I am back at last. I know that many of you are waiting on the next chapter, and I am doing better at picking up my pace. I can't promise that it will ever be a consistent pace, but it should improve.

As the duel approached, Hiccup found himself unable to sleep, despite knowing he would need it to stand a chance. As much as he hated his father, he had to admit that he was a formidable warrior, strong and with speed a man his size shouldn't have been able to possess.

He found himself thanking Toothless for teaching him how to fight as he concocted his strategy for the following day. He looked at the advantages each of them had. Hiccup knew that he had better weapons and armor, an unorthodox fighting style, hidden strength, and very good reflexes.

On the other hand, his father had years of experience on him, experience fighting dragons, and vastly superior strength. He knew that his strategy would rely upon small, fast strikes, keeping distance between him to stay out of reach. He would need to wear down his father's stamina. It would be a war of attrition.

As he finalized his strategy, he found himself beginning to drift off to sleep.

#

That night, Stoick found himself similarly worried.

The figure that he had challenged was not a weak warrior, despite his small size. He too concocted his strategy. He decided that he needed to find a way to disarm his opponent, maybe a strike to the blade of one of the swords the stranger used, or perhaps to his arm. After that, he could move in and use his strength to knock the stranger out and win the fight.

It was a simple strategy, but like many Berkians, he believed that the simple way was the best way.

#

The fighters rose with the sun the next morning, mentally and physically preparing themselves for the fight. They both checked over their weapons, making sure that they were in their best shape. The stranger checked his armor, ensuring that each of the weak points was still protected.

On the other hand, Stoick had decided that he didn't need any armor besides his helmet. In his mind, armor was only for the weak. As he made his way out of his house and towards the arena, he grabbed the hammer that his son had made for him.

When Hiccup saw it, he was slightly surprised that his father had kept it, but he was glad that his father was finally taking him seriously.

#

Once both combatants were ready, the gong rang out. Hiccup kept his eyes on his father but didn't make a move. He could wait.

After a moment, Stoick charged, swinging his hammer to try to bring a quick end to the fight, but he found that his target had shifted and he felt a sharp pain across his bicep. As he retreated, he felt another sharp pain, this time across his forearm. He knew that the stranger he was fighting had just gotten him twice.

Before he could do anything else, the figure darted forward, both blades approaching him from different angles; one aimed at his shoulder, the other at the handle of his hammer. He swung his body to the side, preparing to strike, believing that the stranger's momentum would continue, but it didn't. He found himself once again dodging the blades. He wasn't quite fast enough to escape them both this time, feeling them make a shallow cut across his side.

Then he struck.

He swung his hammer, aiming at the sword, but to his surprise, the blade was unharmed. Before he could do anything else, the figure had retreated. Hiccup found himself becoming more confident. His father wasn't as tough of an opponent as he had thought. He began striking more and more, inflicting wounds more often than not, but it couldn't last. As he moved forward for another strike, he saw the hammer moving down and before he could react, he felt it strike his arm, snapping the bones like dry wood.

He let out a scream of pain as he dropped the blade in his right hand. He needed to end the fight. As the stranger retreated after the hammer hit its target, Stoick began to move in, this time in a strike from the side, going for the left arm this time. Part of him expected the figure to dodge, but instead, the black sword struck, slicing through the head of his hammer, leaving him with a short stick.

He was stunned.

In the moments that it took for his mind to process what had just happened, the figure had moved, going to his side, slashing the outside of his leg and across his back. Finally, he felt a sharp pain in the back of his head and the world went black.

#

The village was stunned.

They had just seen their chief beaten in a battle and they knew they were helpless. Stoick had been the strongest warrior on Berk, and yet a stranger had just knocked him unconscious. They could do nothing but stare as they saw the figure sheath the blade in his left hand before picking up the blade he had dropped and sheathing it too before walking out.

The dragon landed softly and the figure climbed on before taking off and flying into the forest.

#

The pain in his arm was excruciating, Hiccup knew that it was broken and that he needed to splint it. It took him almost an hour to take off his armor, pushing past the pain that every movement brought him. He could see it hanging at an odd angle, but he knew he had gotten lucky. The bone hadn't broken his skin, the night steel armor having prevented it from moving that far, but it was still not good.

He grabbed a piece of wood from his pack, putting it in his mouth and biting down. He took his arm in one hand and nearly screamed in pain, but he knew that he had to do it. He wasn't able to hold in his scream when he shifted it back into place before wrapping it tightly to hold it in position so that it could heal.

He pulled out one of the spare pieces of armor he had made, replacing the broken section before he drifted off to sleep.

#

It took Stoick half an hour to wake up after the fight had ended. When he opened his eyes, he found himself in a bed that wasn't his. He sat up to look around, but as he did, he felt a searing pain across his back that made him lay back down. He turned his head and saw that Gothi was standing next to him with a scowl on her face.

She began to scratch in the dirt. Gobber approached the bed to translate, "She says that it's best that ye stay still and let your wounds heal." Gothi nodded before walking away, probably to get medication for him. As she did, Gobber continued, "Ye took quite the beating today, if I hadn't seen it for myself, I wouldn't have believed it."

Stoick began to try sitting up again so that he could get back to his duties as chieftain. As he did so, Gothi approached with a mug of liquid and handed it to him. As he drank it, the pain in his body began to fade, turning to a dull throb.

Gobber translated, "She knows that you're not going to stay here until you're healed, but she does suggest that ye take it easy."

Stoick grunted his agreement before standing up and walking out.

#

The next morning, the dragon and rider landed once more, the figure favoring its right arm.

It dismounted and began to speak, "Although you have not met the conditions I have set, you have shown that you have the potential to change. As such, you will find that you have enough food to make it through the winter. I may be back someday, but for now, I am leaving Berk. Before I go, I will give you one last courtesy and show you who I am."

As the figure reached for its mask, it said, "Although it is not my true name, you likely know me the best as Hiccup the Useless." With that, he pulled off his mask and the crowd staggered back. Before they recovered, Hiccup replaced the mask and took off.

Once they had regained their senses, the people of Berk realized that they had made a mistake. They felt an emotion that vikings weren't supposed to feel: fear.

They knew Hiccup kept his promises, and now they knew that he had the power to carry through.

I still haven't decided what is up next, but I will say it is probably going to deviate from "Run" to a much larger extent.