Hello peoples!

If you haven't read Inner Struggles yet, I strongly advise you do. Otherwise things might not make sense. If you have, enjoy! :D

Disclaimer: I don't own How To Train Your Dragon – books, movies, nor TV series.

Huge thanks to residentmotherhen for, once again, helping me with this. :)

Dragon Master's coming.

Genre: Adventure, Hurt/Comfort

Rating: K+ for some of the language used

Before you read I'd like you to know that music is a very important factor when it comes to my writing. The whole universe of 'Inner Struggles' was inspired by one piece of HTYD 2 soundtrack by the amazing John Powell – 'Hiccup the Chief/Drago's coming' (or just 'Drago's coming', it depends on the version). As soon as I heard it, an image started to form in my head. It looked something like this:

[Hiccup the Chief]

It was unusually warm on Berk, the heat becoming slightly unbearable for some - especially for the ones in the forge. Most of the villagers were enjoying the good weather by taking some time off. A group of teens was standing a few feet away from the blacksmith's shop. The two boys and a girl were laughing at something another male in the group said. A newly married couple was walking down the street hand in hand. Their soft smiles looked almost abstract in the comparison to the sharp weapons tied to their backs. Since the dragon raids had ended people seemed... happier. Even the occasional 'visits' from the Dragon Riders did not discourage them. It seemed peaceful, inviting.

"Hiccup, get yer scrawny ass working! The sword ain't gonna sharpen itself." A young boy of seventeen years snapped from his thoughts, dropping the said weapon in the process. He cursed under his breath and kneeled to grab the object from the ground. But, as he tried to stand up, he slammed his head under the corner of the table.

"Shit!" The man cursed again. An older, blond Viking came in.

"Language." He sent Hiccup a pointed look and swatted the lanky teen on the back of his head.

"Sure, Gobber. Because you never curse." The teen rolled his eyes as he set the sword back onto the table.

"Oy! Don't ye get smart with me Hiccup! I'm older than ye if ye haven't noticed," Gobber chided, waving his arm, or rather what was left of it, around. "Now get that sword done. Sven wants it before náttmál." The older Viking finished by patting the teen's back with his real hand. Hiccup sighed as he began pumping the bellows to heat the forge, wincing as another stifling heat wave hit him. Bringing his arm up to wipe away the droplets of sweat beading on his forehead, he groaned. Gods, how he wished he could just go the cove and swim in that pond. He bet the water was so cold...

"... is Hiccup." The seventeen-year old's head whipped upwards as he heard his name followed by some laughs. It came from the group of teens. One of the girls looked towards the scrawny boy in the forge and as she noticed him looking their way, pressed a hand to her mouth and snorted. Hiccup's heart hammered in his chest as he tore his gaze away. Whatever they said, he was pretty sure that it wasn't to praise him. He shut his eyes for a second. He should be used to that by now, Thor dammit. For the most part he didn't care that much anymore, but sometimes... sometimes it was hard to pretend that it was fine, normal. The lanky teen tuned out the laughter and focused on the task at hand.

Hiccup finished the sword for Sven quicker than he thought and even Gobber seemed surprised. Sven looked fairly satisfied with the weapon, even if some distrust was evident on his face when Hiccup handed it to him. The teen clenched his fists and breathed deeply through his nose to calm himself. Sure, he just spent hours to make that sword the best he could, but please, look at it as if you were expecting it to explode in your hands. Apparently eventually deeming it satisfactory, the Viking finally paid Gobber for the weapon left, and Hiccup was left in the forge without even a 'thank you'. Not that he expected one anyway. He approached Gobber with his hand awkwardly going to his neck.

"Hey, eh, Gobber. Since I, ah, already did the sword, maybe I could get the rest of the day free?" His voice came out higher than he wanted and Hiccup cursed himself. The blacksmith raised his bushy eyebrow and looked at the sky, gauging the time. He turned his gaze back to the teen's hopeful face and sighed.

"Alright, fine." Hiccup smiled, his uneven teeth showing. "Just don't do anything crazy, aye?" The auburn-haired teen took off his apron and hung it on the wall.

"I won't."

"Any special plans then? Maybe a lady of some sorts?" Gobber wiggled his eyebrow at the teen and Hiccup felt a blush creeping up on his face.

"Wha-? No, no. Just, eh, needed to go for a walk. In the forest. To, you know, think a little. Yep." He turned around quickly- and almost walked into the forge's door. "Right, um. Thanks Gobber." The said Viking chuckled at the awkward, gangly teen and shook his head in amusement.

As he exited the forge, Hiccup soon collapsed wearily against a wall of one of the houses, letting out a tired sigh and closing his eyes for a second to gather his thoughts. Glancing quickly around, making sure no one was around to see this, the boy took out a small pendant from his pocket. He turned it in his fingers before clenching it in a fist.

Toothless was waiting counting on him. And so were the other Riders.

[Drago's coming]

A black shadow swept across the water.

The unholy offspring of lightning and death itself flew swiftly closer to the appointed destination. Following closely behind him were three other dragons with humans on their backs. The riders, clad in black armor, wore pieces of material tied over their faces in order to cover their mouths and noses. Only their leader had a mask covering his whole face. The Night Fury flapped his wings violently as the target came into view. The village was asleep and unaware of what would happen soon. The torches were alit but there were no guards looking out for dangers coming from air. Small houses dusted the small island and a training arena stood out in the moonlight. The Dragon Master scanned his surroundings with his deep, piercing eyes. It was now or never. As he turned to his companions, he swallowed.

"What's the plan, boss?" Heavily accented voice broke him out of his reverie. Sergius, his closest friend there, was observing him from the corner of his eye.

"Since I'm here, me and Sergius will go for the training arena. Oydis and Balder – distract the village." The others nodded wordlessly, a silent agreement between them.

A Deadly Nadder and a Monstrous Nightmare flew away from the other two dragons and headed for the center of the small Viking village. The Dragon Master led the Night Fury towards the forest on the side of the arena and the other dragon, a Shovelhelm, and his Rider followed after them. An explosion could be heard from the distance and a terrified scream followed not long after. The Dragon Maser shut his eyes tightly to regain his focus. He was doing the right thing, wasn't he? There was no time to think about it now; it was too late for that. Another explosion in the village could be heard, certainly providing ample distraction.

Good. Everything according to plan so far.

The Night Fury and the Shovelhelm landed in the forest. They were just a few feet away from the ring, the actual focus of the attack. No; it was not an attack, he had to remind himself. It was a rescue mission. They did not kill and they did not harm – they saved from enslavement and pain. His companion dismounted their aquamarine dragon and walked up closer to the edge of the thick woods. He turned around and held up two fingers.

Two guards. Easy job.

The Dragon Master took out an odd cylinder from a pocket his trousers, walking over to his friend and crouching low to the ground. Checking first that no one had seen them, he rolled the tube towards the entrance of the arena. A small streak of blue gas started to evaporate from it and the guards let out a surprised yelp. They kicked the tube further away from them but it was too late - the gas worked quickly, and had already taken its effect on them. The taller of the two, a blond, middle-aged man, swayed to the sides as he walked up to his workmate who had keeled over onto the hard ground. He didn't last long before he too tumbled to the ground, bringing his struggling friend down the rest of the way with him. Another explosion could be heard from the village. After waiting some time to make sure that the guards were indeed knocked out, the two Riders exited their hiding spots.

The older Dragon Rider quickly found the keys hanging off one of the guards' neck and threw them to the Dragon Master. With the gate of the training arena opening without much issue, the two males proceeded to the cages that surrounded the inside of the ring. Cage by cage was opened cautiously; the prisoners were at times aggressive at the sudden 'rescue'. The Dragon Master and his companion went to calm the now unchained and freed creatures. In a very short time that they were given, the Riders talked to the former prisoners - they soothed their pain and gave them comfort they needed - all in the accompaniment of another explosions and shouts coming from the distance. Earning trust was a process that needed time, but both parties realized they didn't have that luxury.

With a gust of the wind and a flop of wings, they were gone. Finally free. For how long, no one knew.

With the last creature gone from the cages, the Dragon Master felt relief flood his body for a short moment. But their job was not done just yet. As they exited the training arena to once again disappear into the forest and, later, into the dark, night sky, something caught the younger man's attention. The Dragon Master cocked his head to the side and stopped by a ragged sheet of parchment hanging off one of the trees.

It was an arrest warrant. For him.

The picture was quite well done, he had to admit. It showed a man clad completely in dark amour and a mask that resembled the dreaded Night Fury. At least to his knowledge it resembled that specific dragon- not a single villager, he realized, knew what the feared creature actually looked like. The price for his head was quite high and the man couldn't quite tell how he felt about that. He brought a shaking hand to the sheet of paper. It was him. It was him.

"There he is!" A shout not so far away brought him back to reality. His head jerked around to see a dozen of men rushing his way. Their faces held nothing but hatred for the young man. The Dragon Master's eyes flickered once again to the arrest warrant. A roar sounded to his right. The aquamarine Shovelhelm flew into the sky and the Night Fury ran out of the forest and towards the cliff that ended just few feet away from where the man stood. He quickly plucked the piece of paper from the tree and shoved it into one of his pockets. He ran to the cliff and just as the Night Fury jumped into the air, the Dragon Master latched onto his dragon's paws. Some shifting and maneuvering later, he found himself back in the saddle. The furious villagers raised their bows and fired in an attempt to shoot them down, but to no avail.

"Hey, you all right?" a deep and heavily accented voice asked from the left. The Dragon Master looked ahead and tightened his grip on the reins.

"Yes." No. "I'm... I'm fine." A shriek rung throughout the dark sky signaling the return of the other two Riders.

"We destroyed some of theirs defense systems, but that's it," the young woman on the red Deadly Nadder said to no one in particular. The Night Fury Rider nodded to himself. Good, that was the idea. No one died, no one was hurt. It was a rescue mission. His hand involuntarily went to the crinkled piece of parchment that was hidden in his pocket. He hesitantly brought it out and was once again met with the arrest warrant. He knew that most people resented him for what he did but... but it had never really hit him that he was a criminal. At least in their eyes. They were scared of him, of what he did, and what he represented. He turned his head to see the village getting smaller and smaller as the powerful dragon flew away from it. The Dragon Master shoved the warrant back into the pocket. He was doing the right thing.

Wasn't he?

A/N:

And then it just got out hand a bit (as in over 100 000 words out of hand). The original idea of Inner Struggles were actually struggles of Hiccup. Trying to do what he thinks as right, at the same time questioning who he is and what he is doing. It's quite short, I know, but the music is not that long either. I have absolutely no idea if it fits it (I mean, everybody reads at a different pace) but I hope that I managed to get the feeling of this piece of HTTYD 2 soundtrack.

To make things clear, Hiccup is about seventeen, almost eighteen, here and it takes place about a year before the plot of Inner Struggles. It's after Astrid meets him in the forest on Bjargey.

If you have any moment in Hiccup, Astrid's and etc. life that you'd like to see, let me know. :) Fair warning,
updates are not regular.

Some of the reviews from the Epilogue of Inner Struggles (from the earliest to the oldest):

Guest 1: I don't know whether that can be considered a sequel but I hope you'd read it anyway. :) And that you do think it's great, or at least enjoyable. ;)

Guest 2: Thank you so much! It really is me who should be thanking! I'm glad you liked the epilogue so much. More of clumsy, Hiccup-y behaviour from their children is something I want to write surely. If you have any suggestions regarding their kids and such, please let me know! :D

fireicewriter42: Thanks! :D I'm kind of happy that the ending surprised you and in a good way too. :)

(If I haven't answered your review here it's because I wasn't sure whether you will read the series. From this chapter on, guest reviews will be answered normally.)

Till next time!

~InsertACreativeNameHere