Chapter 24

K'vevim Ch'vetzim

/

Thunder cracked and the sky cleaved twain

The judgement had been passed

They had stepped beyond their bounds

And earned what approacheth fast

But this was not the discipline

Of a righteous overseer

No, the broken border they had crossed

Was the holding of a demon's lair

For too close they had come to unearthing truth

And that he could not withstand

So strike with all his venom he will

And shatter his opponents' hands

-0-

"Sir, a flock of dragons has been sighted on the southwest horizon, closing in this direction rapidly. They appear to be the Riders; what are your orders?"

"So, they finally located our base here, have they? Or perhaps stumbled on it…doesn't matter much either way though as they're here." He shrugged. "Pretend you never saw them and let them carry on as they please."

"…Sir?"

Viggo sighed and turned to face the man who'd addressed him; Mudvil, he believed his name was. "I do not believe I stuttered any of my words in that order, did I?" he asked lowly.

Mudvil blanched, shaking his head slowly as he turned away a touch in apprehension. "Uhh…no, sir, I just…we do nothing?"

Viggo nodded once, himself turning back to look down at the ship-full of furs and skins that had just arrived in port; all of it would have to be checked off in inventory and then shipped out to its destination. "That is correct," he replied casually. "More or less at least. I gave the Riders my warning: any action that they take that actually slows our progress, anywhere, or hinders trade, and it will be taken out on their precious little dragon as repayment. They can land here and try to look around, but they'll find nothing. If they persist into real meddling, then they'll get what I promised." His hand moved to feel the presence of a cloth-wrapped object in his pocket, a special surprise that put a rare smile on his face. Then the hand moved to another pocket from which a pouch hung off the edge containing a very special contraption, one of only a handful that he had acquired but something that would certainly make Hiccup and his friends think twice about ever trying to snoop about again.

"On second thought," he called, halting Mudvil as the man started to walk away, "spread the word: make sure they do not get into the emergency cells; after all, we don't want them getting any ideas around our special orders, or coming across wayward notes, but once they're all actually here on the base, round them up and send them to me. I have one more message to give them before we drive them off."

"Right away sir," Mudvil affirmed, turning abruptly about-face and heading off to tell the others on the base.

Viggo snorted. Of course the Riders had found the base; it had only been a day or two since word had come in that they were nearby, and he'd known them to be persistent what with having tracked their checking of practically every island in the Archipelago up this way. Never mind though, they had no idea just to what extent he could pull resources from. Had Hawken been mentioned among this particular posse he would have been a touch more concerned, but the therianthrope was already pinpointed in the Far East and so for now that headache was well out of the way. By the time the hunters had sent Hiccup's little entourage packing and word spread, Viggo would have this base down to nothing more than a pit stop anyway, moved off his main haunts to another location and they wouldn't be able to track him back here.

For now though, he awaited the Riders with an anticipation of satisfaction. They know about the savage dragons, after all, he mused to himself as he pulled out the special weapon he'd grabbed out of the pouch upon hearing they were approaching. Why not give them a savage of their own to deal with? Good luck fixing the mess you're flying into, Hiccup. You won't have any easy outs from this one.

The island they approached was not dissimilar to Berk, at a distance, save being a little smaller and still far more snow-covered than Hiccup's home was at this time of year. They were, after all, much further north and now officially within the Land of the Midnight Sun here, so the mild darkness they experienced at the moment was only thanks to a small storm that was passing by, pelting them mercilessly with sleet and giant snowflakes.

Nick shook his head as a particularly large mass of wet ice collided with his snout, unconsciously curling his tail in around himself as he thanked Hiccup and company for having given them outfits that fought the cold with relative ease. So it's only my head and other extremities that suffer, he griped to himself, looking over through the slight haze to where Judy sat once again behind Holly, seemingly unaffected by the cold as she gazed determinedly ahead toward their destination. You never give up though; no wonder I fell for such a rabbit.

They had spotted the island some time ago, picking out the ships and guard towers around it from high up through their spyglasses, but now as they neared the group had dropped almost to the ocean. They stayed just elevated enough to avoid the waves, but low enough that they hoped the weather and dark water would obscure their approach. Nick looked up at Hiccup and queried, "So, what exactly is the plan of attack here? We're probably not gonna just be able to land in the port itself and expected to be welcomed; forest's going to have guards too."

"The woods are gonna have to be our best bet, unfortunately," Hiccup replied back. "I doubt we're going to find some underground flyway in. We, Holly and Judy, and Astrid will come in from the east, Fishlegs and Embron with Jake and the raptors on the west. We can't risk actually interfering unless we find Tsefan here, so remember: keep stealth as your top priority, and don't disturb anything. If we find Viggo instead, we might be able to confront him directly though."

"Somehow I doubt we'll have it as easy as marching up to Viggo's office and demanding our dragon be handed over," Nick sighed. "The guy's strung us along for this long, and I'd bet my tail he'll have a backup for us showing up here."

"So before we actually go in, we need to devise a defensive strategy to keep up the whole time," Astrid called over, "since they definitely have the high ground here."

The grim reminder wasn't exactly necessary, but it hit home the situation for everyone. Unless they sacrificed Tsefan's well-being for revenge, they had only slivers to grasp at to defend themselves too, never mind find the answers they really needed. Those slivers needed to be wielded with precision.

Hiccup locked eyes with Toothless, reassuring the Night Fury that they'd do everything possible, and then with Holly and Astrid to confirm the first go-forward. It wasn't long after that they were hovering close enough to the island that they would likely risk being spotted, especially as such a large group, and the two designated squadrons split off, heading to opposite sides of the visible base.

Nick caught Judy's attention as they approached, easier now that they were a bit closer together and the weather was letting up around the island, and gave her a pointed look that he hoped would say more than words did: he had her back, as always, and this was their element: small and quick as they were, and with enhanced hearing and smell, they would be able to search the place out with greater ease than most of their companions. Judy returned the look with a nod and…something else that flashed for a moment through her eyes and was gone before the fox could identify it. Whatever it was though, it left him feeling a little more bolstered.

The Coalition clearly used a lot of their island's own resources for building, as the forest they landed in was relatively sparse. Straight lines of vision were cut off more by piles and columns of old lava rock and basalt spires than trees; stumps were more what remained, never minding the saplings that were only just starting to sprout up into a thick understory. Nick and Judy slid off the saddles first, followed by the riders and flanked last by the dragons themselves as they began creeping forward. Already their ears (Judy more than Nick) and noses (Nick more than Judy) were telling them a clear story of what lay ahead: bustling people carrying crates or hauling weapons, occasionally yelling out orders or calling greetings as if it were any other old village or trade port. A handful of dragons, raised in captivity and knowing little more than slave labor in their lives, walked among them with chains and ropes keeping them safely tethered, and when they were close enough to see some of the activity the notion made Toothless give off a silent snarl.

All this, before they'd even spotted any major paths, base entrances, or even most of the hunters themselves moving around.

The fox and rabbit glanced at each other, nodded, and signaled the others to follow as they began to wave forward, ducking behind the stone pillars and surviving tree stands when they feared a hunter was passing near and dashing along when the coast cleared up. It wasn't long before they had finally made it into the edge of the base itself (or at least what they had to assume was the edge; as it was half built under the rock it was difficult to judge), splitting up more and using hand signals as the presence of people grew and larger groups became harder to keep undiscovered together. Nick spotted a thick steel door in the side of the nearest hill, no doubt leading into somewhere with more promise of finding hidden dragons or clues as to the source of the feral occurrences.

The fox took up position holding watch one direction, the rabbit the other, and they motioned the others to move in, holding guard as Astrid dashed first to the door and pulled it open. She stuck her head in carefully and checked to see if anyone happened to be inside the dim corridor beyond before nodding assent to Hiccup. He, Holly and their three dragons ran across the open path next and disappeared down the tunnel. Nick flicked his tail up to notify Judy and they followed after them, Judy catching the door with Astrid and closing it silently as they could behind them.

Inside, there was little in the immediate space that was of any usefulness as they looked around, so the group continued to scurry down the tunnel to the point where it curved deeper into the rock, opening into a series of caverns that had been artificially carved out further to suit the needs of the hunters. One corridor, two levels down from them in the apparent central space they were now looking down into, bore a sign above it carved in runes that Hiccup could read clearly even from 50 feet away: LIVE QUARRY.

"There," he whispered, pointing to it, before rapidly retracting his arms as another hunter passed by on the opposite side of the space from where they stood. He disappeared into a tunnel marked DOCKS, permitting a sigh of relief from the group. "Judy, Nick, we're going to need you to move ahead again, search out the path and make sure that it's either clear or we can hide well enough while we search the rooms they've got down that way."

"Got it," Judy affirmed, and she and Nick slunk out around the side of their level, keeping low and to the wall, to the stairway that led down to the terrace they needed.

As they went, Toothless muttered aside, "Starting to think Thorn and I should have stayed in the forest somewhere while you guys go in. We're big enough to be a liability here; Nara at least can shrink at will."

"Knowing Viggo, I think some firepower on hand is a better option," Astrid countered. "And I mean more than what Framherja can offer. And besides, they have dragons as slaves here." She wanted to spit the word out like a bad piece of food, her tongue curling as she said it. "So, with that, the tunnels have to be big enough for you two."

Toothless decided not to argue; they didn't have the time either. Below, a red-furred paw stuck out of their corridor of interest, fingers curled in an "OK" sign.

"Time to move," Hiccup whispered, stepping out of the tunnel they'd arrived through. "Let's not waste any more time up here. Tsefan or not, we're bound to find something that way, but I really hope he's there."

The place they found themselves in looked like a giant stables setup, a notion confirmed a few minutes later when a hunter walked in through one of the adjoining corridors leading an Armorwing by a chain. He walked the dragon to one of the many stalls and locked it in, securing both the chain it was escorted by was well as closing the hardened metal door behind him as he left, leaving the dragon within.

Meatlug snarled silently at the sight, but it was still enough for Fishlegs to feel the vibration, spurring him to reach back behind himself to pat her reassuringly. "Believe me, girl, I feel the same way," he muttered. "Alright you guys, fan out and see if you can track anything that looks promising in here anywhere. We don't want to disappoint Toothless." He began to tiptoe as best he could along the stalls, peering into each as Embron carried Jake up to the level above and the raptors darted along the far wall. Meatlug knew she would be the most conspicuous wandering in the open, so she stayed put in the corner near where they'd snuck in to act as a lookout of sorts.

To both his relief and simultaneous dismay, Fishlegs found most of the caged stalls empty and apparently not recently occupied. Fewer dragons being held here, but also no Tsefan or Phantom hatchlings to bust out. He looked in despondently at the Armorwing as he passed it, as well as the Shovelhelm in the stall adjacent, his heart screaming at him to let them free but his head knowing he couldn't at the current moment, not without risking Tsefan's safety (or his own). A cold anger ran through him at knowing the powerlessness of his position.

As soon as we find Tsefan I'm gonna burn this place down myself, he thought. Keeping dragons as slaves; they probably wouldn't leave even if given the chance, accustomed to this place as they are.

"Fishlegs, might have something up top here," Jake's voice whispered quietly over the Viking's com set, shaking him out of his thoughts. "There's a partial base map here, and some lists I can't read; they're in runes."

"Be right there," Fishlegs answered, looking around for an actual stairway up and heading for it. He signaled Meatlug to fly up to the next level with him too, since they were almost all up there now. The loud buzzing noise of her wings made him wince as she lifted off and puttered up, as well as the 'whump!' of her landing, but after a panicked moment of silence and staring down at the raptors for warning cues, he was relieved to know that apparently nobody had been close enough to hear them. He finished his journey upward to join the rattlesnake and Nightmare up where they were standing (or coiled, in Jake's case) near a desk nestled amongst the stalls on the second level, and signaled to raptors to continue keeping watch as he leaned over the papers strewn across the surface.

"So, what do we have here?" he asked rhetorically, picking up the map Jake had mentioned and poring over it. It was a labyrinth of corridors within the island itself apparently, and several switchbacks lay between where they were and the "planning rooms" where Fishlegs would bet Viggo or his seconds in command would most likely be. Another live quarry store was located nearer to where the other half of their group had landed, and he assumed they were probably in the process of attempting to check that space out.

"That might be useful later," he muttered, setting the map aside and picking up a list, one of many laid across the desk. "Hmm…looks more like a Slavic text than runes, Jake; this is talking about a trade with fur trappers. Ugh, Fenrir would be furious over this one. Uh…" Fishlegs picked up another, "…yep, dragon parts, live dragons, weapons trades, and…oh, this one is different."

"Why, what's that one say?" Embron queried, craning his neck around to look at the paper.

"Oh, you won't be able to read this one either, Embron," Fishlegs said apologetically. "It looks like a data spreadsheet; title is about some sort of serum trial. Doesn't say what the serum is or does though, but every column ends in 'successful'. Could be related to the dragonroot arrows they use, or maybe even the feral dragon issue, I'd bet." He folded and pocketed the paper; one of many likely wouldn't be missed right away. "Tsefan's not in here though, so I'm thinking it's best if we keep moving. That map said there was, uh, like a commons area in that direction," he pointed vaguely, "and herb and spice stores and the like in that direction there, probably the better bet if we don't want to be seen."

"Great, I'll go first," Jake decided, sliding past and heading in the direction Fishlegs had last gestured. The others hesitantly followed suit.

The corridor quickly left the reach of sunlight, but torches lined the path to provide illumination. Not like the dark would have bothered the rattler as he scented out traces of people, dragons, and the trade items the hunters had packed along and stored away, but it helped those following behind him. Several times they stopped cold, pressing against the walls or around corners as footsteps approached and then walked past, trying to stay undetected, but they had yet to actually run into anyone.

Then Jake slowed, tongue flickering madly as he crossed the path of a scent he knew he'd detected before, somewhat recently. He turned his head in its direction, eyes focusing hard on the tunnel ahead.

"What is it?" Phoenix queried softly, voicing the question everyone else was thinking.

Jake didn't answer right away, tongue still flickering a mile a minute as he pondered the trace, but when he did he turned around to fix them with a serious stare. "This hall smells like that Phantom dragon did," he said, "but younger. I think either the eggs were brought down this way recently, or they hatched and the babies were carted down."

"They could be keeping them the same place as Tsefan," Quicksilver mused. "We should check it out. Fishlegs?"

"Uh, I think I agree," the Viking said hesitantly, before squaring his shoulders. "Lead the way, Jake."

The rattlesnake nodded and dropped to the floor again, scenting out the trail. He felt no vibrations other than the footsteps of the others behind him, giving reassurance they were still decently avoiding the risk of running into anyone. Considering how much deeper they were heading into the island catacombs, and how that would limit the number of escape routes they had available to them, that was a necessity.

Jake's more optimistic outlook rapidly fell flat however as he rounded a corner, about to continue toward the door at the end, when both his tongue and infrared vision picked up the presence of a well-armored guardsman leaning casually against the wall in front of the entrance, staring directly down at him. The snake froze, but not soon enough to prevent Fishlegs from coming around the corner as well, stumbling as he tried to avoid stepping on the snake's tail (and only partly succeeding).

"Agh! Jake, what…?" Fishlegs began to exclaim, before he trailed off as his own eyes found what the snake was staring at. "Oh. Shoot."

"I was kind of wonderin' how long one o' yer group would take t' make their way down here," the guard said with a chuckle in his voice, the sudden speech making Jake reflexively hiss and whip his gun in the man's direction. The guard only laughed more at the reaction and held up a hand. "Now now, ya know it ain't wise ta do anythin' to me," he said. "Viggo told us all about what happens if ya hurt one o' us or mess with the goods. Somethin' about a little dragon getting the repercussions?"

The knowledge that he couldn't well just pull the trigger and be done dealing with this stumbling block burned at Jake, but the man was right. "What the hell do you want?" he growled instead, lowering his weapon only slightly as he grew in size, more comfortable for looking the other in the eye.

The guard shrugged; if he was bothered by the suddenly much larger snake in the tunnel he didn't show it. "Ain't what I want that matters," he drawled. "'S what the boss wants. Viggo's been expectin' the lot o' you; wants ta have a nice little chat. So you'd better follow along, and behave."

They thought they'd gotten to exactly where they needed to be, about to slip into the quarry room and out without setting off any alarms. That last hall had been empty, Judy had planted herself at the nearest intersection to act as a sentry while Nick picked the lock on the door, and Holly had a hand on one of the darts in her belt just in case someone was waiting when the door finally swung open. Nick could swear that he'd smelled the recent scents of several dragons or dragon parts coming from within, but all that greeted them had been a single stack of old, tanned Raincutter hides, prepared at least months if not years ago and possibly taken from animals that hadn't been alive at any recent point before harvest.

That, and a young woman with hard eyes, black hair, and full armor sitting casually in the corner behind the door, looking at them like she'd awaited their arrival for hours, which Hiccup was starting to think was entirely possible.

"Never mind me, I'm not goin to try to harm you," she said in an unfamiliar, lilting accent, standing up and approaching them as they stared at her like deer caught on a busy highway (if deer could brandish weapons while staring at an oncoming truck), "but don't get any ideas of trying to pull anything over me either. Viggo's waiting for you though, and it's probably best you don't keep him loitering around too much longer; I hear he's got some very important matters to discuss with you." With an almost sarcastically elegant gesture, she swept her hand along in a motion for them to follow her, and walked out the door they'd all just burst in through, entirely unflinching at the notion of stepping between a pair of Nadders and a Night Fury.

Toothless looked on after her, a touch flabbergasted, before turning his head and silently questioning Hiccup. The Viking didn't have any answers either though, only able to offer a helpless shrug as he started after the woman.

"Never mind being on guard for us; Viggo knew exactly when we'd show up and where we'd go looking," he muttered darkly, before he turned discreetly to the others in his team. "Everyone's fields on? And Nick, if you've got any ideas for a contingency plan I'd love to hear it right now."

"Uh, afraid not Hiccup," the fox answered sullenly, double checking that his barrier field was in fact activated. "He knew, so…I think best if we hear out whatever he's going to say first before trying to skedaddle."

"If he thinks he's got us cornered he could let something slip," Judy whispered in a hopeful tone. "But otherwise…ugh, we can't do anything, can we? Not without Tsefan getting it in return."

Silence fell as they followed the huntress, feeling like a flock of sheep being corralled in a pen. Viggo had to know that they would have no issue enacting self-defense if necessary, but anything offensive would come back to bite them quickly. At least they had their barriers and suits; if Viggo turned anything on them, they would at least be able to run without being hindered.

The corridor they were led down eventually opened out onto a wide platform at the front of the base, overlooking the docks below and ocean beyond. The woman turned to stroll down the side of the hill to another pair of doors, pausing as she watched a second hunter lead Fishlegs and his posse up to the platform as well. Fishlegs locked eyes with Hiccup, the two sharing the same discomfited thoughts and shock at seeing the other being led around, before their guides stepped forward simultaneously, swinging the doors open.

"Dragons stay out here just in case," Hiccup decided, "save you, Toothless. Something goes wrong, we need to be able to get to the air quickly." The other dragons nodded, planting themselves around the doors and glaring at the hunters walking away as the others cautiously stepped inside.

The open, circular space was relatively sparsely furnished, a handful of chairs lined along the walls no doubt for meetings and the like, and a small number of both marked and unmarked maps of several world regions were tacked up across the walls. A single long, wooden table ran across the far side of the room, behind which were several stacks of boxes and crates, and a single, occupied chair.

Viggo looked no different than he had when Hiccup had last seen the man, his face a blank, unreadable expression as he pored over a parchment laid out in front of him. He practically ignored them as they walked in and spread about the room, each and every one of them with their hands (or tails, in Jake's case) a fraction of an inch from their weapons. But when the man spoke, it was anything but ignorance of their presence.

"I doubt I have to remind you, any actions you attempt to take against me will be promptly returned in favor to your young dragon, or perhaps also to the Phantom hatchlings I hear you're searching for now as well," Viggo drawled evenly, slowly looking up toward Hiccup. "And yes, I know you were on that island, as you have been several dozen others by now. You're all a clever bunch, but you've shown your hand enough times that I can read you three moves ahead."

The hunter then set the parchment aside and turned to regard the rest of his visitors, a slight smirk showing but still no other emotions present. His gaze swept over the group, but lingered on Nick for just a moment longer. The fox caught a flash of…something pass through the man's eyes, and he shivered, a deathly cold sensation coming over him as if Viggo had opened him up and read him like a lost diary. The vulpine profiler in turn, however, remained clueless on their opponent's thoughts. That look…like he knew Nick's very history, and was going to play him by it. Unconsciously, Nick stepped closer toward Judy, his tail coiling protectively around behind her.

"I must admit, I'm a little disappointed too as I half expected you all to end up here far sooner than you have," Viggo chuckled, leaning back in his chair as if he couldn't hold a care in the world. "On the other hand, you're a headache and I'd also hoped you'd run around on a wild goose chase for quite some time longer, so it balances out in the end. Here we are, face to face to settle this madness you insist on dragging out."

"That we insist, Viggo?" Toothless snarled. "You are the one who kidnapped my son, who holds him against us! Where is he?!"

"Oh, tsk, tsk, what a temper Toothless," Viggo tutted, wagging a finger. "After all this, you think I would simply roll over and give up by bargaining piece when I pinpointed you all dead to rights in my own base? Not a chance. Those couple of years ago I came to offer a deal to you all so that we could avoid warfare, and you threw it in my face. My livelihood, the network my family has built for decades, and the culture that lives around it, at the threat of ruin thanks to your 'perfect world' idealism." He stood up abruptly, making everyone's hands itch for their weapons, and turned to one of the boxes behind him, lifting its lid carefully. "A threat like that forces me to take drastic actions in return. We could have been neutral parties to each other, in our own separate corners of the world. You could have held your peace in your archipelago and left us to our business. Instead, the ships that sailed these waters risked destruction at the fires of you and your allies, so I required a powerful card to hold against you for their safe passage. Tsefan would be unharmed too, so long as you didn't interfere."

The box was closed, and Viggo turned around to hold up a tiny vial. Inside, a silvery blue liquid oozed back and forth. "The contents of this vial are worth a fortune," he explained. "Tide Glider salivary extract, potent healing properties particularly against chemical burns and lacerations. Like all animals, dragons are here for the use of humanity, to be harvested in one fashion or another, and the process could be straightforward sustainable were it not for meddlers like you who force us to take more drastic measures to procure our materials. Instead, to avoid retaliation by other people we have to breed distrust, prove to the world that you can never befriend these reptiles, not fully or permanently. A mountain more work for the same payout, because you can't stick to your own business!" He flipped the box lid open violently and dropped the vial inside before slamming it closed, huffing heavily. Then, he calmed, letting out a slow breath.

"But never mind that," Viggo muttered, voice perfectly flat and calculating once again as if a light switch had been flipped in him. "I have resources, connections, knowledge about this world at my fingertips that you could barely guess at. A project that has been decades in the making, almost ready for full execution that would ensure the Coalition's place in world trade and name is at hand. Take one dragon and hold him for collateral, and it would all be fine.

"But you could not accept that I am a man of my promised word, apparently, could you?" The hunter chuckled. "No, despite my clear warnings you insisted on rooting your noses through my business anyway. You interrupted preparations for Frey Drekki to be converted into what would have been so useful a port, disturbed my men at the northern tradeway to get there, and your friends elsewhere in the world are being equally if not more taxing. Rome holds us in suspicion, our trade in the Orient is now on uncertain grounds, and it will take weeks at best to rebuild those bridges after you are moved out of the way again." He reached into his pocket, drawing out a small, cloth-bound bundle and setting it across the table. "I am a man of my word, to every end, Hiccup. Take this, I insist, and know that I mean what I say."

Hiccup stared at the bundle in trepidation, before glancing at the others for a second opinion. Astrid held no answer though, nor did Holly or Fishlegs, and Nick and Judy were still busier trying to read Viggo than anything else. Swallowing hard, he gingerly reached forward and picked up the bundle with care in case it was a nasty trap, slowly beginning to unwrap it.

Nick watched out of the corner of his eye as layer after layer of cloth unraveled, before a scent slammed into his nose, one that unsettled him far more than he already was. It smelled like Toothless, but different, mingled with the metallic earthen bite of old blood.

"Hiccup, wait!" he called out, holding up a paw, but he was a second too late. The last cloth layer fell open, tinged rust by its contents, and Hiccup froze solid at the sight.

It was a lone, small black-gray scale, the edges spackled with dried shreds of tissue and discolored by the long-dry blood that had spread from behind it.

Hiccup's stomach churned, but he couldn't look away, nor could any of the others once they caught a glimpse of the object. They all knew exactly what it was, what it meant: Viggo had held to every word of his promise, and wasn't picky about what he called 'meddling' in his plans. It was also proof that Tsefan was within reach enough for the man to call out the recompense requests with ease, for all the good that did them now.

"I told you I would not kill him, but for every instance in which you hinder me, I give back to you some part of him," Viggo said lowly, snapping them out of their stupor. Hiccup dropped the cloth and scale like it was a hot coal, and Toothless let loose a vicious snarl, his spinal crests splitting and the scales around them beginning to glow.

"Ah, ah, Viggo warned, knowing what was running through the dragon's head and seeing Astrid and Holly also reaching for weapons. "He's still alive, which means I can yet order for more done to him than one torn scale. I already have, actually, since you didn't stop after messing with Frey Drekki, but I can still bring about more. Try to cross me off, and others will take my place and continue the job, ensuring your little Night Fury suffers experiences far worse than simple death."

He was right. They all hated that he was right. Begrudgingly, Holly let go of the knife handle in her grip, as Astrid did the same with her axe handle. Viggo nodded and turned to look once more at Nick and Judy, though once again he focused more on the former.

"Another term I wish to discuss with you all as well, while I have you here," he mused. "Did you actually go all the way to Narnia to pick up these two just to try and spite me, or were they brought to you?"

The question made them stumble for a moment, all shocked that Viggo knew the name of that country that so few in the Eastern world were aware of. "Y-you know about Narnia?" Fishlegs stuttered, to which Viggo only laughed.

"Oh come now, Fishlegs, haven't you figured it out yet?" he taunted. "Bookworm you are but you're sorely lacking on worldly experience to piece your knowledge together. We hunters are widely traveled; not everyone is as in the dark about the lands to the west as your average snooty European. Many valuables arise from that place, and it would be foolish not to set up trades with the people there and profit from it. Cinder pines, Narnian clove, Calormen tapestry…" he trailed off for a moment, a glint in his eyes as he leaned toward Nick, "…unusual animals that many would pay a high price just to see, or perhaps have as a pet, or pelt. Foxes don't get quite so large elsewhere, and I must say their fur is one of the most sought after on many markets."

Nick swallowed hard, paling under his fur as he stepped back slightly. His reaction earned another strange, unsettling grin from Viggo.

"Don't be such a pussy, Nick," Holly reprimanded, though through her voice Nick could hear her discomfort with the suggestion as well, compounding that of the sight of Tsefan's scale. "He-he can't touch you."

It didn't leave him too reassured, but Nick took the chance offered to try and use a bit of humor to calm himself down. "Did…did you just call me a cat?" he accused, looking at her as best he could without letting the hunter out of his field of view.

"Cat or coward," Holly quipped back. "He tries to skin you and I'll do the same to him."

"Madam, at least get canine versus feline in order before attempting to insult me."

"Ahem," Viggo cleared his throat, turning the skewed focus back to him. "You're right; perhaps trying to sell you off would be too much of a task, Nick," he jeered, turning to another crate. "But, I don' really need to either. You and your rabbit friend there are far more useful here and now anyway."

As the man lifted yet another vial out of this second crate, Nick felt that cold dread that had hit him earlier return with a vengeance, as if the temperature in the room had dropped to zero and his suit was doing nothing to protect him from it. Viggo turned to them, swirling the deep indigo-purple liquid inside the vial for all to see, and looked lazily at the Narnians.

"Tell me, do you recognize this at all?" he asked nonchalantly. When no answer was immediately received, he smirked. "No? Oh dear. I had hoped for better from native officers, especially so soon after that fiasco my contacts tell me about." He replaced the vial, before reaching in and pulling out a small, dry and shriveled flower, with five petals and a faded color reminiscent of the liquid. "How about this, then?"

"Oh my God," Judy whispered, eyes widening. "You…that can't be…"

"So you do recognize this then, hmm?" Viggo chuckled, also placing the flower back in the crate. Then he moved to a third, lifting the lid off and pulling out a carefully pruned bush in full flower, the small plant covered in large, bright violet blooms. "Perhaps just as a reassurance you're not confusing things then."

They knew; Nick and Judy definitely knew. Neither of them would ever be able to forget the appearance of the plant entirely responsible for not only the explosive start to their careers but half the reason they'd come out here at all after running into dead ends back home for so long.

"Wildwood," Nick whispered. "You have…you're growing wildwood."

"So you're the one behind that trade?!" Judy snapped, her shock turning to livid fury as her hands clenched by her sides. "You're the one they've been trading this out with? It all makes sense now, doesn't it? No weapons in the Calormen ranks, nor any odd drugs used by them from it, and no stores for attacks on us. But here: the crazed dragons, no clues to what caused it and no one around here having ever seen this before. Of course they wouldn't have, because the cause doesn't come from here. You poisoned them with wildwood extract!"

"Who, wait, Judy what's going on here?" Hiccup asked, holding up his hands.

Judy turned to explain, stabbing an accusatory finger at Viggo. "He's the other half of the reason we came here to help you," she said, "a smuggling ring in Narnia we couldn't find the end to. You remember the Night Howlers from the movie? Wildwood's the real thing, just as potent if not more so, and the hunters have been poisoning the dragons with it!"

"Isn't it just beautiful when all the pieces of a puzzle fall together?" Viggo taunted, unfazed by the burning glares as he put the plant back in its crate. "Turns out that heat doesn't ruin the toxin, so I can boil off the extracts as long as I need to, concentrating it to whatever level I desire, for any size dragon. It doesn't wear off, either, and the plant even grows splendidly around the Mediterranean and in the Orient. And, it's the perfect thing to prove to everyone that animals can't be trusted as allies; if a little plant can even make them turn on each other, what else just might make them turn on us, too?"

"So it's made clear: you are the reason I had t' put down that Whispering Death," Jake growled, tail rattling away. "You poisoned her, to make her an enemy she never needed to be."

"On the contrary, one less 'dangerous monster' to endanger humanity, as the rest of the world will see it," Viggo countered, before shrugging. "It's only a shame she couldn't be put to use then; their spines are highly valued, as are the jaw bands their teeth are set in." He reached into his pocket as if resting his hand, looking at them like they were just another insignificant nuisance again. "I hope it proves another point too though: I have resources, and I am capable of turning you against each other without so much as a second thought. For all your great gifts and powerful allies, you wouldn't be able to prevent it."

"What are you rambling on about now?" Astrid growled, hand inching toward her axe again. Reflexively she grabbed the handle as Viggo casually pulled something out of the pouch hanging off his other pocket and pointed it at her and Hiccup, but relaxed upon seeing something that looked like an ancient dart gun. If the hunter shot it at any of them, the projectile would move too fast to get through their barriers. "Yeah, nice try, Viggo," she sneered. "What do you think that toy could actually"-

Viggo swung the weapon away from the two Vikings, and Astrid was given a better view of the whole contraption: built of hardwood and iron, with a spring mechanism to launch the dart itself inside the barrel, but more importantly, embedded within the back of the stock was a small, glowing violet gemstone. The warrioress barely had the time to register the crystal's presence, and feel ice pierce her stomach, before Viggo pulled the trigger.

A purple flash raced across the gun and haloed out around it, and the dart it held flew through the air. Nick didn't even have the time to register the shot, let alone the fact that there was no corresponding red flash emanating from his barrier to thwart the attack, before a stinging pain erupted in his neck. He yelped and dropped back, paws flying to his neck, and yanked the dart out to stare at it incredulously.

"Nick!" Judy yelled, spinning and grabbing the paw with the dart held in it to examine the steel tube and the needle on the end. The faint violet stain that remained on it was all she needed to see. "No. Oh no."

"You assumed too much, Astrid," Viggo drawled, sliding his weapon away again. "You've grown complacent and too reliant on your defenses to remember that for every move there is a counter. Your friend Aurianna kept most of her special weapons for herself and that crazed woman that she worked for, but every now and then she also sold a handful to Jezebel's allies or resources, and threw out what she thought were failed experiments. You have your magical fields that save you from attacks, but with one shot I can breach them, and that is not the only weapon of its caliber that I have in my possession. I've had men working on those 'failed stones' and the good ones we acquired for years to see just exactly what they all would do." He crossed his arms and glared at them. "Your friend there will be in a bad way in just a few minutes, so it would likely be wisest if you attempt to find him some help sooner rather than later. Concentrated enough, wildwood will not only turn him into the savage animal he was meant to be, but in a couple of days it will turn fatal. You'd better forget about me, and get moving; you won't find much help back in Narnia either."

"You monster!" Judy yelled, holding onto Nick as her heart pounded. "Come on, come on, we need to go! Nick, hold on, okay?" She began shuffling them toward the door, Nick only able to focus on the shock of the pain emanating from his neck as he was led away, his mind racing over the implications. He'd been hit with wildwood; Judy wouldn't be safe around him soon, or any of the others. But he didn't want to let go of her either.

Viggo had singled him out and shot him too. Why him? Why not a dragon?

He looked like he knew me…

Holly, Astrid, and Fishlegs flanked the Narnian pair and led them out and toward the dragons, but Hiccup, the raptors, and Jake held back, the former feeling lost and wanting an answer while the latter raised his gun in threat. Viggo only waved them away though. "I'll repeat myself: you can't hurt me without repercussions, and you don't have long before he loses it," the hunter toned. "And I have much to do. You'd better get going, and another warning: if you return, I will not hold back from making every one of you suffer. A crazed handful of Riders won't be getting in the way any more than the savage dragons we've created."

"Then mark my words, Viggo!" Astrid spat back over her shoulder as she paced rapidly toward Thorn. "This isn't over, not by a long shot! We'll fix this and be back for you!"

"Those who have already lost tend to say that the most often," Viggo tossed back. "Usually, it is."

He was right, at least about the former part: Nick was now a priority before he became a danger, and they had answers, but not in the manner they wanted them. The doors to Viggo's room closed behind the raptors as they exited last, and Nara bent down as Judy urged Nick up onto her back before the rabbit followed suit, holding tightly onto the fox.

"We need to get back to Narnia somehow, and immediately," she exclaimed as Holly clipped in, before they all took flight away from the accursed base. "After the fiasco a couple years back we made an antidote stockpile; we can fix this no problem, I'm sure of it!"

"Judy, I don't think we can count on that card," Fishlegs said warily. "Viggo just told us that we won't find help in Narnia. I'm thinking he did something; he wouldn't have used the serum on one of us otherwise, not if fixing it would be that easy."

"I really doubt he could get into the storehouses near the palace," Judy snapped back, though now it was mostly her attempting to reassure herself as Nick fidgeted in her grasp under the pain and worry he was under. Both of them knew what was coming, and they were far enough from any help right then to be able to prevent it altogether. "But…why did he shoot Nick though? Why didn't he shoot one of the dragons, since he's so against them?"

"Making a point," Holly answered softly, looking back at them out of the corner of her eye. Her expression was not comforting. "If he shot a dragon, then it would have been that much harder to make us leave too. He's making a statement: he's got weapons that can get to all of us, protection or not."

"He looked at me like he knew me," Nick said softly. "He picked me right when we came in the room."

"You heard what he said," Holly growled. "He trades for fox pelts, from Narnia. If you've got missing mammal issues he might be why too; you probably reminded him of that, and it would be irony he wouldn't miss for him to shoot another himself." Suddenly her eyes shot open. "Oh! We need to let Aurianna know about this; he has access to weapons she made!"

"One thing at a time!" Hiccup admonished. "Right now, we need to get Nick back and fix this, and call the others; we know what's behind the whole mess now without any doubts. Then, we'll let the other Asgards know and figure out what to do about Viggo's surprise. Judy, Nick, how long before this stuff starts showing symptoms?"

"A couple of minutes, at most," Judy said, almost choking on the words as the implications hit in full. She looked up with panic as Nick hunched over, groaning. The fox could feel his head going numb through the ache that was starting to spread. "If…if Viggo was telling the truth, and the dose was concentrated…w-we might have two, maybe three days before it turns irreversible or fatal. How do we get back fast enough?"

"Tie me up."

Everyone silenced as Nick spoke up, and Judy turned to look at him again, not quite comprehending what he'd said.

"What?" she sputtered. "W-Nick, no"-

"Judy, tie me up!" Nick snapped, barely able to look her in the eye as he said it. "If I go nuts, I could fall off, I could hurt you, Holly, Nara…I won't remember most of it anyway. Tie me up, before I do…urgh…s-something I'll regret!"

His eyes were watering, and it wasn't just from pain. Judy's breath hitched, but she couldn't deny his order. She nodded slowly, reaching forward to grab a rope out of one of the packs on Nara's side before turning to start binding Nick's paws together. Then as he laid down, she lashed him to the saddle so he wouldn't fall off or have leverage to bite or claw.

As she did so, Hiccup began rummaging through his own saddle pack on Toothless, looking for the emergency radio Zipeau had given each of the search parties. Hawken needed to know about this, and get back to Berk immediately so they could find the antidote to fix this before time ran out. "Astrid," he called, "you, me, and Holly will head out to Berk together, since we're the fastest and Nick needs to get back pronto. Everyone else, stay the course and catch up when you can, got it?"

Judy heard the affirmations that followed distantly, too busy focusing on hating having to tie her partner up. As she tightened down the lashings and moved toward Nick's head (it was the last thing she wanted to do, but he would need his mouth closed too), she stopped short at seeing his eyes. There were several pains there: from the injury, from the toxin, his fear of being trussed up like this…muzzling him would be the worst, and Judy didn't know if she could stand doing that to him.

"Nick, I…" she tried to say, but trailed off.

Nick felt his eyes tear up, and struggled to say what he needed to. "Judy, you have to…I…hurting you, or Holly, that would be worse to me, and I can't live with that. Just…do it, okay?"

"What if this is the last chance you'll get to talk though?" the doe suddenly spouted. "I can't just muzzle you!"

Nick didn't respond for a moment, a pang running through him. Maybe Viggo had found a way to make it even more toxic. Maybe a couple of days would be too long. If that was so…

He looked up to Holly with a pained expression. "Then have Holly do it," he said. "Judy, listen…I know you'll get this right, okay?" But I need to…there's something you need to know, first."

"I'm listening," Judy said softly, leaning forward with intent and laying a paw on his shoulder.

Nick took in a breath, feeling his mind starting to blur further already. If it was going to be said, it had to be now. At first, though, he failed to say anything. The second time, he managed a little better, but only just.

"Judy, I…you mean everything to me, and I…I lo"-

A sudden spasm cut him off, and he grit his teeth, willing it to stop. Then he tried to speak again. A chittering yip was all that came out instead.

Judy froze, mind blank as she panicked, and she could only watch in terror as Nick closed his eyes tightly and began to jerk and spasm. "Holly!" she yelled, the teen immediately turning around and taking the rope from her hands as Nick failed to recover again.

"Hold him," the young woman ordered, but Judy didn't move. "Judy! Hold him!"

The rabbit forced herself to act, reaching forward and holding Nick's head still as Holly lashed loops of rope around his snout, tying them tight, and then they both backed off as Nick began to thrash in the limits of his bindings, his sanity starting to wane entirely.

"Judy, listen to me," Holly said sternly. "Don't focus on this; once we get Hawken here it'll be a couple hours, maximum, to set him up in a hospital and then get to Narnia to find the antidote. He'll be fine, and then we'll find Tsefan and give Viggo everything he's earned for this, understand? Nick. Will. Be. Fine."

Judy nodded absently, and only barely noticed them picking up speed as Nara, Thorn, and Toothless rocketed south toward Berk. She was too focused on trying to figure out whatever it was that Nick had been attempting to say, too focused on realizing that she'd failed to tell him what she needed to as well, and she could only stare as Nick slowly stopped thrashing for a moment, having exhausted himself in the struggle to free himself now that he wasn't in control of his own actions.

Then, her breath hitched when he opened his eyes again, and his pupils locked onto her. Those eyes were not Nick; they showed no whites, only green and slit pupils. They were an enraged predator's eyes, watching her, waiting for an opportunity, all traces of her partner erased within.

A/N- Let the first climax begin! Yes, things are going to get chaotic and go south really, really quick now. Viggo's not one to pull punches when he doesn't need to, and it wasn't a mild dose he shot Nick with...

As always, let me know your thoughts, predictions, etc. in your reviews, and bonus points for anyone who can tell me the meaning of this chapter's title!

Also, keep an eye out in the coming weeks: as the taxonomist I am I've seen a couple of missing links in the spread of dragon species in this series and in HTTYD, so a few new ideas for other species have come into my head. As such, there will be at least two more entries into the Book of Dragons coming up, unique to the Closed Doors series, and hopefully you'll find them as interesting as I do.

Until next time, HawkTooth out!