Ruffnut didn't think her ass had ever felt so numb. She squirmed in her saddle, trying to find a comfortable position and cursed the slow pace with which they made their way through the fog of Helheim's gate. They could've arrived long ago. At least, according to Snotlout. But the bigger dragons were all strapped to their warships and carried them over the sea.

That had been a sight to behold. On Hiccup's command, their scaly companions had carefully taken off, rising into the air in unison that they'd practised the entire evening yesterday. Straight up and along with them, the ships lifted from the ocean to float in the air, Berk's footsoldiers boarded on them crying out like little girls. Ruffnut had cackled, delighting in the unease brought to the most seasoned warriors of their island. The children seeing them off on the cliffs had cheered and laughed with her. Little rascals. She needed to talk to her brother about opening an academy of their own. A secret one, of course, to teach the next generation of Loki-worshipping chaos-bundles the ways of trickery and pranking. Maybe they'd start by lifting Spitelout's house into the air in the middle of the night and relocating him to one of the many sea-stacks.

She didn't know what had happened - she and Snotlout weren't close like that - but her friend had been all glum and furrowed-brows all day yesterday until Eret had cheered him up again.

Ruffnut wasn't stupid; she had long since figured there was something going on between the two men. Good for them, honestly. They had one less complication to worry about when they snuck off into the bushes for some… stress-relief. She kinda envied them for it every time she drank that bitter tea that would hopefully keep her from getting knocked up just because she wanted to have some premarital fun.

Well, it wouldn't be premarital for much longer if Fishlegs and her both got out of this alive.

She looked over her shoulder into the thick fog, unable to make out her boyfriend's - no, fiance's -stocky figure but she knew he wasn't flying far from her on his Gronkle girl. Ruffnut reached for the necklace hidden underneath her tunic, the weight of it around her neck still unfamiliar. He had given it to her yesterday. He'd carved the charm hanging from a delicate chain all by himself while praying to the gods for their protection. He'd been so sweet and genuinely worried about what might happen today, Ruffnut had told her bumbling idiot to go talk to her father after he'd placed the chain around her neck.

Fishlegs had looked at her funny for a long moment until her meaning broke through his thick skull. "You mean-"

"We're getting married," she'd said, nodding to herself. Up until that moment, she hadn't known whether she wanted to get married at all. But just then, it wasn't even a question. She thought about all that could go wrong during the battle and suddenly she didn't know anymore why she'd been dragging her feet in the first place.

"Are you-"

"Fishy."

"O-okay. Yes, okay, I'll talk to your dad. I'll do that right now," he'd spluttered, a giddy smile on his face. Ruffnut couldn't help but pull him down for a hard kiss. His arms wrapped around her and he lifted her clean off her feet. She pulled from his lips with a sound smack.

"You're not going anywhere right now, mister," She said and looked deeply into his eyes. He was already blushing and they hadn't even snuck out to their secret place yet. "This might be the last chance we get, you know. So we're going to go to our special spot and-"

This time he had cut her off by putting a large hand over her mouth and stammering in his absolutely adorable way, "I-I think I love you." He hadn't given her an opportunity to say anything by kissing her. They grinned at each other and, after he'd put her down again, Ruffnut had taken his hand and dragged him off into the bushes.

Ruffnut grinned to herself at the memory. Once they were home again, her father would talk to the Chief about holding the ceremony. They wouldn't need anything big, but Ruffnut would be damned if she didn't get a feast on her special day.

Flying through the fog bank was terrifying and Ruffnut didn't yet know whether the feeling in her belly stemmed from true-bred fear or exhilaration. She'd have to figure that out some time later maybe. For now, she waited for the signal that meant Tuffnut, her and their assigned team of dragon riders could depart from the rest and start the preparations for the real fun. That was, if they weren't already too late and Dragon and his armada had arrived on Dragon Island before them. Then, they'd be screwed. Probably. Hopefully not, but probably.

A single purple blast shot over their heads and most of the Berkians gasped collectively and ducked away. They still weren't used to Toothless' plasma blasts even though they'd all known that would be the signal.

Ruffnut looked over at her brother. Tuffnut was the only one she could really see in the thick fog. They grinned at each other and cackled. Ah, yes. The sweet sound of their tribesmen about to piss themselves was always music to her ears.

Tuffnut tugged on Belch's head and steered him away from the rest of the dragons. Barf naturally tried to fly in the opposite direction but Ruff patted his scaly head.

"That's alright, big boy," she murmured and off they went. The shadows of their team followed behind them and she hoped they didn't get absolutely lost in the fog.

"How far?" Ruffnut asked her twin.

Tuffnut shrugged. "Not very."

"Ah." Always so informative, her twin.

It should irk her that her usually less brainy brother had the better navigational sense out of the two of them, but Ruffnut really didn't want to be in his position right about now; steering them through the fog away from their tribesmen. It really only took a couple more minutes until Tuffnut claimed they were at the right place and they started their work.

Hiccup had said most of Drago's armada would most likely be coming in from the east. The seastacks were farther apart here and they'd be able to funnel more ships through Helheim's Gate there in less time. Of course, Drago would probably still go for a sneak-attack from the west and north, according to Hiccup, but they couldn't spike the entire area with booby-traps. Not if they wanted to also still be able to get out of there eventually.

"Alright, let's get to work," Ruffnut exclaimed to her team of excited teenagers and a couple crafty adults.

"Everyone, channel you inner Loki!" Tuffnut said, attempting to sound authoritative but failing miserably. "We shall defeat the army with the power of trickery, illusions and pranks-galore!"

Their team cheered and immediately set out to get their work done. With the help of their dragons, the maze of sea-stacks quickly turned into one giant trap. They'd brought broken masts and rusty weapons with them from Berk that no one had any real use for anymore. But here those discarded pieces of junk got one last deadly purpose. Underneath the dark, fog-covered waterline, they tied their defenses. Any ships trying to pass through the seemingly wide sea-stacks would have their hulls ripped open like a gutted whale.

Inside the maze, they found broken ships from generations of Vikings venturing to find the Nest. A couple years ago, Ruffnut had been on one of the last excursions and the abandoned shipwrecks had been a real hassle to get around. She'd cursed them colorfully. Now, she looked at them and took one look at her twin to know he'd had the same thought.

"Flying ships can be weapons, too," Tuffnut cackled as Barf and Belch lifted the broken longboat out of the sea and carefully balanced it on top of a sea-stack. When the armada came, one of the younger riders could push it off onto whichever ships were passing by below. The thick fog made for the perfect cover for a sneak attack like that.

Their team attached lines of rope between random sea-stacks, nets of their rusty swords, maces and axes hanging from them, ready to be cut for a beautiful rain of weaponry. Rocks and boulders got piled up so they could topple over and crush their enemies. It was a beautiful amalgamation of destruction and Ruffnut wished she could witness all of the havoc their trap would wreak on Drago's army. But alas, she could only be at one place at once and her brother and her would be in the middle of the sea-stacks with some other Zipplebacks, spiking the fog with their explosive gas and lighting it up. On today's menu: roasted armada.

At the back of her mind, her conscience scolded her. Eret's words from a couple weeks ago rang in her head. How most of the men Drago had in his army were innocent and only worked for him because he'd hurt their families otherwise. And for a moment she felt bad about potentially being responsible for the death of dozens of men that had no other choice in this but to fight Drago's fight for him. But if she didn't, her entire village might pay the price for it.

Well, this was war. Innocent people got hurt during war. That was the way of things; as unfair as it was.

Tuffnut and her steered Barf'n Belch to the middle of the fog, laying eyes on the mountain of Dragon Island for the first time. The silence despite countless Vikings working at the shore made the hairs on the back of her neck rise. If there really was a gate to Helheim, this surely must be it. She couldn't imagine any other place being able to inspire this same bone-chilling sense of dread in her.

They landed on the rocky beach near their island's leaders. Hiccup and the Chief were discussing something but stopped the moment Ruffnut and her twin neared to report their progress.

"Is everything ready?" Hiccup asked, wearing the exact same all-business expression his father did.

"They'll get the surprise of their life when they try to pass through," Tuff said.

"Wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of all that," Ruff added and gestured over her shoulder to the area of destruction.

The faintest hint of a wicked glint entered her friend's eyes. "Good."

Oh. Well, maybe in another live, Tuff and her could've been nicer to him growing up. Had she known about this slightly wicked side of Hiccup earlier… Ah, all the glorious pranks they could've pulled off with Hiccup's crazy inventions and scary smart head on their team! It would've been something for a Loki-fied Eddur for sure.

The Chief looked between Tuff and her and sighed, crossing his arms in front of his broad chest. "Just so we're absolutely clear; the moment we're back on Berk, I do not want to see any of whatever you've done there appear again. This is a one time free pass to make the most of your… destructive nature. Get it all out of your systems today and then don't even think about it again. Am I understood?"

"Aye, aye!" Pretty much simultaneously, they saluted their Chief and Chief-to-be and took off again, getting on their positions. It wouldn't be long now.

"D'you think he knows?" Tuff asked, holding up his crossed fingers. Ruff grinned and showed him her own promise-breaker.

She shrugged. "I think he knows us well enough by now. But come on, he can't seriously expect us to peak today! This is too good to never use again. The next time there's a war knocking on his door, the Chief will beg us to pull a Loki on our enemies again."

Astrid decidedly had liked the constant buzzing of what must be hundreds of dragons hidden inside the volcano better than the eerie silence that followed the moment they'd landed on the shore of Dragon Island. The buzzing had unsettled her deeply, but at least there had been some sound penetrating through the thick fog muffling even the conversation of her tribesmen. This, though? This was bone-chilling silence and it made her curl a protective hand over her stomach and reach for her husband.

They made quick work of setting up their weaponry at the only place Hiccup had said Drago's flagship would be able to arrive due to its sheer size. Any other way, he'd have to tear down seastacks first to get through. It was difficult to imagine a ship of the size Hiccup had described to her and she wondered where that madman had kept something like that hidden. Or how he'd even had it built.

They would be ready, though.

Astrid directed the dragons and riders setting down one of their modified launchers on the beach, checking with the rest of their already set up weaponry that they were at the right spot. At the front of her group was Stormfly; taking her commands without a hitch even though Astrid wasn't even seated on her back. It hadn't been all that easy getting her Nadder to comply like this when her dragon girl wanted Astrid with her while flying instead of down on the ground. But she was a smart girl and a couple chicken treats later she was reacting to Astrid's gestures and words almost as well as when Astrid was in the saddle.

Astrid brought her raised arm down in an arch and the last launcher was sat down on the beach. Immediately, another group of warriors started loading it up, aiming at the break in the sea-stacks. Next to them, Snotlout and Eret helped set one of their ships down, its only purpose to hide the catapults from sight as much as possible. Astrid doubted they'd be taking that one home again.

A couple hundred feet to the left, her husband was checking the catapults with Gobber to see if anything had broken during the flight.

And somewhere within the denser parts of the seastack field, the healers would be setting up their workspace and Astrid hoped they would be able to stay hidden until the worst of it was over. But there really was no knowing what would come when the armada finally arrived. For all they knew, they'd just taken their first steps towards Valhalla.

It didn't take long until every piece of equipment they'd brought with them from home was set up. All thanks to the dragons. They really wouldn't stand a chance without their scaly companions at their side. Astrid signaled toward Stormfly and her beautiful Nadder girl landed gracefully beside her.

"Good work, girl," she praised the vain dragon and detached the ropes still hanging from her harness. "Now get some rest while you still can."

Stormfly nuzzled her hair and settled down on the rocky beach. And though she seemed to relax at first, Astrid noticed her not letting the mountain out of her sight.

"Yah," Astrid said, stroking her dragon's horn. "Me, too, girl. Me, too." Astrid sat down next to Stormfly, leaning into her scaly flank and soaking up what little rest she'd be able to get.

It couldn't be long now until the alarm went off. Until the fighting began. They had planned for a couple different entry strategies, but in the end, no one knew how Drago's army would arrive and if they'd done enough to prepare. There were so many uncertainties still, it made her queasy.

With the dragon raids at least, she'd always known what would happen, where the dragons would strike, the attacks she needed to brace for and knew when to dodge and when to strike almost in her sleep. Every raid had been different, of course, but at the same time they'd also all followed similar patterns. And on top of that, over the course of her life, Astrid had learned her enemy by heart, could rattle of weaknesses and strength of any dragon in her sleep.

But this? This was… uncertainty from start to finish. For Hela's sake, they didn't even know if Drago would really bring his entire army to Dragon Island or if he hadn't decided to still send a delegation to Berk. And what had happened to the other tribes, Astrid also could only speculate about. Heather hadn't come back in time. Maybe she had been to late in going back to Berserk. Maybe Dagur hadn't taken kindly to her dragon companion. Maybe-

"Hey."

Astrid startled out of her thoughts to find her husband dropping down next to her. Toothless followed on his heel, snuggling into Stormfly, too. Astrid hadn't even heard them coming with how lost in her head she'd been. When Hiccup leaned down, Astrid tilted her head up, meeting him halfway for a short kiss. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his side.

"Is everything ready?"

Hiccup nodded, nuzzling her hair. "As ready as can be. The twins reported back and I don't think I want to know what exactly they've done over there. Ever."

Astrid hummed. "Would be the stuff for nightmares, I imagine. But at least for once in their lives, their catastrophic pranks can be of good use. We'll need to watch them really closely when we're back home."

Hiccup was silent for a long moment, his brows furrowed deeply as he looked off into the distance.

She turned to face him and poked his chest. "Babe?" The arm he had around her waist tightened.

It took another, even longer moment until he looked back at her, face twisted with worry. "Astrid," he breathed. "You can still go home, you know. Before Helheim breaks lose here. No one would think any less of you."

Astrid sighed. She'd honestly expected him to bring this up earlier. She knew he'd wished she'd stayed back this morning when they'd taken off for Dragon Island. When he'd grouped the warriors together for the preparations and their roles today, Hiccup had hesitated before naming her team of dragon riders. And when she looked into his eyes now, Astrid saw in them how much he hoped she'd take the offer and leave before it was too late. But she also knew he'd never keep her back from a fight. It made her love for him flare up in her chest and she cupped his face in both hands and pressed her lips to his. She didn't know whether it was supposed to reassure him or as an apology; maybe both. But Hiccup seemed to understand her silent communication, nodding in defeat and kissing her forehead.

"I'll be careful, love," she said. "But this is bigger than you or me and we need everyone in the air who can fly a dragon if we wanna even have a chance of surviving this."

"I know." Hiccup pushed a lock of hair that had come loose from her braid behind her ear, tracing her face. "I love you. So much," he said in a near whisper, voice thick with emotions.

Astrid leaned into his touch, her throat clogging. This might be the last time they got to tell each other. "I love you, too. More than I know how to put into words."

His lips found hers again so she tried to put it all into this kiss instead. She refused to think of this as some sort of good-bye but she was also a realist. People died during war. She kissed him harder and her husband replied in kind, pulling her as close as possible and swallowing the sob daring to break from her throat. This was 'I love you', this was 'be safe' and 'take care' and 'I love you, I love you, I love you'. Her chest constricted with the breath she was holding to keep kissing him while she still could.

Any moment now, the alarm would sound. Just one moment longer. Just one.

They did have to part for breath eventually and Hiccup wordlessly swiped his thumb over her cheek, catching a tear that had escaped her.

This wasn't good-bye. It wasn't. She'd raise Helheim herself before she let that happen.

Astrid reached for the buckles of his armor, checking they were all secure to distract herself before she started crying for honest. Ever since she'd fallen pregnant, tears spilled from her eyes far more easily than they ever had before. She supposed that was normal, but that didn't mean she had to like it.

She straightened his shoulder-pads. "You come back to me, you hear? If-" She swallowed against the knot in her throat, "if we get separated, promise me you'll come back to me."

Hiccup nodded, catching her worrying hands. "The gods couldn't keep me away if they tried." He pressed a kiss to her knuckles. "Whatever happens, my love, promise you'll protect our baby. If- If things go wrong, I need to know you're not going to try and play the hero and you'll just get out of here, okay? Frigga's Isle isn't all that far and Heather knows to check there if- Just in case. Promise me."

"I promise," Astrid said. Of course she did. She was a warrior at heart, but she would also be a mother by the end of winter. And as much as she wanted to protect her people she knew when a fight was lost and if she had the chance to instead protect the precious live she was carrying, then she would do so.

Gods above, she wished things were different. That her husband didn't even have to worry about things like that because she didn't even need to be on the battle field at all.

"But it won't come to that, babe," she said, looking deeply into his eyes. She loved his eyes. The vivid green of them always reminded her of home, of Berk's dense forest and the lush grass-hills after the rain. Specks of gold surrounded his irises. She wished their child would have his eyes.

"It won't," she repeated. It couldn't.

Hiccup smiled wryly at her but didn't say anything.

The sound of a horn being blown penetrated the thick fog, the noise eerie and muffled. It send a shiver down her spine and her stomach dropped. That was the signal. They'd run out of time.

Drago's army had arrived at Helheim's Gate.

A/N: Whoo! Another chapter for you all because it's my birthday and you lot deserve a treat! It's way shorter than my usual average and the second shortest in the whole story, but hey. I think you know what's about to come next ;) Until then, happy holidays to all those who celebrate and a good rest of 2021! Stay safe and healthy and all that!