Lost In Time | HTTYD Fanfic

Close Call

"So... Nuffink?" Astrid thought as she began to sharpen her axe. "Where are you from?"

"Oh, my island is pretty remote. Somewhere west of here." He dodged the question as he continued to keep an eye on his sister, who was sitting with their father, outside his hut.

"So, how did you end up here?" Heather wondered.

Oh, gods. Nuff really did hate lying. Especially to his mother. But, what choice did he have? He had to say something, and fast.

"Honestly, I'm not sure." He admitted. Luckily he was good at stretching the truth. "I was just trying to keep my sister out of trouble. She's the one that brought us here."

"What about your parents? Do they know where you are?" Astrid checked.

"Yeah. They know." He confessed. "Sorta." He mumbled. "It's complicated."

"What's the matter?" Heather asked. "Don't you get along?"

"What?! No! I love my parents. They're the greatest." Nuffink denied. "We didn't exactly plan on... nevermind." He halted himself before saying something he might regret. "We should go." He motioned to the auburn-haired Haddocks as they ventured towards the clubhouse.

***

"Everything okay?" Nuffink checked with his sister as he enveloped her in a hug.

"I told you. I'm fine." Zephyr punched him playfully on the arm. "Don't be such a worrywart."

"I'll stop worrying when you start being careful." He declared.

"I'm always careful."

"You're never careful." He corrected. The brunette rolled her eyes before her gaze landed on the teenage embodiment of her father, who was flicking through some notes at the desk in the center of the clubhouse.

"What are you working on?" Zeph wondered as her curiosity began to get the better of her.

"Just some notes." He told her.

"Uh, Hiccup. Maybe you should work on that some other time." Fishlegs gestured to the young female who was hovering over his shoulder.

"It's okay. I trust her." He assured. "I just feel like something's missing here." Astrid sauntered over with the dragon eye that she had taken from Hiccup's bag.

"The Dragon Eye." Zephyr gazed in awe.

"Wait? How did you-?"

"I told you," Fishlegs muttered.

"I've read about it. It's an artifact of legend where we're from." Zeph mentioned.

"I thought Hiccup named it the Dragon Eye?" Ruffnut remembered.

"Oh yeah." Tuff agreed. The Haddock children shared a worried look.

"I know what you guys are thinking, but would they have helped us sink Viggo's ship if they were working for him?" Hiccup illustrated.

"Wait, you think we're hunters?!" Nuff gasped as Dart and Pouncer began to nuzzle at their riders.

"No, we don't." Hiccup assured. "Fishlegs, they're just kids."

"Hey!" Zeph whined, defensively.

"Ugh, what's missing?!" Hiccup scowled, changing the subject back to his notes. He scooped up the dragon eye. Zeph took the dagger from her brother's belt, as well as her own, and slotted them into the table to create a stand for the dragon eye. "Bud." Hiccup called to his dragon, who was currently a little preoccupied with Pouncer. "Uh, bud?"

"I got it." Zeph cupped her hands around her mouth and let out a strange whistle-like sound. Dart was by her side faster than a flash. "Okay, girl. Slow burn." She ordered. The white-nosed Fury stationed herself behind the dragon eye and shone a purple light through the lens, casting a map on the adjacent wall.

"This isn't anything we haven't already seen." Astrid indicated. Hiccup quickly swapped the lens for the one they had found in the cave during Gustav's visit to the Edge.

"Nothing." He twisted a few parts and pressed a few buttons. The younger Haddocks both gazed in awe as to pictures changed with every movement.

"What about Heather's lens?" The young blonde let slip before receiving a slap to the chest from his sister.

"Heather's what?!" The riders gasped.

"Changing history," Zephyr whispered sneakily as they all turned to Heather.

"Your belt!" Hiccup finally noticed. "That thing on your belt. It's a Dragon Eye lens. How did we not see that?"

"You have got to be kidding me. That thing has been there the whole time. And nobody, nobody saw it?" Snotlout scoffed.

"Yes, it's been there the whole time! And, no, I didn't know it was a Dragon Eye lens!" Heather growled.

"Heather, we have got to see what's on that!" Hiccup bounced with excitement.

***

"Incredible." Fishlegs jotted down some notes. Zephyr pulled out her journal and began to translate the writing. Being the curious Berkian that she was, she had studied the strange language many years ago. Or many years from now, technically speaking. Zeph went to grab the other two lenses, but halted, glancing towards Hiccup to await his nod of approval. She scooped up the lenses and held them in the light's path adding several pieces of the map.

"Woah!" The riders gasped.

"How do you know so much about this?" Hiccup questioned.

"My father used to tell me stories about it. Every night before bed." Zephyr explained as she placed the lenses back on the desk.

"You only need two more lenses," Nuffink added.

"Two more lenses for what?" Fishlegs thought.

"Wow, you guys really don't know much about this Dragon Eye stuff do you?" The young blonde hinted.

"If you collect all five lenses, you reveal the location of the King of Dragons." The young auburn-haired female illustrated. "It's the Alpha species, with the ability to control the minds of other dragons."

"And we have three lenses..." Hiccup noted.

"Four." She corrected pulling another lens from her bag and tossing it in Hiccup's direction.

***

After hours of examining and analyzing the information on the two new lenses, Hiccup decided to call it a day.

"We should get some sleep. Nuff, you can stay with me." Hiccup offered.

"Great," Snotlout sauntered over to the young female haddock. "I made room for you in my hut."

"Oh gods, no!" Zeph declined.

"Snotlout, it didn't work with Heather it's not working now." Astrid rolled her eyes. "You can stay with me."

"Thank you."

***

The riders all split off to their huts, giving the Haddock children a few minutes alone.

"We have got to get out of here. Soon." Nuffink worried. "We had a lot of close calls today."

"I know. But, maybe we can just enjoy it while it lasts." Zephyr proposed. "Aren't you always saying you would love to spend more time with dad?"

"Well, yeah but-"

"And I rarely get to spend time with mom." She added. "Nuff, for once I finally have a break from chiefly training. For once I can just be a dragon rider. You can't tell me you aren't enjoying mom and dad's attention."

"Fine, maybe I am enjoying seeing a new side to mom and dad. But that doesn't mean it's not dangerous."

"I know. I'll be careful. I promise. And I'll work on getting us home, but I wanna enjoy my freedom before dad retires."

***