Chapter Six: The Darien Consequence

"Gah!" Matt groaned, wincing in pain as Heather was placing the cloth Darien had given him over the wound, gently as possible with her restraints "Heh, just like old times, huh?"

"Shut up Matt." Heather whispered, shaking her head at him. Turning, she soaked the stained cloth in a bucket of water, trying to clean it the best she could. Squeezing it so the excess water would run off, she then again placed the cloth on wound to clean it.

Staring at the iron cuffs, Matt then asked "How long have you been in those?"

"I forget how long. Three weeks, maybe four?" She replied, frowning at the question.

"Why did they put them on you later, rather than sooner?" He quizzed again, looking at her with concern.

Putting on a small smile, Heather answered "Darien got careless with your knife, and had it loosely on her belt. I was able to grab it and knock her out with the handle."

Smiling, he then said "Funny, too bad you weren't able to run the blade through her instead."

"I would have, if I could have opened the knife faster." Heather huffed, obviously annoyed that she didn't end Darien "Dagur stopped me before I could really do anything when I was free for a moment." Then with a saddened smile, added "After that event, Dagur put these on me, and had Darian throw the key in the ocean."

"She threw the key away?!" Matt cried out, his eyes bulging in anger.

"Easy Matt, don't open the cut again." Heather cautioned, pressing down a little more firmly on the cloth "But, yeah. Just as soon as he locked these on me, he dangled the key in front of me, handed it to her, and told her to throw it out; which she tossed it overboard."

Matt just stared at her, seething in his anger. Shaking his head, he simply leaned back against the wall. Before they could say anything else, Dagur and Darien walked in front of their door with two of his Berserkers. Smiling, he then opened it up. "Time to go Heather. Time for our usual meeting!"

"What meeting?" Matt asked in alarm, seeing Heather hang her head.

"The meeting where she's finally going to tell us how to train dragons! Right sis?" He casually said, grabbing her arm and hefting her onto her feet.

"You know I'll never do that." Heather growled, shaking off his hand.

"We'll see…" Dagur grinned mischievously.

Matt also rose, wanting to go with her. "Nope, not you Matt. Just Heather." Dagur smirked, pulling Heather out of the cell. Shutting the door, he then began to lead Heather away. Matt just gripped the bars and watched her. Turning her head, she flashed her arrogant smile and winked at him, trying to assure that she'd be ok.

"You two are cute." Darien then taunted, smirking at Matt "You two definitely are better together than when we were dating."

"Shut up, Darien. We never dated." Matt growled, backing off and sitting against the wall "Leave me alone…"

"Not yet. Got a few questions for you!" She chirped, smiling smugly at him.

"What do you want? Me repeatedly telling you that I'm not giving up Wasatch?" Matt growled, his eyes narrowing at her. Keeping the cloth pressed against himself, he simply sat up straighter and watched her.

"No, I'm not here to ask you questions about your dragon silly. I'm here to ask you on what you know." She replied with a jest in her voice. Sitting down in front of the door, just out of arms reach, she smiled at him.

"You've been to Dragon's Edge before. And we have tons of dragon riders defending it." Matt replied, selling the lie Astrid started. He looked up at her in anger, adding "Remember the last time we saw each other? I recall kicking your as-"

"I want to know what you know about Hiccup! About your family's past." She interrupted, getting visibly frustrated with him.

Shaking his head, he finally let a small smile grow on his face. "Sorry Darien. Unlike you, I don't like spoilers. I didn't learn any details about Hiccup's life." Looking at her, he then asked "Why do you want to know that? Trying to change the future? Well, more than what you have already?"

"Ugh! Do you have to be this difficult all the time?" She growled, shaking her head out of frustration.

Matt looked at her curiously. This was the first time she actually was trying to talk with him, not gloat or belittle him. Raising an eyebrow, he then said "I'll be honest Darien, I don't really want to talk to you; but you've got me interested in why you want to talk to me. What do you want? Just say it, don't try and beat around the bush."

"Did your family history say anything about you being with Hiccup? Or…me with Dagur?" She asked, staring intently at Matt.

Matt shook his head, saying "Not that I know of. Like I said, I didn't study it in depth. I just looked to see if I was actually related to him. I never read any of the adventures he went on for the sake of me not knowing. In case I ever came back; which I did. I wanted to take it as it came." Laughing quietly, he rested his head against the mast and looked up at the ceiling "Guess we see how that went."

Darien didn't say anything, but just stared at the deck, as if contemplating something. Interested in what she was thinking, and seeing her not make a wisecrack or digging comment, he then asked "Why do you want to know?"

Looking up at Matt, she then narrowed her eyes and said "Because I don't think our history ever accounted for us being here. I think we're changing our past."

"What do you mean?" He asked, raising an eyebrow "You're gonna have to fill me in if you want my help."

"Listen. I read and re-read my entire family history five times. I know it inside out! However, from Dagur's and Heather's dad, Oswald the Agreeable, to my parent's; not once am I mentioned in our history." She whispered, looking at Matt with concern and frustration. Staring at him, she added "It mentions Hiccup a bunch of times, but not once was there anything about you. That's why I didn't figure out you were related with Hiccup until I saw your tattoo and broke into your apartment! Besides, what's going on now, is really different from what I read. Dagur never re-captured Heather, nor did he escape Outcast Island until a year later."

Matt didn't say anything, but just narrowed his eyes out of hate and anger.

"That's why I need to know if you were in your family's history. Were you?" She asked again, looking at Matt in earnest.

Letting out a long sigh, Matt gently shook his head "As far as I know, no. I'm not written in it. My dad studied our history a ton, him being Mormon and all."

"You're a Mormon?" Darien asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I was raised Mormon, but I never really lived like one. Besides, that's not the point." Matt growled, staring at her "He loves that family history stuff, as most Mormons do. I think he'd have mentioned it to me if I was listed in with Hiccup. Or if it mentioned anything with what's happened to me so far."

"What do you think it means then?" She asked, staring at him intently.

"That I don't care." Matt growled, settling back down "Listen Darien, we're not friends. And we'll never be again. What you did is unforgivable; I can't and won't forget it. The only reason why I've been talking to you this long is because it's the first time I've ever seen you be sincere. At least when you're not faking it like our time in that English class."

Darien's eyes burned with anger at the comment. Standing up from her seat, she then said "Fine Matt. I was just trying to figure out a puzzle that should concern you too. But I see you're just going to be stuck in the same place like your friends. Stubborn and unable to see what strength is."

"Betrayal is a strength?" Matt scoffed, looking up at her with contempt "That's the only way you guys have been able to get the jump on us! We turn our backs on who we think are our friends, and you run a sword through us!"

"I promise Matt, the next time I find myself in that very position; I'll be more than happy to run a sword through you." She growled, turning to walk away "Assuming you're still alive if that happens."

Matt just watched her disappear, which he let out a vented sigh of pain and anger. Lifting the cloth, he saw that it had stopped bleeding, but still felt like something was jabbing him.

"How are you holding up?" Astrid's voice whispered through the crack.

"I don't know. The bleeding's stopped, but that doesn't mean much if we can't get out of here." He whispered back "Did you hear them take Heather?"

"And your conversation with Darien." She confirmed "Don't worry Matt, I'm getting an idea on how to get out. I just need to watch the patrols a little bit longer."

"Sounds good, I'm going to be a little useless here until I can actually take care of this stab." Matt hefted, shifting his sitting position.

"Get it patched up; I'll let you know when I've memorized their patrols." She whispered back.

Not saying anything, Matt began to try and find something to lash the cloth over his wound. In the forefront of his mind though, he was wondering what was happening to Heather.


Darien slowly made her way onto the main deck. The sun beat down on the shade less ship as she began to walk towards a single door at the cabin of the ship. Hunters and Berserkers alike, were all preparing dragon hunting equipment, or repairing the deck after the battle with the dragon riders that they soundly won. The only thing that was beyond repair until they got to a dock was the forward mast, destroyed by Matt's Skrill, Wasatch."

Arriving at the door, she quietly knocked on it. Seeing it open, she was welcomed by Dagur. "Well, any news?" Dagur asked quietly, letting Darien walk in.

"He legitimately hates me. That was a given." She confided equally quiet, letting out a huff of anger. Stopping as she entered, she stared at Heather standing in the middle of the room. A single rope was tied at the center of her iron cuffs, holding her hands above her head. They were lifted high enough where she was on her toes, making so she wasn't able to relax or rest. "Still not cracking?" She asked, looking at the angry Heather.

"Nope. Even after promising we'd remove every single scale on Windshear if she didn't help us." Dagur said aloud, frowning at Heather who was giving him a death glare. Heather fidgeted, hearing the threat, but continued to scowl at the two.

"The way she reacted when she saw her dragon, especially after I made her watch me beat it, I figured she'd give in like a twig." Darien huffed, annoyed at the resilience.

"Does Ryker know that you did that?" Dagur asked quietly, not wanting Heather to hear.

"No, I was discreet about it." Darien whispered "I was alone with her and Windshear." Then, looking down angrily, growled "I wish Ryker would let us do what we need to do to her. Heather knows we can't just hurt her dragon."

Chuckling, Dagur simply said "Patience Darien. Now that we have her friends, I think that we'll be able to make more than a few convincing arguments. How was talking with Matt? Any luck?"

Shaking her head, she simply replied "If he was willing to let Ryker kill him, I don't think he'll budge." Looking at her crazed ancestor, she asked "Why do you want his Skrill so bad anyways? We can try to train any other dragon. They're not in short supply with Ryker hunting them. Maybe we could even find a wild Skrill."

"Because I've only seen one wild Skrill in my life." Dagur replied, smiling at her. Pulling her out of the room onto the deck, so Heather wouldn't hear him, he then taunted "Be right back Heather, don't go anywhere." At that, he slammed the door shut and left her essentially hanging from the ceiling.

"So what do you want me to do? Matt's not going to help us get his Skrill, which would probably rage and sink whatever ship we put it on. And Heather's going to refuse to teach us how to ride dragons!" Darien complained, staring at Dagur in frustration.

"I feel you're overthinking this..." Dagur again chuckled. Walking past her, he then leaned on the railing of the ship, staring out at the ocean. Curiously, Darien followed, looking at him with confusion. "Before Heather betrayed me, she was incredible help to me." Dagur began to say, turning to face Darien "She was irreplaceable."

Raising an eyebrow, Darien just waited to see where he was going.

"You…haven't been useless, but you haven't been super helpful either. At least like what Heather was." Dagur continued to say.

"What are you talking about?!" Darien exploded "You're saying I came here to waste my tim-"

"You haven't been as helpful as Heather, yet." Dagur interrupted "I'm trying to get a Skrill to not only use against Hiccup and Berk, but for you to ride."

Thinking about what Dagur was saying, she turned to him and asked "You…you want to get Matt's dragon, to replace him with me, as the Skrill's tamer? That's your plan?"

"And to eventually replace Heather's former role as my dragon rider." Dagur smiled gleefully "I'm going to make Heather teach you how to train a dragon, and I'll be able to make that happen. Trust me on that. Ryker's agreed to help us break Matt's Skrill in order for you to train it as your own." Squaring up to Darien, he then widened his smile as he said "Darien, if you came from Matt's world, and did the same things he did; what I'm trying to do, is make you the new Dragon Boarder!"

For the first time since talking with her crazed ancestor, Darien smiled at him. The new Dragon Boarder. She like the sound of that. "What do you want me to do then?" She asked, her mood visibly changing.

"We're going to shake things up a little. If what you say is true about Heather and Matt, we'll be having them give in to us." Dagur whispered "The moment you learn how to ride a dragon, we won't need her. And it's only a matter of time before we get Matt's dragon, Wasatch. Is that right?"

"Oh…I'll guarantee it…" Darien whispered evilly, looking back at the door that led to the room where Heather was held.

"Good." He answered, turning around and walking up the stairs to the upper deck of the Hunter's ship. "Come on, I need to talk to Ryker about the dragon riders; and it'll let Heather stand for a while longer."

"You know Dagur, I have an idea. One that will make both Heather and Matt give in as fast as we captured them." Darien began to say, smiling wickedly.

"Oh? You'll have to tell Ryker and me about it." Dagur laughed, throwing an arm around her and casually walked up the stairs.

"Sure…I only need Matt. And one other person." Darien whispered, her face growing dark.


"I got it!" Tuffnut shouted, getting excited at an idea "We tunnel through the ceiling!"

"Technically, that's not a tunnel." Fishlegs quickly pointed out, getting frustrated with Tuffnut's plans.

"Oh it isn't?" Tuffnut replied, staring down at Fishlegs with detest "There's no such thing as a ceiling tunnel, Fishlegs?"

Astrid groaned as she listened to the two argue, with Ruffnut trying to interrupt them. Shaking her head, she looked down the hallway to see a guard walk in and out of view. Right on time. After being locked back up in the cell, she spent the two hours studying and memorizing their paths and schedules. She knew when to strike and where to go to avoid being detected.

Looking at the three that were arguing, she then announced "Listen up, I've memorized the guard's schedule and I have a plan." Looking down at the crack Matt dug out, she then whispered "Can you hear us, Matt?"

"Yeah, loud and clear." Matt replied back "Bleeding's stopped, and I've got the cloth secured over the stab. I'm good to go."

"Great, then all we need to do is figure out how to open the door…" Astrid began to say, turning around to stare at the cell door. "Any ideas?"

"What about this key I stole from the guard?" Ruffnut asked out loud, waving it so everyone could see.

Everyone just stared at her with blank stares. Even Matt let out an audible gasp through the crack. "Is she serious? She's not pulling a prank, is she?" He cried out into the crack.

Astrid was the first to recover, closing her eyes out of confusion, she then began to say "Wait, but, how did yo-"

Ruffnut stood up, interrupting her "Remember when I fell at the guard's feet and was begging him to not hurt our dragons?"

Astrid nodded, trying to figure out how she was able to get the key.

"Yeah! When I was begging at his feet, I lifted it and slipped it into my pocket." She explained, smirking at the group.

Astrid, gawked at her. Glancing between the key and Fishlegs, she stood there with and open mouth. Unbelievable! Ruffnut pulled the smoothest con that they ever did! Ruffnut! The destructive twin!

Shaking her head to snap out of confusion, she snatched the key away from Ruffnut with a wide smile and then ordered "All right, as soon as I take out the guards, we split up and get our dragons. Then blast our way outta here." Looking at the crack, she then said "Matt, you go for Windshear. Free her and then I'll help you find Heather."

"Sounds like a plan. Pass the key over when you open your door." Matt huffed, standing up and getting ready."

"Wait for me to give you the all clear. Ok?" She whispered, walking to her door.

"Okay, and where do we go when we get our dragons?" Tuffnut asked.

"Straight up. Out of range of those arrows." She answered, looking up at the ceiling. With that, she unlatched the lock and then tucked the key into the crack.

"Got it." Matt whispered, taking the key.

Letting it go, she then ran and gripped the bars of her cell, shouting "Guard! Guard! I can't take it! I want to save my dragon! I'll tell Ryker what he wants to know!"

A door opened, revealing a lone Hunter walking towards their cell. A smirk on his face as he approached.

As the guard approached, Astrid pushed the door open with the force of a catapulted boulder. The door smashed into the guards face, knocking him unconscious and throwing him into the middle of hallway.

"Oh! What the?" A voice called out from the other end of the hallway.

Astrid quickly pulled the door shut, waiting for the second guard. Seconds later, the unsuspecting guard stared at the door as Astrid pushed it open again, knocking him out and throwing him a good few yards.

"Ok, we're clear Matt!" Astrid breathed out, relaxing from taking the guards out "Everyone be careful. If this is like The Reaper, there can be booby traps anywhere. So be careful!"

"Oh great. Now she tells us." Tuffnut replied, annoyed at the new obstacle.

"Just go!" She hissed, jogging to Stormfly's cell. Walking in, she whispered "Come on girl, we're getting out of here…"

Matt bolted out of his cell. Sprinting to the left hallway, he quickly found Windshear.

The Razorwhip let out a muffled growl, shocked to see him.

"Easy girl, let's get you out of here." Matt whispered, opening the cell door. Working on removing the chain around her mouth, his blood froze as he heard a laugh from behind him. Whirling around, he instantly raged as he saw Darien walk into the cell with a drawn sword. Smirking at him, she then used her foot to push a pressure plate.

Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!

She set the alarm off, which made Matt give up on removing the chain from Windshear and focus on her.

"There…that way your friends will have some company!" She laughed, raising the sword.

Glaring at her, Matt grabbed one of the shrewdly crafted swords that were made out of Windshear's scales. Nothing like Heather's craftsmanship, it was more of a blade on a stick, rather than a sword or axe.

Darien laughed as she thrusted her sword forward. Matt leaped backwards, swinging his blade down and redirecting it. Windshear then shifted her body as much as she could to the left, barely hitting Darien. Stumbling into the cell wall, she left herself exposed from the hit. Matt jumped on the opportunity, lunging forward. The tip of his blade caught her in the side, with the metal chest plate unable to stop it from entering. However, the angle of the strike and the shoddiness of the craftsmanship caused the blade to snap off its hilt; which stopped the blade from going any deeper into her side.

"Gah!" She cried out, falling over from the hit.

"Heh, pathetic…" Matt growled, dropping the remains of his weapon and swiftly planted his knee on her chest, though the chest plate kept her from losing her breath "You're not much of a fighter are you? I mean, if I can knock you down that easily. With a broken stick."

"You should talk!" Darien growled, punching Matt in his bad leg.

"Agh!" He groaned, flinching vividly. Pain surged through, which he gripped where she hit him.

Darien then grabbed him by his vest and rolled him off of her. Sitting on top of him, she then lifted up on the vest, and pushed him down violently, banging his head against the floor.

"Ergh! Get off!" Matt growled, swinging his fist as hard as he could across her face.

Rolling from the force of the punch, Darien looked up to see him already getting onto his knees. Expecting him to grab her sword she dropped, she was surprised to see him raise his hands up, glaring at something behind her. Turning to see what she was looking at, she was relieved to see two hunters pointing their crossbows at him.

Behind the Hunters, were more hunters that surrounded the twins, Fishlegs, and Astrid; who was being personally escorted by Dagur, who kept an axe leveled at her neck.

"Well, that was fun!" She taunted, slowly standing on her feet. She gripped her side that Matt was able to stab as she looked at him smugly. Smirking, she then added "As much as I didn't want to do it again, that second date was kind of fun! Are you that rough in bed?"

"Shut up, Darien…" Matt growled, his blood boiling at the comment.

"Come on Matt, let's get going!" She laughed painfully as she gripped her side where he got her. Letting a Hunter grab him and pull him out of the cell, she then walked tenderly ahead of the group.

Looking at Fishlegs, Matt simply shook his head out of frustration. They really couldn't escape. "Where are you, Hiccup?" He whispered to himself, limping heavily up the stairs and out to the deck. His leg was seriously bugging him after being hit there directly. Turning to Astrid, he whispered "I'm sorry…I couldn't stop Darien from setting the alarm off."

"Don't be, I'm sure the twins would've done something to set it off on their own." Astrid whispered back, only to be shoved forward to keep walking.

Ryker stared at the dragon riders with a disapproving look, obviously contemplating the punishment he would have to do to them. Dagur and Darien walked up to the upper deck that he stood on, both smiling from ear to ear. A single Berserker was walking with Darien, trying to patch up her wound on her side.

"Now then…what to do with all of yeh…" Ryker muttered, his eyes narrowing as his prisoners looked up at him.

"Ryker, Rykey, Ryker-man!" Dagur said loudly "If you listen to me, maybe I can help! I mean, you do know dragons, and I know dragon riders!"

"And yer suggestion is?" Ryker asked, looking at Dagur curiously.

"Send a message." Dagur replied simply "Throw one over the side." Then, giggling like a toddler playing with a toy, added excitedly "It'll be so much fun!" Then his eyes widening, he then suggested "Or just toss Heather over. Let their friend suffer their consequences! Besides, we have most of the dragon trainers, they could help us train dragons!"

Astrid's eyes narrowed in anger and fear. "Not Heather…" She whispered, glancing over at Matt who was curling his fists in anger.

"If I may, I have an idea." Darien cut in, causing both Dagur and Ryker to turn to her. Holding a wet rag over where Matt had stabbed her, she then looked down at Astrid and the others "I know that Viggo might want to question them personally about the Dragon Eye. Especially Heather, since she betrayed us completely."

Matt's head perked up. Viggo? That's a new name. Astrid and the others also looked concerned at the revelation.

Ryker turned to her, eyeing her approvingly; listening as Darien continued "I have an idea that would set one of them as an example, keep them all alive for Viggo, and get what we want out of them. Well, at least one thing out of them." She then suggested "I only need Matt and Astrid; and of course Heather. The others you can put to work, like their dragons. Let 'em burn some energy cleaning the ship and doing chores."

"Uh…I'd prefer to go overboard." Tuffnut announced, raising his hand.

"Uh-huh." Ruffnut seconded, nodding in agreement.

Matt stared at Astrid, wondering why they were being singled out by Darien. Feeling a wave of helplessness wash over him, he didn't know what to do or expect. On top of that, where was Heather? What was happening to her? Or happened to her…

"Yeh know…I like that idea…Put 'em to work!" He shouted, smiling evilly at them "But the next one that tries to escape goes over the side! That I can promise yeh!" Turning to Darien, he added "Take who yeh need, but I want to be with yeh when yeh talk with 'em."

"I'd like you to be there. After all, you still need information on the Dragon Eye, right?" She casually said, looking up at the seasoned dragon hunter. Ryker smiled, seeing that Darien was helping him out as well. "Dagur, can you tie Astrid's arms behind her for me?" She whispered, not wanting to tip her or Matt off.

"Sure…" Dagur replied, curious as to what she had planned.

"Do we have some more cuffs? I need to have Heather in some new ones." She continued to ask.

"Ok, why?" Dagur finally asked, confused at the requests.

"Because you made me throw the key away for the ones she's in now. I need to have them opened for a moment." She explained "Which means we'll need the ship's blacksmith to help us out with that." Looking at Dagur with a wide deranged smile, she added "Just trust me on this. It'll be convincing. I just need to get patched up real quick."


Heather looked up as she saw Dagur and another Hunter open the door. After hearing the alarm go off, and being left alone in the room for a while, she had a hundred questions run through her head. Besides that, her body ached from standing as long as she has; well, more like hanging. Which she kept trying to relieve her burning muscles. Seeing the Hunter accompanying Dagur hold some large looking pliers in his hand, she gasped as he snipped the lock off the shackles.

Letting them fall off, she relished in the relief of being free, rubbing her wrists and actually standing. The moment was short lived.

"Alright, back in these you go." Dagur taunted, dangling some new irons. Clasping the left cuff on her right wrist, he lifted it up and then tied the rope around the iron bar, letting only her right arm hang above her.

"Should I even ask?" She growled, staring at Dagur angrily.

"You're sharing them!" Dagur teased, turning to the doorway.

Heather gasped as Matt limped through the doorway, with Astrid right behind him, having her arms already tied behind. A number of Hunters and Ryker then followed. A Hunter then pushed Matt towards her, grabbing his left arm and locking it in the right cuff. Looking at each other, all they could do was wonder what was going to happen.

Astrid was then pushed onto her knees in front of Heather and Matt. Looking up at them, she didn't do anything to hide the anger on her face as she twisted her arms to test the ropes.

"Now…we all seem to be at an impasse here." Darien began to say, walking in between Astrid and the two. Stopping, she then corrected herself "Well, actually only Dagur and Ryker are. You three are just delaying the inevitable."

"Fight me." Astrid huffed, sitting up straight on her knees "You've never been able to win a fight when it was just you!"

"Now, now, Astrid." Darien teased, facing off to her "Hear what I have to say first." Turning to Matt and Heather, she then grinned while saying "Matt, the offer still stands that if you turn over your dragon to us, and help us control it, we'll let everyone go with their dragons."

Seeing Matt simply glare at her, and not replying at all, she then turned to Heather "You, Heather, can save your friends, and your dragon, if you teach me how to ride dragons. Think about it, you'll save everyone that cares about you!"

Heather was doing her best to not give Darien the satisfaction of tugging at her heart strings. Saving those she considered to be family was what she wanted more than anything. Including Windshear.

"Don't give us up that easily…" Matt whispered, looking at Heather with a resolute expression "You really think we'll be set free?"

"I promise!" Darien replied for Heather, walking up to Matt "You have not only my word, but Ryker's and Dagur's!"

"Wow. Filled with confidence about that endorsement." Matt huffed sarcastically, using his free hand to push her away from Heather.

Frowning, she then turned to Astrid, saying "And Astrid. I know Hiccup trusts you. We'll let you free, if you promise to bring the Dragon Eye back to us. If you do, we'll let everyone walk out of here when you deliver it. Er, I guess they'll fly out of here."

Astrid narrowed her eyes, almost amplifying the fire in them. "No…" She whispered hoarsely.

"Oh bummer…" Darien replied, closing her eyes and shaking her head "Then…well, maybe this will help sweeten the deal." Grabbing Matt's knife out of her pouch, she then flipped the blade open. Not even looking to see Matt's or Heather's reaction, she kicked Astrid down and then slashed the knife across her forearm.

"Aggh!" She roared, shutting her eyes shut in pain.

"Astrid!" Matt roared, trying to run forward. The shackle caught him, stopping him and making Heather stumble backwards. "You evil bitch!"

"Leave her alone! You coward!" Heather shouted frantically, trying to keep her balance and fight the shackle at the same time.

"Then tell us what we want! Or Astrid gets it again!" Darien roared back, glaring at the two.

Astrid could only breathed deeply, unable to even look at how bad of a cut it was. She could feel her linen gauntlet was frayed, and also knew that blood was streaming down her arm to her hand, as it felt warm and wet. Clenching her teeth and her eyes shut, she bore the pain as tough as she could; growling out loud to help her vent out.

"Let's try this again." Darien growled, her cheerful face now disappeared and replaced with an angry and frustrated expression.

Dagur just giggled, seeing the helplessness of all three. Matt and Heather fighting the rope that held the shackles above them, and Astrid trying to get out of the ropes that held her bleeding arm behind her. Ryker watched silently, the only emotion was a very slight, barely noticeable smirk.

Darien then knelt down at Astrid, raising her chin with the knife blade to force her to look at her in the eyes. "Get me the Dragon Eye. Or not only will you be in a world of hurt, but so will Matt, Heather, your dragon Stormfly…" Narrowing her eyes as she finished her threat, she whispered barely audible "even Hiccup…"

Astrid's eyes burned with fire, the pain in her forearm seeming to fuel her already hot rage.

Suddenly the door to the room blew open, with a single Hunter running in. "Dragons! Sighted off the starboard bow! With riders!"

Ryker and Dagur instantly ran out, with all the Hunter's in the room following. Darien also stood up to leave. Walking, she the stuck the knife into the door frame, high enough that Astrid couldn't get to it. Looking over at the three, she hissed "You all had your chance, now Hiccup will suffer because of you." With that she ran out while slamming the door behind her.

"Are you alright? How bad is it?" Matt asked frantically, staring at Astrid helplessly.

"I'm fine. At least, I think I will be." She grunted, rolling over to sit up. Trying to see her arm, she shut her eyes in pain a second time. "I can still move around a little. Give me take a second and I'll try to do something to free you guys…"

"We got to get out of here! Who knows how long Hiccup will last!" Heather cried out frantically, tugging on the shackles that held her and Matt.

"If it's the same Hiccup we know, he has a plan…" Matt grunted, reaching up and feeling the rope for any kind of weakness.

"Doesn't mean we don't need to get out of here!" Heather growled, tugging on the lock for the sack of seeing if it was actually locked.

Looking at the iron bar above him, Matt saw that the knot was too high to try and undo. Then an idea hit him. Digging into his pocket, he pulled out one of the shark teeth he kept from his bracelet. Using it as a saw, he began to cut at the rope. "Astrid, do you think you'll be able to get Stormfly on your own?" He asked, not taking his eyes off the fraying rope.

Looking up and seeing what he was doing, she instantly began to stand up, trying to ignore her arm. "Yeah, just untie me and I'll cut down any one in my way!"

"Heather, we're getting Windshear. Since we don't really have a choice but to go together." Matt continued to say, seeing that he was getting close to cutting through the rope "The others will have to follow our lead!"


"Hiccup, as far as worst plans go, this has to be, by far, your best worst plan ever." Snotlout shouted, slightly impressed with the achievement.

"Uh…I'll take that as a compliment?" Hiccup replied, unsure if it was.

Looking down at Toothless, he double checked some of the white scales they lashed onto him. Knowing they'd last maybe a minute of attacking the Hunters with their arrows without any kind of plan, he and Snotlout went to the Screaming Death Island to get some of the dragon's scales. Unfortunately, their big friend never recognized them, or refused too. If it wasn't for Wasatch drawing the legendary giant away, he didn't know how they would have gotten the scales needed to make their armor.

"Let's see their arrows get to you now bud…" He whispered, looking at the white scales as they contrasted against the black Night Fury. Even Hookfang was wearing the makeshift armor, making him look like a machine ready to tear apart their next enemy.

Looking at the ship, he then reminded Snotlout "Remember. Make sure they don't see Wasatch. While they're distracted with us, he can come behind and really wreck their ship!"

"Yeah, yeah! Got it!" Snotlout huffed, rolling his eyes.

"Alright then, let's go save our friends!" Hiccup announced, as if it was a daily occurrence. Putting Toothless into a dive, they went straight at the ship.

Dagur, who was watching them closely, laughed out of excitement. "Oh! Lookie! He's coming straight in! A suicide run!" Then calming down a little, added "Didn't think he had it in him."

"The fool." Ryker scoffed, watching the two dragons get closer.

"Is it really going to be this easy?" Darien scoffed, seeing the black and red dragons head straight at them.

Ryker then saw them get into range, which he then roared "Hunters, fire at will!"

A hail of arrows fired, sending multiple little missiles and whatever else they could shoot.

"Hahahaha! Yes!" Dagur laughed, seeing a few arrows strike the dragons. Watching them excitedly, he waited for them to fall. Seeing them turn and bank, strafing another ship, he then asked aloud "Uh…what's going on?" Using a telescope, he spied at the two dragons coming for another strafe. Seeing Toothless clad in white, he then shouted "They're wearing some sort of dragon armor!"

Another explosion sounded off, caused by Hookfang, which rocked their footing. Seeing the stream of fire rolling at them, Darien leaped forward and pushed Ryker out of the way. "Look out!" She shouted, falling forward with Ryker, right off the upper deck and crashing onto the main deck below. Standing up, she then helped Ryker up onto his feet.

"Catapults! Ready yourselves!" Ryker roared, running off to rally his men.

Tuffnut, who was sweeping the deck, suddenly bolted, bringing his broom across the face of a distracted Hunter. Running down the stair way to the hold of the ship, Darien was about to chase after the dragon rider, when something caught her eye. Whirling around, she stared in horror as both Matt and Heather burst out of the room they were held in, with Astrid running behind them, cradling her arm. "No!" She shouted, sprinting at them.

Dagur was about to help her, only to be cut off as Hookfang left a streak of fire across the deck, keeping him from being able to stop the escapee's.

Matt and Heather charged her, raising their shackled hands and clotheslining her in the throat with the iron bar.

"Gack!" She coughed, flipping completely on her back. Stunned at the loss of air and sudden flip, all she could do was gasp for air.

"Come on!" Heather shouted, pulling on Matt down some stairs that led to the hold of the ship "Down this way!"

"What about Darien?!" Matt shouted, hesitant to follow "I want to end her!"

"Matt! Forget her! Let's get out of here!" Heather shouted, pulling on him.

Glancing back and forth between the two, Matt finally consented and ran with Heather. Just as they were entering the stairway down, a Hunter tried to stop them. About to fight him, a lightning bolt nailed the Hunter, sending him flying. A familiar screech sound above, which brought incredible relief to Matt. Wasatch was circling overhead, out of range from the arrows and catapults. Screeching in a fury, he sent another lightning bolt into the ship, adding to the fire already on the deck.

"Come on!" Astrid shouted, pushing Matt and Heather forward. In her uninjured hand was Matt's knife "Let's get our dragons while we can!"

Running down the flights of stairs, the ship shook as another explosion sounded above deck. Getting their balance back, they found themselves in the same room as Fishlegs and Meatlug. Fishlegs roared and brought a war axe down on the chain that held Meatlug down. The axe cut the chain like it was a rope!

"Fishlegs! Give me that axe!" Heather shouted, running to him and towing Matt behind.

Shocked to see Heather and Matt, he passed it off to her, saying "It's made of Gronckle Iron! It won't break!"

"Thanks! Come on, Matt!" Heather shouted, dragging him along like a dog on a leash.

"I'm literately right behind you!" He replied loudly, trying to keep up with his limp. Running into another room, they watched Astrid in Stormfly's cell, easily side step a strike from a Hunter; which she slashed the knife across her attacker's chest. Dropping him, she took a second to bear with the pain of her arm.

"Astrid! Need help getting those chains off Stormfly?" Matt asked, stopping in front of the cage and kept Heather from running on.

Grimacing, Astrid forced a pain driven smile "Agh, no. I'm good, Matt. Go get Windshear!" At that, she knelt down and began to pull the chain from around Stormfly's legs "Go! I'll create a hole for you guys to fly out of!"

"Don't wait for us! Get out of here when you get the chance!" Matt shouted, now running step for step with Heather. Finally reaching Windshear's cell, Heather raised the axe with her free hand. Slamming it down on the chain that held the dragon's tail, it snapped the chain like a stick.

Matt was about to help take off the chains around Windshear's feet, only to be hefted backwards. Heather pulled him back, saying "Watch."

Windshear then used her tail and smashed the chains with ease. Within seconds, the dragon was freed and was roaring loudly. Raging, she then smashed the cages wall, breaking the metal bars.

"Right. Razorwhip." Matt huffed, shocked at the demonstration "Forgot why they're named that."

"Come on!" Heather urged, running to Windshear "Let's get out of here!"

Suddenly another large explosion sounded off somewhere on the ship, making even Windshear stumble.

Grunting, Matt slowly pulled himself over Windshear's neck, sitting behind Heather. "Come on! Let's go find where Astrid and the others got out of!" Due to the positon of how they were shackled, Matt had to wrap his left arm around Heather so she could use both hands.

"I have a better idea. At least it'll make me feel better about leaving this place." Heather replied with an evil smile. Whispering something in her Windshear's ear, the dragon then roared and fired a fireball into the side of the ship. A considerable sized explosion went off, creating a big enough hole for Windshear to fly out of. Not wasting even a second, she launched out of the new exit, flying straight out and away from the burning ship.

Relishing in the fresh air of escaping, Matt turned to see the others were already out and flying away as well. All except Wasatch, who was still sending a fury of lightning bolts into the ship. Nothing was calming the furious Skrill, at least until he noticed Matt riding on Windshear. Roaring, he then chased after him, leaving the crippled ship behind.

"Come on, let's go home." Matt whispered, turning back to Heather.

"Home…hmm, you know..." Heather began to say, guiding Windshear to catch up to the others. Turning to look at Matt "That sounds good."

Smiling, he then softly squeezed her, happy that she felt that way; and that she was now out of the hell hole.

"Heather?!" Hiccup's voice sounded, causing the two to look up and see the Hiccup and Toothless flying above them. "Is…is that you? Wha- Ho-?"

Smiling, Heather then laughed "It's me, Hiccup! And Windshear!"

"Was Dagur on that ship too? With the Hunters?" Hiccup continued to ask, his face in disbelief.

"Hiccup, we have a lot to talk about." Astrid's voice interrupted, making all three turn to see her gliding alongside Toothless. Gripping her right forearm, she continued to stare at her slashed arm.

"Astrid…are you hurt?!" Hiccup gaped, guiding Toothless closer to Stormfly.

Putting on a forced smile, Astrid tried to play off the pain by saying "I'm alright, Hiccup. Just need to get something wrapped around my arm."

"How long have you been cut? Who did it?!" Hiccup demanded, anger flashing all over his face.

"Darien did." Matt cut into the conversation, now that Windshear was gliding along Stormfly's other side. "Not too long ago, and she used my old knife!"

"This thing?" Astrid teased, keeping on the act that she wasn't hurting that much. With her good hand, she let go of her wound and flashed the knife at him. "I'll give it back when we land. By the way- Agh!" She flinched as she moved to put the knife away.

Before Matt could reply, a loud roar sounded off. A bright light then flashed in-between Windshear and Stormfly, revealing Wasatch anxiously looking over at Matt.

"Hey, bud!" Matt laughed, smiling at the now calming and happy Skrill "You did good back there! Hope you were help to Hiccup while I was gone."

Hiccup didn't say anything to the comment. All he could do was stare at Astrid with anxiety, seeing her arm covered in blood. "Come on, I know an island we can stop by. Let's get that taken care of." He shouted, taking the lead and making the group fly faster.

"Won't argue here…" Astrid groaned, her smile fading as she returned to grip the slash.

Matt only shook his head, still taking in the recent events. Looking past Heather, he simply whispered in her ear "We'll finish this. Together."

"Together." She whispered back, resting her free hand on his shackled one "Together…"


I hope the story is appealing and a little more original than before. Ultimately, I hope you all enjoy it! I'll be trying to update this as quick as possible, as I usually hate having stories hang over my head. Such as Redemption of the Riders story I've yet to finish.

Any how, hope you liked this chapter! It only gets more intense later!

-Dustnblood