Authors Note: Family drama is the worst. Literally.

Anyways, school is coming up, so that's something to look forward to (not). Holidays went way too fast. Again, this chapter has not been edited. I repeat, it HAS NOT been edited.

Enjoy!

XXX

Chapter 11 - Undone

Unease was high in Hungalo. It had been ever since the Chief had exited the forests, announcing that the Artakh's were nowhere in sight – not their ships nor their warriors. This kind of thing had never happened before and it worried the villagers greatly.

The matter was not helped when the next morning, a small ship sailed in to Hungalo's port, with black sails and on them, a strange symbol Hiccup had never seen before. As soon as the ship had been sighted, something hung in the air. Hiccup could feel it, see it in their faces.

When the ship was closer, the Chief was called for and Hiccup watched from afar as a lone man, dressed in armour, stepped off the ship and Chief Vali stepped up to greet him.

They talked privately and Hiccup was too far away too use their facial expressions as a cue on how their conversation was going. Finally, the Chief stepped away and the man returned to his ship, sparing no further glance towards the Chief or his village.

The villagers gathered at the village square, anxiously waiting for their Chief to return. Hiccup himself was confused as to what the hell was going on, and curious to find out.

Hiccup, surrounded by tall people and naturally being short, couldn't see much over the heads off his fellow villagers but he knew immediately when the Chief arrived. The noise level rose and Hiccup often found himself being pushed to the side as each villager tried to make their voice loud enough to be heard.

Vali held up a hand. "Enough," he said and his people settled. Hiccup craned his neck and could just manage to see Vali's face. His brows were furrowed, his lips in a tight line and there was a furious light in his eyes.

"That was a messenger from Drago Bludvist," the Chief explained. "He had need of us. Tomorrow morning, he will send one of his Trappers to collect the dragons we captured for him. He also wishes to borrow some of our best warriors."

Predictably, the villagers protested at this. They needed every one of their warriors, especially now, when they were wary of the Artakh's plan. Hiccup agreed with them, but he stayed silent, already knowing thanks to Tala's tale that to deny Drago would be suicide for the Chief and the entire village.

A Chief protects his own, Hiccup remembered his own father telling him.

XXX

Hiccup was up early – well, earlier – the next morning. At this time, Hungalo was asleep and so quiet and peaceful, a varying contrast to how Hiccup usually saw the village. He was on his way to the Forge when he bumped into Halvor, who merely grunted his 'hello' for the day. Hiccup hid his grin at the grouchy Blacksmith and fell into step beside him.

It was only when the two Blacksmiths entered the Forge did the village and its inhabitants begin to wake. Many of those getting up bright and early were the warriors, who Hiccup knew had been handpicked by Chief Vali to assist Drago. They would be leaving sometime this morning if they were to go by what Drago's messenger had said.

Knowing that the Chief had things to be preparing for, it came as a shock to Hiccup when he approached the Forge before Hiccup had even started the fire.

"Chief," Halvor greeted. "Wha' can I do for ya?"

"I need you to help chain the dragons. Take whatever you deem necessary and go down to the Ring. There are men already down there. And," Chief Vali jerked his head over at Hiccup, who was lingering in the background. "Take him with you. It'll be good for him to learn this stuff."

Halvor nodded. "Of course, Chief."

Chief Vali clapped the older Blacksmith on the shoulder in silent thanks and he nodded his head at Hiccup before striding away from the Forge.

Halvor wasted no time in getting ready. Hiccup did his best at not getting in his mentors way as he grabbed his weapons; a mace, a round shield, a few bolas and a deadly looking two bladed axe. He dumped the bolas onto Hiccup - who stumbled under their weight but somehow managed to stay standing – and gruffly ordered his apprentice to follow.

It took all Hiccups strength to carry the bolas and he was only too happy when the Ring came into sight. They stopped at the gate leading into the Ring. The first thing Hiccup noticed about the Ring was that it was very similar to the Kill Ring back on Berk, if not a little bit smaller.

Halvor took the bolas from Hiccup. "Go round and watch from the top. I'll show ya' how it's done."

Hiccup obliged, and followed the path around the Ring so he could watch from outside. There he could see the inside of the Ring. It was circular, with cages facing off in every direction. Unlike the one in Berk, which was used for training the recruits and only fitted around five dragons, this one had more cages, fitting around ten in the Ring.

There were people in the Ring, as the Chief had said, about four of them. Hiccup watched they opened the gate and Halvor entered the Ring. The gate closed shut behind him.

The first dragon let out was large, red in colour with black stripes decorating its hide. Scars covered its hide, the pale white standing out like a beacon. Hiccup knew at once this as the dragon they had most recently captured.

Halvor stood alone in the centre of the Ring; the other people had dodged to the side to avoid getting in his way. He dropped the bolas and his mace to the ground and instead hefted the shield on his left arm and swung the axe experimentally in his right.

"Alright," Halvor said, settling into a fighting stance, a grin on his face. "Come an' get me, dragon."

The dragon roared and smoke came out of its mouth. A second later, and a stream of flames was soaring towards Halvor, who sidestepped easily. The dragon roared again and swiped at him with its talons. Halvor took the attack on his shield and used his own strength to push back against the attacking force. He used his free hand to swipe at the dragon's talons with his axe, and barely missed.

As they battled, Hiccup noticed that Halvor and the dragon were heading away from the extra weapons they had brought. If Halvor noticed, or even cared about it, he didn't show it.

The dragon lunged forward, snapping razor sharp teeth at the older Blacksmith. When the Blacksmith dodged, the dragon spewed a stream of fire from its jaws. Halvor covered himself with his shield and rolled out of the way – something Hiccup was surprised he was able to do with his stature.

Unfortunately, as he rolled past the dragon, its red tail swung around and caught Halvor by surprise. He was sent sprawling.

The dragon stalked over to its fallen prey, smoke rising from its flaring nostrils. The people in the Ring besides Halvor prepared to rush to his rescue.

But, as the dragon stalked closer, it seemed Halvor was not finished with the beast. He pushed himself at the dragon, startling it into rearing away but Halvor had both his hands clenched onto the two horns on its head and he wasn't letting go.

The dragon, in a last desperate attempt to remove the men, threw its head against the wall with all its might, crashing Halvor.

Hiccup thought that was it for the old Blacksmith, and it seemed the others in the Ring thought so too.

Then something happened; the dragons head was forced away from the wall and Hiccup could see Halvor, forcing the head back with all his strength. What Halvor did next happened too quickly for Hiccup to see properly. Halvor managed to twist the dragon head and the beast simply collapsed, panting and in a daze, with the underside of its neck facing Halvor.

Halvor whistled, and two of the people he was in the Ring with brought forth a cart Hiccup hadn't yet noticed. He saw that it was the same one from the other day, when this very same dragon had been captured.

They wheeled the cart in next to the dragon and the other two in the Ring surrounded the dragon. The beast simply slumped, defeated, and made no move to struggle.

Together, the five of them wrestled the dragon into the cart, snapping the muzzle and chains onto it so tight it could barely move. Halvor crouched, looking the dragon in its eye. Smoke blew out of its nostrils.

"Take it away," Halvor ordered and the same two men who had brought the cart in wheeled it and the dragon away.

The dragons that Hungalo had captured through the last couple months were brought out one by one. Hiccup counted nine all up, including the Monstrous Nightmare that Halvor had dealt with first.

These dragons (three Nadders, Two Gronkle's, two Zippleback's and another Nightmare), having been kept in their cages for longer than the first Monstrous Nightmare, were weaker and Halvor, now with the added help of the woman and man also in the Ring, subdued them with ease. In fact, Hiccup rather thought that Halvor found it almost too easy.

When each dragon had been defeated, the first two men would come in with a new cart, help chain up the dragon and then cart it away, only to return again with a new cart and repeat the process.

Hiccup found it rather interesting watching the five work together efficiently. It wasn't often that Hiccup saw this level of teamwork back on Berk.

"See all that Hiccup? That's how ya' take care of a dragon," Halvor yelled up to his apprentice. He laughed. "Soon this will be ya'."

Hiccup grinned at him. "A little unfair, don't you think?" He called back. "They won't be able to handle all this." He gestured at himself and struck a manly pose.

Halvor chuckled at his dry sarcasm and Hiccup noticed that the woman and man in the Ring – the other two were carting away the last dragon – were joining in.

A strange feeling grew in Hiccups chest. They weren't mocking him, or hating him for his size or Un-vikingness. The warm feeling grew and Hiccup realised that in the few short weeks he had been here, Hungalo was more his home than Berk had ever been.

XXX

A few hours later a large ship sailed into Hungalo's port. Two triangular white sails flapped proudly in the wind, with a blue design painted on them. From this distance, Hiccup couldn't see what it was. Straightaway, they knew this to be the ship of one of Drago's Trappers. The Chief was alerted, and he quickly ordered the dragons to be brought down to the dock, as well as the men who would be serving Drago as he requested.

With that done, the Chief strode down to the dock to wait for his visitors to dock, as was customary. As the ship sailed closer, the dragons were slowly carted in and lined up just off the dock and the thirty warriors Chief Vali had selected crowded around the dock. Both Hiccup and Halvor stood a few ways away from the group, having assisted with the dragons.

As the last dragon was put into place, the ship touched alongside the dock and men, dressed in bear skins, jumped out with rope and tied the ship to port. A ramp was thrown down from the ship and hit the dock.

Another man, muscular, with black hair and three blue stripes on his chin strolled down the ramp casually, a cocky smirk on his face.

"I am Eret, son of Eret," he introduced himself, stopping in front of the Chief. "Finest Dragon Trapper alive," he declared.

"Vali Thorington," the Chief greeted in return. "Chief of Hungalo."

"Drago Bludvist has need of your… services," Eret said, straight to the point. "My men and I are here to collect."

"We have the dragons and thirty of our finest warriors ready and waiting to set sail," Chief Vali said, gesturing behind him at the crowd. The thirty warriors stood a little straighter at the attention. "Will you be staying the night?"

"No," Eret, side stepping around the Chief and making his way down the dock to look at the dragons. After clenching his jaw in anger for a moment, the Chief followed him. "We only stopped to pick up the payment. Then we're leaving."

The stranger, Eret, ran a critical eye over the Chiefs warriors. He spared Hiccup and Halvor no glance as he passed them.

Finally, he reached the dragons. He whistled lowly as he appraised the beasts, and ran a hand over the first dragons head – a Deadly Nadder. It made to lunge at him, and would've taken his head off if the chains hadn't stopped it.

Eret snatched his hand back and laughed at the beast. He moved on to the next one.

"Monstrous Nightmare, Gronkle, another Gronkle, Zippleback, Nadder, Zippleback, Nightmare and Nadder," he muttered under his breath as he saw each of them.

He turned to the Chief. "That makes nine dragons. Which, just so happens to be one under the quota. Drago won't be happy," Eret warned.

"Dragons don't fly out his way. It was hard enough finding these nine, we couldn't get ten," the Chief explained.

"Drago won't care," Eret said quietly. "Last time I showed up with my trapped dragons under the quota, he gave me this," Eret pulled back his shirt on the left side of his chest to show them the scar Drago had had branded on him. He let go of the shirt. "He promised to be far less understanding if it happened again."

Eret didn't give the Chief a moment to think of a reply. He turned to the ship and hollered for his men to come on deck and load the dragons in. They did so, taking the dragons below deck. They then closed a curved metal trapdoor over the dragons, sealing them in.

Eret left the Chief to help his men and the two didn't get another chance to talk. Eret wasn't lying when he said he was in a hurry. The Hungalian soldiers bid their last goodbyes to the families and climbed aboard.

Soon, the ship was sailing away and the villagers returned to their daily lifestyle.

XXX

The smell of fire and smoke filled his nose when he inhaled. Screams pierced the air and it was like music to his ears. The scorching heat passed harmlessly over him as he walked through the unrecognisable village he had once called his home.

Flames, as high as he could see, ravaged through the village. They burned everything in their path, buildings, animals, people. Hiccup felt his mouth curl into a smirk as he watched the destruction of Berk. Satisfaction settled in the pit of his stomach and he knew that this was all his doing.

A small figure materialized in his field of his of vison, just out of reach of the eager flames.

"How could you?" Astrid, his long-time crush, asked him, fury colouring her tone. Her golden hair was untidy and falling out of her messy braid and her eyes were narrowed at him, her face twisted in hatred.

Hiccup ignored her and strolled leisurely past her. The flames that had previously been held at bay consumed her and she was gone.

Then he was standing in the centre of the village. Off to one side the Forge stood, small and insignificant, the only building not consumed by the flames. It was just how he remembered it.

His eyes narrowed and the flames surrounding him leapt at the Forge and the only place in Berk where he had good memories fell.

Satisfied, he turned. There, in front of him, lay a pile of bodies. Burns marked their bodies but the spears and swords sticking of from each of the told him how they really died. Their cold, lifeless eyes started at him accusingly.

He recognised them all; Astrid, the twins, Fishlegs and Gobber. There was only one person missing…

Something moved in the corner of his eye, and hands latched onto his knees. Their grip was weak and he easily moved out of it. His head turned to see the once imposing figure of Stoick the Vast on his knees. Blood covered him, his hair and beard was unkept but his eyes were grimly focused on his former sons'.

"How could you?" Stoick whispered.

Hiccup knelt down, gripped Stoick's hair and yanked his head back, exposing his throat. He smirked down at his father; a savage, bloodthirsty smirk.

"Surprised?" He asked mockingly. "Guess I'm not as Useless as you all thought."

"I'm-"

Stoick's eyes grew wide. His breath left him. All the while, his eyes never dropped from Hiccup's.

Blood poured from out of Stoick's throat, over the dagger that lay buried in the dead man's throat. The same dagger that Hiccup had used to kill Snotlout. Hiccup stepped back and the broken body fell the ground at his feet.

Hiccup looked at the pile of bodies. He looked at the lifeless body of his ex-father Snotlout appeared. He was standing up, facing Hiccup with dead eyes, still with a gaping hole in his stomach from where Hiccup had stabbed him. Hiccup looked down.

His hands were covered in red.

Hiccup sat up with a gasp. His hand grasped at his chest, directly above his racing heart. Wildly, he scanned the unfamiliar room he was in. Slowly, his heart beat settled as he realised that he was on Hungalo, with Tala and Leilah and nowhere near Berk.

The room he was in was dark, and Hiccup guessed that it was still night-time. Looking down, he discovered that his legs were trapped in the blankets from when he had tossed and turned. He freed them, and the cool night air that caressed his legs was a welcome change to the scorching heat he had felt in his nightmare.

As his nightmare came back to him, Hiccup felt bile raise in his throat. He stumbled from his room and down the stairs. There he stopped abruptly.

In front of him Talayeh leaned over the kitchen counter. She was dressed in a simple nightgown that reached her knees. Her brown hair was loosely tied up above her neck. She had a mug in front of her, and as he watched she lifted it to take a short gulp. She has a letter in her other hand.

Hiccup went to take a step back and grimaced when the floorboard creaked under his weight. Tala looked over at him and smiled tiredly when she saw who it was.

"Hiccup," she greeted. "I thought you were sleeping?"

"I-I was," Hiccup stuttered out. "I just needed to clear my head."

She nodded and turned back to her letter. Hiccup leaned on the counter opposite her. Curious, he asked, "Tala, what's the letter for?"

Tala waved the letter in the air. "Oh, this? It's just nothing…" She trailed off and sighed. "'Well, it's actually from my suitors."

"Oh," Hiccup said. His chest felt tight all of a sudden.

"Marriage," she suddenly burst out. "I don't want to get married. By the Gods, I'm only fifteen."

"Oh," Hiccup said again. The feeling on his chest was gone. He noted that his original guess on her age had been correct. He also realised with a jolt that he was now too fifteen years of age. Time really had passed, and he'd forgotten all about it.

"Mhm. Since I have no father, they're supposed to give their proposals to the Chief, but Chief Vali lets me choose."

Tala let her head roll forward to rest on the counter. "It's all very grand," Hiccup could practically feel the sarcasm dripping off her words, "but tell me, how you've been?"

"A little on edge," Hiccup admitted. "I don't like the mysterious disappearance of the Artahk's. There's something up."

Tala agreed. "It has been awfully quiet lately."

"Not to mention that some of our warriors have been sent off to help Drago." Hiccup didn't notice his slip until he caught sight of Tala's gentle smile. Then he cursed himself, waiting to see if she would call him out for it. She didn't.

Instead, she stood up straight and yawned. "I think I'm going to go to bed now."

She washed her mug and placed in it a draw. Then she startled the boy by placing a small kiss on his cheek. As she walked away, Hiccup placed his hand over the spot.

"Goodnight Hiccup."

"Goodnight Tala."

XXX

Seven days.

Seven days had passed since The Artahks had surprised them with no attack and Eret, son of Eret had come to collect what Drago had requested.

Since then, Chief Vali had ordered for two guards to be stationed at the entrance of the secret passageway. One was to remain hidden at all times, should the Artahks take down the first guard.

The unease and tension hadn't completely worn off yet, but the villagers had begun to ignore it, and they were even beginning to relax as time went by and nothing happened.

But on the seventh night, everything changed.

It started out like every other night. It all changed when Hiccup was walking back from the Forge. By then most of the villagers were asleep. Hiccup could see the Chief still at the Hall. He was issuing orders. With the guards posted at the secret passageway, the Hunaglians and the guards they posted to watch the sea for intruders, all fell asleep easily, believing they were well prepared for an attack from the Artahks.

A mistake they were soon to learn.

A loud war cry ran out, echoing around the village, and two dozen unfamiliar warriors trickled out from the forest. They wore armour from head to toe and were armed to the teeth. A symbol of three crossed swords bore into their chest plates and their shields. Answering their cry, more of the warriors poured out from the direction of the docks. They filled the streets even as Hunglians stumbled out of their homes, with armour thrown over their night clothes.

Hiccup backed away from them, back towards the Forge where he could hear Halvor cursing. Hiccup knew who the strange, unknown invaders were.

The Artahks had finally attacked.

XXX

Authors Note: So. I realised I didn't actually reply to anyone last chapter for the reviews. Sorry about that. Next chapter will be coming soon XD

-Night Ryder711