AN: This came a lot faster than I expected it to. I hated writing it. I really, truly hated it. I was sobbing writing it, and my grandmother was trying to figure out how The Fiddler on the Roof was making tough-as-nails (when it comes to showing emotion) me cry. No, it was this chapter, and I am so, so sorry, my readers.

o~0~O~0~o

Chapter Four

No Flame Hotter

"There it is!" Astrid pointed. Below them, there was a towering fort. Hiccup sucked in his breath.

"It's huge!" he marvelled. It truly was enormous; it was the size of the whole village! Hiccup suddenly bent low on Toothless' back, squinting below them.

"What's-" he began, then swore loudly. "Look out!"

Toothless screeched in alarm and swerved madly, but Stormfly was too slow; Astrid let out a cry of fear as she found herself wrapped tight to Stormfly's back by a huge bola.

"Astrid!" yelled Hiccup, and Toothless swooped low. He grabbed the net, but he couldn't hold up Stormfly's weight, and the only thing he succeeded in doing was slowing their fall. They still hit the ground at an impressive speed; there was a sickening snap and Astrid let out a howl of pain. Her right ankle was twisted savagely to the side, and Hiccup scrambled out from under Toothless, groaning and switching the gear on his prosthetic. Astrid, woozy with pain, pieced together what must have happened. Toothless must have grabbed the bola and tried to lift it, but the only thing he did was slow it a bit. The net hit the ground and Toothless had fallen backwards on top of Hiccup.

"Astrid!" Hiccup said, stumbling over. He drew the knife from the straps on his bracers and cut the bola, lifting her to her feet. She hissed in pain and fell over again as she tried to put weight on her broken ankle. It was like a hot spear was being stabbed up her leg all the way to her hip.

"Thor almighty," Hiccup swore, noticing the ankle. Toothless rolled to his feet and clawed apart the rest of the netting holding Stormfly. The Nadder moaned and stood up, several of her tail spines broken in half and one wing hanging at an odd angle. Hiccup rummaged in his armour, pulling out a green plant.

"Here… he said soothingly. "Eat this, Astrid. It should help with the pain."

She obediently ate it. After a while, she thought she could feel the edge been taken off the pain in her ankle. Hiccup took a scan of their surroundings, and checked Stormfly's wing.

"They're sure to have seen us, but Stormfly can't fly in this condition, she's twisted her wing. It should heal, but we have to hide, and soon. I'm not leaving her behind anyway."

Astrid lifted her head.

"Is there anything we can use as a splint?" she asked, relieved that the pain seemed to be washing away from her ankle.

You had to break, didn't you, she thought crossly.

Hiccup looked at the bola.

"We have rope, but there's nothing in the way of a length of wood,"

"My axe," she said reluctantly. Hiccup looked at her sharply.

"That's your favourite axe," he said. "Are you sure?"

"You can always make me another one, babe," she smiled weakly. Hiccup nodded, pulling the axe off her saddle and unscrewing the head.

"Coming right up, milady," he said, lifting the head and tying it back onto Astrid's saddle. He unwound the leather straps that made up the grips and stowed them in his armour, and pulled the carved stone from the end. Pausing to snatch up the ropes, he knelt beside Astrid.

"You've done this before?" Astrid asked, gasping as he moved her foot.

"Sorry," he winced. "And yes; Idris fell off a small glacier once and Mom taught me how to splint her leg."

He measured out the length of wood, then drew his knife and sawed through the handle. He tied the ropes securely around the wood and Astrid's leg; he sat back with a sigh.

"There we go," he said. "It's not perfect, but it will do."

He helped Astrid to her feet, and she winced, but it was more bearable now.

"Thanks," she gasped. Hiccup lifted the rest of the axe handle and held it out.

"Use it to balance yourself," he suggested, and Astrid took it gratefully. She leaned on the length and groaned.

"This got off to a great start," she said as Hiccup climbed on to Toothless' back.

"Do you think you can ride? We're grounded, but we can still run."

Astrid limped over to Stormfly and petted the dragon. She cooed softly, and Astrid looked at the wing.

"I'm going to tie it to her body," Astrid said, picking up some of the tattered remains of the bola. Stormfly crooned as Astrid looped the ropes around the broad scaly chest. Once it was tied on, Astrid hauled herself into the saddle, wincing as her ankle thumped into Stormfly's side.

"Alright, which way do you want to go?" he said. Astrid looked around the barren plain to see a group of Vikings racing towards them.

"How about not that way?" she suggested. Hiccup nodded.

"Sounds good to me," he laughed a little madly, and turned around. Toothless started running, every now and then beating his wings for a little lift. Hiccup clung on for dear life; the Night Fury clearly was more concerned with keeping the man alive than keeping him intact. Stormfly barrelled after the scaly black tail: Astrid yelped as her ankle jolted with the dragon's motion.

"Hiccup!" she hollered, "where are we actually going?"

"No idea! Away from them!" he called back. Astrid suddenly spun; there was the sound of wingbeats above them. She barely had time to glimpse the gray-blue scales of a dragon before she felt claws around her arms and she was torn from her saddle. She screamed in fear and pain as her ankle caught on the saddle, and Hiccup wheeled around. Toothless leaped skywards, and Stormfly howled in horror, skidding sideways and racing below Astrid. The woman struggled in the claws of the dragon holding her.

"Stop! You left my dragon back there, she can't fly, she'll be killed!" she cried to the dragon, and got the shock of her life when a human voice responded.

"They won't kill her," it said, and Astrid snarled in recognition.

"Termagant! Put me down!" she yelled. Behind her, Hiccup was drawing in close; and Astrid tried to yell frantically at him but the wind whipped away her words. Termagant and Scorchfang started flying faster; a Skrill was the only dragon that could go toe-to-toe with a Night Fury. They swooped lower, closer to the huge fort, the empty space of ground in the centre of the fort only feet away, and then Astrid was dropped to the ground. She cried out as she landed hard on her ankle; Toothless skidded to a halt behind them and Hiccup sprang from the saddle, stumbling awkwardly; in his haste he had forgotten to change the gear on his prosthetic. He bent and switched it into walking gear, cursing, then helped Astrid to her feet. Termagant slid from her saddle; she had acquired a new helmet, and was clothed entirely in her dragon rider's gear.

"I'm so sorry," she said guiltily, and then someone else entered the ground. Hiccup swore in the strange language. The figure that had entered the yard was tall and unhealthily thin. It was, Astrid supposed, a female, although her bald head suggested otherwise. She had unusually long fingernails that were a sick greenish colour, and she snapped them twice.

Out of Toothless' saddlebag came a small yellow dragon, and Toothless jumped a foot in the air in fear, recoiling from the dragon like it was an eel. Hiccup went pale.

"Of course," he muttered furiously. "It wasn't a disease at all! It was poison!"

The dragon's tail ended in a sharp barb stained the same sick greenish colour as the… woman's… nails.

"Here they are, Excellinor," said Termagant with a filthy glare at the witch.

"Good," she said, "but I'm busy right now. Get Eret to dump them in the cells."

Termagant nodded stiffly.

"Follow me," she said.

"And why would we do that? We could just escape on-"

There was a panicked roar behind them, and Hiccup spun, almost knocking Astrid over. Astrid turned around to see the Vikings that had been chasing them clamping heavy iron manacles on a thrashing Toothless. Stormfly was being dragged by a heavy chain attached to the thick muzzle clamping her jaws shut. She let out a muffled cry and Astrid's heart melted.

"Stormfly!" she cried. At the same time, Hiccup yelled "Toothless!"

The two dragons were dragged along. Hiccup made to run after them but suddenly found a jagged sword at his throat.

"I wouldn't do that," Termagant said seriously. Hiccup narrowed his eyes.

"Toothless!" he yelled again, and the dragon let out a muffled roar in response. Hiccup turned around and shot Termagant a look of disgust. The woman let her sword drop and she looked at her feet.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly. "She won't hurt them, I know,"

"She better not," Hiccup said darkly.

"Well, I suppose… um… ERET!" she hollered. Another man came out into the courtyard.

"What does she want this time?" he asked.

"Say hello to him," Termagant whispered to Astrid, then addressed Eret. "She wants these two taken to the cells."

"Huh," he said, eyes focusing on Hiccup. "I don't know whether to thank you or curse you," he said.

"What?" Hiccup responded.

"You killed Drago, which made me a free man, but two days later Excellinor found me with that Skrill. Ergo, slave to the witch."

She shoved Hiccup forwards, and Astrid limped after them. Eret said no more after that, leading them down dark hallways until they reached a dimly lit room with cages lining the walls. Some of the cages were filled with half-conscious dragons, and the one directly across from her was filled with dragons so small they could only be babies. Eret opened a door, looking almost bored, and shoved Hiccup in, then grabbed Astrid's arm and yanked her into the cell. Astrid yelped in pain as she jarred her injured leg. The door slammed shut and Eret stalked away.

"Hello," said a little voice in the cell. Astrid wheeled around. There was a small boy sitting in the corner. He had an overlarge horned helmet on, curving horns tipped with metal. He was wearing a dirty light-green tunic, and a dark brown, patched leather vest. His small feet were almost swallowed by his furry boots. A shock of blonde hair issued from the helmet.

"Who are you?" the little boy said again.

"My name's Hiccup," Hiccup said, staring at the Timberjack sprawled in the next cell. "Gods above," he said. "It's Bladewing,"

"Who?" Astrid said in confusion.

"Bladewing, Sonja's dragon!" Hiccup answered, poking his hands through the bars. The Timberjack lifted its elongated snout and peered at them with dull eyes.

"She likes you," said the little boy.

"Who are you?" Astrid asked him. The boy looked at her with big yellow-green eyes.

"My name's Eelnose," he said.

"Termagant's brother," Astrid said in comprehension.

"Have you seen her?" he said, suddenly hopeful. "Is she okay?"

"Yes," Astrid reassured him. "She said hello."

Hiccup withdrew his hand and sat beside them.

"We have to do something," he said.

"What can you do?" Eelnose said doubtfully. "You're barely wider than I am,"

"Hey," Astrid interjected. "You're too young to be a cynic,"

"Yeah," Hiccup added, "that's my job. Anyway, I'll come up with something."

His eyes glittered and Astrid sighed. This was a pretty spectacular mess.

"You have green eyes," Eelnose said suddenly.

"And?" Hiccup asked.

"And you have a skull painted on your shoulder,"

"Here we go," Hiccup rolled his eyes.

"Wow! I didn't expect you to be so small!" Eelnose looked him over. "Where's your fire sword?"

"A little broken, thanks to your sister," Hiccup said crossly. "She hit the thing with lightning."

"And put Hiccup out for a week," Astrid interjected.

"Termi wouldn't do that," Eelnose protested.

"Wait," Hiccup suddenly said. "Astrid, you may have saved our lives,"

He pulled out the Nightmare saliva, the Zippleback gas and the lighting mechanism.

"Awesome, I did something right," Astrid said.

"What're they?" Eelnose asked.

"They make fire," he said. Eelnose raised an eyebrow.

"But Daydream can do that," he said, clicking his fingers. In the cage beside them, a Terror lifted its head and scampered over, poking its face through the bars. Eelnose scratched it.

"Huh," Hiccup said. "Are all these dragons tamed?"

"'Tamed' is the wrong word," Eelnose said. "The witch has complete control over them. I just made friends with Daydream."

"Good job anyhow," Hiccup said, "but these make Zippleback fire, which blows up. Which could be very, very helpful. I have an idea,"

He told them all and Eelnose paled while Astrid nodded in determination.

"You're going to get us killed!" Eelnose said. "The witch will kill us all!"

"It's this or my entire island dies," Hiccup responded sharply. "Now or never."

He stood up, balancing delicately on one foot and hopping to the gate, and beckoned Eelnose to the door. The boy clenched his fists before yelling up the corridor.

"Guard! Guard! Help me, they're going to hurt me! Help!"

Eret came thundering down the corridor and the moment he came too close to the door he got a good wallop over the head with Hiccup's prosthetic. He stepped backwards rubbing his head and snarling in anger.

"That wasn't as effective as I thought it would be," Hiccup said, and Eelnose stuck a skinny arm through the grate and smacked the man with his helmet. Eret dropped to the floor.

"You're even more useless than I am," Eelnose said in astonishment. Hiccup made a face and stuck out his tongue. He leaned against the door and latched his prosthetic back on.

"I hate taking that thing off," he muttered. Eelnose tilted his head.

"Why? Does it hurt?" he asked.

"Why don't you ask Termagant that?" Hiccup grumbled. "That's a really personal question."

Astrid stood shakily on her broken ankle. She hated being so useless. Hiccup frowned in sympathy.

"I know the feeling," he said, offering his shoulder to lean on. Eelnose bent and used the curved horns on his helmet to pull the keys out of Eret's limp hand. He held them up triumphantly, before trying each one in the door. On his fourth try, he got the right one, and the door clicked open. He instantly darted to the next cell, and this time he found the right key on his second try. He pulled open the gate and his Terror, Daydream, hurtled out, licking his face happily. Hiccup cautiously reached out to Bladewing, who crooned softly before using her titanic wings to lift herself up. She shuffled awkwardly out of the cell.

"She's… she's still wearing the saddle and everything," Hiccup choked. "Gods, Bladewing, I'm so sorry."

"Hiccup," Astrid said tentatively. "Why is it your fault Sonja died?"

Hiccup's eyes darkened. "She was my sword-sister. I was supposed to protect her, and I didn't."

"It wasn't your fault, Hiccup," Astrid soothed. She had no clue whether it was or not, but they couldn't afford to get distracted. He looked up.

"Even if it was," he said, sounding suddenly focused, "now is not the time to dwell on it. We need to find Toothless and Stormfly, and Termagant if we can. Then we need to find out the cure for the poison."

"Alright," Astrid said. Hiccup climbed onto Bladewing's back.

"Man, it feels weird without the stirrup," he said, helping Astrid and Eelnose up. Eelnose sat very awkwardly in front of Astrid.

"This is not right," he muttered anxiously.

"It's okay," Astrid said. "You won't fall."

"Hold on," Hiccup told them, and knocked Bladewing's sides with his ankle and his prosthetic. She slithered, snakelike, up the hallways, almost completely silent, and when they found the open air she used her tail to propel herself skywards. Eelnose yelped and clung tight to Hiccup's back, Daydream draped over his shoulders. Hiccup screeched his Night Fury cry and listened carefully, homing in on Toothless' response. They found another set of dragon cages, dismounting, to see Stormfly, Toothless and…

"Skullcrusher?" Hiccup said in astonishment.

"Well done," said a voice behind them. Hiccup whirled on Toothless' back.

Excellinor was striding towards them.

"I knew you would escape, but not this fast." she rasped. Astrid snarled and narrowed her eyes, fingers itching. She stood protectively in front of a trembling Eelnose.

Gods, I wish I had my darn axe, she thought furiously.

"Now," said Excellinor. "Either you make your dragon Alpha obey me or I'll kill your father."

"What?" Hiccup yelped. Excellinor beckoned and Stoick was shoved out of the shadows.

"Watch it, you!" he snarled, and spotted Hiccup. "Hiccup! It's not a disease, it's poison! Everyone has sting marks!"

"We know," Hiccup said stiffly. "Excellinor, this is low hanging fruit, even for you."

"Do it or else," she hissed sibilantly, a manic grin on her face. Hiccup swallowed and stepped towards Toothless' cage. The Night Fury crooned through his muzzle, and Hiccup looked at Excellinor.

"It's locked," he said. She threw him a gleaming key and he fumbled and caught it. He slid it into the lock and released Toothless, pulling off the muzzle.

"It's okay, bud…" he said tightly. Astrid could almost see the conflict; condemn Toothless to Excellinor's control, or let his father die?

His eyes set. Astrid knew what he had decided. He could always rescue Toothless, but death was final.

"Sorry, bud… I'm sorry. Don't hurt the witch."

He said it firmly, but Toothless tilted his head in confusion. He looked at Excellinor, whose eyes lit up.

"Don't hurt her. Listen to her."

Toothless whined, and took a step backwards. Hiccup took a deep breath and led Toothless over to the witch, taking her hand and placing it on Toothless' snout. The dragon whimpered and Hiccup seemed to choke up.

"Hiccup… what are you doing?" Stoick said softly. Excellinor laughed maniacally.

"Good, good," she said, and started muttering to Toothless quietly. The dragon took a step back, seeming confused. Excellinor started talking louder, in a strange voice.

"Listen to me. Obey me, and me only,"

It was so suggestive that for a moment Astrid had the crazy notion of surrendering to the witch. Then she realised.

"Hiccup, get away," she warned. She had no clue what Excellinor was doing, but it reminded her forcibly of the trouble with the Alpha three years ago. Toothless wouldn't know what in Hel he was doing.

The dragon lowered his head obediently.

"Good," Excellinor clapped her hands. "Now kill him."

She pointed at Hiccup, who took a step back and raised his hands. Astrid shook her head to clear it; the sheer suggestiveness had, for a second, made her want to attack Hiccup as well.

She really is a witch, Astrid thought, starting to panic.

"Whoa, wait up, this wasn't part of the bargain," Hiccup protested. Toothless turned to look at him with dull eyes. He started advancing menacingly, like a cat stalking a bird, and Hiccup backed away.

"Hiccup!" yelped Astrid and Stoick together.

"Bud, don't listen… block it out.. you've done it before…"

Toothless opened his mouth and Astrid heard the whistling. Eelnose let out a cry of terror and Astrid's maternal instinct kicked in; she wrapped her arms around him and swung him away, crouching low to protect him; at the same time, a piercing terror filled her heart for Hiccup. She heard thunderous footfalls and a blast of flame, felt the wave of searing heat that washed over her, heard Eelnose screaming and Hiccup letting out a strangled grunt, and all was silent. She dropped the small boy and spun back around, her broken ankle grating painfully. Her heart clenched and she focused on the form sprawled in front of a panting Toothless.

Forms.

Stoick was utterly still, and Hiccup fought his way out from underneath his father. Astrid dropped painfully to her knees and stared into the eyes of her chief, who saw no more.