Coming out of deep sleep was a strange sensation to explain. Most of the time, Hiccup wondered if he'd been awake somewhere else. Blacking out for hours and being oblivious to the world around him was a scary thought in a way. He knew he dreamed sometimes because he remembered bits of it after he'd woken. But why couldn't he remember it all? Was he off somewhere else when the lights shut off in this world? Was it all just his mind playing tricks on him? Did his soul wander off and leave his body behind? Was something else taking over his mind and body while his spirit got some rest? He could never answer those questions. But they did emerge from the dark every now and then, making him wonder.

Hiccup sat legs crossed, hands bound before him. His head hung, back curved. He felt numb and his mind was clouded. He couldn't think. He couldn't take into consideration where he was and what was going on. It was like his body was left without a soul. Just a body and a mind, trying to work things out. He blinked multiple times, slowly returning to his senses. The first thing he acknowledged upon waking up was how much everything hurt. He felt sore in places he didn't even know he had. He felt exhausted like he hadn't been sleeping at all, even though he was convinced he'd been out for a while.

Hiccup gasped like he'd been unable to breathe for too long. After all, hadn't he just fallen into the lagoon? His mind raced and heat pumped blood all at once as he straightened up like a startled dragon, his eyes darting around the darkened room enveloping him.

His alert was quickly replaced by confusion as he froze and scanned around more closely. He knew exactly where he was. This was Astrid's hut. How he'd wind up here? He didn't have a clue. He reached to press his palm against his forehead as the pounding headache settled in and looked down at the rope bounding his wrists together. He stared down at for a moment, puzzlement settling on his features. He tugged twice, wondering what could be possibly going on. Had he been captured? Where they under siege by the Dragon Hunters? He couldn't think of any other explanation to meet his circumstances. The rope had been tied tight. Whoever had done this really didn't want him to slip out of those binders.

Hiccup sighed, shifting his attention on something else. He frowned, eyes fixed on the door. The more he listened, the more he could hear the sound of distant explosions. Now he was certain they were under enemy fire. He needed to see what was going on. He refused to sit back, may it be the enemy restraining him or anyone else.

He approached the lever and pulled to throw the door open.

It was jammed.

Of course it would be.

Hiccup groaned to himself, narrowing his eyes at the darkness. From the lack of light penetrating the walls, he quickly figured out it was nighttime. Which… would make perfect sense. He scanned the room again, a bad feeling settling in his stomach.

The sound of distant explosions, dragon roars, and battle cries grew louder by the second the more the fog in his brain lifted, filling his head up along with the hundred questions passing by like an unexpected tornado.

He needed to get out of here.

He rushed up the stairs and into Astrid's bedroom. If he knew Astrid, she always kept a dozen weapons close to her when she slept should an unwelcome visitor show their face at any time. If it'd been up to him, a single double-headed battleax under the pillow would've done the trick. He searched the small room quickly and fell down to his knees, elbows helping as support while his hands remained out of service.

There.

A pile of swords, bludgeons, and extra axes right under her bed.

He grabbed the first single-sided ax with both hands and dragged it out like he was pulling a large fish from a lake.

If the mechanism had been broken in order to keep him in, Hiccup would have to break out the old fashion way.

First order of business: freeing his hands. The rope fell on the floorboards at his feet, small fibers floating casually in the air, slowly making their way for the floor as well. He rubbed his wrists, sighing at the relief of being free to move as he pleased.

He remembered all too well when he was still Berk's runt, taking that final test in the ring. Viking vs. Monstrous Nightmare. Astrid hadn't hesitated a moment to grab that ax and slip it under the gate, forcing a gap just wide enough for her to slip in and help him out. Even while being chased by an angry Nightmare, Hiccup had managed to spare two seconds to admire her resourcefulness to overcome obstacles. And now it was his turn to overcome the same obstacle. He jabbed the spiky head of the blade under the door and pressed down on the handle. The blade dug in the floor, slicing in the wood like a warm knife through yak butter, forcing the door to lift just enough for his scrawny form to fit through. With his back against the ground, he pushed himself out. He mentally patted himself in the back and turned around to face the scene he'd worked hard to assist.

The sight he was greeted with was not what he'd expected nor hoped for.

Despite being nighttime, the sky was lit up. Heavy clouds of smoke crawled for the dark background above his head like a bad dream, the fire on the island – Dragon's Edge - reflecting off the thick suffocating gas. Fire was everywhere, burning at the bridges connecting the buildings and the huts themselves. Trees anywhere near the base were lit up, their life burned away mercilessly by the flames dancing victoriously. The loud screeches belonging to no other dragon species than the Singetail rang loudly in the sky. Hiccup could catch a few glimpses of the dragons fly through the smoke, firing at will. That's when Hiccup caught sight of the unmistakable Deadly Nadder, followed closely by two Flyers. He might only have returned to his senses a few minutes ago, but Hiccup could read a dragon anywhere and he could see through wide and terrified eyes that Stormfly was completely panicking. This was a nightmare. Hiccup wondered if he'd actually woken up at all or if this was just a dream and a bad one at that.

He couldn't see any of the other Riders. The place was swarming with Dragon Flyers. It was so bright and hot, Hiccup could see past the stables a little further down. He couldn't see the ocean or the stars. It was like there was nothing else to this world but their burning island. The loud crackling sounds of the flames eating away at their home echoed all around. Hiccup stood in disbelief and backed off in a panic from the bridge connecting to Astrid's hut as it collapsed before his eyes, falling down into a pile of embers at the bottom. He needed to get out of here.

Toothless…

His dragon would be foolish to stay here. He knew his dragon. Hiccup had been quick to realize he had been trapped in the only hut that was fireproof and he knew instantly that it was no accident. If Toothless wasn't with him, then he had to be fighting alongside the others. Or at least, he hoped so.

The deafening roar of a Singetail rang loudly from above and Hiccup pressed his hands on his ears, backing off against the building to stay out of sight while he figured out a plan to escape this living hell. He could feel the vibrations of the powerful roar he recognized as a Titan Singetail's.

When he cracked his eyes open again, he could see the dominant posture of the blood-red Titan Singetail standing on the roof of the Clubhouse, and its gigantic wings spread out with its head low. Its Flyer stood triumphant on its back, looking the Dragon Rider's way like a predator fixating its prey.

Every chapter, we grow closer to the events of the prologue. MOUAHAHA!