SORRY FOR THE WAIT. I won't ramble, but I've been CRAZY busy this week! And hey, thank you guys for all those reviews, faves, and follows!

SHOUT-OUTS:

katurdi: YOU ask why I did a cliffie, Mrs. HICCUP-STABBED-AT-END-OF-CHAPTER?! Yep, worried!Astrid is SO AMAZING! :D Thank you! Guess we'll have to see what Johann's up to! THANKS, KAT!

AnaWinchester-Universe67: YESSSS, CLIFFHANGERS - what else did you expect? :D

brywolf: Aww, thanks!

harrypanther: Yes, there was quite a bit of action in here! Thank you, that means a lot to a writer! :D Johann has lots in store for Hiccup. YES, autocorrect can be so annoying sometimes. XD Thank you, and here it is!

Antox: Really? Yay, THANKS! Sorry for taking awhile, been pretty busy!

The Dreaming Dragon: *blushes* Thank you, that means the world! SORRY FOR THE WAIT! But here's the next chapter!

ElenaTheHyperactiveFangirl14: Thanks! Yep, poor Hiccup's been through so much, and there's only more coming... :D Great! I've never written Krogan before so I was worried about that. Johann's been a challenge, too. I'll try! :3

DaisytheDoodleDog: WOW, top FIVE?! I feel so honored! XD Thank you!

r-a-e121: Well, it wasn't the WORST cliffie... *smiles weakly* YES, cheers to torturing Hiccup! Whump is so awesome. YESSS, Purple is THE BEST.

Grizzly98: BECAUSE I AM ME. THAT'S WHY I MUST DO THIS. Ooh, now that Johann has Hiccup, he has some ideas on getting the last lens from him... :-)

Snowflake (Guest #1): Phew, that's a relief; thanks! Here is the next chapter!

FanWriter02: Yep, he really is! :-) Johann isn't really one for interrogation - he knows Hiccup won't crack. Too stubborn. Thank you!

Astrid E Lokison: THANKS! Mhm, go get those Flyers; they need to just LEAVE HICCUP ALONE for once! XD

HanikahTheWriter: Yay, glad you like it!

thepurplewriter333: YEEEPPPPP, lots o' whump! WAHOOOOO, CHILLS! The single greatest achievement a whump writer can earn! Thank you!

goldenauts: Thank you, that means a lot! Yep, Johann can be pretty rough... you're welcome and thanks for reviewing!

BLaiZeRSToRM: Nice, that's what I was going for! :D

Sophia (Guest #2): Lots of Johann in this chapter! *mysterious smile* He's got lots more planned for our Hiccup in this chapter and the rest! Awww, thank you, that's what I strive to hear! :-)

PsychicWonderKitty: YAY, THAT'S AWESOME! AHHHHH, thanks! I KNOW, RIGHT? Evil!Johann? Didn't see that coming! I love a good Astrid-protecting-Hiccup scene too! Heheh, hope this chapter satisfies those hopes! THANK YOU SO MUCH, KITTY, YOU'RE AWESOME!

aaquater: We'll have to see about Johann! :D Oh, well, Snotlout had the whole night to fly to Vanaheim and back with the other Riders, so not much story to tell there! Wow, THANK YOU, that means so much! (I know I say that a lot, but seriously, THANK YOU! :D)

Darklightningstorm: :D It's fun to write, too.

ThePhoenixGirl: Sorry for the wait! Been really busy!

This chapter is dedicated to katurdi. I hope you feel better! :3 ENJOY, THIS 5K MONSTER, GUYS!


Chapter 4:

Hiccup was dragged through the hallways, only managing to stand up half-way through the journey. Krogan had no pity for him, not even sparing a glance at his struggling form. They soon reached the end of the hall where they began to ascend a staircase that led abovedeck.

When Krogan paused, Hiccup had time to look at the sunlight, blinking away the sudden glare. Before he had time to recover, Krogan yanked him away into another room – someone's quarters. Hiccup knew who's it was without a doubt…

Johann stood inside, back turned to them as he stared at a map tacked over the background wall. He continued looking at it even after they had entered, but finally faced them when Krogan closed the door, a dirty look stretched across his face.

"Why am I here?" Hiccup panted before anyone else could say something. "Are you going to kill me privately? Is that it?"

Johann scowled. "I wish I could kill you. But, as both of you know, I have one last lens to get that I'm running out of time to find. Time that I can't… afford… to lose…"

"Yeah, I mean, you really can't." Hiccup managed a smile, and Krogan tightened his grip on his arm in response. "We're so close to finding our last lens and you're lagging pretty far behind… better step up your game if you want to win…"

Johann slammed his hands down on the table in front of him, eyes shooting daggers. Hiccup flinched.

"I'm not going to interrogate you for the location of your lenses," Johann spat. "We both know that's useless. I have other plans for you."

"Like what?" Hiccup asked.

He scoffed. "As if I'd give everything away – I'm no fool, like Dagur, or Viggo, or any of the others… you won't be getting any slip-ups from me, Hiccup. Nor any special treatment. I don't care what happens to you, only that you're out of the way, one way or another… preferably in a way where I don't see you coming back to save the day again."

Though Hiccup had faced down countless enemies, he could help but feel nervous listening to Johann. It was just so unsettling to see a former friend – if he ever was one – suddenly filled with such malice.

"Even if you get rid of me and the other Riders, there'll always be others protecting the King of Dragons," Hiccup said. "If you think otherwise, you're a fool."

"You think me a fool? Well, think again, Hiccup Haddock III, because this fool just captured you and is about to destroy your precious dragons. What do you think of that?"

Hiccup paused. "I think that it was Krogan who captured me… not you. Which makes you an incompetent fool, as well…?"

"I had the girl removed as you requested, Johann," Krogan said before things could escalate any further. "I had some of the Dragon Flyers dropped her off on the-"

"Remember who our company is! Do not disclose any information that could benefit the prisoner here."

Hiccup frowned. "Come on, Johann, enough… why I am here? I know you didn't just bring me here to chat."

Johann looked as if he was going to shout some more, but his expression slowly relaxed back into a sinister smirk. "Why are you here? Well, I'll give you the short answer: I have some handy-work that needs to be done… quite important physical labor that I think you're the only one, ah, capable of completing."

"Handy-work?" That couldn't be his plan. Johann was too tricky for that – he'd fooled Hiccup and all of Berk for years, after all. No. He must've had something else up his tunic planned for him. But he couldn't imagine what… or why he was still alive. Something just wasn't adding up…

"I think it might do you some good to get put in your proper place," said Johann. "Working for me. Now, Krogan, I see you've done your job and finally obtained the boy. The master will be pleased to hear that… take him back to his cell for now; we must discuss things in private."

Though irritated at being commanded around by his partner, Krogan threw Hiccup a black look, then tugged him out of Johann's quarters. Hiccup cringed at his harsh movements, still sore and exhausted. Each pull sent his head pounding, making him loathe head injuries further.

Within a minute or two, he was back in his cell and left there alone by a disgruntled Krogan. Upon seeing him shivering, however, Krogan gave him a mangy black blanket. It didn't look nice, but it was large and would protect him from the cold.

Pulling it around him, he leaned against the wall for a bit while trying to steady his painfully resonating heartbeat.

He couldn't keep his mind off Johann's words… Handy-work… what handy-work? What physical labor could he accomplish in this state? Even for someone as resourceful as him, he just couldn't figure it out.

…no matter. He had his own plans – while Krogan had been stewing over his frustration of being treated as Johann's servant, he hadn't paid attention to Hiccup for a short while… leaving him time to swipe a key to his cell from him. There'd been two, thank Thor, and when Krogan had locked him in, he hadn't noticed the loss of his other one.

He took the key from his vest and stared at it for a long moment. He was getting out of here.

After Krogan's footsteps had faded away, he dropped his blanket in the back of the cell, curling it up so it might look as if he was sleeping underneath to a passerby. Then he limped over to the cell door, reaching around the bars to insert the stolen key into the hole. He was on the verge of collapse and wasn't even sure what he'd do when he got out, but he was going to take this chance and hope for the best.

Taking in a breath, he stepped into the hall.


"Why is he still alive?" Krogan growled at Johann upon reentering his quarters. "We have no use for him for work; didn't you see him, he could barely stand!"

Johann shot him a nasty look. "Do you honestly think I'm keeping that brat alive for labor? No. I have far greater plans for Hiccup Haddock III than that."

"Then tell me – I'm tired of being kept in the dark!"

"Fine," he barked. "I'll be blunt with you: I'm going to have Hiccup look for the last Dragon Eye lens. Those things come to him like Gronckles to rocks and he'll find one soon enough for us. I already have an idea of where the next lens is. He'll bring it right into our hands without him even realizing it's happening, with luck."

Krogan frowned. "That's a risky plan, Johann. What if the boy finds it and hides it from us? Or uses it for his own purposes? It's too much of a gamble. I say we kill him and then go after the other Dragon Riders-"

"Remember who the master left in charge," Johann said smoothly, fingering the map on the wall. There were several 'X's drawn on top of it, several crossed on top of the area where Vanaheim was thought to be. "I make the decisions around here. And that won't happen – we'll have several eyes trained on Hiccup's every move. There will be no way he can escape, and the moment he finds the lens, he'll be killed." He smirked. "I have this all planned out, and more."

"What about the girl? Why did we let her go? We should've killed her when we had the chance!"

"Hiccup would've refused to work for us if we killed her in front of him. Apparently, they have a bit of a thing. And plus, I have other plans for her and the other Riders… ones that will get them out of the way and bring Hiccup to his knees."

Krogan opened his mouth to voice another protest but was unable to speak before a Dragon Flyer barged through the door, eyes panicked behind his mask.

Johann slammed his hands down on his table for the second time in five minutes, growling, "I told you not to interrupt!"

The Flyer shook his head, panting. "Er – sorry, sir, but there's an emergency-!"

"What?" he snapped. What was so important that these incompetent fools of Dragon Flyers disobeyed direct orders?

"The ship… it's – it's on fire!"

"So, put it out!" Krogan was not amused either.

"But there's one more thing." The Flyer seemed almost ashamed. "The prisoner has escaped, as well…"

Johann's body shook with barely contained fury, and his expression morphed into a scowl with such immense hatred that it scared even Krogan. "HICCUP…!"


Hiccup hadn't been quite sure what his plan would be when he had escaped, but the one he'd made up as he went along hadn't been half bad. What else was better to distract his captives than fire? Guards came by his prison every five or ten minutes, but with a little explosion, they might forget to come by.

He'd found a still-burning torch in a side room he'd hid in when he heard someone coming down the hallway, and grabbed it, thinking it useful. He was glad he had, because the next time he hid out in a room, he found several containers of Monstrous Nightmare gel… and he'd had an idea. He wouldn't make it off the ship in time – that is, without help. And a fire just might've been the help he needed so much.

And so, he'd pocketed five containers of the Nightmare gel, only planning to use a few but thinking some might come in handy later. When the footsteps had faded, he'd smeared a trail of the gel along the walls, and after he'd used it all up, tipped the torch towards it.

When things had started exploding, he'd ducked his head and clambered up the stairs that led abovedeck. That ought to give him some extra time.

It was slow-going up the steps, but he eventually made it, stepping into the sunshine and continuing his way across the deck. By now, he was ready to drop, possibly more exhausted than he'd ever been in his life, but he forced himself to keep going, depending on the comforting memories of his family and friends to keep him going.

I'm almost there, guys, he thought to himself, gritting his teeth against his headache. He glanced around the ship as he walked across it, looking for some sort of boat or raft he could use to leave the ship. He was really in no state to sail, but anything was better than spending another minute in that cell.

He frowned, not seeing any getaways. An invisible timer ticked at the back of his head, warning him that the guards must've realized he'd escaped by now. There was yelling in the background, signifying the fire had been noticed. He heard doors slam open as people rushed out of their quarters to see what was going on.

Panicked at the thought of being seen, Hiccup tried to walk faster to the side of the ship, but only succeeded in falling on his face. He groaned at the impact and tried to push himself up but before he could stand himself, he felt someone grab the back of his vest and yank him to his feet.

He turned his head to see Johann holding him up, one of his nastiest glowers on his face. He didn't speak, only giving a furious grunt as he began to drag Hiccup across the deck. Hiccup struggled, though it was futile. Johann reached his quarters and threw him inside, crashing the door behind him.

From the floor, Hiccup panted, his body aching from being tossed. "Why haven't you killed me yet? I'm not an idiot. You hate me – you'd kill me no hesitation any old day. You even tried before I knew you were a spy."

"You've gotten smarter, I'll admit," Johann said, sitting down in his chair and scrutinizing Hiccup's prone form coldly.

"What do you what me for, then? You lied… you don't need me for manual labor."

Johann scowled. "I didn't lie, Hiccup. I do need you for labor… labor searching for something very precious to the both of us. I need you to find the last Dragon Eye lens for me, because time's running out for me and I know you and your little friends will never hand over yours."

Hiccup couldn't conceal his shocked expression.

"What? Surprised I'm telling you this? I admit, I am too, but I know you'd figure it out soon enough. There's no use in being dishonest with each other anymore, is there, Hiccup?"

"…I don't know where the last lens is."

"And so, you don't. But I do. I have sufficient information to believe it's on Vanaheim. You see, I realized that dear Heather and her maniacal brother's father lived there, didn't he? And they both had Dragon Eye lenses given to them by their father, correct? After putting those thoughts together, it wasn't hard to make sense of the situation… Oswald the Agreeable must've had a lens as well, and it must be on Vanaheim." He stood from his seat, crossing his arms. "And so, Hiccup, you're going to look for it and if you dare to try anything, I will not only kill you but everyone you know and love in front of your eyes."

Hiccup swallowed. "How – how do you even know it's there? It might not be…"

"I guess you'd better pray it is, or there'll be consequences. You start looking in the morning; we're setting sail for Vanaheim today. And Hiccup? I'm not an idiot either. I didn't send your girl away to be nice. I know your friends will come after you, and when they find the girl, she'll tell them where we are, and they'll all come back here. But what they don't know is that we're switching boats, and when they come back to this one, all they'll find is a seemingly abandoned ship…"

It took Hiccup a moment to process his words, and when he finally realized their meaning, he gasped, shaking his head. "No, Johann… no, please…"

"Setting the boat on fire was a clever idea, Hiccup." He smirked. "One that I think I'll be borrowing. I hope you said formidable goodbyes to your friends before, because I'm afraid you won't get another chance to say farewell. And now that everything seems to be cleared up… it's time to be transferred to the other ship now. We have to prepare for your friends' arrival, of course… they'll be arriving soon."

Before Hiccup knew it, a couple of Flyers were storming inside the room and dragging him off. All Hiccup could do was throw Johann one last desperate look and pray to Odin to save his friends.


"And they just let you go like that?"

"Yeah," Astrid replied to Fishlegs, who had just landed Toothless next to her (Meatlug flew beside them). She rubbed the Night Fury's head, chest panging at his lonesome whines for his rider. "Why?"

"That doesn't sound right at all," he said, frowning.

"I know it doesn't, but I just can't think of why Johann would tell Krogan to let me go. When – when they took me, I thought maybe they just wanted to kill Hiccup when he was alone and then kill all the dragons in front of us or something else sadistic…" The mention of Hiccup had her worrying again, her frets clouding her mind.

"Even I agree it's sketchy," Tuffnut said suspiciously. He jumped off Belch onto part of the ship beside Astrid, followed by Ruffnut.

"Something's not adding up," Ruffnut agreed.

Snotlout put his hands on his hips. "Really not adding up."

"We don't have time to figure out every one of Johann's plans!" Astrid said, frustrated. "We need to get back to Hiccup as fast as possible. Krogan and Johann – you've seen them, they don't show any mercy. We have to save him…"

"And we will," said Fishlegs. "We just need a plan first. I understand you want to get Hiccup back – we all do, Hiccup's our best friend! – but we all know by now what happens when we go into things blindly. Can you think of anything Krogan said that might give something away…?"

Astrid tried to think, but it was hard to. "Only that he had plans for us that I guess Hiccup wasn't a part of."

"But what plans?" Snotlout wondered.

"I don't know for sure, but I bet something dealing with the Dragon Eye lenses."

Fishlegs, who had been deep in thought, suddenly squealed, "Oh, wait, Astrid – I almost forgot to tell you!" He reached inside his tunic and came out with something in his hands. Astrid was confused for a moment until he opened his palm, so she could see what was inside. "It seems Oswald had more secrets than we thought." He grinned down at their fifth Dragon Eye lens. "We found this hidden in his home."

She gaped. "How…? I can't believe it… another lens hidden beneath our noses this whole time…"

"We really need some sort of lens-detector," Tuffnut said seriously.

Ruffnut's head bobbed. "Who knows where else they've been hidden this whole time?"

Astrid rolled her eyes. "Look… we aren't helping Hiccup by standing here and – and just thinking. We have to do something. Hiccup's always been there for us, and so we're going to be there for him." She glanced at Fishlegs. "Plan or no plan."

Fishlegs eventually nodded. "It may not be the smartest thing to do, but Hiccup's irreplaceable, and I'm not going to risk my friend's life any longer. At least… at least the lenses are safe. That way the King of Dragons will still be protected in case something goes…"

"Horribly and horrendously wrong?" Tuffnut piped in.

Fishlegs blinked. "Yes, that's one way to put it, Tuff… So, we'll just do the typical scouting and infiltration, then? A crude plan is better than none at all."

The Riders all nodded their consent.

"Thanks, guys," Astrid said as they boarded their dragons, Stormfly flying alone this time so Astrid could ride Toothless. "You've been… a really, really great team, and I'm sorry for putting you in this much danger-"

"Say no more." Snotlout raised a hand to cut her off, smiling grimly. "Hiccup's our friend and our leader. We wouldn't have it any other way. And if we end up being blasted to oblivion in the end, then we're blasted to oblivion… but not without kicking some butt first, eh?"

Astrid gave a laugh for what seemed to be the first time in a while. "Yeah, Snotlout. We'll do that." She faced the other Riders, who looked at her in anticipation. "You ready?"

Fishlegs grinned, gesturing ahead. "Lead the way."


Johann's back-up ship was setting sail, leaving the first one behind. Dragon Flyers were set in place on the other boat, prepared to attack the Riders as soon as they came aboard.

Meanwhile, Hiccup was locked in Johann's new quarters. The villain hadn't trusted him to be left alone as a witness to far too many of his escapes and vowed to make sure that Hiccup would remain his prisoner till he was done with him. His hands were bound, prosthetic leg removed, and he was tied near the side of the room.

Hiccup had been pretending to be confident that his friends would turn out okay, but as the minutes ticked away, so did his faith. Out of Johann's window, he could see his friends advancing inside so sneakily they were barely noticeable. And no one would've noticed them enter, either, if not for the back-up ship watching from the shadows.

Seeing Johann laugh at the sight of the Riders thinking they were undiscovered and safe made Hiccup sick with worry. His friends were about to be killed in front of him, and there was nothing he could do about it. He pulled against the ropes binding him, but there was no way out.

"Please don't do this," he said to Johann, resorting to pleading. "I'll do anything."

"Even tell me where your lenses are?"

As much as Hiccup wanted to say yes, he remembered that time when all his friends had agreed that no matter what was threatened against them, the King of Dragons was more important. Even Ruff and Tuff were solemn then… everyone meant it. He couldn't go back on that promise.

He kept silent.

Still, as he heard panicked shouting in the distance, his desperation grew. He struggled once more but was again powerless to do anything. Biting his lip, he could only stare through the window in horror as the other ship burst into a fiery inferno of flames.


Astrid was startled by the change of events.

When she and the other Riders had begun to scout out the boat, it had seemed pretty much abandoned. But that couldn't be – Hiccup was here. He had been just a couple hours ago, locked away underdeck. She was confused at the mysterious vacancy, her mind screaming that something was wrong, but she was unable to pinpoint what. And so, they'd gone below deck, Astrid too eager to find Hiccup to wait any longer.

Once they were all below, things got weirder. Snotlout had smelled something funny, but eerily familiar, and quickly recognized it as Monstrous Nightmare gel. And then they'd seen Nightmare gel spread all across the ship – the walls, the floor, the ceiling… everything. Before they could figure out why it was there, there was a flicker of light near the staircase they'd descended… a hiss… an acrid smell of smoke…

And then an explosion.

"IT'S A TRAP!" Fishlegs had screamed as they'd been blown back by the blast. Their dragons squawked in alarm, snarling at the invisible intruders in the dark. Astrid cursed herself for not realizing it before; some Flyers must've hidden out inside the ship, and when the Riders had arrived, trapped them inside with the now-uncontrollable fire.

She felt awful for being so stupid. Looking back, the fact that there was an ambush was so so obvious. How had she missed the signs? How had she fallen for it? Stupid…

But she didn't have time to play the blame game. Hiccup needed her right now. She looked down the end of the hall, where the blaze was spreading to. That was the direction she remembered Hiccup's cell being. She gritted her teeth. "Let's go!"

She was glad they'd left Stormfly and Meatlug waiting for them outside in case they needed them for an emergency get-away; it looked as if they might need their help.

"HICCUP!" she called through the fire as she stumbled down the hall. The other Riders shadowed her as quickly as possible, but the inferno was growing fast as they hurried through, all calling for their missing friend.

After another long, hard-going minute, they arrived at the cell in the back where Astrid and Hiccup had been kept earlier. She ducked her head to cough for a couple of seconds and then lifted it again to look inside the cell.

It was hard to see between all the smoke, flames, and cell bars, but she could make out a slight figure of something at the back of the cell. It was limp and dark, yet vaguely humanoid. She coughed into her arm again, then yelled, "Hiccup?"

Behind her, the fire crackled louder, and her friends hollered in alarm. Astrid grabbed at the cell door, pulling it, but nothing happened; it was locked… and she didn't have the key.

"NO! NO NO NO NO NO! Open… HICCUP!" She tried again, ignoring how much her eyes were watering and how painful her coughs had become. She had to get to Hiccup! She loved him and she had to save him… However, she could feel herself growing weak and tired. She and the other Riders wouldn't last too much longer trapped in this blaze.

"HICCUP! Aargh, stupid door!"

Beside her, Toothless screeched worriedly, scratching at the barrier that separated him from his rider. He shot a plasma blast at the cell lock, and the door was blasted open. Fighting back the urge to collapse, Astrid rushed inside. "Hiccup-!"

She knelt on the ground where the figure was, shaking it. A horrible feeling festered in the pit of her stomach – one that she couldn't fight away.

"Hiccup… Hiccup!"

As she shook the blanketed shape harder, she realized something was horrifyingly wrong. Beneath the dark blanket on top of the form, she felt… nothing. There was only cloth, no body or bones or the familiar warmth of another human. All too quickly, she realized that this was not Hiccup and she jumped back, terrified.

What was going on?

"Astrid!" Fishlegs coughed from the cell entrance. "You have… Hiccup? Because we have… to go…!"

All she could do was stare, eyes wide in terror. "It isn't… Hiccup… he's not here! This isn't him, he's not…"

Though Fishlegs looked surprised, he still shook his head, pointing towards the exit. "Astrid… we have to go… now, or we're going to die! Hiccup must… not be here… has to be with Johann… we have a chance to leave and try to save him, but we can do that… dead!"

"We can't leave now!" came Snotlout's voice, and he and Hookfang soon appeared from the flames, panting. "Entrance… is blocked… Flyers barricaded it… and the fire's too intense!"

"What about… the dragons?" Ruffnut coughed. "They breathe fire! Can't they… help?"

Hookfang, the most flammable dragon of them all, chose that moment to whine weakly and lower his head. All of the dragons were obviously too exhausted to help get through the barrier.

"So, we're trapped here," Astrid said miserably. As she had yet another coughing fit, she realized that they might not make it out. They might die.

But no! She couldn't die! Hiccup needed her!

Staggering over to the side of the ship, she pounded against the wood, and then made a hoarse Nadder call…

Oh, please hear me, Stormfly…

Hopefully, her dragon was near enough to hear her and rescue them. Because no one in here had any strength left to save themselves.

Nothing happened. A weakened Fishlegs collapsed to his knees, followed by Ruffnut a moment later. Snotlout and Tuffnut didn't look much better off but tried to help their friends up. Astrid squeezed her swollen eyes shut and pounded on the ship again.

Please, please, please…

There was nothing. She sank to her knees, losing hope…

KA-BOOM! Another explosion blasted through the end of the ship where the Riders were, creating an opening to the outside. In the gap, Stormfly squawked and flapped her wings. Meatlug hovered next to her and gave a roar.

"That's my girl!" Fishlegs squealed, head snapping up at the sound of his Gronckle coming to save them. With a grin, he pushed himself to his feet and limped over to her. Meatlug grabbed the back of his tunic with her teeth and carried him off.

"Wait for us!" Ruffnut cried, and she and her brother managed to get on a feeble Barf and Belch. They soon disappeared through the hole, followed by Snotlout on Hookfang.

Astrid was the only one left on the ship, staring back at the blanketed form in horror. If she left, there was no going back… the boat was going down one way or another, and nothing would be able to be salvaged. Nothing. That meant, if Hiccup was still in here…

"ASTRID! COME ON!"

Eyes watering from more than just the smoke, Astrid managed to tear herself away from the cell and hurry over to the hole where Stormfly awaited her. She pulled herself onto her Nadder's back just in time to escape a final explosion that was so powerful it knocked all of them back.

"HICCUP! HICCUP!"

Sweat dripped in her eyes. There was no way anyone could've survived that explosion.

She thought back to being inside the cell… The figure… the blanket… the emptiness, no warmth… or was there? Panicked, she couldn't quite remember if she had felt anything or not… maybe she'd been distracted in there, and it was… what if Hiccup really had been…

Oh, gods, maybe it really was Hiccup.

And maybe she'd just left him there… left him in an exploding ship to… to die.

As Stormfly flew her further out to reach where her friends had gathered, she cried out in horror, and despite her hoarse voice, screamed, "NO! HICCUP! NOOOOO!"

But the inferno raged on, and the ship gave one final roar as it at last sank beneath the cold, unforgiving sea…


*pin drops*