TAW Tales: How to Train Your Shifters (#1)

~ Chapter 25 ~

Hiccup felt the wind in his hair and breathed out.

He loved soaring above the clouds on the back of Toothless. He couldn't even feel the coldness of the air around him. He was just... free.

Free from worrying about how he'd get back to his world, or about what the others were doing without him, or about that Bionic guy's promise.

He frowned.

There had been no sign from the evil scientist for a few days, and yet Hiccup knew (and the Animals kept reminding him) that Bionic was just waiting and biding his time. Soon enough, he was going to try something, and Hiccup had to be ready.

He flattened himself along Toothless' back and reached down to pat the dragon's neck.

"You ready, bud?"

"Rrr," Toothless replied with a flick of one of his ear-like appendages.

Hiccup breathed out. "Good."

He jerked his metal peg-leg and with a click Toothless' red tail-fan had flicked to the right, causing the Night Fury to flip to the right and nose-dive through the clouds. Hiccup squinted as the wind rushed past his face, whipping his hair and cutting across the bare skin of his cheeks.

Just before they made it completely through the clouds, Toothless flared his wings and with another click his tail-fan he was sent into a forward somersault. They broke through the clouds and Toothless unfurled himself so that he was diving down towards the lush green rain forest below, with the sunlight reflecting off the surface of the lake.

"Steady bud, steady," Hiccup murmured in Toothless' ear, but the dragon was confident.

As they reached level with the lake, he flared his wings again and they shot across the surface of the water, the wind from their dive throwing great fans of water into the air on either side, the droplets sparkling in the sun.

Finally reaching the bank, Hiccup tweaked Toothless' tail again and they soared up and over the trees, sending a wave of air rustling into the branches and causing leaves to fall.

Up, up, up they rose, until they emerged over the top of the dip in the land and over the ridge of the mountain. Sprawled out below them was a gleaming, sea-side city, with brilliant white skyscrapers and smaller buildings carefully weaving their way through the many lush, green parks set about, as if they respected the natural beauty of the trees and bowed before them.

Cutting the city off from a marshy swamp was a large, deep-blue river, like a ribbon dividing the city from the untamed environment beyond. Bobbing in the harbor and around the river were small yachts and house-boats, and the occasional fishing trawl.

"Whoa..." Hiccup breathed as Toothless glided on the breeze to set down gently in the shade of the trees right on the mountain ridge. Toothless looked down at it and shook his head with a rumble, as if saying that he couldn't care less about it, but Hiccup's green eyes shone as he dismounted and walked to the edge of the cliff.

"So, this is what our world might be like in... what, a hundred years?" Hiccup mused to Toothless, unaware that the dragon was chewing his armpit behind him. Toothless made a noise that plainly said, I don't care.

Then his ears perked up as the bushes behind them rustled. Hiccup whirled around and froze as Toothless pulled back his lips and unsheathed his teeth. The bushes were silent once again, but something in Hiccup could sense the presence of someone or thing there; someone/thing not very friendly.

"Toothless..." Hiccup said warningly as the dragon crept forward to investigate, "Be careful-"

There was a high-pitched 'ping!' sound, and a chain burst out of the bracken, wrapping around Toothless' snout and bounding it shut.

Toothless gave a muffled roar of alarm and reared up onto his hind legs, clawing the air with his front paws. At once, five more chains shot out of the undergrowth, bounding his legs, tail, body, neck-

"Let him go!"

Hiccup threw himself forward to free the chains, but the forest around him erupted with armored men. Six others stepped out of the brambles, holding grappling guns (which Hiccup, of course, had absolutely no idea about) that secured the chains around Toothless.

One of the men seized Hiccup by the scruff of his neck and lifted him clear off his feet. Hiccup fumbled at his leg for his Fire-Blade, but the men only laughed and a second grabbed Hiccup's wrists.

Hiccup writhed and struggled, but the mens' grips were like vice.

An evil laugh made Hiccup pause in his efforts, and a familiar figure stepped out of the shade of the trees, hands clasped behind his back.

"Well, well, well," Dr Bionic said, smiling and shaking his head. "It looks like we've got a little mouse, right fellas?"

The men chortled and Hiccup, renewed with determination, tried to twist out of the men's grip, but they only laughed harder.

"Oh, Hiccup, Hiccup, Hiccup." Bionic approached him, still wearing that irritating smile. "This unhappy business could easily have been avoided! All you had to do was hand over the Night Fury, and you could have gone free."

Hiccup froze. "How do you know my name?" he asked cautiously. "And how did you know Toothless is a Night Fury?"

Bionic's smile broadened and he tossed a small, flat box on the ground at Hiccup's feet. It was made of flimsy plastic, and the picture on the front was of-

Hiccup's heart skipped a beat. It was him and Toothless, flying and grinning, with the others riding their dragons behind them.

"How-how did you-?"

"Remember when I said that the girl you saw before was your enemy?" Bionic reminded him, tapping the side of his nose knowingly. "Well, I didn't lie. She never told you that you, in our world, are part of a book, a movie, a fictional world, did she?"

Hiccup blinked. "No, but-"

"-But I have," Bionic replied, and his smile returned. "I can share amazing secrets with you, Hiccup. You and I can study this world and yours together. We can learn the secrets of dragons and humans, of the past and future. I know I can trust you Hiccup, unlike my previous protégé. And you can trust me, Hiccup. After all, they never gave you the whole truth of why you're here, did they-?"

Stop!

Bionic whipped around as the Animals burst out of the forest behind them, hackles raised, teeth bared, claws unsheathed and hooves stamping angrily.

"What the-? How did you guys know where to find me?" Hiccup demanded in surprise.

Fang flicked his ear. Mystical followed you. We've been taking turns watching you to make sure Bionic didn't try something like this.

And I watched you while you slept, Nellie put in helpfully.

A pause.

"Oooookay, that's creepy," said Hiccup.

"Get them!" Bionic shouted, pointing.

The men surrounding him rounded on the Animals, pulling out silver, gun-like tasers from their belts. The Animals found themselves evenly matched against Bionic's forces.

This is going to be fun, said Sprinkles.

~ ~ ~ 

Sorry for the late chapters guys.

When I came back from a trip yesterday, I completely forgot about it. :P

Welp, here you go.

I also just realised how terrible Hiccup's guess was.

"So this is what our world will be like in... what, a hundred years?"

Yeah, no. More like ten THOUSAND years.

Anyway, sorry for the late upload and here you go!