Chapter One

A/N: Here we are again! Welcome back *huggles*. I hope you guys are as excited for this story as I am!

In response to...

Guest: I mentioned in the last chapter of Ice that Alvin had implemented scouting missions on Berk. It's insinuated that Savage spotted them during one of his shifts. They got there on a ship (which they hid among some tall rocks). Sorry that wasn't very clear.

The Wolf Raven: Thank you :D I don't have any "official" stories planned yet but I am sticking with HTTYD for while. Thanks for being so awesome and reading/reviewing!

THANKS TO EVERYONE ELSE AS WELL! You guys are what make writing so much fun and feel so satisfying. I can't thank you enough!

He's sinking. Icy water pours into his mouth as he struggles against the lake's frozen grip. But his limbs feel too heavy, they won't listen to him. Through muffled ears, he can hear Toothless shrieking in terror. Hiccup tries to kick his legs but they're numb and work too slowly...

He blindly reaches out, trying to grab something, anything to help him stay afloat. But he's alone here, too far down for there to be any ice or rock to hold onto and his vision is slowly fading...

Gods...this is like a nightmare.

After a few more moments of useless thrashing, his lungs are practically screaming for air. He knows he shouldn't breathe...but he can't resist. Bubbles flood out of his lips and the world goes black before him.

His body lurches, his throat sucking in a gasp as he regains consciousness. Despite the horrible dream, Hiccup is slow to wake. He squeezes his eyes closed before blinking them open, finding his vision blurred and the room spinning wildly before him. He realizes, groggily, that's he terribly hot. The idea is jarring. Wasn't he just freezing to death only moments ago...?

But surely enough, when he reaches up with a shaking hand -which is currently tingling uncomfortably from being asleep- he finds his forehead sticky with sweat and his cheeks blazing with warmth. It's not a fever, he can tell that much. Just...body heat. Normal, living, breathing heat.

He slowly lowers his hand back to his side and stares at the ceiling above him. He's alive...but he had been so sure that he was going to...

Is this real? He wonders. But by the sharp throbbing in his head and the pins and needles in his legs, he's pretty sure he's awake. But then...that leaves the question: where on earth is he?

Dragging his tired eyes to the side, he struggles to bring his vision back into focus again. He appears to be laying in a small cot, covered in a mountain of quilts so tall he can't see past the foot of the bed. Not too far away, there's a fire pit burning. Little, harmless embers jump out occasionally, their crackling sound is oddly comforting to Hiccup. That noise is the only familiar thing around him right now.

The room smells of smoke and herbs. The latter part is such a pungent scent that Hiccup wonders if there's an apothecary nearby or something. With a small frown, he notices something else...

Where's Toothless...? Hiccup groans as he sits up. His head is throbbing and he feels so incredibly weak. It's a battle just to shove the blankets away without falling over. But he manages. The next fight is getting his limbs to listen to him... They seem to be very content just laying motionless...but now, his mind is awake. He needs answers and he certainly isn't going to get them by laying around!

So, with a strained grunt, he gets to his feet. The dizzy, weakened boy leans his weight on the wall and carefully makes his way to the door. He wraps his slim fingers around the handle and tugs it open, relishing the cool gush of air that greets him. But his relief is short-lived.

Hiccup stares with wide, fearful eyes at the sight before him. Laying out across the grey, rocky landscape, like a massive, black spiderweb...is the Outcast village. His stomach clenches so hard he fears he might vomit and he stumbles back inside, slamming the door behind himself and sliding down the wall.

His heart is racing, his hands trembling. How did he get here, of all places?! The shaken boy shuts his eyes, leaning his head in his palms.

I must be dreaming! He decides. There's no way I'm here! But no matter how hard he wills this nightmare away, it just won't go. This is reality. Somehow, someway...he's been kidnapped by the Outcasts!

After a moment, he lifts his gaze once again and stares at the room in front of him. ...None of this makes sense. Alvin has captured Hiccup before and every time, he's managed to escape. So why isn't he being held in a prison cell? Why is he in such a cushy, nice room with no guards or even handcuffed?

Is Alvin really this stupid? Or does he have something up his sleeve that Hiccup hasn't accounted for? Knowing the Outcasts...it's probably the second one. Unfortunately.

Regardless, he has to try. The sooner he finds out all the variables, the sooner he can think of a way off this island and back to Berk. He bites his lip when he remembers something else. They must have Toothless here too... His expression softens and he climbs back to his wobbly legs. He must be worried sick...I've got to find him before he does something crazy!

So with that resolve in mind, Hiccup draws in a steadying breath before cracking open the door once again. He peeks out, being careful not to be spotted by anyone who might be happening by.

The stony expanse outside the door seems empty for now so Hiccup slips outside, cautiously ducking behind a half-dead Loki tree as soon as he can. He winces at the soreness of his legs, reminded of how far he'd walked back in those tunnels... How long ago was that? How long has he been asleep? Hours? Days? He can't tell...

But by the shaky feeling in his muscles, it couldn't have been too long. He strains his ears, listening to the distant sound of voices. Outcast voices, thick with the accent that is so similar to Berk's and yet just different enough to sound foreign to his ears. None of them sound very close so Hiccup allows himself a peek around the corner.

He's never been to the Outcast village before... The closest he's ever gotten is their Dragon Arena, which is still a good mile from the actual town. He can see its chain link roof towering over the horizon to his right. Well, that's 'comforting' in a way. At least he knows what side of the island he is on and, in turn, which direction Berk is.

Berk... His heart throbs at the thought of his village. Do they know he's gone? That he's been kidnapped? Surely they must have notices his absense...right? At least his father would have! That much he doesn't doubt. But it really doesn't help much if Stoick doesn't know who took his son. He remembers that blizzard that got him into this mess in the first place. It would be so easy for the villagers to just accept he and Toothless froze to the death in the storm. They would never bother searching for them... At least, not until the snow melts. It would be useless...

Hiccup's breath shudders as these thoughts race through his mind. But he pushes them away. There's no point in panicking. He tells himself. Just...stay calm and find Toothless. He's got to be around here somewhere... But before he can move-

"Oh for the love of Thor!" Someone barks in a voice so loud Hiccup flinches. "The kid must have woken up! He's gone!"

"Oh great! Alvin'll have our heads if he finds out we left our post!" Replies another Outcast. When Hiccup peeks back at the house where he woke up, he finds two, armed soldiers standing by the door. They look flustered and angry and are snapping at each other about what to do next.

"Well we've got to go look for 'im!" The first one insists.

"No, we should inform the others first! That way, there'll be more of us looking!" Counters the other.

"What? And risk Alvin or Savage catching wind of it? I'd rather take my chances in the Dragon Valley!"

It's while the two are arguing that Hiccup tries to sneak away. He slowly creeps into a standing position and begins backing away, his eyes never leaving the two bickering men. They haven't spotted him. He can get away if he's careful-

SNAP!

He freezes, his expression instantly souring. The gods hate me...

Hearing the tree branch that Hiccup stepped on with his prosthetic, both guards look up. At first, they don't seem to notice him standing there, or at least they don't recognize him. But then, realization flickers in their eyes and they shout for him to halt.

Of course, he doesn't listen. Instead, Hiccup wheels around and starts sprinting down the hill, half-running, half-sliding down the gravelly slope. He trips a few times, just barely catching himself, but still remains a good twenty yards ahead of his pursuers.

They scream for him to stop but he blocks out their threats, focusing on staying on his feet and finding a place to hide. His opportunity arrives when both men slip and come tumbling down the hill, eventually rolling to a stop several feet behind him.

But Hiccup keeps running. The ground eventually flattens out again and he books it toward a small patch of woods where, hopefully, he can find a place to wait them out...

By the time he reaches the treeline, he's gasping for air and stars are flashing in his vision. He's still weak after all... But he doesn't stop, only slowing down enough so that he doesn't pass out. Eyes snapping through the dark woods, he tries to find a good place to hide...but there's a disadvantage on his side.

The majority of forests on Outcast Island are made of Loki trees, which are called that because they are as tricky as the god from which they got their name. They always appear dead, having little or no leaves on their blackened limbs. This makes it incredibly difficult to find an effective hiding spot among them...

And within a few minutes, Hiccup begins to hear the Outcasts on his trail again. He clamps a hand over his mouth so they won't hear his ragged breathing and settles on crouching behind some brambles and praying they don't spot him. But interrupting his breathing this way can be dangerous. Soon, his vision is so muted he can't see a thing and his ears begin to ring loudly.

He squeezes his eyes closed and shakes his head. Come on...don't faint...don't faint...!

"There you are...!"

Hiccup yelps as one of the soldiers grabs his ankle, yanking it out from under him so he sprawls onto his back. The Outcasts loom over him, grinning nasty, black-toothled smiles.

"Thought you could away?" One of them snickers. "In your condition?" He elbows his partner and laughs. "Poor lit'le runt thought he could escape."

"It's almost sad!" The other agrees.

But Hiccup is too dizzy to be angry and before he knows it, he's being yanked to his feet and dragged back toward the village. He can't fight them so he just droops his head and pretends to be unconscious. Maybe if they think he's asleep, they won't be too rough with him.

Soon, he hears the crunch of gravel under their boots as they climb the hill and then the door creaking open. The men, quite literally, toss him inside before shutting the door. It's locked with the heavy clunk of a metal key.

And now Hiccup is trapped once again. Not in a cave this time, but in the clutches of his worst enemy... Alvin the Treacherous. And that could potentially be much worse.

A/N: Wee! Chapter one is finished!

A few notes:

1. I don't know if that's true about the Loki tree. I thought my explanation was cool so I just went with it! XD

2. Pretty much just a set-up chapter but I hope you liked it anyway.

3. The next chapter will focus around Hiccup again (involving at least one other character as well) but chapter three will reveal what's been going on with Stoick since the events of Ice.

Thanks for reading and remember...reviews make me happy *wink*