Hey Everyone! I know it's been a while but here's the next chapter. It's almost done! I'm coming up with another idea pretty soon. But I probably won't start writing it till after HTTYD 2. Mainly because I want to see the characteristics of Eret and Drago. Who else is excited for it? I know I am! I'm counting the days till Friday! EEEEEEEKKK! Can't wait! Anyway, here we go!.

ENJOY!

Astrid threw herself again and again against the cell bars but they wouldn't budge. Even when she couldn't feel her arm anymore, she continued to try and break the bars down.

"Astrid. You're not go-" Gobber tried over and over again to make her stop but she ignored him, thinking only of Dragon and how much he needed a friend right now.

She then tried the bars over the small window. She pushed, dug, and pulled but they took wouldn't budge. Her fingers were bleeding from scratches and most of her fingernails had broken off into jagged shapes but she didn't care. She continued to dug and try to loosen them so that she could get to Dragon.

"They're not going to budge Astrid. I made them, I should know."

"Then there must be some sort of weakness. Everything does."

"Only if you have a large hammer or an axe but as you can see, we've been disarmed. Me, literally." Gobber grinned slightly at his own pun.

"This isn't time for jokes," she said angrily. She then smiled inside remembering something. "But I see where he gets it from now."

"Who gets what from?"

"Hiccup's knack of sarcasm during stressful times."

"Oh. I'm the guilty party," Gobber said proudly.

"But we need to get to Dragon. They're going to kill him."

"I know but there's no way that we're getting out without weapons or help."

Astrid sat down in defeat. She sighed and held her head in her hands. Dirt and blood smeared across her face where her fingers touched. She thought that she would never see Dragon again, that she'd never be happy again. Then she felt her heart and stomach twist and turn at the thought that she'd lose the one person that made her feel important. The one person that made her feel like she was special. "Just like Hiccup," she whispered.

"What was that?" Gobber asked.

"Nothing."

Gobber cocked an eyebrow but decided to let it go.

"This is all my fault!" Astrid exclaimed in frustration as she punched the stone wall causing a few of her fingers to crack unpleasantly. "If I had been a proper Viking and not let my emotions get in the way, this never would have happened. You wouldn't be here."

"And I wouldn't have it any other way," Gobber said without a pause.

Astrid looked up confused. "What? Why?"

"I will die over and over, commit treason over and over for Dragon."

"Why?"

"Because of you. Because of his relationship with you."

"What do you mean?"

"Before, you were quiet and always angry. You didn't really talk to people. You were bottled up but he set you free in a sense. In these past few weeks, I've seen how happy you can be and I like this," Gobber said as he gestured to her. "Better than the past you."

Astrid looked down and thought about what Gobber said. Have I really changed that much? Has Dragon really affected me that much? Her breathing and heart began to race at a thought. "Well, he's dying and I'll be back to my old self."

"Do you really think so? Do you think he won't leave a lasting effect on you?"

"Yes, he will. Just like my parents did. Just like Hiccup did. I decided to open up, knock down my wall and let my feelings show again. Just like when I decided to open up to Hiccup. Just when I decided to show more to my parents."

"Why did you even have those defenses?"

"So I wouldn't get hurt again. I decided to open up to Hiccup, to get to know him and he died. I tried to be more caring and responsible to my parents and they died. And now, I tried to care for Dragon, to open up and try once again and now he's dying."

"But there are others. More you will get to know and care for."

Astrid shook her head in defeat. "No, Gobber. I'm a bad omen. Death follows me. Look at you. You took me in after my parents died and you're in jail with treason. I wouldn't let you get hurt and I only sealed your fate when I tried to help. You're going to die, Dragon's going to die, and I don't even know what's become of Ruffnut."

"She's on the way to the cove," Camicazi said as she exited the shadows followed by Heather.

Astrid and Gobber stood up and walked to the end of their cells. "Camicazi? Heather?" They asked together.

"What are you going here?" Gobber asked.

"We're breaking you out," Heather said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Is Ruff going alone?" Astrid asked.

"Alone?" Heather asked confused.

"To the cove?" Astrid detailed.

"No. Snotlout, Tuff, and Fishlegs are going with her. They're going to stall the mob while we get you guys out," Camicazi informed.

"Now, how to bust these open without the key," Heather asked out loud as she looked hard at the cell bars.

"Grab Astrid's axe over on the counter," Gobber ordered. Camicazi ran over and grabbed it while Gobber continued. "Place it under the hinges," Camicazi did as he instructed and placed the axe under the hinges of Astrid's cell. "And push down hard."

Camicazi pushed down with all of her might but nothing happened. "Again!" Gobber said. She continued to push but nothing happened. Once, the hinges groaned in movement but not enough to do anything.

"Heather!" Camicazi called. "Come help me."

Heather ran over and helped push with Camicazi. They continued to push and the hinges began to budge a little. "Good gods! Who built these?"

"Gobber," Astrid said and the other two girls just looked at Gobber with annoyed disbelief. Astrid then turned to Gobber and asked, "This is your cell's weakness?"

Gobber shrugged. "It was designed to lessen the possibility of escape. Especially for Outcasts. I never thought I'd have to break out of my own designs."

"Finally!" Heather and Camicazi cheered together as the hinges popped out of place and the cell door fell down. Astrid got out and Camicazi handed her the axe.

Astrid turned to Gobber's cell and placed the axe under his cell's hinges. "Now for you."

"No," Gobber said as he pushed Astrid's axe away.

"But we need to get you out," Astrid said.

"No, you need to get to Dragon. He needs you more than I do right now."

"But you might die," Heather said.

"Yes that's true. And if anyone finds you two here," Gobber said as he pointed at Heather and Camicazi. "You will also be in the same predicament and none of you will be able to help Dragon or the others."

"Gobber," Astrid started.

"Go! Now!" Gobber yelled.

Astrid, Heather, and Camicazi began to run out of the jail when Astrid stopped. She picked up his prosthetic hand and gave it to him. "Hopefully you'll be able to get out without our help." With that the three girls ran out of the jail and bolted into the forest.

"I will do my best," Gobber said as he attached his hand and began to work on the hinges himself.

Ruff led the others into the forest with great ease. She remembered the way to the cove while the mob had no idea where it was located. That's my advantage. I know where Dragon is and they don't. Hopefully, it's enough of one. The villagers were busy scouring the entire forest trying to find where the Night Fury was located and not really paying attention if a group of young adults dodged trees and boulders.

Do they know that they're looking for a Night Fury? That's going to be an interesting meeting if they ever get to the cove.

"Why are we going to the cove?" Snotlout asked.

"To see Dragon," Ruff answered.

"Yeah but how's seeing him going to help him?" Tuff asked.

"Because maybe we can better defend him in the cove," Fishlegs said.

"But woul-" Snotlout started only to have a hand slapped over his mouth and thrown against a tree.

"Shut up and hide," Ruff whispered to the others. Tuff hid behind a rock while Fishlegs fell to the ground and hid under some bushes. Ruff looked around the tree and saw a few of the villagers walking toward them.

"I heard movement over here," one Viking said.

"I did too. I also saw movement," the other said.

They continued toward the hiding Vikings and were getting to close for comfort. They were too busy looking at the ground and low tree branches for any sign of a dragon.

I can't kill them, they're still part of the village. They don't realize what they're doing. Maybe I can just lead them in a different direction.

She looked around to find a way to send them running in a different direction. She came up with an idea and turned to Snotlout. "I'm going to remove my hand but you have to keep quiet so that I can proceed with my plan." When Snotlout nodded, she let him go.

The others looked at her with expectation as she bent down and picked up a good size rock. Their eyes went wide with what they thought she was about to do.

"You can't-" Fishlegs started but stopped when she turned behind her and threw the rock with all her might, which was a lot. They all watched as the rock landed far behind them making a loud noise and as the villagers turned and ran in that direction.

At the same time, Ruff ran toward the cove with the others close behind. When they were certain the villagers hadn't followed, they slowed down a bit to look out for others more carefully.

"I thought you were going to hurt them," Fishlegs said.

"Yeah, me too. I thought I was going to have a heartless sister," Tuff said.

"I'm not heartless. If I was, I wouldn't have befriended a dragon."

"Back to what were discussing before," Snotlout changed the subject. "Wouldn't it be better if we sent them in circles?"

"We will," Ruff agreed. "But we need to secure Dragon first." They all agreed and proceeded to follow Ruff through the forest to the cove. When they entered, they stopped.

Ruff expected to find only Dragon but he wasn't alone. He was surrounded by four other dragons who seemed to be saddened by the dying Night Fury.

"Barf?" Ruff asked. The head of the Zippleback who was christened with that name, turned to the source who had said it. The other head turned as well and walked over to her. Barf lowered his head and she placed a hand on his nose.

Snotlout, Fishlegs, and Tuff were very nervous but awed at the same time. They backed away in fear, though they would never admit it. Tuff was the first to recover from his spout of fear. When he saw how his sister acted toward the Zippleback, he felt safe and walked up to stand next to her.

"So you've named this dragon Barf?"

"Yep. I don't care if you don't like it."

"I didn't say that." Tuff began to raise his hand to touch the other head. He wanted to feel as safe and comfortable as Ruff was at the moment. He felt safe, but he wanted to be relaxed. His hand felt a pleasant shock as the Zippleback closed the gap. He grinned and said, "Well, it seems as if this dragon has two names now."

"What do you mean?" Ruff asked.

"Cause I named him Belch."

"No, it's Barf."

"Belch!"

"Guys!" Fishlegs interrupted. "It's got two heads with two different personalities. Maybe it does have two names. One for each head."

Ruff and Tuff looked at each other and then looked at the dragon. They all made eye contact and nodded.

"A double headed dragon for twins. Who would have thought?" Ruff said.

As the group was paying attention to the Zippleback, the other dragons came over, except for Stormfly. The Gronkle stepped up and seemed to be drawn to Fishlegs and vice versa.

Fishlegs held out his hand, just like Tuff did, and the Gronkle closed the gap. "Meatlug," Fishlegs smiled.

"Hookfang," Snotlout said as the Monstrous Nightmare closed the gap.

They all took a few seconds to get over the shock of what happened. They had never seen something or experienced something like this before and it was amazing.

Barf and Belch looked behind them for a second then turned back to the twins. They walked behind them and began to push them toward Stormfly. Automatically, the others followed as well and they all gasped at what they saw.

Lying on the floor was a Night Fury but his scales weren't completely black. He definitely didn't look like the healthy Night Fury that gave Ruff the chance to experience the skies. Ruff walked up to Dragon and silently knelt down.

She put her hand on his head and Dragon moved slightly. His eyes opened and her eyes increased in depression. "You are dying. It doesn't look like you have much time."

"If he doesn't have much time, Astrid's not going to make it in time," Snotlout said.

"Yeah, either he'll die or Dagur will find him first," Tuff said.

"Uhhh. Guys," Fishlegs stuttered.

"What?" Ruff said uncaring. She was too distracted thinking about how Astrid would feel if she came and he was dead. It would break her heart. The two just seemed…right together. They had such a relationship. No. That's not the right word. Chemistry? That sounds better. If he dies, she'll seclude herself again. I don't want that. It will probably be another five years till something happens along to open her up again.

"The villagers…" he started.

"They're getting close!" Snotlout finished.

Ruff snapped her head and she listened. They were getting close. She could hear them chatting through the forest, communicating that they hadn't seen anything. The others came closer and dragon and Viking alike were huddled in fear.

"What do we do?" Fishlegs asked. "If we try to get out the way we came in, we'll just alert them to where Dragon is."

"Not to mention put the other dragons in harm's way," Snotlout said.

"I don't know," Ruff said. "I didn't think they'd get here this fast."

"Well we're doomed," Tuff said. "It's not like we can fly out."

Ruff's eyes went wide and she smiled. "Tuff!" she said as she hugged him. "You're a genius!"

"Well duh. You're just now noticing? You're a horrible sister."

"How is he a genius?" Snotlout asked.

"Fly out."

"Fly? How?" Fishlegs asked.

Ruff cocked an eyebrow and looked at the dragons that were around them. "They can help us. We can ride them and they can get us out of here without being seen. Once we're out, we can lead the villagers away from the cove."

"That's great and all but there's one problem," Snotlout said.

"We can't fly them," Fishlegs finished. "We just met them and you're expecting us to just hop on their backs and fly off?"

"Yep," Ruff said. She then went over the Barf and he lowered his head so she could get on.

"Alright!" Tuff exclaimed running over to Belch. Belch lowered his head and Tuff jumped on as well.

"How do we even know that the dragons want to help us?" Fishlegs asked.

"Because Dragon is there friend as well as ours. Besides, look at Meatlug and Hookfang," Ruff said gesturing to said dragons.

Meatlug and Hookfang had walked up behind Fishlegs and Snotlout. When the two boys turned around, the dragons turned and lowered their heads to indicate to 'get on'. Fishlegs and Snotlout looked at each other in doubt then to Ruff and Tuff who sat comfortably on the Zippleback. If they were able to do this, so could they.

Snotlout and Fishlegs boarded their dragons and they took off into the sky.

"We'll try and lead them away Dragon," Ruff said before the Zippleback took off. Stormfly cooed at Dragon once more before she too took off with the others.

The four dragons and Vikings could see the villagers below in the forest but the tree canopies hid them from the villagers. They continued to circle the forest to get a good idea of where the majority of the villagers were and saw that it was too close to the cove for comfort.

"Here's what we do," Ruff said. "First we will turn them away from the cove. We have dragons and they're looking for dragons, we will have them come after us. Stormfly, you stay near the cove and alert us if anyone gets too close. The rest of us, spread out a bit and start turning them away. Especially Dagur! We need to make sure that Dagur doesn't find Dragon!"

"Let's do this!" Snotlout cheered.

"But no harming them! They are still family and friends!" Ruff added.

"Thank Thor!" Fishlegs breathed.

"Let's save Dragon!" Tuff yelled.

The four dragons split up and gracefully entered the canopy. Barf and Belch, Meatlug, and Hookfang quickly got the attention of the villagers. The villagers, however, didn't see the Vikings riding them. The villagers followed and aimed at the dragons, trying to shoot them down but when you have trees and rocks in the way, it's a lot harder said than done.

They weaved in and out of trees. They dove and climbed under bushes and rocks. They doubled backed and flew close to the villagers to unbalance them. It took the young adults a while to get the villagers to do what they wanted them to do. They all thought that they were indeed incredibly thick. Besides dodging nature, the dragon riders had to also dodge the occasional arrows and bolas that didn't get caught by branches or other unfortunate animals.

One lucky Viking was finally able to hit Meatlug, who was slower than the others. Fishlegs was thrown from her and rolled a few feet away. The other Vikings and dragons saw this and saw that the villagers were charging with intent to kill. They all turned around to save her but they all saw that they would be too late.

Just as the axe was about to come down on the Gronkle's head, Fishlegs put himself in between and yelled, "Noooo!"

All of the Vikings stopped and looked at Fishlegs with shock. A Viking was protecting a dragon. Again! What is Berk coming to?

"Get out of the way son," one Viking said. "Or you'll be charged with treason like the others."

"Really?" Fishlegs said. "Is it treason to protect the one that saved us all?"

The mob muttered in disbelief and uncertainty. Had this dragon really saved them? If so, how? Why would they? They are nothing but cold blooded killers. Right?

"What do you mean?" The Viking asked.

"They saved us. What more do you want?"

"How did it save us?"

"They?" Another Viking asked.

"It just wasn't this one?" another Viking asked.

"No," Fishlegs said. "It was several. All of them," Fishlegs explained as he motioned to the other dragons who landed behind him. The mob gasped as the Viking riders jumped off of the dragons and stood next to Fishlegs.

"You all have sided with the dragons?" the Viking asked.

They looked at each other. They smiled knowingly at the thought of them being able to help Astrid and Dragon see the good side of dragon. The thought that maybe their friends, new and old, would be protected. They proudly straightened themselves and said unanimously, "Yes."

"But why?"

"Because they aren't the horrible creatures we thought they were," Ruff said.

"There's much more to them than that," Tuff said.

"They saved us from starving and freezing to death," Snotlout said.

"How did they do that?"

"They brought us the fish that suddenly appeared," Fishlegs said.

"They melted the snow so we could get out of our houses," Snotlout said.

"They re-sowed our fields," Ruff and Tuff said together.

The mob thought for a second and slowly lowered and put away their weapons. They looked at each other in uncertainty and then looked down ashamed. If the dragons were willing to do that for them, maybe they aren't the monsters they grew thinking they were. Maybe they had been to blind to see the other side of the story. If these young adults are willing to break tradition and bring forward the truth, maybe they should listen. These dragons helped them a lot. Saved them. They deserve a reward not death.

"We didn't know," the Viking said. "We all grew up fearing dragons and even had to fight them for several years. The thought and fear that they might start attacking again was too strong to even consider any other possibilities. We were just thinking about our families and children."

"We understand that but we all need to take a step back and look at the whole picture," Ruff said. "And trust me. I was just like you when I first found out. And so was Gobber."

"To think that Gobber would betray us without a thought," Another Viking said.

"Dagur didn't give us a chance to hear both sides of the story," the Viking said.

"Wait!" Ruff said. She looked around and then looked at the dragons and riders with fear and they soon understood what she was thinking. The very person they were trying to protect Dragon from wasn't around. They all had a horrible feeling in the pit of their stomachs. Something had gone wrong.

"Where's Dagur?!" they said in unison.