Soul of the Sky (HTTYD Runaway Fic)

The Great Beyond

Stormfly
After that detour, we were back on course for the Edge and home. I was still getting used to carrying a rider, but I kind of liked this Viking. She reminded me of me. "Is this how you felt with Hiccup?" I asked Toothless. "Yeah." he responded. "She's like you, except she doesn't feel the connection yet. Give it time, she'll warm up to you."
"In Toothless' and my case." Hiccup interjected. "It was the other way round." I snorted.

As we neared the fog banks, I thought back to the first time we'd flown this way. Thousands of tired, beaten-down dragons given a new hope and a new leader. We'd felt like hatchlings again, and we'd chorused "Into the Great Beyond!" as we flew. It represented more than just new horizons. It represented a new life, a better life for all of us. And that's what it had been.

"Into the Great Beyond!" I yelled, and the others all joined in. Remembering the day when we'd flown to a new future.

* * * * *

Astrid
"Wow."
That was all I could say. The sights when we cleared the fog had been amazing, whole new islands spread out before us. Fishlegs was acting like an overexcited puppy. "What's down there?" he asked. "Deathsong Island." the Dragon Master replied absently. "How about there?" The one we were headed towards looked inhabited. A network of wooden bridges crossed the island, watchtowers stood on the cliff faces, and some things were connected with...ziplines?

"That," the Dragon Master said, smiling in satisfaction. "is Dragon's Edge. My home."

A loud horn sounded from the island, nearly startling me out of the saddle. "Should not have made a foghorn operable by Terrible Terrors." he groaned. Out of nowhere, a cloud of dragons rose from the island to greet us. If I fall off Stormfly and die, I'm taking the Dragon Master with me.

Hiccup
"You're back! You're back!" Excited dragons surrounded us, calling out 'hello's and 'where have you been's. "We'll explain everything later." Toothless promised. "But we need to get these humans back on the ground." We exchanged glances, each knowing what the other was thinking.
"Dramatic entrance?"
"Dramatic entrance."
"You're such a show off." Hookfang sniffed as we soared upwards. Then Toothless dived. I locked his tailfin and jumped, snapping out the wings of my flight suit. We fell together for a few moments, then caught the air and swooped towards the Edge. "Come on, you slowpokes!" Toothless called to the other dragons while the Vikings gasped in awe. I aimed for the target painted on the landing pad, hitting the ground a few centimetres away from bullseye. "Sloppy." Toothless mumbled as he came to a stop beside me.

"What was that?" Snotlout yelled, jumping clumsily off Hookang's back. "Can I get one?" Ruffnut asked eagerly. "Cause that was epic."

* * * * *

Vikings and dragons sat around a campfire, chatting peacefully. Well, most of them. Toothless was asleep and the twins were arguing as usual. "We need a name for you." Astrid said suddenly. "What?" I questioned, fiddling with the calibration dial on my fin. "Well, I can't keep calling you the Dragon Master. And you clearly don't want to tell us your real name. So what do we call you?" I thought for a moment. The problem is, I am terrible with names. Both remembering them and thinking up my own. "Um, Fire?" I suggested. Astrid rolled her eyes. "That's just lame."
"Night? Fury? Esmeralda?" Fishlegs choked on his salmon. "Esmeralda? I thought you were a guy!" My turn to roll my eyes. "I am. I'm just terrible at making up names."

"How about Magnus?" Snotlout asked through a mouthful of fish. I raised an eyebrow, forgetting that he couldn't see my face. "Great? You certainly have a high opinion of me." He shook his head. "Not that. It's just that it's a pretty common name." Astrid sighed with relief. "Okay, Magnus it is." Barf snickered. "Do we have to call you Magnus now?"
"No, you can call me by my ACTUAL NAME." Toothless hummed sleepily. "Are you going to show them your leg?" I hadn't thought about that.

You see, having one leg is something my enemies can use against me. So I keep it hidden, the same way I hide Toothless' replacement fin. His tailwing is covered with his own shed scales so that it blends in. My leg is hidden by a piece of armour that matches the other foot. "Does it matter?" I asked. "You hate sleeping with it on, and you'll have to sleep in the same place as them." Toothless replied. I snorted, turning to the gang. He knows me too well, and who cares if they see the stupid foot. "If I show you something, do you promise not to freak out?" Instantly, everyone's attention was on me. "Sure." Tuffnut responded. "Is it something cool?"

Astrid
'Magnus' sighed. "Not exactly." We watched in fascinated horror as he twisted his left foot backwards. The armoured boot popped off, revealing metal where his lower leg should be. "What happened to your foot?" Snotlout asked, blunt as usual. "I lost it in the battle against the Red Death." he replied. "We pretty much blew her up, and didn't clear her tail in time. I got knocked out of the saddle. Toothless caught me by my leg, and the force of the impact ripped it off." I shuddered. "Ouch."

"Why are you still friends?" Ruffnut asked. "He bit your leg off." Toothless...winced? Is this a sore subject for him? Magnus laughed. "It was lose my leg or lose all of me. Toothless saved my life. Besides, that made us even. I'm responsible for that." He gestured to Toothless' tail. Undoing a buckle, he slipped the left side completely off! "This," he held up the fin. "is fake. The real one was lost when I...nevermind."

"When you what?" I questioned. Magnus turned away. "It doesn't matter. Go to sleep, it's late. We leave at dawn."
"Are you going to take off the mask?" Fishlegs asked. "No."
What is the Dragon Master hiding? Fishlegs and I exchanged glances. Whatever it is, we'll find it out.

And his real name certainly isn't Magnus.

A/N: For those who are confused, the Dragon Master is Hiccup. They're calling him Magnus, but if you see references to any of the three, they are the same person. Yes, confusing, I know.
P.S. I set Where No One Goes as my alarm and ASDFGHJKL BEST WAKE UP CALL EVER!

Edit from future Isarn09:
The name stays. It's bad, but it's not that bad.