Chapter 1

The Calm Before The Storm

"Oh man oh man oh man." Hiccup muttered.

"Sweetheart, don't worry. Everything is going to be fine. You've gotten this far haven't you?" His mother told him.

"...Much to my surprise, yeah." He replied after taking a moment to consider.

"Usually my good luck doesn't last this long."

"Hiccup, my son, you've earned your fairy tale ending. Trust me." Velka told him, putting her hands on both of his shoulders.

"Your father would be proud to see how far we've come in three years and it's all thanks to you."

The young man cast his gaze downwards.

"I miss him."

For most of his life, he struggled to maintain a healthy relationship with his father. They fought, they bickered, and they said terrible things. After Toothless came into the picture, everything changed. They were able to hold a conversation, to relate to one another's problems, even crack a joke every one and then. That had been for what seemed like such a short time though. There was nothing the Dragon Rider wouldn't give to have a few of those years back.

"As do I." His mother said, pulling him into a hug.

"You know him though, he would being telling us to stay strong and enjoy this day. So get out there son. Live, like your father wanted you to."

He nodded as she released him from the hug.

After making sure he had everything he needed, he walked out the door.

...

The sun was barely rising over the Meridian of Misery, casting a dim orange light across the Island of Berk. Not a living thing in town was awake yet, save for our favorite cripple and his Night Fury who were carefully creeping towards their target.

They arrived at Astrid's house completely undetected, all was going according to plan so far.

"Give me a boost bud." Hiccup told his dragon, who was still blinking the sleep out of his eyes.

Sluggishly, Toothless brought his tail around and wrapped it around Hiccup's torso. He then lifted him up to the second floor window with a grunt, once within range the young man grabbed onto the window ledge and pulled himself up and into the room.

Luckily, it had been hot yesterday so Astrid had left her window open.

Her room was fairly simple, wood floors, a weapons rack by her wardrobe. Sitting at the foot of her bed was a chest that contained Stormfly's saddle, and other dragon riding and training equipment.

Perched up in the shadows of the rafters, Hiccup could see a slumbering Deadly Nadder. What really caught his eye though was the series of sketches pinned to the wall above her bed. One was of her and her father, Shirley, taking a hike through the forest. Another was of her and her family, posing in front of a house that had been burnt to the ground. Despite that misfortunate event, they looked happy to be alive and together.

Hiccup chuckled at the memory of that night, Astrid thought a stray fireball from a Gronckle had caused that fire, and so long as he was Chief, she would never be told otherwise.

The next sketch was of their Dragon Slaying Class right after Hiccup had begun to bond with Toothless. It was smiles all around, except for Astrid who was a bit suspicious of her classmate's new found talent.

The final sketch was from a few years ago, when the two had just begun to serious in their relationship. Fishlegs had drawn this portrait of them, so they looked a bit cartoony which actually went well with their goofy expressions.

Hiccup smiled as he looked down at his girlfriend, who was still sound asleep. She had one arm wrapped around her pillow, and small smile was forming on her lips. The young man guessed she was having a pleasant dream. He got down onto one knee and put his chin on the mattress, he would be the first thing she saw when she woke up.

"Astrid..." He said softly.

No response.

"Come on gorgeous, wakey wakey. Toothless is waiting for us." He said a bit louder.

She stirred a little, muttering something under her breath.

"I know it's early, but we have a lot to do today. I've got a schedule written up and everything." He told her.

As her eyes slowly opened, her smile got a little bigger.

"A schedule?" She asked.

"Yeah." He said with a nod.

She chuckled a little.

"Dork."

"Hey now-" He chided.

"That's why I love you though." She said, pulling him in for a quick kiss.

"Good morning."

"Morning." He replied once she pulled away and began to sit up.

"Toothless outside?" She asked.

"Yeah, he's still a bit sleepy. He had a rough night." Hiccup explained, sitting down at the foot of the bed as Astrid stretched her arms out and yawned.

"I bet you he was dreaming about Zoey again." She guessed.

"Yeah, probably." Hiccup said with a nod.

"Poor guy..." His girlfriend muttered, before looking to her boyfriend.

"Why are you way over there?" She asked, reaching for him.

He shrugged.

"Just giving you some space I guess."

"Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third, get over here and cuddle with me right now." She told him.

"Yes ma'am." He said with a chuckle.

Once he was within reach, she lunged forward and grabbed him pulling him towards her and holding him tightly. He put his arm around her as she clung to his torso.

"Everything alright?" She asked after a minute of silence.

"Yeah, everything's fine." He replied.

She nodded slowly, sensing he was nervous about something but deciding to leave him be for the time being. He would tell her when he was ready.

"So what's first on that schedule of yours?"

"This." He replied.

"Sounds good." She said, resting her head on his chest.

...

Merida's eyes slowly opened, awakened by the sound of her husband's snoring.

Small plumes of fire came out of his nostrils as he inhaled and exhaled. For being the wife of a Vanguard, this was actually an uncommon occasion. She looked around the room and discovered the source of the problem.

The windows were open and the cool autumn breeze had made their room quote chilly. The Princess shivered and snuggled up to the love of her life as he started to sniff rapidly.

"Uh oh..." She murmured.

Instinctively she grabbed his nose as he jerked upward and sneezed. His nose got incredibly warm, but she maintained her grip as he began to cough. Black smoke coming out of his mouth and nose once she released it.

"Sorry honey." She told him as he coughed up the rest of the smoke.

"It's fi-holy Hera its cold in here!" The Greco grumbled.

"Yeah I left the window open. Sorry." The Princess told him, brushing her hair out of her face.

"We better keep warm then." Her husband replied, grabbing her by the waist and pulling her closer.

The Princess giggled.

"Well alrighty then."

She turned around and pushed him onto the bed, the Vanguard pulled her down on top of him and began to kiss her neck. She turned her head to make it easier on him. She closed her eyes for brief second to soak in the pleasure, but when she opened her eyes, she saw him.

A skinny boy with wild bleach blonde hair. Dressed in a kilt, and a steel chest plate. He was bleeding profusely from the head, and he was staring at her. Wide eyed, as if still shocked that he was dead.

Merida began hyperventilate as she rolled off her husband, leaping out of bed and staggering back.

"Get out of my head." She hissed.

"You missed." The boy told her.

The Princess out her hands to ears, and shut her eyes.

"GO AWAY!" She screamed.

"Merida!" Spiros shouted.

Her eyes snapped open, and she grabbed him by the shoulders.

"Eight years Spiros, this is killing me. Killing me. It's-he...driving. Me. Mad. He needs to go away. Make him go away!" She begged.

"Sweetheart there is nothing I can do." He said gently.

"What do you mean there's nothing you can do?" She asked.

"It's all in here. It's all up here. I'm goanna be honest, this feeling...it never goes away."

Merida sighed heavily.

"How many do you see? How many times do you look past me and see everyone you've lost." She asked shakily.

He pulled her in for a hug and kissed the top of her head.

"I try not to look at what I've lost. I look at what I have. Right now, I have you. Whenever I start to see them, I turn to you. I focus on you. Do the same right now,
whenever this happens. Focus on me." He instructed.

She nodded as there was knock at the door.

"Sis!" A voice called.

"Yes?" She asked, her voice cracking just a tad.

"Time for breakfast." The voice replied

"Yeah lovebirds time for breakfast." another grumbled.

"We'll be right down." She told them, pulling away from Spiros and grabbing her robe, while he did the same.

…

Seona strolled through the open doors into the throne room. Guards flanked her on either side, armed with halberds. The young woman stopped as she neared the steps of the throne, taking out her double bladed sword and stabbing it into the floor before dropping to one knee. The guards didn't even flinch.

"Good morning your majesties." She said, gaze fixed on the ground.

"Why did you just stab my floor?" The King asked.

The Queen gave him a quick glare.

"Oh I'm sorry, *our* floor."

"Eugene." The Queen chided.

"What?" He asked.

Seona awkwardly cleared her throat.

The couple looked to her, looking a bit embarrassed.

"My apologies…" The Queen told her.

"It's quite alright." The Vanguard replied.

"Now, I understand you had requested to speak to us about an urgent matter."

"Yes your majesty, there is a grave threat on the horizon and I have been asked to recruit the aid of as many nations as possible." She began.

The King raised an eyebrow at this.

"By the sounds of it, you're asking for military aid…our kingdom is known for many things but its military might is not one of them."

"Have you talked to the Romans about this? I feel they would be more suited to-"

"The Romans are divided, a once great Empire cut in two. Both East and West have their own issues and swiftly rejected my request for aid." She explained.

The King and Queen exchanged looks.

"Please, anything you could spare would be greatly appreciated." The young woman pleaded.

The King sighed.

"We will consult with our advisors and see what we can spare. We will send you an answer as soon as we have one"

"Thank you Sire." His guest said, pulling her weapon out of the ground and turning to leave.

Once she had exited the room, Eugene turned to his wife.

"What do you think has the people of the North Sea so nervous that they came all the way down here to ask for help?"

She shrugged, placing her hand on her enlarged belly.

"I haven't the slightest idea, but it can't be good. Part of me wonders if we should get involved."

"Well if it were the other way around, wouldn't you want them to help us?" He asked, his eyes briefly flicking at the young girl who was walking towards them.

"Hi Mom, hi Dad!" She exclaimed.

"Good morning Rosaline." Her mother said with a smile.

The 12 year old had elected to keep her hair short like how her mother's had been after she finally returned home after living with Mother Gothel for most of her life. Rapunzel had given birth to Rosaline a year after her and Eugene had gotten married. Now she was growing into a strong young woman. Just as graceful and kind as her mother, with the wit and mischievous curiosity of her father.

She trotted up the steps and proceeded to kneel down and put an ear to her mother's belly.

"How are the twins?"

"They've been quiet today, not as much kicking as usual." The Queen explained.

"Huh, that's weird…" The Princess muttered as she stood up.

"So who was our visitor?"

"Someone who's in need of help…and we're going to give it to them." Her mother explained, looking at her husband and her daughter.

"Because if it were the other way around, I'd hope they would help us."

…

Queen Elsa stood on a small wooden stage in the Palace Courtyard, she had called the people of Arendelle together to announce their now alliance with the Highlands, another North Sea nation. To her left was her sister Anna and her husband Kristoff. To her right was Merlin, the Vanguard who had journeyed to the Highlands to negotiate the alliance between the two Kingdoms.

He was dressed in dark blue robes and a large droopy hat prevented most from seeing his face. The only thing that most would see was the bangs of his white hair, which covered one of his two unnaturally bright blue eyes. He held a simple wooden staff, topped with a white crystal, at his side. At the bottom of the staff was a small blade that was just barely noticeable. Despite the spaced out look on his face, he was actively scanning the crowd.

War was coming, he knew this just as every Vanguard in the world knew. Word of the return of the Atlantians as well as tales of a Vanguard named Spiros and Princess Merida toppling a flying warship had spread quickly from Rome to the Far East.

The world was holding its breath, waiting for the worst to come.

His eyes darted to a nearby building when he saw something moving around in the upper floors. He narrowed his eyes before speaking.

"You see that Captain?" He asked.

"Yeah I saw it." He muttered.

"I'm goanna go check it out, keep an eye on the Queen."

Merlin nodded slowly as Anna saw them muttering to each other and walked over.

"Something wrong?"

Merlin tightened his grip on his staff.

"No idea, that's what worrying me." He told her.

A few minutes passed and the Vanguard was having to suppress his urge to start pacing. The Queen would be addressing her subjects in a few minutes, but the Captain was nowhere to be found. Suddenly a man screamed as he was thrown from the building, a rope tied around his neck. With an ugly snap, his neck broke and people in the courtyard began to panic as loud cracks filled the air, men were marching from the building, armed with wood and metal weapons that were beginning to grow popular in the Far East. They were called Hand Cannons, devices that shot metal and fire with the intent to maim and kill. These men were firing into the crowd and inflicting a great number of casualties. Then he saw one man take a firing position in the building's second floor window, his weapon aimed at the Queen. As he fired, Merlin put himself between Elsa and the projectile. He hit a switch on his weapon and turned half of his staff into a sword. With a quick slash we cut the incoming hunk of metal in two before charging the rest of the men, who were taking out their own swords.

"Get the Queen into the Palace, I'll deal with these guys!" Merlin told the guards.

He ducked under one of his opponent's opening slashes, slicing at him with his own sword and ripping his side open as he passed. The man screamed in pain as he fell to the ground next to a woman he had killed as Merlin zipped past one of his comrades, slicing his throat open in the process.

As Merlin fought, he realized that war wasn't coming.

It was already here.

…

A.N- Whelp I totally botched the whole January release date target. That's college for you though. My plan to prevent long waits between updates is to stick to a ten page max chapter format from here on out. It's something I can do consistently and with relatively good speed. As for this story, know this my dear readers.

1. This will be my first M rated fic, I do not plan on holding back when it comes to the more graphic details of War. These characters have grown and matured, as have I. So the story and its content will mature accordingly.

2. Believe me when I say no one is safe. This is basically my head cannon for the end of these respective fandoms. Their stories will end here, in one way or another. I will seek to explain what happened to these Kingdoms, why magic as well as the Vanguards cannot be seen in the modern world, and the ultimate fate of the dragons as a species. If you don't hate me just a little bit by the end of this thing, I don't think I will have done what I have set out to do.

3. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for helping this series get so far. Whether you been following along the whole time or you just jumped on this crazy train. Your support is greatly appreciated. I hope I'll be able to live up to your expectations.

I look forward to reading your reviews and answering any questions you may have.

Until next time,

Wolf out!