Chapter 23

Astrid awoke in a comfy bed. For a moment she thought she was in her home and had dreamt everything that had happened, the lack of an axe under her pillow and the unfamiliar room brought her back to reality. The previous night returned to her memory and a smile made its way onto her face unbidden, she had enjoyed being with Hiccup the night before. They danced, more than she would've thought given his metal foot, drank and shared stories. That is until a small messy haired blonde girl spotted him and shouted his name loud enough to be heard over the chatter of everyone around them, Hiccup's face quickly donned a look of terror before giving Astrid a peck on the cheek and saying he'd find her later before running off with the small girl chasing him and yelling for him to 'get back here!' At first Astrid had thought she was a jilted former lover but Thuggory and Heather were nearby laughing and the new husband explained it was the heir of the Bog Burglars and her connection to both himself and Hiccup. It took about an hour but Hiccup managed to lose the girl somewhere in the village with the help of the dragons and promptly returned to Astrid's side, unfortunately Astrid had done little but drink mead and fend off men and boys (and a couple girls) who wanted to 'dance' with her in private. The mead seemed to have taken it's toll on her by the time he came back so he spoke with Heather for a moment and then walked Astrid back to the bride's former residence, where the shield maiden had offered for him to join her, Astrid would be mortified if it weren't for the fact she was alone and still in the dress she was lent for the evening. While she couldn't remember anything after being walked back, Hiccup would never take advantage of her like that and clearly just made sure she got to bed.

As Astrid changed back into her regular clothes, which had been folded and placed on a nearby stool at some point, her mind wandered to the future. She and Hiccup would be returning to Berk today, he had told her as much the previous night before she had too much mead and while 'Ryder' was more or less welcomed on their home island, Hiccup was still a traitor and seen as an enemy. And then there was Stormfly, the Deadly Nadder who had managed to find a special place in Astrid's heart in such a short amount of time and who would be killed without a second thought by any of her fellow Vikings if she was found. After learning the freedom of flight and the vastness of the world beyond the known waters of the archipelago she called home it seemed impossible to be tied to the earth forever again, while Berk would always be her home she might have to consider leaving it behind like Hiccup had for the sake of her reptilian friend. As she fixed the spiked overskirt in place and looked for her kransen, she thought about the possibility of convincing Hiccup to allowed her to become Ryder's 'apprentice' when it came time for him to leave once again and simply travel with him and Toothless and explore their relationship and should such a time come where things ended between them she could strike out on her own with Stormfly and explore the world herself and have her own adventures, but she really hoped she wouldn't have a reason to leave Hiccup's side at anytime.

Now fully dressed in her usual attire she made her way out of the house, it was still early as the sun was barely above the ocean. To her surprise Stormfly was nestled at the side of the house and what sounded like snoring in her sleep, not to far away were Toothless and Overbite, the latter of which was drooling sweet smelling ooze and his left hind leg kicked as he rolled onto his side. Astrid wanted to perform her normal routine of axe throwing in the woods nearby, but her previous visits had always been to see Thuggory and she didn't know the forests of the island. Movement caught her eye at the docks and she lifted her hand to see better, finding a thin wiry silhouette performing stretches in the early morning light. With a small smile her legs carried her towards the young man of their own accord and before she knew it, she was standing behind the man she called her boyfriend admiring his bare back as he did the strange movements meant to keep him limber in combat. She also noticed the tattoo the back of his right shoulder for the first time, having been focused on the scars he showcased for her in the Brotherhoods hideout. It was a simple Strike class dragon mark, a picture of Toothless curled in a spiral, left tail fin missing, it seemed so fitting that Astrid could believe it was a mark from the gods to identify Hiccup as one of their chosen.

Hiccup turned in his latest stretch and spotted her watching him after a minute, he gave her a smile that shouldn't have made her feel as warm as it did. He finished his stretching with a pop of his back before scooping up his shirt off a nearby post, they had agreed the night before that they'd get a quick breakfast and return to Berk as soon as possible, Astrid might have slipped up and revealed she missed her parents a little bit. While Hiccup empathize the feeling having never been close to his father he could certainly sympathize and had made the suggestion of an early return. While they ate he also wrote a letter for the newlyweds and gave it to Mogadon with a request that the chief give his son their apologies for not being able to see them before leaving, something about not having a month to wait and figuring they will be too tired to make an appearance for a few hours in order to present the morning gift.

With that the couple took to the skies, Overbite following them into the air and escorting them to the edge of the island before stopping and roaring a friendly farewell that Toothless and Stormfly returned. It would be another hour or- so before they reached Berk so Astrid decided to pick Hiccup's brain for more stories about his time traveling, even with all he'd already told her she had barely scratched the surface and she knew there were some things he purposely kept from her but he would open up in time should their relationship continue to blossom.

Stoick was furious.

The Outcasts hadn't attacked Berk in nearly 18 years, the last time was not long after Valka had been taken by that cursed four winged dragon and Alvin tried to capitalize on his mourning. Unfortunately for Alvin, Stoick was more enraged than saddened by his wife's death because he had been unable to slay the beast that took her and it hadn't returned in a single raid since. The blasted beast most likely knew it would meet it's doom should it ever return, but Alvin wasn't a dragon and this time somehow had managed to successfully raid the village and take them all hostage. The fleet had merely been a distraction, while the warriors of Berk prepared their defenses for an attack from the harbor Alvin had lead a group of Outcasts from a system of tunnels that had been created by an incident involving a Whispering Death a few days after Arvin Dale's fire, the first one in history of Berk in which the Flightmare did NOT appear, and took the village by surprise.

And that was how Stoick found himself, Gobber, Spitelout, Asvald Hofferson and the council being held in cages at the kill ring with dragons raging against the doors to their pens while Alvin watched over them alongside his second with a look of mirth. The rest of the warriors had been thrown in Berk's own prison and the villagers were being held in the Great Hall by the remaining Outcasts who weren't assigned to watch the other two groups or patrol the town for any stragglers. It was clear that despite all of Alvin's boasting that they were bait for a trap, why else wouldn't they have killed them by now? There was also the question of whom the trap was for, they hadn't sent any notices to any of the tribes Berk had treaties with and everyone in the Hooligan tribe was accounted for except for Astrid… who had gone with Ryder. Everything seemed to fall into place and aligned the picture was laid out before the Chief: Ryder had to be the intended target.

As the island of Berk came into view the couple slowed their pace; Astrid out of a sudden sense of desire to put off Hiccup having to return to the guise of Ryder, and Hiccup to keep pace with the blonde. Both knew it was inevitable yet neither was thrilled at suddenly going back to acting platonic with each other Astrid had considered simply saying she had developed feelings for Ryder while away but Hiccup pointed out that it would just cause problems in the long run. So as the island drew ever closer they shared one last meaningful look before something odd caught Hiccup's eye, a strange ship with a crest he prayed he was just seeing wrong. Astrid noticed the change in his demeanor and the direction of his gaze, she followed it to see a few ships she didn't recognize at Berk's docks but it could be travelers. When she turned her sight back on her boyfriend he had fished a spyglass out of one of the bags on Toothless, a much more refined and smaller version that collapsed in on itself for better storage, and lowered it with a frown as he clearly recognized the crest o the sails.

She followed him to the cove and as they landed Hiccup answered her question without her even needing to ask. "Outcasts" he said as he began digging through the saddle bags and withdrew his shield before diving his hands back in the bags and searching again. Astrid herself turned back to Stormfly and began to release her axe from the saddle, Outcasts were told to be tough warriors, most too violent to be among 'civilized Vikings' as Gobber liked to put it; but she had never fought one before so she steeled her nerves and hoped Hiccup had a plan. Her mind traveled back to when he showed her the scars on his torso, one of them had been from the Outcasts' leader Alvin, so Hiccup must know what to expect from him.

"So… what's the plan? I know you can handle yourself now but I don't think we can take the Outcasts all by ourselves even with the dragons help." Astrid asked as she freed the axe and face Hiccup again, who was fixing the buckles on the underside of his left shoulder pad.

"Actually I was thinking this looks to be a trap, so the plan is to spring the trap. Once I know exactly what it is." Hiccup told her before moving a gear on Toothless' tail to engage the mechanism for him to fly on his own. The pair took to the village on foot from there, inferno on Hiccup's hip and his shield strapped to his back as they approached the edge of the forest. Even from there they could see a few Outcasts lurking around, likely on patrol, Hiccup had been right it was a trap, and likely for the dragon rider that had dealt with them before.

Hiccup crouched and Astrid followed suit until they reached the chief's house which they used for cover. Hiccup was spying around the corner, obviously looking for something. Astrid would've preferred to bring the dragons for back up, but knew that there were enough outcasts to overpower all four of them; Hiccup even bore the scar that a dragon ally does not make one invincible. After another minute the boy spotted whatever he was searching for and dashed down the hill with surprising stealth given the metal foot, Astrid peeked around the house to make sure it was clear before taking after him. They weaved through the village alleyways to stay hidden in the shadows, Hiccup's armor blending in as easily as if it were night, eventually they neared the center of town were a particularly lazy Outcast was digging through a bread cart.

Hiccup carefully drew his shield from his back and faced it toward the Outcast man, the center popped open and Astrid recognized the bola line launcher a spilt second before it fired silently. The rope flew forward and wrapped around the outcast's legs several times and went taught, Hiccup then threw the rope over a wooden beam jutting out from one of the houses still being repaired from the Berserker attack and pulled. Before the outcast had time to react the rope yanked his feet out from under him causing his head to hit the ground painfully and daze him, Hiccup took advantage of that to drag the his body until he was hanging by his feet and tied the rope around a large log waiting to be used for repairs. When the man shook his head to clear his vision Hiccup stepped in front of him, "Hello Thrash."

"Oh Odin…" The man, Thrash, said "Look Ryder, I don't want no trouble. I'm just doing as I was told; Alvin is the one behind all this." Astrid quirked an eyebrow, for a big warrior type the man seemed to want to avoid any type of confrontation with Hiccup.

"I'm well aware of that Thrash, and I'm not here to cause trouble for you, just Alvin. Your wife says hello and sends her love by the way. After this is all over you can return to her and be there for the birth of your little one, Helga says she thinks it' a girl. I just need to know what Alvin has planned, and you'll need to hang here so you won't be suspected of anything."

"A girl? We've always wanted a girl." Thrash said with a shimmer in his eye, a single tear trailed up the side of his face before disappearing in his hair. "Alright then, Alvin has the chief and the Berk council held in cages at the dragon killing arena. He intends to wait until you show up to save them and kill you."

"And the rest of Berk's warriors, I assume they are being held in the prison?" Hiccup asked, Thrash nodded in response. Hiccup's face contorted into a puzzled feature, he was formulating a plan faster than Astrid could throw her axe. "Ok then that would mean the rest of the village is likely being held in the Great Hall by a few of the tougher warriors. Ok then, Astrid we're going to have to split up. I doubt Alvin knows you were off the island with me when they attacked so he thinks that he has all the warriors caged, so you're going to go free as many warriors as you can if not all of them and take the Great Hall back. I'll go to the kill ring and deal with Alvin." Astrid nodded and spun her axe to emphasize she was ready. Hiccup turned back to Thrash, "Sorry about this in advance."

Thrash merely nodded again, "If it gets me back home to see my wife and unborn child, I'd let you lop off a limb." And with that Hiccup swiftly punched the man in the face, knocking him out instantly.

They made their way in the general direction of the prison and kill ring, just before they separated Hiccup grabbed Astrid by the small of her back and pulled her into a deep kiss. Despite the fact they were trying to remain undetected Astrid let out a small gratified moan from the kiss and smiled when he pulled away from her, with a quick 'be careful' Hiccup put his helmet back on and vanished around the house towards the arena where Stoick and the others were being held.

As Hiccup enter the kill ring the first thing he noticed was his father, the council and Astrid's father being held in cages. The kind Dagur had discovered the year before that were made of dragon proof metal. The second thing he noticed was that Alvin was not present, in fact the only Outcasts that were around was the pair he had just left unconscious at the beginning of the ramp. Keeping his wits about him and his ears open for any indication of arrows or other weapons, Hiccup moved forward to the cage holding his father and Gobber. The first clink of his prosthetic alerted them to his presence,

"Ryder." Stoick sneered, as Hiccup reached their cage door the chief thrust his hand between the bars and grabbed him by his neck. "They're here for you aren't they? It's the only reason we aren't dead yet, for some reason we're bait for you."

Hiccup took a deep breath and slid back into the familiar persona of Ryder. "Yes they are after me; I'd wager Alvin hates me more than you. Now you can either break my neck and die in this cage like an animal, or you can let me go and I can get you out. Your choice." After a moment of consideration Stoick's glare faded and he released him, Hiccup immediately began to examine the lock. He didn't have as much experience with them as he did others, but it shouldn't take him too long to pick it. Hopefully Astrid had managed to free enough warriors to take back the Great Hall; if Alvin lost enough of his prisoners he'd turn tail and leave,

Laughing reached his ears before he could get the cage door unlocked. Hiccup whipped around, his hand flying to Inferno and releasing the blade before taking a defensive stance. Alvin stood at the entrance of the arena with Savage and a number of other Outcats. Alvin had a large sword in his right hand resting on his shoulder, Hiccup recognized it as a massive Zanbato sword, easily twice as big as a normal one would be, if Alvin was capable of wielding it with one hand then he must have procured it and been training since their last encounter.

"You're a clever one boy, I wasn't sure if you'd go for the chief or the people first. I never suspect you went out and found yourself a whore." Alvin said as he stepped aside to reveal a pair of his men holding Astrid by her arms. "She's a feisty one I'll give her that, but she won't have much fight in her after we've finished with her back on Outcast Island." Astrid's father slammed the side of his cage letting out a slew of poorly articulated curses; Hiccup realized his jaw was broken after the first few words. Alvin took notice of this as well, "Ah so she a Berkian eh? Well then maybe I'll take the fight out of her me'self then." Alvin barely had a chance to laugh before Hiccup was flying across the arena with a speed fueled by his anger.

After narrowly blocking Hiccup's initial strike Alvin began to focus, swinging the large sword in a slanted arc forcing Hiccup to parry, luckily the Gronckle Iron his sword was made from held firm against the heavier sword. They exchanged swings and parries for several moments until Alvin swung at him in a downward motion, Hiccup managed blocked the downward swing but wasn't able to move fast enough to dodge the fist that followed the sword. Avlin's punch sent Hiccup spiraling for several feet, breaking the side of his helmet where the strap was fastened and sent it flying into the wall. Hiccup managed to right himself after his bounced on the stone floor and land of his feet and right hand, sliding a few inches as he does.

Stoick's eyes widen he takes in Ryder's face, the auburn hair, the piercing green eyes, his thin frame. He should've seen it before, Ryder wasn't Ryder at all, he was Hiccup.

Hiccup took a moment to take a few deep breathes and examine what was going on around him. Alvin was smirking, believing the he was assured in his victory with his new weapon. The Outcasts were watching with rapt attention, so much so that Astrid had been let go and was currently sneaking towards the cages with the key she had pick pocketed off Savage. As for the current captives they were all gaping at the former village runt with shocked gazes, the exception being Gobber who just looked worried for his adoptive son. Hiccup knew there was only one way to ensure he could buy Astrid enough time to free them and they in turn free the rest of the village, he'd have to use his trump card. He was just glad he thought to bring it.

Hiccup charged forward with a battle cry, both hands on his sword which was pointed at Alvin's chest. As predicted the larger man chose to try and cut Hiccup in half as opposed to blocking, moving just in time Hiccup let go of Inferno with his left hand and moved his right to block the sword, all the while continuing to move forward towards his target. As he did he slid his free hand under the shoulder guard on his right shoulder, when he was just within range he swung it in an arc.

Alvin threw his head back and howled in pain as the sensation of his flesh being cut bloomed from his abdomen. Bringing his head back revealed his opponent had jumped back and was now wielding two swords, the second having been hidden under his armor. The leader of the Outcasts tried once more to slam his weapon down upon the boy but was blocked again as he crossed the blades in an X and caught the strike above his head. The second sword ignited the moment they both touched and the boy he now knew was Stoick's long lost son, Hiccup, glared at him with a fire in his eyes that matched the ones burning on his swords.

"Taste this Alvin, I call it the Dragon Fire Stream!" He yelled as he closed the distance between them, both blades dragging along the ground behind him and leaving a burn trail as they went. Alvin swung in an attempt to deter the boy; it was met with one sword while the other slashed him in his midsection again. After that he struck Alvin twice more against his armor.

Alvin thrust his sword forward again, clipping Hiccup's armor on the shoulder, 'Faster.' Hiccup thought to himself as he picked up the pace of his attacks, he didn't know if Astrid had freed their fathers and the council yet, and frankly he didn't have time to care. Alvin landed another punch on his face but not nearly as hard as the one before since Hiccup just grunted and continued his assault. 'Gotta go faster!' Hiccup shouted in his head as he spun in the air to avoid the Zanbato from cutting his legs out from under him while sweeping his swords against Alvin's armored chest again, the momentum caused his grip to slip, but he caught the weapons by their handles in an inverse and used it to his advantage by swiping them again.

To everyone watching Hiccup had become a blaze, fire spinning and swinging all around him as if he were creating and controlling it with his bare hands. They managed to be able to pick apart details when the fire on the second sword began to die out. Once that happened however Alvin capitalized on the weaker blade, catching it in the gap with a hidden dagger he had drawn in his free hand. It was clear he'd use it to pull Hiccup in and run him through with his oversized blade, Astrid, Gobber and Stoick all yelled, but Hiccup couldn't hear them over the blood pounding in his ears. Allowing Alvin to draw him in, Hiccup used the extra momentum to push himself faster than he could achieve on his own strength. He saw Alvin's sword coming and pulled his on right arm as hard at he could, giving him just enough inertia to pass the blade with just a graze against his side, he'd suffered worse. With one final shout of rage he shoved Inferno with all his might and watched as it embedded itself in Alvin's chest, exactly where Alvin had stabbed him three years previously.

For a moment nobody moved, it was as if time stood still. Then Hiccup took a shuddering breathe as Alvin fell back with an audible thud, leaving Hiccup standing hunched over breathing raggedly. Savage was the first Outcast to react, drawing his axe ready to finish what his leader started, but the sound of Stoick and Gobber's cage swinging open and the two men taking a stance between him and Hiccup. Savage faltered but recovered enough to order two men to grab Alvin, who was remarkably still breathing but losing a lot of blood, and retreated. Astrid continued to let the others out of their cages while Stoick turned to face his son for the first time in five years, only he turned in time to see said son collapse to the ground in a heap.

Hiccup's world faded to black and when he came to, Stoick, Gobber and Astrid where all leaning over him, the last discreetly holding his hand tightly. "Easy there lad, yeh dropped faster than a stone in the ocean there." Gobber said in relieved voice.

"How long was I out?" Hiccup asked, it wasn't dark out so it couldn't have been long since they were still in the kill ring.

"Just a few seconds, you started to come to as soon as we got to you." Astrid informed him, Hiccup felt weak, which isn't a surprise given that he did have a gash in his side and a sore shoulder from when Alvin hit him there, thank Thor for the Gronckle Iron under all that leather.

Gobber and Astrid helped him to his feet and he managed to stand albeit shakily. When he raised his head he came face to face with the man who disowned him five year prior. Stoick open and closed his mouth a couple times and then took a deep breath, he opened his mouth one more time to speak when Spitelout socked Hiccup in the jaw, sending him sprawling on the floor again. "Spitelout, what in Odin's name are you doing!?" Stoick shouted as Gobber and Astrid jumped in front of Hiccup, the latter drawing her axe ready to part the man's head from his shoulders.

"I'm doing what you're supposed to do Stoick. I'm protecting the village, in case you forgotten this boy is a branded traitor. You even disowned him after it was revealed he's a dragon sympathizer! That girl that my son intends to wed? She turned him in to you! Do none of you remember theis?" Spitelout shouted back. Stoick growled and clenched his fists to the point they turned white, sadly however this only cause his brother-in-law to smile. "It seems you are incapable of performing your duty as chief, therefore as you second I will assume the role of acting-chief until such time as I deem you capable of doing so." The new self appointed chief turned to the rest of the men gathered in the arena, "One of you take Asvald and find Gothi, she'll need to fix up that jaw of his, the rest of you take this traitor and throw him in the prison where he belongs, if the others try and stop you take them too.

Astrid tightened the grip on her axe and preparing to knock out anyone of the men who came too close to her or Hiccup, beside her Gobber was doing the same brandishing his hook menacingly. That is until a gentle hand rested on her arm and she turned her head to see Hiccup standing again and pushing her arm down, Gobber lowered his as well and watched dumbfounded as Hiccup went without a fight. Astrid knew what he was doing, he was protecting them, if they fought against their own people against the acting chief's orders they too would be branded as traitors and Hiccup would sooner hand himself over to be given the Blood Eagle before he let anyone take a fall for him.

"I see you saw reason." Spitelout said smugly as he smirked at Stoick whom was still watching his son with a sad look. Hiccup kept his face natural, like stone he showed no weakness as he was escorted towards the prison by three men. Overhead Astrid spied two shapes in the sky, she knew the Toothless and Stormfly were keeping watch over their riders, she just hoped that Spitelout hadn't signed Berk's death warrant at the hands of an angry Night Fury. The man who was now chief strolled up to Stoick who hadn't torn his eyes from where he'd last seen his son and leaned so he could speak directly into his ear. "I hope you enjoyed your time running the village Stoick, cause that time is at an end." As he walked away Gobber helped Stoick to his feet. "

"Long live Chief Spitelout."