Well guys, here we are again. :) Back on the ol' stomping grounds, aye? You all want to see what Hiccup does to defeat Dagur and maybe have a few shout-outs along the way? Well, here are your shout-outs, and then, feel free to read on, incredible people! :D Shout-outs:

ShadowSpirit020: Sick!Hiccup! :D Why am I smiling? :D

HappyPup1: YES, CHECKMATE IS A BOOK REFERENCE! YOU GOT IT! :D :D :D WHOOP WHOOP! :D :D :D

Shizuku Tsukishima749: Thanks! :D

Eeveecat1248: Yeah, well, Dagur's blocking the doors, so technically, Hiccup can't get out. Hiccup would already be long-gone if he had the chance to escape. :D

LunarCatNinja: And now you can figure out how Hiccup does in the fight! :D

midnightsky0612: Yes...go Hiccup! :D

StarFlight13: What if...I am an alien from outerspace? What if...I'm a Time Lord? *gasp* HAHA, I wish. XD "Sir, we are detecting high levels of sass!" Shifting between fandoms, one at a time...or more...XD

SnivyDragon: NO ONE can stop HICCUP HORRENDOUS HADDOCK THE THIRD! Ain't NO ONE! :D Thanks! :D I'm glad you like the story! :D

Charr2003: Oooh, Mark of Athena...that hurt. That hurt a lot. AND HAVING TO WAIT A YEAR FOR THE NEXT BOOK, THAT WAS MURDER! D: I'm glad you still like the story! :D

Galaxy-Mitsuko-Pegasus: GO HICCUP! :D Yes, Hiccup is AMAZING. :D

hiccupandtoothless294: Hiccup: Supreme Lord of All Sass. :D

Iron Rose Writer: GO HICCUP! :D

RainDragon28: Yaaaah, ended the chapter really bad there, I guess. :P Sorry about that! :D I'm glad you enjoy the story! :D

Carly Marley: SING SING SING, ALL FELLOW DRAGONITES AND FANGIRLS ALIKE! COME NOW, DON'T BE SHY! *grabs mic* *throws Random Dragonite drumsticks* LET'S BURN THIS CANDLE! HASSSSSAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

"WATCH OUT!" Astrid shouted, and she, Snotlout, Fishlegs, and the twins swerved on their dragons to avoid the shower of arrows that assailed the air before them.

"Oh, that's attractive!" Snotlout shouted down at the shooters of the arrows angrily. "It's no wonder you don't get any visitors, your social skills suck!"

"This is no time for that, Snotlout!" snapped Astrid angrily. "We have to get down there, and avoid the arrows at all cost! They're impregnated with dragon root, and if they hit your dragons, they'll go ballistic!"

"No hitting the arrows, got it!" said Snotlout.

"Or, we can get close to them," said Tuffnut, "and use Ruffnut as a human shield! OW! My shoulder!" He rubbed his shoulder, where Ruffnut had reached over and punched him.

"Stay away from the arrows!" said Astrid. "Get close enough to take out the crossbows, but not close enough to get hit! Fly in zigzags, you'll be less likely to get hit!"

The dragons zoomed downwards towards the ocean like birds of prey, towards the small fleet of dragon hunter ships. Fishlegs looked over to the side and gasped instantly.

"Astrid, look!" he shouted.

Astrid turned to see what Fishlegs meant, and she saw an entire armada of ships sailing towards them - all with the Berkian crest painted on the sails.

"Stoick's ships!" called Astrid to the others. "Come on, let's distract the dragon hunters and give Stoick a clear shot!"

They flew tauntingly close to the archer's range, but no matter how hard the archers tried, they simply couldn't shoot the dragons with their arrows. Astrid looked down, trying to decide which ship they would use for hostages…

"Hold your fire!" she shouted to the others.

Instantly, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, and Snotlout commanded their dragons to fire. The archers ducked for cover as dragon fire lit half of the deck of their ship.

"NO!" Astrid shouted. "I SAID HOLD YOUR FIRE! HICCUP'S DOWN THERE!"

"No, FIRE!" shouted Snotlout. "Remember what we did before? Fire at the water! Everyone, fire at the water!"

It took Astrid a moment, but then, she realized that Snotlout was right. "He's right!" she confirmed when Fishlegs looked uncertain. "Fire at the water! The steam should block the Berkian ships from view until it's too late!"

"Got it!" said Fishlegs, and Meatlug and the other dragons instantly aimed all their fire at the water surrounding Viggo's ships. Water evaporated, and the steam that billowed up from it was as thick as smoke. Within moments, all of the dragon hunter ships were hidden by this thick curtain of fog.

Viggo's men looked around uncertainly, and then at each other.

Then, from the side, ships appeared from the fog, approaching closely and quickly, the decks of the ships loaded with soldiers and catapults. The two armies collided, and war broke loose.

"YES!" shouted Astrid, raising her hands in the air.

"WHOOHOO!" the other riders cheered; Ruffnut and Tuffnut high-fived.

"I bet Viggo wasn't expecting that!" called Snotlout.

Snotlout was right. Viggo hadn't been expecting an armada assault as well as an aerial assault, but no matter; it just meant that he and his men would have to try extra hard if they planned to defeat the Berkians.

Viggo raised his hand to his men; the signal to release the Scauldrons they had caged at the bay. Instantly, his soldiers raced off to do as he had ordered, and the Scauldrons were freed into the water, right in front of the Berkian vessels.

"Wait a minute...Scauldrons!?" shouted Snotlout. "Aw, come on! That's cheating! Viggo cheated!"

"It doesn't matter!" snapped Astrid. "The plan doesn't change! Aim for the water! Give the Berkians as much cover as possible, and when the hunters least expect it, strike! Take out their crossbows, their catapults, everything! But don't hit the ships themselves! We don't know where Hiccup is!"

The riders obeyed instantly, zeroing down on the ships once again. Astrid held back, looking at each ship one by one.

"Come on, Hiccup…" she whispered to no one in particular. "Where are you…"

…

Hiccup and Dagur's weapons clashed against each other, axe against sword. Dagur made a move to strike, going for Hiccup's legs: Hiccup swung his sword down to defend himself, and the next strike went for Dagur's shoulder, and Dagur blocked the strike with a breezy parry.

"You're out of practice, brother!" said Dagur. "I'm disappointed!" He swung upwards, and Hiccup met his blade with a quick swipe of his sword. Dagur, however, was not impressed.

"You have fast reflexes," he said, "but unfortunately, those alone aren't enough to save you in the end! You have to have skill, wits, courage-"

"Exactly!" said Hiccup. "So the question is, how have you managed to fight for this long?"

Dagur roared in fury, and Hiccup raised his weapon to defend himself against each and every one of Dagur's threatening, would-be killing blows with flying colors. But there really wasn't much Hiccup could do; he was locked in a cage with Dagur blocking the door, so having the keys wasn't that great of an advantage. Dagur had the axe, and he had the sword, and the axe was huge.

"What do you want, Dagur!?" Hiccup demanded; Dagur brought his axe down, and Hiccup ducked swiftly out of the way.

"I want you," said Dagur, "to fight me!"

"But I don't need to fight you!" said Hiccup, defending himself against another one of Dagur's blows. "You can end this right now, and you know it! But why don't you?"

Dagur kicked Hiccup's feet out from under him, and Hiccup rolled out of the way when Dagur brought his axe down. The blade embedded in the wood and stuck tight, the blade nearly swallowed up into the deck of the ship.

Hiccup positioned his sword at Dagur's back and fumbled for the keys. Dagur tried to yank the axe out of the wood, and he managed to do this just as Hiccup managed to unlock and open the door. At the last minute, Dagur turned and downright tackled Hiccup to the ground. Hiccup struggled, but he couldn't get away. Dagur positioned his hands at Hiccup's throat and held.

"Dagur, stop," Hiccup choked; he couldn't really talk when he was being suffocated, and in one last ditch-effort to save himself, he said, "Viggo...he's...using...you…"

Dagur's grip loosened, only slightly. "What do you mean, 'using me'?" he demanded.

"Viggo doesn't need you," Hiccup gasped. "He thinks people are expendable. In his mind...you're all his game pieces. You have no value to him whatsoever."

"You lie, brother," said Dagur, but he sounded uncertain. "You lie."

"But...you can't tell me you haven't seen it," said Hiccup. It was pathetic now, really, his final attempts at life. "You can't tell me I'm wrong...you know I'm right...he's just using you and your Berserkers for the advantage in numbers...when he gets what he wants...he'll get rid of you."

Dagur looked at him strangely.

Then, he stood up, releasing the grip on Hiccup's throat, and Hiccup gasped for breath, unable to believe that his plan actually worked. Dagur swung his axe over his shoulder and paced, thinking.

"Viggo wants you here, right?" said Dagur as he paced.

"Right," Hiccup said faintly, rubbing his bruised throat.

"He doesn't want you to escape, does he?" said Dagur. "Which means...if you do escape, it'll be bad for him." He looked down and studied Hiccup carefully. Then, he swung his axe out, leaving the blade inches away from Hiccup's throat. "Get out," he said instantly. "Get out, move, run, get out of here!"

Hiccup didn't wait for the deranged madman to change his mind. He turned and bolted out the door, clutching the sword Dagur had given him.

He ran up the stairs and waited. His friends were out there, doing Thor-knew-what, and the ship was rocking ominously. He had to figure out what was going on...Viggo's men were probably occupied with the riders...they wouldn't notice if he opened the hatch…

He waited a split second, and then, he flipped open the hatch, and pulled himself out.

The fog was so thick, it was impossible to see anything. The men on the ship were pointing crossbows at nothing in particular, obviously unable to see anything. Hiccup heard the shouts of a nearby battle, but he couldn't tell which direction it was coming from, or even who was fighting the battle.

All he knew was that the men were distracted, and there was no better time to take out soldiers than when they were caught off guard or focused on something else.

Hiccup carefully set his sword down on the deck and crept silently towards a dragon hunter holding a mace. When the hunter was focused on the sky, Hiccup took the mace right from his hand and bashed him upside the head. The hunter was unconscious before he even realized his weapon had been taken.

When the soldier hit the ground, Hiccup dove behind the mast of the ship as the other hunters spun to find the source of the noise. Hiccup waited in silence for the next opportunity to strike when the hunters least expected it…

Suddenly, Dagur jumped up from below decks, waving his axe over his head. "THE PRISONER!" he shouted. "THE PRISONER HAS ESCAPED!"

"Oh, Thor…" Hiccup groaned, holding the mace tighter.

…

"THE PRISONER HAS ESCAPED!" came a shout from below, and it sounded like the shout came from Dagur. Astrid instantly looked down at the ship from where the shout came and pointed at it.

"There!" she said. "Hiccup's on that ship!"

"GREAT!" said Snotlout. "Now if we can just dodge these homicidal Scauldrons, we can get to him! AAAHHHH!" A Scauldron bounded out of the water and spat boiling water at Snotlout. Hookfang swerved not a moment too late.

"You guys, distract the Scauldrons!" demanded Astrid. "I'm going to get Hiccup!"

On Astrid's command, Stormfly zoomed downwards, towards the ship from whence the shout had come. She saw Hiccup, pressing himself against the thick mast of the ship, holding a mace as if for dear life.

"There he is, girl!" said Astrid. "Go down, but go slow, we don't want the hunters to see us."

Stormfly squawked in agreement and shot towards the ocean silently, right towards Hiccup. Hiccup lifted his head and saw them approaching while the rest of the hunters remained unaware. Hiccup released the mace, and when Stormfly passed him, he grabbed Astrid's hand, and Astrid hauled him onto Stormfly behind her.

"Fire, Stormfly, at the ship!" Astrid hissed as loudly as she dared, and Stormfly breathed fire at the decks when the hunters were least expecting it. Then, before the hunters could return fire, Stormfly shot upwards once again, out of the fog and into the clear sky.

"What took you so long?" said Hiccup.

"Why?" Astrid asked, turning her head to look at him, grinning. "Did you miss me?"

They swerved as another round of arrows fired up at them. Hiccup looked down at the ships, each in turn - the hunter ships, and then…

"Are those...Berkian ships?" he questioned loudly, and Astrid followed his gaze.

"Yeah, they are," said Astrid.

"You brought my Dad into this!?"

"You were kidnapped! He would've wanted to know! And...we didn't just bring him into it..."

Hiccup looked back down at the ships and gasped. "Is that Alvin!?"

"The Outcasts wanted to help, and we needed everyone we could get!"

If Hiccup had a retort, he didn't have time to say it. From below shot three Scauldrons, pursued hotly by Snotlout, the twins, and Fishlegs on their dragons.

"Hiccup!" called Fishlegs happily, waving a hand. "Thank Thor you're alright!"

"I am," said Hiccup, "but what are you doing?"

"Scauldrons!" shouted Snotlout. "Viggo had Scauldrons waiting for us - AAAGH!" He dodged. A lake worth of boiling water shot past him and Hookfang. The Scauldrons turned and darted back towards the ocean, where the ships were lurking.

"Oh no!" cried Fishlegs frantically. "If the Scauldrons get the Berkian ships, we're done for!"

"I see that!" said Astrid. "Hiccup, what should we-"

"Excuse me for a moment," said Hiccup, and without another word, he swung his leg over and leapt off Stormfly's back, hands together in a dive.

"Hiccup!" shouted Astrid down at him, but he didn't answer. He hit the water and disappeared beneath the waves, where the Scauldrons had vanished likewise only moments before.

"What in the name of THOR is he doing!?" shouted Snotlout. "Is he CRAZY!?"

"I hope so!" said Ruffnut.

"No," said Astrid. She groaned in fury and glared down at the water. "He's going to try and train the Scauldrons."