Hey, I have another update, and look! It didn't take over a year! What?! Bit of a longer chapter but couldn't be helped and I didn't think y'all would mind seeing as I have some ground to make up *cough, cough* But yeah, hope you enjoy this ensuing chaos :)

Shout Outs!:

Cashagon

Yes! Instantly better, Loki can't help but steal the show, no matter where he goes :D

Eris

Your welcome! It was far too long

CHSHiccstrid

Thank you. Oh yeah, poor boy needed it, so bad. *Grins evilly*
:D yay, I strive to make it flow as smooth as possible, and the HTTYD world is so fun and full of possibilities. And thank you, I do appreciate all reviews :}

Hivedragon

Yes,, needed those lessons. Hopefully soon he can put them to good use. :)

Writer's Log Supplemental—15 "Gold Rush"
Requested by...no one, except those who wanted more Loki chapters ;)

Hiccup walked out of his hut as silently as possible with Toothless following his example, though looking confused. The sun wasn't even up yet, the tiniest of yellow rays lighting the clouds. He closed the door, again careful so as not to make any noise, before turning to Toothless.

"Alright bud, I think we're in the clear."

"In the clear of what?"

Hiccup tensed and withheld a yelp as he turned to look at the side of his hut, where Loki was leaning. His eyes widened as he tried to formulate some kind of answer but ended up looking away, he always did suck at lying.

Loki arched an eyebrow. "Mhm. So what were you planning, that you didn't want me to know of?"

"I-uh, Toothless and I were going to go run some drills. Since we planned on practicing my knife work at sunrise and then with everything that's bound to come up with the gang and whatever else you were planning, I, didn't think we'd be able to run the drills…"

Both stood silently for a minute before Loki spoke. "This deals with Viggo, doesn't it?"

Hiccup pressed his lips into a thin line and nodded.

Loki stayed silent, contemplating as Hiccup started rambling—as Loki found he did when nervous.

"I-I know what you're going to say but, I feel like I wasn't strong enough—smart enough. I was an idiot who let himself get played! I thought I had Viggo but was— he always is— three steps ahead of me! I need to make sure that I'm ready for when we meet again. Last time, what we lost was just gold, and now all of Berk is hurting…but what if next time it's someone from the gang? What if they get hurt because if it or, or—"

Loki placed a hand on Hiccup's shoulder, stopping his rambling. Hiccup looked up and saw understanding in Loki's eyes. The older man moved to sit near the edge of the platform and motioned for Hiccup to join him. They sat silently for a bit before Loki spoke, looking out across the ocean at the barely discernible sunrise.

"I understand, Liten Listig, I truly do." There was a pause as Loki thought of his own memories, shaking his head. "I have always been dragged along with Thor on his...adventures. When we were children they were harmless enough but, inevitably, as Thor got older he wanted… more of a challenge of his 'foes'. One time, he—we— managed to hijack the Bifrost to Muspelheim. We were not there long before things became too much for us and Thor nearly died because of it." His eyes unfocused for a moment before continuing. "Unfortunately, his idiocrasy knows no bounds and a similar incident repeated itself.

"Unlike our previous, adventures, I had no control, no experience for these new situations. I began to lock myself away in the library, poring over tombs of magic, desperate to grow so that I could protect us." There was a long pause as Loki drew in a breath, "It became unhealthy and our mother had to intervene before I killed myself from it."

Hiccup looked down at the wooden planks, feeling strange and honored for knowing this.

Loki looked at him. "You want to protect your friends, but running yourself ragged in preparation will only make it worse, because, when the time comes, you will be too exhausted from your preparations to actually use you practiced."

Hiccup was silent as he processed everything, but he glanced up when he heard Loki stand.

"Come Liten Listig, there is still an hour before the sun is up, you could use the sleep. Then we will practice your knife work and run some of those drills after."

Hiccup smiled and nodded in agreement. "Thanks."

Loki nodded but his face became hard. "If I ever catch you trying to sneak out early again, you will not like the repercussions, understand?"

Hiccup nodded quickly, "y-yeah, I got it."

Toothless laid down in front of the freshly relit fire and proceeded to promptly fall asleep again. Hiccup sat next to him and stroked an earflap, getting ready to nod off himself when Loki asked.

"Didn't your father teach you to pace yourself?"

Hiccup opened his eyes. "Dad? No. Are you kidding me? Before three years ago, the longest conversations we had were about five words each… we still don't know how to talk to each other well…" His mind drifted to the incident with the bounty hunters, grimacing slightly.

Loki withheld a sigh, he should've expected that. He looked at Hiccup, who had fallen into a light sleep, and began to wonder just what he'd gotten himself into.

Oh well, too late to go back now.

*O*

Hiccup blocked Loki's swing and brought his own knife up to his opponent's forearm, only to have Loki block him at the last second and push him back. Hiccup stood there, taking in deep breaths and watching Loki warily.

Loki's stance suddenly relaxed and his dagger vanished. "That is enough for now." Hiccup stood straight and sheathed his dagger, sighing deeply. "You are improving. We can work on it more tomorrow. Now, what were the drills you wanted to run with Toothless?"

An hour later saw Hiccup and Toothless dragging themselves into the clubhouse. Loki and the twins were conversing about some pranking ideas they had; Loki suggested something that the others couldn't hear and their eyes became huge, grinning wickedly. Hiccup too looked mischievous at whatever was said but was too tired to show much.

"Well, well, well, look what the Night Fury dragged in." Astrid said amused.

Hiccup laughed dryly. "Very funny."

He proceeded to sit at the fire pit and grab something to eat while rolling his shoulder.

Loki noticed and said as he sat next to Hiccup, "When you're diving, it may be better to detach yourself from Toothless to be streamlined—at the very least, taking your feet out of the stirrups. Also, try covering your head with your arms, let them take the blow."

Hiccup nodded. "Thanks, I'll try that next time."

Heather walked over, concern on her face. "Hiccup, are you ok? You've been pushing it pretty hard lately. You should probably rest."

Hiccup glared into the dead fire, hand fisting. "It's hard to rest when Viggo's out there."

Loki fixed him with a hard look but the twins piped up, Tuffnut nearly shouting, "oh we can make him rest!"

Ruffnut grinned. "Oh yeah. Hey Hiccup, remember when you were making the Mangler?"

Hiccup glared at her, "I said it would be hard, not that I wouldn't do it."

A very familiar voice broke in. "You might want to wait just a bit on that."

They all turned and Heather gasped, "Dagur!"

He grinned, "I told you I'd be back."

Snotlout grinned. "D-man!"

Dagur glared. "Never call me that."

Snotlout smiled but looked almost terrified. "Right, ok."

Dagur turned to look at Hiccup and pulled him into an uncomfortable hug. It reminded Loki of him when Thor hugged him. "Brother!" Yup, definitely the same. He decided to stay in the shadows and watch him.

"You're actually looking better! I fully expected to see you about to blow a top or something."

Hiccup glared at him and Dagur grinned.

"Just like that!"

"Not that it isn't nice to see you…but what are you doing here?" Hiccup asked.

"Well Shattermaster and I were-" he stopped as both his and Shattermaster's stomachs growled loudly.

Hiccup looked at him before grabbing some extra chicken and giving it to Dagur then turning to Fishlegs. "Could you get some rocks for Shattermaster?"

Fishlegs nodded and ran out while Dagur dug into the chicken, savoring its taste.

Loki glared into the man's skull for the complete lack of manners, but also for what he'd heard about him. Hiccup may say he's changed, but Loki would be watching him carefully.

Dagur swallowed noisily, "oh! Mm, this is good! And cooked to perfection. Mm! Just the way I like it."

"Thanks." Heather smiled.

Hiccup asked, "so, what are you doing here?"

"Haha!" Dagur ignored Hiccup, grinning at Heather. "I should have known it was you, Heather. Cooking is in our family's blood. Ooh! I bet you make a wicked Berserk Chicken!"

Heather's brows arched while Chicken squawked indignantly.

"Hey! Watch it!" Tuffnut yelled, petting Chicken to calm her. "Everyone knows that Chicken suffers from rotisserie-phobia." He whispered the last part.

Loki blinked and glanced at Hiccup who watched the scene with mild amusement. Obviously this was a common occurrence. He leaned close to Hiccup and asked. "Does he have a connection with a, chicken?"

Hiccup nodded with an unreadable expression. "Don't ask why, 'cause I don't know…neither does Ruffnut actually."

Loki nodded, still very confused as to why.

They tuned back into the conversation, "-isn't that right Shattermaster?"

Shattermaster began to chomp down on the rocks that Fishlegs wheeled in before Dagur stopped him. "Easy Shattermaster, remember your manners." Shattermaster regurgitated some of the rock for Fishlegs who simply nodded but his face showed exasperation.

"Dagur!" Hiccup said firmly to grab his attention. "What are you doing here? You never stopped by before to simply visit…I doubt you'd start now."

Dagur looked hurt, just a bit, but shrugged. "Of course. The strangest thing happened-"

Ruffnut crossed her arms, smirking. "A lot of strange things happen, 'specially round Hiccup."

Dagur looked confused when Tuffnut laughed. "Strange but wonderful, just like his ideas! Oh his strange pranking ideas are second only to Loki himself!"

Loki smirked.

Dagur continued, rolling his eyes slightly, "anyway, I was out traveling the world in search of Oswald the Agreeable."

Heather's eyes widened. "Wait a minute, you're searching for our father?"

Dagur turned to face her, "you see, since I didn't kill him and you didn't kill him, I figured he must be out there, somewhere." Heather's face pinched in a pained expression. "So there I was, searching for dear old dad, when I captured the wimpiest Dragon Hunter."

He laughed and walked over to Hiccup. "I mean, he was just a little, wimpy-" he looked up at Hiccup and gestured to him, Hiccup almost glaring at him, laughing, "he was about your size and build."

Hiccup grunted and crossed his arms.

"No offense." Dagur tried to offer.

Loki actively glared at the man's back, this won't do, was his only thought as he felt insulted as well. "I most certainly take 'offense'."

Dagur whipped around, eyes wide, fearing it might have been Stoic…even if it didn't sound like Stoic. The man standing, and glaring heatedly, in the shadows didn't look like anyone he knew—much less someone who would take offense. "I'm sorry, who are you?"

"Oh no." Hiccup whispered as he saw the look in Loki's eyes, knowing this wouldn't end well for Dagur, and pinching the bridge of his nose.

Everyone else watched with either amusement, Astrid and the twins, or slight concern, Heather, Snotlout and Fishlegs.

Loki stepped forward into the light, straightening himself to a full, regal posture—standing at least a head taller than Dagur. "I am Loki Odinson," he said slowly, making sure every word carried weight and leaving no room for questioning, "Prince of Asgard and god of Mischief. And Hiccup," he moved to stand behind said Hiccup, placing a hand on his shoulder, silently daring Dagur to say something otherwise, "Is my chosen."

Dagur's face fell as he looked between Hiccup and Loki. Hiccup looked comfortable with the man behind him—as much as his own father. The twins snickered behind him and whispered something to Snotlout who laughed.

"Wait, you're really Loki, the Loki?" His brain stalled and Loki smirked.

"Yes." Loki hissed in Dagur's ear, making the man jump as Loki was still in front of him. He turned his head and saw another Loki. "Do I need to turn you into a toad for you to believe?"

Dagur shook his head quickly and the second Loki evaporated into green smoke.

"Pity, it would have been fun." Loki said grinning.

Ruffnut said, "You could still do it."

"Yeah, I wanna see!" Tuffnut shouted.

"No, no really!" Dagur backed up a step, hands up. "I believe!...Actually, it makes a lot of sense." He jabbed a finger at the twins, "They were always going on about stuff like that…but how?"

Loki waved him off, turning to grab a seat. "It is unimportant and irrelevant as of now. You were telling us why you were here."

Dagur nodded, face having lost some color. "Of course."

Loki looked him hard in the eye and said lowly, "however, I must insist that you keep all derogatory comments to yourself, lest you dare to insult me."

"R~right." Dagur took a step back while Hiccup went to sit next to Loki, watching him as he continued his explanation.

"An-anyway, he was pretty easy to spook and get information from." Dagur said as he kept glancing warily at Loki.

Hiccup looked at him with interest. "So, what did the Hunter say?"

Dagur grinned, hopeful, "I'll tell you if you call me brother."

Both Hiccup and Loki looked unamused while the former said, "I did. Three years ago."

Dagur flinched. "Yeah, I deserved that one." He sobered up again. "He told me where Viggo hides his gold."

All mortals gasped in disbelief while Loki sighed and pinched the skin between his eyes, now Hiccup really wouldn't rest for the day.

Dagur continued, "And if I remember correctly, some of that gold…"

"Is Berk's gold." Astrid finished.

Dagur pointed the chicken leg at Astrid. "Bingo!"

Hiccup sat thinking aloud "-and if we could get it back, we could cripple Viggo at the same time."

Loki frowned, not liking the situation. "This isn't right."

Dagur glanced at the man in confusion but was too frightened to question him.

Astrid, however, didn't have that fear. "And why is that?"

Loki looked up and stood. "Because, young Shield Maiden," Astrid fought the grimace at the way he said those words, "it is far too easy. Why would Viggo tell someone who either isn't in his innermost circle or far too weak to protect such information, one of his greatest secrets?"

Hiccup nodded and looked up at Dagur. "How'd you find him?"

Dagur looked at him and said, "I was at the Northern Markets getting some supplies and digging for information when I saw him talking to a group of other Hunters about gold. So when he separated from the group, I attacked."

Hiccup sat there thinking as Loki placed a hand on his shoulder. "Hiccup?"

He looked up and sighed, "Berk really does need the gold back…I don't think we can't not go."

Loki nodded. "Then we'll have to be smart about it."

Loki sat behind Hiccup as they flew, continuing to discuss plans and strategies.

"The island Dagur told you about is rather small. There can't be many places to hide large amounts of anything unless there are tunnels underground."

Hiccup nodded, turning to look back at him. "It's possible there could be, half these islands seem to have tunnels. I think it would be best if we sent Fishlegs and Dagur looking for any tunnels as the Gronkles would do best underground. It would probably be good to send Heather with them too, Windshear would have an easier time underground than Stormfly."

Loki agreed, about to say something when Dagur shouted.

"Berserkers and Dragon Riders! May our first mission be successful!"

Loki promptly ignored him while Hiccup shook his head as an argument broke out over who were Berserkers and Dragon Riders. Hiccup looked up and saw the island coming close.

"Alright gang, diamond formation. Remember, we're heading into Viggo's domain. Expect the unexpected."

They flew close to the water then skimmed the cliff face before landing at an old ruin.

Hiccup's brows knitted while Snotlout said exasperated, "Well, there's no one here. Didn't see that one coming."

They dismounted and looked around, nothing seemed out of place. Just a forest with a ruin.

Hiccup turned to Dagur. "Are you absolutely sure this is the right island?"

"Yes, I'm sure!" Dagur said hotly as he looked around in confusion. "But Viggo might have moved the gold. He can be slippery."

Hiccup frowned and glanced around warily, "Or it's just not on this part of the island…"

Loki kept his face hard and analytical. "I don't like this. Smells too much like a trap."

Hiccup nodded. "Something is definitely off."

Fishlegs was in awe over the ruins. "This is an amazing find Hiccup. Ancient Vikings must have lived here." Snotlout tried to touch a pillar but got smacked away by Fishlegs. "No touchy!"

Loki bent at the waist, looking closer at the ruins and snorted. "Vikings, yes. Ancient? No. These rocks are still too finely cut to be very old. It is more likely that Vikings settled here then left when dragons became an issue."

Fishlegs looked shocked, as did everyone else, but soon got over it. "Well that's disappointing."

Snotlout rolled his eyes, "C'mon, if there was any gold here, this place would be crawling with Viggo's men."

Hiccup shook his head looking at the forest. "Not necessarily, the unexpected—remember?" He turned around to face them. "Alright, here's what we do, Fishlegs, Heather, Dagur—you fly around and see if there's any tunnels or caves where Viggo might've hidden the gold. The rest of us will look over land."

They nodded and Fishlegs, Heather and Dagur took off. The rest turned who look at Hiccup and Astrid asked, "where do we start?"

Hiccup looked over to Toothless who was sniffing the leaf strewn ground. "I'd say that would be a start."

They walked over to Toothless whose breath had rattled some of the leaves, showing wagon wheel tracks. Hiccup frowned in confusion, looking back at the ruins before following the tracks.

They walked for several minutes and Hiccup noticed Loki walking very close to him. He raised an eyebrow as a silent question and Loki just raised his while he frowned, looking around again. Hiccup sighed but kept walking, knowing Loki was keeping an extremely observant watch and wondered how much of that was conditioning from getting dragged along with Thor.

The tracks ended where a tarp was lazily draped over a building. If Hiccup had to guess it was meant to look like a rock if laid correctly.

Snotlout and Hookfang came up from the side and said, "I'm not seeing any gold. Are you seeing any gold? Is anyone seeing any gold?"

Loki leaned back and crossed his arms, his face unimpressed. "He wouldn't simply leave it out in plain view for all to see, boy."

Hiccup walked forward and pulled the tarp off, revealing a dragon proof hut. "Great, and it needs a key…" He stepped back and looked at Ruff and Tuffnut, "You want a crack at it?"

Tuffnut jumped from foot to foot while Tuffnut grinned, "Yes!"

Loki looked at him questioningly.

"It might be booby trapped, and they kinda like those things." Hiccup explained with a shrug.

Loki smirked and felt around with his magic before saying, "There are no traps here, merely a poorly conceived cover."

Hiccup blinked then said, "oh that's nice to know…don't tell them that though." He pointed his thumb to the twins who were grinning as they shouted 'crossbow arrows!' and flipped forward. Loki watched with slight confusion while Hiccup added. "Besides, it'll make them happy and more cooperative for later if they feel like they're doing something."

Loki nodded as the twins finally finished, deeming it clear.

Snotlout frowned. "Well that was helpful…but what about the dragon proof door?!"

Loki smirked and walked up to it, hand covering in liquid green. The door opened a second later.

Snotlout pouted. "Oh well if you want to cheat and make it easy then, yeah, go right ahead."

Hiccup shook his head and smiled, walking up to the open door and sighed, disappointed. "It's not here, gang."

Astrid walked up behind him and said, disappointed, "well, I guess we're too late. Viggo moved the gold."

"…If it was ever here." Hiccup turned around, hands fisting.

Astrid turned, "what are you thinking?"

Hiccup gestured to the tracks in the ground. "The tracks we followed were deep, but the ones going away from the hut are shallow."

Fishlegs said, "so they rolled it in then carried it away."

Astrid sighed, "then the hut's a decoy?"

Hiccup nodded. "Let's start looking around."

They mounted their dragons and let them wander around, sniffing like Blood Hounds. As they searched, Hiccup lost focus as he thought.

Loki noticed and gripped his shoulder, "Hiccup, what is troubling you?"

His voice was strained as he explained. "Everything with Viggo is a trick. I-I just need to out-think him, but my brain feels like it's going to explode. Every time I think I have something he squashes it."

"Then do not let him."

Hiccup blinked, confused. "What?"

"Do not let him." Loki repeated, voice calm. "He knows he's inside your mind, he's playing with you. Answer me this, Viggo is a thinker, a strategist, yes?"

Hiccup nodded. "Yeah. This whole thing is like a giant game of Maces and Talons to him."

Loki nodded once. "In which case, he has a back-up plan for his back-up-back-up plan?"

"Probably."

Loki continued, "then, you need to follow it."

"What?" Hiccup asked, completely lost.

The twins had been listening in and looked at each other in confusion, Tuffnut asking, "did I miss something there?"

Hiccup nodded at his statement. "Yeah, I think I have the same question."

Loki smirked. "When it comes to opponents such as Viggo, there are only two ways to beat them. The first is to be a higher power that they dare not touch."

"Obviously that's not me."

"Or," Loki said more slowly, "you lead them on in their own game."

Hiccup tilted his head, silently asking what he meant while Ruffnut openly asked. "…so, we play his game?" Her eyes suddenly lit up, "wait, misdirection!"

Loki beamed at her. "Correct."

Ruffnut grinned at her brother, never more happy in her life.

Hiccup sat there thinking. "So, wait. If Viggo wanted us to find this island, which would also mean he wanted us to find the ruins where we set down as that's where the Hunter said it was, and then the tracks…he's leading us somewhere."

"Knowing Viggo, it's probably a trap." Astrid said, taking a break from searching after finding nothing there.

Snotlout rolled his eyes. "Yeah, like we haven't guessed that one already."

Hiccup thought back to the time when Viggo had stolen the Dragon Eye, remembering how—even when Viggo's initial plan didn't work, Viggo still caught him and Toothless. "We're not safe anywhere on this island, the entire thing's a trap."

Snotlout's eyes got huge and he quickly began to look around.

The twins grinned while Astrid frowned. "Is the gold even here then?"

Hiccup nodded, working the situation in his mind even more. "Yeah, yeah it is. That's how Viggo plays, with real consequences—like he did with Heather." His brain suddenly stalled and Loki saw his eyes widen.

"Liten Listig? What is it?"

"Just like he did with Heather…guys, I think-" he suddenly stopped speaking when other voiced drifted across the rocky clearing. He quickly gestured for them to get low and stay silent.

Peeking over a bolder, they saw two Hunters pushing a cart full of mining supplies.

"Did they bury it?" Astrid asked in a hushed whisper.

Hiccup motioned for her to be silent then for them to follow, cautiously.

The twins urged Barf and Belch close to Toothless so Ruffnut could ask, "what were you about to say?"

Hiccup motioned for her to stay quiet as he whispered, "I'll tell you after we see where they're headed."

The Hunters stopped and they dismounted their dragons, walking closer to the bushes. The Hunters stopped in another clearing, this one surrounded by more boulders. Snotlout and the twins peeked through a larger bunch of bushes while Hiccup and Astrid crouched together in another, smaller bush. Loki positioned himself between the two groups but closer to Hiccup.

"That's it. Push it forward," The Hunter not pushing the cart said.

The Hunter pushing the cart suddenly tipped it and dumped out various digging tools.

Astrid frowned and asked, "any thoughts?"

Hiccup pressed his lips together. "It looks like they're getting ready to dig."

"A new hole for the gold?" Astrid asked.

"Maybe." Hiccup said, not entirely convinced.

Suddenly, three different sneezes erupted from the nearby bush, startling the two Hunters into fleeing.

The three Dragon Riders looked at Hiccup wide eyed and apologetic.

Hiccup mentally cursed and mounted Toothless, yelling to the others, "stop them before they alert Viggo!"

He took off before Loki could mount Toothless, praying Loki wouldn't be mad about it—but they needed to stop them before Viggo knew they were here already. Just because Viggo was expecting them didn't mean that he knew they were there.

Loki turned as soon as the three had sneezed but wasn't as fast as Hiccup was to mount Toothless—it wasn't like he'd been doing it everyday for the last three years. They all took off to silence the Hunters before he could catch a ride.

Personally, he was disappointed that he wasn't fast enough, but he knew the value of silencing one's enemies before they could raise the alarm. Instead, he ran in the direction they flew in but stopped abruptly on the hill's peak in fear and fury.

The Hunters dove behind separate trees, no doubt attempting to throw off the dragons with such sharp turns, when two nets came flying out of nowhere—entrapping the dragons and their riders.

A man, he could only guess was Ryker by Hiccup's description, approached them, laughing. It was only due to his advanced Asgardian hearing that he could hear what Ryker said. "Look what we have here. The catch of the day."

Loki glared at the men as they began to lead the Riders away in ropes or cages, his eyes turning red—not that he realized it. Loki was about to teleport down there when he stopped himself, an idea forming. Instead, he turned in search of Fishlegs' group.

*O*

Dagur had just come out a cave near the cliff face when Loki appeared suddenly between him and the other two Riders.

"Woah!" Dagur jumped back a step. "Warn a guy when you do that! Please!" He added in an attempt to appease and not anger the god in front of him.

Loki simply glared—well, the glare never left his features—and turned to Fishlegs. "The Hunters have captured the other Riders."

Fishlegs' head jerked back, eyes wide. "What? How?!"

Loki suppressed a snarl, at both Fishlegs' and himself. "That is not important right now, we must rescue them and I need your help."

The three looked wide-eyed, for a different reason than before. Dagur walked up to Loki, almost placing his hand on the man's shoulder before deciding against it—he did like his hand attached to him after all. "Whatever you need, just say. I'm not going to let my brother stay in his hands."

Loki nodded. "Good, follow me."

With that, he mounted Meatlug and gestured for Fishlegs to get on behind him.

Fishlegs climbed on, feeling rather odd about not being the one in front flying Meatlug but didn't dare question Loki, especially not right now.

Shortly, they arrived at a small cliff that gave view to a fleet of ships. Loki slipped off of Meatlug and crept to the edge, finding which cages held who.

Fishlegs looked on with worry as he said, "oh, this is bad. Really, really bad."

Dagur made a half-laugh. "Huh. Funny, Hiccup was never that easy to capture when I was chasing him."

Loki noted that the cage holding Toothless was being loaded onto a ship by himself while the other Riders and dragons were loaded into the same ship. Hiccup was also loaded separately into the closest ship on the dock.

Heather suddenly hissed, "Viggo."

Loki whipped his head back and asked dangerously, "where?"

Heather handed him the spyglass then pointed to the closest ship. "On the mid deck tier. Black hair, ruby studded sword on his back.

Loki identified the man immediately, silently snarling. Ryker then came up to the man and start talking. He turned back around as Heather said, "we can't just sit here!"

"We aren't." Loki said lowly, startling Fishlegs who had never heard Loki take such a tone.

Dagur looked at the god in slight fear, questioning how he wasn't at the receiving end of that tone…maybe Hiccup didn't tell him that much about what I did…I hope he didn't, or else I'm a dead Viking when this is over with.

Loki continued in the same tone, lips taking a dangerous frown, again, they'd never seen on him before. "You three will distract them. How, I do not care." He then began pointing out ships. "The middle ship has Hiccup aboard, the one to its right has Toothless and the front has the others. Do whatever is needed to keep the outer ship's attention while I get Hiccup…and have a few words with Viggo."

In a flash of green, Loki transformed into a deep green dragon—about the same as Toothless' build but with a more Monstrous Nightmare look to him. With a beat of his wings, he was in the sky and flying furiously towards the ships.

The three looked at each other for a second before quickly mounting their dragons, discussing distraction/rescue plans as they flew.

*O*

Hiccup glared as Ryker lead him, cuffed, into Viggo's cabin. The man himself stood with his back to Hiccup, staring at a map on the wall.

Viggo turned his head slightly before turning completely and said, "please, sit."

Hiccup lifted his head a bit in defiance, "I'll stand."

Ryker didn't appreciate that and shoved him into the chair, drawing his sword and holding it near Hiccup as a not-so-silent threat.

Viggo grinned. "Forgive my brother. He doesn't understand the concept of savoring victory." With that, he took a seat himself.

Viggo continued, gesturing to the map behind him. "You and your dragon Riders could have spent months searching that island and you'd never find my gold."

Hiccup smirked, mimicking Loki, and tilted his head. "Maybe, but then again we'd might just surprise you."

"Ah, you're referring to your impending rescue?" Viggo asked, not smiling but a twisted joy lingered in his eyes.

"Nah, but they'll come." If Hiccup's smirk could have gotten more mischievous, it did. "Besides, you always enjoy playing the unexpected card."

Viggo arched a brow in amusement. "But if I'm expecting them, how is that unexpected?"

Hiccup shook his head, "I could say the same about how you hid your gold."

Viggo looked at him, amusement still there but slight confusion in his eyes.

The ship shook slightly, enough to shake some dirt through the floorboards.

Hiccup looked up and Viggo smirked. "Look, there are your friends now, coming to save you. Such loyalty. I can hardly keep my own brother focused and on task."

Hiccup frowned slightly. "What are you getting at Viggo?"

Viggo stood and walked around the table to stand next to Hiccup. "Do you really think, after all we've been through, I'd expose myself without some added protection?" Viggo grinned again. "You're about to have a front row seat for the death of your Riders and their dragons."

Hiccup's frown lessened as his eyes widened, sudden worry filled him for the others, especially if they split away from Loki. He looked at the roof in concern, listening to the men running and shouting above deck, and felt the mark on his back become warm.

*O*

Loki looked at the ships briefly before flying straight for the middle ship. The Hunters immediately began to shout and fire arrows at him. He didn't bother to dodge most of them, instead, shielding himself with his magic.

He became faintly aware of the remaining Riders, and Berserker, firing upon the ships and ramming into them—effectively catching the attention of the other ships.

The ship he was about to dive upon swayed slightly and the Berserker and his dragon flew by quickly, aiming upwards to regroup.

Loki fired a shot of magical green flames at the deck and landed hard, shaking the wooden planks beneath him.

As the Hunters regained their wits, they began to reload their bows and circle him.

Loki growled, he'd had enough. In another flash of green he transformed into his normal Asgardian self.

The men stopped suddenly, eyes wide in confusion and fear.

Loki smirked wickedly, magically making two daggers appear. "Who wants to spare their life and tell me were Hiccup is being held?"

Three of the men didn't answer, instead they leashed their arrows.

Loki blocked them with nothing more than a flash of green from his eyes. Deciding none of them would tell him of Hiccup's location, he muttered a quick and quiet spell as the men attacked.

The sound of something ripping through metal adding to the din of the battle's background noise as he fought his way through the swarm of Hunters.

*O*

Hiccup sat nervously as they heard shouting, catching the muffled words of 'ship' and 'sinking'. He smirked. "Looks like your protection wasn't enough."

Viggo glared at him, about to retort when the ship suddenly jerked to the left. He grunted and gripped the table as Ryker and Hiccup were thrown into the wall.

A short lived yelp was heard from outside the closed door as something heavy hit the wall out there as well.

Hiccup fell down after hitting Ryker into the wall and stood quickly to run for the door only to be roughly grabbed by his shoulder and yanked back.

Ryker snarled, "Nice try, Hiccup."

The door was then kicked in, quite literally.

All heads snapped to the doorway, but only one wasn't confused.

Hiccup grinned and felt his shoulders loose some tenseness as Loki looked at him hard but his eyes softened slightly when he saw Hiccup still in one piece. "Got yourself into trouble already?"

Hiccup grunted as Ryker pulled him closer, sword out and under his neck. Hiccup shrugged slightly.

Viggo glared at the man, about to say something, when a voice hissed in his ear and a sharp point touch the back of his neck. "I'd suggest that you inquire that man to release his hold on Hiccup, lest you not value your own life."

Ryker looked at Viggo, or the man behind Viggo with confusion, looking back at the man in front of him before looking back at his brother.

Viggo nearly snarled, turning his head carefully to look at the man behind him. To his shock and horror, it was the very same man who stood in front of them. There was no way that a second man could have gotten in without anyone's notice, much less how they looked exactly the same—twins or otherwise.

Viggo nodded to Ryker, who somewhat reluctantly—let Hiccup go. The front man waved his hand and something like green liquid surrounded the cuffs on Hiccup's wrists, which then fell off. Viggo watched in amazement before asking, "just who do you think you are?"

Loki smirked. "Oh, I think you know who I am. You just prefer to deny my existence and ignore my warnings. It's a shame, really, I had hoped this wouldn't end in bloodshed."

Viggo's eyes widened as he made the connection. "Loki."

The Loki in front of them smirked dangerously and pushed Hiccup behind himself. "Indeed."

The point on Viggo's neck vanished, along with the man. Viggo felt his stomach sink a bit as the man, god, drew a knife identical to Hiccup's.

"I will make this clear to you so you do not mistake my warning again as the delusions of a frightened man." Loki drew so close to Viggo that he could feel Loki's breath on his ear, the dagger resting precariously on his neck.

Hiccup watched warily, silently scooting back and closer to Loki so as to make sure Ryker couldn't leap over and grab him.

"Hiccup, is my chosen. Any harm done to him is an act against me. If you harm him, or even touch him again, I will return and destroy your empire and I will make you watch before I cast you to the farthest reaches of this realm—where you will spend the rest of your pathetic days until I personally escort you to Niflheim." Loki moved the knife up so Viggo could see it and felt it bite into his cheek.

For the first time in Viggo's life, he was shaken to his core.

Loki stepped back, a warning scowl on his face he gripped Hiccup's shoulder. "I would end this now, but Hiccup is not one for bloodshed—be it his or his enemies."

With that, they disappeared with a small flash.

Ryker ran over to Viggo, stumbling slightly as the ship began to list more. "Brother?"

Viggo touched his cheek that was slowly oozing blood. He then glared at Ryke. "This game has just become far more dangerous. For us, and Hiccup."

*O*

Hiccup stumbled slightly as they appeared on the top deck. Loki looked around momentarily before spotting Toothless on the neighboring ship. Hiccup saw him too and cried out ashe saw Hunters surrounding Toothless. "Toothless!"

Hiccup felt Loki grab his arm and heard air whooshing past them before they appeared on the same deck as Toothless. Loki flicked out his hand and the Hunters flew backwards while Hiccup ran up to Toothless, hugging his head briefly before climbing onto the saddle—Loki quickly following him.

They shot into the sky and quickly fled the scene for the others who were already regrouped.

Hiccup looked down and saw Viggo and Ryker on the deck of their ship, Viggo locking eyes with Hiccup and glaring vehemently. He broke the gaze and let Toothless fly them back to the others.

Hiccup turned around to face Loki. "Thanks for the save, and…"

Loki nodded with a small smile, "you have no need, but you are welcome." His face hardened again, "however, if he comes against you again, I will uphold my promise."

Hiccup turned back around, not sure if that comforted him or not. The twins came up to him, questioning if he was hurt or not before they flew back to the island.

Dagur flew up to them before they reached the island, still looking at Loki a little warry. "We circled the island; there's no caves on the cliffs where the gold could be."

Hiccup smiled. "That's ok, I know where it's at."

Dagur blinked in surprise before falling back.

Hiccup lead them back to the island and landed near the ruins again.

Snotlout frowned. "Uh, Hiccup, we already looked here."

"Yup."

Fishlegs asked, "is it buried?"

"Nope."

Ruffnut looked around confused. "Man, he is tricky."

Tuffnut nodded. "True that, he made it invisible!"

Astrid frowned. "Tuffnut, that's ridiculous."

"But he's not wrong." Loki said as Hiccup smiled.

"I'm right! Wait, I am?" Tuffnut looked astonished, even he knew most of his ideas were wrong.

Hiccup laughed slightly before saying, "you are. We've actually known where the gold was the whole time." He turned to Toothless and asked, "you want the honors?"

He shot at the ruins three times and when the dust cleared, yellow rocks shone through the outer rocks.

Fishlegs gasped, "Genius!"

Astrid turned to the group and said, "well, let's start getting the gold out. Heather, want to give me a hand cutting it up?"

"My pleasure." Heather grinned.

About an hour later Loki was helping Hiccup load that last bits of gold that Toothless could safely carry into his packs.

"Now, Liten Listig, that we have Berks gold back—and some—will you finally rest?"

Hiccup turned to see Loki smiling at him but his eyes told him it was a serious question. He laughed lightly. "Probably should before you send Toothless to sit on me."

Toothless looked at him flatly and growled something lowly.

Loki smirked, "I believe I do not even need to ask him."

Hiccup glared at Toothless playfully. "Traitor."

Heather came up to him a moment later, "Hiccup, I'm going with Dagur."

Hiccup nodded, understanding. "Stay safe. You know where we'll be at if you need anything."

They watched her and Dagur fly away before turning back to their dragons, Fishlegs saying, "Hiccup, I don't think we can fit anymore gold on the dragons."

Hiccup sighed but nodded. "Then mount up, we're leaving." He looked back at the still standing pillars of 'ruins'. "I hate leaving any of this for Viggo to come back to, but we just can't carry anymore."

Ruffnut's head shot up over Barf's. "Why don't we just push the rest of it off the cliff? I mean, even if Viggo does find it again, he's gonna have a heck of a time trying to fish it out."

Hiccup and Loki smirked, Hiccup saying, "sounds like a great idea."

Snotlout sighed before guiding Hookfang back to the 'ruins'.

Shortly the dragons were in the air again, headed back for the Edge.

Loki chuckled and leaned a bit closer to Hiccup so he wouldn't have to yell. "You took great pleasure in that, didn't you?"

Hiccup glanced back, still smiling, "what gave you that idea?"

Loki shook his head with a fond smile. "The delighted look in your eyes may have said something."

"Oh, so I'm not allowed to have some fun anymore?"

Loki laughed but said nothing.

They landed at the Edge well after night fall. They landed tiredly, barely slipping the saddles off of the dragons before crashing in their respective huts.

Toothless padded into Hiccup's hut, with said Viking practically asleep on his back, and laid down next to the dead fire place.

Loki was slipping up the ladder when Hiccup asked softly, words slurring due to drowsiness. "Y' did su'thin, didn't you? 'Felt the mark, on my back—heat up today…ne'er done tha' b'fore."

Loki climbed down the two rungs he'd gone up and sat next to Hiccup, a soft smile on his face. "Yes, Liten Listig, I did. When I placed the mark on you, I placed a spell on it too, so that I could find you—wherever that might be, I need only activate it."

Hiccup smiled, eyes half lidded. "Thanks."

Loki stood, briefly placing a hand on Hiccup's shoulder. "You sleep now."

Hiccup didn't say or do anything in response, just closed his eyes.

Loki was at the ladder before he turned and walked back, gently lifting Hiccup up before placing him back down between Toothless' paws—who gently curled around him purring contently.

*O*

The next morning saw the gang in the Clubhouse, well rested and eating merrily. Hiccup and Fishlegs were talking before Tuffnut asked. "So, how are we gonna explain him?" He pointed over to Loki who was eating some fish.

Loki blinked, confused.

Hiccup's eyes widened. "Shoot."

"Hiccup?" Loki asked.

Hiccup continued in a panicked downward spiral, gripping his hair. "Oh no, my dad, he's going to flip…how am I gonna tell him? He's actually going to lose it. Oh Loki, oh Loki, oh Loki…"

Loki grabbed his shoulder, "I am right here."

Hiccup looked up at him with wide, terrified eyes.

The twins looked Hiccup with sympathy while Fishlegs started rolling some bread crumbs between his fingers nervously. Astrid and Snotlout watched him with thin lips, even Snotlout staying quiet.

Loki took in the atmosphere without looking at anyone but Hiccup and asked calmly, "Hiccup, what have you not told your father?"

Hiccup clenched his fists, looking down and saying quietly, "I, never told him about me being your chosen…or about meeting you at all."

Loki looked at him with surprise, glancing at the others to see them all looking away quickly, bar the twins who still watched Hiccup with concern.

"Why not? It is important for your father, out of anyone to know, especially since you are an heir."

"That's exactly why."

Loki did not look pleased and asked with an unsettling calm. "And why is that?"

Hiccup still wouldn't meet his eyes. "Because he believes that since Berk serves Thor, that having an heir—and later, chief—that serves Loki is, disgraceful…" Hiccup bit his lip and continued in a nervous ramble. "We-we've kind of come to terms with each other on it…as in, there's nothing he could do to get me to change and me being an only heir…we kind of, just don't talk about it, ever…but, well, telling him who you are—and leaving you here would be rude, and…"

Loki stopped him by placing a figure to his lips. "I understand, but you let me handle your father." Hiccup looked at him with wide eyes, concerned and grateful. Loki smirked at Hiccup, "do not worry, I won't do anything to him…but I won't be leaving until he sees things my way."

Hiccup released a breath he forgot to let go. "Thanks."

"Now, on to Berk?"

They arrived at Berk a few hours before sunset. Shouts rang up from the village and several children ran, following the dragon's shadows

As they got ready to land near the Great Hall, Hiccup felt Loki squeeze his shoulder reassuringly, whose hand hadn't left his shoulder since they left the Edge.

Stoic walked over to the group, a strained smile on his lips. "Hiccup!"

Hiccup tried to smile as he dismounted. "Hey dad."

"What brings you back to Berk?" Stoic meant it lightly but Hiccup could hear the strain, him undoubtedly having double the work with complaints and overall stress from the village.

Hiccup actually smiled at the question. "We, got Berk's gold back."

Stoic's smile fell and his eyes widened in shock.

Snotlout laughed, "Oh yeah, Berk's gold and a whole lot more."

Tuffnut grinned. "Then whatever we couldn't carry-"

"Got tossed into the ocean." Ruffnut grinned.

Tuffnut finished with a laugh. "Take that Viggo!"

Stoic grinned and hugged Hiccup, who wheezed as the air left him. "How did you…?"

Hiccup rubbed the back of his head. "Ah, it's complicated."

Stoic looked up at the Riders who started to unlatch the sacks from the saddles, he could hear the heavy metal clink inside them as they fell. His eyes then slid to Toothless where a strange man was unlatching his sacks. Stoic's smile fell into a slightly worried frown. "Hiccup, who is that?"

Hiccup's shoulders hitched slightly and he clenched his hands to keep them from shaking. Taking a few steps closer to Toothless and the unknown man, which Stoic strongly wanted to pull Hiccup back towards himself, Hiccup gestured to said man. Something felt off about this man, and he did not like it.

"Dad," Hiccup began, glancing at the man who stood tall—rivaling Stoic, "this is, Loki Odinson."

The Riders stopped what they were doing to watch the interaction carefully, the twins and Fishlegs especially.

"God of Mischief and Lies." Hiccup finished, nervously.

Stoic glanced from Hiccup to the man quickly. Everything Hiccup had said processing immediately and not at all. His mind struggled to grasp the fact that this was the Loki but he also immediately grasped that this man was a threat, to Hiccup and the village.

As soon as Hiccup finished speaking, he was already taking steps towards Hiccup to grab him and shield him from the man but Loki was already there—far faster than Stoic could see and shielding Hiccup himself, glaring challengingly at Stoic.

Toothless watched the two men with wide and curious eyes, wondering what the problem was, while the other Riders held their breath and inching closer, hoping they didn't need to intervene.

Stoic began to reach back for his axe when Loki spoke suddenly, stepping back so he could grab Hiccup in a side hug way. "Do not worry for your son, he is my chosen, and I would never harm him."

At that moment, Stoic began to see red.

Ok, done, with an, interesting ending. Well see how this pans out. Anyway. Thanks for reading, have a great day and reviews are always appreciated :)