I LIVE! Y'all, I'm so sorry for the long delay. A lot has been happening in my life and I've either been unable to write or just couldn't find the drive/words for writing. Also I just struggled with this chapter for whatever reason. But any-who, enjoy this chapter!

Shout Outs!:

CHSHiccstrid

Thanks, I really appreciate that-especially as a struggling writer :P :)

Zela Night

Right?!

Eris

Thanks...not soon enough ;p

lara5170

Thanks, this is defiantly on of my favorite stories.

Guest

I'll be honest I swear I love this story more and more with each chapter. I've reread it 4 times and it's doesnt get old. Sometimes I have to rewatch the race to the edge episodes just to remind me what actually happened cause your writing is so good. Also Hiccup with Loki powers has me dancing for joy! Finally, I eagerly await your next update and thank you for taking your time to write this.
PS Trollhunters is a fav of mine and the crossover episodes in 3Below were amazing

Thanks, I'm glad you're enjoying it so much! :)
PS Same! Oh, had me grinning with those

Writer's Log Supplemental—14 "The Returning"

Hiccup climbed out of the hole that Toothless and the other dragons had dumbed the Riders in after nine days of not sleeping. Toothless opened an eye, warily looking at Hiccup, who grinned sleepily at Toothless. "Hey bud."

Toothless growled lowly and Hiccup laughed, scratching his ear flap.

"Yeah, I'm better." He yawned, stretching out his arms as he did so. "Still sleepy though."

Toothless flicked his head back to the hole, but Hiccup shook his head.

"Nah bud, I can't do that. Stuff still has to get done…but I can go to bed early tonight. Yeah, that sounds good."

Toothless huffed but stood and stretched anyway.

Hiccup turned back to the hole, "I guess I should wake them up, hu?"

Astrid and Heather poked their heads out and climbed through, the former replying before he could say anything. "No need." She sounded, well, like something the Terrible Terror drug in. "We're all awake."

Snotlout's voice drifted up, sounding none too pleased. "Yeah, no thanks to Astrid. Can't we go back to sleep? I went over a week without my beauty sleep!"

Hiccup shook his head. "We took a day long nap, you're fine."

"But-!"

"Oh man! Did you see those fruit bats! They were everywhere!"

Ruffnut hit Tuffnut over the head. "You were hallucinating, dummy."

"Oh." Tuffnut deflated, almost pouting. "And they were so cuddly!"

Hiccup shook his head and walked away towards the clubhouse, the others slowly trailing along behind him. Toothless padded up to him and grinned, tongue hanging out and eyes asking, "sleep well?"

Hiccup snorted and bumped his side, "yeah, yeah."

Toothless almost seemed to glare before flapping/hopping away to the clubhouse.

The door was up, but that wasn't surprising given the last week, so he wandered to the back where the preserved, ready to-go food was. Grabbing a jug of water, some yak jerky and a few loaves of days old bread, he sat down with a sigh, still trying to wake up.

The others joined him around the fire pit in a similar manner, their bickering much quieter than usual. Snotlout was the first to actually start eating, putting even less effort into manners than usual.

"Why is it that everyone must sound like a bilgesnipe when they eat?"

Hiccup yelp and gripped his heart in one hand and his dagger with the other, everyone jumped off their stool—Snotlout choking on his jerky. They looked up in the direction of the voice and froze. There, sitting on a stool near the wall with Toothless curled around him happily, sat a green and gold clothed man reading a book.

The twins were the first to react by yelling "LOKI!"

Snotlout's eyes got big as he began to look around and whispered, "is Thor here?"

Loki smirked, "yes, it is I. And no, Thor is thankfully not here."

Hiccup finally grinned, relieved, "I honestly didn't know if you were going to come back."

Loki looked at him blankly, "of course I would, you're one of the few who I truly like to be around."

Hiccup could feel his ears heat up.

"Are you running again?" Astrid asked.

"No." Loki answered amusedly. "Everything was left the way it is supposed to be."

Astrid's brow arched. "So Odin knows you're here?"

Ruff and Tuffnut looked mortified. "Who are you to question Loki?!" Tuffnut reprimanded.

Ruffnut turned her nose up. "As if he needs your permission to do anything."

Hiccup rubbed his forehead as Loki answered, his voice a calculated calm, "oh I never said that, but don't be too harsh on the young Shield Maiden…I do believe she is hoping Lady Sif will come to collect me. Isn't that right?"

Hiccup glanced over to her and saw her cheeks turn pink, his attention was quickly grabbed though as Loki stood and looked at him. "So, what trouble have you been getting into recently, hm?"

"Trouble?" He parroted, trying to look innocent.

Now Loki arched a brow and nodded to the dagger at Hiccup's side, "I spelled that dagger to alert me whenever it has been activated. It has activated twice now."

"Oh…ah, just," he scratched the back of his head, "had some run-ins with Viggo…" At Loki's blank look he added, "the head of the Dragon Hunters."

Loki scowled but said nothing. His eyes though showed a very different train of thought, though. A moment later he replied, "well, what has been happening here? When I arrived, the dragons had all locked you below the arena. Something about the Midnight Sun?"

Astrid, Snotlout, and Fishlegs moved to finish breakfast while Hiccup and the twins filled Loki in. An hour later, they concluded the briefing. Loki's face was blank but inwardly he was steaming. He had sent Viggo a warning, but maybe he would need to confront him directly if he blew off his warning as easily as he seemed to have. A well placed threat ought to do the trick, but he needed to know what would hit him the most.

His thoughts were broken by Hiccup, though, as he asked, "I've got patrol. Did you want to come with?"

Loki smiled, "I would."

They mounted Toothless and took to the air. After a minute's silence, Loki spoke. "This Viggo, does he truly hold no fear of my warning?"

Hiccup glanced back at him with a wary look, before looking straight ahead again, "…It seems like he does, but then the way he talks makes it sound like he doesn't." He paused, "I don't know if he believes in the gods or not…it's like another game to him."

Loki studied Hiccup as he spoke, noting his slumped shoulders. He frowned deeply as he saw Hiccup's defeated look before it hardened. "I see." He said quietly.

The rest of patrol was silent as both fell into deep thought.

When they finished, Toothless landed by Hiccup's hut and they dismounted. Loki turned to Hiccup and said curtly, "meet me in the arena in fifteen minutes."

Hiccup blinked as he left without another word. Turning to Toothless he asked, "do you know what that was about?"

Toothless' head was cocked to the side and tilted curiously, before shaking it with a snort.

Hiccup rolled his eyes before following Loki down to the arena.

When they arrived, they found him standing with several target and dummies set up around the arena. Hiccup walked up to Loki, "What's all this for?"

Loki looked at him flatly and responded in a similar tone, "your knife work is... acceptable at best and nowhere where it should be. I am going to remedy that."

Hiccup's eyes widened, "oh."

Loki produced a dagger and motioned for Hiccup to do the same. Once he had, Loki began to instruct him on close quarters combat with it. Less than five minutes in, he halted in exasperation. "Stop. Hiccup, you're fighting like it's a sword. You can't always fight at a distance, hence the dagger. You have to get close, close enough to hug them."

Hiccup frowned.

Loki took a breath before continuing, "Liten listig, I know this truth is not easy for you, but your last run in with Viggo proves that you need this knowledge. I shudder to think what could have happened if you hadn't had possession of my dagger…" He placed a hand on Hiccup's shoulder, "I-"

"It's not that, well, not that exactly." Hiccup said quietly, intruding on what Loki was about to say.

Confusion crossed Loki's face. "Then what is bothering you?"

Hiccup thumbed the blade of the dagger. "Before I met you and got this dagger I almost never carried one…"

"I fail to see the problem, other than your glaring lack of self-protection."

Hiccup dropped his interest in the hand holding the dagger to favor running his other through his hair, breaths becoming shallower. "No, no that's—what I mean is, it's that-"

Loki put a finger to Hiccup's lips, eyebrows raised in a silent command.

Hiccup closed his eyes and took a breath, "before Toothless, I always carried one," Loki nodded and Hiccup continued, "but even then I was terrible with it." He turned his head away to look at the floor, "I only carried it because my dad was so disappointed in everything else I couldn't do…or lift, it was about the only weapon I could actually carry with me—so I did. I did it to try and make myself more acceptable to my dad, to show I wasn't completely useless…"

Loki's face remained blank but inwardly he was glaring. How many times had he done the same to try and get a shred of the All Father's acceptance?

"And when I shot down Toothless, I was going to kill him with the same weapon…"

Toothless crooned and bumped Hiccup's hand, the same one holding the dagger.

Loki finally understood but Hiccup continued, rambling again.

"…And I've tried practicing with it, but the most I can do it throw it. Astrid's tried to help but I-I-"

Loki cut him off by grabbing Hiccup's hand holding the dagger, bringing it to the level of Hiccup's chest. "Hiccup, listen to me. This dagger is not a representation of what you can do. I have seen you wield your shield and the crossbow with a skill that would make some Asgardians jealous but beyond that, it does not represent what you might have been had you taken it to Toothless.

"If anything, this dagger represents me…and in extension you. Think of it this way: it is small—as are we among our kin. It is a last resort. The weapon people chose when all others are spent and useless—as we are often turned to as all else fails. But, it is the one that saves your life in a final effort—we are the ones that think of something hair-brained enough to save their lives."

Hiccup smirked and Loki grinned.

"Do you see now, Liten listig? Its past has no hold over its future, so stop letting it."

Hiccup nodded, processing for a minute before tightening his grip and drawing into position.

Loki nodded and attacked.

Hiccup leaned back on Toothless as the Gang sat around the fire pit. Hiccup moved a piece on a Maces and Talons board and grinned, Loki smirked behind him, and Fishlegs groaned.

"NO! You're cheating!" Snotlout yelled.

Loki looked at him, thoroughly unimpressed. "And just how is he cheating?"

"He has you as back-up!" Snotlout shouted, "and all Fishlegs has here is me! That's like, like-"

"Putting all the tricksters in one group for a Loki'ing war?" Tuffnut ask with a grin.

"YES!"

Ruff and Tuffnut both cackled at him while Astrid and Heather shook their heads.

Loki thought for a second then said, "he is right, it would only be fair if I were the one to challenge you, Hiccup."

Snotlout's jaw dropped, "wait, that's not what I—wait, no! This is perfect! I side with Loki!"

Loki merely raised an eyebrow while Hiccup shook his head. "I'd say you were stupid if you didn't."

"Hey!"

Tuffnut put a hand on his shoulder while Ruffnut hugged him. "Well, we'll side with you."

"Really?" Hiccup blinked.

"Of course!" Tuffnut exclaimed, "tricksters stick together." He leaned down to Hiccup's ear and 'whispered'. "Besides, you're going to need all the emotional support you need going against the trickster."

"Thanks."

Ruffnut grinned. "No problem!"

Loki smirked, approvingly, as the game began—it lasted all of five minutes before Loki had Hiccup in a checkmate. Hiccup frowned, thoughtfully, at the board as Snotlout cried, "Ha! You finally lose!"

Loki glared at Snotlout, "he lost to someone who has been strategizing for centuries before he was born. And to Hiccup's credit, he blocked my first attack…something which many, including Thor, have failed to do."

Hiccup's eyes lit up as he mumbled 'strategizing.'

Loki looked at Hiccup curiously and with slight concern. He was about to voice it when Hiccup asked.

"If I show you a layout of Viggo's past moves, can you see what strategy he's using?"

Loki grinned, "I'd say there's a better than good chance for it."

Loki looked over the maps that held Viggo's previous movements, deciphering what he may be planning. Hiccup stood on the other side of the table, looking at them as well. Several silent minutes went by before Loki spoke.

"Hm…the most obvious play I see him making is that of applying constant pressure, he's trying to wear you down. I do believe he's also attacking your home to make you question if this war with him is worth it. Do you know where these ships were heading?"

Hiccup pointed to two ships on the map closest to him. "These were from a little over two months ago, he was holding a dragon auction…they're probably either from him shipping dragons in or clients."

Loki nodded. "You mentioned earlier that he stole Berk's gold as well at that time, correct?"

Hiccup nodded, a scowl on his face.

"Do you have no knowledge of where his ship went?"

Hiccup shook his head, "No. The ship was pointed west when we attacked to retrieve the gold but, well, who knows where it went after that failure."

Loki's normally neutral face dipped into a frown for a moment at Hiccup's self-berating. "I believe that our best guess would be that he was headed to a depository."

Hiccup nodded, "with as much gold as he had, probably. Problem remains that we don't know where that's at though."

Loki hummed in agreement and he went back to looking over the maps, he put a finger on one of the ships and traced it to somewhere before shaking his head and repeating the process a few times over.

Hiccup watched him as he continued until Loki stopped, tapping on a spot on the map. "If, Viggo," Loki could still barely get the word out without spitting it, "were to go after a group of migrating dragons here," he tapped the spot on the map, "how would you react to it?"

Hiccup thought for a moment before answering, "to start, scatter the dragons that haven't been captured."

"But what of the ones that already are?"

"Probably have the twins, Fishlegs and Snotlout act as a distraction while Astrid and I go below to free them, and have Heather stay on deck to keep it clear."

Loki nodded. "Good, but what of these ships over here?" He pointed to another spot on the map, as of yet, currently unoccupied.

Hiccup frowned, trying to think. "What are they there for?"

Loki arched a brow, "you do not know."

"Are they there at the same time of the dragon migration?"

"Yes."

"Are there dragons in the vicinity?"

"You do not know."

Hiccup could feel his cheeks heating up and glared at the map. He stared at it before his eyes widened, remembering all the other placed Loki pointed to while he was thinking, "it's a search pattern."

Loki nodded.

"But what could they be looking for out there? Scauldrons aren't known to inhabit there and it's not a part of the Thunderdrum's migration."

"That, I don't know."

Hiccup nodded, "Thanks."

Loki rolled up the maps and smiled, "You are welcome, but we need to add it to the list of things I need to work on with you."

Hiccup hung his head, but smiled.

Whew, done! Finally after...yeah, too long. Hope you enjoyed this and, hopefully, another one will be out sooner than this one...can't imagine it coming out after another long spurt like that *shakes head sadly*

*liten listig-means Little Trickster

And a special thank you to my new beta-reader Flame Meister 23! They've been a great encouragement to keep writing :)