The next day when Ragnar tried to wake Hiccup up, he got right up as he did not want the same wake-up call he got yesterday.

"I'm up, I'm up!" Hiccup shouted as he nearly jumped out of his bed to prove he was awake.

"Good, now get dressed cause its time for breakfast," Ragnar said before exiting the room. Hiccup really wanted to get back into bed, but he knew he couldn't so he dressed and left his room to follow Ragnar as he still wasn't very familiar with the layout of the base that they were at.

"You should really learn the base layout now that you are going to stay here," Ragnar told Hiccup as they walked to the mess hall.

"Shouldn't I just need to know how to get to the mess hall and back?" Hiccup asked.

"Well, at the moment yes. In the future, you will need to know the whole base though." Ragnar said in response as they kept walking. Hiccup didn't reply as he was memorizing the way they took to get there. It was actually a relatively short walk so it was easy to remember. They got to the mess hall and ate their breakfast in silence.

"Is today's schedule going to be the same as yesterday's?" Hiccup asked Ragnar as they finished eating and placed their trays in the collection bins.

"Yes it is, but this time I don't have to worry about going easy on you," Ragnar said, which worried Hiccup with how creepy he sounded. Seeing the creeped out look that Hiccup had adopted made Ragnar laugh as they walked back to the gym. Once they arrived, Ragnar had Hiccup stand as he explained some things.

"From now until your training is complete, your ass belongs to me. You will do what I say when I say it. Is that understood?" Ragnar said in a very ruff, authoritarian tone.

"Ok." Hiccup replied in a very timid tone.

"From now on, the first and last things you say will be sir, do I make myself clear?"

"Sir yes sir." Hiccup once again said in a weak tone.

"This is the last time I want to hear that weak tone out of you. I am training you to be a special operations soldier; they are the best of the best. You will not crumble or show fear. You will never let anybody see that they have been gotten too. From now until the day you die you will never sound or appear weak again." Ragnar near shouted at the lad.

"Sir yes Sir." Hiccup replied in his normal nasally voice, trying not to back down from the physically and mentally imposing Ragnar.

"I can't hear you!"

"Sir Yes Sir!" Hiccup yelled back at him, finally satisfying Ragnar.

"Good, now drop and give me twenty push-ups," Ragnar ordered Hiccup.

"I can't do twenty push-ups though." Hiccup said.

"I didn't ask you if you could do them, I ordered you to do them," Ragnar replied. Hiccup didn't argue with him, he just got down on the ground and started doing the push-ups.

"I can't hear you counting! For counting, you can just say the number then sir." Ragnar shouted at Hiccup after he had done one push-up. Hiccup looked up at him for a moment before starting back on the push-ups.

"One Sir, Two Sir." Hiccup said with difficulty as he did them.

"Come on! One more push-up Hiccup!" Ragnar shouted at Hiccup as he struggled to do the third one. Hiccup was struggling to get to the top of his third while Ragnar was standing over him and yelling at him to do better. After much shouting and struggling, Hiccup finished the push-up and tried to do a fourth but ended up on the ground.

"That's all I can do in a row." Hiccup said as he got to his knees and stood up.

"All that you can do now, but in the future, you will be doing more, a lot more," Ragnar said. After that, Ragnar put Hiccup through double of what he had the day before; and let's just say Hiccup was extremely tired by the end of the six-hour workout. When they walked back to the mess hall for lunch, Hiccup was walking slowly due to the multiple runs and squats that Ragnar had him do. Hiccup dropped into the bench on the table and ate his lunch.

"Come on Hiccup, let's get going. The days not over yet." Ragnar said to Hiccup as the lad had finished eating and was laying his head down on the table, trying to get some rest. Hiccup groaned, not wanting to get up, but got up anyways and followed Ragnar back to the big building that housed their rooms and the dragons.

"What does that sign say?" Hiccup asked Ragnar as he pointed towards a sign that was hanging over the door. Hiccup had no idea how he missed it the other day, but somehow he did.

"It says Dragons Edge, that's the name of this particular building," Ragnar replied as they walked inside. They made their way up to the classroom where there were some things Hiccup didn't recognize sitting on the table. Two of them looked like ear muffs and the other two looked like some sort of goggles.

"What are those?" Hiccup asked as Ragnar placed two strange metal devices that looked like the letter L on the table.

"This is the first weapon I will be training you on," Ragnar said.

"But what is it? It doesn't look like any weapon I have seen before." Hiccup said as he felt the smooth metal on the side.

"It's what we call a pistol, and it's a firearm. It works by firing a bullet, or this, out of the barrel at very high speeds." Ragnar informed him while showing him a bullet before putting it down and picking up the pistol. "This is an M9 Pistol, it fires a nine-millimeter bullet, which is the same size as the round that you have in your hand."

"How does it work?" Hiccup asked as he was looking over the bullet with the eye of a tinkerer.

"On the inside of the barrel is a firing pin which slams forward when you pull the trigger and hits the detonator cap here, setting off a load of gunpowder and propelling the round out of the barrel at extremely fast speeds. Now if you would follow me, we have a firing range on the next floor up." Ragnar said before grabbing everything on the table and walked to the elevator.

"Put these on. They will protect your eyes and ears." Ragnar told Hiccup as he handed him the eye and ear protection, which Hiccup promptly put on. Ragnar then showed Hiccup how to hold and fire the weapon. Needless to say, Hiccup jumped when Ragnar first fired the pistol as he had never seen anything like it.

"The projectile is so small and leaves such a small hole, how much damage could it actually do?" Hiccup asked.

"I thought you would ask that, so I set up a human analog in the shape of a dead pig." Ragnar switched to the next lane and fired at the hanging pig. Once Ragnar had cleared the range, they walked down to where the pig was to look at the carnage.

"How does something so small does so much?" Hiccup asked Ragnar after seeing the damage the round had done.

"It's not really the size, but the speed. Due to its fast speed, it rips and tears through the flesh, as well as creating a large temporal cavity which hurts even more." Ragnar explained to him. They stayed in the range for a few hours before it was time for dinner. They ate dinner and then headed back to Dragon's Edge as hiccup was so tired.

Hiccup yawned and blinked his eyes open. His eyelids felt heavy as he glanced around the dark room. His gaze drifted over to where Ragnar's bed was, beside him. It appeared to be empty.

Peering at the clock on the wall and seeing that is was a little after midnight, Hiccup wondered where he could possibly be at this hour of the morning.

"Ragnar?" He whispered softly, in case he happened to be close by. When there was no response, Hiccup sat up, peeling the covers off of himself and yawning. Once up, he reached for his jacket that was on the hanger and slipped it on over his night clothes. He noticed that Ragnar's coat wasn't there, as he made his way outside to check.

Scanning the scene outside the building, Hiccup glanced around in every direction, being careful to not be too loud with his footsteps. After several moments, he turned to go back inside. However, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a shadowy figure in the distance. The moonbeams dimly lit the area enough so that Hiccup could just make out the silhouette of a teenage boy sitting on a bench. He leaned forward, head in hands, unflinching, with a look of utter despair etched across his face. He apparently didn't seem to notice the boy who was curiously approaching him.

Once he was no more than ten feet away, Hiccup cleared his throat. "Ragnar? That you?"

Upon hearing Hiccup's voice, he sat up quickly, straightening his posture. "Hiccup? What are you doing out here?"

Hiccup came closer, trying to appear casual. "Oh, nothing. I just woke up and noticed you were gone, so I thought I'd come see where you went."

"You should be in bed," was all Ragnar said.

"I know, but I wanted—"

"Just go back inside, Hiccup," Ragnar said, voice strained. His tough front was wearing off.

Hiccup could tell that something was very clearly troubling him, but it was obvious Ragnar did not want to talk about it, whatever it was. At any rate, he was not going to let Ragnar stay out here alone and suffer the agony of whatever was causing him grief. Deciding at the moment that it was best to change the subject, Hiccup suggested the first thing that came to his mind.

"Hey, um, do you want to maybe take the dragons out for a bit? They've been pretty cooped up lately, and I know they could both use the exercise, Toothless especially, and probably Wraith too..." He always rambled when he was nervous. Why did he have to do that?

Ragnar glanced over in his direction, thinking about what he said. Perhaps it would be a good idea to take the dragons out for a bit tonight. He knew that Hiccup had been itching to fly again, and he knew there was no way he could sleep at this point. Besides, it would be a good distraction from his haunting thoughts for a small while anyways.

Deciding to put on his facade of normalcy for Hiccup's sake, he nodded his head and turned to Hiccup. "You could use the training anyways," he said, offering a practical explanation for why he would ever consent to such an excursion at this time of night. In truth, however, the prospect did excite him a bit. It had been ages since he's taken Wraith out on a night flight.

"Come on then," he said, rising. At least now he wouldn't have to explain to Hiccup why he was outside in the middle of the night, pondering his life. He must keep up his tough front with this boy, however much he didn't want to at times. Something about him just seemed to spark so many memories of Ragnar's past; memories that, for the sake of everyone, were best kept locked away and hidden. Yes, they tormented him, but his anger and hardened image that he had made for himself was all he had now. If he let that guard down, what would be left? Weakness? Fear?

No, that wasn't an option for him. That would never be an option again; he intended to hold fast to that vow he had made to himself years ago. Weakness and fear were what had ruined everything...

"You sure you're alright?" Hiccup's voice startled him out of his thoughts once again. He studied Ragnar inquisitively.

"You should never question those above you, Hiccup. It's a bad habit that will get you in lots of trouble if you're not careful," Ragnar responded as Hiccup closed his mouth. Best to keep him in his place. Part of Ragnar felt a slight twinge of guilt at shutting the boy down, who so obviously wanted to make friends. But the larger part reminded him that on a practical level, it would be best for both of them if he kept his distance. And, as it had with nearly everything in his life thus far, practicality would always win.

Once they arrived at the dragon's room, Toothless and Wraith immediately rushed over to them excitedly.

"Toothless, guess what!?" Hiccup said, racing over to him. "We're going flying!"

Ragnar turned to Wraith, who also perked up at this news.

"Grab your gear, Hiccup. We can't be too long," said Ragnar, bending over to pick up his and putting it on Wraith's back. Hiccup copied him, and in no time, both dragons were ready to take off. Before he mounted Wraith, Ragnar walked over to the corner of the large room where there was a latch hanging down. When he pulled it, a flap at the very top of the ceiling lowered, opening up an exit out that was big enough for the dragons to fit through. Hiccup marveled at the stars that appeared to be getting closer and closer as they flew out into the night.

As soon as they were in the open sky, Hiccup directed Toothless to follow Ragnar's lead, as he didn't want to somehow get lost. The last time he had flown outside was when he arrived here, and that hadn't gone as smoothly as he had hoped.

Overhead, Ragnar and Wraith flew higher and higher into the night sky, passing some of the smaller clouds that hung beneath the stars. Hiccup loved the feeling of the wind in his face as Toothless dipped, turned, and adjusted his speed to match Wraith's pace. Even as he was distracted by the beauty the wondrous night, Hiccup couldn't help but notice Ragnar's great flying expertise and experience that far surpassed his own. Ahead, the blonde haired young man barely flinched as he sat upright on his dragon, hardly having to even grasp his reins with his hands, as his legs did all the work to keep him on. Nothing more than the flick of a finger, or a slight movement, and Wraith would know exactly where to turn or go. There was complete, mutual trust between the boy and his dragon.

Hiccup shared the trust part with Toothless, however, in addition to this, a slight feeling of envy at Ragnar's obvious skill level crossed his mind. He adjusted himself clumsily on Toothless' back, attempting to keep up with the pair ahead. Oh, what it would be like to fly with the grace that Ragnar and Wraith did!

Feeling Hiccup's movement, Toothless made a grunting sound. "Sorry, boy," said Hiccup, knowing that it wasn't at all comfortable for his companion when he shifted the wrong way.

After several moments of silent flight, Hiccup began to hear a whistling sound in his ears. He immediately recognized it as the wind, but it seemed to have gotten stronger. Toothless dipped a little from the turbulence and tried to regain his straight flight path.

Ragnar turned around. "The wind's picking up. We should start back soon!" He called to them, making a slight, gradual U-turn around. He pulled off the turn with little resistance, flying straight again within seconds.

Hiccup nodded and attempted to follow in Ragnar's course. "Sure!" He shouted back. However, whether it was from the wind of Ragnar turning, or a sudden gust that swept in, Toothless suddenly lost control of his wings and started spiraling in a downward direction.

The world spun around Hiccup, as he struggled with everything in him to hang on tight and not let go.

"Ragnar!" He shouted frantically, hardly able to think, as he was flung from one side to another.

Immediately, Ragnar jolted Wraith around, and when he witnessed the sight before him, he gave a command to Wraith and flew quicker than lightning to below where Hiccup and Toothless were spiraling.

"Hold on, Hiccup! Do not let go!" He yelled, now ten feet beneath them. It was obvious that Hiccup was not going to be able to hold on much longer, and in one frantic moment, Ragnar flew up and to the right, just at the second that Hiccup's hand released the reins, and he began to freefall through the air.

Without missing a beat, Ragnar reached his arm out, and grabbed Hiccup by his jacket, and swung him onto Wraith who dipped down a little from the added weight.

"Ragnar! Toothless can't fly without me! I need to get back on!" Hiccup shouted over the noise. Beneath them, Hiccup saw that Toothless had lost all control, and was going down fast.

Ragnar immediately dipped down and came close enough beside Toothless for Hiccup to jump on.

Toothless only spiraled for a few seconds longer, before making his recovery and straightening his wings, Hiccup now on his back.

Hiccup's hands trembled as he held onto Toothless as they flew in the direction of the ground.

"Hiccup! You alright?" Ragnar said above the noise of the wind.

"Y...yeah..." was all Hiccup could get out.

"Thought you could leave me, did you?" Toothless questioned snobbishly. Hiccup couldn't respond, as he was still quite shaken up.

Wraith flew down gradually back to the base, Toothless following right beside him. Hiccup didn't dare flinch the whole way down.

Once they reached the ground, Ragnar hopped off. Hiccup, however, did not move.

"Hey, you ok?" Ragnar asked, walking around towards him. Hiccup shakily nodded, sliding down from Toothless with caution. Ragnar offered a hand, steadying him.

"Th..thanks," Hiccup said, brushing himself off. "You saved my life."

"Not to mention mine," Toothless said.

"Don't mention it. You owe me one now," replied Ragnar, turning to Hiccup with a sardonic half smile. "Better get some sleep. Training starts again at the same time as usual in the morning."

I hope you guys like what we have written. See you guys next time!