Author's Note: Part two of "Beaten and Bruised!" I hope you guys enjoy it! =D

Summary: Finding out that Hiccup has left to investigate the island that the Dragon Hunters are using for a camp, Astrid and the other Dragon Riders set out to find him before it's too late. (RTTE.)

Beaten and Bruised, Part Two

Astrid walked through Dragon's Edge, ignoring the rain that was constantly dripping on her. She was worried about Hiccup, and she wanted to know if he was okay after what Snotlout had said earlier. Astrid had looked everywhere, but she didn't see any sign of him anywhere. Astrid sighed as she made her way up the stairs from the docks and began to make her way to the clubhouse so she could get dry.

Astrid couldn't believe what Snotlout had said to Hiccup back at the clubhouse; she was very upset with him. Hiccup had been working extremely hard to keep Dragon's Edge concealed from the Dragon Hunters, and even harder to make sure that the other Dragon Riders were safe. Astrid had never seen Hiccup work so hard until they had left Berk and built the Edge. Sometimes, she grew worried for him and when he stayed up all night long working on a new invention or was simply planning their next move when it came to freeing dragons or investigating new islands. Astrid hoped that Hiccup would start getting the rest he needed, but that further proved her point of Hiccup working hard to make sure that the Edge was safe. No Dragon Hunters or any person with ill intent had discovered or attacked Dragon's Edge yet thanks to Hiccup. His quick thinking and bright ideas played a huge role in the Dragon Riders, and Astrid couldn't believe that after everything that he had done, Snotlout had the nerve to make fun of his leadership.

The Hofferson knew that it had been a while since she and the other Riders had some free time and fun, and a part of her did want to be able to relax, but she knew that the Edge's safety was important. The Riders needed to be alert and ready for anything. They couldn't risk slacking off without putting their lives, the dragon's lives, and the entire Edge at risk. They had to be alert and ready. Anything that posed a danger to Dragon's Edge needed to be investigated and dealt with. Like the island that was possibly housing Dragon Hunters. Even though they didn't know the Edge's location and the island was far, Astrid knew that if they stayed there long enough, they would eventually discover Dragon's Edge. And that wouldn't be good.

Sure, she and the other Riders would be able to defend it but what would happen when word got out to other foes? Dragon's Edge could be attacked at any time, but Astrid knew that it would be highly unlikely to wake up to an attack every day. Still, the blonde didn't want the Edge's location to be discovered, and when it did, she would do her very best to be ready for whatever came its way and defend it.

But for now, Astrid wanted Dragon's Edge's location to remain a secret to their enemies for the time being. Astrid entered the clubhouse and relished in the warm fire that was crackling in the center of the room. She spotted Snotlout, who was trying to eat some fish, but Hookfang kept on snatching them out of his grasp. The twins were in another corner, talking about what they were going to do on Loki Day, and Fishlegs was huddled against Meatlug, reading a book as usual. Astrid looked around the room and immediately took notice that Hiccup was absent.

"Have any of you guys seen Hiccup?" asked Astrid as her blue eyes scanned the room for him.

"I haven't seen him," Tuffnut said.

"Neither have I," said Ruffnut.

"I think I saw him going to his hut earlier," said Fishlegs. He looked up from his book. "Maybe he's working on an invention or something."

"And if I'm correct, he's probably lost in his work. Again," Snotlout added from where he was seated. He squawked in protest when Hookfang once again gobbled up the fish he was holding.

Astrid walked back out into the rain and made her way to Hiccup's hut. She really hoped he was there, but Astrid had an inkling on where Hiccup had gone. She didn't give into her suspicion yet, though, as she didn't want to think that Hiccup would do something so impetuous and crazy.

Astrid arrived at Hiccup's hut and opened the door. She quickly stepped inside to shelter from the rain and walked around. She didn't see Toothless or hear the sounds of tinkering from upstairs. There were a few things lying on the floor and a couple of cabinets were left open.

"Hiccup?" called Astrid. "Hiccup, are you in here?"

No response. Astrid was beginning to think that her inkling was correct. Some food had been removed from the cabinets and she noticed that Hiccup's sword wasn't lying anywhere, meaning that he must have packed it to go somewhere. Astrid knew that it wasn't for a trip to Berk, as he would've let everyone know that he was going there, and he would need a little more than a small amount of food and a weapon to make the day long trip.

Astrid frowned as she pieced the clues together. After the clubhouse meeting when Hiccup reassured her that he was alright, he had taken the map and gone to his hut to pack. Once she and the other Riders were too wrapped up in their own activities, Hiccup had flown off on Toothless to investigate the island on his own.

That boar-headed idiot, thought Astrid as she quickly tidied up Hiccup's place and left his hut, heading back to the clubhouse. He's going to get himself hurt by either the Berserkers or by me when we find him.

Astrid walked into the clubhouse and announced, "Hiccup's gone. He isn't his hut. I think he went off to go and investigate that Dragon Hunter infested island himself."

"What?" exclaimed Fishlegs as he stood up. "Why didn't he tell us he was leaving?"

"Yeah, it isn't nice to leave people out," Tuffnut said.

"Yeah!" Ruffnut agreed.

Astrid glared at Snotlout. "Well, maybe it was because someone said that he should go investigate the island himself because he was being a complete idiot and said that we shouldn't check the island out so that he could relax."

"Oh! A guessing game! I love those," said Tuffnut excitedly. He looked around the room. "Hmm, this someone is probably a real jerk. I'm guessing it's Ruffnut."

Ruffnut bonked her brother on the head with her fist. "Astrid said that someone is a he you idiot!"

"Ohhhh," said Tuffnut. "Then it's Fishlegs."

Fishlegs was offended. "Hey!"

"Oh, for the love of Thor, I'm talking about Snotlout!" Astrid said. She pointed at the Jorgeson. "If it wasn't for you, Hiccup wouldn't have gone out by himself. He's probably stuck on that island in the middle of a storm with no shelter and no one to help him."

Snotlout crossed his arms. "This isn't my fault. It's Hiccup's! He chose to go out alone. He made that decision all by himself."

"But he wouldn't have had to make that decision if you didn't propose it," snapped Astrid. "Do you have any idea how hard Hiccup has been working to make sure the Edge is concealed? You probably don't even know what hard work is, Snotlout! What you said earlier was really hurtful, and I can't believe you actually proposed that we stay here and do nothing about the Dragon Hunters on that island."

Snotlout was about to say something, but Astrid continued. "You were a real muttonhead for saying what you said, and you're going to apologize once we go and save Hiccup." Astrid turned to everyone else in the room. "Everyone, start packing. We're going to go to that island to get Hiccup."

No one argued. Fishlegs and the twins headed back to their huts to bring what they would need for the trip. Snotlout tarried for a short amount of time but then left with the others. Astrid headed to the back room to see if there was an extra map with the island that they were looking for. Unfortunately, she didn't find one, and there was no time to see if Johann had another one. Astrid and the other Dragon Riders had flown past the island several times before, but the directions to it were fuzzy in her mind.

Astrid decided that since Fishlegs had been the one to personally study the map, that he might remember the way to go. Satisfied with that thought, Astrid left the clubhouse to head to her own hut to start packing what she needed for the trip to the island.

…

Once everything was packed, Astrid had told the others the plan that she had come up with. Astrid knew that the Dragon Hunters had probably already discovered Hiccup since it had been a long time since he had left and he still had not returned. Patrolling an island didn't take very long, and Hiccup had been gone for an awfully long time. Too long for Astrid's liking.

Astrid guessed that Hiccup was most likely being held prisoner by the Dragon Hunters and was being questioned by them about where Dragon's Edge was. Astrid knew that Hiccup would never tell his enemies where the Edge was located, even if his life were on the line, which was something that Astrid admired but didn't like at the same time. She hoped that Hiccup wasn't anywhere near being hurt by the Dragon Hunters for not giving them the information that they wanted, so she shook those thoughts out of her head and continued telling the others the plan.

"Once we fly in, stay low," said Astrid. "It's raining, which will probably make it harder to stay hidden, but we need to be as stealthy as we can so we don't attract any attention."

The Dragon Hunters never waited. If they spotted the other Dragon Riders, they'd attack them without hesitation. All of the Riders knew this from experience.

"Someone will have to cause a distraction so we can lead the Dragon Hunters that are guarding Hiccup away from him. Then, we can go in and free him before they even see us. After we rescue Hiccup, we'll figure out what to do with the rest of Hunters."

Tuffnut raised his hand. "But what if they do?"

"We attack," Astrid said nonchalantly. "If they want a fight, we'll give them one. But hopefully, we'll be able to save Hiccup without being spotted or noticed. We don't want to risk revealing the location of Dragon's Edge."

"So, we fly in, sneak around until we find Hiccup, cause a distraction, save Hiccup, and then fly back to the Edge and discuss what to do with the Dragon Hunters then?" summed up Snotlout.

Astrid nodded. She looked out the stable doors as a rumble of thunder shook the building. Her eyes narrowed.

"Let's go," she said. "We want to get Hiccup out of the Dragon Hunters' clutches before this storm gets any worse." Astrid turned to Fishlegs. "Lead the way, Fishlegs."

The Ingerman nodded and soon, the Dragon Riders took off into the rain. Astrid shielded her face from the raindrops by using her arm, but she was more worried about Hiccup to care about the rainstorm

And Astrid hoped that it wasn't too late to save him.