through the call to save you." The Night Fury interrupted her.
"But I saved them." Valka was in denial. "How could they attack me? Why did he ordered to attack? I- I don't understand!"
"Mom." Hiccup softly spoke. "I'm sorry. The King… he never cared for you. He only cares for his dragons."
The woman closed her eyes. It felt painful to know what happened.
"Last year, there was a massive dragon gathering at the King's nest." Hiccup told her. "Do you remember that?"
Valka let out a soft smile. "I remember." She whispered. "There were so many dragons I've never seen before…"
"It was the nest leader gathering." Hiccup explained to her. "I was there, attending as an alpha dragon. I explained to them about the threat we're facing; Dragon Hunter, Dragon Trapper and the Northern Alliance."
"I expected them to rally the dragons to attack and save those dragons. You lived together with them for so long. I thought they knew better." Hiccup was hesitated. "But instead of that, they… declared war against all humans."
The Vikings looked at him, scared at the premise. Stoick hardened his expression. Valka silently gasped, shocked at the conclusion. Gobber, Phlegma and Ack grimaced at that statement.
"I tried to salvage the situation." Hiccup continued speaking. "They relied on me for information. I made them focus on Dragon Hunters and Dragon Trappers instead of settlements. I tried to buy us some time, but it looks like we're running out of time."
"Hiccup." Stoick asked. "Who were the threats?"
Valka placed her hand onto his, getting her husband's attention. "Dragon Hunters are people who hunt and kill dragons." She explained to him. "Dragon Trappers are people that capture dragons for their clients."
"Valka." The chief softly spoke. He caressed her cheek. "You risked your life to help dragons that didn't care for you. Why did you do this?"
The woman gave him a weak smile. "Because I care for them." She firmly spoke. "They're not animals. They're more than just that. You… you've seen them, haven't you?"
"Hiccup showed me the truth." Stoick responded. "He showed all of us the truth about the dragons."
"What do you think about them, Stoick?"
"It…" The chief was hesitated. "It was hard to accept. But we believed him."
"He brought us to fly with the dragons." Phlegma interjected.
"It was so exciting!" Ack enthusiastically exclaimed.
Gobber smiled at her. "The lad showed us more about dragons." He explained to her. "Who could've thought? He even has a dragon as his wife."
"Wife?" Valka choked. She looked at Hiccup and Luna.
Luna leaned onto Hiccup and purred. The Night Fury wrapped her wings around her. "She's my mate." Hiccup confirmed.
Valka felt happy. "Congratulations." She softly spoke. "… how long have you…"
"It's been a few months." Hiccup admitted. "We were… dating each other for years."
Hiccup had claimed Luna as his own when the Light Fury finally break. Apparently, she could not handle the pressure and teasing that he had often imposed onto her. She had quite literally begged and forced him to claim her as his own. The idea of laying egg in the Hidden World scrapped and forgotten.
Hiccup felt guilty for doing that. He did tease her from time to time, mostly because she had no sense of privacy or boundary. She would ignore his pleading to not disturb him, and he did not want to use his call against her. It was the only way for him to get her to stop.
She did get him back for leaving her unsatisfied for years. She got to spend her time together with Hiccup, all alone for an entire week. Hiccup had to satisfy her for all those years of foreplay.
"Are you…" Valka made a gesture.
Hiccup shook his head. "No." He answered. "No eggs yet."
Valka let out a sigh. She relaxed herself onto the bed. Her mind whirred at what they had discovered. She frowned. "Who was the Northern Alliance?"
"It was an enormous army of both humans and dragons." Hiccup explained to them. "They were comprised of Dragon Trappers and Dragon Hunters, led by a madman hellbent on conquering the world."
Valka closed her eyes. Stoick looked at Hiccup. "Who is the madman?"
Hiccup stared at him in the eyes. "Drago Bludvist."
Stoick's eyes darkened. Hiccup suddenly looked at the entrance. He paused for some time. "… I have to go." He finally spoke. He looked at his father. "I'll talk more about this later after Valka and Cloudjumper recovered."
"Be careful, Hiccup." Stoick softly spoke.
Hiccup nodded. With that, the two dragons left the cave, leaving the humans inside.
One week had passed. Valka and Cloudjumper finally recovered from the attack.
Stoick and the others agreed to keep it a secret for now. They had their dragons hiding in the woods, ready to extract them away when things go awry. They were also there to keep track of other dragons, in case they decided to attack the village.
The dragons inside the nest were curious to see the humans. However, after few days of curiosity, they simply ignored their presence. If their alpha thought they were fine inside the nest, then they have nothing to worry about.
They were authorized to maim if they ever attacked them.
Hiccup was in a square room with only one doorway. He was in his human form, writing something with his quill pen. The doorway would lead to the security sector. It was his private study where he would organise missions and jobs for his dragons. It was a place where he kept his own archive.
There were wooden tables and chairs around, with stacks of books and papers all over the place. Most of them were tied together with thin rope. The papers were written in mixture of Norse and Dragonese language. The ceiling was full of glowing crystals, illuminating the place.
People started coming into the room. Hiccup looked up. He saw Valka and Stoick coming in. "Welcome back."
"Hello, Hiccup." Valka softly spoke.
"Hey mom, dad." Hiccup greeted them. "I see mom's alright now."
Stoick crossed his arm. "Can you tell us what happened?"
"The King was busy fighting with the Northern Alliance." Hiccup answered. "I am not sure of the outcome of that war, but either way, once they're gone, I had to jump in and take action."
"The King of All Dragons and every other dragon nest were currently banding together to fight against the humans." Hiccup explained to them. "Their goal is simple; eradicate humans from the face of the Earth."
Stoick hardened his expression. Valka gasped. "They wanted to kill all of us?" She asked.
"Yes." Hiccup nodded.
"Why?"
"They declared that all humans are bad." The nest alpha explained. "For over 600 years in their history, humans had been a menace for them. It made them cynical of humans. They could not accept the fact that there could be actual humans that were kind to them."
"The bubble popped when I revealed to them of the threat." Hiccup continued explaining. "Drago Bludvist is in possession of a Bewilderbeast. He has an alpha dragon species under his command."
The Berkian chief gritted his teeth. "He can control dragons?"
"To some extent." Hiccup nodded. "It's not the dragons you need to worry about. It's his Bewilderbeast. Unwilling dragons are easy to deal with. The one controlling them is the problem."
"Drago is currently moving against the King of All Dragons to take the title for his dragon." The nest alpha explained to them. "The King is moving to push and destroy Drago Bludvist. He was slowly winning against Drago."
"Currently, all their resources were spent on fighting each other." Hiccup finished his explanation. "While they're doing that, we're going to be busy doing something else."
"What's the plan?" Stoick asked him.
"Officially, the Secret nest is allied with the King of All Dragons." Hiccup answered. "We're basically their information deposit. We tell them certain things and they'll act on it in instant."
Stoick's eyes widened. "You're controlling them through information." He guessed.
"Exactly." Hiccup smiled. "That's what we've been doing."
"You're making them fight each other." The chief spoke, realising the plan. "And then you- you attack them when one of them finally won."
"That's the plan." Hiccup nodded. "Both sides would be significantly weakened when they're done. When that happened, we act. Whoever won the war will have to be eliminated."
"But he's the King of All Dragons." Valka wondered. "Who's going to replace him when he's gone?"
Hiccup simply smiled at her. He did not answer. It took Valka a few moments before realising it. "You're going to be the King of All Dragons?"
"Well, I'm going to be the only one coming on top." Hiccup shrugged.
Stoick slumped a bit. "It's better you than them, I suppose." He grumbled.
"They'd be angry and enraged." Valka argued. "They're not going to accept you."
"What other alternatives then?" Hiccup questioned. "The King wanted to kill all humans. Drago Bludvist wanted to conquer the world. Both could not be reasoned with."
"But what about you?" Stoick asked. "What do you want to do?"
Hiccup let out a sigh. "I don't know." He confessed. "I just don't want either of them win. I haven't planned it out that far."
"There are genuinely good humans out there. They're friends with the dragons." Hiccup explained. "There are also good dragons, living together with their human friend."
"This whole idea of genocide is insane." The nest alpha placed his hands on his hips. "And I don't want Drago Bludvist to conquer the world. If there were ever a way to avoid this without resorting to this, I'll take it. But this is what we have."
Valka and Stoick fell silent. They knew Hiccup was right. It was a battle between two lesser evils, and Hiccup was in the middle of it. The chief felt like Hiccup was in control of the whole situation.
Suddenly, they heard someone coming into the room. "Yo, Hiccup!"
They looked at the source. It was a 25-year-old man. He was tall, with broad-frame and beefy arms. There were scars on his arms. He wore a beige-white and white tunic, sleeveless fur vest, pants and shoes. He had a light blue tattoo on his chin.
"Hey, Eret." Hiccup greeted him. "Situation normal?"
"All good." The man named Eret nodded. Then, he noticed the other two humans there. "Whoa! Who's this?"
"Eret, these are my parents. Stoick and Valka." Hiccup gestured to them. "Mom, dad, this is Eret, Son of Eret."
"Nice to meet you." Stoick rumbled as he offered a handshake.
Eret eagerly accepted it. "Nice to meet you too, Stoick!" He looked at Valka. "Glad to know we're on the same side now. I remember you releasing my dragons back then."
It was then Valka recognised him. "Wait, you're Eret the Dragon Trapper?"
Eret heartfully laughed. He crossed his arms and straightened himself. "I'm Eret. Son of Eret." He boasted. "Finest dragon trapper alive."
Valka looked at Hiccup. "Hiccup, can you explain why you have a Dragon Trapper here?"
"Hiccup saved me from the King." The former Dragon Trapper spoke, getting their attention. "He told me what happened. I've been working with him ever since."
"Eret here handled everything relating to Drago Bludvist." Hiccup explained to them. "Officially, he's still under employment of Drago Bludvist. We've been planting my dragons to listen and sabotage their plans. Eret had also been feeding information to Drago Bludvist about the King. Sometimes, he captures dragons from the King."
"You have control over the information." Stoick realised. His eyes widened. "You're basically playing both sides."
"That's one way to put it." Hiccup nodded. "Yes."
It was then Stoick realised how terrifying his son was. He had control over billions of dragons, all of which eager to follow his command. He had all the information about everything happening. He was entrusted to feed information to one side, and plant information to the other.
He knew his son was smart. The event from years ago was still fresh in his mind. He still remembered him commanding his dragons to kill the Outcasts and Berserkers. He orchestrated the whole thing, revealing himself as the Dragon Conqueror.
However, it paled in comparison to this. The sheer scale of this was absurd!
"How did they not realise this?" Stoick wondered.
Hiccup and Eret looked at each other. Then, they looked back at Stoick. "Drago Bludvist did not care as long he get information or dragons under his command." Hiccup slowly explained to him. "Dragons in general are not that intelligent. It took me years to set a standard, so my dragons are as smart as humans."
"The King and his dragons are too blind on their hate." Eret took over the explanation. "Besides, they completely trust Hiccup with their nest. They see him as kin because he helped so many dragons before."
Stoick was still processing what happened. Hiccup shuffled something on his desk. He grabbed several papers, checked them over, before offering it to Eret. "Here. No dragons this week, unfortunately. There's something inside if you want to hunt King's dragons. This should be enough to keep Drago off your back."
Eret picked up the paper. "Thanks." He spoke as he checked the papers.
"Right." Hiccup nodded. He moved to the side and grabbed a large book. He returned to them and placed the book onto the table. "Two of you are going to need this."
Stoick and Valka looked at the book. It was a thick leather book with title 'Dragonese: Written and Spoken Language of Dragons', authored by 'Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III.'
"That will be your copy of Dragonese dictionary." Hiccup explained to them. "It's the language of dragons. It should help you learn what dragons are saying. Eret already knows."
"All this time… you have something like this?" Valka gaped.
"Err… no." Hiccup shook his head. "I made it several months ago. Eret was the one who gave me the idea."
Stoick slowly grabbed the book. He opened it and read the first page. It explained that they would need a dragon in order to learn the language properly. The book was a reference to learn what they were saying.
"Dad." Hiccup started, getting his attention. "Right now, the plan is to unite dragon friendly settlements together under one faction. This will help them defend themselves, in case the King decided to attack."
He began shuffling and gathering some paper on the table. "The first thing you need to do is to make sure that the village knows about the dragons." He explained to him. "I'll have my dragons ready for the village to be friends with."
"After that, contact these dragon friendly villages for alliance." Hiccup spoke as he offered it to Stoick. The chief grabbed the papers. "Since they are friendly to dragons, they should instantly accept your alliance. Some of them were close to the mainland. You have dragons with you, so it should not take too long to travel back and forth."
Stoick looked over the papers. There were information and description of villages there. He recognised some of them. Huttsgalor village and their chief Duggard the Decisive. Wingmaidens and their chief Atali. Defenders of the Wing and their chief Mala. Peaceable Tribe.
"I didn't know Peaceable Tribe were friendly to dragons." Stoick commented.
Hiccup snorted. "It's in the name." He spoke. "They never retaliated when dragons raided them. I took pity of them and claimed the territory, so they stopped getting raided."
"That's kind of you, Hiccup." Valka commented.
"Why is Bog-Burglars here?" Stoick questioned.
"Recently, Camicazi – the daughter of Big-Boobied Bertha – had befriended a dragon." Hiccup told him. "She befriended one of my Woolly Howl. They've been harassing tribes around them. Nobody knows who it was, yet."
The chief groaned. He remembered her. "She was a menace during her visits to Berk."
"Good thing I wasn't there back then." Hiccup nodded.
Stoick glared at him. "You're always in the forest whenever another village went to visit."
Hiccup grinned at him. "Exactly!"
The chief rolled his eyes. He looked at the papers once more. "… Very well." He finally spoke. "I will see what I can do."
"Great!" Hiccup happily spoke. He pulled out a book from his pocket. "And this here is for mom."
Valka picked up the book. It was titled 'Living with Dragons', authored by 'Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III'.
"It should contain information on how to integrate dragons in the village." Hiccup explained to her. "My dragons are already trained. They should be able to help the village after integration."
Valka stared at him. "You want me to go to Berk?" She asked.
That confused Hiccup. "Aren't you coming with your husband?" He questioned.
Stoick placed his hand onto her shoulder. They both stared at each other. "Don't worry." He firmly spoke. "Whatever happens, I will be there for you."
Valka stared at him. Then, she gave him a determined nod.
"And that's all for now." Hiccup spoke, getting everyone's attention. "Don't forget about the nets, Eret."
"Aye." Eret nodded. "I'll be going now." With that, he left the room.
Hiccup looked at Valka and Stoick. "Mom. Dad." He spoke. His tone was serious. "The entirety of Barbaric Archipelago is under my territory. No other dragons are allowed to enter. Nobody knows that there are human villages there."
"However, several nests were starting to violate that." Hiccup explained to them. "If the King learned about any of this, it will be a three-side war. It will be a blood bath."
Stoick and Valka nodded. They knew the danger of the situation.
"Let's hope this goes well." Hiccup gravely spoke. "I will do my best to delay them. I will tell you when we finally run out of time."
"Let's hope we make it in time, then." Stoick rumbled.