Late Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Joyous Kwanzaa, etc. to all of you!

Okay everyone, this is kind of important: if you have not seen the first season of the HTTYD show Dragons: Riders of Berk I highly recommend that you do that because this chapter might be kind of confusing if you don't. And also because there will be more references to the show in the future. This story, by the way, is only canon up to the end of Season One. It's technically AU from there, I guess.

Also, I have tried to stay as much in canon with the movies (movies, not books) as much as possible, but because of new details about HTTYD 2 that have recently come to light, I will have to be diverging from the trilogy's canon by going with my earlier assumption that Hiccup's mother is dead. That's not relevant for this chapter but it will be relevant later.

Chapter 10: Make New Friends, Keep The Old

"Solitude vivifies; isolation kills."

- Joseph Roux

Hiccup, Toothless, and Merida walked into a firestorm.

Whatever Hiccup had expected to see when he stepped back into Berk, it wasn't this. Houses blazed bright as bonfires, dry grass went up in flames, and sheep ran past in a panic while the wool on their backs burned. It was so chaotic that no one even seemed to notice the three of them stepping out of thin air; they were too preoccupied with keeping the fire at bay and attempting to put it out. An unnatural blast of hot, arid wind hit Hiccup full in the face, and it was only because of an instinct ingrained in him since childhood that he was able to grab Merida and pull them both to the ground as an immense, scaly shape zoomed just a few feet above them while flames poured out of its mouth.

This was a dragon attack.

But that didn't make any sense. Berk didn't get attacked by dragons anymore, not since Hiccup and Toothless' forbidden friendship had challenged the ancient rules. Oh sure, sometimes the dragons got a little rowdy and caused some minor damage, or a rogue wild dragon would go on a rampage before it got under control, but this… this was a fully-fledged, organized, group attack. It was even worse than the raid there had been the night Hiccup shot Toothless out of the sky.

"Hiccup? What's going on?" Merida asked, eyes wide at the sight.

"Dragons," was his short reply.

He helped her up as quickly as possible, looking around for a safe place. A quick glance to the sky revealed a fight going on between the hostile dragons and those loyal to the village. A few people running past noticed his presence and acknowledged him with a quick yell of surprise and relief. Oh, Hiccup's here, we're saved! I'm sure he'll just train them all with a snap of his fingers! No need to worry!

He wished it was that easy.

"We need to get you somewhere safe," he said, tugging on Merida's arm. He instinctually started heading for the worn, familiar path leading to Gobber's forge.

"Hiccup, wait," Merida said, resisting. "Look!"

Hiccup looked up again as the massive shadow of a whole flock of enemy dragons swept over him, and saw that they were retreating. He spotted a familiar group of dragons driving them back, and he didn't even have to look to recognize their riders.

He smiled, but that expression quickly morphed into a frown as he realized something else: the enemy dragons had riders, too.

The distant figure on a Deadly Nadder appeared to have noticed him, for she pointed at him and waved, swooping down to land and closely followed by the others. The Nadder set down on the ground even as its rider jumped off, and Hiccup grinned when Astrid practically tackled him to the ground with the force of her hug.

"Well it's about time you showed up, Hiccup!" she exclaimed, releasing him. "You missed all the fun!"

His other friends gathered around, greeting him and agreeing with Astrid.

"Yeah, we definitely could have used you and Toothless," Fishlegs said. "Where've you been?"

Hiccup laughed. "The better question would be: where haven't I been?"

Astrid seemed to notice Merida for the first time, and looked at her curiously. "Who are you?" she asked rather bluntly.

"Guys, this is Merida," Hiccup answered for her.

Merida gave a little wave. "Hi."

"She's part of my fighting team," Hiccup continued. "I heard you guys got the truth out of my Dad."

"Well, we obviously weren't going to buy his excuse for where you went," Ruffnut said.

"He told us you were on a, quote, 'prolonged expedition for exploration and discovery'," Snotlout spoke up. "He was obviously lying."

"Obviously," Tuffnut repeated.

"How did you get him to talk?" Hiccup asked, genuinely curious.

"We had Ruff and Tuff follow him around 24/7 singing at the top of their lungs about sheep," Astrid told him proudly. "He lasted five days."

Hiccup was impressed. "Wow. I didn't even know there were that many songs about sheep."

"There aren't," Tuffnut said. "We improvised."

"And repeated them on a loop," Ruffnut added.

"He held out for a long time," Snotlout remarked. "Most of the villagers were threatening to throw them off a cliff by day two."

"I can imagine," Hiccup muttered. He turned his gaze back to the retreating shapes of the attackers on the horizon. He decided to get back on track to more important things. "Who was attacking you?"

Astrid's expression darkened. "Outcasts." She said the name like it was a curse.

"Outcasts?" Merida repeated. "Aren't they Alvin's men?"

"Yeah," Hiccup answered.

"But I thought you said they couldn't train dragons?"

"They can't," Hiccup replied. "Or at least… they couldn't…" He turned back to his friends. "Why were they here?"

"As far as we can tell? Simply to destroy," Fishlegs said. "Cause as much damage and chaos as possible."

"They definitely succeeded at that," Astrid said, as the roof of a burning house behind her collapsed inward.

People and dragons rushed past them, carrying buckets and tubs of water to the flaming carnage of that house, as well as many others.

"We captured one of them, though," Snotlout announced.

Hiccup looked at him with new interest. "Really? Who?"

"Savage."

Hiccup's eyes widened, shocked that they were able to catch Alvin's right hand man.

"He's locked up in one of the old cages in the Academy," Tuff said. "He won't be going anywhere anytime soon."

"Your Dad's trying to get information out of him right now," Fishlegs said.

"Well, we need to go see what he's found out," Hiccup said with new urgency, starting up the path to the Dragon Training Academy.

Merida walked beside him. "I guess North was right," she said. "Things are escalating quickly."

Hiccup opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off when Astrid sidled up on his other side. "So, Hiccup," she began. "What have you been doing for the past three weeks?"

Hiccup gave her a funny look. "Three weeks? What? Astrid, I've only been gone for one week."

She returned the look. "Um, no, Hiccup. It's been three weeks. Trust me. People notice."

Hiccup stared at her. Had he really been gone that long? "Three weeks…" he said again in amazement.

"It must be the constant dimension- hopping," Merida said. "It probably messes with time."

Hiccup's brow furrowed. "But if one week at the Pole is three weeks here, then what is it in Corona? Or DunBroch?"

Merida seemed struck by the thought. "How long has it been since my family's seen me?"

"And, most of all," Hiccup said, "How long has it been since Jack and Rapunzel have seen us?"

Astrid looked immensely confused. "What in Valhalla are you two talking about?"

At that exact moment, a bright light flashed directly above Hiccup's head. He instinctively flinched back, but even as he was moving away he was slammed face first into the ground by a heavy weight crashing down on him. For a brief, confusing moment, he thought the sky was falling to earth. Then he came to his senses and realized that the weight was, in fact, two bodies.

He spluttered out a mouthful of long blonde hair as Rapunzel's familiar voice reached his ears. "Oh my gosh! Hiccup! Are you okay?"

He coughed. "I would be a lot better if you got off me."

"Of course! Sorry!"

A sharp pain stabbed him in the small of his back. "Ow ow ow! Jack- ow- your staff is- ow- in my back! Ow!"

"Oh," he heard Jack say. "My bad."

The pressure and pain were alleviated, and with great relief the two got off his back. Hiccup stood up, turning to face the two new arrivals. He noticed their grim expressions, and immediately grew wary.

"What happened?" he asked. "How are things in Corona?"

"Not good," Rapunzel answered with a heavy sigh.

Merida's brow furrowed. "Wait… what are you doing here? Weren't you supposed to go back to the North Pole afterwards?"

"We can't," Jack said shortly. He looked around at the Vikings who were all gawking at them in awe. "We'll explain later. How's it going with you?"

Hiccup started to reply, but was once again interrupted.

"Hiccup, what in Thor's name just happened?" Fishlegs asked, looking alarmed. "They just- you just- out of thin air…"

Hiccup sighed, looking at his friends who all shared the same shocked expression. "I know this seems really insane right now," he said to them, "But I just need you all to trust me and just go with it, okay? I'll tell you everything eventually. But for now we just need to get things done, and there's no time for explanations."

There was a moment's hesitation before they slowly nodded, and Hiccup smiled. "Thanks guys. You're the best. Now come on, we've got an Outcast to interrogate."

He turned his attention back to Jack and Rapunzel, and as the group continued to walk to the Dragon Training Academy where Savage was being kept he gave them the run-down of what was going on in Berk. In turn, they told him of the events in Corona.

Merida looked stricken. "We can't get to the Pole? And we have no idea what's going on there?"

"Nope," Rapunzel replied, her voice muffled as she pulled the fancy royal dress she was wearing over her head, revealing the battle gear she had on underneath. She carelessly tossed the mass of expensive fabric aside and brushed back a few stray hairs from her face. "And I'm sure that's exactly what Pitch wants."

"Who knows what sort of trick he might be pulling right now," Jack said, "And we can't get there to help."

Hiccup didn't miss the worry lacing through the winter spirit's tone. He cast him a reassuring look.

"I'm sure they're fine," he said.

Jack gave him a half smile. "I know. They're fine on their own; they've been fighting without me a lot longer than they have with me. It's just…"

Hiccup nodded in understanding. He knew he would be worried too, if he had no way of knowing what was happening to his friends.

They entered the gates of the Academy, and Astrid led the way to one of the doors that led to what was now a storage room, but had once been a strong, inescapable cage for dragons when the Academy had been a kill ring. Though no longer used for such morbid purposes, it was just as capable of being a prison.

The open door cut a wedge of sunlight across the floor of the dim room that was lit only by a single torch, illuminating Stoick and Gobber standing on either side of Savage, who was tightly chained to a sturdy chair in the center of the room. They were clearly attempting to intimidate the Outcast into telling them information, but Savage didn't seem fazed. He even smiled when the group entered the room.

"Well, look who it is," he drawled. "The Man in the Moon's little junior Guardian club."

Hiccup ignored him as Stoick whirled out his axe and buried the wickedly sharp blade into the ground mere centimeters from Savage's foot. "I'm going to ask you one more time, Savage," he growled, his voice low and quiet and threatening. "What is Alvin up to?"

"Wouldn't you like to know," was all he got in response.

Stoick turned away as Gobber pounded his clubbed arm menacingly into his other hand, holding Savage's attention as Stoick went over to Hiccup.

"We can't get anything out of him," he said quietly. "We're going to have to try something… more drastic."

"Wait…" Snoutlout said. "What do you mean by drastic?"

Astrid stared at Stoick. "What, like, torture?"

Savage called across the room, apparently still listening in. "You're not going to torture me, are you Stoick?" he said smugly. "Not in front of your dear precious children."

Stoick didn't react, but his expression was grim. "He's Alvin's second in command. We need to know what he knows."

"There are other ways of getting him to talk," Hiccup said. "We don't torture people, Dad. That makes us no better than them."

Stoick looked frustrated. "Then what do you suggest, Hiccup?"

"You could tickle him until he talks," Fishlegs suggested, ever the pacifist. Stoick stared at him, and he shrugged uncomfortably. "Just saying."

"We could sing to him like we did to you," Tuffnut said with a grin.

"Yeah," Ruffnut agreed. "We've got a few new numbers."

"You could make him eat some of my aunt's cooking," Snotlout proposed. He glanced over his shoulder. "Don't tell her I said that."

"Or you could just leave him," Jack spoke up for the first time.

Stoick looked towards him in confusion. "Leave him?"

Jack nodded. "Leave him in here, close the door, put out the lights, don't respond to anything he says, and ignore him completely. Leave him alone in the dark with nothing but his thoughts for company."

Stoick frowned. "Would that actually work?"

"Sensory deprivation and isolation are two of the most effective interrogation techniques where I come from," Jack informed him. "A few hours of it feels like days, days like weeks, weeks like months. Most people break pretty quickly."

Savage laughed. "I'm not afraid of being alone in the dark, boy."

Jack looked at him coolly and said with certainty, "Maybe you should be."

For the first time, a slight flicker of unease crossed Savage's features.

Jack turned his gaze back to the chief. "You won't even have to touch him."

Stoick hesitated, then glanced back at Gobber who shrugged as if to say, Might as well try it.

"Alright," Stoick said.

He extinguished the sole torch in the room, and motioned for Gobber to move away from Savage. He complied, and they all left the room as Stoick began to close the door.

"It won't work, you know!" Savage called out. "It won't-"

His voice was cut off as the soundproof door thudded closed. Stoick secured the latch, and they all walked away.

"So what now?" he asked Jack. "We just wait?"

Jack nodded. "Let him stew in his own juices for a while. Then go in and sit in front of him to listen to whatever he's got to say, but don't look him in the eye and don't talk to him. If he refuses to talk, just get up and leave. No compromise."

Stoick heaved a sigh. "Okay, well in the meantime I have a village to rebuild… again. You two," he pointed to Jack and Rapunzel, "Fill me in on what's going on Corona. The rest of you… do whatever it is that you do."

The three of them and Gobber walked away, and Hiccup turned back to his friends. "So… what else have I missed in three weeks?"

Berk's mead hall was warm and full of people. Many of the people were there to stay the night as their burnt houses were rebuilt, while others just wanted to have some time to forget about the chaos of the day. There was a gloomy sort of air about the place.

Merida sat in the mead hall among Hiccup and his friends, listening to what they had to say but not really saying much. She didn't really understand a lot of what they were talking about; dragon attacks and increased hostility from the Outcasts and possible alliances with other tribes weren't things she knew much about, at least not in this world. Sure, she knew plenty about politics- being the heir to the DunBroch throne, she had to- but she knew next to nothing about Berk and the people who lived here. So she just sat and listened and nodded when it seemed right.

Merida wasn't an awkward person by nature, but it would be hard for even the most social person to feel comfortable in a situation where everyone knew everyone- except for her. So she really couldn't be blamed for sticking close to Hiccup the whole time. He was the only familiar person in this place, even if she was using familiar as a rather relative term since it was clear from the way his friends acted and spoke to him that she really barely knew him at all.

Eventually, Jack and Rapunzel returned from speaking with Stoick and joined the group. By that time conversation strayed from serious subjects to random chatter, because they were teenagers, after all. They could hardly be expected to stick to such grim subject matter for long periods of time.

The air was still heavy, though. And it was noticeable.

"Do you have any musicians here?" Rapunzel asked. "You know… to cheer people up."

"Music?" Tuffnut repeated, trying to sound macho. "Us manly Vikings don't bother with girly things like music."

"I mean," Snotlout said, leaning across the table towards Rapunzel, "Unless you like that sort of thing."

Astrid rolled her eyes and yanked Snotlout back in his seat. "There are some people who usually play during feasts and celebrations," she told Rapunzel, pointing to a group of Vikings in one corner, "But I'm sure they would play you something if you asked them."

Rapunzel's face brightened. "Great!"

She sprang out of her seat and rushed over to them, and Merida smiled at their startled expressions as Rapunzel eagerly implored them to play. The musicians shrugged and nodded, taking out their instruments and setting up. Soon a cheery, catchy melody was floating through the hall, and Merida could identify a pan flute and horn pipes in the sound. It sounded a lot like the music the castle musicians played at home, in DunBroch.

Rapunzel returned with a smile on her face. "Much better. Who wants to dance?"

Everyone avoided looking her in the eye, mumbling about how they didn't really know how to dance and she could go ahead without them and such.

Rapunzel sighed. "I'm tired of sitting around being gloomy. Just because there's a war on doesn't mean we can't have fun every now and then, right?"

There were some reluctant agreements.

Rapunzel went over to Merida and tugged on her arm. "Come on, Merida. Please?"

She was so much like a pleading child, complete with puppy dog eyes. Merida caved. "Oh, alright. Fine."

Rapunzel tugged her towards an open space near the middle of the room, and as they went Merida grabbed Hiccup and Jack by their arms, too, saying, "But only if they come, too."

The boys protested but didn't really try as hard as they could have to get away, and Rapunzel was soon leading the four of them in a dance that Merida suspected she probably made up on the spot. The music picked up and the dance evolved into something wilder and faster, and Merida couldn't stop herself from giggling- actually giggling- at how ridiculous she must look.

She knew that many of the Vikings were staring at them and her face (as well as they boys' faces) was bright red, but she kept dancing anyway because after days of heaviness and grim suspense it just felt so good.

It was kind of funny, Merida thought as a few of the Vikings including Hiccup's friends joined the dancing, how quickly her newfound friends could change such a gloomy atmosphere into such a festive one. If she didn't think about it, she could almost forget that a war was the only reason she was here at all.

After a while, the music wound down to something a little slower and Merida, out of breath, sat down at an empty table. There were still some people dancing, and all around the room the hushed conversations had changed to ones with raucous laughter encouraged by mugs of ale. Merida smiled at the difference. Someone sat down on the wooden bench next to her, and when she turned her head she saw it was Rapunzel, her hair coming loose from her braid and her cheeks flushed.

"You'd never know it just by looking at them," she said after a moment, "but those Vikings can dance."

Merida laughed, glancing at said Vikings. "They look like they'd be more inclined to throw axes at your face," she agreed.

"It's always the tough guys that surprise you," Rapunzel said.

Merida nodded. She looked around the room, and after a few seconds asked, "Where did the boys go?"

Rapunzel smiled. "You know those twins, Ruffnut and Tuffnut? I think Jack found his soul mates in those two. Last I saw him, the three of them were planning some sort of massive prank, so… watch your back." She paused as Merida laughed. "And as for Hiccup… I don't know where he went." She twisted in her seat, scanning the room.

"Just look for Toothless," a new voice spoke up. Merida turned and saw Astrid sliding into the seat on the opposite side of the table. The Viking girl continued, "He goes wherever Hiccup goes and he's a hard dragon to miss, so find him and you find Hiccup."

"Are you even allowed to have dragons in here?" Rapunzel asked, easily adjusting to the new member of the conversation.

"It's not recommended since the Exploding Barrel of Flame Incident," Astrid admitted (Merida could practically hear the capital letters), "But that's Hiccup and Toothless for you. Inseparable." She chuckled. "A girl can get jealous sometimes."

Merida and Rapunzel laughed, too.

"So," Astrid said, her tone sobering. She leaned forward a little. "How did you meet Hiccup?"

Merida heard the hidden question: Just who are you, anyway?

She shrugged. "We were both recruited. I never would have met him if not for that."

"The four of us never would have met if not for that," Rapunzel pointed out. "Seeing as where we each are from."

Astrid looked interested. "Where are you from?"

"My home's not too different from here, actually," Merida said. "I mean, there aren't dragons or anything, but this place reminds me of DunBroch quite a bit."

"I'm from a kingdom called Corona," Rapunzel said. "It's much… more peaceful, I guess; not nearly as much excitement as here. I'm pretty sure most of my people have never picked up a sword."

Astrid frowned. "Then how do they defend themselves?"

"Well… they've never really had to before."

"Then what are they going to do now that they do have to?" Astrid asked, genuinely curious.

Rapunzel breathed a sigh. "That's the problem, isn't it?"

Astrid looked sympathetic. "Well, you've got Hiccup on your side now, and he's exceptionally good at making up crazy, suicidal plans on the spot that somehow nearly always work, so don't worry."

Rapunzel laughed. "That's reassuring."

Just then, there was the sound of a small explosion in one corner of the room, and all heads turned to see a mushroom cloud of some strange pink gas ballooning up towards the ceiling.

"What was that?" Astrid wondered aloud.

Merida and Rapunzel shared a look. "I'd say that was Jack and the twins' prank," Merida replied.

"Just phase one, actually." Merida jumped at Jack's voice speaking up right behind her with no warning. She turned around to face him. He was grinning and barely holding back laugh. "I'd get out now if you have no desire to be stained rainbow colors for the next week."

Merida stood up immediately. "Say no more." She started walking out, followed by Rapunzel and Astrid, but stopped and scanned the room with a frown. "Seriously, though. Where's Hiccup?"

Jack was right. Hiccup had never heard of using isolation as a torture method before, but it was certainly doing its job.

It had been quite a few hours since they had left Savage tied up alone. Hiccup had arrived during late morning, and it was now the latter part of the night. Hiccup wasn't sure it would be long enough for the man to start talking, but he had decided to see if the Outcast had anything to say anyway. The moment he had opened the door Savage had started babbling away, not so much about anything useful as much as insults- but Hiccup hadn't missed the hoarse tone of his voice, as if he had been talking to himself for a while.

Hiccup left Toothless outside to guard the door while he went in, lighting the single torch and pulling up a stool in front of Savage to sit on. He didn't look directly at him, instead fixing his eyes on a spot on the opposite wall as if Savage wasn't even there.

"I suppose you want me to talk about Alvin's plans, don't you?" Savage said.

Hiccup said nothing.

"I bet you're curious how we trained dragons, too. You thought we needed you, didn't you?"

Still he was silent, his face blank.

"So you're not even going to acknowledge me?"

No reaction.

"You could at least talk to me."

He didn't move.

"Well, I'm not going to tell you anything."

Hiccup stood up, still not looking at Savage, and walked to the door. He put out the torch, sending the room into blackness.

"What, you're leaving just like that?" Savage called after him.

He went to the door and started pulling it closed.

"Hey! Wait!" Savage yelled.

Hiccup paused, listening.

"Will you at least look at me?" Savage pleaded- actually pleaded. Hiccup was surprised, but didn't move.

"It was Mildew, okay? You taught Mildew to train dragons, and he taught us."

Mildew. Anger rushed through Hiccup. He should have known, shouldn't have trusted that traitor. He didn't let his emotion show, though, and still didn't acknowledge Savage beyond simply standing in the doorway.

"Alvin's going to launch an attack on Berk with dragons and ships. I don't know when, other than within the week. And I don't know which direction he's coming from, I swear."

Hiccup stayed still, taking in the information.

"That's everything. That's all. Now will you look at me!"

Hiccup finally complied, turning to look at Savage's face. His eyes were wild and desperate, and slightly crazed. Hiccup nodded, and then turned back around and continued to close the door.

"What are you doing?" Savage demanded, straining against his bonds. "You can't leave me here! I told you everything!"

Hiccup felt a little guilty, but he knew he couldn't just let Savage go; he didn't have the authority. That was up to Stoick. Besides, he was sure there were more things that they could learn from him.

"You said you would let me go if I talked!" Savage yelled.

Hiccup paused, and then spoke up for the first time. "I never said anything."

Then he closed the door all the way, cutting off Savage's wild cries and leaving him alone in the darkness once again.

It might seem like Savage broke pretty easy there, but from what I've researched about isolation/sensory deprivation as an interrogation technique people usually last anywhere between forty-five minutes to several weeks and I needed to move the plot along, so I made Savage one of the weaker ones.

There was a tiny little reference in the beginning there to the song Forbidden Friendship from the HTTYD soundtrack which is an amazing soundtrack that you should all go listen to because it's awesome and Forbidden Friendship is the best song on there with Test Drive being a close second because the whole thing is just so epic and I swear John Powell is some sort of musical god.

I was at the Disney store at the mall the other day and they had all the Disney princess stuff for Merida and Rapunzel and then I came home and my sister was watching the HTTYD TV show and I suddenly realized: Merida and Rapunzel are part of all the Disney princess merchandise, and Hiccup's got his whole movie trilogy plus TV show... but Jack gets, like, zero attention- even though ROTG has more fanfic than the other three combined. Seriously. Someone get that boy a franchise. Or at least a sequel.

Wow I'm in a chatty mood today.

S2 Intelligence: Berk has its fair share of issues too, as you can see, haha. Glad you're getting into it!

KrystalINSANEGirl: Oh, I'm sure they'll get back eventually... it's just a question of what they'll find when they do.

SomeRandomPerson: Thank you very much!

Cocoaflower: Here you go!

The Directer: I've gotta agree with you there :)

Keep on reviewing!