A/N: Hi! Thank for joining me here (it'd be a bit lonely otherwise). If you've been expecting this since I finished Return of the Treacherous, I'm sorry this took so long. Despite having the whole story already planned, I had a serious case of writer's block. Normally I sit down, start writing and then the inspiration starts flowing and the story almost writes itself. But with this chapter, I sat down and kept getting distracted, and although I had some inspiration, it felt like I was using a lot of effort pushing it out (ignore how weird that sounds, please). To be perfectly honest, I'm a bit hesitant uploading this story because I'm not sure if it'll turn out as good as my other ones. But I hope that it will be enjoyable to read nonetheless and that you guys will stick around for other chapters and stories. Anyway, this fanfiction is set during season 4 of rtte, only hiccstrid are already in a relationship, so technically that would mean it's set after Blindsided, but never mind that. I hope you enjoy, leave a review to let me know and onwards we go:
"You do realise how many dragons this plan is going to cost us?"
"Yes, but trust me. It will be worth it. The sacrifice will be rewarded by triple the amount we gave away."
"Are you sure this is going to work?"
"He won't dare hurt them. No matter what. And your men have trained them to do what we've planned. Nothing will go wrong."
"If you say so..."
This is Dragon's Edge. Mornings here are usually cold, windy and wet, with afternoons being only a few degrees warmer and a few dewdrops less. But if you asked either Hiccup or Astrid, they would use words like fresh, breezy and beautiful. They both loved watching the sunrise with the wind in their face, skimming the water so droplets splattered onto their clothes and flying at top speed through the clouds. And each other. Which made them the perfect team for an early morning date, oh sorry, mission. At least, Astrid seemed to think it was a date. She held Hiccup's hand, playfully splashed water onto his face and challenged him to races.
"Well, you're in a good mood, milady," Hiccup commented, beaming as he wiped the droplets of water off his cheek.
"It's not every day that I get to be on a mission with you, just the two of us and the sunrise," Astrid beamed back, adding a little wink at the end. Hiccup laughed.
"I'd love to have some fun, and I'm sure we can fit in a sunrise date tomorrow morning, but right now, we have to stay on task," Hiccup countered, though he hated the fact that he might be ruining his girlfriend's fun. "We should be coming up to the area we have to investigate the hunter activity." Astrid nodded reluctantly, smile falling slightly. But then she spotted something that caught her attention.
"Uh... Hiccup? Since when did wild Scauldrons, Nadders, Thunderdrums and Razorwhips fly in packs together?" Astrid asked, eyes still fixated on what she'd spotted. Hiccup looked at her in confusion.
"What? Never! Wild Razorwhips would never get along with wild Thunderdrums, and that's just one of the reasons they wouldn't fly together unless trained!" Hiccup exclaimed, still not realising Astrid was watching the pack as they spoke.
"That's what I thought. Because that pack looks pretty wild to me," Astrid pointed to the right, where a pack of ten dragons flew towards them. Hiccup saw what she was talking about and pulled out his spyglass, holding it to his eye and focussing the lens.
"Whatever they're doing, they look pretty riled up." Hiccup commented, then paused. "You're right, they are wild... which begs the question: why are they flying together? Maybe they-"
"Hiccup, you're missing something," Astrid interrupted, looking at her boyfriend with concern.
"What?"
"They're flying right towards us,"
"And?"
"Unless you plan on getting us both killed, I think we'd better fly out of the way," Astrid replied, raising her voice in panic as the dragon roars became louder and louder. Hiccup hesitated, looking from Astrid back to the dragons. He knew he couldn't train all ten of them at once, and he rather liked having his three remaining limbs.
"You're right, let's go," Hiccup said, just as a burst of boiling water shot past his head. Toothless and Stormfly immediately flew in the other direction, dodging the dragons' blasts.
"Why are they attacking us?" Astrid shouted to Hiccup over the noise of the constant firing. Magnesium fire spot between them, causing their dragons to swerve apart.
"I don't know," Hiccup shouted back, clicking Toothless' tail fin so that they made a barrel roll before flying back towards Stormfly and Astrid. The two dragons stopped abruptly as a Thunderdrum appeared in front of them. Hiccup looked around, noticing that the pack of dragons had surrounded them, a Scauldron to their left, a Nadder beneath them, a Razorwhip above them and a Thunderdrum in front. And if the roars coming from behind him meant anything, turning around wasn't an option either.
"What now?" Astrid asked as both Toothless and Stormfly hovered on the spot where they were trapped.
"We don't really have much of a choice," Hiccup called back, steering Toothless towards the gap to their right. Astrid followed suit, manoeuvring between the sonic blasts, bursts of boiling water and fire. The rogue dragon pack followed them, flying either side of them as if channelling them.
"Where are they steering us?" Hiccup shouted, thinking aloud.
"I don't know, but I'm thinking maybe we can hide in that cave and wait them out. They can't chase us if we're in there." Astrid replied, pointing to a hole in a large sea stack further ahead. Hiccup nodded and both of the riders encouraged their dragons to fly faster, hoping they would make it without singed body parts.
A few near misses later, the two riders directed their dragons into the cave.
"That was weird," Hiccup commented, after letting out a sigh of relief. He looked behind him at the cave opening, only for his face to fall when he saw all ten of the dragons hovering just outside the entrance. "Oh no, what are they going to do now?" Astrid turned, just in time to see the answer to her boyfriend's question. The dragons shot at the cave, causing the rocks to collapse on their only chance of escape. The couple flinched as the noise echoed through the cave. The commotion finally stopped, and the couple looked at each other worriedly. Hiccup hopped off his dragon and started pacing the cave.
"Great. So much for getting to the hunter activity... now we're stuck here," Hiccup muttered. Astrid watched as he walked up and down the width of the cave, biting her lip as she realised that she had suggested they go into the cave. She looked around, noticing how they stood in a large opening that split off into two smaller tunnels. Wait... why isn't it pitch black in here if the entrance is sealed?
"Uhh, Hiccup?"
"Yeah?" Hiccup looked up at her midstep, hand on his chin as he thought.
"Look down there," Astrid pointed to the two tunnels that went off from the big opening. "It's quite light. If this entrance was the only one then we would be standing in darkness. But because it's light-"
"...there must be another entrance!" Hiccup finished her sentence, face brightening up. "Astrid, you're a genius!" He ran towards her, only to stopped by Astrid's finger, which was perfectly placed on his lips.
"I know what you're thinking of doing, Dragon Boy. Save it, you can thank me and kiss me all you like once we're out of here," Astrid teased, removing her finger from Hiccup's mouth and winking at him. Hiccup laughed, surprised at how mischievous she was acting. "Now, which tunnel do we take?" She asked on a more serious note.
"Well, the one on the right is slightly brighter, so I'd say that'd be our best bet at getting out of here quickly," Hiccup thought out loud. Astrid nodded in agreement, so the four set off. For minutes, all that could be heard was their feet and talons hitting the stone floor as they plodded. The tunnel just started getting brighter, when a strange noise echoed. Toothless' ears perked up, Stormfly cocked her head slightly and Astrid froze. Hiccup, apparently not having heard the noise, looked at them incredulously.
"What's wrong?"
"That noise," Astrid whispered, her face displaying shock and fear.
"What noise? That was just an echo, probably nothing to worry about!" Hiccup replied, brushing it off.
"No, Hiccup. That noise was a Deathsong call. I'm sure of it," Astrid countered, looking around her cautiously.
"A Deathsong? In a cave? Why would a dragon like that be here? Shouldn't it be back on Melody Island?" Hiccup exclaimed in disbelief.
"I don't know," Astrid whispered, just as the noise came again, louder this time, causing Toothless to growl and Stormfly's spines to stand on end. Both riders stared at where the noise was coming from, Astrid wielding her axe threateningly. And sure enough, from around the corner, an extremely angry Deathsong appeared, standing on its hind legs and roaring loudly.
"No... it can't be! Why is it here? What-" Hiccup was stopped short of his thought track when a burst of hot amber forces him to jump out of the way and onto Toothless.
"Maybe we can discuss what it's doing here after we make sure we don't end up covered in that amber?" Astrid commented, jumping onto Stormfly. "Let's try and get past it and then we can fly out of the tunnel, I think it's wide enough to fly through now." Hiccup nodded, clicking his prosthetic into the tail fin mechanism. Astrid took off first, dodging the amber that the Deathsong aimed at her, making a barrel roll to avoid the dragon's attempt to stop them getting past. Stormfly landed on the other side, Astrid watching nervously as the Deathsong engaged Toothless, constantly shooting amber at them. Hiccup steered Toothless the way Astrid had escaped, only to collide with their opponent's tail, which knocked Hiccup off Toothless' back. Pain shot through his head as it hit the stone floor and he grunted, trying to get up, but then he felt a hot sticky liquid touch him. Time seemed to slow down to him, but despite all his struggles, he soon found himself encased in rock hard amber which rendered him immobile.
"Hiccup!" He heard Astrid shout. He looked up to see Toothless, whose stomach was also covered in the orange substance, firing plasma blasts at the Deathsong, who didn't hesitate to retreat. As soon as the dragon left, Astrid jumped off Stormfly and ran towards him. "Are you alright?"
"Apart from the imminent bruise on the back of my head and the fact that I can't move a muscle, yeah I'm fine," Hiccup answered from where he lay on his back.
"Do you have Inferno with you?" Astrid asked as she knelt down beside her trapped boyfriend. Hiccup looked thoughtful for a moment, then his face fell.
"Oh my Thor, how did I forget Inferno on the one day I really need it?" He exclaimed in exasperation. "Stupid, Hiccup, stupid." He muttered to himself. Astrid sighed, then wrapped her arms around the amber block that imprisoned her boyfriend. "What are you doing?" Hiccup asked, utterly confused as she tried to pick him up.
"Trying to get you onto Toothless' back," She replied as she stopped straining for a moment to catch her breath.
"Astrid, there's no point. I can't balance or steer Toothless if I'm stuck in this stuff, and Toothless probably can't even fly with that heavy amber around his body," Hiccup sighed, formulating a plan in his mind. "You and Stormfly go back to the Edge and get Inferno. I'll stay here with Toothless." Astrid hesitated, clearly not wanting to leave the two alone so defenceless. "Astrid, I'll be fine. The amber doesn't stop Toothless shooting plasma blasts if anything comes at us. Besides, there's not really any other way to get out of here, is there?"
"You've got a point," Astrid admitted, standing up and looking at Toothless, who was trying to scratch the rock-hard substance. "Fine, but promise me you'll be alright," She bent down to kiss Hiccup on the cheek.
"I'll be fine, milady. I'm not going anywhere and I have Toothless," He smiled up at her as she jumped onto Stormfly and followed the light out of the cave. Hiccup's smile faded the minute his girlfriend left, plagued by the nagging thought that something was up. First, a pack of rogue dragons that don't normally mix steer us into here and trap us in this cave. Second, a Deathsong that belongs on Melody Island attacks us and leaves me immobile, and then it leaves as soon as I'm caught... That can't all be a coincidence... can it? But if it isn't... who did this? He didn't have to think much longer for his brain to realise who it was. Viggo? But how did he put all this together? And what can he gain from me being in this cave...? No, no, no, he isn't going to attack the Edge, is he? He'd better not... At least Astrid will be going to help them out. I just hope they can hold out without me... Toothless woke him out of his thoughts by licking his face and purring, sensing his rider's distress.
"I know bud, there's nothing we can do but wait. Besides, who says Viggo has anything to do with this?" He told his dragon, wishing he could reach up and stroke the dragon.
But Viggo did have something do with it... more than he imagined...
A/N: So, yeah, that was the first chapter. I hope you liked it, let me know if you did. Because right now, I kind of need some encouragement and motivation. As I said, it was a struggle to write this, so I hope it didn't seem forced or OOC or anything like that. Leave me a review, they always make my day :) I have a lot of action and drama planned, so stick around for the next chapter to find out what happens... ;)
~httydfangirl123