Disclaimer: I do not own "How to Train Your Dragon." The original characters are mine.

A/N:Well this chapter took longer than I thought it would, I apologize. But at any rate, I hope you enjoy it!

Footsteps marauded through the inclined foliage, the excitement of adventure evident in the pounding. The mountain, masked in green, secreted something and both Astrid and Hiccup were determined to find out what it was.

They struggled getting up the hill, the incline was so steep that Hiccup had to grab hold of trees to keep balance, his prosthetic only slipping in the slick muddy surface.

He looked up and saw Astrid far ahead. "Hey! Wait up!" he shouted.

She looked back, rolling her eyes at his slowness, "Come on Hiccup! We still have almost an entire mountain to climb!"

"Well I'm sorry I'm missing a part of me!"

She shook her head, thinking he was referring to his leg. But he was actually referring to Toothless for they needed each other to survive and alone, they suffer.

Astrid sighed, knowing that something had to be done, and that Hiccup was too prideful to accept help. She looked up the mountain, then back to him. If he slips just once and loses his footing…

An idea struck her, and in the snap of her fingers, she looked at the unsteady chief. "Hiccup I have an idea!"

He arched an eyebrow.

She rustled past him down toward the cliff's edge.

"What're you—"

"Just stay there!" she said as she began to climb down.

Hiccup thought she was out of her mind. They had nearly died climbing up that jagged wall and now she was going back down. "Astrid, are you insane? What, it wasn't fun enough climbing up the first time?"

"Just trust me!" she yelled and he reclined against a tree in disbelief.

A few moments later, she reappeared at the top of the cliff, the weathered saddle tied to her back.

He wrinkled his brow, "I'm not riding on your back!"

Her gaze hardened, "No!" She snapped unfastening the straps around her torso. "We can use the leather from this to create a rope we can tie around us. That way, if either of us slip or lose our footing or whatever—we'll be able to catch each other."

The idea appeared to dawn on his mud caked face and he slowly nodded. But it stopped and his expression compressed, "What if you fall? There's no way I could catch you with this leg!"

"It's better than nothing!" She said, throwing the saddle to the ground and tearing the tethered strips from it. "And besides," She said, momentarily stopping to look up at him, her eyes stone set in certainty, "I won't fall."

If he doubted her before, he didn't now. The delivery of those words, was so certain, so confident that it was impossible to deny them.

Feeling confident, he approached, began tearing leather strips. After some time they had completed a rope. Astrid picked it up proudly, and tied an end around her waist, Hiccup doing the same.

"All right, this should ensure our safety in climbing." She said tugging on the connection.

Hiccup nodded and to be sure it was tight, tied it once more around the bottom strap of his attire, tugged on it. When he was certain it wasn't going anywhere, he gave Astrid a hand signal. She saw it and began her ascension.

Hiccup felt the rope tense and began to follow. The feeling of his smooth metal foot on the unstable ground still felt awkward and disconcerting. He pushed passed it though, glancing back to scope their distance—about thirty meters from the cliff, another 300 to go, and the incline factor! Hiccup shook his head at the distance that separated them from the top of the cliff. My name's Hiccup for a reason! He thought dreadfully, knowing the onerous path that lay ahead for his scrawny, disadvantaged body.

As they traveled, his mind began to wander, imagining how fast he'd be up there if Toothless were here. The faint pain gripped his heart again, fear encroaching. He inhaled deeply: Don't let fear in control! Don't let fear in control! He repeated in his mind.

Astrid heard his deep breath, recognized it to be one of calming, thought: He really cares for him! But if he lets fear overcome his chieftain duties… She pursed her lips at the possibility. But her fearless demeanor as a Viking persevered, climbing as if she had claws that could grip the land firmly, giving her extra leverage.

He struggled to keep up, the rope forcing him to in periodic tugs. It hadn't occurred to him that his body was covered in mud from slipping repeatedly until Astrid mentioned it.

He sighed at the dried muck that covered his lower half. Well this outfit's surely ruined. He thought, slipping once more.

"I'm surprised you haven't taken that leg and thrown it down the mountain by now!" she said.

"I'm about to," he growled in an exhausted sigh. He glanced back to update his position, saw the tops of trees angled down to the sea. We're a ways from the cliff, pretty high up too! His body screamed at him to rest a moment, just for a quick, relieving moment. But he knew Astrid's tough demeanor would forbid it.

He still was going to try though."Astrid," he said, "we need to stop for water."

"We'll have it soon." She said.

"Well, soon, it'll be night." He countered.

"Hiccup I know you want to rest, but we have to keep going!"

"Yeah, you'll be dragging my dead body with you." He muttered.

She shook her head at his gloomy behavior, muttering something unintelligible, when something caught her eyes.

She halted her movement, Hiccup sighing in relief.

"So we're taking a—"

She slapped a hand over his mouth, silencing him in with a gesture from her free hand.

Feeling the tension in her hand over his mouth, he grew concerned. What's going on, what's happening? The thoughts raced in his head faster than he could control them. He attempted to follow her gaze, saw nothing. What is it that she— his thoughts stopped short. Seeing the rustling of a distant bush, he narrowed his vision.

Then a figure, masked by the dimness of dying dusk, darted out, scattering like a fleeing moth up the hill.

Before he even had the chance to speak, Astrid said: "We're being watched."

Taking her hand from his mouth, she gripped for the ax holstered on her back, realized it wasn't there. She cursed under her breath, remembering that her weapons had been confiscated back on Shell Island.

The figure seemed to dart from tree to tree, up the hill, but still remaining in their sight. The night crept over them like the rushing of a wave, making their visibility thin.

Both Astrid and Hiccup watched as the figure darted into what appeared to be a tall shading of bushes, then disappear as it swallowed him.

Hiccup perked up at the barely visible sight, "It must be an entrance!" He whispered. Crouched, he began inching his way forward.

Astrid, filled with a sense of foreboding, saw his pursuit and roughly yanked on the rope that connected them, causing him to stagger back.

He saw her incredulous look, shrugged, "What?"

"Are you serious?" She asked, "We can't follow him in there. That's what he wants, it's a trap!"

"What if it's not?"

She sent him a look.

"What? You can't know for sure!"

"Hiccup I don't know how many time I have to tell you this, but our dragons aren't here to protect us, we don't even have our weapons!"

"We've come this far." He said, the answer already set in his tone.

She sighed, shaking her head, "I'm not doin' it!"

"Then I'll untie the rope and do it myself."

She closed her eyes, face contorting as if she were in pain before she shook her head. "Fine, if that's what you want, then go!"

He shook his head. "It's not what I want! But if that's your decision, then I can't change it. But if these people are dragon trainers, we might be able to recruit their help. As chief it's my duty to do what's best for my people, and the dragons, no matter the risk to my well being. And as chief, I'd love to have you by my side throughout this."

In that moment, she felt a supreme admiration for him come over her. This is the man that the great Stoick the Vast had seen all along, and now he's showing it. She smiled, nodded, "All right, you have my service." And as she saw his smile she felt a new loyalty fill her—from this moment on, she will fight by his side, follow him wherever he goes, smile with him, die with him, just so long as she is with him. In that moment she realized a new feeling that she had never felt before had filled her—in that moment, she realized that she loved him.

He smiled at her and said, "Now come on, let us go into the cave!"

She straightened in respect for her dirty, mud covered, chief, said: "Let us go, then."

And off they went.

They approached the tall foliage that the figure had vanished in, Astrid eyeing it suspiciously, "This could be instant death." She warned.

He nodded and pushed himself through it, Astrid following close behind.

They entered a short, narrow hall that opened to an enormous dome-like room hidden mostly in shadows. The only light offered was of a single torch burning on the wall next to them as they exited the hall.

Hiccup gazed at the huge room—layered rocky floor expanding widely into darkness, a damp, chilled air filling his lungs as he breathed. Hearing the echo of scattering birds he looked up; saw a large, circular opening high up; their black figures framed against the stars as they flew out, rustling the long foliage that flowed over the edges.

The sight enthralled Hiccup, and he watched it as meteors streaked by. The realization hit him at that moment and he looked at Astrid who was staring at the night as well. "We're in a volcano." he said.

"What?" She said, tearing her attention from the sight.

"It must be dead, but this is what it used to be." He said in a self-assuring nod. The circumstances for their arrival into a dormant volcano in search for other dragon riders were now too perfect to be denied.

Sounds of scraping from the blackness of the room drew their attention. They backed away, toward the wall in apprehension; Hiccup instinctively grabbing for a sword that wasn't there.

The scraping revealed itself into the light radius. Blue silk cloak cascading from shoulders to boots, a young, bearded face with long, black tousled hair and eyes of duke blue watched them.

Astrid stiffened against the wall as a black-leather gloved hand emerged from the cloak, sword poised toward them.

Slowly, the man wet his lips with his tongue, and then spoke: "Who goes there?" His voice carried youthful slickness, but in a deep, trained manner.

Hiccup eyed the man, looked no older than twenty-five, and swallowed, remaining silent. The scene seemed oddly familiar to him, being in a mysterious place, uncertain of what is to happen. He wasn't going to worry about that now, he had more important thing to be conscious of.

"Who are you?" The man demanded in a harsh, unwelcome tone.

Hiccup swallowed, sensing danger, "We're travelers."

He arched a brow, "Travelers? Well, tell me: What are a couple of travelers doing climbing this mountain? I mean it's a pointless endeavor that requires much skill… unless you knew what was up here before hand." He said, insinuating, sword poised in hand.

"Listen we're not here to… to harm you or anything like that, we're just passing through trying to get back home."

The man laughed bitterly, "That's what they all say."

"Look," Hiccup pleaded, "We're friendly—this is Astrid and I'm Hiccup. We're from Berk."

The man froze, whispers sounded from the shadows, the man scanned him from head to toe, said: "Prove it." The edge to his voice betrayed angst.

Hiccup turned frantically for a moment, before looking at his shoulder and scraping the caked mud from it. "See? This is the Berk crest… I am the chief."

The man looked shocked, pointed his sword toward him. "You dare pose as the great Hiccup?"

Both Hiccup and Astrid exchanged the same glance that read: The great Hiccup?

Hiccup glanced at the man, bewildered, said: "I am Hiccup."

"You'll have to do better than that! You came to our cave by foot… everyone knows the great Dragon Master, rides a Night Fury.

"Toothless?" Hiccup questioned.

The man recoiled slightly, gasps sounding from the shadows. The man glanced at the ground in contemplation, then straightened, "Not good enough."

"Look, I don't know how you know me and my dragon, but I don't know how else to prove this to you."

"A test."

"Test?"

"Anyone can pose themselves as Him. But only one can truly pass the test." Murmured agreement came from the shadows.

Hiccup sighed: This is a waste of time. He thought, eyeing the man, standing and waiting. "Okay, what kind of test?"

He smiled predatorily, "A test worthy of the Dragon Master." He whirled in his cloak, facing the darkness. He extended a hand toward the shadows; palm facing the darkness, then whipped the hand around, palm, now facing him.

Hiccup felt his heart beating quickly with unease; Astrid glanced at him apprehensively as he watched the darkness.

He felt the ground rumble in rhythmic steps, knew what it was: A dragon!

The massive figure emerged from the darkness; body a glistening array of violet scales cascading into dark spring green snout. The eyes—two pools of duke blue—fell on him with the gesture of the cloaked man's hand.

Hiccup stared up, mouth agape, at the reptile. Although, smaller than a Bewilderbeast, this dragon was still larger than Cloudjumper, and easily the second largest dragon to ever meet his eyes.

The dragon extended its wings. They appeared as two brown massive fallen leaves in autumn. The reptile whipped them together, sending a taunting gust of wind past Hiccup.

He straightened, and Astrid stopped him, "Hiccup, wait! This is obviously a trap!"

"Don't worry, I can do this."

The man extended his sword to the sky, exclaiming, "Behold, the mighty Dragon!" He settled his smirk on him, "There is only one way in which you can defeat him. Do it any other way, and we'll kill you and the woman." He pointed the blade at Astrid.

Hiccup's heart sank—there was only one way he could do this and the lives of both him and his lover depended on him doing it in that one precise way. Only he had no idea what way that was.

"If you truly are the Dragon Master, then this should be swift and without much effort."

He had many questions for the man, but dared not to ask. This man seemed to have a misconception as to who he is, for the "great Dragon Master," should know exactly what to do in this situation.

Hiccup inhaled deeply, giving an uneasy, Astrid, a hand signal of assurance. He then set his sights toward the dragon that seemed to have full knowledge of what was transpiring.

The scaly reptile, huffed in ushering impatience, waiting for him to make his move.

I won't kill this dragon—and I don't care what they expect me to do, I won't do it! I'll show them just how compassionate a dragon can be. He stepped daringly toward the dragon; shoulders flat an arm extending outward.

The man just watched, tilting his head at the approach, hand still gripping the blade readily.

Hiccup continued toward the massive reptile that could easily kill him in one, single step of the foot.

The dragon's long neck writhed and its long head, analyzed the hand. Hiccup stopped at the movement, knowing it was now time for the dragon to either accept the offer or kill him. But honestly, he wasn't waiting for either, only the man's blade in his back, killing him. He zoned him out though, just hoping that the dragon would accept his offer and he'd be able to show them before that happened.

Astrid watched the spectacle, the whole time eyeing the man in the blue cloak. Assuring herself that if he were to make a move on Hiccup, she'd fly in there and end his pathetic existence. But she still couldn't shake the fear.

Even though he appeared confident and gallant, he was a mess on the inside. His mind raced with all the people he'd fail if his life ended here. The temptation to kill the dragon flashed through his mind. If I just do it, I can still save my people. He then felt the scaly warmth against his open palm.

Stiffening at the touch he was shocked from his reverie. He saw the closed eyes of the dragon open and stare at him in a new-found trust.

He then heard the whip of a cloak; saw the sword rushing his way.

It fell to the ground; the wielder kneeling just before him.

What's going on? Did I do it? Was this the test? He looked back to Astrid who looked just as bewildered as he.

The man raised his head from bow to look at him, "You are the Dragon Master." The reverence in his tone was echoed by the praises from the shadows.

Now he could ask questions. "So, you all are not enemies of dragons?"

The man stood, "Us? Heavens no! We are riders, whose passion for riding the great winged creatures was started by you."

Hiccup let the shock turn into happiness. I knew it! He thought. Other riders just like us. But how did they hear of me?

He relaxed his stance as Astrid approached, "How did you know about me?"

"Never underestimate the power of word. Travelers from afar tell the stories of your triumph, and not to mention your excursions to many islands to spread the word of dragons."

He reveled at the extent of his work having gone farther than he could have ever imagined.

The man stopped seeming to notice something missing. "So where is the Night Fury?"

Toothless…

His mind sent him into frenzy, not knowing how to explain it to them. "That's the problem." He said.

The man's brow arched in confusion.

"There is this man—Drago Bludvist—"

"Drago!" he scowled, "Filth of a man he is. Don't tell me he's still alive."

He nodded grimly, "We felt the same way when we received word from the Storm Tribe that he was building an army again."

He looked furious, teeth clenched and trembling. "Tell me all that's happened."

So, Hiccup went on to tell him the events that led up to him stumbling across the cave. The man seemed aghast by it, horrified that Drago had been able to gather such a massive armada.

The man shook in anger, then glanced at him, "Fret not, we give you our services. I am Stian—and we are the Rider tribe." He gestured to the darkness, torchlight sparking from specific points in the dome illuminating the faces of other youths, all around the same age as him.

Both Astrid and Hiccup gasped at the sight, one-by-one the light revealed dragons and their riders until all was visible.

Stian smiled patting the head of the massive dragon that had come to trust Hiccup, then cast a smile toward them, "If you're going to fight Drago, then we'll be at your side."

Far across the sea on a island shattered by years of reckless assault, a man in dragon bone armor angrily slammed open a thick metal door, casting torchlight in on a man in chains.

He threw off his mask, looked at the man, "Ivarr!" he barked, the man flicked his head up at the command.

"Drago wants you dead. He's joined forces with Olin, the traitor."

Ivarr nodded, unaffected by the revelation. "Are you here to do the honors?" He rasped.

"No. I'm here to offer a way out."

Ivarr furrowed his brow at him, not understanding what was happening. "Why?" he asked dryly.

"Because you can help me find some."

Ivarr laughed, "Why would I do that?"

"Because you have no choice." He said in a matter-of-fact manner.

The Storm Tribe chief sighed knowingly, as a prisoner he knew that he had no voice in anything. What this man wanted, he was going to get. But he still had conditions, "My dragon goes too or you can just impale me right now."

The man scowled, "The disease has spread from Berk." He muttered.

"So what's it going to be, Olaf?" he asked.

The man huffed, "If you wish to meet your fate, then very well. But if that beast attacks me I will not hesitate to kill it!"

Ivarr smiled victoriously as his cuffs were removed. He glided a hand up the wall as he stood weakly, "So—whom am I helping this outcast find?" He asked mockingly.

"The chief of Berk. My nephew, Hiccup."