The Protectors chapter 2

Chapter 2

The man looked down at Earth. It had been a long time that he had been down on Earth but he had always continued to watch over it. He continued to beam brightly down especially at Guardians mansion in San Fransokyo. He saw his old friend looking up at him, smiling. He smiled back. His friend had reported back to him that even though evil daemon's activity had increased, they had it under control. He nodded and told him that North had done well and he was pleased. After their conversation, North broke contact and went off to continue his research. Despite the fact he was pleased, he still couldn't shake off the uneasy feeling he had been having. He continued to look at the other places that the Guardians had set up and it seemed that all was good. He smiled sadly to himself knowing the peace was just an illusion and in time, chaos would reveal itself. He just hoped that the Guardians and the chosen ones would be prepared.

XXX

Hiccup blinked as he looked around. He was at his old house and it was hot. He knew what was going to happen but for some unknown reason, something felt different. He tried to wake up but couldn't. His legs ended up moving on his own as the whole dream continued.

"Mom? Dad?" he shouted as loudly as he could.

He continued looking for his parents even though fire was spreading quickly. He saw another door and touched it to check if it was hot. The door fell down and he jumped back. He coughed as more smoke was emitted. He went in and gasped. Both of his parents were crushed by a few broken beams from the ceiling. He nearly choked from the shock of what he saw. He stepped back but part of the ceiling fell on top of him and he screamed.

Hiccup woke up, sweating and panting from his nightmare. It took him a minute to realized that it was a dream and that he was in his room and recollect his thoughts. He had the same dream again but it was different from his other dreams. This time, he dreamed that his parents were killed by the fire and his leg was destroyed by it too. That was strange. Why did his dream change all of a sudden? He turned to look at Toothless who was sleeping quietly. He kept staring at his lizard, deep in his thoughts.

"Hey, Hiccup," Hiro called out as he opened the door. "Oh, you are awake."

"Yeah."

"Well, I will leave you alone to get change then."

Hiro walked out of the room leaving Hiccup alone in his thoughts.

XXX

School had just finished. Hiccup was packing up his things while Hiro waited for him.

"So is Jack really coming home with us?"

"Yeah?" Hiccup said, wondering why his friend was asking him that.

"He is not going to bring his friends over, is he?"

"No...why would he?" Hiccup said, uncertainly.

Hiro shrugged. "I don't know."

Hiccup took his bag and headed outside where Jack was waiting for him. Jack told him to meet him there because he had to do something. They were walking while Hiro was helping Hiccup figured out how to help Jack with his homework.

"I don't see why you are so worry about it. It is not like Jack even cares. Besides if Jack fails, it isn't your fault. You tried. Don't you agree with me?" Hiro said.

However, there was no reply.

"Hiccup?"

Hiro turned to see his friend was staring at Astrid who was by her locker. He was about to tease his friend about it but Hiccup bumped into Scott who spilled soda on his shirt.

"Watch it, runt! Look what you just make me do!"

Hiccup gulped. He was hoping to go through school without having any trouble with Scott.

"Uhh...sorry."

"Really? Maybe I will make sure you are sorry," Scott said, cracking his knuckles.

"Hey, just leave him alone. He said sorry!" Hiro said, hoping to not sound as scare as Hiccup but failing miserably.

Scott turned to Hiro who stood his ground.

"Just leave them alone, Scott. Or don't you have anything else to do?" Astrid said as she walked between Scott and Hiccup.

"Move out of the way, Astrid. I am warning you. I am not going to hurt you since you are Jack's friend."

"And if I don't? What are you going to do?"

"Push you aside!"

Scott tried to push Astrid aside but she didn't budge. He looked surprised for a second but tried harder.

"What the? Why aren't you moving?"

"For a football player, you are pretty weak."

Scott blushed bright red as everyone in the hall started to whisper to each other. Scott growled back at the bystanders who quickly left.

"Let's go, Scott. Just leave the pretty girl alone," Ted said as he winked at Astrid who ignored him.

Scott was frustrated that he couldn't pushed a girl aside. He closed his hands into a fist and was about to punch Astrid. However, he was grabbed by a person behind him.

"Scott, what are you doing?" Jack asked angrily.

Scott huffed loudly and pulled his arm away from Jack's grip.

"Nothing."

Scott turned to leave.

"Lets go, Ted. We have to meet with Elizabeth before she dramatically cries about us leaving her."

Ted followed his friend but turned around to ask Jack a question.

"You coming?"

"No, Hiccup have to tutor me."

Scott turned around with a shock face.

"You...him..." Scott said, pointing at Jack then Hiccup.

"Yeah, it sucks. I don't want to but I have to in order to pass."

Scott looked at both of them and then shrugged. He merely motioned Ted that he was leaving. Astrid saw that the trouble was over, grabbed her bag and was about to leave.

"Wait," Hiccup called out.

She turned around and waiting for what Hiccup had to say even though she knew.

"Thank you." Hiccup nearly stuttered his words.

"No need to thank me."

She looked over at Jack and then left.

Jack shouted out to Astrid, "No good luck for me?"

Astrid shouted back, "You don't need it."

"Don't know whether she was trying to compliment me or you," Jack said.

Hiccup shrugged.

"Sorry about Scott. He is a little hot tempered."

"So why did you come here when Hiccup asked you to wait outside the school?" Hiro asked.

"Well, I was waiting but you two were taking too long and I didn't have your phone number so I went to find you."

"Sorry for making you wait. Give me your phone, I will put my number in it. I will text you later with my number."

"It is no problem. The holdup wasn't you but Scott. Anyway, we should be going. I don't want to go home so late."

As Hiccup was talking, he gave Jack his phone. After Jack put his number in, he gave it back and the three walked home.

"I was wondering...why did you became friends with Scott and the others?"

"Well, they are not really my friends."

"Huh?" Hiro and Hiccup said at the same time.

"Just because they hang around me in school doesn't mean they are my friends. I just hang out with them for my convenience."

"Your convenience?"

"Yeah, they have a few good prank ideas and it is great to have people help you with a few pranks."

"...That is all?" Hiro questioned.

"Have you ever thought of what people think of your pranks?" Hiccup asked.

"Wha...I mean they are not that bad."

"True, but they can be insensitive towards other people. Had you ever ask what those pranks make them felt like?"

"...It was supposed to be a joke..." Jack whispered to himself.

"Do you even have a sense of responsibility?"

Jack clenched his hands into a fist. "Of course, I do!"

He hated it. He hated the fact many people thought because he was so carefree he wasn't responsible at all.

Hiccup step a step back a little surprise at Jack's outburst and realized his mistake.

"Sorry..."

Jack felt a little guilty for shouting at him. "It is fine." There was a moment of silence before Jack spoke again. "Sorry about the pranks...I guess I should stop the pranks, eh?"

Now Hiccup really feel guilty for yelling at Jack.

"But if you stop all the pranks, school would be so boring," Hiro spoke up.

Hiccup quickly nodded, agreeing with Hiro. "Although some of your pranks might be irritating, they do brighten up our and other school life."

Jack was a little surprise at what Hiro and Hiccup said but quickly gave them a smile of relief. "Thanks you guys. Don't worry, I will continue to brighten your school life. I am just only going to reduce the amount of pranks and rethink them before setting them into action."

Hiccup smiled. "Yeah, that would be appreciated."

XXX

"Have you find anything important, sir?" the woman asked through her phone.

A year ago, daemons had been acting strange. There had been a rise of daemon attacks and the Guardians had been very busy trying to find out why. The daemon attacks was under control so that made finding the reason for the rise of activities top priority. As the leader of the Guardians in San Fransokyo, North had just recently left San Fransokyo and was busy researching and meeting up with the other leaders.

A sigh can be heard at the other end. "No, unfortunately, we couldn't find anything yet," North said.

"I see..."

It was frustrating for everyone that no information about the rise of the daemon attacks could be found.

"How are the guardians doing?"

"We had been busy but well, so you don't have to worry about us."

"Alright. Thanks for your hard work, Mulan."

"Of course, it is my duty."

North smiled, knowing everything was being handled by Mulan back in San Fransokyo. He quickly said a goodbye and hang up. He glanced to his notes that he was currently making and started to write.

XXX

"Ooh, so your aunt owns the Lucky Cat Cafe?" Jack asked when he saw the sigh.

"Yeah. She makes the best pastries!" Hiro said.

Jack smiled. "I know. I have been here one or two times."

"Really? I don't remember seeing you."

"Well, as I said, only came here one or two times. You could have miss me."

Hiro didn't say anything else as they walked into the cafe.

"Hello. You must be Jack, the boy that Hiccup was going to tutor, right?" Cass asked Jack.

"Yes."

"Well, you don't have to worry then. With Hiccup as your tutor, you do amazing in school! Cupcake?"

"Thanks," Jack said as he picked up a cupcake and ate it. "It is delicious!"

"Thank you."

They took a few cupcakes from Cass before heading upstairs.

"I will be in my room if you need me," Hiro said.

"Alright."

Hiccup led Jack to his bedroom. Jack looked around and then his eyes froze when he saw the lizard quietly climbing a small branch in the tank. Toothless turned around and saw Jack. The two stared at each other until Hiccup noticed. Hiccup gently took Toothless out.

"This is Toothless. Seems like he has taking a liking to you since he never stares at a person that long."

"Right..."

Hiccup gave Toothless to Jack. He was confused as he looked back and forth from Toothless to Hiccup.

"You want me to hold him?"

"Sure. He isn't going to bite."

Jack nodded stiffly as he awkwardly lent out his hands for the black lizard to crawl on. Hiccup almost laughed looking at Jack's nervous face. Hiccup looked around to find the Toothless's jar of food but couldn't find it. Then he remembered that the jar was finished and the new jar was in the kitchen.

"Jack, I am going to get Toothless's food. Are you ok with holding him or..."

"I can hold him. Just get his food."

Hiccup nodded and left.

Jack stared at Toothless who stared at him back.

"I can't believe I am holding a dragon, right now," Jack said in Dragonese. "But...what is a dragon like you doing in Hiccup's home? Why are you disguise as a lizard? Does he know?"

"He doesn't know and I will like to keep it that way. Besides, it is none of your business to what I am doing here," Toothless replied back.

"Rude...wait," Jack said as he looked closer. "You are not just any dragon! You are the Night Fury, the one and only and a hero, Amund!"

"Don't call me that! I am no longer Amund! I abandoned that name because of my failure. I am now Toothless."

Jack laughed, "Toothless, what a funny name...Wait, failure, what failure?"

"..."

"...So you are now Hiccup's pet. And you live in a tank, waiting for a human to feed you," Jack laughed.

Toothless glared at Jack before asking, "What is a daemon like you doing in my master's home? If you are here to hurt him..."

"I am not here to hurt anyone. I am getting tutor by him."

Toothless gave a low rumbling noise that sound like a laugh.

"Quit it!"

"Quit what?" Hiccup asked when he walked in.

"Hiccup! Nothing, nothing at all."

"Ok..."

Hiccup shrugged and took Toothless from Jack. He was trying to feed Toothless the food but Toothless was giving him a hard time.

"Sometimes, as a treat, I give Toothless some insects to eat. But I don't know why no matter what I give him, he always give me a hard time feeding him," Hiccup explained.

Jack tried his best not to laugh. Amund, a great dragon had been reduced to a lizard eating dried processed lizard food or even insects.

"Maybe you should give him fish."

"Fish? Why would I give a lizard fish? You do know that lizards don't eat fish."

Jack shrugged. "How about eels?"

Toothless glared at him and Jack laughed.

"I was just joking."

Hiccup was lost. He had no idea what Jack meant anymore.

"Anyway...we should get started. I want to at least tutor you for two hours. We have a lot of things to catch up."

Hiccup opened up his chemistry textbook and the two started to study.

XXX

The therapist opened the door to her office and opened the lights.

"Pitch."

"Hello, Gothel."

"So how was the boy's nightmare?" Gothel asked as she sat down.

"Delicious."

"That was not what I mean."

"Don't worry, I twist his nightmares just like you asked me to. The same nightmare I made will always occur to him during his sleep."

"I don't want him to always have the same nightmare, just change it whenever he have the dream."

"Well, that is no fun. I like his fear."

"Well, it is no fun for me too. I don't want him coming in and crying about his nightmares every time. You know how boring it was to listen to his cries about his parent's death."

"You are supposed to be sympathetic and understanding."

"You mean pretend to be sympathetic and understanding. And I didn't had to pretend if Drago didn't decide to attack the family."

"Isn't it obvous? Drago wants revenge against Valka and her family. Besides, he didn't know Hiccup was one of the chosen ones."

"He is so rash!"

Pitch rolled his eyes. "As if you weren't."

Gothel narrowed her eyes at him. "What did you say?"

"Nothing."

Gothel didn't say anything as she put her jacket on her chair and sat down.

"Is that all you need to tell me? Because if so, leave. I have a lot of work to do."

Pitch got off of the chair he was sitting on and leapt out of the window. Gothel turned her head slightly to watch Pitch disappear before turning her head back to her work.

XXX

"I don't get this at all!" Jack shouted out.

It had been only been thirty minutes and Jack was already giving up. He wasn't the only one. Hiccup was starting to give up. It was so frustrating to explain just one concept to him.

"That is because you are not listening to me."

"I am! It is just you who is bad at explaining."

"Well, let me explain to you again in a different way. The..."

However, Hiccup didn't finish explaining because Jack's cell phone rang and he picked up.

"Hello."

Jack went out of the room, leaving Hiccup to silently cry to himself, looking at all the mistakes Jack made. This was going to be much harder than he thought it would be. However, he won't give up. He was determined to make sure Jack would pass the next test and also the next one after. He smiled but then frown at that thought. Why did he all of a sudden was so determined to help Jack? At first, he was doing in order to finish his volunteer hours. Well, his father did once stated that he was very stubborn and once he set his mind on something, he will make sure it is done. He nodded to himself. Yes, he would make sure Jack not only pass but also get high marks as well. He laughed to himself. He was definitely taking this too far and way too seriously but it was a challenge he would not back down from.

XXX

"Hi, Jack. I know you told me that you were busy but something came up."

Jack recognized it to be Mulan's voice. Jack was surprised that it wasn't North.

"Mulan? Is there something you need?"

"Yes, I need you to help to go investigate this area. There has been some activities of daemon there. Unfortunately, there isn't anyone available who can do it so...can you do it? I will also send you the map."

Jack held back a sigh. He was a little happy to escape from doing homework but at the same time, he need the tutoring. However, he didn't have a choice anyway.

Jack sighed. "Alright, just give me a few minutes and I will be there to deal with the situation. Bye."

"Bye."

Jack ended the call and came back to the room.

"I am sorry, but I have to go."

"Already? It had only been thirty minutes, I thought we agreed that I will tutor you for at least an hour."

"...I know but something came up."

Hiccup sighed. "Fine."

Jack smiled. "Thanks anyway. I appreciate the help...really. I know I might seem like I don't care but I do."

"Really? Why?"

"What kind of a question is that? Who would want to stay back in school and not graduate? Besides, I have something more important that I have to do. I don't have time to be in school for the rest of my life."

Hiccup smiled. "Well, if that is so, you are going to have to work hard."

"I know plus I have you to help me on that. Well, see ya."

Jack left his room. Hiccup looked back at the work they were doing. He sighed and proceed to look over what they did. They didn't do much but he knew this will be hard. He needed to figure out what Jack didn't understand and work from there. He continued working and before he knew it, it was time for dinner.