Lost In Time | HTTYD Fanfic

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"Look out!" Zeph warned her grandfather as she threw the canister of Zippleback gas into the great hall.

It created a wall of Zippleback gas. Stoick quickly covered his mouth to prevent breathing in any of the hideous smoke. Once the gas cleared, a small red figure appeared, huddled by a table. Hiccup and the others made their way into the room and Hiccup immediately raced to his father.

Zephyr rushed to the frightened baby dragon. Changewings were very skittish dragons at the best of times. She halted and decided it was best to approach slowly. She knelt to the ground and held her hand out, waiting patiently for the young Changewing to come to her.

She scooped the crimson hatchling in her arms and took him outside where he looked towards the sky and squawked excitedly. Zeph took the hint and mounted her dragon, following wherever the baby dragon was leading her. They soon landed in an opening in the woods, where a large green Changewing was pacing around frantically.

Zeph approached carefully and passed him to his mother who was overjoyed.

"How did you get him to show himself? That was incredible." Hiccup asked throwing his arms around in excitement. He loved making new discoveries and learning about what dragons were capable of.

"Exposure to Zippleback gas renders a Changewing's Camouflage useless." She explained.

"Huh didn't know that," Heather said.

"Incredible." Hiccup whispered to himself.

"Well, you learn something new every day," Stoick explained. "So, care to introduce me to your new friends and their Night Furies?" He asked his son with a hint of confusion on his face.

"Night Lights." Heather corrected, saving Nuffink from doing it.

"Oh, right. Dad this is Zephyr and Dart, and this is Nuffink and Pouncer."

"Well, thank you, Lass. You couldn't have come at a better time." Stoick said to the young auburn-haired female, gratefully.

"Anytime." She smiled.

"Dad, we have to talk."

***

"Really?" Tuffnut questioned as Hiccup finished explaining the plan to both his father and the riders. "'I'll take that?'?! Seriously, that's the best you can come up with? This is your moment, H. Books will be written about it. Children will act it out. Some adults will act it out, but it won't be as cute as the children. You need a killer catchphrase. One line that will withstand the test of time. As the sands and the ocean pass, your words will remain. I mean, you've just defeated one of the toughest, most ruthless villains in the world."

"Who let's face it, everyone thought was smarter than you," Ruffnut added.

"Really? Everyone?"

"Hiccup," Zeph raised her hand to get his attention. "I know we haven't been here for very long, but don't you think you would have a better chance if we were part of the plan?"

"Yes, I do." He admitted. "But, it's too dangerous. You guys have no idea what Viggo and Ryker are capable of. We can't risk that."

"Isn't that our choice?" Nuffink thought.

"Usually, yes," Astrid explained. "But, Hiccup's right. You're not ready."

***

"Now that's what I call a plan."

Hiccup waved his father off from the stairs of the great hall before being tugged away by none other than Astrid. He had a little stumble over his prosthetic leg before gaining his balance.

"You did it!" Astrid shouted in a whisper. She threw her arms around the auburn-haired rider. "I'm really proud of you!"

"A lot of those ideas were yours." He admitted. "I... I couldn't have done it without you." Hiccup backed up towards the wall, putting all his weight on his left leg and leaning his right against the wall behind him. Astrid sauntered closer.

"We make quite the team, huh?" She leaned her hand beside him.

"I certainly think so." Hiccup agreed.

They turned towards a low growl to see Stormfly and Toothless playing close by. Toothless leaped forward to catch the Nadder's tail. She quickly swiped it away and spun around. Hiccup's smile faded.

"I know that look," Astrid noted. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong." He stated. "It's just...Well, yeah, Tuff's right, this is huge. Viggo, Berk, the Edge. And my dad, putting his trust in me. If the mission fails, we could lose the Dragon Eye forever." He began to ramble. "That could mean the end of the Dragons. And they could be hunted to extinction and I—" He was cut off when Astrid placed a finger over his lips. He really did talk too much when he was nervous.

"But, they won't be," Astrid assured, bringing her hand to his chest. "Because this mission will not fail."

"Then there's this project Shell Fire thing. I mean, what?"

"Hiccup, stop!" She grasped him by the shoulders to keep him calm. "You spent months planning this. It's gonna work." Astrid smiled in reassurance. Hiccup couldn't help but return her smile. They both leaned in gently. Hiccup's hand found its way to Astrid's shoulder, her's met his hip. They were mere inches apart when they heard Fishlegs call out from the sky.

"Oh, my Thor!" He gasped. "What are you two..." The young couple jumped apart, blushing nervously.

"Oh, come on. It's so obvious." Zeph flew past, hoping to save the situation, as she was definitely not lingering close by.

"It is?" They worried.

"Of course! You're discussing where to hide the Dragon Eye once we get it back." She fibbed.

"Well, in that case. Meatlug and I are way ahead of you, aren't we girl?" The Gronkle growled happily in agreement. "We've got hiding places inside our hiding places." He explained. "Well, I'm gonna go give Meatlug some Andesite. Helps her sleep when she's this excited. Carry on you two." He waved before flying away. Hiccup and Astrid let out a much-deserved sigh of relief.

"Carry on you two." Zeph giggled. The young couple nodded in appreciation. She returned that nod before racing off.

"That was close." Astrid exhaled.

"Yeah. Wait, why do we care if they know about us?" Hiccup wondered.

"I mean, we don't, I guess." She shrugged. "It's all so new, I just wanna share it with you right now, you know?" Hiccup just continued to glance at her in confusion. "Look, we'll tell everyone, I just want the time to be right."

"Yeah, I get it." Hiccup approved. "This- This isn't the time. We can't take a chance on anyone doing anything different." He gestured wildly with his arms. He threw his hand out for her to shake. "Including us."

Astrid glanced down at his hand and rolled her eyes. Grasping his arm and lowering it, she cupped his cheek, gently pulling him in, connecting their lips. Hiccup took a moment to respond, lingering even after she walked away, smirking mischievously. He turned and smiled at her as she walked away and mounted her dragon.

"Did you seriously think I'd leave here with just a handshake?" She glared at him, fighting back a chuckle as she took towards the skies.

Toothless let out a warble as he circled his rider.

"Yeah, I know. She's something else, huh, Bud?" He admitted before quickly mounting his dragon and darting off.

Zephyr just smiled contently from the other side of the stairs, where she was tucked under Dart's wing, cloaking them both.

Suddenly a loud blast was hear from the far side of the island.

"Looks like it's time for some damage control." She mentioned to her dragon.

***