First off, thank you for taking the time to read this first chapter. There is a lot I want to say but I don't want to take away from the story to much, so I'll just give some brief bullet points.

First off, this story is NOT means to be a copy or ripoff of other HTTYD fanfics. What I mean is that there might be a lot of similarities between my story and other popular fanfics, most notably Hitchups and Persephone. I read through both those stories before writing this one and I fell in love with there writing and story telling. Both are amazing pieces of work and you should definitly go read those before even bothing to read mine.

Second, this is my second attempt at writing a long, in depth, multichapter story. By first writing was for the Sly Cooper fandom, and i spent a lot of time writing a story called Wolf Pack. I ended up abandoning it since I wasn't happy with how I ended up writing it, but I'm hoping this time I can do things right.

Third, and maybe most importantly, please please PLEASE critique my work. I want this to be a story people enjoy but I also want it to be good, so please don't hold back. If you have any sujestions, tips, or just questions in general please talk to me. I promise I will answer.

Anyways, I hope you enjoy the first chapter of what I hope to build into something akin to the greats like Persephone and Hitchups. Again please know, I AM NOT TRYING TO STEAL OR COPY. I want to make this story my own thing, but I may draw heavy insperation from other fanfics and give them my own spin. Please just bear that in mind, and thank you for reading.

"She knows. Oh gods she knows. We're done, we're finished. Sweet Odin in Asgard she KNOWS!"

The dragon watched his human with an unamused glare. The boy kept pacing back and forth, running his hands through his hair and waving them around.

"Okay we need to leave, we need to get away as soon as possible, but AGHH! All my stuff, I still have to pack and write a note and…AGHH we're so dead!"

Toothless let out a low grown and slumped to the ground, resting his head on his front legs. Astrid had seen him in the woods, so it was only a matter of time until she found out where they were, and then what? Well for starters she'd tell the whole village. Every Vikings who could hold a sword would be at their cove within minutes. Hiccup knew things were getting worse the better he did in dragon training. The more praise he got, the more he was watched, especially by Astrid.

He was going to have to fight a Monstrous Nightmare. Correction, he was going to have to kill a Monstrous Nightmare. He couldn't, he wouldn't, not now, not after everything he learned. He needed to leave; they both needed to. Toothless had become his best and only friend, and he showed him that dragons were not only intelligent, but peaceful…even loving. They were leaving, and they were leaving soon. The only question was when, and how.

Hiccup stopped pacing and drowned his face in his hands. Then slowly, as he calmed down, a plan began to form. It was a stupid plan, one that would likely fall apart within seconds, but how worse could things really get? He knew he couldn't just disappear without another word, though in reality who would care. No one would even notice he was gone; they'd probably even be glad once they realized they didn't have to throw him somewhere safe once a raid started.

He sighed and looked over at Toothless. That dragon was his whole life now. They were bonded, they needed each other. He really shouldn't care about the rest of them but…he'd regret it if he left without doing something. He needed to get back to the village anyways before someone went looking for him, especiallyif Astrid came looking for him. He'd come back latter with a more thought-out plan and try and get Toothless on board. They were leaving regardless of what happened, and he knew deep down that everyone would be the better for it.

Xx-xX

The alarms sounded; the raid had begun. Astrid grabbed her axe off the wall and ran out the door screaming. She'd grown into it well, better than she thought she would. When she was younger she could easily swing it around, but five years of intense training had made her a master axe-wielder, probably the best on all of Berk. Her first target was a Gronckle. It had one sheep in its stubby claws and another in its mouth. She could see the blood that stained both farm animals; if they weren't dead now then they wouldn't survive long.

Astrid ran toward the great beast and cut straight through its front right leg. Blood spilled from both the severed limp and the dragon who now howled in pain. It dropped both sheep, their mangled bodies cracking when they hit the ground, and flew off spewing blood everywhere, including herself. Now her fires were really burning, she couldn't truly get into her dragon killing mood until she had blood on her body.

Xx-xX

In the years that passed after Hiccups death the dragon attacks slowly but steadily got worse. Sometimes there'd be less dragons but more deadly kinds, and others there would be great swarms of less lethal dragons that would grab and take anything and everything that could be seen as food, besides humans of course. If a dragon had latched onto a Vikings that man was either dead within seconds or soon plummeting to their death. A few had gotten lucking and ended up falling into the ocean, but even fewer of those actually survived.

They all expected things to get worse, but they were Vikings. They would take any challenge, no matter how bad or deadly things got. The first three years were considered normal. As the dragons began to raid more, the younger generation of Berkians learned how to fight and kill better. Astrid was the greatest, no one would deny it, not even Stoick who refused to speak to her. The twins had gotten good to, even to the point of working with one another to take down any dragons they could get their hands on. They always had the time of there lives when a raid happened, though they probably enjoyed being able to do whatever the hel they wanted rather than actually killing dragons. Fishlegs well…he did his part, more than anyone would have guessed. He'd killed a handful, nothing to brag about but more than anyone had expected from him. He rarely participated in the raids, opting to protect the women and children as they made for the safety of the great all. He was strong and brave, though he'd never admit it. Then there was Snotlout, the new chief-to-be. He was a Viking, nothing more to it, but he wanted nothing more than to prove himself worthy, especially to his father. Where the rest of them focused on getting whatever dragons they could, Snotlout always went for the biggest and baddest. Just a year ago he lopped the head off a Monstrous Nightmare with one clean stroke in front of the entire village, children included. Blood had hit almost everyone, and while he had gotten reprimanded for it, Stoick and the other leaders had been proud. He proved he had strength, which was what really counted in the Viking way of life. Now all he had to prove was that he wasn't just a mindless brute, but someone who could actually lead an entire village.

Everything changed when he showed up. Nothing had been different that first night. The bells rang, Fishlegs helped people to safety, the twins went wild, Snotlout looked for the biggest dragon, and Astrid needed blood. They hadn't been more than five minutes into the raid when a sound-deafening screech was heard before one of their largest catapults cracked and fell to ruin by a purple bolt. In that instant every Vikings on Berk had a shiver of fear run down their spine, for only one creature could make that noise and do the damage that was done. A Night Fury hadn't been seen-or well, heard in five years. It was terrifying, but it alone paled in comparison to the true horror seen that night.

Though only known to be there by sound and plasma-bolt alone, the actions of the Night Fury shocked everyone. It went for there catapults and traps, but it also went for other dragons. Astrid had seen a Zippleback going for a yak, and even through she was probably the fastest runner on Berk, her speed meant nothing when he attacked. A single bolt sent the Zippleback tumbling backwards and falling over a cliff. The dragon had survived the blast of course, since its scales meant it was fireproof, but the blow had been enough to make the two-headed beast retreat. Astrid had been blown back by the shock way of the blast and had only been able to glimpse those green emerald eyes that swooped just feet above her; the same eyes she had seen years ago that had taken the chiefs son.

The rest of the raid only lasted a few minutes, but barely anyone was fighting by the end. One by one their catapults and traps were reduced to ash, and one by one the dragons attacking were driven away. By the time everything had settled down there was only one dragon left from the raid. A Deadly Nadder was screaming and flapping it's wings hard, unable to get free of the weighted net that held her down. Before anything could be done about the dragon, a black mass flew down from the darkened skies and let out a great roar that could be heard from all corners of the island. Everyone close by ran away before turning back to face the beast, no one daring to get near it, but soon there focus shifted from the dragon to the one on the dragon. Like the embodiment of death with wings, the form was shroud in the deepest black, perhaps even covered in the scales of the beast beneath it. At first it made no move, but once the winged death's scream was over, the mass shifted and planted two feet on the ground.

It was tall, taller than Astrid but less so than the normal men of Berk. It was hard to tell just how big or thick It was, but It defiantly wasn't a great brute like the rest of the Vikings. Every piece of his-of Its body was draped in black, a few red streaks that ran here and there were all the features that showed. Its head wore some kind of helmet-mask mix; no skin could be seen and only two small slits broke the perfect black form. It certainly looked like a man, but no man could do what It did. No man could be what It was.

The demon walked toward the struggling Nadder without giving any sort of glance toward any of the Vikings. As he neared the dragon the demon raised his arm and held out an open palm toward the creature. Slowly, the dragon ceased its struggles and looked at the hand presented to it. Not that anyone noticed, but the dragon's pupils went from sharp slits to large rounds globes. All of Berk watched in awe and horror as the demon placed his hand gently on the Nadders snout and gave it a firm but gentle squeeze; a way of showing trust and safety.

Then the next most shocking thing happened. Once the dragon was calm, the demon reached to his side and withdrew a small handle before giving his wrist a good flick. The handle extended out a fair length, far enough to be recognized as a sword, but that hadn't been the most shocking part. What shocked everyone was when the blade burst into flames, illuminating both the wielder and the dragon below. Even with the added light there were still no clear features that the demon possessed; no skin, or hair, no eyes-nothing. He must have been observing his own blade, as the demon just stood there for a moment and slightly twisted the glowing sword in his wrist.

Then the third most shocking thing happened. With one quick slash, akin to that of Snotlout slicing at a dragon's head off, the demon cut through the ropes holding the captured dragon, and no sooner had the ropes been cut had the dragon flapped its wings and flew away. The entire thing only lasted less that a minute, but to everyone watching it seemed like an eternity. The demon tilted his head up and watched the dragon fly away, and as soon as it was away from the island he turned heel and walked back toward the Night Fury. In those few seconds it took for him to walk the entire village began to process all that had just happened. Small murmurs began, though nothing louder than what only two people side-by-side could hear. It was taking everyone so long to process it all, but it only took a second for Stoick to act. Just as the demon reached the dragon Stoick charged him, though it was short lived once he saw both the demon and the dragon turn to face him directly. The flaming sword was pointed at him, with the demons left hand resting on the Night Fury's brow. Seconds seemed to last hours as the two starred down one another, though Stoick couldn't see any eyes from the demon, only the beast he had with him.

No words were said, not a single sound came from the demon. The low growl of the Night Fury lessened every second, until at last the demon broke the contest held between them. He lowered his sword, and a second later the flames extinguished themselves and a small 'plop' was barely audible. The demon then turned and threw a leg up and over the saddle that had been strapped to the Night Fury, and just as quickly as they had landed they were gone, there forms never to be seen that night again.

Xx-xX

Now was not the time to think about the past. Astrid heard a scream and a shout before a nearby turret came crashing down. She rolled out of the way as to not be crushed, though she likely wouldn't have gotten any more than a scratch had it hit her. She looked up, once again seeing those green eyes flash by before fading into darkness again. Every raid they had since his first appearance he'd show up. Countless things had been done to try and bring him down. They tried bigger nets, stronger traps. Hel one time they even burned through an entire third of their lumber supplies to try and brighten up the sky at night, but no matter what they tried they could never catch him, nevertheless even see him. When they realized they were never going to catch him, they tried to barter with him. Stoick offered gold, villagers offered their livestock and valuables, but the demon would never respond. He rarely landed, only having done so a small handful of times to free a trapped dragon, and once even for the sole intent of intimidating the village. No matter what happened he never spoke, only the growls of his Night Fury could be heard whenever he was near.

Astrid huffed and ran back toward the center of the village. Everyone was doing what they could, but the raid was dying down. A few men had a Gronckle pinned, but it quickly kicked them off before flying away with a small sheep in it's talons. Up the hill she saw her father block the spikes of a Nadder before it flew away. The raid had been short but hard, the biggest threat having been a Timberjack. It had cut down the roofs of half a-dozen houses and would have done more damage had the Dragon Master not gotten its attention. Maybe he was helping, maybe he just wanted more for himself to destroy; it didn't matter. Astrid's thoughts were pulled away as she heard screaming from behind her.

"BUDI! BUDI'S IN THERE! SOMEONE PLEASE HELP!"

Astrid saw the fear-stricken woman scream at the burning home. Budi was her child, her only child. Astrid ran to go help, but the flames were to great and she couldn't even try to get close without being burned alive.

She didn't even register the sound until it was over. The beast screamed through the sky, and the roof of the home exploded in a purple glow. Not a second after it had, a black form entered from above and seconds later the front of the home burst open from within. Astrid and others around her fell back, and once she pushed herself up on her elbows her gaze met those green eyes once more. They starred at her, or past her, or just in her direction but not at her. Her gaze shifted up at the Dragon Master, who was clearly looking at her, Astrid Hofferson. In that brief instance she saw something no one else had seen before: green eyes, almost identical to the dragon beneath him. The moment didn't last long, as one of the Night Fury's wings slowly lifted and a young boy came running out and into his mothers embrace. Astrid looked to the boy and his mother, her heart relieved that he was safe, but then a rush of wind hit and she looked back to see nothing but burnt wood and ash.

She cursed to herself and got to her feet. Dragons had been attacking Berk for three-hundred years, yet these last two seemed to be the worst of them all. No one knew if he had been controlling them all from the very beginning, but at this point it didn't matter. Astrid looked up at the night sky and strained to see anything, but he was gone, the Dragon Master had vanished once again. This had gone on long enough, and she vowed to herself she would find a way to take him down, no matter the cost.

And she'd make sure he was alive when she took off his mask. She wanted to look into his eyes and see the same fear she and her people had felt for longer than any of them had been alive. She would have her revenge; on the Dragon Master, and on the Night Fury who killed perhaps her only true childhood friend.

Xx-xX

"Nobody just gets as good as you do. Especially you. Start talking!"

"Uh-uh I um-I well um…"

"Are you training with someone?"

"Uh-wha training? I didn't um-uh…"

"It better not involve this!"

"I-uh know 'this' looks really bad but you see this is-uh…"

There was a crack and Astrid gasped. She went to throw Hiccup to the ground but he stepped out of her reach just in time. He was looking off deeper into the cove as Astrid gripped her axe tight and walked up to him.

"Hiccup what in Thor's name is-"

"We need to go NOW."

"Wha-?"

Astrid had no time to question as hiccup grabbed her arm and pulled her toward the coves exit. For some reason she let herself be dragged along by him but kept her gaze fixed on the darker portion of the cove. She swore she saw something move and was about to rip her arm away when suddenly they stopped.

"Oh no…"

Astrid turned and her heart froze. Crouching on a rock right above the exit was a large black form. Its green eyes bore slitted pupils and its mouth showed sharp white teeth. The mysterious and unholy offspring of lightning and death itself starred at both small Vikings and gave out a deep low growl. Astrid was frozen with fear, a fear she'd never experienced before. No dragon had ever scarred her, not even the great Monstrous Nightmare or the screaming Shrill. Her axe shook in her grip, but she was freed from her fear-stricken state by Hiccup slowly pushing her back.

"Don't make any sudden moves Astrid. Just back up, slowly."

She didn't make any protest and did as Hiccup said, though it was more an involuntary action then a conscious decision. The dragon looked at her, then Hiccup, then back to her before jumping down. Astrid's breathing began to go rampant as she grasped her axe in both hands and readied to charge the beast. Hiccup must have sensed what she was doing since he gave her a forceful push back and made her stop in place.

"Astrid. Don't. Move."

She looked down at him confused and terrified, and watched as he slowly unsheathed a small knife from his side. Her attention was brought back to the Night Fury as it snarled in anger at seeing the weapon. Then, as if to toy with its food, the black death slowly began to circle them. It was slow, but fast at the same time. One foot, then another, then the rest. It was like a wolf ready to pounce on its prey, though it made no move yet to do so.

Astrid and Hiccup's backs hugged one another as they stood motionless and watched. The dragon circled them once, twice before Astrid found the nerve to whisper.

"H-Hiccup! What do we-"

"When you see an opening, you run!"

Astrid's eyes widened more. What was he saying? Hiccup breathed slowly and made sure Astrid was facing the exit before Toothless stopped and starred at him. The dragon cocked its head slightly, questioning his rider. Hiccup took a deep breath and gave a shallow nod; there interaction being oblivious to Astrid. Then, before she could think or say more, Astrid felt herself getting pushed away. She stumbled a few feet and turned, only to be mortified by what she watched. Hiccup let out a pitiful yell and charged the beast; Hiccup charged a Night Fury! The dragon reeled back on its hind legs and sneered before lashing out at the small Viking. Three claws, one strike, and Hiccup fell to the ground as blood seeped from his left bicep and stained his shirt sleeve.

Just as quickly as it had struck was the Night Fury standing over Hiccups defenseless body. Astrid couldn't hear or understand the low whimper that came from the beast, but a second later the dragon tensed up and looked ready to devour the small boy. She couldn't watch, but she couldn't look away either, so she did the only thing she was capable of at the moment: screaming.

"HICCUP NO!"

The dragon snapped its gaze onto her, and her stomach rolled over into a knot at seeing those eyes pierce her soul. She wouldn't let him die, not like this, not to this beast. She huffed through her nose, in and out, ready to meet her fate. She'd die before letting that monster kill Hiccup, and she steeled herself for the painful fate she was about to endure. Her muscles tensed, her eyes fixed on the beast, and she began her first step but almost tripped when he called out.

"Astrid run! Run away now!"

The dragon hadn't paid Hiccup any attention, but a second later and it roared and reeled back again. She couldn't tell if Hiccups knife actually hurt the dragon or not, but his strike got it to back away from him. Astrid looked at the dragon, then at Hiccup, then back to the dragon then back to Hiccup. He was holding his bleeding arm with his right hand and starring at her, fear and sorrow pouring from his eyes into hers. She never thought this would be the last look she ever had of him.

"RUN!"

And she did. Astrid just barely held onto her axe as she turned heel and ran. She didn't dare look back, not wanting to witness the slaughter that was about to take place. She ran despite the blood-chilling roar, and the horrible, painfilled scream that quickly came after it. She ran as tears streamed down her checks, and as the terrible silence of death filled her ringing ears. She ran and she ran until her legs refused to run anymore, and she collapsed as the villagers of Berk gasped and surrounded her. She couldn't think, she couldn't breathe. She could only lie there and cry as more and more people crowded around her. All she could see was black, and two emerald eyes starring deep into her soul.

She woke up this morning intent on finally learning what Hiccup had been up to, and tonight she would fall asleep knowing she had left him to die, and it was all her fault.

Xx-xX