Chapter One

Wanted

Wanted: Dead or Alive.

Dead or Alive.

Gods, this was bad. This… this bounty would certainly complicate things. Hiccup tried to mask the worry he felt, but he knew Astrid wasn't buying it.

She shot him a worried look. "Hiccup, you okay?"

He shoved the thought of the bounty to the back of his mind and grinned at the shield maiden, nodding. "I'm fine."

As he mounted Toothless, he swallowed nervously. There was no way he was telling her about the bounty; she would only start trying to protect him, and that would place her in the path of anyone trying to reach Hiccup. He wasn't going to allow another person to get hurt because of him… He choked up a little as he recalled Dagur's death. He wouldn't let Astrid or any of his other friends share the same fate.

Below him, Toothless growled inquisitively, sensing his rider's worry. Hiccup reached forward and rubbed the top of the Night Fury's head soothingly. "It's alright, bud," he murmured. "I'll be fine."

He vaguely wondered who he was trying to convince- the dragon or himself.

"Hiccup… you sure you're okay?" inquired Fishlegs. "You look a little nervous."

"Nervous?" Hiccup asked absently as he swallowed his last bite of food. "Why would I be nervous…" he trailed off.

"C'mon, Hiccup, just spit it out," Snotlout sighed loudly. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong!" Hiccup said defensively. "I'm fine. Just a little tired from the chase. At least we know how fast the dragon hunters are." He almost cringed at the feeble attempt at a joke, but it seemed to satisfy his friends.

"Everyone should get to sleep early tonight," he declared, pushing back his chair. "The party's tomorrow, don't forget."

"It's Berk's four hundred year anniversary, Hiccup," said Fishlegs, rolling his eyes. "How could we forget?"

"I could probably forget," Tuff stated from the corner, where he was cradling Chicken in his arms. "I mean, Ruff could smack me over the head and I'd forget."

"Let's test that theory," suggested Ruff, withdrawing her ever-present mace.

"NO!" Hiccup interrupted. "No one will be smacking anybody. The point is, we need to get going early tomorrow. Got it?"

At his irritated tone, even the twins listened. No one argued with Hiccup when he was in a bad mood.

The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. Hiccup understood his father's words, and that was why Stoick the Vast still didn't know about the bounty. Telling him would ruin the celebration, and possibly endanger the people of Berk. Hiccup refused to take that risk.

So he put his worries aside, and the celebration began. The rest of his team did an amazing job, and (dare he say it) the twins' performance had been his personal favorite. Then his turn came. He shot into the sky, hearing the deafening applause of the people of Berk as they cheered for him. It was hard to believe that they had come so far…

"Come on, Bud," he murmured to Toothless. "Let's give 'em something to remember."

As they performed complex aerial maneuvers and soared over the village, Hiccup scanned the crowds below… and spotted three unfamiliar men, huddled together whispering. As he watched, one pointed in his direction. A cold wave of fear hit him like a punch in the gut. Bounty hunters. In his village. In his home. He dove towards the ground when he completed his performance, landing before the three men. They were all somewhat short, and they looked vaguely familiar…

"Who are you?" he demanded, glaring at the three men. They didn't reply, gazing with wide eyes at the snarling Night Fury before them. Hiccup was beginning to grow impatient. "Who are you?" he repeated, but was then distracted by the arrival of Silent Sven, much to the relief of the three strangers.

"Hiccup, it's alright!" he cried, unusually loudly for one with his reputation (not to mention his name.) "These are my cousins…" he rattled off the names hurriedly and Hiccup forgot them just as quickly in his distracted state.

"I'm sorry," he said to the three men, attempting at first to get their names right and then abandoning the attempt. "Welcome to Berk."

Hiccup retired early that night, exhausted by the events of the day and, of course, the bounty on his head. He remembered Astrid's words from their conversation on the Great Hall- You're paranoid. Just get some sleep and you'll be fine.

Sleep wasn't what he needed. He needed to tell someone, to get this off his chest… But he couldn't. All his life he had been known as a runt, a disappointment, a hiccup. But after he had trained Toothless and defeated the Red Death, he had been known as something more- he was a hero. A rider of dragons. A warrior. He had handled so much on his own, dealing with Alvin, Dagur, and now the Dragon Hunters- a few bounty hunters shouldn't be such a big problem for the heir of Berk.

He could handle himself. And if anything did happen, Toothless would always be there to protect him…..

….right?

Late that night two dark figures snuck quietly through the village. They were both tall and burly, though their faces couldn't be seen clearly in the dim moonlight. They were heading for the center of Berk- towards the Haddock house.

Inside the dark hut, a Night Fury opened one pale-green eye. Someone was here, in the house of his Rider's family. Who would dare to step inside the territory of a Night Fury? He sniffed, and recoiled in alarm. The intruder was here, in this very room- the room belonging to his precious Rider.

He straightened up, opening his mouth in a snarl as he loomed over the two figures. Briefly, he saw their terrified faces- then one of the men tossed something at him- a bundle of... were those plants? He sniffed the bundle, and instantly fell into the inky darkness of unconsciousness.

Hiccup woke to a loud thump. Opening his eyes and sitting up straight, he glanced around, and saw only Toothless's sleeping form huddled in the corner. After yawning wearily, Hiccup lay back, staring at the ceiling.

The only warning of the intruders' presence was a quick movement caught out of the corner of his eye. Then a large, sweaty hand clamped over his mouth. Hiccups eyes flew open and he instinctively lashed out with both fists, only to have his hands caught in an iron grip. Struggling desperately against the person- no, people, he saw- holding him down, Hiccup saw a tall figure forcing his wrists together, wrapping thick rope around them. A second person had his hand over Hiccup's mouth.

Hiccup thrashed around, kicking blindly in the hopes of hitting something - anything, really. He hadn't removed his false leg that evening (thankfully) and now he lashed out with the sharp metal prosthetic. He heard a pained grunt and a muffled curse, then something slammed into his left temple. He let out one soft moan, then was sucked into the empty darkness of unconsciousness.