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The last thing Hiccup remembered before plummeting into the icy waves was the sound of his name being screamed from Astrid’s lips and the familiar weightlessness of falling.
This time, no one was there to catch him.
The moon woke him, everything was calm, quiet, serene.
The chaos that had been raging mere seconds ago was gone completely.
The moon spoke to him, not with words, exactly, but Hiccup knew what it was telling him.
He knew his purpose.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
The wind whipped through Jack’s hair, stinging his cheeks with a delightful burn.
The ocean was calm on his shortcut today, a sleepy fog blanketing the blue surface.
He let the wind take him lower and ran a hand through the water, salty mist hitting his face.
A splash in the water drew Jack’s attention to his left.
A dark shadow tried to make itself visible.
He squinted, inching closer cautiously.
A large ship appeared through the fog, screams and shots growing louder.
Pirates?
A man struggled in the waves.
That wasn’t good.
“You’re probably gonna die if you don’t get out of the water soon.
Hold tight, Guy.
I’ll drop you one of those floaty things or something.”
Jack’s promise fell on deaf ears, as per usual.
He flew up to the deck to look for a lifesaver or a ladder.
“He’s right there!”
A man shouted, pointing at nothing.
A bunch of men pointed their guns at the empty corner of the ship.
Man, something had them all
really
bent out of shape.
“No!
There!”
Another shouted, pointing at another empty spot on the ship.
Heat tickled the back of Jack’s neck, a gust of wind hitting his hair.
Everything in his body told him to look up.
He gave in to his urge and found a masked man with a flaming sword diving toward the deck in a winged suit.
Woah.
Cool.
Jack’s heart spiked as his dopamine soared.
He was giddy to watch this fight, but he had to help the guy in the water.
Fight later.
Save Random Guy now.
He kept his priorities straight, rushing to the railing where lifesavers hung.
He tied the connecting rope to the railing and tossed the item overboard.
He was too distracted to make sure the man found the item, however.
The sworded Legendary faced off against the crew of the ship, setting small fires and divebombing everyone.
The man didn’t strike anyone.
He never laid a hand on them.
He seemed to just be scaring them, and Jack couldn’t stand by and let this Legendary have all of the fun without him.
Jack whipped up a gust of snowy air, blowing the snow through the deck until it swirled in the center, forming the silhouette of a yeti.
The crew screamed and Jack nearly fell over with laughter.
The masked man stared at Jack for a moment, assessing him, and Jack’s icy cheeks nearly melted from the attention.
The masked man let out a deep roar.
“Get out!”
The crew nearly shit their pants scrambling to the controls.
It wasn’t long before the ship turned around and the masked man dove off the ship to fly away.
Jack followed the Legendary, finding him floating in the ocean.
“Hey.”
Jack shot the man his most welcoming smile as he flew above him.
“Thanks for the assist.”
The man responded as he serenely drifted in the general direction of land.
His voice was much different now, a much higher pitch with a slightly dorky accent.
“I’m Jack.”
“Yeah, I kinda picked up on that.”
Jack’s stomach flipped.
“You’ve heard of me?”
“You’re a Guardian, aren’t you?
We’ve all heard of you.”
“Oh.”
Jack’s skin buzzed with excitement.
It had been years since he had run into anyone other than the Guardians.
“What’s your name?
And why were you scaring that ship?”
“I’m Hiccup.”
Hiccup lifted his mask to reveal a soft face with brunette hair peeking out from under his helmet.
He was cute.
It had been forever since Jack had met another humanoid Legendary, at least one that was around his age and not…the towering hunk that was North.
“Those guys were dragon hunters.
They were searching for the Hidden World.”
“And you protect this…Hidden World?”
Jack leaned on his staff to get closer to Hiccup.
“Yep.
That’s my job.
Protect dragons.”
There was something sad in Hiccup’s eyes, something incomplete.
“You’re lonely, aren’t you?”
Jack shouldn’t have said that.
He didn’t want to scare the guy away, but, his social skills had really suffered over the centuries.
Hiccup opened his mouth to protest but Jack couldn’t end on that note.
“I mean we all are!
Every Legendary.”
Hiccup’s defenses deflated.
“Even you?
But you have the Guardians?”
“We don’t really hang out.
We all have jobs to do that keep us busy.”
Jack shrugged.
“So…what are you doing now?
Why are you floating?
Do you control the water like Moana?
Aren’t you cold?”
His eyes grew as his smile widened.
“No.”
Hiccup frowned, but a slight smirk told Jack he was amused.
“Isn’t Moana just friends with the water in that movie?”
He shook his head, getting back on track.
“I’m not cold.
I can
feel
temperatures, but I can’t be impacted by them.”
Jack had always assumed the other Legendaries were just as sensitive to temperature as he was to heat, but apparently, it was the other way around.
Legendaries were as insensitive to temperatures as he was to cold.
“And I’m floating because I have no other way to get back to land and I’m already dead, I can’t drown.”
“Oh…has no one told you?
We can die.”
“Not by drowning.”
“What!?
How did you figure that out?”
Jack held his hands to shield his face.
“Nevermind!
I don’t wanna know!
Where are you going next?”
“You’re bored aren’t you?”
Hiccup’s smirk was a full grin at this point.
“Wow, my reputation truly does precede me.”
“I don’t have anywhere specific.
I hang around the ports closest to the Hidden World waiting for people to dock.
That’s where I find the crews I need to scare away.”
“Why not just go to the Hidden World to protect it from there?
Seems like this method allows a lot of room for people to slip past you.”
“I would if I could get there.
But unlike you, the moon didn’t bless me with flight.”
The bitterness in Hiccup’s voice was evident.
“How long have you been Legendary?”
“A few hundred years.”
Hiccup shrugged.
“So you’re telling me, you’ve been the protector of dragons for centuries, and not
ONCE
have you been able to check on the dragons?
To see if they’re even still there?”
Hiccup stammered a response but Jack wasn’t having any of it.
“Alright, let’s get you to the Hidden World then.
Come on.”
He held his hand out for Hiccup to take.
“What!?
Really!?
You can take me?
You would do that for me?”
Hiccup’s hopeful eyes nearly melted Jack’s frozen heart.
“What else am I gonna do?”
Jack laughed, wiggling his fingers to hurry Hiccup along.
Hiccup took his hand.
“Thank you.”
“No problem.
Besides, maybe
I’ll
need
your
help someday.
This way, you’ll owe me.”
Jack winked at him as the wind picked up to carry them off.
“You’ll have to open your wings.
I can’t fly.
The wind just takes me places.
And hold onto my staff.”
“Like Moana.”
Hiccup whispered under his breath, releasing the wings on his suit. He grabbed Jack’s staff as the wind gusted upward to fly them to the Hidden World.
Hiccup closed his eyes and took a deep breath in.
A smile grew on his face as they soared above the waves.
“First time flying?”
“Long time without it.”
Hiccup opened his eyes to look at Jack.
“How’d you become Legendary anyway?”
Jack laughed.
“I fell in an icy pond trying to save my sister.
I guess that’s why the moon gave me ice powers.”
“Did you save her?”
Hiccup’s face lacked the joyful embarrassment of Jack’s, and Jack’s smile faded.
“Yeah.
I think.”
“You don’t know?”
Hiccup’s eyebrows knit together.
“You didn’t stick around to watch your family after…you know?”
“I didn’t remember who I was.
Do
you
remember your past life?”
Jack’s heart pounded and his head spun at the conversation.
Any time he had tried to go into depth about any of this, the other Guardians had brushed him off.
“Yeah.
I knew exactly who I was.
I watched over my family and my people until there was no one left to protect.”
“How’d you die?”
“I was pushed off a cliff during a skirmish with an invading army.
I fell in the ocean and…I don’t know if I drowned or died on impact, that part’s a bit fuzzy.
I just remember the moon calling my name and telling me my purpose.”
“What the fuck, Moon!?”
Jack gestured angrily toward the bright sky.
“All I got was a new name and new hair.
No memories, no purpose, no explanation.”
Jack cracked a smile to let Hiccup know his anger was mostly playful.
He held a lot of resentment, but he couldn’t scare Hiccup away.
“Wow!
Sounds like the moon has it out for you.”
Hiccup joked.
The two shared in pleasant conversation for the rest of the ride.
They compared notes on other Legendaries they had met and ones they had only heard about.
Finally, they made it to the entrance of the Hidden World.
They dove down a waterfall into a cave under the ocean.
Fluorescent colors shone on the rocks and passing dragons as if lighted by a UV light.
Well, dragons were a good sign.
Hiccup’s relieved face was payment enough for Jack’s time.
A black blur slammed into Jack’s body, and the two were sent careening to the ground.
A heavy weight stood on Jack’s body, his head stinging where he had landed.
He opened his eyes to find a large black dragon on his chest.
Sharp teeth snarling in his face.
The creature let out a loud shriek.
“Toothless?”
Hiccup’s shaky voice pulled the creature’s attention behind him.
The dragon paused, staring at Hiccup.
“Toothless!
It
is
you, Buddy!”
The dragon bolted toward Hiccup and Jack scrambled for his staff.
The creature jumped on Hiccup and Jack was about to throw a sheet of ice at its head when Hiccup laughed.
Wait.
Was that thing…licking him?
“Jack!”
Hiccup called.
“This is Toothless!”
He said, hugging the animal tightly.
“He’s my dragon.”
Hiccup looked Toothless in the eyes.
“How are you still here?
How long do Night Furys live?”
“He’s a Legendary.”
Jack explained.
He couldn’t explain it in words, but there was something about Legendarys that stood apart from living beings.
He just knew them when he saw them.
“What?”
Hiccup inspected his friend’s face.
“Is that true?
How did you- never mind.
You’re here.
We’re not alone anymore.
That’s what matters.”
His voice was quiet as he spoke to his pet; a private conversation Jack wasn’t meant to overhear.
“What happened to your tail, Buddy?
Is that why you haven’t left this place?”
Jack looked to the dragon’s tail.
Half of the limb was missing, much like Hiccup himself.
“I guess that was perfect then.
Me outside, protecting this place, with you in here to protect the dragons.”
“He can’t fly, can he?”
Jack whipped up a gust of cold air around Toothless’ tail, moving the limb about.
“No.
Not without me.”
“Huh.
So you were never meant to be alone.
You guys were chosen as a pair.”
Something in his stomach twisted, maybe jealousy, maybe regret.
He was happy for Hiccup, he really was, but, he couldn’t help but feel a bit cheated.
He had spent so long alone, searching for meaning, searching for connection, only to find himself; his purpose was to be alone.
Hiccup stood up, giving his beast one last hug.
“Thanks for reuniting us.”
He beamed at Jack launching himself at the spirit and wrapping him in a tight hug.
Jack froze for a moment, unsure of what was happening.
It had been so long since he had felt another’s touch, he didn’t know how to react.
He leaned into the contact, letting his arms rest around Hiccup’s waist.
Hiccup’s heat drifted into him, a sickeningly pleasant sensation he hadn’t experienced since becoming a Legendary.
Hiccup held on longer than he probably should have, which let Jack know he was just as touch starved.
Toothless tackled the two again, laying his giant body on them.
He nuzzled between Jack and Hiccup, sniffing Jack’s hoodie.
“He likes you.”
Hiccup laughed.
“He’s trying to join in the hug.”
“Badly.”
Jack wheezed through the crushing pressure.
Hiccup pushed Toothless off of them and the group stood up.
“It’s nice to meet you, Toothless.”
Jack formed a giant snowflake on Toothless’ nose, exciting the dragon.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Jack leaned against Hiccup’s shoulder, pressing closer to the flaming sword.
“It’s giving…badass warrior vibes.
How does it work?”
The light danced on the dark ground, filling the space with warmth.
“I don’t know what those words mean, but I’m assuming it’s positive.”
Hiccup squinted at Jack for a minute, trying to decipher his slang.
“It used to be powered by an excrement from a specific dragon, but now it runs on magic.”
Hiccup explained, watching Jack’s awe.
“Do you wanna hold it?”
Hiccup offered his sword with such ease.
Jack’s heart ached with hesitation.
“You’re offering me your Legendary item?”
Hiccup chuckled.
“You’re a Guardian, I know you’re not gonna turn around and use it to do something terrible.”
Jack placed his staff on the ground and accepted the sword, staring at its twinkling flames.
The handle gently whirred under his fingers as the gas exited the chamber.
“This is like the opposite of my staff.
It feels…alive.”
Hiccup smiled as he watched Jack.
“Can I hold your staff?”
Jack’s stomach tightened but he fought through his aversion.
He nodded, pushing his Legendary Item toward his new friend.
“Are you sure?
You don’t seem so sure.”
Hiccup hovered his hand above the staff, waiting for further permission.
“I can trust you.”
Jack said, mostly trying to convince himself.
“I can trust you, right?”
He investigated Hiccup’s face.
Big, brown eyes stared back at him, the sword’s light reflecting a flickering performance.
Hiccup’s hesitation put Jack at ease.
“You can trust me.”
Hiccup assured.
“But I don’t need to touch it if you don’t want me to.
I’m just curious about how they differ.
I’ve never held another’s Legendary Item before.”
Jack nodded at Hiccup again.
“Take it.
Sorry, I just…It’s been broken before.”
Hiccup placed a few fingers on the staff, investigating the wood before he gently picked it up and inspected the entire item.
“It’s quiet and still.”
He said.
“You’re right, it’s like the opposite of my sword.”
Hiccup placed the staff back down.
“What happened to it?”
“I made a judgment call too slowly, and someone snapped it.
I didn’t exactly
trust
him, but I took too long to realize that I
couldn’t
trust him.
I should’ve fought him sooner.”
Jack handed Hiccup his sword back.
“Anyway, that’s dealt with, he’s gone now.”
He brushed off.
It had been over a decade since Jack had seen Pitch, since
anyone
had seen Pitch.
He didn’t have to worry about him right now, not for the foreseeable future.
“It’s hard for you to trust yourself now, isn’t it?
Like you can’t trust your own instincts.”
“I see you’ve had your own encounters.”
Jack laughed, and Hiccup followed, leaning into him.
“Yeah.
I trusted my own instincts instead of listening to my father’s experience.
He died because of me.
He knew our rival better than I did, but I ignored him and ended up losing him.”
Toothless cooed behind them, nudging Hiccup in the back with his nose.
Hiccup laughed and patted Toothless on the head.
“I’m okay, Toothless.
That was a long time ago.”