Hiccup cried out the pain that went through his entire body, in and out.

Ryker had changed the chair, and it wasn't a fun one. His wrists and ankles were manacled to it, the cold metal pressing on his three members painfully. There was a strap that pinned him to the chair, and two others that held his arms down. But that wasn't the worst. The worst was the peculiar twisted metal rod at his back, connected to a tank filled with electrical eels... So whenever Hiccup didn't give the right answer or simply didn't answer to Ryker's questions, the man would simply pull on a handle that let the electrical energy from the eels run, and shock the boy.

It was so painful that Hiccup felt like he was about to lose consciousness in the next seconds, every time he was electrocuted. But it never happened.

If he said anything else that he wasn't supposed to say, even a single word, Ryker would pull on the handle and let the current go down his spine.

It was actually one of Viggo's inventions... Ryker told him that his brother had made it principally for him. That's why the chair was of his size...

Another current was released; shocking the boy once more after... he had gave up counting... All he knew is that it was painful, and not just slightly.

''Exactly how many riders are there on Berk?'' Ryker growled, looking at the boy's exhausted face.

''I won't tell—'' Hiccup sighed heavily before being shocked again. He barred his teeth and shut his eyes tightly, hoping it would help through the pain, but it didn't do much. He gasped after this one and let his head drop, his chin resting against his chest. He was simply exhausted.

Ryker came back in front of him and grabbed his chin, lifting his head up. Hiccup opened his eyes, but didn't focus on anything in particular. He saw the man smiling murderously and staring at him in the eyes, but that was all. Right before he was dead to the world, another shock of electricity went down his spine, the terrible white pain running down his entire body.

...

Astrid flew Stormfly above the many trees of the forest below, searching for any sign of Hiccup she might possibly find. She was about to go in another direction when a cry met her ears. It wasn't very loud, probably because it was at a far distance, but one thing she knew for sure, was that it was Hiccup's, and it was one of pain.

''HICCUP!'' Astrid shouted, forgetting to stay quiet. ''Come on, Stormfly!'' she said patting her Nadder's neck. Her heart raced. She did hear Hiccup scream before, but never like that.

The dragon flew towards the scream she had heard the previous minute, and came to a stop in front of the entrance of a tunnel leading underground.

''This has to be the place.'' Astrid muttered to herself, taking hold of her axe. ''Let's go.''

The Nadder squeaked in response and ran down below, zigzagging through the tunnels, almost as if she knew where they kept Hiccup. But after all, Stormfly was a Tracker Class. All she had to do was follow the boy's sense that led her right to him.

It didn't take long and the dragon came to a stop in front of a curtain made out of dragon skin. Small grunts of pain could be heard coming from the other side, and Astrid immediately knew they were at the right place. It's been surprisingly easy, but Astrid didn't celebrate until Hiccup was out of here.

''Alright girl. Let's surprise the guy...'' she whispered, placing a kind hand on her dragon's head.

...

Ryker sensed an undesirable presence close to him and his prisoner. A little too close...

He sniffed the air around him, unsheathing his sword after recognizing the smell. He growled at the separation between him and the threat, which he knew was right on the other side, narrowing his eyes furiously. He knew he was alone with the kid, so there wasn't any guard to who he could order to take out the dragon. And, there wasn't any tranquilizer around either.

Right when he expected, Astrid and Stormfly ran through the separation, one roaring the other yelling.

The enraged girl charged towards him, her axe rose above her head, going in for the kill.

It took a moment for Hiccup to recognize who it was, and when he did, even though he was tremendously tired, he let out a joyful cry of ''Astrid!''

In eighteen years, he had never been gladder to see her.

She swung her axe furiously, her blows always meeting Ryker's protected right, spiky arm. The man was so busy focusing on avoiding by the angry girl's every strike that he hadn't time to prepare for the Deadly Nadder spine shot. And before having time to react, he was pinned to the wall, eight deadly sharp spines keeping both of his arms unmovable.

Astrid grinned proudly, patting Stormfly's scaly thigh.

''Hold him there, Stormfly!'' she ordered, pointing at the struggling hunter. Stormfly nodded and growled at the man, making quick and dangerous movements with her tail.

The young girl raced to the horrible chair her friend was prisoner of, examining the thing closely, wondering how exactly she was going to undo everything.

''I'm so sorry I let you down,'' Hiccup said, speaking his thoughts, not bothering to talk while Astrid was trying to concentrate. ''I was gonna tell you I'm sorry, but Ryker, he... he-''

''I know, I know... ''Astrid said, trying to calm him down before he got carried away. ''We can talk about it later. Right now, we gotta get outta here.'' She grew tired of figuring out a way to undo this thing and grabbed her axe. She swung she blade at the side of the chair, slicing the strap that went over Hiccup's waist. She sliced through everything else, finally managing to free her friend.

''Where's Tooth?'' Astrid asked, helping Hiccup up.

''I'm not sure. I didn't see him in the field, so he's probably on the other side of the island.'' he said thoughtfully, already feeling a little better than the past minutes.

Astrid whistled, calling Stormfly who came almost immediately, of course after snarling at the hunter she had pinned to the wall.

The two teens jumped on the Deadly Nadder's back and before being told what to do, Stormfly raced towards the exit and took to the starry sky, wings spread out wide.