Hey there! Here's another chapter for you guys. I hope you guys like it.

~Enjoy!~

Kristoff entered the stable and one by one, said goodbye to all the animals until he reached Sven. The reindeer was excited to see him but went somber recognizing the situation.

"You're leaving again," Kristoff voiced Sven.

"Yes, I am. I have a job to do besides look after you. I'll be back in a week. And I brought carrots as a gift like always." Sven's head drooped even further. "Come on bud. Don't do this again. It makes it super hard to leave. And it makes me feel bad."

"Good," Kristoff spoke as Sven again. "Then maybe you won't leave me."

"Where are you going?" a voice chimed in.

Kristoff looked around and didn't see anyone but he knew he heard the voice. He walked down the stable and in the stall with Angus, he found the source of the voice sitting in the corner tapping a sketch pad but nothing on it. "Rapunzel?"

"Hey, Kristoff," she smiled weakly.

Kristoff arched an eyebrow noticing the lack of energy in her voice and body movements. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah. Just had a rough night. Seems like a lot of us did. Jack and Hiccup got attacked by Pitch Black last night and I…" she trailed off and looked away. She let go of her pencil and pad and began to pull on a section of her hair in circular motions.

"Yeah?" Kristoff tried to get her to talk to him. Her actions reminded him of someone but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"I-I was just wondering where you were going?"

Kristoff gave her a disapproving look but she didn't see if because her back was turned to him. "I'm going on a delivery. It usually takes a couple of days to get there and back and Sven is being a big baby about it like always." Sven snorted in objection at Kristoff's statement. "You know it's true!"

Rapunzel chuckled at their antics slowly turning back around but keeping her head low. "You two are close aren't you?"

"Well, we've grown up together so I guess you could say where brothers."

"Siblings…" Rapunzel mumbled. "Must be nice. Sometimes I wished I knew what that felt like."

Seeing her saddened state, Kristoff knelt down which cause Rapunzel to look at him. Her eyes made his heart skip a beat as if he recognized them. He smiled at her, shaking the feeling away. "Could you do something for me while I'm gone?"

"Sure."

"Could you look after the animals for me, especially Sven? He's very needy."

Rapunzel beamed at the idea and nodded. "I would love to!"

Smiling at her excitement, Kristoff now knew that smile was familiar. Not on Rapunzel but on someone else.

Astrid ran up and down the school halls frantically. She had heard what had happened the other night with Jack and Hiccup and she needed to make sure that he was ok. She didn't find him in the cafeteria or the library or the shop he liked to create things in. She was getting frustrated. If he's in his room I will barge in there unannounced and tackle him. I'm not going to hide from him anymore.

As she continued to look and more rooms she found empty, the angrier and more frustrated she got. She finally came to the conclusion that he was probably in his room and headed in that direction. Halfway across the courtyard, she stopped in her tracks and mentally cursed to herself. Of course he'd be outside. Astrid, you idiot. You're getting rusty.

She turned to see Hiccup drawing in his notebook while leaning against a sleeping Toothless. She smiled to herself looking at the scene, seeing how peaceful it is. It made it hard for her to believe that just a few hours ago they were in a battle. Lucky them.

Astrid took a deep breath as she walked towards them and sat down right next to Hiccup. Toothless didn't budge but Hiccup jumped at her suddenly sitting next to him. He looked nervously at her then away several times before speaking. "Um…H-Hi, Astrid."

"Hey. How are you?"

Hiccup looked at her even more confused but answering anyways. "Fine. Why are you asking?"

"Because of your confrontation last night."

Hiccup looked away and bowed his head as he twirled his pencil in his hand. "You know about that?"

"I think everyone does," Astrid said. She noticed him avoiding eye contact with her. "What happened? What did Pitch do to you?"

"Wh-what?" Hiccup looked at her, his confusion overshadowing all other emotion on his face. "Why are concerned? You've never asked me how I've been. Why now?"

Astrid was taken aback by his questions but they weren't uncalled for. She looked away to try and think of an explanation. "You've never been attacked by a known evil mutant before. Snotlout is annoying and can be a bit rough but he's not evil like Pitch is and from what I've heard, Jack is in bad shape. Just because I've never voiced my concern doesn't mean I don't feel anything. I'm not heartless."

She felt a hand on her shoulder and she looked up to see him smiling at her. "I didn't mean to sound rude. I was just confused. But trust me, I'm fine."

Astrid looked at the hand, hoping that it wouldn't leave but Hiccup quickly retracted his hand and smiled sheepishly. She watched as he went back to his journal and tried to draw. "So what did Pitch do? Did he hurt you?"

Hiccup froze at the question, his eyes darting as if looking for an answer. Behind her, she felt Toothless shift and saw that he had an eye open and looked between Hiccup and herself worriedly. Astrid felt as if someone punched her in the gut just witnessing the expressions on their faces. What happened? Please tell me Hiccup!

"He didn't physically hurt me," Hiccup spoke softly. "But…he did voice my fears which may be worse than anything."

Astrid didn't know what to say. She didn't expect that answer from him. Fears? What does he fear? What is causing him so much grief? Come on Hiccup, tell me. "What did he say?"

Hiccup shrugged. "It doesn't matter."

Astrid felt her blood boil at that response. I hate it when he does that! "It does matter, Hiccup. It's obviously causing you distress so tell me what he said so I have a reason to put my axe in his head."

Hiccup and Toothless looked at Astrid in shock at her passionate statement. Toothless smiled a bit while Hiccup just stared at her, looking in her eyes as if trying to make a decision. Astrid held the stare, hoping that he could see the anger, the hope, and the urge for him to tell her.

Hiccup sighed. "He voiced the fears about my past." Astrid's eyes went wide as Hiccup began to talk quickly, just spilling everything. "He said I'm afraid of my past, afraid of learning the truth, afraid of everything. And…he's right. I'm afraid of finding out what happened, who I was, what my life was like. I'm afraid that I might find out my parents abandoned me, that I didn't have friends, that I was useless. But what I'm most afraid of is finding out that I was loved, I was cared for, that I had friends and that something happened to them that made me forget. I mean, look what happened to me!" Hiccup pulled up his left pant leg to show his prosthetic. "What happened to me where I lost my leg? Did whatever take my limb from me take my family? Sometimes, I feel like I should just stop trying to remember because I don't want that pain of being alone. Of being the only one left in my family. I'm just…afraid." Hiccup pulled his legs in and hugged them as he placed his head on his knees. "It's stupid, I know."

Astrid's mouth hung open at the sudden waterfall of information. Her chest hurt, her throat went sore trying to stop the tears from forming in her eyes. She wanted to hug him to tell him that he wasn't alone. I should tell him but telling him could do more damage. Ugh! Why does the mind have to be so complicated? "It-It's not stupid," Astrid spoke softly.

Hiccup lifted his head up to look at her. "Really? I thought you would have laughed at me or something. You always act like expressing one's emotions is a bad thing."

Astrid cringed internally at his accusation. Well, he's not wrong. You have shut your feelings away for years. Why would he think anything different?

"But you do have a good listening ear."

"What?" Astrid asked, forced from her thoughts.

"Never in a million years would I have thought of telling the Astrid Hofferson my fears before I told North, but for some reason I'm comfortable around you." Hiccup's smiled changed to confusion. "Almost as if I've done this before. Weird, right?"

"Yeah, weird," Astrid smiled back. She was taken aback by Toothless' tail whacking her on the side of her head. She turned to look at the dragon who seemed to be giving her a cocked eyebrow and an accusing look.

"Toothless likes you," Hiccup chuckled. "He's only playful like that with people he likes." Hiccup frowned a bit as if realizing something. "He didn't move or growl when you sat by me. He usually does that to people who approach me. Heck, he did it to Rapunzel. Why didn't he do it for you?"

Astrid stammered trying to come up with an answer but Toothless seemed to explain as Hiccup's attention was on his dragon friend. "Oh. Ok. That's good enough for me."

"What are you drawing?" Astrid asked hoping to change the conversation.

"Oh, um, I don't know." Hiccup grabbed him journal and opened it up to the most recent page. "I was just trying to design something to get my mind off of last night."

"What's on the previous pages?"

"Nothing much." Hiccup began to flip through the pages showing her his drawings. "Just designs, some scenery, buildings, and – oh, um…" Hiccup tried flipping through some pages before Astrid could see them but he wasn't quick enough.

"And some of me?" Astrid asked.

Hiccup went bright red as he turned away from her and avoided eye contact. "I was practicing drawing people and I figured-"

"These are good," Astrid interrupted. She was laughing on the inside knowing that he would have continued to babble to try and explain why there was so many drawings of her. "I had a feeling I was being watched. You have a knack for catching the personality of a person." She looked at the different poses he had drawn. She was sitting in class, training, running, laughing, and hanging out with her friends. "You draw other people as well?"

"Yeah," Hiccup began to flip through the pages to show Rapunzel, Jack, Merida, North, and a lot of Toothless.

As he flipped through the pages, one caught her eye. "Wait! What's that?"

Hiccup looked at the page. On the left there were silhouettes of two people, one obviously a man the other a woman while the background was shaded black. On the right, there was a detailed drawing of forest with a small body of water and surrounded by cliffs. "I don't know. I'd like to think that the people are my parents but I don't like how I've shaded the background. It's too…dark. But the forest. It's just something I made up. It makes me smile every time I look at it and I feel…happy."

Astrid smiled as she starred at the drawing. "It is a beautiful place…"

Jack heard what sounded like the wings of a hummingbird and the mumbling of a woman fill his ears. It was deafening in a way but it also calmed him. He slowly opened his eyes to see that he was lying in the brightly lit hospital room of the school. He moved his sore body as he tried to see his surroundings, making him grunt at the attempt.

"Look who's awake!" Tooth fluttered closer to Jack's face and began to move his head around to get a better look at him.

"Do ya mind, Tooth?" Merida gently swatted her hand from his face. "Ya could be makin' him dizzy."

"Sorry," Tooth sheepishly backed away. "I'm just glad you're awake. I'll go let North and Elinor." She darted out of the room leaving a small breeze in her wake.

Jack looked over at Merida. Before her wild hair fell back into place from the breeze, he could see a scowl on her face. "Um… are you ok?"

Merida shoved her face into his and starred him right in the eye. "If I knew it wouldn't hurt you, I'd punch you right now."

"What?" Jack asked confused.

"Were ye out of yer bloody mind?" Merida snapped. "Going out there by yerself when ya know The Reapers are trying to get ya!"

Jack jumped at her sudden rage and did what he could to scoot away from her. "I'm sorry but I thought I heard my sister calling and I couldn't ignore her cries. I didn't know it was a trap." Jack's eye lowered along with his voice as he picked at the sheet over him. Around him, the air began to get cold and a layer of frost began to cover the blanket until he realized what he was doing and stopped.

Merida's expression softened and sat down in the chair next to his bed. She rang her hands in her lap as she hung her head. "I didn't mean to get so angry. It's not yer fault. They used yer heart against you, those ingrates. When Gobber came to me mum's room and said that ye were hurt, I was scared."

Jack turned his head to look over at Merida who was trying to hide her face behind her hair and smiled. "You were scared?"

"Well, yeah. You're me friend."

"Thanks," Jack said.

"Fer what?" Merida asked confused.

"For worrying. I admit, I worry about others so often that I forget to worry about myself sometimes."

Merida rolled her eyes and grinned at him. "Dummy."

"How's Hiccup? Did he get back alright?"

"Of course he did. How else did you think you got here? Hiccup went back fer ya before ye crashed to the ground. Do ye even remember what happened?"

"I'm curious as well," North said from the entryway.

Jack and Merida looked over and watched North, Gobber, Tooth, and Elinor enter the room and walk over to the bed. "How are ye feelin'?" Elinor asked.

"Sore but otherwise good."

"What happened out there?" North asked.

"He thought he heard his sister callin' but it was a trap."

"I know that, Merida," North nodded. "I meant what happened that made you go unconscious?"

"I don't remember much," Jack rubbed his head. "All I remember is that I was trying to give Hiccup and Toothless time to escape but once I was surrounded by the Nightmares, the only thought that crossed my mind was that if they got me, I wouldn't be any help to Emma. I just remember feeling a surge of energy and then blackness." Jack looked at North and the others. "What does that mean?"

North stroked his beard in thought. "I don't know but maybe with a bit of training we can figure out what it means. It had to be something powerful enough to destroy an entire herd of Nightmares. That has never been seen before."

"We'll figure this out later," Elinor said. "We might have a lead on where to look for your sister."

"Really?" Jack and Merida asked together excitedly.

"Yes, however, we still have to see if the lead is valid before we can really narrow the search," North added. "Quick question, Jack. Where you were attacked, do have any idea where you were?"

"I was never really good at geography but something is telling somewhere north. I mean, the temperature was a lot cooler than here and there were heavy forests and in the distant it looked like the land was becoming scare of vegetation."

North and Gobber looked at each other before looking back at Jack. "That's a lot of detail for someone who didn't know where they were," Gobber said.

"Maybe it's his new abilities," Merida suggested. "Bein' that he flies and all, he could have an inner compass like a pigeon or somethin'."

"It could be," Elinor nodded. "Somethin' we'll have to look into. In the meantime, Jack, ye get some rest. Come on, dear." Elinor motioned to Merida as she headed out of the door.

Merida stood up and smiled at Jack. "Ye get better so we can find yer sister. I expect to see her when we get her back."

"It's a promise," Jack smiled.

Merida nodded as she patted Jack's hand then walked out of the room, leaving Jack to his thoughts.

Pitch stayed in the shadows as Dagur threw his little tantrum. The news about the failed capture of Jack didn't go over well and now the room was littered with broken furniture, knives jabbed in random areas, and papers thrown across the floor. Dagur himself was beat red with anger as he continued to destroy the room.

Once there were no more things for him to destroy or throw, Pitch walked out from the shadows and began to approach Dagur. "There was no need for that outburst."

"There was every need!" Dagur snapped. "It's like everything is falling apart! We fail with the initial capture, the Hamada boy rejects us, the cave collapses, and now the second attempt on that ice boy has failed! Tell me again why I shouldn't be pissed?"

"Because we learned quite a lot about him," Pitch replied calmly.

Dagur cocked an eyebrow. "Really? What?"

"For starters," Pitch materialized right next to him. "Using his sister as bait works. He didn't even think twice before heading off into the forest alone. If it wasn't for his friend, I would have caught him. Another thing I learned is that he values his friends' lives above his own. He went head first into my herd of Nightmares so that his friend could get away. And last but not least, he showed us how powerful he really is. He has an ability to shoot ice lightning but doing so knocks him out. So you see, Dagur, it wasn't a total failure. The more we interact with him, the more we learn about him."

"True," Dagur nodded. "However, it goes both ways. Now they know more about us!" Dagur swung at Pitch but he dodged and ended up on the other side of the room.

"Perhaps you should tell him the news about the boy's powers," Pitch suggested. "I think he would be interested in knowing that piece of information."

"You stick to getting the Nightmares," Dagur growled. "I'll stick to conversing with him. I just hope Bill is more successful. I could use some good news."

Stoick stood by the cargo going over the information on the clipboard. He still didn't like that his cargo was being sent to the middle of nowhere or the idea of sending this teen to deliver the cargo. He couldn't believe he didn't notice this before and wondered if he was just getting to old to manage a business.

"Hello, Mr. Haddock," a voice rang through the warehouse.

Stoick looked up to see a blond teen carrying a brown backpack and a ski hat on his head. "Mr. Bjorgman?"

"Yes, sir," the teen nodded. "I prefer to be called Kristoff though."

Stoick nodded. "Alright, Kristoff. How long have you been doing this run?"

Kristoff looked at him a bit confused. "For over two years, sir. You hired me because I needed a job and because I was the only one willing to go into frigid temperatures."

"I see," Stoick ran his thumb and finger over his mustache then down his beard.

"Is something wrong sir?"

"What does the drop off look like in Greenland?"

Kristoff shrugged. "Not much to describe. It's just a vast area of nothing. I don't know how anyone gets out there to pick up the shipment because there are no houses, no roads, no boats, nothing but every time I go back, the cargo is gone."

"Interesting. It's completely void of life?"

"Yeah."

"Are you comfortable making this run?" Stoick asked.

"Yep," Kristoff nodded. "I actually enjoy it. Why do you ask?"

"Because I want to ask you something."

"Sure, Mr. Haddock. What is it?"

"I want you stay a day or two longer and see if anyone shows up. Hide your boat from any line of sight; water, land, air. I also want you to take pictures of the area for me. Are you comfortable doing that? I don't want you to put yourself in any danger."

"No problem, Mr. Haddock," Kristoff said. "If I feel like I'm in danger, I'll get out of there ASAP. Do you mind asking why you want this information?"

"It's just a bit suspicious, that's all."

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