ShadowSpirit020: Thanks! :D Yep, a tag-team dragon race. :) Let's see who the boy is...XD
TomBoyBookGirl: Whooo! :D Yep! I can't follow my release dates, like, ever. I really tried for this one, really, I did, but...well...my hand slipped. XD Thanks a bunch! :D I'm glad you're enjoying it so much so far! :)
SilverGhostWolf: I loved writing that dragon race scene. It was so much fun! :D WHOOOO, YOU GOT AN ACCOUNT! :D AWESOME! :D And yeah, even I have yet to see myself follow my release dates. XD Thanks for the review! :D
Dimentional Phaser: Thanks! :D
ForteEXEMaster: Sorry about that. XD I'm OCD on stuff, too. Movie Toothless is a lot faster than Book Toothless, in my opinion, but yeah, they probably weren't going a full-blown 700 miles an hour. I was just trying to get the point across that they were going fast. :D And no, this isn't going to be like Heather Report. It might seem like that once or twice, but overall, the story plays out very differently. :) Thanks! :D
wikelia: Snotlout: "Not another field trip!" XDXDXD THANKS! :D Yeah, I seriously write in all the spare time I have, be it original stuff, or fanfiction stuff. I go back and forth. :D Thanks for the review! :D I'm glad you're enjoying it so far! :D
Dimensional Girl: There is definitely something that says trouble on the beach, that much is for sure...XD
StarFlight13: Thanks! I'm glad you enjoy it so far! :D And yeah, I love writing. It gives me something to do while waiting for the next episodes, too. :D
Jo: I'm glad! :D
Galaxy-Mitsuko-Pegasus: Haha, yeah, you guys know I won't wait until the release date to post. XD I bet you guys are like, "Ooh, look, the release date is in a few days...I bet she'll post it tomorrow." XD I'm glad you're enjoying it! :D Yeah, that dragon race scene was fun to write. :) We shall see...RIGHT NOW! :D Thanks! :D
LunarCatNinja: Thanks! I'm glad! :D
Guest (#1): Here's the next chapter! :D :D :D
Carly Marley: Hey hey hey, good to hear from ya! :D I'm glad you enjoyed the previous fanfiction episodes, and I hope you enjoy this one, too! :D Oh my gosh, that would be crazy, with all the fandoms coming together like that...yeah...insane. XD AND WE CAN SING WHILE WE FIGHT! :D :D :D There will be some Hiccstrid in this fanfiction; nothing over the top, but definitely some. I can, however, for SURE promise you a lot of Hiccstrid in part 2. :D Thanks for the review! :D
jrecricket99: Thanks! :D I'm glad! :D
HappyPup1: Haha, Ficcstrid! :D Yeah, I like it, too. :D
bananablight: Yep, I based the face paint off Dawn of the Dragon Racers. :D I'm glad you love it so far! :D
Prince Maggie: Haha, nope, so far, I haven't gotten any complaints at being ahead of myself. XD Thanks for the review! I'm glad you like it so far! :D
Charr2003: *banging head against wall* DON'T. BANG. YOUR. HEAD. TOO. HARD. XD XD HAHA! :D And I haven't gotten any complaints on updating early, so, yeah. You can always expect early updates from me, then, I suppose. XD GO FICCSTRID! :D I'm glad you like it so far! :D :D :D Thanks for the review! :D
Crystallion12: Haha, XD. Yeah, I try to plan, I fail, and I post early. XD That's what always happens with me. :D
midnightsky0612: Thanks! :D
Guest (#2): Aww, you're welcome! :D I'm glad you're enjoying it so far! :D I always post one to two chapters a day, so yeah, that's my usual updating schedule. :) Aww, thank you! :D Thanks for the review! :D
They approached with caution, because it was impossible to know exactly what it was from this distance. It could have been wreckage of an old ship; it could have been a very-much alive dragon that would spring and attack them given the chance.
Toothless, Stormfly, Hookfang, Barf, Belch, and Meatlug, too, approached cautiously, but on guard, claws and talons at the ready, teeth bared should they be threatened. Hiccup was the first of the dragon riders to identify the object.
And he realized it wasn't an "object" at all.
"Guys, it's a person!" he shouted, and he charged over. Now that he knew what it was, he was less cautious as he approached.
"That should scare you!" snapped Snotlout, but he, too, redoubled his pace and raced after Hiccup and the others. "What's a person doing on our shores?"
He didn't get an answer. Hiccup and Astrid knelt by the body and, slowly, grabbed the shoulder and flipped the person over.
It was a young man, probably no older than Hiccup himself was. His hair was shaggy and hung over his ears and eyes, cut unevenly and shockingly black, like the clothing and armor he wore. His eyes were shut, and his face was deathly pale. He had a pointed chin, pronounced ears, and a long nose; an ugly scar marred his forehead.
Hiccup frowned and pressed two fingers against the youth's neck. "His pulse is thready," Hiccup said, "but it's there. I wonder…" He looked down, and his eyes caught on something clutched in the boy's grip.
It was a crumpled letter.
Hiccup pried it from the boy's stiff fingers and looked on the front.
"What does it say?" Snotlout asked.
"It says, 'To Chief Stoick,'" Hiccup said. Frowning, he unfolded the letter and read it to himself, the others trying to lean over his shoulder to get a look at it. But before they could, Hiccup suddenly paled, and he, looking up from the letter, re-folded it hastily and stuffed it away in his pocket.
"What?" Fishlegs asked worriedly. "Ooh, I know that face...what's wrong?"
Hiccup swallowed. "The boy's name is Barreck," Hiccup said. "And...he's Alvin the Treacherous' son."
…
"I didn't know Alvin the Treacherous had a son," said Gobber later at Gothi's hut, examining the letter; the black-haired boy, Barreck, still unconscious, was laying on one of the sick beds with Gothi examining him.
"Me neither," said Hiccup, folding his arms over his chest. "This doesn't make any sense."
"The letter's hard to make out," said Gobber, holding the letter up to the light. "It must have gotten wet. Everything after Alvin the Treacherous is my father and his name is all smudged…"
"Well, maybe Barreck can explain it when he wakes up," said Astrid. "I don't know why he would lie about it if he wasn't really Alvin's son."
"And he does sort of look like Alvin," said Hiccup pointedly. "Black hair, squared shoulders...I can see the family resemblance."
"Right," said Gobber. "Well, I'll take this note to your father, Hiccup, and see what he can make of it. Maybe he can shed some light on the situation."
"Sounds good," Hiccup said.
…
"Alvin the Treacherous' son?" Stoick looked as confused as the others felt when he joined them at Gothi's hut.
"Do you know him, Dad?" Hiccup asked curiously, extending his hand to take the note back from his father.
Stoick handed the letter back and shook his head. "No, I don't," he said. "This is very peculiar...and you found him on the beach, you said?"
"Yes," said Fishlegs. "Not a ship in sight."
"We thought he might have gotten shipwrecked," said Astrid, "but there wasn't even any wreckage. Nothing to indicate anything at all."
"We did a quick round about the oceanside," Hiccup said, "just to check for any wreckage that could have washed up, but there was nothing."
"You don't think he swam here, do you?" said Tuffnut.
"That'd be a long swim," said Ruffnut.
"We don't even know where he came from," said Hiccup, "much less where he could have swam from."
"We're just going to have to wait until he wakes up," said Astrid.
"Aye, that we shall," said Gobber, nodding. "Can you do anything about that, Gothi?"
Gothi looked at him firmly, and then, she pulled herbs from her medicine bag and waved them beneath Barreck's nose. Instantly, Barreck's eyes flew open, and he shot into a sitting position.
His eyes were a startlingly deep blue, like the ocean, and they were full of panic.
"Where am I?" he questioned, looking around wildly. "Where…?"
"You're on Berk," said Astrid, putting her hand on her hip. "We found you washed up on our beach."
Barreck looked at her. The panic in his eyes dimmed. "Oh, I made it," he whispered in relief, putting a hand to his head. "You have no idea how relieved I am."
He smiled faintly.
"I need your help," he said. "That's why I came here in the first place."
"What with?" questioned Hiccup, almost suspiciously. "And your letter, you said you were Alvin the Treacherous' son."
Barreck nodded. "I am," he said.
"How did we not know this?" said Snotlout, raising and dropping his hands, looking confused and desperate.
"My father didn't speak of me," said Barreck, "to anyone. I was born a hiccup, see, a runt. An insult to the Outcast tribe."
"An outcast of the Outcasts," said Ruffnut. "Now that's just sad. Like, pathetic sad."
"It was," said Barreck slowly, "but I survived and eventually left the Outcast tribe with my dear friend. Unfortunately, we ran into trouble."
Barreck pulled a small, brown pack from his pocket and fiddled with the strings tying it shut.
"I didn't know who they were," said Barreck, "but they took my friend and held him captive. They let me go alive, I don't know why, but they gave me this...here...they said 'the Berkians should recognize it.'"
He finally managed to get the pack open, and he dumped its contents into his hand.
It was a cracked but not unidentifiable Dragon Eye lense.
Hiccup and the others gasped. Barreck looked at them, hope and excitement sparkling in his eyes. "You recognize it?" he asked, handing the lense over to Hiccup.
Hiccup took it and examined it. "Yeah," he said, "I do. Barreck, I think you were attacked by the dragon hunters. They've been invading the nearby islands and seas recently in search of unidentified species."
"So you know where I can find my friend!" said Barreck, leaping to his feet. "That's why I came to Berk! I knew my father had made peace with the Berkians, so I came to you first. I need someone to help me get my friend back."
Hiccup and the other dragon riders exchanged glances. Stoick and Gobber, meanwhile, approached Barreck, entirely unaware.
"We'll certainly do whatever we can," said Stoick. "Until then, you are free to remain on Berk for as long as you want."
Barreck bowed his head respectfully. "Thank you, Chief Stoick," he said, and he, Stoick, and Gobber left the healer's abode.
Hiccup watched them leave, and as soon as the door shut, turned back to the other riders. "What do you guys think?" Hiccup asked.
"I don't buy it!" Snotlout said angrily. "I think he's lying to try and manipulate us! A likely story, you know, best friend taken by dragon hunters, son of Alvin the Treacherous...and the hiccup story, that's so cliche it's insane!"
"I'm not so sure what to think," said Fishlegs. "I don't think he was lying."
"Fishlegs has a point," said Astrid. "What's the point of lying about being Alvin's son? His story makes sense. Hiccups were considered to be a shame to their tribe back in the day."
"Well, are they not?" said Snotlout.
Hiccup crossed his arms. "I'm a hiccup," he said.
"I meant way back when they were!" said Snotlout. "During the time of dragon raids, all the tribes took hiccups as a bad omen. The Berserkers especially took the entire 'hiccup' thing very seriously. They thought it was some sort of disease from what I read."
Ruffnut and Tuffnut looked at him. "I didn't know you could read," said Tuffnut, sounding genuinely shocked.
"And Barreck doesn't look like any other Outcast I've ever seen," said Astrid. "I wouldn't be surprised if he was a hiccup, and I wouldn't be surprised if Alvin shunned him and kept him a secret because of it."
"So...are we trusting him?" said Fishlegs.
"I think we should definitely try to help him," said Hiccup. "The trusting can come later, once we know him a little better." He looked down at the cracked Dragon Eye lense and frowned. "Astrid," he said, "do you remember the little talk we had about eventually plotting against Viggo, and take the Dragon Eye back for ourselves?"
"Yeah," said Astrid, nodding, "you said that a while ago." It took her a moment, but then, she caught on, and she frowned. "You're not thinking what I think you're thinking, are you?"
"Wait, what?" said Tuffnut. "What is he thinking? Can Astrid read minds now? Why does everyone else get to do all the cool stuff?"
"She thought a thought," said Ruffnut logically, "but the thought she thought was not the thought she thought she thought."
"Wait, what?" said Tuffnut again.
"Hiccup, if you're thinking of going back to Ryker's base and trying to take back the Dragon Eye," said Fishlegs, "I'd have to say it's probably one of your crazier ideas."
"And that's saying a lot," said Snotlout, "considering all the crazy things you've thought up."
"Well, we have to try," said Hiccup. "Barreck said he and his friend were taken, and the hunters let him alone go. Maybe Barreck got a glimpse of the dragon hunter's fleet. Maybe he can tell us what to expect."
"And we can go in," said Astrid, catching on, "free Barreck's friend, and take back the Dragon Eye at the same time."
"Exactly," said Hiccup. "But this means we're going to have to devise a plan. If we're really going to do this, we're going to have to create a fool-proof scheme, something Ryker and his hunters can never suspect."
"But they're powerless without Viggo," said Snotlout. "What are we worrying about?"
"They still have Ryker," said Hiccup, "and on top of that, they have an army. We haven't seen any sign of Dagur since Ryker captured him. Who knows where the Berserkers went off to. Maybe they rejoined the dragon hunters."
"Hiccup just means we have to be prepared," said Astrid. "We have to take everything into consideration. We need to build maps, concoct plans, everything, if we have a chance at getting this right."
"And the plan has to be something no one will expect," said Hiccup. "It has to be something…"
"Diabolical?" said Ruffnut and Tuffnut hopefully. "Inane? Stupid? Insane? Maniacal? Crazy?"
Hiccup smiled. "Works for me," he said.
"And what about Barreck?" Snotlout piped up.
"He can come with us," said Hiccup. "We need to know everything we can about the dragon hunters, and if Barreck can help us, I'll take it. Pack your things, gang. We leave for Dragon's Edge at daybreak."
"Yes!" cheered the twins, and they gave each other a high-five.
