Hiccup tried taking light steps, his metal leg no doubt adding to the noise. But great Thor, it was hard not to skip as he made his way down the corridor.

Astrid had kissed him. Astrid!

After so many years of waiting for it, he never imagined it would happen in a situation like this. Less than desirable, no doubt. But still, it happened! Now, he had to focus on getting them out of there.

Finally, he'd made it to the small room connecting the corridor to the path back upstairs. Peeking slyly around the wall, he noticed that the guard was still there, and still very much asleep. Relief washed over him for a brief moment, but the undercurrent of fear still held strong. Everything was working out, which ironically was not typically a good sign.

But he didn't have time to ponder what-ifs, he needed to get Astrid out of there. Spotting the key ring on the guard's belt, it appeared to be a simple clasp.

Getting as close as possible, and listening carefully for the man's rhythmic snores, Hiccup reached out with a shaky hand. Minding the small jingles of the keys, he carefully unclasped the ring, pulling it away with haste and swiftly stepping back around the corner. Upon a final look, the guard hadn't stirred one bit.

Hiccup allowed himself a sigh of relief, hoping beyond hope that he finally had their ticket out of this mess.

Astrid was pacing the cell when he'd made his way back, and she looked to him joyfully as he returned. Holding up a finger to his lips to keep her silent, he held up the keys. For a moment, he could swear he saw her eyes glaze over with unshed tears.

He fiddled carefully with the keys, making his first attempt to find the correct one.

"Do you have any idea which one it is?" Hiccup whispered to her, not wanting to spend too much time going key to key.

"I'm not sure," She replied. "They threw me in here so fast I didn't even see."

Hiccup chuckled to himself, "I find it hard to believe they got the better of fearless Astrid Hofferson."

"Well, believe it." She wanted to remain optimistic, but couldn't help but think about all that happened to her that day. She just wanted to go home. "Anything working?"

Hiccup attempted the final key, finding that it, along with the others were no match.

"None of these are working," He begrudged, going in for a second attempt. "Are you sure this is the right ring?"

"I-I think so."

Hiccup's nerves were getting the better of him as the second attempt with the keys yielded no results. It wasn't making sense, if the key wasn't here, then where-?

"Hiccup-!"

Astrid grasped his wrist tightly. Before he could ask what was wrong, a distant voice tore through his senses.

"Do you take me for a fool?"

Hiccup gasped, dropping the key ring as he looked toward the source of the voice. Down the corridor, in the dim firelight, stood a bald, somewhat stocky man. Wearing long, sophisticated crimson robes.

Before Hiccup could even move, he yelped as a large hand grabbed the back of his neck. He was slammed roughly to the floor, a sword tip pointed directly at his chest. Above him stood the guard he'd stolen the keys from. Larger than life, and very much awake.

"Nice to see ya again, lad." The guard taunted.

Astrid was going insane. Screaming for them to leave Hiccup alone, banging her fists on the bars. Hiccup could tell she was pleading, but in the chaos, was only able to make out a few of her words.

"Please-! Milos, please don't-!"

"Krogan mentioned you were captured with a boy." Milos started, silencing Astrid. "I have a sneaking suspicion I know who this is."

Hiccup watched as the bald man stood casually beside Astrid's cell, staring down at the male rider at sword-point.

"It appears we have a stowaway, boss." The guard teased.

"I'd have to agree."

"Look, he was just coming to find me." Astrid pleaded. "Keep me here, just let him go! He didn't do anything wrong!"

"Hmm." Milos hummed, staring the boy up and down. Hiccup glared into his hazel eyes. "If you call attempting to steal my valuable property 'nothing wrong', you're not as smart as you look, are you?"

"Say the word, boss, I'll take care of it." The guard snarled, pressing the tip of his sword harder into Hiccup's chest. Lightly piercing the armor, Hiccup winced.

"That ' it' is Hiccup Haddock, heir to the Hooligan tribe of Berk!" Astrid argued.

"I don't care what he is," Milos glared. "If he's of no use to me, he's nothing but extra weight to carry."

"H-He's a dragon trainer!" Astrid went on, voice shaky with fear. "Best in the known Viking world! He trained a Night Fury!"

Milos scoffed, "Do I look like a dragon trader to you? Useless beasts… such a pain in the arse to trade and damn-near worthless up north."

Astrid refused to give in, spouting out every excuse she could in her frantic state.

"He's… he's a blacksmith!" She shouted, tears falling rapidly. "An engineer! Has been his entire life! You could use him-!"

Milos rolled his eyes, having heard enough out of the girl. "Kill him."

Hiccup wanted to protest, say anything at all, but he could hardly breathe under the steel of the sword.

Astrid begged, "He can build anything! Inventions! Weapons-!"

The guard chuckled, raising the blade to strike. Hiccup winced, eyes closing in fear.

"Gronkle Iron!" She cried out.

In a blessed moment, Milos raised his hand, the guard stopped dead. Astrid was still on the verge of breakdown when Milos looked at her expectantly.

"He's experienced in Gronkle Iron?"

Astrid took a shaky breath, forcing a tough look. "He's not just experienced, he was there when it was invented."

Hiccup watched the scene before him warily, still somewhat amazed he was even alive. After a long pause, Milos eyed the boy deviously.

"Toss him in that cell," He motioned to the one parallel Astrid. "I have some paperwork to go through."

With that, Hiccup was roughly pulled upwards. And after a noisy clatter with the cell door, he was thrown inside.

Milos glanced at Astrid as the door was locked. "Don't get used to happy endings, sweet cheeks. Not many of those where you're going."

Astrid glared angrily as Milos whispered something to the guard, before the two mindlessly walked off. But she finally allowed herself to breathe, wiping away her stray tears in relief as she looked to Hiccup in the cell across her. Hiccup was just as relieved, but he couldn't help a gasp of surprise as a voice suddenly called out beside him.

"Welcome aboard, soldier."

Hiccup hastily turned, realizing that he wasn't alone.

A woman sat in the corner of the cell, wearing a long, ragged dress that draped over her knees. Which were brought to her chest in a relaxed position, exposing her bare, dirty feet. Her shoulder length, dark hair was tattered, and draped mostly in front of her face. And though he couldn't make out her features in the dim light, he could've swore she was smirking.

"The name's Bea." She mused through a thick Nordic accent. Sounding a little too enthusiastic for the situation, and raising a brow when she got no response. "Well don't look too thrilled."

Hiccup, still processing everything, was at a loss for words. "I… I-I-"

"Wha'ever." She dismissed, yawning and moving to lay down. "Just don't wake me again and we won't have a problem, kay?"

Hiccup blinked. Far too many thoughts rushing through his head to be bothered by the strange woman. His eyes met Astrid's from across the row, and he saw an array of emotions hidden behind the icy blue. Her hands still gripped the bars tightly, and though she was grateful to every god above that Hiccup was alive, they weren't left with much else. Now, they were both helplessly and undeniably trapped.

And in that moment, there was nothing either could say or do to change that.

Heather paced back and forth across the clubhouse floor, the glow of the fire illuminating the space in the early morning darkness. From the corner of her eye, she saw Stormfly perched atop Astrid's empty hut, still staring off at the horizon, waiting for her rider to come home. Heather's heart ached for the beast, but she would be lying if she said she didn't feel the same.

"You need to sit down." Fishlegs beckoned, staring at her with sadness in his eyes. "You'll make yourself sick."

"I don't care." She replied sternly, fists balling in an attempt to conceal her anxiety. Though, that was becoming more of a struggle with each passing minute.

It had been an entire night since they went out tracking, only to come up with nothing. Snotlout and the twins had found nothing in their scouts around the island either, and there had been no other sign of where Hiccup and Astrid could have gone. There was nowhere left to search, nothing more to find. And now, it was nearly sunrise, and they still had no answers.

"Hiccup and Astrid are more than capable of fending for themselves, you know that just as well as I do." Fishlegs said, trying to sound optimistic.

"No, Fishlegs, this is different." Heather stopped, staring at him. "I-I don't know why, but I know something's wrong. Really wrong! I just wish I could-"

"You've done all you can." Fishlegs stood from his stool, moving toward her and taking her shaky hands in his. "We all have."

Heather sighed, squeezing his hands tightly and letting her head tilt downcast. She was exhausted.

Fishlegs went on, "I'm scared too, but we just have to-"

He was interrupted by the distant sound of a Rumblehorn cry. The pair stared out into The Edge's fjord, seeing the faint outline of an approaching dragon against the backdrop of morning twilight.

"Stoick!" Heather shouted, before her and Fishlegs rushed to the edge of the platform.

Skullcrusher landed with force next to the pair.

"Have you found them yet?" Stoick asked sternly, eyes red and glassy from having flown through the night.

"No, there's been no sign of them." Heather replied, head dropping in disappointment.

"What about tracking?" He insisted, dismounting the large dragon. "Skullcrusher can-"

"We tried it, Chief." Fishlegs said, voice low. "We followed Stormfly out on a trail, but nothing. It's like they vanished."

"We'll try again!" Stoick nearly shouted.

Fishlegs nodded, defeated and a little startled. Heather looked at the burly man with sadness.

"Stoick, before we set off, there's something you need to see."

Seeing the sadness on Toothless's face was hard enough. Apparently, the poor dragon had refused to leave Hiccup's hut since Stormfly had returned empty-handed. So there he was, nervously pawing around the building, waiting for his rider to return.

But Stoick had little time to spend, and was currently focused on the all-out massacre that had taken place in his son's hut. After a full day, the smell of the decomposing bodies was far less than pleasant in the enclosed space, but there were more pressing matters at the moment.

"They don't look like dragon hunters, Chief." Fishlegs pointed out. "At least, none we've encountered before."

"Has there been any sign of Viggo since the bounty?" Stoick asked, not taking his eyes off the bodes.

"None that we know of." Heather answered.

Stoick kneeled, staring at one of the bodies up and down. Eyes landing on a broach near the top of the man's armor, displaying a carved insignia. Squinting, he thought hard. He knew that insignia…

"Chief," Fishlegs continued, desperate for guidance. "what… what should we do?"

Stoick sighed, "We'll try to track them again, Skullcursher will do."

"And if we don't find anything?" Heather asked.

Stoick was silent for a moment, "If we don't find them, Heather, you'll stay here and keep track of Snotlout and the twins, someone should be here if Hiccup and Astrid return. Fishlegs and I will go back to Berk, we'll search the archipelago from top to bottom."

The teens nodded, before exiting the hut. Grimly, Toothless walked over to Stock, warbling sadly as the man placed a large hand on his scaly head.

"We'll find our boy, dragon. Don't you worry."

But there was something else, something he couldn't shake from his mind. He reached down and pulled the broach from the soldier's body, studying the insignia a little closer. A deathly, horrid feeling boiled from somewhere within him. He would need a second opinion as to what it meant, but feared he already knew the answer.

Great gods above, he hoped he was wrong.