Author's Note:

Hello everyone and welcome to the second chapter of a double update. This chapter contains a section with Gobber and we join Toothless once again so I hope you enjoy the chapter.

I do not own any aspect of How to Train Your Dragon.

Dangerous Twists and a Hunt Continues

Gobber was silent as the Vikings around him quietly rowed their ship into a small secluded bay on Outcast Island.

They had been extremely cautious in their approach as they were well aware that secrecy was vital to their success and Gobber was thankful that the wind alongside the powerful rowers had allowed them to arrive the night before the second day of Dagur's deadline, well ahead of Stoick in his own vessel. The ship nosed into the beach and two men quickly disembarked and dragged the ship further up to prevent her from floating away on the tide. When she was secure Gobber also disembarked closely followed by the others and they assembled on the beach, most settled down for a short rest after their hard row while two scouts slipped off to find a suitable route to get to the Outcast settlement undetected. As some of the Vikings settled to sleep others stayed alert as watchmen and occasionally one or two would patrol the area to make sure they remained undiscovered. Gobber himself remained awake waiting for the scouts to report back as he tended to his axe attachment on his false hand.

Although he wouldn't actively look for a chance to fight like some Vikings he would admit to be looking forward to the upcoming strike on Dagur's men. It angered him to think that anyone calling themselves a Viking would resort to kidnapping and killing a defenceless boy in order to gain what they wanted and he was eager to show this band of low-life kidnappers exactly what happened when you threatened someone from Berk.

The scouts reappeared not long after dawn had broken and were quick to give Gobber their report, "South of here there is a narrow gully that runs pretty much into their base, if we use it we could get into the heart of their settlement almost undetected and we'd be ready in place for the ambush when the Chief arrives."

"And yer certain that the Outcasts don't know about it?" Gobber asked.

"There're no signs that they use it," the scout replied, "and we encountered no one as we investigated it thoroughly."

Satisfied Gobber began rousing the men and soon they were moving off for the gully that the scouts had found. They moved cautiously and took their time to ensure they remained hidden so much of the day had passed before they began to draw close to the Outcast base. There had been one or two near misses with the island's wild dragons but fortunately they managed to pass through without provoking any of them. As they grew closer to their goal Gobber began to mentally plan the positioning of his men for the upcoming ambush when a voice suddenly sounded from behind the party.

"Where do you think you Berkians are going?"

They spun to see a large group of Berserkers blocking the route back behind them and Gobber instantly turned back to see a group of Outcasts blocking their way forward. The leader of this group stepped forward and spoke mockingly, "Did you really think Dagur wouldn't guess that Stoick would try something like this?"

Gobber simply brought his axe hand into a fighting position and he knew his men were also readying themselves for a fight behind him. The Outcasts and Berserkers also readied themselves and there was a moment's pause as the two sides gauged each other...then the fight erupted.

Toothless was making slow progress through the cave systems beneath the island due to long winding routes and rock falls which had partially filled in the tunnels causing him to waste time squeezing through small gaps.

He had started to smell the familiar scents of torches and he assumed that he was reaching the sections the humans used and ensured his approach remained stealthy and unnoticed. A dim glow appeared ahead and he reached it to find that it was coming through a hole in the floor and he peered cautiously into it. It opened out where a lower torch-lit tunnel came to a dead end and it was currently clear of humans. Toothless carefully squeezed himself through the small opening and silently dropped into the lit tunnel, he halted and used both hearing and smell to check if anyone was nearby and satisfied that there wasn't he moved on.

He managed to avoid the humans and after a while he picked up the faint scent of Snotlout drifting through the tunnels alongside other human scents and he followed it, there were moments when he'd suddenly lose the scent as the others overpowered it but Toothless quickly found it again and resumed his hunt. He came to an area of the tunnels that smelled fresher than the others and instinct told him that he was near a surface entrance. Suddenly Snotlout's scent became stronger and he peered cautiously around the corner ahead of him.

There was a larger area where several tunnels met and in one wall several of those branches of metal that he remembered him and Hiccup being held by had been set. From the scent Toothless knew that Snotlout was behind them but before he could move towards them the sounds and scents of several others caused him to stay hidden.

A group of humans marched in from another tunnel led by the one Toothless recognised as the younger alpha that he and his Hiccup had tangled with before. As they approached the metal branches he thought about launching a surprise attack but some instinct made him hold back and watch them instead. They all entered the space behind the metal and shortly reappeared again with Snotlout being roughly carried over one of the human's shoulder. Toothless could see that the young one had been wrapped in the strange vines called ropes that humans used and was unable to move and he also spotted the cloth over the boy's mouth. He caught the faint whiff of blood and he noticed that Snotlout was bleeding from where the ropes were around his wrists and body. The dragon felt anger surge in him at this and once again he considered ambushing them and showing them the wrath of a Night Fury but that same odd instinct continued to hold him back. As the humans headed back up the tunnel they'd come he began to stealthily stalk them though he was hard pressed not to pounce on them whenever Snotlout gave muffled cries because the man carrying him jostled him too roughly.

Toothless wasn't as close to Snotlout as he was to Hiccup but he was his second favourite human and he was very protective of him. Of course Hookfang was usually the one keeping the boy safe but circumstances had rendered Toothless the only one available to do that and he had no desire to fail his duty. He knew that Hiccup would be devastated at the loss of his nest mate (he thought that was what Snotlout was but he still wasn't entirely sure) and in all honesty Toothless himself would sorely miss the boy if anything happened to him. Snotlout had already had too many near misses for his liking and this current predicament the boy was in was particularly bad. He could tell from the young one's scent that he was scared and frustrated and Toothless guessed it was because he'd never been in a situation where he was so unable to help himself. The Night Fury had felt very similar emotions when he'd been captured by Hiccup's tribe and forced to lead them to the nest after his fight with Hookfang and he wished that Snotlout hadn't been forced to experience something so similar.

The humans made their way upwards and came out of an exit in the middle of their territory and Toothless found it incredibly difficult to remain unseen. He used some of the jagged rocks which wound their way throughout the area to that end by following his targets from the top of them to keep them from noticing him. They eventually stopped in a large open space near where they'd built wooden platforms onto the sea and appeared to be waiting for something. Toothless looked out across the ocean and could see a small boat approaching and he assumed that was what they were waiting for. With the human's attention elsewhere he took the opportunity to get himself into a suitable position near to where Snotlout was being held.

Toothless knew from experience and what other dragons had taught him that some hunts relied on striking at precisely the right moment. This appeared to be one such hunt because if he acted at the wrong moment then it could harm the very young one he was trying to rescue; as such he crouched down ready to move at moments notice and awaited the perfect moment.

PS-So there we are and I hope you liked that and please let me know what you thought. Things should hopefully really kick off next chapter and I'll try to update soon.