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Anyway, enjoy! ;)

iii – old enemy

HICCUP

As I was enjoying the amazing meal I just made for myself in the light of the sunset, Toothless disembarked in the room as if there was fire. Startled, I placed my bowl still full on the table and removed my feet from said furniture, giving my best friend a glare. He knew how much I hated to be disturbed when I was eating or was watching the sun, but then I noticed his physical stat. The Night Fury was breathing hard and his wings were twitching from his flight. When I was busy or that I didn't need Toothless, I would always activate his tailfin so that he could fly by his own.

Hiccup, we've got a big problem.

Can I at least finish my soup? Toothless threw me a serious look and I rolled my eyes.

Damn it! I grumbled, unhappy. I jumped the edge and successfully landed on my feet - foot should I say. With a sad gaze, I left my dinner in my hut and immediately mounted on Toothless's back. He then took off quickly and struggled powerfully with his wings in order to go as fast as possible. It really seems important. What happened? The situation was starting to freaking me out. Plus, I had never seen Toothless so upset.

Drago Buldvist happened. My blood went cold and I froze like I had been suddenly struck by a lightning. I had thought he was dead or that he had been made prisoner by the Outcasts, but apparently, Drago was still alive and was making waves somewhere.

What did he do?

Torture, death, destruction. The kind of things Drago is known to do. I laughed bitterly and my best friend suspended his wings, slowing his pace a notch, allowing us to glide without problems. Hicc-

"Trust me, I do know," I said this time aloud with a low voice, my eyes longing towards the sun. The reason why I enjoyed so much the warm sun on my face and the feeling of having a stomach full was because I had been Drago's prisoner two years ago.

Toothless and I were at that time traveling islands to islands when we had been shot down by a bola - Drago had fired it. I landed first on my arm, injuring it badly, and then on my back, sending me into the unconscious. When I woke up, mostly because my forearm was hurting like Hell, I was in a cell and a big and tall man was at the other side of the bars. He looked down at me and I'll never what he said: 'I shall break you for your knowledge.'

I went through almost all the methods. He starved me, beat me, fought me, mentally tortured me and made me watch him torture others dragons - that had been the worst part of my stay in his dungeon. I managed to escape before he uses his whip on me, bringing with me all his dragons and destroying his entire fleet into toothpicks. I was so full of hatred that it took me weeks to recover from it.

Hiccup, one day you'll have to talk to me about what happened. Don't keep it all inside you. Let me share your pain - after all, we're stronger together, isn't? I rolled my eyes at my best friend's speech and chuckled. Toothless was so typical and cliché sometimes. What are you laughing at? This is serious!

Is it? I think Dragon's case is way more important than a few days of torture, dear Toothless.

We'll continue this conversation tonight, Hiccup.

Yes, dad, I said sarcastically as we landed at the other side of the island where our secret clubhouse was hidden between two mountains. I was one of the things I was proud of building it. The construction was in wood in the depths of an enormous cavern with an endless roof. It had been dug that much so that the dragons could fly freely and without feeling confined.

We entered the clubhouse and joined the four dragons in the center. There were the Skrill, a Monstrous Nightmare, a Death Song and finally a Stromcutter. They had been by my side since I had found this island and started building Dragon's Edge.

The Nightmare was the one from Berk that I had tamed. It had followed us until here and never left our side. At first, it was acting skeptic and mistrustful but over the weeks when it saw I wasn't going to hurt me, it gave me entirely his trust and started to help me building Dragon's Edge. Without Hookfang - that was his name -, this base wouldn't be what it was nowaday.

I then met the Death Song when it was starving on an inhabited land. The poor dragon had been whipped by Outcasts and was slowly waiting for its death. That was when I appeared on Toothless' back. We landed before the injured creature and at first, it tried to attack us, but it was way too weak to even lift its wings. I was forced to bring it food and water for two days until it finally let me approach. Even though I was intimidated - it was the first time I was seeing such a beautiful dragon -, I found a way to patch its wounds and in return, the Death Song gave me its trust. I named her Siri because, from her experiences, she knew like no one what was right and what was wrong.

The Skrill, in its case, just came to Dragon's Edge when the base was almost finished, sat at the center of the constructions and didn't move for days. Toothless, Hookfang, Siri and I weren't totally dumbfounded. Having read the Dragon's book, I knew how legendary was the Skrill, and to think he suddenly appeared one day and decided to sit right in the middle of the square - it was crazy! When I noticed he wasn't eating or drinking, I overcame my fear and admiration of the dragon and gave it fishes and bowls of water. At the beginning, it just tossed it like it was a pile of garbage and at a moment, I just lost it. The Skrill was losing dangerously weight and was slowly dying of hunger. So I tapped my foot in front of the creature and I began to scream to it that if it didn't stop refusing to feed, I would force it to - and I didn't care about the respect I had for the mythical dragon. And then, said dragon turned its eyes on me for the first time, lowered its head, ate the fish and emptied the bowl of water. It had been the most difficult dragon he had ever tamed. I named him Dellinger because the dawn was rising when he finally stopped being so stubborn.

Finally, the Stromcutter was one of the dragons I had rescued when I escaped Dragon's dungeon. He was a 'fresh dragon', meaning it had just been captured. He was about to be whipped in front of me when I put my plan into action. I managed to grab the whip that was going to scarify its beautiful scales and the creature immediately knocked out cold the madman. The Stormcutter and I exchanged a stare but it was all that it took. We were a now team against a whole island of enemies. Thanks to him, we escaped way more easily that I thought this cursed undergrounds and after Toothless and I had destroyed the fleet, the Stormcutter followed us up to Dragon's Edge. As a thank you, I offered him a place on the land and gave him a name - Cloudjumper - that he accepted with happiness. The reason why I named him like that was that because of his four wings, he was able to literally make jumps and hops in the clouds.

So, what is going on? I heard that Drago is making waves somewhere? I asked to get their attentions. The four dragons all turned their heads in my direction and stopped arguing about the madman's case.

Yes, he has taken over the hunt for dragons and he is capturing more and more every day. This is getting serious and dangerous! sang Siri, her voice trembling with worry. (NA: In my story, when a Death Song talks, it, in fact, sings. Seemed logic to me.)

Sine when Drago isn't serious and dangerous?! We should've killed him when we had the chance! yelled Hookfang, his body starting to heat up.

Fang! Toothless growled and the Nightmare roared, his scales slowly starting to fume. We promised that we would never kill for our cause!

Guys, please calm down, I interfered before it got worse. No need to argue and yell. We need to talk with a cooled head. This problem won't be resolved by itself, okay? Toothless and Fang looked away. So, you two had a point, but let me rephrase it. I got up on my foot and picked up a pencil-shaped pebble on the ground and erased what was on my board. It was a flat rock supported by two posts on each side and both were planted in the floor. I know we promised we would never kill for our cause, but we really need to stop Dragon before he does real damages. I wrote 'Drago' on the board and marked it with a huge X. That means, we have to get rid of him even him I don't want to spill blood.

His blood is worthless anyway, snickered Dellinger and I scowled him. Sorry.

Anyway, did the Night Terrors came back of their duty? They were my sentinels. If something was approaching the island, they would be the first to know it. Maybe they had seen him close Dragon's Edge? I added, extremely worried. On this island, there was some much dragons that it was the number was countless. On top of that, most of them were past victims of Dragon and the Outcasts.

But Siri quickly answered me, knowing my mind would go wild. No! Don't worry, he's far away from here, but... She gave the three dragons an undecided look and Toothless and I both exchanged a stare. That wasn't good news. I think Drago's new army is heading for Berk. My blood went cold for the second time in two days and I put my head in my heads, trying in vain to use that brain of him that so many people had complimented of intelligent.

It might be a trick to draw you out of Dragon's Island, assumed the Cloudjumper, speaking for the first time since the start of the meeting. Toothless agreed with him as Siri was still singing about Drago's direction.

In three days, he will reach Berk's harbor. What should we do? All the heads turned to me and I sighed, closing my eyes. I did not think of dealing with Berk before ten years and thinking that now I was going to save them when I had clearly told them that I was not going to lift a finger for them... I wanted to pound my head against a wall.

Well, there's only one thing to do. Toothless grunted and Cloudjumper smiled while Siri was already chanting about the upcoming departure. Fang roared, narrowing his pupils, and Dellinger put a wing on his face, an exasperated gleam in his eyes. Yeah, I know, guys, but I don't want their death on conscience and I'm sure you neither.

But Hiccup, they have hurt you so much, why would you-

I'm weak, that's why, I shuttered to Fang as I walked out. Toothless must had guessed that I needed time alone because he stayed with the four dragons in order to prepare our upcoming journey.

I stared at the sky for a couple of seconds before leaving the clubhouse's entry. I descended the mountainside with agility, thanks to my abilities that I had developed over the years alongside the dragons. Finally, I reached a raised hill attached to the mountain and sat at the very at the top. I placed my hands behind me and put my weight on it, observing and enjoying the last warm rays of sunlight on my face.

To be honest, I was pissed. So pissed that I wanted to throw punches everywhere like a mental deranged would, only to just evacuate all my frustration and sudden anger. It was true when I said I was weak. Even though I had made clear to the Berkians that they all could burn to death I wouldn't give a damn, I was still longing at the horizon, asking myself if they were okay, if the raids stopped after I had defeated the Red Death... It was stupid, but I just couldn't help myself.

I was always trying to not think about Berk because it would always bring up Astrid to my mind - and gods every time I was thinking about her, it was like a knife was piercing my heart. I still loved the girl of my dreams and I knew that I hadn't been fair to her during those five years. I should've kept my word and at least paid up a visit to her. Letting her I was still alive, safe and sound, and that I was still thinking about her.

I had believed that maybe I would forget about her and that my love for her would fade away as the time would pass by, but I had been a fool. I just truly loved her. But then I wondered if she- if she was still waiting for me, longing at the horizon like I was doing right now. The guilt stabbed my heart and I sighed, my breath shaking. I was such a jerk. I swore to her that I would come back and she trusted me to hold on to it.

But over the years, after my banishment, my meeting with Cloudjumper, Dellinger, and Siri, my stay in Drago's dungeons, and finally my adventures on the back of my best friend, I hadn't seen the time pass by. I was just so held up with the moment that I nearly forgot the girl I made a pact with.

"I really am a jerk."

That, you are, snickered a voice behind me. I smiled but didn't turn around. I already knew it was Toothless.

That, I am, I said and shared a look with my best friend. I'm sorry, bud, for all the fights we had when we would talk about Astrid. I was just so confused and still hurt by Drago's torture and by my banishment and-

Chill out, Hiccup. Breathe, you're not making any sense, sighed the Night Fury and I took a deep breath. He knew I was starting to lose myself, it happened so many times after all the mess with Drago, that it became a routine between us. Now, tell me. With complete sentences and meaning words.

Shut up, overgrown reptile, I mumbled, grumpy. It's just that, I was so caught by Dragon's Edge and my responsibilities about the dragons' safety that I just never- that I never wanted to leave the island in order to see Astrid again. I- I was- I don't even know how to say it. Maybe I was being a coward.

Well, you better figure out what to say because we are leaving in two hours.

Theeeeere you go with this HUGE chapter. It was pretty hard and complicated to write with all those conjugations, I thought I was going to go insane... I really wish the verbs and all were okay, though... I tried my best! D:

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!

See you in the next chapter!

(Probably going to be updated today or tomorrow for sure.)