47. Burying the Hatchet

Mirabel, Hiccup, Toothless, Astrid, and Fishlegs.

Together, this quintet leisurely strolled through the village. Mirabel and Hiccup decided that a tour would be better than just standing in one place and answering Fishlegs’ questions.

Of which there were many.

“What type of tree is that?” “Why was that cat so big?” “What are those people eating?” “And what are they wearing?” “What language is this?” “Where are we geographically?” “What’s a toilet?”

The young couple tried their bests to keep up with the endless inquiries, but they were only human.

Mirabel groaned. “If I hear one more question, my brain’s gonna explode…”

“Is it?” Hiccup asked with a playful grin. The cross look he got from her was enough to make him laugh.

They heard another question, but not from Fishlegs. This time it was from Astrid. “What’s with the kids?”

As soon as she said this, they heard the pitter-patter of many little footsteps.

The town’s children were rushing over, all eager to shower Toothless with love.

The dragon joyously nuzzled and nudged the children, always happy to play with his fans.

Hiccup and Mirabel smiled at the sight, but the teenage Berkians couldn’t believe what they were seeing.

“…That’s a Night Fury…” Astrid softly stated.

“Yep.” Mirabel confirmed.

“One of the most dangerous dragons in existence…” She continued.

“Uh-huh.” Nodded Hiccup.

“A-And you’re just letting the kids…play with it?” Asked Fishlegs, aghast.

“Yeah, he does this all the time.” Hiccup shrugged.

Fishlegs sensed an opportunity. An opportunity to examine the most illusive of dragons closer than ever before.

“May I…?” He tentatively requested, pointing to the frolicking reptile. In response, Hiccup waved him onwards.

The rotund boy was positively giddy as he made his way over. He got out his sketchbook, and started documenting everything he could.

Mirabel herself felt like scratching the lovable creature, and stepped forward as well. Leaving just Astrid and Hiccup.

Taking note of her wary expression, Hiccup managed a slight smirk. “It’s perfectly fine…you of all people should know that.”

She gave him an odd look. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I know…” Her staring didn’t cease, so he elaborated. “About you and the Nadder.”

To say she was flabbergasted would be an understatement. “W-What? How did-How- “

“Dolores heard you petting it, and acting all sweet…” His smirk grew more teasing. “What’d you call it…Stormfly?”

“Don’t tell Stoick!” She abruptly pleaded. “Please! I don’t know what he’ll- “

He tried to assuage her fears. “Relax, your secret is safe with me. I kinda know what you’re going through…” He gestured back to the black dragon in front of them.

“I just wanna know how this happened. I really didn’t expect this out of Astrid Hofferson, dragon-killing extraordinaire.” She seemed a bit tentative to answer.

But…he really would understand her situation more than most.

“I um…I decided to use the Nadder to find…the nest.” At his shocked expression, she explained. “The raids have been getting worse, Hiccup. The dragons have been taking all the food, and burning the village to the ground. Constantly. For a while, everyone on Berk was homeless…”

He actually looked distressed at this.

“I had to end the war, I had to. I realized that a dragon would know where the nest is, so I figured I’d train one to take me there. And…” She sighed, really not liking what she was about to say. “Along the way…I realized you were right.”

“H-Huh?” Hiccup stuttered.

Did Astrid, Astrid, just say he was right about something?

“You were right about dragons!” She nearly shouted, as if still needing to prove it to herself. “They’re not all bad. Stormfly is…she’s the sweetest girl! She’s my best friend!”

She sighed. “I don’t know if she’s just the exception, or what…but all dragons can’t be evil. I see that now…”

Hiccup swore he was dreaming, because he was positive there was no way he’d ever hear these words in his waking life.

“Th-That’s…that’s just…wow!” He laughed, in positive disbelief. “I don’t even know what to say! That’s amazing!”

Someone else on Berk had learned the truth about dragons. And not just anyone, but the staunchest hater of dragon-kind of the new generation.

It truly was incredible.

But he still had one question.

“So what about the nest? Did you find it?” He asked.

Astrid’s jaw nearly dropped.

They were just…talking. Just making conversation.

And the opportunity presented itself.

The opportunity to tell Hiccup about the nest, and win him over to their side.

“Was Fishlegs…right?” She thought.

In hindsight, the kidnapping plot felt rather silly now.

Her brow furrowed, and her fists clenched, as she prepared to complete her mission.

“Actually- “

A deluge of chickens interrupted her.

The group looked in fear and immense confusion, as a swarm of poultry stampeded through town.

The sounds of clucking were overwhelming, and there were feathers floating everywhere.

And leading the charge were Camilo, Ruffnut, and Tuffnut.

Mirabel, Fishlegs, and Toothless rejoined the group, gazing upon the chaos.

“Was that…Camilo?” Mirabel wondered.

Hiccup nodded. “And the twins…”

The four looked to each other.

And decided they wanted absolutely nothing to do with this.

The teens and the dragon, eager to avoid whatever that was, all turned around and walked in the opposite direction as fast as possible.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As Fishlegs somehow managed to rope Hiccup into a heated discussion on the anatomy of a palm tree, Toothless standing beside his rider, Mirabel sat on a bench with Astrid.

The two sitting as far apart as humanly possible, while eating something the shieldmaiden had never seen before.

Ice Cream.

She eyed the strange, soft substance. Poking the cone and sniffing the white cream with wariness.

Mirabel watched this process with great confusion. “Just…lick it. You’ll like it, trust me.”

Astrid didn’t trust Mirabel. At all. But she saw her scoop was starting to melt in the hot sun, and decided to give it an apprehensive lick.

And her mind exploded.

This sweetness…this texture…this flavor…it was like nothing she’d ever experienced!

Feverishly, she licked and licked until her vanilla scoop was no more. She immediately began munching on the cone, until that too was gone. With nothing else to eat, she started licking her fingers for any last remnant of flavor she could scrounge up.

The normally stoic and aggressive girl slurping up her sweets like a child was a truly amusing sight, and it got a laugh out of Mirabel. “See? I knew you’d like it!”

Astrid, suddenly remembering she wasn’t alone, shifted her wide-eyed expression to her usual scowl. And tried to save face. “I-It was fine…”

“Don’t even try it, I saw all that! You loved it!” The bespectacled girl insisted with a mischievous grin.

A grin that pissed Astrid off.

“I SAID IT WAS FINE, SO SHUT UP!” Astrid yelled, startling the girl sitting next to her.

For a bit, Mirabel sat in a stunned silence.

But then, she grew a frown of her own. “Okay, what is your problem?”

“You’ve been so…hostile to me ever since you got here. More than you are with other people! What did I ever do to you?” She asked, frustrated.

Astrid crossed her arms and slumped in her seat. “It’s not what you did…it’s what you are.”

“Thank you for summing that up…” Mirabel muttered.

Astrid continued to explain. “You live in this freaky, magic village where you don’t have any problems. But you act like you’ve been through Hel! You act like you’ve suffered, and are only just now starting to recover. But I know you haven’t!

She pointed her thumb to her own chest. “I know what Hel looks like! I’ve suffered!”

“I wake up every day, and wonder if I’m gonna live to see tomorrow. The biggest problem you’ve ever had was picking out which shoes to wear.” She seethed.

They both sat, staring at each other with disdain, until the other girl spoke up.

Mirabel glared at her, anger rising. “You make a lot of assumptions…y’know that?”

Astrid raised her eyebrows at this.

“Have you ever lied awake at night, wondering if your family really loved you? Have you ever cried yourself to sleep, because you thought you were dragging everyone down?  Have you ever thought that you’d ruined everything? That you killed the most important thing in the world?” She asked.

She grew more bitter as she spoke. “No, I haven’t fought dragons. But I have seen my village be destroyed. And I worked with everyone I hold dear to rebuild it.”

Mirabel stood, and stared the blonde girl down. “I’m not asking you to feel bad for me, because I don’t need your pity. But don’t you dare say I’ve never had any problems.”

With that, she started walking over to the boys. Arguing about palm trees would be better than this.

Until she heard a surprisingly soft voice.

“…I’m sorry…”

Mirabel stopped, and slightly turned to the Viking girl on the bench. “What?”

“I said…I said I’m sorry.” Astrid sighed. “I didn’t know you went through all that. The fact that you made it out okay…it’s actually kinda hardcore…”

And she meant it, too.

Perhaps this girl wasn’t the prissy, pampered, spoiled witch she once thought.

Mirabel was completely stunned. Even Hiccup and Fishlegs were speechless.

“U-Um, thank you…?” Sputtered the bespectacled girl, unsure of how to react.

Satisfied that her message was received, Astrid looked to the floor. Trying to hide how visibly uncomfortable she was.

Hiccup approached her, befuddled. “Did Astrid just…apologize?” He wondered.

She looked to him. “I’m guessing this isn’t common for her?”

“Not in any sense of the word…” Mumbled Fishlegs.

Mirabel gazed upon the girl.

For once, she didn’t look like an axe-wielding madwoman, intent on kidnapping and perhaps killing her boyfriend.

She looked like a teenager. A stubborn, confused teenager who’s seen more anguish than most people ever will.

It was very odd.

Astrid’s stomach gurgled, and she blushed in embarrassment.

“I-It was good…” She murmured.

Hiccup laughed, Mirabel laughed, even Fishlegs joined in. Soon enough, Astrid allowed herself a small chuckle.

The teens, in a semi-awkward, semi-comfortable silence, went to get some more ice cream.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Having minions was pretty sweet.

Camilo and the twins had spent their day getting into all sorts of food-related mischief.

Mostly stealing food.

For Camilo to eat.

He got to stuff his face, and received endless praise while doing so.

He was living the dream.

As their puny God gorged himself on their latest acquisition, Ruffnut and Tuffnut couldn’t help but feel…unfulfilled.

Stealing food was fun and all, but…they wanted more.

“Er, Almighty Loki?” Ruffnut prompted. “I was wondering if we could…”

“PRANK!” Tuffnut interjected, jittering with unhinged energy. “I gotta prank someone! Anyone! I don’t care who, just let me prank! PLEASE!”

Looking up from his meal, Camilo raised an eyebrow. “What about letting all those chickens loose?”

“That was only so we could take the farmer’s lunch…” Ruffnut pointed out.

“I want to prank solely out of love for the artform…” Said her brother.

Camilo considered what they were saying, and he had to admit that they had a good point. He could go for some pranks right now.

Also, he wasn’t as hungry anymore.

The trio peeked out of the alleyway they were huddled in, looking for any potential targets.

Camilo spotted a man, sitting outside on a bench. Enjoying the weather. And an idea struck him.

“Check this out…” He whispered to the twins with a devious grin.

He snuck around the man, trying his best to avoid detection. The twins waited in the alleyway with baited breath, watching their God with elation.

When he was in position, Camilo morphed into the form of a rather attractive lady. Sashaying his way down the road with a sway in his hips, making sure his face was hidden from view.

The man couldn’t help but watch as he went by, and when Camilo was sure he had his undivided attention…

He turned around, wearing the face of an incredibly saggy and wrinkled old man. Grinning a freakish, toothless smile.

The man jolted out of his seat with fear, and ran as far as his legs would take him.

The boy, now in his normal form, laughed with glee. He turned to the twins, awaiting their praise…

Only to see that they seemed rather unimpressed.

“A classic misdirection, but it lacked pizazz and stylistic flair. Six out of ten.” Tuffnut spoke, snobbishly.

The wind taken out of his sails, Camilo placed his hands on his hips and frowned. “What are you talking about? That was hilarious!”

Ruffnut disagreed. “We’re not saying it was bad…just…pedestrian.”

“We expected better from the God of pranks, that’s all.” Tuffnut sighed.

Camilo’s glare intensified.

These two were all over him a moment ago. Now they’re insulting him?

Camilo Madrigal was many things, but boring was not one of them.

“Then what did you have in mind?” He asked, glowering.

Ruffnut glanced to Tuffnut.

Tuffnut glanced to Ruffnut.

And they both grinned.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The four teenagers were now in the forest, near the town. Enjoying the shade the trees provided, and taking care not to trip over legs or roots. Lest they drop their frozen treats.

Despite the fact that they were locked in bitter combat just a few days ago, and have been at odds ever since, they were actually having a decent time.

Astrid shifted her gaze to the dragon amongst the group. “Why’d you name him Toothless?”

“Because his teeth are retractable.” Hiccup chuckled, once he saw Fishlegs scramble to document this new information. “Why’d you call her Stormfly?”

“Because when we were sailing out here, we hit this huge storm. And she told us to sail into it.” Astrid replied, before licking her ice cream.

Mirabel turned her head to face the shieldmaiden, as they walked through the woods surrounding the village. “Wait, why’d you have your dragon on a boat full of Vikings?”

The crinkling of leaves accompanied Fishlegs’ approach, as he was lagging behind the group. Taking a moment to appreciate the flora. “Nadder’s have an excellent sense of smell! So we had Stormfly track Hiccup’s scent, and we ended up here!”

“I-Is that how you found me, all the way out here?” Hiccup asked, receiving nods in return.

The boy paused at that, as a thought struck him.

According to Gobber, the Berkians had no idea where they were. Or where Berk was relative to them. Meaning the trip back home would be a difficult one.

But if they had a dragon that could track for hundreds of miles…

“So…if you had Stormfly smell something from Berk, she could lead you back home?” He asked.

Mirabel seemed to pick up on what he was implying, and looked to Astrid with a questioning gaze.

Fishlegs answered, idly chatting. “Oh sure, she definitely could! But the chief won’t let us leave until we have…Hiccup…” His carefree smile faded, as he realized he was bringing up a touchy subject.

An uneasy silence fell upon the group, no one quite knew what to say.

The silence was broken when a frightened voice filled the forest.

“MIRABEL!!!”

Camilo was running towards them, looking quite distraught.

He took a moment to catch his breath, ogling the two Vikings present with confusion, before facing his cousin.

“Mirabel! I messed up, bad! You gotta help me!” He spoke, frantically.

Before he could explain, Hiccup noticed the distinct lack of identical figures. “Wait, weren’t you with the twins?”

“Yeah…that’s sort of my problem…” He began to explain his predicament. “So the twins told me they had this great idea for a prank, but it needed some time to prepare, so I kinda just chilled for a bit while they got it ready…”

“But it turns out the prank is kinda…deadly?” He nervously smiled, as if to soften the reaction he would get.

Mirabel narrowed her eyes. “Milo, what did you do?”

He urgently tried to defend himself. “It’s not what I did, it’s what they did! They somehow made this huge pit of spikes, at the edge of the town. They used some rope to trip a guy into a wagon, and now he’s barreling right towards it!”

“And you didn’t notice any of this while it was happening?” Astrid asked.

The shifter shrugged. “Hey man, they gave me a chicken leg! You expect me to be able to focus on anything else?”

Mirabel groaned. “Okay, where’s the wagon right now? We have to stop it!”

He didn’t respond with words. Instead, he began running into town. The other teens and the Night Fury followed his lead.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Stoick and Gobber sat at the campsite, neither speaking to the other. Still in disagreement on how to handle the Hiccup situation.

Snotlout was in his hole. Moping.

But then, for the first time since this morning, Gobber spoke.

“Those twins have been gone an awfully long time, don’t ye think?” He asked the chef.

“They’re at the river…handling their business…” Stoick replied, awkwardly.

Gobber looked skeptical. “Something tells me that’s not really what’s happening.”

Stoick was about to argue, but he had to admit the blacksmith had a point. The twins were unpredictable, and having them out of sight was never a good thing.

“I’ll go check.” He stood from his log, and made for the river they were supposedly relieving themselves at.

When he arrived, he didn’t see identical figures tinkling into the stream.

What he did see, were two pairs of drying footprints. Making their way towards the cracked mountain.

…

That’s not good…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Soon they arrived at the edge of town, where the grass met cobblestone, and it was just as Camilo said.

There was a sizeable hole, filled with wooden spikes. Carved to pointy perfection. Even just looking at them hurt.

“How did they make all this so quickly?” Mirabel asked, unnerved at the sight.

Hiccup, Astrid, and Fishlegs all shrugged at once. “It’s the twins.” They simply said.

While she still wanted a solid answer, she had the distinct feeling that there wasn’t one to be found.

Instead, she looked into the distance. Sure enough, she could make out the shape of a wagon coming towards them. And it was coming fast.

Fishlegs was also observing it, and did some quick calculations. “A-At its current velocity, I’d say we have about…thirty seconds and counting!”

Thinking on her feet, Mirabel devised a plan to save the wagon’s unwilling passenger before he was impaled.

She swiftly explained the plot to Hiccup and Astrid, and they hastily moved to carry it out.

“What about me? What do I do!” Camilo asked.

Mirabel regarded him with a stern look. “You sit there and think about how you almost got a man killed, because you were too busy with a chicken leg!”

The boy slumped over, pouting. “…It was a good chicken leg…”

The wagon was here, time was of the essence, and the moment had come to put Mirabel’s plan into action.

“NOW!” She shouted. On cue, Astrid hefted her axe into the wagon’s front wheel. Hitting it with expert precision.

The wagon abruptly stopped, and jolted forwards from the momentum. The man was launched out of it with a yelp, falling straight towards the spikes-

Until he was caught in mid-air by Toothless, Hiccup on his back.

“Gotcha!” He smirked, before leaning over and seeing just who it was.

It was Osvaldo, being held by the back of his pants. He chuckled nervously, as he looked down at the pit that almost became his final resting place. “G-Gracias, Hiccup!”

They placed the man solidly on the ground, and allowed him to stagger off into town. The scrawny teen then rejoined his group.

“That was some exquisite thinking, milady!” He complimented Mirabel, with an overexaggerated bow.

“H-He’s right, it was a really smart plan!” Spoke Fishlegs.

She blushed at the praise, adjusting her glasses. “I suppose so, but a plan is just an idea. It would’ve been nothing without you guys to execute it!”

Astrid retrieved her axe, and grinned. “Yeah, well…a weapon is just a weapon. It’s true strength lies in the person who wields it.”

It sounded like a random philosophical quote, but Mirabel knew.

Astrid was complimenting her.

The bespectacled girl smiled, and the shieldmaiden smiled right back.

Camilo sauntered over with a smug grin. “And if it wasn’t for me, you guys wouldn’t know what was happening in the first place so…” He shrunk under their unamused gazes.

The group then heard a pair of disparaged cries.

“Aw, what!?” “No way!”

Ruffnut and Tuffnut appeared from their hiding positions in the nearby bushes. They looked at their pit with great sadness, as it hadn’t gotten to fulfill its duty.

“I’m noticing the distinct lack of a body in the spike pit!” Tuffnut whined.

Mirabel huffed at the duo. “You two nearly killed someone! What’s the matter with you!?”

“Hey, we weren’t trying to kill him!” Ruffnut clarified. “Just hurt him, very badly!”

“There’s nothing funnier than another person’s pain!” Cheered her brother.

Mirabel was about to shout at them more, but a hand on her arm dissuaded her.

“Let me handle this.” Camilo spoke, before walking to the twins.

“Bad minions! Bad, BAD minions! We do not prank someone with attempted murder!” He scolded.

The twins looked at him with big, sad eyes. Their lips trembling, and their eyes filling with tears.

“Can’t we have a little attempted murder? As a treat?” Asked Ruffnut in a pitiful tone.

He sharply shook his head, declining their request. He then pointed to the pit. “Now go get rid of those spikes, before somebody else gets hurt!” He commanded.

They did as he said, sniffling as they worked.

The shifter faced the group once more. “Thanks for the help guys! Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna get outta here before Mami catches me and I’m grounded…forever.” Camilo then quickly made himself scarce.

The four teens stuck around, to ensure the pit was properly cleared of all spikes. Without supervision, the twins would probably get bored and quit halfway through.

The spike pit was now an average pit, devoid of any danger. The twins sat in it, discouraged.

Astrid stretched and cracked her knuckles. “Well, I think it’s about time we get those muttonheads back to camp…” She said.

“This was…surprisingly fun.” Mirabel stated.

“Yeah, it was!” Hiccup agreed. “Except of course for the great palm tree debate.”

“Look, all I’m saying is that if it has fur, and it has milk, coconuts should count as mammals!” Fishlegs insisted.

Hiccup was about to retort, but Mirabel interjected. “Let’s not start this again!”

Astrid snickered, and she was joined by the other three.

But before they left, Astrid felt it was time.

It was time to tell the truth.

“Um…Hiccup?”

She didn’t get to finish her question.

A large vine abruptly sprouted from the ground, and constricted itself around Astrid. A second one grew next to it, and trapped Fishlegs.

Hiccup and Mirabel watched in confusion. They knew who could do this, but why?

They heard a voice approaching them, and old one. “Mirabel!”

Alma rushed in, tailed by Dolores and Isabela. The two younger women were glowering intensely at the Vikings.

As soon as she reached her granddaughter, Alma began checking her all over for any sign of damage. “Mirabel! Are you alright?” She asked anxiously.

To say the bespectacled girl was confused would be an understatement.

“S-Si, Abuela! I’m fine!” She answered. “What’s happening?”

Dolores stepped forth, glaring daggers at their two captives.

She pointed to Astrid. “She was trying to kidnap you!”

Hiccup and Mirabel were both confounded, and they slowly turned to the girl in question. Who now looked very fearful.

“…What?” Mirabel asked, softly.

“I heard her talking to the fat kid, earlier. She wanted to kidnap you, and take you to Berk so Hiccup would follow them.” The quiet girl seethed.

The girl’s look of shock only intensified, as she eyed Astrid incredulously. “Is this true?”

As she struggled to free herself, Astrid blurted her answer with grit teeth. “I-I was desperate!”

Mirabel gasped in shock at the confirmation. She suppose she shouldn’t be too shocked, as abduction seemed to be what these Vikings did.

But she was just beginning to like this girl. They may have even become friends.

That was over now.

Hiccup, standing beside her, felt his blood begin to boil.

“Desperate for what!?” Hiccup abruptly shouted, rage in his eyes.

“What is it? What is so significant that you’d kidnap someone just to lure me to Berk? Why is it so important that you bring me back!?” He demanded.

“Do we need an answer?” Isabela asked, fists clenched with rage at the thought of harm coming to her baby sister. “Let’s just throw these little psychos into the ocean, and be done with them!”

“Actually, the fat kid is the one who stopped her so…” At Dolores’ statement, Isabela reluctantly released Fishlegs from her hold.

But she didn’t have to do it gently.

He splatted on the ground, and gave weak thumbs up.

“Thank you…” He weakly muttered, voice muffled by the ground.

The three Madrigals and Hiccup were all glaring daggers at Astrid, and Toothless was growling harshly.

“Well? What is it?” Hiccup prodded. “What is it!?”

Still struggling against her restraints, Astrid finally got fed up and shouted as loudly as she could.

“I FOUND THE NEST!!!”

Dolores covered her ears, Fishlegs began to look very nervous, but everyone else was just confused.

“What the heck is the nest?” Isabela wondered.

“It’s the home of the dragons. Their base of operations, sort of…” Hiccup answered. “Vikings have been searching for it for centuries, trying to drive the dragons away.”

He directed his glare back to Astrid. “But I still don’t know what that has to do with me…”

Astrid started sweating even more, and her heart began pounding, as she realized this was the moment she’d been waiting for. For better or for worse, this was her shot.

“Hiccup, there’s something in there.” She spoke delicately, trying not to come off as aggressive in any way. She needed him to be on board for this.

“A dragon, a humongous dragon was in there! It was bigger than anything I’ve ever seen!” She proceeded to describe the grotesque creature in detail.

“I realized if I told the chief about that thing, he’d get himself and everyone else on Berk killed. We needed help…and that’s where you come in.” At their confused expressions, Fishlegs stepped in.

“You see, the nest dragon presumably has scales impervious to any sort of physical attack. And I don’t even wanna think about it’s fire power…” He shook his head to rid himself of the frightful thought.

“But its size means it’d be slow, an easy target. However, a dragon of that sort would only have one weak point, it’s insides!” Hiccup nodded to this point. He’d realized dragons weren’t fireproof on the inside a while ago.

“If my calculations are correct, we’d need another dragon to beat this thing. A dragon of tremendous speed, stealth, and incredibly accurate firing…” He gave Hiccup and the dragon beside him a tentative glance. “A-And there’s only one dragon that fits the bill…”

Realization hit the present Madrigals, as Hiccup’s anger sparked even more.

“...You don’t even want me…you just want Toothless…” He quietly seethed.

“Hiccup, think about it! That dragon is controlling the other dragons, making it steal our food! If we stop it, we could end the war! Save lives!” Astrid pleaded, but her pleas fell on deaf ears.

“You tried to kidnap me…tried to kidnap my girlfriend…and you hurt the people I love most…just so you could use my dragon to kill another dragon!?” He screamed.

Astrid could see she was losing him. In a last-ditch effort, she tried to appeal to his ego. “Y-You’d be a hero! They’d write songs about you, you’d go down in Viking history!”

She tried something very, very risky. “You’d make your father proud!”

It did not pay off.

He was red in the face with anger, breathing heavily, and speaking with an anger incredibly uncommon for the boy.

“I don’t want to be a hero! I don’t want songs, or to go down in history! And I don’t care what that fat jackass who calls himself my dad thinks of me!” He fumed.

“The closest thing I have to parents are here. My family is here. My friends are here. My girlfriend is here…” He was huffing now, coming off the energy of his fury. “All I want is to live in peace with them. I don’t care about anything else…”

The teen noticed that his companions were now staring at something beyond Astrid. Something that he never noticed approaching, as he was too caught up in his rant.

He then heard an unfortunately familiar voice.

“Hiccup…”

There was Stoick, standing just behind Astrid. Looking incredibly shocked at the boy’s words.

Upon seeing the man, Hiccup’s eyes were filled with even more red-hot rage.

Mirabel stepped forth, and wrapped her arm around one of his.

The stress of the last few days were all hitting her at once, and she let her frustration be known.

“We were happy…” She started. “All of us, everyone I love. We were all happy. And you came in and ruined it. You need to leave. Now.”

Alma nodded. “You’re right, Mirabel. We have let this go on for long enough.”

She faced Stoick with a stern glare. Despite him being a seven-foot warrior, and her being a little old woman, he still felt a hint of fear when he looked into her eyes.

“You! You will take your people and leave! And you are not to return, do you understand?” Her tone left no room for debate.

The man was speechless, and almost seemed disoriented. He looked to Hiccup, who met his gaze with a cold glare. “S-Son- “

“My life is here.” Hiccup spoke, interrupting him. “And you have no place in it.”

His voice portrayed only anger and malice. “I’m not a Viking…I’m not your son…”

That hurt.

That hurt Stoick more than any hit he’s taken, any fire he’s been engulfed in, any arrow or sword or axe he’d faced.

After a year of regretting disowning his only child…

His only child had disowned him.

He’d failed.

He closed his eyes as he felt a coldness envelop his entire body, stemming from his heart.

Astrid, still in the vines, tried reaching out to the boy once more. “Hiccup please- “

“ENOUGH.”

Stoick’s shout destroyed anything she was about to say.

He spared one last remorseful glance to Hiccup, before turning to Alma. Stone-faced and monotone.

“It…It seems we’re not going to get what we came here for. We’ll leave tomorrow.” He also had a question to ask. “I know I’m in no position to ask anything of you, but…might I request a map? So we can find our way home?”

The matriarch took a moment to think, before coming to a decision. “Very well. I’ll send someone with a map shortly.” Alma agreed. “Now please, get out.”

Isabela dropped Astrid onto the ground, making sure it would definitely hurt. Stoick gathered Fishlegs, and the twins, and they all made their way back towards the cracked mountain. For the final time.

Astrid looked back to Hiccup, at the entire reason she was here. At her only hope, her people’s only hope.

She couldn’t let him get away that easily…

Her brow furrowed in determination, and she began to march forth-

Until a large hand grabbed her.

“You’ve done enough.” The chief spoke, strictly.

As he dragged her away, Astrid couldn’t help but keep her eyes on Hiccup.

This was perhaps the last time she’d ever see the boy.

She came here with one mission, and she'd failed.

And she only had herself to blame.

Hiccup was currently speaking with the Madrigals, looking very exhausted.

“Are you alright?” Mirabel asked, concerned.

“I’m fine, I’m fine…” He then grew a concerned look himself. “What about you? Why didn’t you tell me they tried to kidnap you?”

“Casita protected me.” She answered, before forming an angry expression. “Fishlegs tried to sell me some lie about boundaries, or whatever. I didn’t buy it, but I still went along with them. I can’t believe I thought we could be…UGH!” She growled in frustration, the events of the last few days still on her mind.

“At least they’re finally leaving, I was getting sick of smelling them…” Isabela spoke, dissipating her vines.

“I’m just happy things can go back to normal…” Mirabel sighed, grateful that her wonderful life would be getting back on track.

Despite how tired he was, a small smile emerged from Hiccup as he glanced to Dolores. “Hey, you get to have your wedding!”

The quiet girl grinned excitedly at that, as Alma approached. Smiling as well. “We have much preparing to do, but I’m sure it will be a joyous occasion!”

Hiccup yawned, fatigued yet again. “I’m gonna head home, get some sleep…even though the sun’s barely set…”

He gave Mirabel a peck on her cheek, and waved to the other’s present. “Catch you guys later.” Toothless left them with a goodbye croon.

The present Madrigals waved, as they watched him disappear into town.

All positive that by tomorrow, everything would be as it should be.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Unfortunately, Hiccup didn’t get much sleep that night.

Astrid’s words echoed in his mind, as he laid awake in bed.

His initial anger now cooled, he came to a realization.

A realization he really didn’t want to come to.

She was right.

If what she described was true, people and dragons were fighting, and dying. All to sate the hunger of a monstrous creature.

If it was defeated, the war would end. Innocent dragons being enslaved against their will would no longer be at risk of being murdered by angry Vikings.

And supposedly, he was the only one who could save them.

Well actually it was his dragon, but his dragon needed him to fly, so really the both of them were required.

He tossed and turned all night, trying to fight against the conclusion he was coming to.

But he couldn’t.

Because like it or not, he knew what he had to do.

If he wanted to save those dragons, he had to go to the one place he swore he’d never return to.

He’d have to leave the Encanto, his home.

He’d have to go to Berk.