Comet Nights

Everyone on Berk believes Toothless to be the last Night Fury, the only one of his kind left. But all that changes when a black dragon appears on the island, attacking livestock and threatening the Vikings! Hiccup goes to pacify the dragon only to find a beautiful creature with blue eyes and retractable teeth... Another Night Fury, and this one is a female! She doesn’t like humans, though, and when she flees in fear, Hiccup and Toothless have to get her back. Even if that means they have to fight other dragons, enter the Sanctuary’s deepest secret and find the truth behind Comet’s horrible scar. Because if they don’t, the race of Night Furies is doomed...

Prologue: Dragons in the Night

The sun wasn't even peeking over the horizon yet, but she could still see. Every miniscule detail was laid out for her to gaze upon, the unique leaves on each plant, each droplet the waves tossed up, but she paid them no heed. Her muscles burned, her tongue lolled out of her jaws, but she was not safe yet.

Finally, she smelled something other than the saltiness of the ocean. It was the scent of dragons, layered one on top of the other like a pile of hides in a house. But she could detect, underneath the Monstrous Nightmares and Deadly Nadders, one scent she had been hunting for years.

The scent of a Night Fury.

But she couldn't go after it now, not when she was weakened from what lay behind her. She could half-hear the angry sounds of the hunters, even though they were only in her head. Down there! In the leafy brush of the forest, a clearing, a pool, a sanctuary. She dived down.

Over the island, a sound rang out, the call of a hunting Night Fury.

Then, all was silence.

Chapter One: The Mysterious Attacker

The wind whistled around Toothless's wings as he spread them, balancing in the air as delicately as a feather. It was as if they had both been born there, Hiccup and Toothless, denizens of the sky, naturals in the airy realm.

"Come on, Toothless? What are you stalling for?" cried Hiccup over the onrush of gales that hummed in his ears.

Toothless just made a sort of 'nyuk nyuk' noise and made no move to change his position, but Hiccup could see a smile on his scaly features.

"Stop it, you big dumb reptile!"

Toothless chuckled and suddenly turned, drawing his wings in tight and making his hover into a breakneck descent. Hiccup laughed and felt adrenalin rush into his veins, awakening a surge of recklessness. He obeyed it and slipped his peg foot into the special holder on his dragon's saddle, locking Toothless's tail mechanism in place, then unbuckled himself and pulled away from the Night Fury.

Toothless shrieked in shock and nearly grabbed his rider, but Hiccup motioned for him to not.

"I've got this!" he screamed, then spread his arms. The membranes between them caught, and suddenly he was no longer falling, but looping up in the sky.

He activated the fin on his back and smiled as his Night Fury righted himself and glided alongside him, his wing almost touching Hiccup's arm.

Together, the chief and his dragon spiraled in the air, dipping and diving and feinting at their leisure. They were the perfect pair, synchronized to flawlessness, mimicking each other almost exactly. There was no communication, at least, no visible movements. It was like the rider and dragon were linked telepathically, communicating with their minds and not their mouths.

Suddenly, another dragon appeared from a cloudbank. Stormfly spiralled around the pair, and on her back was Astrid. She gestured at Hiccup and he duly remounted Toothless to get close to them.

"What is it?" he yelled.

"There's a big monster on Berk!" she cried, raising her voice above the speeding air currents. "A big black dragon going around and killing sheep. It nearly blasted Fishlegs straight to Valhalla! We need your help, since your mom has other jobs to do! Besides, dragons trust you more than anyone."

"All right! I'll see what I can do!" responded Hiccup, and he bid Toothless to take him down to the village.

When Hiccup and Toothless got there, all the Vikings were clustered around something in the centre of the village, muttering worriedly between themselves. When their Chief appeared, people began pestering him, pulling at his sleeves and asking him if he would fix it. Hiccup could barely hear any individual sentences, there were so many Vikings asking him things. Toothless walked behind, glaring at anyone who got close. He seemed skittish, his pupils kept expanding and retracting randomly. Hiccup wondered at it for a moment, then he saw what was lying in the square.

"Eeew!" he groaned. A pile of gored sheep were on display in the middle of the road, their blood smeared everywhere. Next to it, there was a stool, and a blubbering Fishlegs was being comforted by Valka.

"What happened!" exclaimed Hiccup as he went over to his mother.

"See, I told you. Big monster. Dead sheep. Scared Fishlegs." Astrid appeared and took Hiccup's hand. He spared her a quick smile and returned to looking at Valka.

"From what I can tell, Fishlegs heard scared sheep, so he went in the pasture to see what was wrong. A big black dragon was attacking the animals." Valka gulped. "So Fishlegs went closer. The dragon turned on him and- well, it tried to shoot him with its fire. It missed by a hair. There's even a blast crater. After that, it flew away into the woods."

"Is it dangerous to everyone?"

Astrid snorted. "Hiccup, it tried to kill someone. Of course it's dangerous to the village!"

"There are still dragons who don't like humankind," mused Hiccup's mother. "It's possible that this one flew over from another island. Hiccup, we need you to try to tame it- or at least drive it away. I know Toothless will keep you safe."

Hiccup nodded. "I'll do it. Toothless! Toothless, where are you, bud?"

He found the Night Fury sniffing at the sheep carcasses, his pupils tiny slits.

"What are you doing that for? You don't like sheep!"

Toothless did nothing. In fact, he just stood there, his eyes fixed on the clawmarks in the animal's body, his limbs trembling.

"What's up?" asked Hiccup, mounting his dragon. But as soon as he was securely in the Night Fury's saddle, Toothless took off, bounding out of the village at breakneck speed.

"Toothless! What's going oooon!!!!" screamed Hiccup as his dragon skidded through the trees, moving so fast that his rider had no idea where they were. Then, a tree branch, just above them, heading for them...

Hiccup blacked out.

He woke up in a leafy glade, his head pounding. It took Hiccup a few moments to remember what happened, but the memories came flooding back. He sat up quickly, wondering where they were. A quick look around revealed his location- the same pond where he had met Toothless! In fact, the dragon was right in front of him, staring at something right out of Hiccup's field of vision.

"Toothless? What's happening?"

A rich, throaty growl sounded, and Hiccup gingerly edged his way around a rock, only to behold a black dragon crouched on a rockpile.

Another Night Fury.

And it was here, on Berk!

Chapter Two: Meeting Comet

It stood there, its wings above its head in a defensive position. It was really beautiful- its midnight scales gleamed in the afternoon sunlight, and its eyes were a majestic jewel-blue, not at all like Toothless's. Hiccup wondered why that was, but only for a brief second.

Because the new Night Fury had seen him.

It snarled, displaying rows of sharp teeth, and leaped off the rocky perch, straight at him.

Toothless screamed, but he was too slow. The new dragon landed on Hiccup, pinning him down. Its blue eyes were barely even pinpricks, they were so tight. It opened its mouth, and Hiccup could see down its throat, to where a blue glow emitted. He knew what that glow was. The dragon was readying to incinerate him.

For some reason, he wasn't very concerned- he was sleepy, and the Night Fury radiated heat. He wasn't really uncomfortable, and he felt it was fitting, for a Chief with the soul of a dragon to go down by dragonfire.

Hiccup closed his eyes and waited for the blast...

That never came.

Weight lifted off his chest, and Hiccup opened his eyes to see Toothless frantically growling at the new dragon. He seemed to be communicating with it, in the language only dragons understood. The Night Fury snarled and slammed its tail on the ground fiercely. It was then that Hiccup noticed the scar on its chest.

A long, white track ran down from its ribs to just behind its lower legs. It started in a sort of star shape, then ended in one long tail, like a comet on the dragon's belly. It did not disfigure it, in fact, it only heightened the Night Fury's beauty. Then it looked towards him and roared, and Hiccup's mind snapped back into motion. He now realized he had a large, angry Night Fury in his vicinity, and it was angry at him. He scooted away a bit, then realized the true momentousness of what he was seeing.

It was another Night Fury! Toothless wasn't alone anymore! His dragon did indeed seem very pleased at the other dragon's presence- his tail was wagging and he could barely stand still. How happy he must be, to finally have a friend, another of his kind, for so many years being the only one!

Then another thing popped into his head.

What if this Night Fury was a female??

That would be... incredible! If this new dragon was actually female, the race of Night Furys would be saved! There would be eggs, and hatchlings, and Toothless would never have to give his mating cry at the breeding island just for it to be ignored every year! The entire species would be rejuvenated!

It was a wonderful thought, a warming thought, a dreamy thought. But right now, it seemed that the other Night Fury was about to up and fly away. Even if it was a male, Hiccup knew he couldn't let that happen.

"Toothless!" he cried. Two pairs of dragon eyes fixated on him.

"Listen, you stay here and make sure this new Night Fury stays. I'm getting my mom, okay? I'll be back soon!"

And with that, he was off, buzzing with excitement as he followed Toothless's trail back to the village.

The blue-eyed Night Fury looked at Toothless pointedly, and he just shrugged, as if saying: Yeah, I know he's weird.

*****

Hiccup did indeed come back soon, with Valka following behind. They found the two dragons staring at each other, their tails twitching, before Toothless pounced. The new Night Fury leaped back and then they were chasing each other around the banks of the glade's pond.

"Aww, they're playing." cooed Valka. The new dragon twisted around for a moment, catching Toothless's tail, and Hiccup's mother gasped.

"Its eyes. Are they really blue?" she whispered.

"Yes, why?"

At that, Valka threw her head back and laughed with glee. When she looked back down, her eyes were dancing with joy.

"What is it?" asked Hiccup, his heart lifting. Was the new Night Fury really...

"It's a female!" cried his mother, full of happiness. She grabbed Hiccup's arms and started dancing about, her footsteps light and airy, and Hiccup laughed with her. A female! A real, female Night Fury! The Night Fury race was saved!

Their revelries were interrupted by a long, low snarl.

They both looked over to see the female's blue eyes glaring at them, her pupils slits of blackness. She looked spitting mad.

"She doesn't like humans much, does she?" whispered Valka.

"No, not really." muttered Hiccup back.

Suddenly, another black head pushed in next to the female. Toothless grinned at Valka and her son, seeming overjoyed at his new companion.

"The only way she'll stay," hissed Hiccup's mother, her eyes fixated firmly on the blue ones, "is if she starts to trust the vikings."

"I'm on it."

Toothless nudged his new friend, and she hissed at them before turning and walking away. Valka gave a horrified gasp.

"That scar on her belly! What a terrible thing to do to such a beautiful creature." she lamented. "It's very old, too, at least seven years or more. It's interesting, though. It looks like a comet, doesn't it?"

Hiccup snapped his fingers.

"That's it! That's her name!"

"What?" asked Valka.

"Her name. It's Comet!"

Hiccup's mother nodded. "It fits."

The last female Night Fury had a name.

Comet.

Chapter Three: Bonding

So Hiccup began the process of making Comet trust him. He went about it much like the way he had tamed Toothless, except he was much more likely to get his hair singed off when he visited. For that reason, he always brought Toothless with him. Whenever it looked like Comet would try to hurt him, the other Night Fury always pushed her away. It heartened the Chief to see that his dragon cared about him so much that he would risk Comet's wrath for him.

It was true that the female Night Fury had taken a liking to Toothless, which was always good. The more he left them alone together, it became more and more likely that they would choose to be mates when the time came. Hiccup was glad of that. If what Valka said was true and they were the last living Night Furies, it would be terrible if they weren't a fit match for each other. Also, leaving her with Toothless seemed to make her less angry at Hiccup himself, as if her companion was explaining things to her.

Bit by bit, day by day, Hiccup could see Comet's anger subside, until one morning when he appeared and she did nothing more than gaze at him out of the corner of her eyes. He nearly punched the air right then, but he managed to quell the urge. Comet liked him! Or, at least, she didn't hate him anymore.

Finally, one lazy afternoon, Hiccup was leaning on a rock, half-asleep. It was the height of summer, which meant that for now, it wasn't raining. A pile of fish lay next to him, and every once in a while Hiccup would toss one to the dragons. However, they were just as sleepy as he was, and Toothless was lazing by the pond.

Suddenly, Hiccup felt a cold nose rub his palm. Sluggishly he opened his eyes and looked over.

There, poking at the fish, was Comet, her pupils wide as she begged Hiccup for a snack. He nearly jumped up in surprise. Comet stood back and cocked her head.

"Do you want a fish, girl?" he said softly, holding up a trout. To his amazement, she actually smiled a toothless smile, her pink tongue visible. He smiled back and threw the fish up in the air. Comet reared up and snapped it from its descent, then looked at him, her eyes warm and trusting.

Knowing that he was risking one of his limbs, Hiccup gingerly placed his hand out in front of her and squeezed his eyes shut. He honestly expected Comet to bite his entire arm off.

Nothing. Hiccup began to put his arm back down when...

She nestled her nose in the palm of his hand, staring up at him all the while. Hiccup opened his eyes and grinned.

It had worked.

Comet trusted him.

****** "Come on, bud! Today's a great day for flying!"

It was one of those extremely windy days that Toothless loved. Together, the dragon and his rider would climb air currents and let the wind carry them wherever it wished, transporting them to new and exciting lands. Hiccup could tell his Night Fury was ecstatic to go, but he hung behind, looking at Comet pleadingly. She ignored him and went on licking one of her talons pointedly.

"She'll come if she wants to. Come on, Toothless! Don't you want to fly?" asked Hiccup. Toothless snorted and turned away from his companion, letting his rider clamber up on his back. Hiccup slotted his peg foot into its holster and heard the reassuring noise of the Night Fury's tail unfolding. They launched up and soared into the clouds, the wind buffeting them and pushing them every which way. It was exhilarating, being up here as free as... Well, as free as a dragon!

Toothless roared and let out a blast of blue fire, swirling with the breeze. Then, all of a sudden, there was an answering fireball!

Hiccup looked behind him to see none other than Comet trailing them, her black wings spread wide and her blue eyes sparkling. She overtook Toothless and hovered in front of them for a moment, beating her leathery wings to keep herself stable.

Comet gave a friendly roar. Toothless grinned and returned the call. The two Night Furies hovered there in the sky, blue eyes meeting green ones, finned tails pumping in the wind.

Then, the wind blew them both away. Hiccup punched the air and gave a cry of happiness as the two dragons wheeled and dipped, punching through clouds and spiraling around each other. Random gusts blew the pair around like autumn leaves in a storm, making Toothless do a loop-de-loop and forcing Comet to somersault about backwards, head over tail.

"Look out, boys!" Another dragon soared up and flew alongside Hiccup. He glanced over to see Stormfly, Astrid on her back. The dragon's rider was staring at Comet, wide-eyed.

"Is that another Night Fury?" exclaimed Astrid.

"Yes! Her name's Comet!" responded Hiccup. The other rider gasped and looked over at him, wonder in her eyes.

"Her?!"

"Yes, it's a female! Isn't it great?!"

"No it's not! It's absolutely wonderful!"

Hiccup laughed, and together the three dragons rode the wind, rulers of the air.

Chapter Four: Comet Flees

The night was dark, and she was asleep. Her leafy nest in the glade was very comfortable, and she rolled in her slumber, dreaming of wonderful things.

Toothless. How incredible to meet another of her kind after so long! He was majestic, and brave, and proud, and funny. She couldn't remember meeting another Night Fury, not since her hatching, and the only memories of that was her mother, Startail. She was dead now, though. Startail had left the world almost as soon as she had entered it. It often grieved her, at night, the thought of her poor dear mother. But now, there was another, a stunning male!

Not only that, he was the alpha! Alpha of all dragons! What an extraordinary position, one of so much power! And if she mated with him, she would become none other than the alpha female.

She grunted happily and curled up, lost in her dreaming. She was happy here, to her amazement. She had a deep hatred of most humans, but she honestly liked the one Toothless called Hiccup. He really just wanted her to be his friend, and...

A sound cut through her sleep.

She woke up almost instantly, but she kept her eyes closed. Taking in a deep breath, she sniffed the air and pricked up her ears, listening carefully.

"Do you think there's really another Night Fury in here?"

"Nah. Why would the Chief hide it from all of Berk? He loves Night Furies."

"Aw, come on, you guys! It's still a cool place to explore. Don't be spoilsports!"

Inside the cave, her heart tightened. Humans! Stinking, violent, dirty humans, trying to add to her scars!

Her eyes glazed underneath their lids, and she remembered things she had tried to push away, things more painful than the wound down her stomach...

Ropes...

Dark cages...

Light and a horrible smell...

The whispers of other dragons...

Screaming babies, their life ended as soon as they crawled out of their shells...

And, the worst thing of all... A human' voice muttering in her ear, her head roped to the floor, the bonds chafing her scales...

You will obey me.

You will obey me.

I am your alpha...

She snapped out of it as she heard footsteps nearby, her heart pounding as she surfaced from her memories. The humans were close. Too close. She would teach them to fear her!

"Hey, look. There really is a dragon in here!"

"Is it a Night Fury?"

"I can't tell..."

She opened her eyes at last, and beheld six humans, one with a torch in hand. They were all young, five boys and a girl, but she only saw the monsters in them, not their youth or innocence.

Then she spotted what the girl was holding.

A shining dagger, at least a foot long, made of deadly sharp steel and engraved with a swirling pattern. Her eyes narrowed on it and something in her heart went cold as ice. She snapped up and roared at the humans, anger in her gaze, and shot a fireball at them. They scattered, leaving the path clear for her to leave.

She didn't think twice. She leapt out of the cave and up into the sky, hitting one of the humans with her tail. Up and up she went, terror running rampant in her mind. She had to get away! She had to flee, flee where no one would ever find her again!

Away from Berk! And she would never come back!

---

Comet's mother, Startail, is a reference to Tsunami_Holmes' Night Flight, another HTTYD fanfic that partially inspired me to write this. Please go check it out!

Chapter Five: Captured

She flew for a long time, over isles and continents and plains of rushing waves. In her head, humans were chasing her with long knives and swords and axes, even though the rest of her knew that couldn't be true, that made it nonetheless terrifying.

The journey was eerily reminding her of when she had made her way to Berk, except this time she wasn't looking for a place to rest.

This time, she wasn't looking for anything at all.

Time passed with the miles, and soon the sun rose. Still she flew on, not daring to land and rest her weary wings. Finally, she arrived in the high North, a place so cold and elevated that even now, in midsummer, snow still blanketed the ground.

She collapsed in the thin, watery summer drifts, relief flooding through her body. Snow was good. Night Furies were always laid and hatched in the winter, preferably on some frost-covered crag way up high. A bit of winter remained in their souls, even long after they had broken out of their shells.

She looked around and moaned. She couldn't stop here, it was a high, windswept plain, with no shelter to speak of. Safety lay in the valleys and ledges of the mountain range behind her. She had no choice. Wearily, she started trudging through the snow.

The mountains were farther than she had thought, and her wings were far too tired to be of any use. The sun was setting by the time she finally found a low-lying cave and fell almost instantly into a dark, dreamless sleep.

In her exhausted state, she had no idea that behind her, out in the snow, a group of dragon-trappers were waiting...

She woke to the scent of sea-salt and the roar of the ocean in her ears. Wait?! What had happened!?!

She opened her eyes to see that she was on a boat with dragon-trappers all around, that the sun was high in the sky once more, and that she was in bindings.

A thick wooden collar was around her neck, chains bound her wings to her sides, and a leather strap forced her mouth shut. She tugged at the bindings, panic rising in her throat as they proved firm.

"So, you caught my Deathjewel?"

She froze.

That voice...

No...

It couldn't be...

But then she spotted his hulking form, his dragonhide cloak, and wanted to cry out in despair.

She was trapped, and if that really was him, the only thing that could free her now was death...

Chapter Six: We Have to Find Her

"She's gone!"

Toothless gave a low moan of misery and snuffled at Comet's empty nest, his eyes large and mournful. Hiccup was just staring at the Comet-free cave in shock. Comet was gone! The only female Night Fury, last of her kind, had disappeared!

Suddenly, Toothless began to snarl at something lying on the floor. Feeling detached from the world, Hiccup walked over and picked the item up. It was a gleaming iron dagger, chipped on the edge from when it had fallen on the cave floor. As he studied it, the Chief felt his mind sharpen again, and he knew what to do.

"Come on, Toothless. We're going to find Comet."

All the Vikings were clustered in the common area in the centre of the village, their dragons peering between or, in some cases, looking right over their heads. Hiccup was standing on a large wooden box, a makeshift lectern for the Chief. He was a bit embarrassed at all the faces staring at him, but Toothless's miserable face strengthened his resolve and made him straighten up and take charge.

"Listen, everybody!"

No one stopped talking. Hiccup groaned and stamped down, hard, on Toothless's tail. The Night Fury's roar echoed around the common, and all heads turned in his direction.

"All right," proclaimed Hiccup. "Now that I've got your attention, we can get to what needs to be said! Last night, a dragon flew away from Berk. I know, I know, all the dragons fly out from time to time, but it looks like this one has no intention of coming back. That is a problem. Because this dragon wasn't just some Monstrous Nightmare or Gronkle. No, this dragon was a Night Fury. The last female Night Fury."

Excited and suspicious whispers started up.

"Her name was Comet, and she's extremely valuable. I didn't want to reveal her presence, because she doesn't like humans. It was her who attacked the sheep and Fishlegs. So there was a good reason why I kept her existence hidden. But it seems that someone revealed Comet before I had a chance."

He brandished the knife he had found in front of him.

No one moved an inch.

"I need the owner of this dagger to come here." When no one stepped up, Hiccup narrowed his eyes and yelled, "Now."

Suddenly, a girl somewhere in the crowd burst into tears and pushed her way to the front. She was young- only twelve or thirteen- and there were white bandages around her forearms.

"It's mine! It's mine!" she wailed. Hiccup would have said something but the girl continued before he could do more than open his mouth. "Me and my brother and some of his friends went down to a little glade last night because they thought there was another Night Fury and we went into a cave and a big black dragon shot a fireball at us and flew away and I'm sooooryyy Chief we didn't mean it I promise!!" The girl ended her long sentence with a series of blubbering wails. Hiccup's heart softened a bit, she obviously hadn't intended to scare Comet away.

"It's all right. Just don't go poking in weird, dragon-infested caves, okay?" He handed the girl back her knife and she disappeared into the arms of a woman who looked like her mother.

"Alright. There's no other choice in this matter- Toothless and I will have to go find her. Gobber, I'm appointing you in charge of Berk until I come back. No questions asked. This is too important to let go. You can go home now, everyone."

Slowly, unsure at the safety of Hiccup's plan, the Vikings dispersed. Gobber, Valka and Astrid stayed, staring up at him.

"Hiccup..." murmured Astrid.

"But, lad, don't you think it's a bit dangerous?" protested Gobber.

"We have to find her, Gobber. I'm sorry."

Hiccup lithely climbed onto Toothless's back. The Night Fury stretched his wings and was off like a shot, leaving his friends far below. Hiccup didn't know when he'd return, but he did know who he'd be bringing back.

They would bring Comet home... Or die trying.

Chapter Seven: Where in the World

The wind tore against Toothless, whistling and roaring and threatening to throw the Night Fury and his rider all the way back to Berk. Hiccup noticed that as soon as they had set off, his dragon had flown with single-minded, rock-hard determination to find his missing companion. That determination had come in handy for the first hour and a half, as the wind carried them and the miles flew by like pages in a book. Now, however, fatigue was creeping up on Toothless. You could see it in his lolling tongue and slowly beating wings that struggled and made little headway against the rushing gale.

"Toothless!" cried Hiccup. "There's a little island over there. Land! You need to rest!"

The Night Fury did nothing for a moment, then he let out a long, low sigh and started to spiral down.

Hiccup barely had any time to jump out of the saddle before Toothless crumpled to the ground, exhaustion forcing his limbs to the earth. Hiccup followed suit and flopped next to him, both breathing heavily as they tried to regain a little strength. After a moment, the rider sat up, reached up to one of his gauntleted arms and unlatched a small leather canteen, popped the top off, and took a long, refreshing drink of cool water. He then went over to Toothless and poured the rest down the Night Fury's throat.

Toothless looked at him gratefully and flopped over to spread one of his batlike wings over Hiccup. He pushed the membrane away and flopped back on the ground, not caring if he was getting dirt in his hair.

"What do we do, bud? We have no idea where she's gone. She could be anywhere in the world by now." said Hiccup after a moment. Toothless grunted and looked up at the sky wistfully. His rider followed his example and saw the same roiling cloudscape as before.

An electric-blue dragon was wheeling about, getting pushed by the turbulent winds. Looked like a Deadly Nadder to him. He watched it spin and dive, its rider furiously trying to keep control... Wait.

Rider?

Hiccup jumped to his feet and squinted at the errant dragon. Yes! It was Astrid and Stormfly, looking for him!

"ASTRID! OVER HERE!!" he screamed, but his words were torn out of his throat by the wind. Finally, he took his sword and waved it about, the flames trailing in the air like a magnificent foxtail.

The Deadly Nadder turned and started speeding towards him. Good. Hiccup turned off the fiery blade and clipped it back onto his leg, then turned to watch Stormfly.

The dragon made a rough touchdown, landing on her belly and skidding in the dirt for a moment, but to Hiccup's relief Astrid was fine. She leaped gracefully off Stormfly and was immediately smothered in Hiccup's embrace.

"Hiccup!" she exclaimed. "Stop it! You're squeezing the life out of me!"

He gave her a sheepish smile and loosened the hug. She leaned up and kissed him, then pulled away and went to check on her dragon.

"Were you looking for me?" asked Hiccup.

"Yes. For two reasons." said Astrid as she brushed dirt off Stormfly's scales. "One, I'm coming with you. There's no reason for me to stay on Berk and twiddle my thumbs, waiting for you to return. And I was worried. I love you, you know that, and I couldn't bear it if you returned as a corpse because no one was there to watch your back. No arguments."

Hiccup realized that he couldn't convince Astrid otherwise, and so contented himself with having a companion. Also, he was rather touched that she was so worried about him.

"What's the second reason?" he asked.

"Well, that's the thing that'll knock your wooden leg off." Astrid turned looked at him with sparkling eyes.

"Hey," he protested. "It's metal, not wood, you know that."

"Yeah, yeah. Anyway, I found out which direction Comet was going when she left!"

"What! How?" Hiccup went to sit next to her, the exhausted Toothless and a napping Stormfly behind them.

"Well, since you decided to fly off like an idiot without any information whatsoever, I went and asked that girl some questions. She wasn't too helpful, but her older brother- who had a nasty lump on his head from a Night Fury tail, may I add- was able to tell me that the dragon had flown north. There you go! One female Night Fury."

"Hmmmmm." mused Hiccup, rubbing his chin. "North, north... Ah! Astrid, if you were a dragon, where would you go if you were scared of humans?"

"Um." she said, confused. "The Sanctuary...?"

"Yes!" cried Hiccup. "Come on, Toothless. We're heading back to the Sanctuary!"

"Don't you think you should let him sleep?" Astrid pointed at the Night Fury, fast asleep on the grass.

"Oh. Oh yeah." Hiccup sat back down. "Soon. We're going back to the Sanctuary... soon."

Chapter Eight: Back to the Sanctuary

Once the pair and their dragons had regained some strength- and the weather had quietened down- they set off to the Sanctuary. It was a long and harrowing journey, Hiccup knew, and he hoped that it wouldn't take them too much time. Every hour that passed made it more and more likely that they wouldn't be able to find Comet at all.

"Which way?" screamed Astrid beside him. It was still very windy, and there was a high chance that a strong gust would blow the two dragons off course. He checked the miniature compass on his gauntlet.

A few degrees to starboard!" he called, and the riders adjusted their path. Silence reigned for the next hour, and Hiccup was about to attempt to talk with Astrid- just to relieve the boredom- when Toothless suddenly gave a piercing scream and banked to the right. Stormfly followed him, not able to keep up with the Night Fury's extreme speed.

Finally, Toothless landed on a rocky cliff, trembling while at the same time staying stock-still. Hiccup jumped off his dragon just as Stormfly came into land.

"What's going on?" asked Astrid, looking at Toothless confusedly.

Hiccup said nothing. He had noticed something odd about his Night Fury, something he had seen only once before.

Toothless's pupils were expanding and retracting rapidly, going from a nearly iris-less state to tiny slits of black. The one time Hiccup had viewed this was when...

When Comet had appeared on Berk and Toothless had caught her scent.

"Sshhhhh!" he hissed. "I think he's found Comet!"

Astrid made a pleased squeak, but stayed quiet.

After a moment of unbearable tension, a soft cry echoed through the gully below. Hiccup listened closely. It sounded like the cry Toothless made at the breeding island... That was it! It was mating call! But it was the height of summer. Why would Comet be making a mating call now?

Hiccup didn't have much time to ponder more, because Toothless suddenly leaped off the cliff. He was gliding towards the source- but then he suddenly started to fall! Hiccup hadn't activated the staysafe on his tail, and it was no more than a useless strip of cloth waving in the wind.

"Astrid! Quick, let me on!" He jumped haphazardly onto Stormfly, wrapping his arms around his girlfriend's body. "Toothless is falling!"

"What! Alright, let's go!" Astrid gave a short, sharp command to her dragon, and the Deadly Nadder dived down after the struggling Toothless. The ground of gully was fast approaching, and Hiccup feared that his beloved Night Fury would hit the ground wings-first. That would mean broken bones... Or even death.

Once they got close enough, Hiccup leaped off and spread his leather gliders. They caught and, not bothering to open the fin, he sailed towards the Night Fury. The ground was so close now, he was getting brushed by tree leaves...

Yes!

Hiccup grabbed the saddle, pulled himself up, and slotted his peg leg into the mechanism. The replacement tail snicked out in the wind, and he gave a sigh of relief as his dragon's breakneck fall turned into a controlled, looping dive. That had been too close for comfort. He never wanted to do that again.

Toothless landed on the gully floor, his tail twitching erratically. He cast his rider a grateful look before bounding off into the woods, Hiccup still firmly on his back. Stormfly's heavy footseps were audible behind them, even though the Night Fury was causing a racket as he crashed his way through the trees. Every once in a while, Hiccup could hear the soft mating cry that was hopefully Comet's.

Finally, the gully wall came into view, along with the mouth of a dark cave. Toothless stopped in front of it, sniffing at the air, lashing his tail back and forth and bunching up piles of dirt. He edged towards the entrance, then reared back and let out a mating call.

Silence. Even Stormfly and Astrid creeped up on them without making a sound.

Then, suddenly, something roared out of the cave, nearly severing Toothless's nose. The Night Fury jumped back with a strangled squawk, and they could see what was attacking them.

An enormous dragon, with a mottled blackish hide and a row of blue spots running down its side. Its ears were huge, seeming far too big on its head, and fluttering like a pair of butterfly wings. It turned towards them, eyeing them with electric-green eyes, flared out a magnificently colored ruff on its neck and screamed. The sound drove through Hiccup's ears like a spear and made him flinch. The cry sounded like metal screeching on metal.

Toothless shot a fireball at it, but it only shielded itself with a massive ruffled wing and turned to spit acid at them. The two dragons lifted off into the air and started to fly away, dodging acid balls as they went. Seeing that its prey was escaping, but seeming unwilling to follow them, the dragon opened its mouth and gave a Night Fury mating call. Toothless twitched and nearly turned right around, but he rightened himself and flew away twice as fast. The dragon's angry cries followed the two into the sky, like it was trying to trace their hasty escape.

Once they were out of acid range, Astrid turned to look at the creature below, then to Hiccup.

"What was that?" she exlaimed.

"I have no idea!" responded Hiccup, breathless from adrenalin.

"It mimicked Toothless's mating call!"

"I know!"

"What about a Mimic Spitter?"

"Huh?"

"We should call it a Mimic Spitter! So if we ever encounter it again, we'll remember what it is and what it can do!"

"Good idea! Now, let's go!"

One day later, the two dragon riders were exhausted. They were sweat-soaked, thirsty and sore, and their dragons were too. Hiccup was beginning to dread every minute he spent in the saddle, when...

"Hiccup! Look!"

He looked.

And there it was.

The home of dragons, the safehouse for all species. A structure made of the Bewilderbeast's breath that housed thousands of the scaly denizens of the sky.

The Sanctuary.

Chapter Nine: The Hall of Tales

They landed inside the beautiful spikes of turquoise ice, following the lead of hundreds of various dragons that entered and exited constantly. Inside the shell of frost was a paradise. The ice let sun in but also let cold out, making it a lush oasis where all sorts of plants grew. It was a bit strange with the Bewilderbeast gone, there was an enormous pool of seawater in the centre of the construction where it used to lie down and watch the members of its kingdom. However, this pool had served useful, and Hiccup could spot the forms of fishing dragons in its cerulean waters.

"Whoooa," breathed Astrid, leaping off Stormfly and twirling in a circle as she tried to take in the magnificent view. Hiccup remembered that she had never been here before, only heard descriptions of the mightiest den of dragons.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" he said, dismounting Toothless and doing over to loop his arm in hers.

"Yes! I never imagined it as wonderful as this!" she exclaimed, smiling quickly at him, then turning away again to view the spectacle with shining eyes.

Hiccup grinned, happy at Astrid's obvious delight, and broke from her to go to his dragon.

"Toothless." he murmured, stroking his ear comfortingly. "Be the Alpha. Find out if she's here."

Toothless just looked at him miserably. The Night Fury had become more and more melancholy as they flew, and now he seemed like he had shrunk in on himself with anguish. It pained Hiccup to see the state his best friend was in.

When he registered his rider's words, however, a new energy took him, one that had been lost when Comet fled. He stood up straight, his head held high, and roared. The sound echoed throughout the Sanctuary, and thousands of dragon eyes turned to look at their Alpha. Hiccup was pleased to see a blue glow spread from his nostrils, up his head and down his back-spines, a signal that he was using his powers as the Alpha.

Once he was sure he had all the dragons' attention, he threw his head back and roared again. This time, however, it was not a call for the heed of his people, it was a question. Toothless was asking for his beloved Comet.

Myriad roars, screeches, squawks and bellows emanated from the many dragons in response, but with each one Toothless's ears drooped lower and lower. Hiccup recognized the signs: Comet was not here.

His Night Fury let the glow fade from his body and went to curl up around Hiccup. He saw that Toothless needed him right now, for a hug or a comforting word. It was then that Hiccup realized the true extent of his friend's loss: Toothless had loved Comet, and now she was gone. He had a hole in his heart that could only be filled by the female Night Fury, and there was nothing Hiccup could do about it that would help, accepting bringing Comet back alive.

Hiccup had an idea.

He gave Toothless a quick hug and crawled out of his friend's embrace, then went to face the dragons on a plinth of rock.

"Hiccup," hissed Astrid. "What are you doing?"

"I have an idea." he whispered back. "Just let me do this."

He turned back and yelled out into the cavernous Sanctuary:

"Listen! I am Hiccup Haddock Horrendous the Third, and I need your attention! My best friend is your Alpha, and you probably know that he is looking for another of his kind! We need your help. Please, please, please, if any of you know where we can get help, take us there."

Silence. He was painfully aware of the thousands upon thousands of blinking, slit-pupiled dragon eyes staring at him. He didn't even know if they could understand him at all.

"Was this a stupid idea?" he hissed in Astrid's direction.

"Most of your ideas are." she hissed back.

"Oh, thanks. I feel so confident."

Then, a dragon called out from the multitudes and detached itself from the rest. Hiccup found himself facing a Stormcutter much like Cloudjumper, except this one was green-blue with a cream underbelly, almost the reverse of Cloudjumper's red-and-orange scales. She- for Hiccup could tell it was female- landed in front of him and looked at him with sparkling eyes. Toothless poked his head up and fiercely glared at the new dragon, ready to defend his rider if need be, but the Stormcutter dipped her magnificent head to him and gently nudged Hiccup towards his Night Fury.

"You want me to fly?" The Stormcutter bobbed her head up and down.

"All right." He nimbly mounted Toothless and they followed the dragon as she took of between the pillars of moss-colored rock. Astrid and Stormfly flew close behind.

They sailed right across the whole Sanctuary, viewing incredible things that Hiccup could have never even imagined, but the Stormcutter made no move to go to any of them. Instead, she flew into a crack in the ice, bookended by two lumpy piles of stone. Toothless followed her in, but when Astrid tried to fly inside, the two stone piles moved, blocking her way.

"Hiccup!" she cried.

"Wait for us!" he called back, gulping down a hot ball of worry that had suddenly appeared in his throat. "We'll come soon, I promise!"

Alone with each other, Toothless and Hiccup traced their guide's movements through a strangely winding tunnel in the wall of the Sanctuary. It seemed to go on and on for miles, going deeper and darker with each turn.

Then, suddenly, the tunnel widened into a massive cave. Toothless and the Stormcutter landed and stood in the centre as Hiccup dismounted and looked around warily, the shadows in the corners of the cavern hiding what might be inside them.

Then, a dragon's head loomed out of the shadows. It was the oldest thing Hiccup had ever seen, with its green scales faded and worn. More and more of the ancient creatures appeared from the dusk, few identifiable to Hiccup. He could see a few Monstrous Nightmares, Gronckles, Deadly Nadders and Hideous Zipplebacks, and he thought he even spotted one or two Mimic Spitters that looked as if they had been hatched last century.

"What is this?" he murmured.

"This, my dear boy, is the Hall of Tales." came a voice from behind him. Without thinking, Hiccup twirled around, ignited his sword and held it in front of him, the flames revealing the speaker.

A wizened old man, his back stooped with age and his face drooping with wrinkles, held up his bony hand to shield himself from the sudden light. He was wearing a faded fur coat, a scruffy, plainly weaved tunic and pants, and thick, worn boots. What hair was left on his head was wispy and white. Even so, he was taller than Hiccup.

Ashamed, the younger lowered his sword, and the man lowered his arm. Hiccup saw that his eyes were unusually bright for his extreme age, hinting at acute intelligence in their minty depths.

"Yes, that's better. Now, young Hiccup, what is it you wish to learn?"

"Wha- How- Who are you?"

The old man sighed. "I no longer remember my name. It is not important to me now, not anymore, surrounded by a language that is more movement than sound. But you may call me- as the dragons do- The Talekeeper. And this is my associate, Stonescale."

It was then that Hiccup saw the dragon behind the man. It was incredible. It had a long, rocky head on a lengthy, thin neck, and it was so huge that its head alone dwarfed Hiccup. Like its name suggested, it looked to be made entirely of stone, with lumps and tendrils protruding out at various intervals and two petering spikes serving as a pair of horns. It gazed at Toothless and Hiccup with a sense of dull amusement, as if the lives of two so young barely interested it.

"What is it?"

"She is what I call a Golemscreamer. There were two young ones at the entrance, that blocked out your lady friend. I'm sorry about that, but only the invited may enter the Hall. In this cavern, only the truth is spoken. The punishment is execution."

As if to point this fact out especially, Stonescale growled and bared a row of razor-sharp, rocky teeth.

"Ask away, young Hiccup. All your questions shall be answered."

"I'm interested in a female Night Fury with a long scar on her belly and blue eyes. Where is she?"

"I'm sorry. We don't have any scrolls on the whereabouts of particular Night Furies. The news is too recent to have reached our ears."

"Well, do you know why she doesn't like humans?" asked Hiccup, with the sense of disappointment curdling his gut.

"Yes, yes I do." The Talekeeper cleared his throat and began:

"The Night Fury you ask about was wounded seven years ago when she was captured by Drago Bludvist. She was one of his first additions to his dragon army and one of the few to actually escape from him."

"Drago," growled Hiccup. "That scheming bastard."

"That isn't all I have heard about your Night Fury."

"Huh?"

"I have heard rumors of what the dragons are confusingly calling another Alpha being captured by dragon trappers. Other than that, the only thing I know is a cryptic message that they are constantly repeating: Fallen comet at the Mountain of Stars. I hope that helps you on your quest."

"Yes!" yelled Hiccup happily, recognition sparking through his brain. "Thank you, Talekeeper!"

Then he turned and, his dragon following, they cleared a path back to the Sanctuary.

The Talekeeper and Stonescale watched them go, then the old man turned to sit by his huge friend.

"I do hope the other rumors are false." he told the Golemscreamer. She just closed her eyes and laid her head next to him, humming a faint tune that winded its way through the Sanctuary's walls like a thread of melody, vibrating through the ice with the sound of ages past.

Chapter Ten: Return of Drago

Hiccup's mind sparked and jumped as he took his leave of the Sanctuary, Astrid tailing him and his Night Fury.

The Mountain of Stars!! So that's where Drago had been hiding all this time. His accursed Bewilderbeast must have swum there and they had taken shelter in the faraway crags and peaks of the cloudbound mountain.

"Hiccup!" called Astrid. The air had stilled itself and flying was easy now, no strong up or downdrafts threatening to push them miles away from their airbound path. "Where are we going?!"

"We're going to a place called the Mountain of Stars! It's only a few hour's journey northward from here, and if all goes well, we'll be there before the sun sets!"

To his shock, Astrid suddenly made Stormfly spiral down to the snowy plains below. He bid Toothless follow her, much to the Night Fury's disdain, and he landed next to her.

"Astrid? What's going on?" She had dismounted Stormfly and had her back to him, her shoulders high and trembling.

At the sound of Hiccup's voice, she turned around and slapped him.

"OW!! Astrid, what in Odin's name was that for?!"

"For this whole stupid thing! I was just locked in a giant ice cave with a whole bunch of possibly hungry untamed dragons, waiting for my idiot of a boyfriend for a whole hour, and then, when I finally see him again, he flies off to go to some mountain in the middle of nowhere, and I have no idea what's going on!! Explain yourself now, Hiccup, or gods help me I will fly off back to Berk and fill your house with fish."

Hiccup gulped. When she put it like that, it did sound rather rude for him to do it.

"Alright. Listen, where I went was a cave called the Hall of Tales, and a lot of dragons come and tell things to an old man and his dragon. He remembers them all and so he told me that the dragons had recently been saying the words Fallen comet at the Mountain of Stars, which means Comet is at Eclipse Mountain. Is that good enough for now?"

"All right, but once we fetch Comet and go back, you've gotta hoick up a lot more information than that."

"Okay. Okay. Just- please, please don't act on that fish threat."

"I make no promises!" she smiled, tapping him on the head as she walked back to her Deadly Nadder.

After the Astrid fiasco, they made good headway, sailing on smooth wind currents and watching the scenery flash by. The trip was not without discomfort, though, and whenever Toothless made too tight a turn or curve, Hiccup winced as pain shot up his legs. He had now spent nearly three days in the saddle, and even though he gained some respite at night when they slept, he was sure there were blisters running down his thighs. Hiccup was just glad that he had less of a left leg to be blistered at all. Poor Astrid must have been in even more pain than he was, even though she never complained.

"Hiccup!" cried Astrid.

"What is it?!"

"Is that the Eclipse Mountain place you were talking about?!"

Hiccup looked up to see a huge behemoth of a mountain, standing alone in a vast snowy plain. He had marked Eclipse Mountain on his map a long time ago, when he had discovered it and him and Toothless witnessed a full lunar eclipse right next to the huge structure. It was made of black, forbidding stone that became more beautiful as you got closer, for the whole thing was speckled with tiny bits of crystal and mica that caught the light and reflected it back. At a time like now, when the sun was setting behind it, it looked like it was covered with miniscule sparks of dawn-pink and eventime-purple.

Hiccup took in the view for a moment, then told Astrid that yes, it was their destination. The exhausted dragons landed in the snow, panting and dragging their wings behind them. They needed a full two days of doing nothing but eating and sleeping, and Hiccup wished he could give it to them, but they couldn't do that now. He sat astride his dragon, his girlfriend did the same, and they went looking for a place to sleep.

They found it not long after, with the moon just peeking over the horizon. A small cave, big enough for all of them if they squished together, but no one minded. The dragons flopped to the ground and curled up in a circular pattern, leaving a snug space between them for their riders. Astrid took a sheepskin blanket from Stormfly's saddlebags and climbed inside the nest, spreading it out and tucking herself inside carefully. Hiccup came in next and pressed himself against her. She was already half-asleep, and he could feel slumber pulling him down too, making his thoughts slow and sluggish. He tried in vain to plan for the next day, but he was so comfortable, tucked up in their makeshift camp, that he gave up and closed his eyes...

Outside, snow started to fall.

I do not like this. I do not like this at all. I do not like this...

Hiccup had been repeating the two phrases in his head over and over since they had entered the tunnel. The day had started okay- the convenient discovery of a tunnel entrance at the back of their cave and a fresh meal caught by Stormfly helped a lot- but the winding passageway was horrid. The stone retained none of its glinting quality on the inside, and the black, rough walls were dripping with water.

Not only that, but the rock around him amplified and echoed any sound to creepy intensity, making Hiccup flinch every time a water droplet splashed on the stone floor. No, he did not like what was going on.

He held his sword in front of him, illuminating Astrid and, in the distance, Toothless. There was no one behind him, Stormfly was too wide to fit in the tunnel. She was out in the cave, napping. At least that promised there would be no one behind him at all, especially the unfriendly kind of no one.

Suddenly, ahead of everyone else, Toothless stiffened. He had caught the faintest sound- a soft cry from in front. The cry was unmistakable.

It was the cry of a wounded Night Fury.

Toothless leaped ahead, forging through the darkness like a living shadow. Astrid and Hiccup scurried to catch up, barely able to keep up with the Night Fury's pace.

After at least 30 minutes of rushing up the now-sloping tunnel, the trio unexpectedly found themselves perched above an incredible sight as the tunnel widened into an open-air cave.

At the top of Eclipse Mountain was a dish-shaped crater, open to the morning sky. At the bottom of the formation was a turquoise lake, shimmering in what little light made it from the top of the structure. A huge, pockmarked boulder, the size of an island, was half-submerged in the water, sticking out like a whale's back from the crystalline liquid. Everywhere else seemed to be made out of the same star-speckled rock as the entire mountain, but wherever you looked, lush green vegetation flourished in the basin. Fruit-laden bushes, mighty trees, clumps of exotically colored flowers, every type of plant seemed to love living in the crater. Hiccup even spotted the brightly-colored forms of tiny dragons flitting through the trees, nibbling on the myriad fruits suspended in branches.

But curled around the meteor in the lake was something Hiccup knew all too well- the corpse of Drago's brown Bewilderbeast.

Then, a dragon's furious cry, a flurry of shadow and scales, and Astrid screaming...

A net dropped over Hiccup's head, and he barely registered the trussed-up forms of his friends before a sharp pain appeared in his skull.

Everything went black...

Chapter Eleven: Hiccup and Comet

Hiccup regained consciousness in a strange base of sorts. It was on a boat, tethered to the rotting remains of Drago's Bewilderbeast. In the same net was Astrid, her eyes open wide. She looked spitting mad, and she had a gag over her mouth- proof that she had already given their captor quite a ribbing. She was staring intently at something on the deck. Hiccup groggily turned his head to see...

Toothless... and Comet! The female Night Fury was straining to meet her companion, pulling at the cruel bindings that cased her wings, neck and tail. Her blue eyes were soft with happiness, yet tinged with fear. Toothless was lying on the boards of the ship, tough rope tying him together like a trussed sheep. His saddle and tail were cast off in a corner, next to Comet. The state his friend was in hurt Hiccup to the core, it reminded him painfully of when he shot Toothless down over Berk.

Suddenly, a shadow fell across the deck. Comet's pupils retracted and she shrank away in terror, her wings trembling as she attempted to get away from the person who had appeared.

Drago Bludvist.

"Little runt, why are you here?" asked the hulk of a man, leering at Hiccup through the net. His words were teasing and mocking, but Hiccup could sense an undertone of fury in Drago's words. He was even more insane than before.

"You do not know. How about I tell you, runt?"

"That would be nice." Hiccup finally found his tongue, and he decided that sarcasm would make him feel better.

It didn't.

Drago ignored Hiccup's comment and turned around, his dragonhide cape nearly hitting the young Chief. Hiccup noticed for the first time something horrifyingly terrible about that cape- it was made of Night Fury skin. Drago had killed Night Furies.

"Let me tell you a story, boy. It is many years ago. I am young and happy, I have a wife, I have a daughter. It is a good day, bright and sunny. I decide to go fishing with my villagers. Life is good. We fish until sundown, catching many fish for the people. Then night falls. We sail back to the mainland- and what do we see?"

Drago slammed his fists together in anger. Comet flinched.

"We see dragonfire. The horrible beasts are attacking our home. I don't stop to think, I just jump out of the boat and attack. There are dragons everywhere- looting the sheds, eating the livestock, killing the people. I kill many dragons that day. Eventually, I fight my way up to my home, on a high hill, only to see it in flames. There is no sign of my wife, but I can see my daughter standing outside the door. Something is blocking her from me, something big and black and scaly. My daughter is being attacked by a Night Fury."

"I scream and rush at the monster, ready to kill it, when it grabs my daughter and flies away with her. My little Veraldai, carried off by a beast. I never see her again. I stand there for a long time, screaming at the sky, roaring at any dragon who comes close and killing them. I stand there until sunrise, when I finally find out that my wife is dead. From that moment onwards, I promise myself something."

Drago leaned in and snarled at Hiccup:

"I will kill all Night Furies."

Hiccup took a sharp intake of breath.

The hulking man turned and walked closer to Comet, much to her terror. She pulled furiously at her bindings, stretching her wings as far as her chains would let her and ferociously lashing her tail back and forth. Ignoring her obvious discomfort, Drago continued with his horrible tale.

"So I start on my quest. My village is nearly destroyed, I leave what little is left to the survivors. Everywhere I find and kill Night Furies. I learn their weak spots, their favorite nesting places, and destroy them at every turn. Finally, I cannot find them anywhere. I believe my task is done, and I set my sights on a new goal, to make a dragon army to kill all of them in the end. But one day my trappers find something dying in the snow. A young Night Fury, only a few years old, with beautiful jewel-blue eyes."

" I nearly kill her on the spot, but something stays my blade. I know, better than anyone else, how powerful Night Furies are. And at such a young, suggestible age, this Night Fury could be used..."

Almost tenderly, Drago traced a finger down the row of spikes in the center of Comet's head. She flinched and growled, showing her sharp ivory-white teeth, but he took no heed of her warning.

Comet really hates Drago, thought Hiccup from underneath the net. I wonder why...

"So I begin training the young female to follow my orders. She is angry, but also curious- and I use that. Every day I talk to her underneath her bindings, making sure she knows I am supreme. Eventually, she fears me enough to let her out and begin practicing on live targets. Sometimes sheep, sometimes... Well, there were a lot of trappers who disobeyed me. I name her Deathjewel- for her eyes are like jewels, and if you get close to them, you will die. She is the perfect killing machine, the ultimate tool for destruction. A beautiful weapon of lightning and death."

"One day, I am busy training a dragon when suddenly one of my Monstrous Nightmares starts attacking people. It burns its way through the buildings, searching for me. I see an opportunity to train Deathjewel, so I call her in and order her to kill the Nightmare."

"She refuses. I am furious with her. I scream and order her to kill, but her mouth remains closed. Eventually, my patience runs out, and I grab a weapon from behind me- a sword with a starburst at the tip. Deathjewel fears the sword more than she fears me, and she takes off to flee. But as she escapes, I dig the sword into her underbelly and drag it along her stomach, stopping inches before her hind legs. Deathjewel screams in agony, but even as I take the sword from her body, she turns and blasts fire at me. There is no escape from the flames, and one of my limbs is damaged beyond repair."

"Deathjewel took my arm, and I hate her for it. But I am glad to see I left her with a scar. Now, she has come back to me, and she is the last female Night Fury left. My trappers reported that she flew in from the direction of your stinking home- Berk. I hoped she had found you and your accursed Night Fury, and she did. Now you've fallen into my trap."

"What are you going to do with us?" protested Hiccup.

"Oh no, little runt. I am not going to do anything with you, or with your girlfriend, or even with Deathjewel anymore. I am here for your dragon. Your Night Fury is the alpha of all dragons, the undisputed ruler. With him, I can rebuild my army in hours. Then, I will take over the Sanctuary, then Berk, then the world. And after that, I will kill all the dragons like sitting ducks. You, though. I am going to kill you. And I will kill you in a very special way."

Suddenly, two Monstrous Nightmares appeared and grabbed Comet, stripping her of her bindings and flying off above the crater. Hiccup could hear her furious roars from all the way down in Drago's boat. Next to him, Astrid started to thrash and grumble, her eyes wide in fear.

Then, Hiccup felt claws wrap around him and cut the net surrounding his body. It was a Typhoomerang, and it followed the two Nightmares carrying Comet. Hiccup noticed it was also holding Toothless's saddle in another claw.

Far behind him, he heard Drago yell,

"Good luck trying to ride her, runt! I know how much she hates people. You'll drown before she lets you on her back!"

Then, the Typhoomerang shot off into the sky, leaving Drago, Astrid and Toothless far behind.

At least an hour later, a sudden icy splash woke Hiccup from his nap. He was so tired that he had drifted off on the flight. He looked down to see Comet floundering in cold Arctic waters, as the two Monstrous Nightmares flew away.

"Comet!" he cried, moments before the Typhoomerang unceremoniously dumped him in the ocean with the saddle and soared off with the Nightmares. Coughing up seawater, Hiccup swam over to Comet, pushing the saddle before him.

"Hi, girl. It's me. Hiccup."

Comet's eyes were wide and she didn't seem to know what to do, so she growled at Hiccup and continued flailing around in the ocean. After a moment, however, she regained control and looked at him again. Her pupils went enormously wide and she purred.

She's glad I'm here. Why?

Then Hiccup realized.

She's scared. Comet's scared.

"Shh, shh. It's okay. We're gonna be okay. Just let me put this on."

He held up the saddle and attempted to attach it to Comet's back. Fear took over and she violently thrashed, pushing Hiccup away with her wildly beating wings. Hiccup realized he wasn't going to get out easily.

Suddenly, all the bravado he had been showing left him. His best friend and girlfriend were trapped by a maniacal killer, he was swimming in a freezing ocean with a dragon who hated humans, and he was miles and miles away from home. Everything seemed to be too much for him, too much for one 20-year-old man who was barely more than a boy.

Hiccup started to cry.

He buried his face into the leather of Toothless's saddle as he swam, feeling the tears run down his face and not caring. Suddenly, however, he felt a leathery surface run across his back. He looked up to see Comet spreading her wing around him as she swam, her pupils huge and her blue eyes full of sadness.

I'm sorry, her eyes said. I'm sorry.

Hiccup smiled and gently placed the saddle on her back. Comet flinched, but let him attach the apparatus. Once it was secure, Hiccup clambered up, feeling the strange shape of Comet's back with his feet.

"All right, Comet. Let's go."

And with that, the female Night Fury soared into the air, heading back for their friends.

Chapter Twelve: How Much Do You Trust Me?

The wind blasted Hiccup in the face as he gritted his teeth, determined to stay on Comet's back whatever it took. He hadn't anticipated how hard riding her would be. Unlike Toothless, this Night Fury wasn't trained in the least, and it was a miracle that she let him onto her back at all. Comet responded to none of the subtle hints and commands that Hiccup used with his dragon, and it was only her keen intelligence that saved them from ending halfway across the world.

Not only that, she still hated humans, even if she was fond of Hiccup. Fear would occasionally take over her mind, and at those times, she would buck and yaw wildly. It took every bit of Hiccup's strength to stay on and not fall to his death.

"Comet!" he cried as she suddenly looped, giving him nausea as she jerkily rose in the air. She grunted in apology and suddenly thwacked him with her ear.

"What was that for?!" exclaimed Hiccup. Then he looked up.

Eclipse Mountain loomed ahead of them, the jagged black form starkly contrasted against the white snow. Hiccup gave a happy crow and tried to direct Comet to the cusp of the mountain, only to have her unexpectedly swerve.

"What's going on?" he asked. Then, a spiraling line of multicolored scales at the top of the stony structure caught his eye.

There was a huge amount of dragons of every shape, size and color streaming into the crater in the mountain. They were too far away for Hiccup to identify, but he knew the reason why they were there.

Toothless, their alpha, was calling for their aid, and they obliged. How could they not? He was their leader, their ruler. A Chief among dragons.

"Come on, we need to go up there!" he called to Comet, but she refused. Instead, she upped her speed, forcing Hiccup to lean in close to the saddle from windforce.

"Comet, please! Astrid and Toothless are in there!"

The Night Fury trembled a bit, but ignored him. And Hiccup realized the ultimate flaw in his plan.

Comet was too scared of Drago to go back, and she didn't trust Hiccup enough to risk herself in the mountain again.

So he simply leaned sideways- and fell into thin air.

Activating his gliding membranes and back fin, Hiccup glided down to the thick snow below. A moment later, Comet landed in a poof of white flakes. She glared at him and hit him with her tail, obviously annoyed that he had scared her like that. Suddenly, a piercing scream rang out, and Comet leaped straight onto him, covering him with her black wings.

"What's going on?" Hiccup poked his head out from under her midnight scales for a moment- only to be saved in the nick of time by Comet's talons as she pushed him back under. A bolt of lightning had nearly blasted his hair off. Standing before the Night Fury was a purplish-blue Skrill, one of the rarest kinds of dragons known. It roared at her, with Comet roaring back, and then with the sound of strong wingbeats flew away. Comet lifted off him and balanced on her hind legs, watching carefully with her jewel-blue eyes.

"You saved me."

Comet's pupils expanded at the words and she purred, lashing her tail happily.

Another shadow flashed by, making her move closer and curl a tail around Hiccup's body. He knew that there was nothing more to do but wait until the dragons thinned out, so he sat in the snow. Comet curled fully around him, placing a wing over in a protective dome and placing her head inside to gaze at him like a mother with her hatchling.

Feeling lonely and bored, Hiccup slowly began to sing...

I'll swim and sail the savage seas...

With nay a fear of drowning...

And gladly ride the waves of life

If you will marry me.

No scorching sun, nor freezing cold

Shall stop me on my journey

If you will promise me your heart

And love me for eternity...

It took him a moment to notice that Comet was humming along, a deep rumble in her throat matching the pitch of the song. Hiccup sighed and ran a hand through his hair, sadness dragging his heart down. That song never failed to remind him of his father.

He leaned against Comet absentmindedly and she flinched, pulling her torso away.

"Sorry." he apologized. "I forgot."

Then something snapped within him. Hiccup shifted his body so he was facing the female Night Fury, staring straight into her jewel eyes. She blinked in surprise and returned the gaze.

"Listen. Please. You can't do this. I need you to take me into that mountain. Toothless is in there, he needs our help. Comet, I can't do this without you."

"How much do you trust me? Do you trust me enough to take me in there? Because I promise, I will not let that evil man hurt you ever again. But you need to trust me."

Comet regarded him with shock, her eyes widening in surprise. Then she closed them, the blue disappearing underneath a black covering.

Hiccup sighed.

The Night Fury opened her eyes once more and, gently, snuggled her nose into Hiccup's palm. He smiled and ran his hand down to under her chin, tickling her where he knew Night Furies liked. She purred in bliss, pushing her head against Hiccup's chest and rubbing her scales against his breastplate.

"Thank you." he murmured.

Comet grinned in response, then stood up. The sudden transition from shadow into sunlight made Hiccup squint, but he stood with her, placing a hand on her side as she fanned her wings out and roared.

To him, that roar sounded worthy of an alpha.

She lowered her wings, revealing Toothless's saddle, and gave him a glare.

If anything does happen, I won't trust you anymore. said that glare.

Hiccup grinned and hopped into place, ready for what would come ahead as Comet leaped into the air and sailed for Eclipse Mountain.

Astrid fiercely bit on the dirty rag stuffed in her mouth, gagging her. She bit down so hard that she punctured her tongue by mistake. Leaning back, she cursed in her head as the taste of blood filled her mouth.

Where's Hiccup? she thought furiously. If anyone could tame that Night Fury, it was her boyfriend. However, there was no sign of either of them, and there hadn't been since Drago had his minion dragons throw both of them into the sea two hours and a half ago.

Could it be true? Could Comet have really let Hiccup drown?!

Astrid shook her head furiously. No, no, no. Hiccup wasn't dead, and neither was Comet. The Night Fury could fly on her own, and...

Toothless roared, startling Astrid out of her reverie. He had been calling dragons to him ever since Drago tied him up. More and more creatures were landing out of the sky, snapping at each other and watching their alpha with expectant eyes. Even the denizens of the Eclipse Mountain crater had flocked to the crowd, tiny exotic creatures with two legs. They perched everywhere, even on other dragons, their tiny, shrieking cries punctuating the deeper roars of their bigger cousins.

Suddenly, a familiar sound echoed over the other dragons' cries. The call of a Night Fury! Toothless answered it and wagged his tail happily as none other than Comet, with Hiccup astride her, soared into Astrid's view. She grinned elatedly. Hiccup had done it!

Then, two Tide Gliders and a Boneknapper launched themselves at Comet, forcing her to veer wildly off course. One of the Tide Gliders was battened down by a fireball, but the two other dragons kept coming. A few more leaped up to join them, including an acid-spitting Mimic Spitter. Comet and Hiccup were in trouble!

The Night Fury avoided the attacking dragons and dived down, heading straight for the trapped Astrid. She closed her eyes and braced herself...

Comet's talons curled around her. Astrid could hear Drago's angry screaming, Toothless's elated cries, but as soon as she opened her eyes, a stream of fire blasted past her. The attacking dragons were closer than ever, and there were more of them, thousands of types that Astrid had never even seen before, even inside the Sanctuary! Comet attempted to slice Toothless's bonds, but it was no use- the dragons were too thick overhead. Leaning back, the blue-eyed Night Fury shot up into the sky, leaving Drago- and Toothless- far behind.

Chapter Thirteen: Alpha Female

"We can't go back."

"I know! I know!"

Astrid and Hiccup were curled up underneath Comet's wing, a nest in the snow like before. Overhead, the whoosh of dragons' wings was forever in the sky. The scaly creatures were far too thick for Comet to even hope to make it through, and Hiccup could faintly hear his Night Fury's anguished roars. Comet kept her eyes closed, even so, she radiated sadness that her companion was trapped in such a predicament.

Hiccup felt anger rise in his throat, hot and heavy. They had failed! He had nearly drowned and gotten shot down by dragonfire and his girlfriend had been trapped by a psychopath.

"Today is the worst day ever." he snarled.

Astrid snorted. "Tell me about it."

The fury rose even higher- and broke. Hiccup slammed a fist on the ground, clenching his teeth as he glared at Comet.

"And it's ALL YOUR FAULT!!" he screamed. Astrid yelped in surprise.

"Hiccup, stop this!" she pulled at his arm, but he couldn't hear her, couldn't feel her touch. Rage had overtaken his mind, blurring the corners of his vision. Full of fury, he threw his fist at Comet's midnight side, a painful-sounding thwack echoing in the enclosed space.

Slowly, softly, Comet opened her jewel eyes.

Astrid inhaled sharply.

The Night Fury gazed at them, her eyes full of pain- but not from Hiccup's attack. She blamed herself for failing, for not achieving their goal.

The agony in her eyes was so acute that it hurt just to look on her.

Hiccup saw this, and his anger disappeared only to be replaced by regret. He slid down her side, curling up with his face on the ground.

"I'm sorry. I-" and he broke into sobs.

Gently, Astrid pulled him up, cradling her head in her lap, and tears ran across her cheeks in harmony.

Comet watched, her blue eyes seeing it all. She felt terrible. Her heart was a dead weight in her chest, bringing her down with every sluggish beat. Her keen dragon ears could distinctly hear Toothless's cries, and she could hear the words in them too...

Help me, he screamed. Help me, Comet. I love you...

How she longed to respond to him, to call out that she loved him too! To curl up under his wing and hum together, or to pounce on his tail and make him yelp before he started to play back. To watch him fish and dive her head next to him, to soar on the air currents together, as free as windblown leaves. To twine her tail with his at night when they coiled up in their nest, hearts beating in tandem, two dragons who loved each other...

She looked upon the two humans. They loved each other, and they both knew it. It was beautiful, no matter who, to see two beings in love. No matter what gender, no matter the age, love was a beautiful thing, in its many forms. There was the bond between two friends, and the bond between siblings. The bond between parents and their children, and the bond between two who felt passion in their hearts. Maybe that was the most sacred of all, the bond between two mates...

Mates...

In that moment, she felt a glow in her soul, and realization, a wonderful dawning epiphany. Maybe she had not laid eggs, but she loved Toothless, and he loved her back. That made them mates. Two beings in love... The Alpha and his female...

A blue glow pervaded the snow nest. She felt the power racing from her chest, up her head, lighting up her back spikes and running down her tail, the power of her bond filling her heart and soul. She wasn't afraid any more. Scars were scars, but once they healed over, they became part of you. A piece of your skin, a tag. You had survived. And you could love.

What was it that the humans called me?

Comet.

I am Comet.

I am the light.

She stood, her wings spread. She could hear the humans gasping, but she didn't care. They were safe.

She- She was invincible!

Her feet found purchase on a jutting spike of ice, left over from the long-ago days of Bewilderbeasts, and she threw her head back and roared. Power thrummed out of every scale, carried in her voice, commanding the citizens of her kingdom. No more pain. No more gathering.

Come to me!

Come to me!

And, as more and more dragons gathered behind her, her power built. She finally felt right, ever since she had been driven wandering all those years ago, ever since her scar had stood out white on her chest. She had found her place, her calling.

She was Comet.

The Alpha's mate.

And that made her the Alpha Female!

Epilogue: Eggs Come Winter

Hiccup watched as the dragons dispersed, wingbeats slowly fading into silence. Comet stood, her blue eyes watching everything as a massive Golemscreamer deposited two forms in front of her: Drago and Toothless. Hiccup and Astrid rushed over to the Night Fury while Comet, her scales glowing faintly, went to loom in front of Drago, her eyes cold slits.

"Deathjewel?" moaned Drago. "No, no, I'm sorry..."

She harrumphed, and the Golemscreamer- who had never left- walked over. He bowed his head to the glorious Alpha Female. With a flick of her tail, she commanded the dragon to take her tormentor away. He followed her orders, stony claws curling around the gibbering Drago and lifting him up into the sky. Soon, both figures had disappeared.

Comet stopped glowing and leaped over to Toothless, wide-eyed in happiness. The last binding split under Astrid's knife and the Night Fury jumped up.

He hugged Hiccup and Astrid, wrapping his wings around them in a scaly embrace. Hiccup had never been so happy, and he spread his arms around Toothless's stomach and smiled. His beloved Night Fury grinned too, and clucked in glee.

Softly, he untangled his wings from around them and stared at Comet. She looked down and lashed her tail, bashful.

He smiled, and she smiled back. They went to each other, wrapping tails and wings around each other, touching noses and humming in harmony. Two hearts beating in tandem...

Hiccup draped one arm over Astrid's shoulders and leaned down to kiss her. After they broke, they watched the two Night Furies, Comet's head underneath Toothless's, so in love that it hurt Hiccup's heart.

"We did it. We won." murmured Astrid.

"No. Comet won. She saved us, all of us. She's an extraordinary dragon- maybe the most extraordinary one of them all."

"Maybe. You need to apologize, I think."

"Yeah."

Quietly, Hiccup walked over to the pair of dragons.

"Comet." he whispered.

She opened her eyes.

"I'm sorry."

She stared at him, then closed her eyes and purred, leaping from Toothless to curl around him. He laughed, and she did too, vibrating in his chest.

"You're my family, Comet. And Astrid. And you too, Toothless." said Hiccup, spotting his dragon's fake pout. They had done it.

"Hey, where's Stormfly?"called a voice from behind.

"Uh-oh."

And then he was running down to Astrid, laughing as the sun shone down on his face, on the whiteness, and on two Night Furies in love.

Behind him, Comet walked over to Toothless, and he spread his wing over her back. She basked in his love, the love they shared.

Everything was going to be all right. She knew it.

Because this time, there would be eggs- eggs come winter!

THE END

Credits and Thanks

Phew! This fanfiction was a mental challenge for me- especially since I have ADHD. Making myself write so I could get all the chapters out on time was a painful and occasionally futile effort, but I got there! Now I can triumphantly shelve this story and not only that- it has a very special place in my heart. Because this is the first fanfiction- not even, the first story that I have ever completed!!!! Comet Nights will always be a very special piece of writing, even years from now when I look back and realize how horrible I was back then. (We've all done it...) Even though I spent quite a long time alone to write this, there are many people who need a heartfelt and important THANK YOU!!!

Okay, first of all, I'd like to give a big thank-you to my BFF Natalie Panda, who wonderfully edited screencaps of Toothless to produce those incredible Comet images. Thank you loads, Panda. This couldn't have existed- and Comet wouldn't be half as real as she is now- without you.

Another warm thanks goes to Tsunami_Holmes, who inspired me with her own HTTYD fanfic. I really enjoyed reading Night Flight, even if I found the storyline a little outlandish. Good job, Tsunami!

Thank you, also, to my parents, who generously let me spend hours on the laptop so I could write. Thank you, mom and dad. You both rock!

Thank you to all those people who made images of Comet (even though they didn't do it specifically for me, I just found them on Google Images) that weren't edited by Panda, those being the cover image and the one in the epilogue. I don't know who you are, but I really, really thank you, especially the person who made the epilogue image. It's so perfect for Comet and Toothless!

And finally, thank you, the reader, for buoying me up by reading, voting and commenting. You all are people who really make what I do worthwhile. It's you I'm writing this for, and I hope you enjoyed it!

Now for the credits:

Storyline and Writing by RainbowPhoenixWrites.

The characters of Comet, the Talekeeper and Stonescale by RainbowPhoenixWrites.

The dragon species of Mimic Spitter and Golemscreamer by RainbowPhoenixWrites, all other dragon species are owned by the DreamWorks company.

The characters of Toothless, Hiccup, Valka, Astrid, Cloudjumper and Drago are owned by the DreamWorks company, they are not mine.

The unedited screencaps are technically owned by the DreamWorks company.

The edited screencaps were made by Natalie Panda (aka Blanket Burrito), they are not mine.

That's all, everyone! I hope you enjoyed Comet Nights. There may possibly be a sequel in the future, and it may involve Veraldai Bludvist... But no more of that. Goodbye for now, and may you find the gift of dragons!

The Sequel is Out!

Click on this link to go to the next book in the trilogy: Dragon's Slave

Click on this link to go to the third book in the trilogy: Young Chief (coming soon)

Click on this link to go to the official Comet Nights guide: A Guide to Comet Nights (coming soon)

Links

For Comet's official page, click here: Comet

For the Mimic Spitter official page, click here: Mimic Spitter

For the Golemscreamer official page, click here: Golemscreamer

For the Talekeeper and the Hall of Tales' official page, click here: The Hall of Tales

For Eclipse Mountain's official page, click here: Eclipse Mountain