Hiccup's breathing was too heavy. Sweat soaked his brow line and the palms of his hands, dripping from the tip of his nose and getting into his mouth. The lukewarm liquid was all he had in terms of hydration at this point, and instead of spitting, Hiccup swallowed the salty moisture like it was his lifeline. Whatever willpower he had was weakening, and his mind played the cruelest of games with him in the darkening isolation of the dingy cell.

Didn't matter any more, right? He was useless, as long as he was a prisoner to Ölvin. Hiccup the Useless strikes again. But how could he have possibly let this happen?

I'll bet everyone thinks I've given up already. I wonder if anyone's even thinking about me at all-

"Mffghhh!" a muffled cry forced its way through the revolting rag tied around his mouth, all while a spurt of pain shot just below his left shoulder blade. There would, most definitely, be some nasty scarring come tomorrow. Worse than anywhere else on his body, he guessed. Those outcasts may have been stupid, but they certainly knew some fantastic methods of torture. So this is how it's going to be. I'm just going to end up beaten and starved every day until I either die or serve my purpose for Ölvin, once he's gotten what he wants. Or both.

There was nothing much he could do now, really. He was chained to a wall, gagged, and weakened from a lack of food and water. He thought back to the sword lesson with Bót. That would be no help here, seeing as he hadn't made enormous strides in anything concerning self-defense or swordsmanship. Anything he had learned from the scrolls at Charles's castle that might be useful? Mmm... not likely.

Hiccup hung there in defeat, not caring anymore that his shackled wrists were the only things carrying the rest of his weight. He tried so, so hard to block out the pain. Some of the lashings on his back and on the back of his neck still bled. But, at least the pain in his hands had ceased (or gone numb), seeing as the blood wasn't circulating in any area above his wrists. The only thing he could think of was Toothless. His dad, too. What were they doing to Toothless?

Ölvin won't kill him... Not yet. He still needs leverage. I might never train those wild dragons, but they can still keep me as a hostage, and that could be used against the tribe. Toothless, whereare you?

Maybe Hiccup's small hopes weren't completely insignificant. Just off the coast of Outcast Island, hid nicely by a thick fog, was a small Berkian ship carrying a few people who just so happened to be going through a scouting drill in their teacher's absence.

"Tuff! What in Thor's name are you doing with that oar?! You're supposed to row with it, numbskull! Not spar Snotlout with it!"

"Hey!" Snotlout spat back. "I only hit him first by accident, and he took it way too- oof- seriously!" Ruffnut watched for a few more seconds before rolling her eyes and getting back to her post as lookout. She wasn't doing a very good job of it. Their boat had already had a near miss with a gigantic rock that Ruffnut had failed to see through the fog.

Tuffnut and Snotlout stopped sparring with the heavy oars and returned to their own designated jobs. Snotlout joined an older Viking, Jelnar, at the wheel, and Tuffnut went back to criticizing his sister on her "lookey-outey work."

Then again, maybe Hiccup had a better chance of escaping Outcast Island by himself.

"Okay, guys, focus!" Snotlout barked from the main deck. "In a state of emergency, when Outcasts take over your boat, what do you do?"

"Oh oh, I know this one, I know this one!" Tuffnut flung his hand with puppy-like eagerness into the air. Snotlout looked expectantly at Tuffnut, who continued, "So what you do is, you take one of those oars over there and... uh... hang on a sec it's coming to me..." Ruffnut interrupted his train of thought.

"You idiot, would you quit it with the stupid oar already? That would be totally useless if Outcasts attacked the ship!" She paused, then added, "You would need at least two oars!"

She grinned at Tuffnut, who grinned stupidly back. While the twins proceeded to bang their helmets together in agreement Snotlout crossed his arms and turned around, mumbling. "Why couldn'tI have stayed back on Berk with Astrid? Fishlegs totally deserves this more than I do." He continued to mutter under his breath as he shuffled down towards the cabins.

Without warning, the boat lurched. Loud, hollow thumps were heard from the side of the boat. Wood hitting wood. Every teen on the boat stumbled and fell from the change in balance.

"Oi! What goin' on up there?!" one of the shipmates called up from belowdeck. "Hey cap'n, tell Spitelout's brat to quit foolin' around with the wheel!"

"Hey!" Snotlout retorted. It was bad enough that he had to keep an eye on the twins. Now this? "Ruff, Tuff, go check the starboard side and see what hit the boat!"

"Aye aye, Snotface! Hehe." Tuffnut snickered at his own joke, then stopped and turned to his sister. "Wait... which side's starboard again?" he asked. Ruffnut shrugged and pointed to her right.

"Well considering the thumps came from that side..." Tuffnut nodded and the two went to scope out the scene.

Snotlout huffed. He just wanted to finish this drill and get back to Berk before nightfall. It wouldn't be getting dark out for another few hours, but with the twins, the drill might actually lastlonger. His attention was quickly drawn to the sounds of a scuffle off to starboard.

Uh... Where are the twins? They were just there a minute ago.

Ruffnut and Tuffnut were nowhere to be seen.

Ughh, I'm so thirsty. Just because I'm being held hostage doesn't mean they can't be a little more humane about it. Hiccup had to remind himself that these were the Outcasts, not the Romans. There was a major difference- the Outcasts hadn't given a second thought to beating him nearly dead, let alone depriving him of a little water. Well, there was that, and then there was the fact that the Romans actually bathed sometimes. Sometimes.

Hiccup tried to swallow, but his throat was completely dried out. Just pretend you're playing a game with someone to see how long you can go without water... Gods, I must be going completely insane. No help is coming, I'm just going to have to take it like a man and figure a way out of this. I always do, right?

He wondered which choice would be better- spending valuable time and energy trying to find a way out of this Helhole, or just... giving up? Would death be the easier way to go? Stupid! Snap out of it Hiccup. You're going to get out of here, and you're gonna deal with whatever happens between now and that moment when you do find a way out. Toothless needs me, remember? No help is coming. I've got to suck it up and help myself.

Snotlout scanned the deck in confusion. He walked closer to the starboard side of the ship and made to look over the edge, hoping the two peabrained teens hadn't fallen overboard. He strained his neck over the edge, following the sound of shouts as he peered past the side of the helm. Odin's furry socks...

"Ha! Take that!"

Thunk!

"No one messes with the Thorston twins!"

"Yeah!"

Yep, they had gone overboard. But, surprisingly, they weren't flailing for their lives in the brackish water. How in the -

"That'll teach you to spy on our ship!" Ruffnut yelled, helping her brother hold down someone else whom Snotlout couldn't make out through the fog. Tuffnut noticed Snotlout looking down at them and called up,

"Hey, Snotlout! Look who we found spying on us in his puny little rowboat! He's an Outcast!" He gave a triumphant smile, which Ruffnut copied. Snotlout could only gape.

"H-how did you...?" he couldn't finish his sentence. How had the twins managed to capture an Outcast? They could barely find their way to their own house!

"It was easy, really" Tuffnut answered Snotlout's unvoiced question. "I used this to beat him down so he wouldn't escape!" And, to Snotlout's extreme irritation, Tuffnut held up a heavy wooden oar.

"Not so useless now, huh?" He fist-pounded his sister before remembering to hold down the stranger Outcast, who was still fighting against their hold. Clearly he'd received a few good conks to the head. The man sported an impressive beard, but the rest of him was very... eh. Not exactly the 'intimidating specimen' one would expect of an Outcast. But he was still, undoubtedly, an Outcast. The others could tell from the generally rattier-than-usual clothes, the smoky, charred look, and overall despicable hygiene.

"Please, don't kill me. I've got a family, and-"

"No you don't" Snotlout interrupted the stranger. "Outcasts are sent to Outcast island because they've been rejected by their family. Not very bright, are you?" He crossed his arms.

"B-but I," this man definitely wasn't very brave, either. "I never wanted to live like this, ah swear! I'll tell ya where your dragon trainer is, just spare me!"

The three teens looked at eachother. Snotlout was the one to speak up again. "Trainer? What do you mean? Are you saying you know where Hiccup is? Was Ölvin involved?" This wasn't what anyone had expected to happen. Everyone knew that Hiccup had gone to look for help... sure, he'd been away for almost a month, but he had sent letters! The people of Berk thought he was relatively safe. Maybe, just maybe, that wasn't the case.

"When did this happen?! How? Tell us!" Snotlout growled down at the man, who quaked at the sound of his rough command.

"I-if ah tell you, do yeh promise not teh harm me in any way? O-or kill me?"

The twins cracked their knuckles in unison. Snotlout rolled his eyes.

"We swear."

The Outcast let out a nervous sigh. "All right, all right. My name is M-Meythark the Mumbler. Two days ago, the trainer and his dragon were brought to Outcast Island by some sailors from Scotland. Traders who'd heard o' the boy, the one 'oo trains dragons. They knew Ölvin would pay a good price for the boy." At this, there was a collective intake of breath from the three teenagers, "and Ölvin and some of his men took him as prisoner. They put him away in Ölvin's special cell- that's the place he's got reserved for the people he don't like. It's where he sends the ones who he wants teh have suffer." He shifted awkwardly in his limited position at the bottom of the wooden rowboat. "Don't think the boy had been planning on payin' us a visit that day." He chuckled quietly but quickly stopped when he noticed the steely glare Snotlout was giving him.

"B-but anyhow, now Ölvin's got the trainer a' locked away, an' I don't know what's been goin' on since then." Tuffnut raised an eyebrow quizically.

"I-I mean it, ah swear! Ah ain't one o' the more popular men on the island. Ah ain't got access to all that sort o' information. But ah've heard stories 'bout what they been doin' teh him. From the sound of it, that trainer o' yours don't see daylight as he's bein' kept in a cell. Beaten regularly, so ah've heard. And starved. They want the information about the dragons, and the sooner they get the information, the sooner the army can figure out a way to take the Berkian flanks down."

Snotlout and the twins all frowned at eachother, trying very hard to stay calm. If this was true, Hiccup could be getting put through torture as they stood there in the little boat. And the Outcasts were in on the invasion, too. So that was why the Askr Gotar were so confident.

"Ey! What do you think you kids are doin' down there! Who's that you got with ye?" It was Jelnar. The older man was staring down through the fog, trying to see what all the commotion was about.

"Hey Jelnar, guess what? We caught an Outcast!" Ruffnut had clearly forgotten the news about Hiccup as she took her chance to brag. Tuffnut elbowed his sister in the arm.

"Ow! Oh, yeah, and we've got some, uh, bad news... Hiccup's been captured on Outcast Island."

"What? Why didn't you tell me this sooner?! Quick now! Get that fishbrain onto the ship and get yourselves back on board! This isn't a drill anymore! Come on now, up with ya! Look alive! Seems like we've got ourselves a real scouting mission."

The trio of teenagers and one very shaken Outcast boarded the Berkian ship and took their positions. Jelnar hollered at one of the other men to take Meythark belowdeck. Everyone was tense, waiting to see if what the Outcast had said was true.

Okay Hiccup, be serious. You can't give yourself away. Just get the guard close enough, do what you have to do, and make sure you can get the keys. This will work. This has to work.

Hiccup ran over his escape plan in his mind one more time. It was crazy, and not very plausible that it could actually work. But he was desperate.

You know what they say- desperate times call for stupid, stupid measures.

He could tell that the light of the sun was beginning to dip a little through the tiny window in the wall. Actually, Hiccup didn't really feel that it qualified as a window, it was more of a big crack in the wall. But it still let in some light. The guard should be here any minute now.

Sure enough, not a few minutes passed before Hiccup heard heavy footsteps echoing through the space outside the Haulder.

Here we go. Now or never, Haddock. He was going to put on a show.

Oh, he would put on a show.

The lock to the cell door clicked open. Noises. Keys jangling. A latch snapping open. Hiccup took a deep breath in, then let it out slowly. The door opened. Dammit. It was one of the bigger guards, the one with the dark beard that was pulled into a scraggly braid. But thank Thor, he wasn't wearing a helmet. Nothing that covered his nose. Hiccup supposed the guard didn't feel the need to wear a helmet. He was already towering in height and more than exceptionally well-built. Hopefully the man's skull wasn't as thick as it looked.

"Heh, lookie lookie, the poor ickle heir to the chiefdom ain't lookin' so chiefly today, eh?" The guard's gruff voice did not put Hiccup off. It only fired him up more for what he was about to do. Hiccup cast his eyes down. The guard may have taken this as a sign of weakness or defeat - Hiccup took it as a chance to search for the keys that were being kept somewhere on the guard's person.

He calculated just the right angles, predicted the amount of pressure he would need to pull this off without hurting himself too badly...

"Hmpf, what's with that dumb look? No sarcasm or jokes this time? Finally given up?"

Hiccup laughed. A hysterical laugh, like a maniac's. He plastered a big, distant grin on his face. The guard gave him a wary look. "What's wrong with ye, boy? You gone mad?"

Hiccup laughed again. "Haha! Of course not. Me? Mad? Never! Ahhh, I'll bet you guys have me here so I can tell you aaall about dragons right?" Dear gods, dial it down a notch Hic, you sound like a drunk. Actually no... no that's good. Keep doing that.

The guard glared at Hiccup. "The trainer-turned-madman wants to talk about dragons. After all these years we been trying to git you here and spill it all, and just now you finally want to talk, eh?"

"Well why not?" Hiccup cackled again. He felt insane. Good. One should feel the part to look the part. "I can t-tell you how to train dragons, oh, it's amazing what dragons can do when they're trained! But it's a secret, hahaha! Come here, I'll tell you, haha!"

"Glad ta see you're finally cooperatin'. Too bad ye had to go mad to do it. But now... now you will tell me," the guard lowered his voice, "exactly how do ya train a wild dragon? Dear uncle Ölvin would like to know. Speak plainly, or I'll put a nice little nick in yer shoulder there."

The guard inched a bit closer, a dirty knife appearing in his hand. Almost there... Hiccup needed him even closer. He tried to say something but coughed. The guard only smirked and said, "Well?"

Hiccup tried again. "Hehe, I'll tell you, you've got me, you've won already."

The guard sneered. "Well then, that's definitely somethin' I like to hear! So, Trainer, how do ya tame a wild dragon?"

"Well I would tell you, but I'm afraid-" Hiccup coughed again. "-I'm afraid my voice is going. You'll have to lean in closer to hear." Hiccup could only pray to the gods that the man was as numbskulled as he thought.

He was. The leery-eyed guard leaned in a few inches closer to hear Hiccup speak. Hiccup clenched his jaw and tensed up his neck. Almost there...

He tilted his head back a little, as if he were about to sneeze,

And...

THWAK!

crrrack

Hiccup saw the perfect opening and took it, head-butting the guard as hard as he could. He could hear the man's nose break. Hiccup had gotten him good.

In a daze, the guard stared dumbly back at Hiccup before falling slowly backwards. He hit the hard ground with a heavy thud. The fall knocked him completely unconscious. Hiccup winced, hoping nobody from outside had heard. His forehead stung from the contact, but it would wear off, he was sure. He scanned the guard's body for the keys.

There! They were hanging lazily from the man's belt, just a foot or so away from Hiccup's feet. He could probably reach them. The only problem was, how was he supposed to pick them up? Right now, his feet were a few inches off the ground. He had been holding himself back up when the guard came in, and Hiccup really, really didn't want all of his weight to be put back on just his wrists again. He sighed.

A few more seconds of pain should be worth it, right?

Hiccup only just began to realize that, however empowered he had felt for those few seconds after taking out the guard, he was very, very weak. He didn't know how much more of the strain he could take. He had to do this. He kicked off his boot from his right foot and went to work. Deciding he could take it for at least another minute, he tensed up his arms and core and, rather expertly, he lifted his feet from against the wall and aimed them towards the closest side of the guard's unconscious body, where the keys were.

Carefully, painfully, Hiccup lowered his good foot over the keys. Taking them between the tips of his toes, he pulled up, unhooking the key ring from its place in the guard's belt. Now came the hard part- Hiccup had to figure out how to get the keys up to his hands.

Ugh, this is so going to hurt. Hiccup pulled his knees up to his chest, keeping the keys firmly between his toes. His back and his arms were killing him now, he could feel some of his scars open back up and he was sweating even more. Hiccup bit his lip and lifted his feet higher, feeling like some crazy escape artist performing his closing act. Stretching his neck towards his feet and leaning his knees sideways to allow his head to just reach his toes, he managed to get the keys in his mouth.

Okay Haddock, you've probably only got one shot at this. You drop these keys, and you'll have to start all over again. You might not even have that kind of time. You've got this.

With a firm determination and all the strength he could muster, Hiccup threw up his head towards his hands and let the keys go. The action sent the keys up from his mouth and towards his outstretched fingers.

Hiccup felt like the keys were traveling slower than everything else. Higher and higher they flew. He knew he could catch them.

Yes!

He was just able to grab the keys deftly with his thumb and index finger. He quickly got them in a firmer grasp and used his right hand to unlock the cuff on his left wrist. Once he had one hand free, Hiccup used it to unlock the other. He couldn't believe it. He was out!

Okay, this isn't over yet. Just find Toothless and get out of here. Hiccup had to work quickly. He bent to the ground and grabbed the knife from the guard's limp hand. Geez. Hiccup took a better look at the guard. I hope I didn't actually kill him. Just as he was thinking this, the guard's chest rose and then fell. Phew. He would be waking up soon, though, and Toothless still needed to be rescued.

Inching his way around the downed guard, Hiccup carefully made his way to the cell door and picked the lock. He had always been good at that (working in a forge - it comes in handy). He slipped out the door quietly, free from this first prison, but not from the rest of the island. Yet.