Defenders of Berk belongs to Dreamworks.

This story is rated T for violence and some alcohol references. No profanity.

Comments, suggestions and reviews are always welcome. Thanks for reading!

Another summer night was falling as Berk was winding down. I always liked this time. Because without fail, we had that mysterious glow in the sky, lazily drifting back and forth. I liked to sit on our stoop and just watch the patterns swirl into different shapes for just a second before morphing into something else. You had to be a pretty quick storyteller to be able to keep up with these patterns.

Behind me, the sky had already finished turning purple for the night. Not a cloud anywhere near here. And the skylights were beginning to fade in. Over the course of about ten minutes, they went from a dull shimmer to a vibrant blue glow.

"Wow. It's so pretty. But why is it blue tonight? I thought the skylights were supposed to be green."

"What did you say?" my uncle asked, stepping through our doorway to check on me.

"Do you know why the skylights are blue tonight?" I asked again.

Without warning, my uncle grabbed me by the midsection and rushed back inside. He almost threw me into the living area of our house. He must have been worried about something because he held the sides of his head, looking nowhere, and mumbled, "No, not tonight. Not tonight. Not tonight…"

His eyes went from worried to delirious. I hunkered behind our table, wondering what was going to happen. "Uncle Finn, what's going on?" But he only continued mumbling in panic. Like he was stricken with fear. "Uncle Finn? Why are you so scared?" More mumbling. "Uncle Finn? Uncle Finn!"

He closed his eyes for a few seconds. During that time, I heard the battle horn sound. It was a low tone, more felt than heard. It echoed throughout the entire island. I felt all the color drain out of my face. Somebody saw dragons coming. A raid was about to happen. We had just survived one three weeks ago. And now the dragons were coming back for more?

Through our closed door, several people began shouting. I heard their footsteps patter throughout the main plaza of the village. Several Vikings were shouting things, but I couldn't make anything out. Except for one word: "Flightmare."

"Uncle Finn?" I asked again. His eyes opened, having returned to worried.

"Astrid," he said, grabbing me by the shoulders. People were still running around outside, but I had heard several doors slam shut. Nobody seemed to be in the mood for fighting, only getting to a safe place. "Astrid, look at me!" I stared into his eyes. He looked determined now. "You must stay inside. I can't lose you too."

"Uncle Finn, what are you talking about? I don't understand."

"Just stay here. You have to promise me you won't leave this house until tomorrow morning. Everything will be over then. Understand?"

"Aren't you going to stay here with me?"

He shook his head slightly, looking down. "I'm going to stop it."

"Stop what? I…I don't understand!"

"There's a dragon coming," he said. "And I'm going to stop it from hurting anyone."

"Why is everyone so worried about one dragon? People fight hundreds of dragons during raids!"

"Because this isn't just any dragon. If it was a Nightmare or a Zippleback or even a Night Fury, we'd know what to do. But this is a Flightmare."

The one word that had filtered through our door started to make sense. But why were we so worried about a single dragon? Why was it my uncle who had to go out and stop it? And why wasn't he telling me anything about it?

He let go of my shoulders. "You're going to stay here, right?"

I started to worry, just like he was a few moments ago. "Uncle Finn! Stay here! Please!"

He bent down and hugged me tightly. I wrapped my arms around his neck, trying to get him to stay. "Stay in this house. You'll be safe here. Okay?"

"No! Please, Uncle Finn! I'm scared!" I shouted in his ear. Tears began streaming down my face from worry.

"You won't have to be scared after tonight," he said quietly. "I promise." He let me go and put me back down on the floor. Looked at me and smiled slightly. He wiped the tears off my face and said, "Be a good girl and stay inside." Without another word, he turned and grabbed an axe off the wall. It had the Hofferson family seal on it. Uncle Finn told me it was my mother's. Gobber crafted it specifically for her, taking his time, making sure it was a perfect match. Uncle Finn said he had never seen Gobber spend so much time making a weapon before. Even his own. And through eight years, I never saw Uncle Finn take it to Gobber's armory for sharpening. The axe must have had some kind of magic from Gobber in it to stay so sharp.

Uncle Finn opened the door and strode outside without saying another word. He closed it behind himself. I heard his footsteps clunk off the stoop into the plaza, and then his sound was lost in the crowd.

"Uncle Finn! Where are you going?" But he didn't answer. I stayed inside, next to the door, waiting for him to return.

Slowly, the noise outside died down to a low murmur. But I didn't hear Uncle Finn outside. Maybe he was on watch somewhere, patrolling the village. Maybe he was just sitting outside the door, making sure the dragon didn't come near me.

I couldn't take it any longer. I was too worried about Uncle Finn to think about staying put, like he said. I slowly opened the door and peeked through. Across the way, several houses seemed to have a dull blue glow. Like the skylights tonight. I opened the door further and stepped through. Closed it behind me.

I had never seen Berk like this. The skylights were super-intense tonight, much brighter than I had ever seen before. It almost looked like day in Berk. This would have been a great night to watch the sky, but everyone was worried about the Flightmare, whatever kind of dragon that was.

"UNCLE FINN!" I shouted, wandering into the village. "UNCLE F-"

A hand slipped behind my head and covered my mouth before I could finish. I tried to scream, but only a muffled sound came out. "Astrid! What are you doing out here? You need to stay inside, like Finn told you to!" It was our chief, Stoick. He removed his hand from my mouth and said, "Stay quiet, get…"

Suddenly, a bright blue flash appeared about a hundred yards away, on the other side of the plaza. It was at the top of the docks. I gasped.

"Odin, help us," Chief Stoick said.

The flash illuminated a large Viking standing stock-still at the top of the docks. I couldn't see clearly through the mist, but I knew exactly who it was.

"UNCLE FINN!" I shouted.

Several villagers had opened their doors, trying to catch a glimpse of what was happening. Each house looked the same around those Vikings. They were framed in back by a golden light, while I saw their faces bathed in a blue glow.

Chief Stoick let me go without realizing it, and I started running toward Uncle Finn. "UNCLE FINN!" I shouted again. He didn't move. The mist cleared, revealing him about fifty yards away, facing slightly toward us, his axe on the ground at his feet. His eyes were wide in terror, but he stayed rooted to that spot on the docks. It looked like he was trying to scream, but couldn't do it.

"Astrid! NO!" Chief Stoick shouted as he grabbed me.

I was lifted off my feet just as another blue flash occurred, but this one was different. Like it had a shape. It was flying straight toward Uncle Finn. And he still wasn't moving. A loud roar echoed through the village as I realized what was happening. This was the Flightmare.

The Flightmare swooped toward Uncle Finn, and for a moment, blocked our view of him. When the dragon disappeared, Uncle Finn was gone.

"UNCLE FINN! UNCLE FINN!" I screamed. I struggled against Chief Stoick, but he wouldn't let me go.

"Gobber! Get everyone inside now!" Chief Stoick shouted.

From behind me, Gobber shouted, "You heard Stoick! Inside, now!" Doors slammed as people took shelter inside. Chief Stoick held me against his shoulder, turned around and began running back toward his house.

"WHERE'S UNCLE FINN!? WHERE'S MY UNCLE!?" I screamed. I reached over Chief Stoick's shoulder, trying to grab at the area on the docks where he had been just seconds ago. Where his axe was still lying on the ground. "UNCLE FINN!"

Chief Stoick slammed his door open just as another roar echoed through the village.

"Chief Stoick! The dragon's not gone!" I screamed. The blue dragon appeared just over the houses in the village and roared at the top of its lungs. It streaked forward, crashing past a pillar holding a large fire pit and appearing in the middle of the plaza. The fire pit toppled, sending the flames and embers toward several houses. The dragon paused and let out a deafening roar. Chief Stoick got both of us inside just as the dragon blew out some more of that blue fog. People who were in the plaza trying to run away from the dragon quickly stopped and stood there in shock.

Chief Stoick put me on the ground and said, "Astrid, stay here. Hiccup will be here in a few minutes. Don't leave this house until I get back."

I was too scared to say anything, so I simply nodded, tears still running down my face. Chief Stoick whipped around and shut the door behind him, leaving me alone, just like Uncle Finn did. He was going to be taken by the dragon, just like Uncle Finn.

After about a minute, my feet started working again. I ran to the door and slowly opened it. And found a boy named Hiccup on the other side, looking worried. I opened the door all the way, and he ran inside, just as I took off to the village.

"Astrid! Stay here!" Hiccup shouted, but I didn't listen.

By the time I got to the plaza, three houses were on fire and there was another one with a hole torn in the middle. The skylights were still blue, but there was no sign of the Flightmare.

"EVERYONE, GET WATER! WE NEED THESE FIRES OUT NOW!" Chief Stoick shouted.

I ran out into the plaza, toward the docks, ignoring anyone who told me to go back inside. "UNCLE FINN!" I reached the top of the docks, where his axe was still lying on the ground, blade still sharp. No trace of a dragon anywhere near it. And no trace of Uncle Finn.

I wandered back into the plaza, tears running down my face, screaming for my uncle. Telling him to come back. I had just seen my front door wide open when a Viking barreled into me, knocking me over. He didn't check to see who he had just upended, he just continued running with his bucket of water toward the fire. I stood up and staggered toward the door when Chief Stoick picked me up again.

"Astrid, what did I tell you about staying put!?" he said.

I couldn't do anything except cry. "WHERE'S UNCLE FINN!?" I shouted.

"We're looking for him. Now go back and stay with Hiccup until morning!" He set me down and pushed me toward his house. Unable to think of anything else, I slowly staggered my way there.

Hiccup was waiting for me inside. He opened the door for me and looked just as worried as everyone else in Berk. "I'm in so much trouble," he mumbled.

I sat down at the table and cried until Chief Stoick came home. He barged in and slammed the door shut behind him. The sound filled the house with an echoing crash like thunder. A few dishes fell off the hearth, adding to the noise with their clattering.

"HICCUP!" he shouted, even though Hiccup was right in front of him. "YOU HAD ONE JOB TO DO! SHE COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED OUT THERE!"

"Dad, I'm sorry, I couldn't stop her!"

"No, you chose not to stop her! Now I had to bring her back home when I should have been putting out the fire! We lost two houses because of you! What is going through your mind, son?"

"I…I don't know! I really tried to stop her from getting out of here! Honest!"

"Next time, try harder!" Chief Stoick directed his eyes at me. "Young lady, stay here tonight. Don't let me catch you outside again." He switched his gaze back to Hiccup. "You," Chief Stoick pointed at him. "Get to bed." With that, he strode out, slamming the door behind him. I was too scared to react. Not only from the dragon, but also from Chief Stoick accusing his son of something he didn't do. I got out by myself. He tried to keep me here. But Chief Stoick didn't believe him. I buried my head in my arms and cried as Hiccup went upstairs to his bed.

The door creaked open, and Chief Stoick walked through. He closed it much more quietly this time than when he scolded Hiccup for something I did.

"That's it. The fires are out," Chief Stoick said, closing the door behind him.

I looked up with red eyes and asked, "Did you find Uncle Finn?"

Chief Stoick looked down, took a deep breath and said, "No. We looked all over the village for him. He's not here."

"No. Please, Chief Stoick. Please, you have to find him."

"Astrid, there's not much else I can do about it. We have a search party out right now, but they can't find him."

Without thinking I ran over to Chief Stoick and hugged him, crying. But I had no tears left. He held me, protecting me in case the Flightmare ever decided to come back.

"Astrid, you need to get home soon," he said. "Your aunt is waiting for you."

"Are you gonna bring Uncle Finn back?" I asked him yet again.

"We're trying. But your aunt is worried about you. Even though I told her where you are, you've got to get home now."

I looked up at Chief Stoick and rubbed my eyes. I had cried through the entire night but never slept. And I figured I wasn't going to sleep until Uncle Finn came back because I was so worried about him.

Chief Stoick guided me to his door, where he opened it for me. I walked through with him. He led me back to my house, where my aunt was waiting in the doorway. She looked just as worried as I was.

"ASTRID! Are you all right?" she shouted.

"Where's Uncle Finn?" I asked without even telling her I was safe. She immediately wrapped me in a hug and began crying. And I realized what happened. But something inside me kept the question away from her. Something told me that she was going to completely lose it if I asked her. But inside, I already knew the answer: Uncle Finn was gone. The Vikings in the search party weren't ever going to find him.