A/N: Thank you so much for your patience! :)

Chapter 25: Zephyr

"Alright bud" Hiccup called as he and Toothless hovered above a small group of dragons on the mountainside below. "Let's give this another shot"

"Ascend!" Hiccup called and Toothless warbled in confirmation, and almost like magic, four or five dragons from the group took off and rose into the sky.

"Yess!" Hiccup whooped, pumping a fist into the air. It wasn't a total success though, as a couple of the dragons went too far left and broke the formation, while the rest of the group below just tilted their heads in confusion.

Still, it was progress, and that was good.

It had been a chance occurrence, but Hiccup was no stranger to unexpected discoveries. Very little was known about Night furies, even his mom only knew so much, but Hiccup had recently had a realisation that night he'd been caught out in the storm, that had changed everything.

The Night fury was an alpha species.

That fateful morning nearly a year ago, when Hiccup and Astrid had escaped from a Berk that didn't understand them, Toothless had blown a hole in the arena, had freed those captive dragons.

Unbeknownst to Hiccup, the queen's control on those dragons had weakened during all that time in captivity, and in that one moment, they'd imprinted on Toothless as their leader instead.

And due to that, they'd managed to free themselves from the queen's enslavement once and for all, and had eventually followed Toothless all the way here.

And now, even after all these months, they still looked to Toothless as their leader. A noble protector, opposed to the tyrant queen.

We've found a way to beat her, Hiccup had explained that stormy night to his wife.

The plan was simple in theory, but that didn't make it any less daunting.

Have Toothless lead an army of dragons into battle, dethrone the tyrant queen and free the wild dragons of the Archipelago from her sinister grip.

Many of the resident dragons here at the sanctuary were accustomed to a peaceful lifestyle, and wouldn't listen to toothless over the great Bewilderbeast. There were many wild dragons however, who came and went as they pleased, using the island as a rest stop on their travels, or perhaps as a home base.

These were the dragons Hiccup was trying to recruit. Even if they could manage to make these dragons follow Toothless, Hiccup's chances were still slim unless he could find a way to turn the Queen's own dragons against her.

He hadn't been sure about that idea at first, but Astrid had assured him it could work. Given that those dragons worked for the queen only because of their fear, their loyalty to the queen would be pretty much non-existent, and they'd jump at the opportunity of freedom, presented by the Night fury.

Hiccup had barely escaped with his life on his last trip to the nest, and if this plan was gonna work, he'd need to perfect Toothless' ability to communicate with the dragons. Not control them per say, but rather command them.

There was definitely something inside Toothless, some sort of sixth sense that the other dragons could feel. The problem was that Hiccup couldn't, and Toothless was still getting the hang of this newly discovered ability. And that meant practice, and lots of it. It almost reminded him of those early days on Berk when he first learnt how to fly.

"Alright, now land on that slope!" Hiccup called, patting Toothless.

Toothless swooped in for a landing while simultaneously telling the other dragons to do the same, but apparently it took too much of his concentration away, as he skidded to an ungraceful landing on the grass, his rider tumbling out of the saddle and landing face first on a bush.

Hiccup groaned silently when he heard the familiar feminine giggle off to his right. He'd have rather preferred his spectacular landing to have gone unseen.

"That's an awfully strange way to smell some roses" Astrid commented.

"Stop teasing and give me a hand, will ya?" Hiccup grumbled, trying to avoid the prickles as he extracted himself from the bush.

"Sorry husband dear, but my hands are kinda full here" Astrid replied blithely.

It was as if Hiccup's mood elevated to the clouds in an instant, and he fumbled to stand up, walking over to his wife, who was gently rocking a bundle of cloth in her arms.

"I finally got her to fall asleep after an hour of trying, so you better not wake her up" Astrid warned as she carefully handed a sleeping Zephyr over to Hiccup, but failed to keep the smile off her face.

She'd probably never get over seeing Hiccup around their daughter, how caring and loving and starry eyed he got. From the first moment he'd laid eyes on her mere weeks ago, up until today, he'd retained his infectious excitement and child-like wonder in his eyes.

Hiccup marveled at the sleeping baby like he was seeing her for the first time, and Astrid tried her hardest to commit this angelic sight to her memory. Her husband, her Hiccup, the love of her life, holding his daughter, her daughter, their daughter.

Zephyr had Astrid's fair skin and blue eyes, but her tiny tuft of auburn hair was undeniably Hiccup's. Her hand was just about big enough to wrap around Hiccup's index finger, and Astrid still found it hard to believe they had made her together.

Much like Hiccup, his daughter had decided after just 8 months that she'd had enough of being cooped up in there, and thanks to Valka's past experience as a midwife, the birth itself had gone smoothly.

Hiccup's endless pacing and chewing of fingernails had been interrupted by the sweetest sound of a crying baby, and despite the exhaustion, Astrid had cried tears of joy. Despite the early arrival, the baby was healthy and that was all that mattered.

After gushing over the baby for many minutes, Hiccup had proceeded to shower his wife in hugs and kisses, praising her for having endured a pain that even brave old Hiccup would have cowered from.

Astrid had fallen asleep that night with her daughter held to her chest, and her husband beside her in this perfect little cocoon of warmth and love.

The next day, Astrid had decided on the name Zephyr, and Hiccup had been far too busy riding the high from yesterday to even think about objecting. He loved the name in fact, and commented that it was definitely better than 'Hiccup'.

They'd introduced her to the dragons too, with Stormfly being the baby's self appointed escort, protectively curling her wing around Astrid and squawking at any curious dragon who tried to get too close.

When it had been Toothless' turn to peek at the new arrival, he'd sniffed the bundle suspiciously, and had squeaked in surprise, and that was the day Hiccup received the honor of changing his first diaper.

After he'd managed to get that sorted with some helpful pointers from Valka and lot of snickering from Astrid, he'd sat down beside Zephyr's cradle with his sketchbook, and had drawn a lifelike sketch of her with remarkable ease.

Astrid knew even without asking who he was making it for. Astrid's parents had an excitement for the arrival of the baby that was rivalled only by Hiccup, and along with the good news, Hiccup was gonna send a sketch of her too.

He drew Astrid too while he was at it, it had been nearly a year since they'd left Berk after all, and even though he still felt she looked the same, as beautiful as ever, her parents could probably notice the subtle growth in her. She'd grown her hair out longer, and spending all these months in peace with her husband and dragons for company had etched a permanent smile onto her face.

They both knew that it would be downright selfish to forget that there was still a village at war they needed to save, that their true purpose of coming here hadn't been fulfilled yet, and that dream of seeing a Berk at peace is what kept them going, kept them moving forward, day after day.

A few weeks later, Astrid went to the small terror's nest to retrieve the weekly letter from her parents, and she opened it eagerly as she always did. Her smile faded as she read on however, and she hurried off to find Hiccup, a worried expression on her face.

He wasn't in their little cave-room, kitchen, nor his little workshop, so she headed out and peered into the blue sky.

Despite the letter in her hand, the sight she saw still struck her with awe, even if it wasn't her first time seeing it.

A formation of a couple dozen or so dragons, gliding across the sky in a near perfect arrow shape, with a distinct black dragon at its tip.

Toothless had somehow managed to make the technique click for him a few days ago, and seemingly overnight, his skill of this unseen sixth sense had improved greatly.

Astrid watched on as the arrow shape followed the tip smoothly, almost as if the whole flock was a single being. Even if this was a positive development, that still didn't change the fact that they'd run out of time to prepare any longer. It had to go down, for better or for worse, and soon.

Stormfly came up beside her, sensing her rider's worry as usual. Zephyr was asleep inside, and Valka was watching over her. Zephyr typically slept all day, preferring to wake up only after dark, crying and waking up her parents, demanding to be held or fed.

Astrid and Hiccup usually took turns attending to her, so that at least one of them managed to get some sleep.

"Stormfly, call Hiccup" Astrid asked.

Stormfly raised her head and let out a long high-pitched squawk, which didn't get missed by Toothless' enhanced hearing, even from a good mile away.

Hiccup was on the ground within the minute, hopping off quickly, his eyes darting over Astrid to confirm everything was okay.

"Astrid! Are you-"

"I'm okay I'm okay, but there's something you gotta see" Astrid replied, handing him the letter.

Hiccup let out a quiet sigh of relief before taking the paper from her, his eyes absorbing the contents, with a slight frown.

"I'd have liked at least one more week for Toothless to get the technique down…" Hiccup said to himself absently, before looking up and forcing a smile onto his face.

"Don't worry sweetheart, we knew this day was coming sooner or later. And we prepared for this. Everything will be okay"

Astrid nodded weakly. "I know"

Hiccup shook his head. "C'mere", He said, wrapping her in an embrace and holding her tight until the worry and fear evaporated, slowly and surely, but completely, and blew away with the cool evening breeze.

Astrid's father had been giving them regular updates about the destinations where Stoick's fleet was planning its expeditions.

Hiccup hadn't even mentioned the actual location of the nest in the letters, just in case they got intercepted somewhere on Berk. He had also elected to leave his mother out of the letters, but had assured them that both he and Astrid were in a safe place.

Each time the target destination planned by Stoick was far enough away from the correct location that Hiccup could breathe easy.

But in today's letter, all that changed. The destination was north of Helheim's gate, in an area not explored by the fleet before, primarily due to the perilous weather there. The Chief must surely be getting desperate to attempt a voyage there, and as luck would have it, he'd be heading right into the queen's lair this time.

"We have to get there before he does" Hiccup said firmly. "He has no idea what he's up against, and is too stubborn to even stop to consider his actions"

"When are they planning to leave?" Asked Astrid.

"Your dad says here that there started preparing the ships, but with the extra weapons and supplies for rough weather, it might be a couple of days, maybe three if we're lucky"

Astrid gave him a hopeful smile. "Let's hope we're lucky then"

Hiccup's heart skipped a beat, seeing this girl, the love of his life, the mother of his child, ready to fly into battle with him, trusting him with her life completely. He already knew it was useless to try to talk her out of it, and the truth is, he didn't really want to.

He wanted to keep her safe and sound with every fiber of his being, but he trusted her enough to give her the dignity of making her own decision as well. She had stayed by his side all this time with unflinching devotion, and he wondered for the hundredth time what he ever did to deserve someone like her.

"Are you gonna keep staring at me all day or are you gonna say something?" Astrid teased knowingly. It wasn't the first time she'd seen this happen to her Hiccup after all.

"I love you Astrid" was all he replied, embracing and kissing her, feeling her wrap her arms around his neck and kiss him back with a blissful sigh.

Astrid finally pulled away after a while and rested her forehead against his. "How I wish we could do this all day, but we have a job to do"

Hiccup chuckled and nodded. "Aye, we do. I'll get the dragons ready, you go pack supplies… I guess it's really time. We're going home"

Saying goodbye to Zephyr was the hardest thing Astrid had ever done.

Valka was glad to watch over her until her parents came back, possibly to take her back to Berk if they managed to succeed in what they were endeavoring to do. Until they did, she'd be safe here, and it definitely wasn't a good idea to bring her on this mission.

Astrid had never been away from her for more than a few hours, and she hugged her close and kissed her head lovingly as it came time to hand her over. "Don't give grandma too much trouble, my Zeph. Mom will be back so soon you won't even know it" she said, willing herself not to get teary eyed, and failing.

Zephyr cooed softly, and the sound nearly melted Astrid's heart. She reluctantly handed her over to Hiccup who kissed her forehead as well, before bestowing her in his mother's arms.

"Be careful you two" Valka said gently. "Look after one another"

"We will" the young couple replied in unison, and Hiccup looked at the resting Bewilderbeast one more time before climbing atop Toothless.

The giant dragon didn't wish to interfere in Berk's conflict with the queen, and Hiccup chose to respect that. The dragons here lived in peace and deserved to stay away from war. It was up to him, and he was gonna end it. It seemed impossible, but he knew he could. Because if he could befriend a dragon, If he could get Astrid Hofferson to love him, then he was sure he could do anything.

Ruffnut frowned as she carried ammo for the catapults down to the docks for the third time this morning, for the Chief was having every pair of legs he could find helping with loading up supplies on the ships.

This breakneck pace of one failed expedition after another had the whole village strung taut, but not one person on the island had the courage to voice their concerns to Stoick the Vast.

Ever since the whole 'incident' last year, where his son had apparently sided with the dragons and had proceeded to fly away on a freaking Night fury, with Astrid in tow, the Chief had been primarily exhibiting one emotion on most days: Wrath.

He wasn't gonna rest until the nest was found, or all Vikings drowned at sea in the process. At this point, Ruffnut could see things going either way.

The worst part was, Ruffnut had to endure all this without her best friend, as she'd chosen to follow her husband to wherever it was he'd gone to. Ruff held no grudges towards her for that, as she would have done the same for Fishlegs in a heartbeat. But the end consequence had been that she'd been left here on Berk with no clue to her well being or whereabouts.

Or at least, almost no clue. She had noticed a strange improvement in Astrid's parents just a couple of months back, albeit a discreet one. It was clear they knew something, and Ruffnut, being perceptive, had sensed it instantly.

That was the thing that'd given her a ray of hope. Hiccup and Astrid were alive and well, she was sure of it.

She was finally done with her part of the work, and after the ships faded away into the distance, she sighed in relief. The ice was setting in, and this was surely the last attempt before winter. The village would at least get a few months of respite from this drudgery.

Turning around, her eye caught on the arena building, still lying unused, ever since Hiccup and Astrid had set each one of the dragons free. No one had even bothered to fix the gaping hole in the chain roof, since no one was training there anymore.

Wait… was that…?

She blinked as if trying to confirm if she was seeing things, because in the sky just over the arena, near the horizon, approaching closer, was a shape… no, two shapes, no… even more… was this a raid?

These dragons appeared to be flying in a pack almost… and at the head was… Oh Odin.

The flock disappeared behind the mountain, heading for the forest, and she nervously checked around her to confirm no one else had noticed anything.

Trying to walk as fast as she could without breaking into a run, she sped through the square before sprinting all out into the woods, only having a vague idea of the direction she was heading in but still running full speed and-

Squawk!

That sound stirred a weird sense of nostalgia in her, because it was definitely the Nadder they'd trained with in the Arena, over a year ago, in much simpler times, where Astrid was top of the class, Hiccup was still a wimp, and the world actually made sense.

She burst into a clearing, and froze at the number of dragons in front of her, all looking at her warily. She didn't feel a smidge of fear though, because her focus was solely on a particular blue Nadder, atop which was a girl, a girl who stared wide eyed at her before jumping down, running over and crushing her in a tight hug.

"Ruffnut! I missed you so much!" Astrid breathed before backing up and grinning at her.

"Astrid…" Ruffnut muttered in disbelief. "You're back!" She announced as her shock wore off, and this time, she was the one who tackled Astrid in a hug. "I'm so gonna kill you later. It's been what- a year?!"

"I know I know" Astrid said guiltily. "There is so much I want to tell you Ruff, but we-"

She was interrupted by the woosh of a night fury landing in the clearing. It's rider- Hiccup- hopped off and- damn, thought Ruffnut.

Hiccup looked taller, older, and more confident than she'd ever seen him in her life. "I made a round of the island and I don't think we were spotted…" he trailed off as he laid eyes on Ruffnut. "I stand corrected"

To his surprise, he also received a hug from the blonde twin, albeit a much shorter one.

"There'll be plenty of time to catch up later, but we've got to hurry now. I'll run down to the forge, be back in a bit" Hiccup said, and squeezed Astrid's hand before disappearing down the path.

Ruffnut stared at her friend open mouthed, gesturing to the mini dragon army surrounding them. "What is going on?"

Astrid smiled awkwardly, unsure how to explain. "Well, let me start from the beginning…"

Hiccup burst into the forge through the back door, pushing down the instant wave of nostalgia. This was the place he'd grown up working in, the place where he'd hatched all his infamous schemes.

The place where he'd met Astrid that night before their wedding.

Shaking his head, he got to work opening drawers and cupboards, looking for something in particular. There will be time for reminiscing later.

If I was Gobber, where would I keep it…

"Ahh! Who's there?!" He heard behind him.

Whipping around, he was face to face with- Fishlegs?

The large boy was staring at him as if he was seeing a ghost.

"Fishlegs!" Hiccup exclaimed. "What're you doing here?"

"I-I started helping Gobber occasionally ever since you disappeared- wait, what are you doing here?"

Hiccup sighed. "I promise I'll explain everything, but right now I need to find something important- inferno- uh- I mean, my sword"

"Your sword?"

"My flaming sword"

"Your flaming sword"

Fishlegs was clearly too in shock to be of much help right now, but Hiccup knew his dragon-knowledge was crucial for their plan to work.

"Fishlegs, can you please go and find Tuffnut and Snotlout, and go to raven's point as fast as possible? Astrid's already there with your wife, they'll explain everything to you"

"Hiccup, what are you…" Fishlegs had a guarded look in his eyes, almost as if he didn't know if this Hiccup was the same one he'd known all this life.

"I know I disappeared without explaining anything, and I am truly sorry for that" Hiccup said honestly. "But a lot of people are gonna die very soon unless we do this, and I need your help. I need my friends"

Fishlegs was silent for a long moment before setting his jaw, and nodding. "Gobber missed you more than anyone here you know" he said, stopping at the door. "If it's yours, it's probably in your workshop, he's kept it untouched ever since"

Fishlegs left, and Hiccup walked into his workshop where it looked exactly the way it had been the day he'd abruptly left. The only thing that was different was the light coat of dust on everything, and the metal cylinder resting neatly on the center of the table.

"Thank you Gobber" Hiccup said quietly, before getting to work opening the thing to make sure it was in working order, and replacing the cartridges with new ones.

It was a good while later when he was finally done, and he ran back to the forest clearing where the rest of the teens were already gathered.

Tuffnut, Snotlout, and Fishlegs sported equally gobsmacked looks, and Hiccup surmised Astrid had already explained the plan to them. Ruffnut was the only one not gawking at all the dragons, but was going bonkers over something else entirely.

"You had a BABY?!" She squealed, jumping up and down in excitement while trying to coax more details from a blushing Astrid.

Hiccup winced at the high pitched sound, smiling at the girl's reaction. It reminded him of what they were fighting for, and spurred a new wave of determination in him. The world their daughter would grow up in.

Astrid noticed Hiccup's arrival, and one by one, all heads turned to him. Snotlout and Tuff were particularly surprised, taking in the new, taller Hiccup for the first time.

Hiccup was suddenly sent back all those years, when he was just the little boy always being pushed around. A part of him wanted to shrivel up, hide, but he had been through so much since then, he'd changed so much.

He wasn't gonna cower anymore, he was gonna take charge.

"Snotlout, are you willing to help us with this?" He asked, staring at the bigger boy straight in the eyes. Hiccup radiated such confidence, that even Snotlout couldn't believe this was the Hiccup he used to beat up.

"Y-Yeah" Snotlout replied, looking around at the others. "I mean, I'm not gonna let you guys have all the glory" he added hastily.

The edge of Hiccup's lips tugged up into a smile. "Go meet the Monstrous Nightmare. Astrid will show you how" Hiccup said, as causally as if he was talking about meeting a new friend.

"W-What?" Snotlout protested, but Astrid dragged him along with a laugh anyway. "Where's that big strong Viking gone, Snot?" she teased.

"Twins, you guys take the Zippleback"

"I get the left head!" Tuff called. "What? Boo hoo, I want sparky!" His sister protested. "You can keep gassy". Letting them settle their squabble themselves, Hiccup turned to Fishlegs.

"I'll take the Gronkle" Fishlegs said, and Hiccup nodded.

Snotlout was touching the nightmare with a trembling hand by now, and Hiccup started handing out the improvised saddles he'd brought with him from the Sanctuary.

After everyone was seated, all eyes turned to him, as he sat atop the Night fury. Even the dragons seemed to look up to him and Toothless. Astrid still awed at the air of leadership Hiccup commanded with just their friends, and a thought happened to pop into her head, a fact she was suddenly certain of, right in that moment.

My husband is going to be the Chief one day.

"I've told Astrid our route to the nest, and she'll lead on Stormfly, then you guys will be behind her, followed by the rest of our dragons. I'll be flying some ways away and try to ascertain the fleet's position. Circle the island once you reach it. Hopefully we'll overtake the ships with time to spare. I'll give further directions on our arrival. Any questions?"

The teens shook their heads in awe, and Astrid discreetly bit the inside of her cheek. This definitely wasn't the time for such thoughts, but she just couldn't help it. Her husband was just so hot when he talked in such an authoritative manner.

"All right then, I say we take off" He said, nodding to Astrid. She quickly composed herself and gave him her best 'I'm proud of you' look with her eyes, before launching into the sky with Stormfly.

The rest of the dragons followed suit, and Hiccup was the last to go, and as he climbed higher into the sky, he did look back at Berk, resting calmly in the sea on this misty morning.

From this perspective, nothing seemed out of the ordinary, Berk was same as ever, but Hiccup knew that the future of all these unsuspecting people was hinging on him and his friends and their dragons today.

Hiccup had taken a lot of risks in his life, and this might be the biggest one yet. But he wasn't alone this time, and he hoped the gods were on their side as well.

Toothless sped through the skies at blazing speeds, and Hiccup's heart eventually settled into a somewhat steady rhythm. Strangely enough, he wasn't sure if he was more anxious about seeing the queen again… or seeing his dad.

Sorry about the long break! I had a bit of a struggle getting into the writing zone lately, but I finally managed to get this posted.

But I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Especially the introduction of little Zephyr! :D I was squealing with excitement imagining these cute moments in my head lol :p

Thank you for reviewing and supporting this story so far! Please let me know your thoughts! :)