Searching For You

Chapter 14: Fragile Alliance

Spitelout stared down at the paper in disbelief. His own son, no, all the riders could be considered traitors.

The council made it clear that any Hybrid spotted was to be immediately shot down, despite Stoick's disapproval. Now there it was. The riders were out purposely looking for one. "T-this can't be real." he tried to protest. "You're just trying to trick us into a trap!"

"Oh, I wish it were so. To find your own son, a traitor. I must admit anyone would be in disbelief. But one of my men shot down the terror transporting the message."

"Ooo when that boyo gets home, he'll get it," Spitelout said, rage boiling inside him.

"Tell ya this. We'll help you find these Hybrid's Island. But ya have to promise that no harm will come to our dragons or people. Once we finish we will no longer be allies." Spitelout suggested.

Johann grinned, happy he was finally getting his way. They shook hands initiating a temporary alliance. "But may I ask where you found this specimen?" Spitelout asked, gesturing toward the Hybrid. He was fading in and out of consciousness; wishing he was dead. "Shot him down a few weeks ago. Figured he could be useful so we've held on to him, trying to break him is proving more difficult than I originally imagined. But, we just need to find one with a weaker spirit." Johann explained.

"And one more thing. I am planning to set up an alliance with the Heca tribe. They were known for killing Hybrids for centuries, long before they disappeared. They know their weaknesses, and how to use them to their advantage to take down every Hybrid in sight. I believe an alliance with them will give us a massive advantage." Johann explained.

Spitelout liked the idea of having a knowledgeable Hybrid killing tribe on their side. He nodded to Johann signifying that they had struck a deal.

Spitelout walked closer to the Hybrid. He looked down at the creature with disgust. "Soon you will learn that you have no place in this world."

"Before my men and I depart I ask one more thing of you." Spitelout raised a questioning eyebrow. "You keep Stoick out of this. You may not realize it but he is still too attached to his son." With that said and done Johann turned on his heels and led his men back out the large doors of the Great Hall. They dragged the Hybrid behind them.

Before the door closed the Hybrid turned back at them in a look of disbelief.

What have they done

"ooo... I'm so excited! An entire island of Hybrids!" Fishlegs squealed. Each of the riders was packing up what little they had brought with them. Constant chattering circled between them. They were all just as excited as Fishlegs.

Hiccup found it amusing to see his friends so excited. He was still unsure about bringing them to the island but he hoped that everything would be okay in the end. He would do anything if it meant he would get to spend more time with his friends.

"Okay Hiccup, we're all ready to go," Astrid said with delight.

Said boy got up and was just as ready as they were.

"I will warn you that it is quite a long trip so please... just don't kill each other," he said, eyeing Snotlout and the Twins.

"Wait! Hiccup I have a question. I have been wondering for a while now. Can you go like... full dragon?" Fishlegs asked.

Hiccup was a bit taken aback by the question but shook away that feeling to give him an answer. "Yes, I can Fishlegs. I'll show you." In a sudden flash of black light Hiccup was gone and in his place was an adult Night Fury. He was slightly smaller than Toothless, but that didn't really surprise anyone. His forest green eyes still had a dimness to them. As expected his scales were pitch black. Also to be noted was the absence of his left hind leg; but, they weren't really expecting anything different. They were all in awe.

He transformed back to himself. "Now, how about we get going."

They all got on their dragons, well all but Hiccup, and soon they were airborne. Astrid watched as Hiccup majestically soared through the sky. She made sure to bring the book and drawings along. They were held closely in Stormfly's saddle bag. She knew she was going to get some answers soon. But for now she decided to focus on the long flight ahead of them.

They had taken off fairly early in the morning and were heading East. So far they had seen nothing but a vast ocean.

Occasionally a sea stack or two would appear in the distance but that was it. Otherwise, they were just staring down at the deep, mysterious, blue ocean that held many creatures.

Not much talk was held between them. Hiccup was completely silent as he led them forward. Every now and then someone would spark up a conversation to occupy them but that was it.

They had only gotten an hour in and Snotlout had already started complaining.

Everyone knew that it was going to be a long flight.

Stoick awoke the next morning feeling, for once in his life, well rested. His loyal Rumblehorn was still dozing on the floor of the guest hut Dagur and Mala so generously provided. He got up and headed out the door not wanting to disturb his snoozing dragon.

To his surprise, when he opened the door he saw Mala walking towards him with Annie in toe, who no longer had the bandages around her head.

With this interference no longer present he could see her true eye color.

She had bright amber-colored eyes with a small amount of freckles just under her eyes. Her eyes had a look that could brighten anyone's day.

She waved toward him as she approached. "Well Annie, it's nice to see you up and moving." He greeted her.

She smiled and replied. "It sure does feel good to be moving around. Sitting in a hut for three days can be more exhausting than you think." She said in her usually soft yet cheery voice.

"Well, it sure does warm my heart to see you make a speedy recovery." Annie blushed slightly.

Annie had definitely warmed up a little to the presence of humans. The fact that she could see now most likely was a large contributing factor in that. Even as random people walked passed she didn't tense up or look at them suspiciously.

She even waved to a few lucky passers-by.

"So I decided it would be a good idea to tell you a little more about what happened."

Stoick liked her idea and the three of them headed to the Great Hall.

When they entered Dagur was there waiting with many books scattered across a table.

"What's all this?" He asked.

"Annie asked this morning if she could see all the information we have on Hybrids."

They approached the table with many open books. The Hooligans didn't have much on the subject and all they had came from either the Defenders of the Wing or the Wing Maidens.

"I am really lucky that I was found by a tribe that cared about and respected Hybrids. If you hadn't been well then... you get the point." Annie said, walking towards the table.

"I will give you as much information as I can, but I am sorry to say that may not be much. Like I did yesterday, I don't wanna say or do anything that could lead to the suffering of the other Hybrids. It's not that I don't trust you, but it's the slim possibility of someone else getting their hands on that information that I don't want to risk." The three humans understood what she was saying.

For the next few hours, Annie explained many things. Such as what happened to her, where she went down, any information that was safe to tell about Hybrids, and correcting any mistakes or misconceptions in their current knowledge. The books they had were quite old and outdated, having been passed down through generations.

Pretty soon, Stoick decided it would be a good time to head home. He bid the three farewell, hopped onto his dragon, and took off toward Berk.