Anyway, this Chronicle has some incredibly important issues and some developments in growing character arcs. I hope you enjoy it.
Dimension Splash Chronicles
Event: Two Months of Peace Part III
Pov: The Doctor, Hiccup, Link, Toothless, Skari
Time: Year 10.3 of Hiccup and Link’s existence in the game
“Ding!” The Doctor smiled broadly as he sang the word.
“What’s that?” Hiccup looked up from his stitching. He was sitting in his automatic chair, but he had improved massively over the last weeks, and he could actually stand and leave the chair at any time he wanted. He was just about finished with his leather flight suit, and he was feeling very happy with the design. He always loved building things, tinkering, fiddling with stuff until he got it just right. Toothless was snoring quietly by Hiccup’s feet, and Link was absent. The Doctor looked over at him. He was holding a chunky, remote-control looking object in his hand. He held it out to Hiccup and said cheerily.
“It’s a device that goes ding.” He raised his brows and smiled again. “I’ve just now gotten it to work.”
Hiccup smiled and said teasingly, “Well, I’m sure we really need more dings in our day.”
“Oh.” The Doctor looked at him and waved the comment off. “No, it doesn’t just go ding. It goes ding when there’s a rift. In other words, nobody can come into or leave this dimension without us knowing it.” The Doctor’s countenance grew more serious, “And considering the enemies we will be facing, any sort of warning could prove to be a life-saver.”
Hiccup exhaled and looked back down at his work, pulling the final stitch into place. “You’re right about that.” There was a long pause in the conversation. The Doctor continued to fiddle with his device, and eventually Hiccup broke the silence. “Any advice on improving my recovery?”
“Well... I really don’t know.” The Doctor scratched the back of his head and walked up closer to Hiccup. “You see, most people who do the tissue cloning did not just suddenly find themselves in an adult body. To be honest, I worry that if you don’t practice motor skills now... well, you could find yourself permanently handicapped.”
“So, you think I should start... working out?”
“I think you should start getting back to whatever you used to do.”
Hiccup sighed and looked down at Toothless. The dragon was still wearing the large spine brace. “That would be flying to be honest... but I don’t think Toothless is ready.”
“Well, could you practice anything else?” The Doctor asked, trying to be helpful.
Link entered the room, looking happier than usual. His entrance woke Toothless, and the dragon moaned and rolled to his side before closing his eyes and trying to get back to his nap. “Hey. Did I miss anything?” The hylian asked.
“The Doctor made a dinging thing.” Hiccup smiled.
“It detects rifts, and thereby Gemnodes.” The Doctor informed.
“Right. Good thinking. Anything else?” Link inquired.
“Not really...” Hiccup breathed and put his flight suit aside. “Why, are you bored this evening?”
“To be honest, except for Skari, this whole place is boring. So, seeing as you are on the mend, I was wondering if you’d like to do something. Anything.” Link gestured out the door.
“I’d suggest physical activity.” The Doctor said with a smirk. He’d been around these two enough to know what would come next.
“That’s great!” Link said. “We could work on your sword fighting.”
Hiccup sighed. “I don’t know...”
“Aw, come on. It would be good for you.” Link pressed.
“You know I’m terrible.”
“I know you were. But look at you! You’re like five inches taller than me. If we’re going to win a war, it would help if you could at least defend yourself.”
“You’re saying I can’t even defend myself?”
Link crossed his arms, his tone becoming more serious. “I most certainly am. What happens when Toothless and I are not around to save you? What if he-” Link gestured to the sleeping dragon, “-needs saving. You’ll thank me. You weren’t terrible, you were just small. I could make a swordsman of you yet.”
Hiccup looked down at Toothless and nodded stiffly. “Right. You’re right.”
“Plus it will impress Astrid.” Link added.
Hiccup’s face clouded over and his lips tightened. “Yeah, right now keeping her safe is more of a priority. I just hope she’s alright...” Hiccup balled his fist and looked away. Link realized his comment had upset his brother, but they both needed to drive their sadness into action. He walked up to Hiccup and put his hand on his shoulder.
“I’m sure she is. You ready?”
“Yeah.”
Hiccup stood shakily on his legs. He had made huge adjustments to his prosthetic, and it was still difficult for him to move around on it. Link supported him, and the two walked out, but not before Toothless’s eyes popped open and his head shot up. The Doctor, who had quietly watched the previous conversation, smiled at the dragon as he jumped to his feet and followed the boys out of the room.
The next week and a half was busy for Hiccup. It was a rare opportunity amidst all the chaos to have time to work, prepare, and plan. He finished the flight suit completely, toyed with his prosthetic, and then spent most of his days training with Link. Often it was sword fighting, and after the first few lessons Hiccup caught on enough to at least remotely enjoy it. Of course, in one match after Link disarmed Hiccup in a very flashy fashion, Toothless decided to sling his own weight into the ring, literally. It took Link a good part of five minutes to beg his way out from under the Night Fury’s body. Toothless was soon allowed to sleep in the room with Hiccup, which was greatly appreciated by both of them. When the boy would fall back into the horrid nightmares, the dragon would calmly stroke his sleeping form until the visions ceased.
Link was just as busy as his brother. It wasn’t easy for him to know how hard to push Hiccup in the training. In one sense, it was life or death, and every move he taught Hiccup could be a stroke that saved his life. But, on the other hand, Hiccup still just wasn’t a fighter, in physique or heart. He just wouldn’t be as brutal as Link needed him to be, and then every time Link tried to show Hiccup how easily he could be defeated with such a pacifistic, flowing, showy sword style, the hylian knew full well that he was risking another five minutes beneath Hiccup’s smug dragon. Still, it was good for Link to work with his brother. It got both their minds off of the immense troubles facing them, and it kept Link from brooding on his own future and the fate of his own world. He had still not explained to Hiccup... but how could he? How could he drive his brother even deeper into despair? He was doing so well now, it would be the height of cruelty to ruin that. When not working with Hiccup, Link continued to visit Skari. He had almost gotten the Skrill to let him ride it. So, so close, but each time Skari refused point blank to let him near him. Besides that, there was the problem of the lightning. Link would be killed if he was sitting on Skari and the dragon fired a blast. Link had been thinking, and he felt sure he had come up with a solution. So, very much in private, he began tinkering around with a design. He laughed to think he was acting so much like his brother, making dragon devices in secret, but he did want to surprise Hiccup with this... as well as Skari because he still wasn’t sure how the Skrill would take it.
The Doctor continued researching, occasionally disappearing into his blue box for days at a time. The information he was learning was fantastic. He had noticed that his sonic screwdriver was unable to do a bioscan of Hiccup... or even anything around him. Hiccup had guessed that it was probably the shrouding sphere. Though the Doctor deeply wished to pry into the secrets of the stone, he and Hiccup both knew far too well to take it off. The less visible any of them were, the better.
But the best of times came when Hiccup was woken up ten days before he was scheduled to leave. Toothless was not in the room. Hiccup stumbled out of bed and fell to his knees. He’d forgotten to put his prosthetic back on. He grabbed at it, shoved it into place and jumped to his feat. He was feeling ten times more fit than he had before, and he no longer needed to go into sleep cycles. Where once he had been covered in deep, terrible gashes there was now only faint scares. His entire pectoral muscle and shoulder had been grown back using the cell cloning, and Hiccup was finally feeling whole again... except of course now Toothless was not there. The dragon never left the room. Hiccup walked quickly to the door, his metal foot making annoying scratching noises against the floor. He fiddled with the large button, and finally the door opened. He stepped out into the hall. The Doctor was standing there, his hands behind his back, smiling broadly. “Full recovery.”
“What?” Hiccup looked to either side of the hall, trying to see if Toothless was around.
“Toothless’s spine is completely healed. He’s getting the brace off now.” The Doctor looked incredibly happy while saying this. This was a man who wanted to see a life healed, and he really did rejoice in it.
It didn’t take long for Hiccup and Toothless to get outside. It was early morning, and the sun was just barely rising over the planet’s beautiful landscape. The air was crisp and slightly cool, and the clouds were beginning to glow pink in the morning light. Hiccup strapped Toothless’s saddle and tail fin to him with quick and practiced efficiency. The dragon was bursting with excitement. He flexed his wings and beat them down sharply in anticipation, barely missing Hiccup’s head. He was gurgling and yapping when Hiccup finally finished and hopped briskly onto his back. A fact became immediately apparent to both of them; Hiccup was a good deal heavier than before. Toothless shrugged it off. He’d be fine. He was always able to carry Hiccup and Link together with no problems, so even if Hiccup was bigger they would still be great. Hiccup locked his foot into place. A tingling sensation of excitement wriggled through both of them as the metal click sang through the air. Toothless spread his legs apart, extended his wings, and then glanced back at Hiccup.
“All ready, bud?” Hiccup asked, leaning down to him. Toothless made a quick, affirmative grunt, and they shot off into the sky. It was glorious, and Hiccup let out a triumphant whoop as the vertigo shot through them. Toothless pumped hard, flexing his massive shoulders and tearing the wind into submission. They reached peak height, and Hiccup suddenly felt sure that it was the fastest climb they had ever made. “Wow, bud!” He shouted over the wind. Toothless eyed back at him and throated happily. “Ok, let’s see what else you’ve got!” Hiccups shifted his pedal, and Toothless turned into a nosedive. The two of them rocketed back down towards the earth, but instead of a smooth pull up, Toothless gave a quick yank, turned straight up, and twisted his body in a brilliant corkscrew. It was incredible. Hiccup felt like his stomach had sunk into his knees from the turn, and now his head was spinning as Toothless spiraled back up into the clouds. Hiccup couldn’t believe it, but he was laughing. He tucked his head in as close as he could to Toothless, practically laying his cheek on the dragon’s scaly head, and Hiccup closed his eyes. He let himself go, let himself feel every muscle of the dragon as they twitched, jerked, or pumped. Let himself feel the wind and the centrifugal force of the corkscrew. And best of all, he could feel Toothless’s joy. The both of them felt it. It was as if they had been in a dark cage deep underground, and suddenly someone had come and set them free. Hiccup had almost forgotten what it was to fly.
Toothless leveled out slowly. He prepared to glide, and Hiccup sat back up straight. He clicked the tail again, but it lurched. Hiccup’s head flashed back to see the tail fin bobbing incorrectly in the breeze. “Uh, we gotta land, bud.” Hiccup and Toothless’s hearts sank, but when the tail lurched again, it was clear that they would need to cut the flight short. Hiccup frowned, and Toothless shook his head in annoyance. But the gloom soon passed, for they both remembered just how lucky they were to be in the air again and together. Toothless descended in slow, steady circles. When he hit the ground, Hiccup stepped off and then fell on his back and laid in the grass, staring off into the morning sky. He laughed, and the dragon hummed over him. “Man, I missed doing that! Weird to be back on the ground again. Like everything’s too solid.” Hiccup got up and walked back to Toothless’s fin. The dragon was sniffing at it, and Hiccup gently pushed his head a little out of the way as he kneeled to get a look. The main rod and gear system designed to keep the tail from flapping was bent. Hiccup’s jaw dropped slightly. He knew what had happened. The sheer speed and power with which Toothless had just flown had completely destroyed the tail fin. Hiccup sat back and shook his head in amazement. “Wow, bud. We just totally trashed that thing. You’ve gotten faster!” Toothless looked at him and gurgled, very pleased with the verdict. “I’ll have to redesign it. My old stuff won’t be able to cope with your new turning. Oh well, it was fun for today. Let’s walk back.”
Toothless walked alongside Hiccup as they both returned to the hospital. Things were looking up, and Toothless’s ears perked up and his pupils dilated every time Hiccup spoke to him. It was wonderful for the dragon to see his boy feeling well again, and it was a real miracle that both of them were still together. As the dragon thought this over, he nudged into Hiccup’s side and hummed deep, long, and content. Hiccup stroked him as they continued to walk. “Happy to be back in the saddle too, bud.”
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Link looked up longingly at the sky. He was slouching up against a wall on the outside of the landing platform that Skari had adopted as his lair. The Skrill was up on a spire, his tail curling down it giving him balance. He hadn’t noticed Link yet. He was watching the same thing Link was, a tiny speck in the clouds. Hiccup and Toothless were flying together again. It was the third time that day. Link had helped Hiccup create a completely remodeled and improved system for Toothless’s tail, and Night Fury just couldn’t get enough of it.
Link kicked at the ground nervously and pulled the large folded black thing out from behind his back and held it in front of him. He breathed deeply as he looked down at it. “Ok. Pull yourself together... how hard can this be?” He said under his breath. He pulled his hat forward and tightened it a little before looking up at the Skrill. “Skari!” He shouted, somewhat nervously. The dragon jerked its head around and eyed him. Skari’s pupils were contracted tight from shock, he wasn’t used to people being able to sneak up on him. He rumbled a low growl, but in truth he was impressed. Link continued, “Would you mind coming down?” The dragon calculated the question, enjoying keeping the human on edge. He had already decided to descend, but it was fun to make Link feel like he was doing him a favor. After he’d waited long enough, Skari gave a casual warble and dove gracefully off the spire, pulling up just in time and landing firmly on the ground. Link walked slowly towards him, black folded thing held out in front. At first Skari thought it was food, but now he was not so sure.
“Skari, easy...”
The dragon snapped his head back. What was this? He let his spines flick up for just a moment, but Link kept stepping forward.
“I know you don’t trust humans, and I don’t blame you, but I just want you to know that you can trust me. I’m willing to be a team.” Link knelt slightly, put the parcel on the ground, and stretched his hand forward.
Oh, this was rich. Skari wasn’t just going to refuse, he was going to make a point in doing it. The Skrill intentionally relaxed, forced a thrum, and let his pupils dilate. He slowly, smoothly lowered his snout and inched it towards Link’s outstretched hand. He could feel the boy’s excitement, and it was pathetic. Just as they were about to touch, the Skrill let out a triumphant shriek, and in a flash latched his jaws onto Link’s forearm. Link jolted in shock. He was wearing thick leather gauntlets, so Skari’s teeth were only making painful scratches, but the sickening feeling of betrayal and mockery flooded over Link. Skari was not finished yet. With unnerving ease he twisted his powerful neck and sent Link flopping onto the hard concrete floor. The dragon release his jaws, and Link tried with one hand to get at his sword. This was a poor choice, and it really didn’t amount to anything. Quick and calculated Skari dropped his wing talons and sprawled Link out beneath him, pinning his arms. Now Link was beginning to worry that this was not just a spiteful trick, but something far more serious. He looked into Skari’s eyes. The dragon stared back into him with cruel, glee filled eyes. He let his mouth hang open so that Link could feel his breath and see his tongue flicking excitedly around in his mouth. Skari had won, he’d scared Link silly, or so he thought.
Link cringed as Skari pressed his claws down harder. But then he spoke firmly. “Yes, you’ve won. But I think the charade is over. You don’t trust people, and again I don’t blame you, but you’re also no fool. I’m worth much more to you than you are letting on, and even though you are trying to fool me, it isn’t working. I respect you Skari, and I won’t ever lose that respect. I admire your prowess, your strength, your courage in battle and your warrior’s pride. I don’t expect to own you. You’re not some steed. But, we need each other. The war we are facing will cost us everything, and if we are to win, I can’t be ground bound and you can’t fly solo. We’ve practiced together, fought beside each other, even fought against one another. We know each other’s strengths, weaknesses, hopes, and fears. Why not work together? Why not dare to trust? Do you think you’re the only one going out on a limb here? If so, note whose on top of who...”
Skari was listening keenly. Human speech was so obnoxiously tricky to comprehend. Often he needed Toothless to sort of translate for him, and even with all Toothless’s experience with the two leggeds he wasn’t always on top of the conversation. But Skari could feel it. He could feel the courage, valor, and strength in the boy beneath his claws. He drew his head away and closed his jaws abruptly. He flexed his spines back in surprise and then flared them up in annoyance. He could tell that Link respected him, he knew that they needed to work together, but he hated the thought of being ridden. He loathed it. But then he saw Hiccup and Toothless, and what they had, and what the boy had done to that terrifying enemy. He thought back to the battle in Mount Doom when the Night Fury spared him at the boy’s request. He thought back to the riverside when Hiccup and Toothless were playing in the water, so complete. It had been so many years since Skari had allowed himself to trust, even to love. Now he had a chance, but would he choose it?
Skari stepped off of Link. He backed away from the boy, almost feeling small. Link got up, and picked up the parcel. He unfolded it, and Skari cringed and let his lip curl up in a quiet snarl. It was some sort of saddle. A great horrible caging, choking, clothing thing. But then Link spoke again. “Please, just let me show you. You might be surprised.” Skari hardly knew what he was doing, but with great effort his closed his eyes and held his body rigid. He felt Link’s hands moving over him, definitely not as gently or as deftly as Hiccup would have been. The Skrill felt straps around his neck and tail, heard the clicking of metal, and then felt something press against his stomach. Link stepped away.
“Done.”
Skari looked himself over. There was no seat on his neck. No throne crushing his spines down. He searched around his top, trying to see where Link would sit. But then he caught a glimpse of something dark on his stomach. He leaned back and looked down. Sure enough there was some sort of inverted saddle, a large leather coating stretched across Skari’s underside with a harness to hold a rider up beneath him. He cocked his head and looked at Link quizzically.
Link crossed his arms and looked at it. “Yeah, it’s weird. But, you see, with the whole spines on the neck and lighting striking and stuff, I felt that maybe I’d improvise. This thing should be electricity proof...You see, I’d ride under you. You’d still be completely in charge, I don’t want to be the one on top.” The dragon looked at him in wonder, then looked back down at his stomach. He thought for a long time, his mind and emotions warring with each other. Then, he gave in. With a roll of his eyes and a grunt of annoyance, Skari tossed his head and gave Link the signal. He could ride him.
Link jumped in excitement and then ran over to Skari. The Skrill turned his body sideways and let the boy strap himself awkwardly in. This was going to be a trip. Link had ridden on dragons before, and back in his own world he had been great at flying loftwings, but being suspended beneath a soaring dragon, lying up against the stomach of a Skrill with only a few leather and rubber straps protecting him from either electrocution or falling to his death, that was something else. Of course, Skari sort of liked that idea, so without any further ceremony the Skrill rocketed up into the air, and Skari and Link soared over to meet Hiccup and Toothless.
That day certainly held surprises, and Hiccup was very happy to see his brother bonding with a dragon, and also being so creative. Toothless on the other hand felt a little nervous, and Skari could tell, but neither of them were surprised. After all, when had they ever trusted each other? At least their riders could mediate for them now, and with that pleasant thought in mind (for neither Toothless nor Skari enjoyed interactions), the two dragons rocketed through the skies together.
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The last six days of Hiccup’s stay at the Hospital of the Sisters of the Infinite Schism passed in the blink of an eye. Link braved flying Skari in the rain, putting his harness to the ultimate test. When lightning inevitably struck the Skrill, Link felt the buzz of static but remained unharmed. When the last day of treatment ended, the Doctor went and personally thanked the head matron over and over again. Hiccup did not even want to guess what his treatment would have cost, but the hospital had been happy to give it to him. However, now it was time to turn and fly back into the inevitable fray. Hiccup and Link were better prepared for it than ever, and the Doctor had made it clear that he intended to come as well. They walked out of the hospital bay doors and stood in the landing area. The mood was grave and gray to say the least.
Hiccup breathed in, fiddled with the straps on his flight suit, and then turned to Link and the Doctor. “Ok, we’re going to try and get back to my world. If we can ensure that it is safe we can use it like a bunker. After that... after that we just need to find a way to get everybody there.”
“Yep.” Link replied. “If we know anything about the Gemnodes, they will be very hesitant to return to a world where one of them died. Fear is our ally hear... in truth I don’t doubt that they could easily destroy your world if they all attacked at once.”
Hiccup nodded. “Yes, but they won’t do that. It’s too risky for them. They don’t take risks, and I feel sure that now they will be being even more careful than ever.”
“Or more bent on revenge...” The Doctor breathed.
Hiccup looked down at Toothless. “Yes, that’s possible. But this is our best shot. We at least know we were able to beat one of them on Berk, so as far as I can see it’s our best shot at safety.”
“Agreed.” Link said. The Doctor nodded then turned and walked towards his TARDIS. “I’ll be right behind you.” He glanced back and said. “Let’s just hope you can open the rift.” Hiccup pulled a lever on Toothless’s saddle, locked the tail into place, and the dragon lifted into the air. Link followed strapped to Skari’s underside. He glanced back and smirked to see the blue phone box lifting up off the ground and following them. He called out to Hiccup, “We’ve seen a lot of funny things in our time, but this is just nonsense!”
The group passed through the electromagnetic shield and flew over the plains of the planet. Once they had gotten many miles from the facility Hiccup looked down at Toothless nervously. The dragon stared back, equal concern wetting his large green eyes. Hiccup’s shoulders slumped and he leaned down to his friend’s ear. “You ready?” Toothless hummed quietly. “Then let’s get going... C’mon bud!” Toothless roared and beat his wings forward furiously. Skari and the TARDIS followed close behind. Hiccup held Endeavor forward, shot the blade out and focused his whole soul on Berk. They needed to get there, needed to get home. As Toothless reached his peak speed the shard at the tip of Hiccup’s blade began to glow brilliantly. Toothless could see it shining above him, and he forced his wings to flex even faster. Then there was a blinding flash, and the sky tore open in a white slit. The sunlit land seemed dark compared to the brightness of the inter-dimensional space. The rift engulfed Hiccup and Toothless, and Skari dove in behind them.
The Doctor had locked onto it in his TARDIS and was only seconds away from entering it. His dinging device was going off insanely. But, just as he was about to fly through, the rift made a terrible, thunderous, groaning sound. It snapped shut and the TARDIS spun past. “What?” The Doctor looked at the scanners, trying to figure out what happened. This was bad. He had a shard of his own, but even if he used it, it would be incredibly unlikely that he would appear near to Hiccup and Link. He rushed around the dashboard, looking over the scans and streaming information. The rifts had never snapped shut like that before. He’d seen one close, the one he brought Hiccup out of, and it was more of a silent seeping out of existence. This was different. Just as he was debating what to do, a sound sung out above all the other sounds of the TARDIS. The dinging device dinged. Just once, but it was very loud and very clear. “No.” The Doctor breathed, and he rushed stumbling over to the remote. He grabbed it and plugged it into the TARDIS computer. Another rift had opened, just for a split second, but it had opened half a mile outside of the hospital. Worse than that, the scanners were picking up massive energy surges coming from that point, but all this energy was flowing from and incredibly small origin point. The scans solidified, and the origin point was exactly 1.52 meters tall and humanoid in shape. The point was emitting more potential energy than a Dalek Warship, and it was heading towards the Healing Center.
The Doctor grabbed his mallet and slammed it against the control panel. The TARDIS whirled and flew like a bullet towards the hospital. The Doctor was breathing hard, slapping buttons and kicking levers. Every second lost could cost a life, and the Doctor knew that. The TARDIS whizzed back through the electromagnetic shield. It landed with a rough, scraping, crash, and the Doctor rushed out of the door. He had his sonic locked onto the energy source, and it was now originating from inside the hospital.
The Gemnode had come.
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