1. How To Train Your Predacon (Book 1)

Chapter 4: The Deal

It took a while for Hiccup to wake up around the early afternoon and explaining to him that the dragon in front of him was a friend and that he doesn't hurt anyone, Hiccup and Emily just left the woods after Hiccup spent hours sketching Optimus in his dragon form eagerly and both were now heading to the Haddock household.

Emily opened the door for him as he entered. She follows but bumps into Hiccup who was frozen in place when he caught sight of Stoick. He quickly and quietly as he could walk past Stoick and crawls up the stairs stealthily as he might to not get noticed but Stoick notices him.

"Hiccup." Stoick called him and he winced as Emily was at the base of the stairs as she and Hiccup looked at each other as he stopped halfway up the stairs to his room.

"Dad! Uh... I have to talk to you, Dad." Hiccup said as he walked down one step of the stairs as Stoick walked up to them.

"I need to speak with you too, son and Emily." Stoick said as Hiccup and Emily looked at each. Both father and son both took a deep breath before they both spoke at the same time.

"I've decided / I don't want / I think it's time you learn / to fight dragons. What?" They both said at the same time before looking at each other in confusion. All they know is that it has the word dragons in it as Emily coughed against her fist to avoid the awkwardness.

"Why don't you go first, Hiccup?" Emily suggested since Hiccup really needs to tell Stoick that he can't fight dragons.

"Uh, yes. You go first, son." Stoick said but Hiccup motioned for him to go first.

"No, no, you go first." Hiccup insisted as Stoick clasped his hands together and took a deep breath.

"Alright. You get your wish. Dragon Training. You and Emily start in the morning." Stoick said and this just made the two teens tense up at that. They'll start what?!

"Oh, man, I should've gone first! Uh, 'cause I was thinking, you know, we have a surplus of dragon-fighting Vikings, but do we have enough... bread-making Vikings, or small home repair Vikings-?" Hiccup said as he tried to make his dad change his mind as Emily tried to deny the offer to even try the dragon training.

"I-I'm not too keen on fighting! I do create weapons, do other stuff and farming-" Emily said but both were cut off by Stoick who handed Hiccup an axe and Emily a sword.

"You both will need this." Stoick said as Hiccup held the axe in both of his arms as the weight of the weapon almost made him fall off balance.

"Me and Emily don't want to fight dragons." Hiccup finally said but Stoick thought he was joking as he just laughed it off.

"Come on. Yes, both of you do." Stoick said as Emily sighed exasperatedly.

"Rephrase: Chief, we can't kill dragons." Emily said as she joined the argument.

"But you two will kill dragons." Stoick said as Hiccup shook his head.

"No, I'm really very extra sure that we won't." Hiccup said as Stoick walk to him.

"It's time, Hiccup." Stoick said as Hiccup and Emily were getting desperate.

"Can you not hear me?!" Hiccup pleaded but it looks like Stoick isn't listening.

"This is serious, son! When you carry this axe, you carry all of us with you. Which means you walk like us. You talk like us. You think like us. And, Emily, it is also time for you to be accepted into the tribe. And no more of... this." Stoick said as he then gestured to Hiccup in the end and the teen looked a little annoyed.

"You just gestured to all of me." Hiccup said.

"Deal?" Stoick asked.

"This conversation is feeling very one-sided." Hiccup said but stopped when he saw the look on his dad's face.

"DEAL?!" He asked again as Hiccup sighed and looked down.

"Deal." Hiccup said with Emily puffing her cheeks a little.

"Yes, sir." She said meekly as Stoick nodded, satisfied as he picked up a pack.

"Good. Train hard. I'll be back. Probably." Stoick said as he headed out to the door after putting on his helmet.

"And I'll be here. Maybe." Hiccup said but he doubted his dad heard him as he sighed.

Both Emily and Hiccup both stood in silence as they contemplated on what to do.

"So... What's the plan?" Emily asked him meekly as he groaned.

"I-I don't know! I finally got the chance to start dragon training after begging my dad to let me start but it's also the day that I just discovered that I can't kill dragons! This is so messed up! How am I going to survive this?!" Hiccup ranted out as he ran his hands through his hair in panic after he put the axe down.

"Hiccup." Emily called him and pushed him down on the chair while putting her hands on his shoulder.

"Calm down. Look, we're both put in dragon training and your dad expects us to fight dragons when we don't even want to hurt them. We can try to skip and avoid the training but I know your dad probably told Gobber to wake us up in the morning. So it's best that we eat up and try and get some sleep for the training, okay?" Emily reassured him as he took deep breaths to calm down as he nodded slowly.

"O-Okay. Sorry I exploded like that, Emily." Hiccup said as he looked down.

"It's okay, Hic. We just didn't expect this is all. Everything is going to be fine in the end, you'll see." She gave him an encouraging smile to which he smiled back.

"Thanks, Ems. I wouldn't know what to do if you weren't here." He said as she laughed.

"You're my friend, Hiccup. I'll always be there for ya." She smiled.

They both ate dinner while Emily was telling Hiccup the time she and the bots encountered the scraplets before they went to bed after eating dinner.

"Hey, Emily?" Hiccup asked after a moment of silence.

"Yeah?" Emily answered quietly.

"What's Cybertron like?" He asked as he faced her as she was looking at the ceiling on her hammock.

"Well, Cybertron is a very different place. Everything is made of greenery but more peaceful. It's been only once when I first saw my home island when we were fighting for the Omega Keys against the Decepticons." Emily told him.

"Oh. Well, what are the Decepticons? You said before that they're your enemies." Emily sighs at this as she thought of how to explain what the Decepticons are like.

"Well, the Decepticons are a ruthless group of bad people that are power hungry. Megatron, the leader and Lord of the Decepticons, was a gladiator champion once in Isle of Kaon that goes by the name of Megatronus once. But he shortened his name to Megatron when he and his friend, Orion Pax, who was a librarian, went to the council. There he showed his true colors. But Orion believed that Cybertron shouldn't be led by violence and he was given the title of the next Prime. Megatron, with anger and hatred, severs all ties with Orion and leads his group, the Decepticons, to find the ancient relic, the Matrix of leadership. War raged on Cybertron and Orion was the one who found the Matrix of Leadership when he stood upon the leader of my home. The ailing Primus gave the matrix to Orion and was now Optimus Prime. Both of us are the last Primes." Emily finished as Hiccup was stunned speechless at this. Two islands waging war and led by a former gladiator and librarian were given a relic and both sides are still fighting?! Whoa...

They didn't talk after that and both fell asleep after two hours of silence as the next day will be a new day.