The climax is upon us now, folks! But there's still a bunch of story to tell :D Thank you to everyone who has been following this story! 3


"Hiccup?"

A jolt bolted through his body at the clamp of a hand on his shoulder. A sudden intake of breath burned his lungs.

"Hiccup, what's going on?" Astrid pressed. Her blue eyes were wide in concern and confusion. Her attention was briefly drawn to the Vikings storming out of the Great Hall behind the Chief.

"They have Toothless," Hiccup managed to stammer out. His eyes couldn't focus as the realization slammed into his brain over and over. "Someone must have found him."

Astrid's eyes darted around. Everyone's attention was on the current event. She shook him a little, attempting to catch his eye. "Is he alive?"

"I think so." Hiccup's attention finally latched on to his wife. "Astrid, they're going to kill him! They're going to kill Toothless! I can't let that happen!"

Astrid threw a hand over his mouth, hissing through her teeth at him. "Hiccup! Be smart about this. We'll figure out a way to save Toothless, okay?"

He nodded, absently, as Astrid removed her hand. His limbs shook to move. Time was ticking away. He needed to get to Toothless. "I need to get out there. See what's going on. See if Toothless is okay."

"Okay." Astrid thumbed to the group of teens standing by, bewildered and mildly interested in the action. "I'll fill in the others about what's going on." She held his shoulders, shaking him gently to get him to look at her. "We'll figure this out."

Hiccup drew in a deep breath, acknowledging but barely soaking in Astrid's reassurance. His mind was fire – the crackling and popping blazing through his brain. All he wanted to do was get to Toothless. Check him over for any injuries. Get him to safety.

He didn't know if his wobbly legs could carry him down the many stairs of the Great Hall, but somehow, he made it to the ground. He shot off in the direction where the light of the torches was most prominent. A crowd had gathered. Hiccup pushed his way through, not caring if he annoyed anyone in the process.

He stopped short at the break in the crowd. It took every bit of his strength to not dash to Toothless' side.

The Night Fury laid on a flat piece of thick wood, metal locks securing his neck and body. A leather strap secured his mouth. He couldn't move, couldn't fire in defense. His saddle and rigging were still attached. He didn't appear to be hurt or in pain.

Toothless' eyes were cast down, but his nose twitched, and his head cocked to the side as best as he could in the restraints. He warbled in question, a sad and desperate tone. A knife stabbed Hiccup's heart. Toothless could sense he was there.

"Chief, there is a saddle upon the beast," one of the patrol officers pointed out, the statement knocking Hiccup out of his shock.

"A saddle?"

Hiccup watched as his father's eyes roved over the leather saddle and rigging attached to the dragon's tail.

"Drago Bludvest," his father growled out lowly from his throat, venom accompanying his words.

Hiccup's mouthed his confusion silently to himself. The name his father had just uttered didn't ring any bells, but it was obviously of extreme importance to the Chief.

His father's head snapped up out of his stewing. "Set patrols throughout the island! If this is the work of Drago Bludvest, we must search out this intruder immediately!"

The hairs on the back of Hiccup's neck stood on end. This wasn't just about Toothless being captured anymore. He knew his father, and this wasn't just a precautionary action; this was a move for impending war.

"No, dad, wait!" Hiccup's shout tore through the hubbub before he even realized he was speaking.

Irritation flashed in his father's eyes. "I'na got time for this, Hiccup!" He threw his arm around. "A madman has infiltrated our island!"

"Dad, there's no madman or whoever this Bloody Fist guy is!" Hiccup stepped out of the crowd toward his father. Toothless' ears perked up and he was calling out for him. Hiccup glanced at his dragon, his heart pounding against his chest threatening to crack it open. What he was about to do could not be undone.

"Dad, I'm the rider!"

His father's heavy steps stuck to the ground, his back paused at Hiccup. He turned in an unworldly manner that sent a shiver racing up Hiccup's spin. "What did you say?" he hissed.

Hiccup took an uneasy step toward Toothless. "This is my dragon and I'm his rider."

His father fully turned to face him, looming over Hiccup like a mighty god from Asgard. Murmurs swept through the crowd.

"Remember months ago, when I shot down a Night Fury, but no one believed me? Well, I really did shoot down a Night Fury. I made friends with him. Trained him. Learned how to ride him."

Hiccup laid a hand on Toothless' back. His father flinched as if he'd been burned by just watching his son touch a dragon.

"He's my friend, Dad."

His father stood, as still and quiet as if he were made of stone. The silence surrounding them was eerily thick like they were the only people present and not a crowd of Berkians encircled them.

Hiccup flinched involuntarily when his father reached a step forward.

"How could you, Hiccup," he growled, "After centuries of dragons attacking our livelihood! Stealing our food and burning down our village!"

"Dad, dragons aren't what they seem," Hiccup tried to explain, every ounce of him trembling. "We could end the war…the bloodshed…if we tried to make peace with them."

The Chief gritted his teeth. "Do you know what happened to your mother, Hiccup?"

"She died—"

"She strove for peace with the dragons, and look where it got her? She hesitated to kill a dragon and paid for that mistake!"

Hiccup shook his head. "Dad, I didn't know."

His father jabbed a finger at Toothless. "There will be no sympathy. There will be no peace until every last one of these beasts are destroyed." His finger drew a line from Toothless to Hiccup with his finger. "As for you—" A chill shivered through Hiccup at the sharp icicles in his father's tone. "Tomorrow, you will enter the kill ring. If you choose not to kill this beast, you will be exiled immediately. Then, I will kill it and its head will be placed above my threshold. You have a choice, Hiccup. Your tribe or the loyalty to a demon who will die no matter the outcome."

The bitter taste of bile touched the back of Hiccup's tongue, and he swallowed hard to keep it down. This wasn't happening. It was all a nightmare that he would soon wake from. It had to be.

His chest heaved, his lungs working hard to draw in air. He blinked and suddenly Astrid was there, in the crowd, staring helplessly at him through wide, desperate eyes. His father followed his line of sight.

"Does she know?"

Hiccup kept eye contact with Astrid as he shook his head. He couldn't trap her in this fate. He desperately hoped she understood the silent message he was sending her.

"No, she doesn't."

His father grunted in response. He signaled for two warriors. "Take him to his home. Place guards around the house. Watch every exit like a hawk, so he dun'na run off during the night. Tomorrow, we see who he chooses."


Astrid's lungs burned to scream out, to protest the injustice that was taking place before her eyes. Toothless stood helpless in his bindings, his destressed warble calling for Hiccup. Her husband stood by his dragon's side, as tiny as a mouse in comparison to the mountain that was his father, but no less mightier.

She'd witnessed Hiccup's bravery on multiple occasions ever since Toothless – quite literally – fell into his life. He'd trained and befriended the most dangerous of known dragons. He didn't give so much as a tremble when encountering the Red Death. He stood his ground in front of an army of dragons.

And, now, he stood between Stock the Vast and his dragon – admitting the one confession that would be his doom.

Her legs begged her to rush to him, to defend and protect him – but Hiccup suddenly found her in the crowd. Astrid's heart threatened to burst from her chest when she heard the Chief ask if she knew. Hiccup's eyes pleaded with her. He shook his head, keeping a firm hold on her gaze. Astrid's stomach dropped like an anchor.

He was protecting her.

Astrid remained among the on-lookers whose murmurs were like a wall around her. Her eyes never left Hiccup until he was out of sight, and she summed up the willpower to not chase after the entourage of guards escorting him away.

She glanced at Toothless, his head bowed in defeat. Stoick was circling the dragon and she feared he'd give in to his anger and desire for vengeance and lob off the dragon's head right there. If he attempted to, she wouldn't be able to stop from throwing herself into the fray to defend her friend. She couldn't save Toothless, at least, not right now, but she could save the other dragons.

Astrid dashed off to find the other dragon riders.


Astrid didn't know what to expect as she approached her home. The moon hung high in the sky. Torches burned up ahead, illuminating the guards watching over the charge inside. She was prepared for whatever it would take to enter that house and talk to Hiccup.

The two guards blocking the front door straightened their relaxed posture. "Where're ye going?" one of them sneered.

Astrid cut him with a sharp glare. "Into my house."

"We can't let ye pass," the other guard informed.

Astrid allowed her frustration and worry mix together to create the perfect rebuttal. "This is my house! In there, is my husband!" She stepped with an air of purpose toward the sneerer and jabbed a finger into his chest. "I can enter if I choose to!"

With the outburst complete, Astrid stood back and crossed her arms over her chest. Her eyes bore holes into them, making the guards squirm. The second guard moved aside, offering her free access to the door. She passed through them and into the house as though the two guards weren't haunting her doorstep.

The house was eerily quiet and for a brief moment, she wondered if Hiccup had somehow eluded the other guards stationed around the perimeter.

"Hiccup?" she called out.

Shuffling sounded from the upstairs bedroom. Barely a second later, Hiccup appeared at the top of the stairs. "Astrid?"

He raced down the steps and collided against her, his arms trapping her waist. Astrid held him as tightly as he did her. She was the first to release. She captured the back of Hiccup's throat in her hands, holding him there, inches from her face. His hands remained on her hips.

"Dad thinks you don't know about Toothless," Hiccup managed to get out.

Astrid bit her lip. "I know," she answered as if it wasn't obvious that she'd gotten the message. "And that's how it's going to stay until we can figure out how to get you and Toothless out of this mess. As soon as I figured out what was happening, I found the gang again and told them to free our dragons and get them to a safe place on the island until I knew what to do."

"At least the other dragons are safe."

Astrid hummed in agreement.

The pain that shadowed Hiccup's eyes broke her heart. "I can't kill my best friend." He shook his head as if his words weren't enough to convince her of his plight. "But if I don't, my father will kill him instead, and I'll be exiled or maybe even-"

He cut off, his eyes downcast as he created a space between him and Astrid.

Astrid watched his upper back heave from a deep breath that could have been an oncoming sob. She stood back, her hands clasped loosely together. He needed the strength she could provide him right now, but it had to come from somewhere other than physical comfort. Hiccup was very much a psychological creature and his brain needed to be spurred into action at this moment.

"You're right." Astrid gave a shrug. "It's a mess. You'll lose your father, your home, your tribe, your best friend."

Hiccup spun around, flapping an arm at her, his frustration toward her comment obvious. "Thank you for summing that up nicely, my loving wife." He glared at her, but his fight wasn't with her and he quickly deflated. "Why couldn't I of killed that dragon when I found him in the woods?"

Astrid stepped up beside him. "Yep. The rest of us would have done it, so why didn't you?" The question had crossed her mind in the time she'd been introduced to Toothless, but she'd never voiced it. "Why didn't you?"

"I don't know." Hiccup shrugged. "I couldn't."

"That's not an answer," she pointed out, her voice soft and even.

Hiccup reeled about, his green eyes flashing. "Why is this so important to you right now?"

Astrid reached for his hand. She bent to catch his eye, the intensity that was welling up inside her smoldering in her own eyes. "Because I want to remember what you say - right now."

"For the love of—" Hiccup broke away from her. He gritted his teeth as he raked a hand through his hair. "I was a coward. I was weak. I wouldn't kill a dragon."

A chord struck in Astrid's chest. "You said wouldn't that time."

"Whatever! I wouldn't! In 300 years, I'm the only Viking that wouldn't kill a dragon."

Hiccup's back faced her, his shoulders rising and falling through his emotion. He bowed his head as the fight bled out.

Astrid felt the tug that represented the hope that was slowly welling up inside her.

"First to ride one, though. So—"

Hiccup turned toward her once more, the floor holding his attention. "I wouldn't kill him, because he looked as frightened as I was. When I looked at him, I saw myself."

"I bet he's really frightened right now. What're you gonna do about it?"

The tiniest bit of hope sparked in Hiccup's eyes.

"Probably something stupid."

"Good, but you've already done that."

"Then, something crazy."

"That's more like it."

Astrid couldn't contain the smile that spread across her face as the gears in Hiccup's brain visibly kicked into motion. She knew he had it in him to find a solution to the dire situation, all he needed was some roundabout encouragement.

As he sorted through a plan that they hoped would turn out without anyone dying, Astrid changed from her gown into her daily clothing – Hiccup having already changed out of his festivity attire. She packed a satchel of any necessities they would need.

Hiccup heaved a sigh as he finished explaining the plan. Astrid came to him, cupping his shoulders.

"Hey—" she shook him a little, coaxing him to meet her eyes. "This will work. We will save Toothless."

Hiccup offered her a small smile. He raised one of his hands to wrap around her wrist. "Thank you, Astrid. I couldn't do this without you. You're my rock."

Astrid smiled before leaning in to meet his lips, softly at first then deepening the kiss and pouring out every ounce of herself to him.

"I love you," she finally uttered the words that had filled her heart to bursting. The words that had teetered on the tip of her tongue, but never spoken. She loved him with every fiber of her being. She loved him to the point of sacrificing herself so he could go on.

"I love you too."

His words reverberated through her, to the very core of her being, spurring on her footsteps as she made a show of storming out the house and dashed off to divulge the plan to the other dragon riders. They would save Toothless, and they would save Hiccup. She had to be sure of it.