Jerking awake, Stoic and Valka looked at each other as their eyes went wide. Jumping from the bed, Stoic rushed down the stairs and threw open the door to find Eret standing there. "Eret? What do you want in these wee hours of the morning?"

"I was told by…"

"Cloud Jumper!" Valka let her heart hit her stomach as she ran past Stoic to the dragon.

With a sigh, Eret looked back at Stoic. "After their announcement yesterday I wanted to go and check on Hiccup. It is odd for me since the two of them turned my life around with the dragons. While I was on the island, the alpha that Drago used, and his son went past."

"His son!"

"No!"

Turning and rushing to his wife, Stoic fell to his knees next to her. "What is it Val?" When she only held a note up he took it. "Did something happen to Hiccup Eret?"

"No. But Alpha and the dragon are headed in the same way that Hiccup is going. That was why he sent Cloud Jumper back with me and Charcoal. He took Toothless and flew on."

Looking at the note, Stoic didn't know what to do right now. Did he go after his son on Scull Crusher or did he trust his son and Toothless. 'What do I do now?'

"Mom, Dad,

Look don't be mad. You both know that I don't listen to reason half the time. If I did, I wouldn't have Toothless and mom wouldn't be home with us. But I sent Cloud Jumper back because I needed to go fast and he isn't as fast as Toothless is. Eret can tell you more about Alpha, Drago's son. But he was headed right for where I am going. I am going to try and get there in a roundabout way and let Fergus know what is going on. But I don't know how well that is going to work. Soon as I can I will get a message to you and let you know I am okay.

Love

Hiccup"

With a sigh as he stood up, Stoic held the note. "We won't chance anyone getting hurt." Turning Eret as he pulled his now sobbing wife into his arms, Stoic narrowed his eyes. "I want you, Ruff and Tuff, Fishlegs and Snotlout to step up patrol. If you see anything out of the ordinary you let me know right away."

"Yes sir."

"Now! Go wake them up and get them going!" Stoic then lifted his wife into his arms and carried her back in their house. "Don't worry Val. He has an alpha with him that won't back down to protect him, and he is our son after all. What was it you told me about him he has the heart of a what?"

Looking up at him with an odd look Valka then smiled. "He had the heart of a chief and the soul of a dragon. But that doesn't mean that I am not going to worry about him. If Drago's son can control the alpha like Drago did. That could be bad Stoic. We need to go…."

Shaking his head Stoic gripped her shoulders. "We need to have faith in our son. He was right. He never listens to anything. If he didn't, we wouldn't be friends with dragons. If he didn't, we wouldn't have you in our life again. Trust in Hiccup. He does have Toothless with him after all."

"You are right."

Hugging his wife, Stoic looked up at the ceiling as his eyes took on a worried look. 'You better come home Hiccup. You better come home.'

X

Feeling a nose pushing on the side of his face, Hiccup opened his eyes and blinked. "Hey Toothless. Time to leave already?" Sitting up Hiccup couldn't help but laugh at the dragon and how he jumped around and off of trees. "I swear to have your energy all the time." Standing with a stretch, Hiccup yawned. With the exception of one stop to eat, and now some sleep, they flew enough to cut their three day journey in half. He should arrive not long after Fergus' Falcon.

Packing his small pack he sighed when he reached in and felt something that clearly wasn't his. His eyes misted over with tears. As he pulled his hand out of the pack, there was a necklace that Astrid had given him with a carving of their initials in it. Sitting down with a sigh as he looked at it he closed his eyes. "I don't need this. Not something else to remind me of what I had and lost." He then tossed it into the fire as he kept packing.

Once he was all packed he turned and let his hand rub up Toothless' head. "Damnit this sucks. I hope Fergus will let us stay and hang out in this part of the country. Who knows. Maybe find some new dragons."

With a glare as he remembered Drago's son with the alpha that Toothless defeated to become alpha he kicked some dirt into the fire putting it out, threw his stuff in his pack and then got on Toothless. "Come on bud. Lets get going."

X

Pacing in his court yard, Fergus held the paper that came from Stoic. His son was coming with a couple of dragons to get his daughter back. He figured it would be at least another day and a half before they got there. But he couldn't just sit and twiddle his thumbs! "Damnit! I wish he would hurry up."

Holding her daughter's bow, and sitting under the tree that they planted the day she told him she was pregnant with Merida, Eleanor let tears fall. She knew her daughter would come back to her. She just knew that she would. But the fear of what she was going through right now was nearly too much for her to think about. "Fergus…"

But then both jerked their heads up when they heard a roar from the sky. Their coming toward them was a black dragon with half a red tail. His eyes lit up Fergus smiled. "That is him love! That is Stoic's boy!"

Hiccup sighed as he landed and slid from Toothless. When there was suddenly a guy in his face he blinked. "You are King Fergus then I take i?"

"You are Stoic's boy then right? Hiccup?"

Nodding as he stepped back when he let go of his shoulders Hiccup smiled as he looked at the glare Toothless had for him. "I am. It's okay bud. This is who we are here to see."

Looking up, Hiccup noticed the terrified woman peering over Fergus' shoulder. He figured that she must be his wife Eleanor. Then he realized that she was looking terrified at Toothless. Patting his head as his eyes took on their puppy look he smiled. "This is Toothless. He won't hurt anyone here so long as no one tries to hurt him or me."

Looking down at the dragon, Fergus gasped. It was the same exact type of dragon that took his little girl! But this one was different. It had wide, gentle eyes and seemed to trust the boy. Realizing he was starring he turned back to Hiccup. "Sorry boy. It is jist dat is da same kinda dragon that took me daughter away."

Gasping as his eyes went extra wide, Hiccup looked at him. "Wait exactly like him?"

"No." Timidly, Eleanor crept from around her husband. "Where yours is an ebony black with green eyes, the one that took my daughter was dark red with golden eyes. Like the colors of a fading fire that was nothing but embers."

He knew that it probably was showing like he was being disrespectful, but Hiccup couldn't help but smile as he laughed. "Oh my gosh that is great!" Feeling the eyes on him he sighed as he looked down at an equally excited Toothless. "The dragon that took your daughter then is called a Night Fury. Said to be the unholy offspring of lightning and death itself. As of now, Toothless and the one who took your daughter are the only two known to exist. So this is double for me."

"Double?"

Nodding Hiccup let the hurt fly into and then pushed it right back out of his eyes. "Frankly, some things have happened at home, not with my parents, but others that make it hard to be home. I was hoping that once I found and returned your daughter that you would permit me to stay in the area for a while. If you would, taming down and training another Night Fury, especially if it is a girl would be a good thing for me and for him."

Nodding as he turned and headed for the palace, Fergus half smiled. "Ya bring me daughter home safe and sound and I will not only let ya stay in the area, ya will move in, boy you will be considered family and part of the royal line."

Following with Toothless Hiccup laughed. "I don't need all that. I was planning on spending my time seeing if there are dragons in this area anyway if you let me stay."

"Nonsense. Come. We will tell you what happened."

Looking back Eleanor saw the dragon getting ready to follow them in the castle and paled. "Could your dragon wait outside?"

"He lives in my house with him. If he can't come in then it would be better if we talked outside."

Turning to see how serious the boy was, Fergus laughed. "Oh Eleanor this be our daughter's only hope. Come boy, and dragon."

Walking on in with Toothless, Hiccup nodded. "Thank you. He likes to run a muck in my house, but in others he is respectful." He then looked around as he followed him through the castle. It was decorated much like the Great Hall on Berk. Some items that were clearly Viking, but others that he didn't know at all.

As they walked into a huge open hall with six thrones at the head he blinked. "Six thrones?"

Nodding Fergus headed for his chair. "My triplet boys, my wife, myself and then….." As he sat down he looked at the chair right next to his. "Me daughter."

Sitting down on the floor as Toothless laid behind him, Hiccup was serious now. "Night Furies and thrones aside. What happened the day that she was took?"

Fergus then glared as he fisted his hands. "She and I were hunting. She can be a tomboy. We was in da woods when out of nowhere it just swooped down and took her. A few days later a not came from someone named Alpha."

Flinching as he jumped to his feet, Hiccup had a hard glare himself. "What did the letter say?"

"That I was ta abandon my castle and my country and leave. Letting him take it over. Then me daughter would be returned."

Looking down at the glare in Toothless' eyes, Hiccup fisted his hands. "Don't believe a word he says about letting her go."

"You know him!?"

Looking up with the same glare in his eyes, Hiccup gave Eleanor a nod. "Not personally but in a roundabout way. His father tried to kill my father and myself. With Toothless' help we protected everyone in Berk, and Toothless defeated the alpha dragon that Drago had. Alpha is his son, named after the alpha dragon the great bewilderbeast."

Looking back down again he narrowed his eyes. "We killed his father, and Toothless became the alpha of Berk. Sending the bewilderbeast away. Stripping his title of alpha from him. He probably has plans to kill her anyway. She is alive now I would bet anything on. He wants to use her as a bargaining chip in a way."

"I won't let him run me off!"

"I wouldn't either but." Looking up at Fergus with a look that made the burly man gasp. "I would take your wife, children and everyone who lives in the castle and around it somewhere safe. Alpha was on his way this way with the bewilderbeast. It is an ice spitter. Where most dragons have a red fire, Toothless shoots blue flame, and the bewilderbeast ice. You wouldn't stand a chance against it unless Toothless is here. What does she look like?"

Shaking his head, Fergus sighed. This boy new dragons. It was clear. There was a safe place inside the mountain. "We will be in the mountain then when you get back. It will give the look like we left it." He then took a deep breath. "Merida. That is her name. She has red hair like me, and blue eyes. Ya can't miss her, her hair is always a wild mess."

"Right." Hiccup then looked up at the window, it was big enough. Getting on Toothless he looked at them. "What way did they go when they took her?"

"To the East." Fergus then gasped as the dragon was up and out the window in a blink of an eye. "Well I'll be."

Running to her husband, Eleanor grabbed his arm. "Do you really think that he can find her Fergus? And bring her home."

Pulling his wife into his arms, Stoic nodded as he sighed. "I do. I seen it in his eyes. He won't let anything happen ta our little girl. She will be safe."