Okay, guys, here we are! :D Time to get busy! :D And oh, updates on this one might be a biiiiiiiiiiiit slower than usual...like, maybe one or two a day instead of three, just because I'm still plotting out how this story is going to end...I'm seriously considering killing someone...not from the good side, but from Viggo's side...we'll see what happens! :D Tell me if you want someone on Viggo's side to die, and I'll take it from there! :D Enjoy chapter 1! :D

Oh, and in this fic, do you want more Hiccstrid, or, what? :) Enjoy chapter 1! :D

Astrid paced back and forth, back and forth, wringing her hands together over the handle of her axe. Splinters had buried themselves into her palms, but she didn't care. She couldn't think about anything else, other than what might be going on in the hut she was pacing in front of.

They were still on Dragon's Edge, and the noon sun beat down on Astrid, though she never stopped pacing, never stopped moving, afraid that the moment she did, she would think too much about what she had recently witnessed.

The Berkians had arrived shortly after Viggo left. Viggo's dragon hunters (ten of them to be exact) were locked away in Dragon's Edge dungeon, awaiting interrogation. Astrid would have already been down there, screaming her throat out at them if it hadn't been for one thing...one single, solitary thing…

It was a miracle Gothi had come on the ship with the rest of the Berkians. Astrid figured they had brought her along in case any of the riders sustained injury; and it was a good thing they did, or else, Astrid wouldn't have been pacing.

She would be helping the Berkians construct a funeral pyre…

Suddenly, Gobber stepped out of the hut, looking grim, helmet off his head and clutched in his one good hand. Astrid instantly surged forward, desperate to hear a report.

"Is...is he…?" she stammered, hardly able to speak; her hands were shaking so hard she nearly dropped her axe.

"Gothi's done all she can," said Gobber, sniffling heavily, looking unbelievably grave. "But...lass, it was close...too close. A few more minutes, and we would've lost him to bloodloss…"

Astrid released her axe and brought her knuckles up to her mouth, choking back the inhuman squeak that threatened to escape her. "But...but what...what about now? Gobber, is he okay?"

"No, he's not," said Gobber. "He's still unconscious, and he's not waking up, no matter what Gothi does, no matter what herbs she shoves down his throat...we're sending in a healer from the mainlands...they might have a better idea of what to do…"

"But there has to be something," said Astrid, pleadingly, desperately, because she was scared. "Gobber, there has to be something-"

"We're doing all we can for him, lass," said Gobber. "Stoick's with him now, and Toothless...I doubt either of them will be leaving his side for a while…"

"Can I see him?" said Astrid. Gobber looked down sadly. "Please, Gobber...I have to see him. The last time I saw him, he was...he was…"

"Lass, believe me," said Gobber, and he rested his hand on her shoulder heavily. "You don't want to see him right now…"

"Why not?" Astrid snapped, angry because she was afraid.

"Because, Astrid," said Gobber slowly. "It...it would break your heart."

Astrid swallowed thickly and looked down at her feet. She didn't know what to say to that. She looked down and lifted her axe off the ground and onto its strap over her back.

"If there's any improvement at all," said Gobber, "I promise you'll be the first to know."

Astrid nodded, though the movement was so small it could hardly be called a nod at all. "Thank you, Gobber," she said thickly, and before Gobber could say anything else, she whistled to Stormfly, mounted her Nadder's back, and shot into the sky.

All the Berkian ships were moored to the shores of Dragon's Edge, and soldiers moved back and forth, repairing the damage done to the Edge when the riders mimicked an attack on it. Astrid soared downwards, where the dragon riders were working together to lift a large crate onto the shore.

"Astrid!" called Fishlegs, the first of the riders to see her. Astrid jerked her head towards the ground, and as soon as the crate had been lowered, Snotlout, Astrid, Fishlegs, Ruffnut and Tuffnut landed their dragons and dismounted.

"What's the word on Hiccup?" asked Fishlegs, his voice full of unmasked concern. "How's he doing?"

"Not good," said Astrid, and she looked at the ground, which she had done a lot recently. "Toothless, Gothi, and his father are with him right now...Gobber said they're bringing a mainland healer here."

"Why?" said the twins in unison, and they also sounded very concerned, as strange as it was, coming from them.

"Because Gothi's at a loss, I guess," said Astrid.

"Gothi, at a loss?" gasped Fishlegs. "How? She's the best healer ever...how can she be at a loss? If...if she doesn't know what to do, then...then...it must be...it must be really bad…"

For once, Fishlegs wasn't reprimanded or corrected for being the voice of doom. As soon as the riders heard of Viggo's attack on Hiccup, they had busied themselves in any task they could, trying desperately to keep their minds off it.

Just as Astrid had done, pacing in front of the house, waiting for any news…

Snotlout suddenly screeched in fury, drew his sword, and threw it straight at the tree behind him. Hookfang had to duck to avoid getting his head sliced.

"I SWEAR," said Snotlout angrily, "IF I SEE VIGGO AGAIN, I'LL...I'LL...I'LL KILL HIM! I'LL MAKE HIM PAY!"

Astrid agreed with Snotlout, but she didn't say this openly. Instead, she turned and mounted Stormfly wordlessly.

"Astrid, where are you going?" said Fishlegs instantly, and he sounded concerned, once again.

"I'm going to the dungeons," said Astrid. "I have a few choice words for Viggo's soldiers."

And Stormfly took to the sky before anyone, even Astrid, could say anything.

…

Astrid landed Stormfly in front of the dungeons; normally, they weren't dungeons. They were where they kept their dragons at night, but they still worked effectively as a dungeon, especially for the ten of Viggo's soldiers who hadn't followed their leader when he fled.

Astrid leapt off Stormfly's back, told her dragon to wait where she was, and stormed into the dungeons, axe drawn.

They divided the soldiers, each into their own cell, so that in order to plot escape or revenge, they would have to shout to each other, and thereby, would be heard by either one of the dragon riders, or one of the Berkian soldiers, who checked the dungeons periodically. Astrid raced to the first cell and swung her axe out in front of her; the soldier in the cell jumped, but didn't release his glaring expression.

"What is Viggo planning?" Astrid growled. She was nearly out of patience. She was scared. She was hysteric. She couldn't think properly to save her life. All she knew was that Viggo hurt Hiccup, and Viggo's men were going to tell Astrid why.

The soldier spat and crossed his arms. Astrid glared at him harshly, and then moved to the next cell. This soldier looked a little less confident; he must have been one of the ones Astrid had taken out, when they came looking for her at her hut.

"Now then," she said casually. "Tell me. What is Viggo planning?"

The soldier shook his head feverishly and feebly. Astrid, with a growl of fury, released her axe, reached her arms into the bars, grabbed the soldier by the front of his shirt, and pulled him towards her, staring right into his eyes.

"Viggo hurt someone that I care about," snarled Astrid, "and no one is allowed to do that. Viggo attacked us, sent you and your goons to kill us...but you hurt Hiccup. You can break me, hurt me, kill me, but Hiccup is off-limits. Do you understand?"

She thought of raising her hands to clasp the soldier's throat; strangling him would get him to talk, wouldn't it?

"TELL ME," she finally screamed, shaking the soldier back and forth harshly, "WHAT VIGGO WANTS! NOW!"

The soldier gasped heavily and screamed in one breath, "HICCUP POSED AS A THREAT TO HIM, SO VIGGO DEVISED A PLAN TO TAKE HIM OUT OF THE PICTURE! THE CHANGEWINGS WERE A DISTRACTION TO KEEP YOUR MINDS OFF EVERYTHING ELSE! WE WERE SUPPOSED TO DISTRACT YOU AND YOUR RIDERS WHILE VIGGO KILLED HICCUP!"

Astrid flung the soldier back again so that he hit the wall with a muffled "Oomph!" Then, she hauled her axe back onto her shoulder and turned away.

"AND IF ANY OF YOU HAVE ANYTHING TO ADD," said Astrid threateningly, and she swung her axe back at the cells, "I'LL BE BACK LATER! THIS TIME, DON'T TRY MY PATIENCE!"

And she mounted Stormfly and left, leaving the soldiers covering in their cells. She would get back to them later.

…

Viggo and his men sailed out on their ships, taking cover behind nearby sea stacks. The men were covered from head to toe in mail and armor, and they had weapons strapped to their belts as well as their backs. All of Viggo's warships were there, every single one of them, and they were all ready for war.

"So, Viggo," said Dagur the Deranged, coming up behind the leader of the ships, clapping his hands together. "I have to say, your plan on taking out Hiccup? It was great and everything, but...well, see, there might be a bit of a problem with that…"

Viggo turned to look at Dagur coolly, keeping his face as pleasant as possible. "Whatever do you mean, Dagur?" said Viggo.

"Well, I don't know," said Dagur, tapping his chin in mock thought, "I was just thinking...HICCUP WAS MY ENEMY!" Dagur shouted angrily, right into Viggo's face. "I WAS SUPPOSED TO BE THE ONE TO KILL HIM! IT WAS ALWAYS SUPPOSED TO BE ME!"

"Oh, don't be such a spoiled sport, Dagur," said Viggo sharply. "The boy was my enemy as well as your own, and what does it matter? He is dead now. We mustn't consider the past any longer. Now, we must prepare for the future. War."

Dagur turned away. The Berserker armada was sailing, a few hundred yards away from Viggo's ships, just in sight. Dagur looked back at Viggo and put his hands together.

"You might have a point," said Dagur, "but how's about letting me rent a boat so I can go talk to my men? Give them a little 'pep talk' before the war begins, hmm?" He punched his fist into his palm for emphasis.

Viggo waved his hand and sighed. "Be my guest, Dagur," he said, and Dagur, grinning madly, hurried off.

He rowed the only rowboat available back to his Berserker ships, and he was hauled on-board instantly by a rope thrown down by his men. He leapt onto the decks of the ship and straightened his chest armor.

"Sire!" said Savage, the ex-Outcast, and he bowed lowly. "T-To what do we owe this pleasure? I thought we decided you were to stay with Viggo until we reached the Berkian ships-"

"Times change," snapped Dagur, drawing his axe and holding it out dangerously close to Savage. "Now listen up, Savage, or you'll part company with your head."

Savage gulped. "I'm all ears!" he said nervously, putting up his hands.

"Tell the crew," said Dagur, "all of the crew, that we are no longer working with Viggo. If Viggo isn't going to let me have my way of things, I don't want to be a part of anything he's doing. Tell the crew to wait and keep it a secret until we reach the Berkian fleet. Then, when they least expect it-"

"We'll attack them, sire?"

"DON'T INTERRUPT! Yes...we'll attack them...ARGH, YOU SPOILED MY MOMENT!" He swung his axe in fury, and Savage ducked just in time. "ALERT THE CREW, NOW!"

Savage ran so fast he nearly tripped over himself a hundred times. Dagur looked back on the horizon, in the direction of the Edge. He didn't know what it was, but he had the feeling that Hiccup wasn't really dead at all…

Dagur looked down at his axe, still in his hand, and grinned.

If Hiccup was alive, Dagur was going to kill him.

After he took out Viggo, of course.