A/N: Thank you once again to all of you readers and reviewers! The reception of this story has been great so far!

Disclaimer: I should probably remind you that chapters 10 and 11 are rated strong T for graphic descriptions of violence. You have been warned!

Enjoy! :)

Chapter 10

Before the fight, Viggo hadn't doubted much that he and Hiccup would win this fight. Now, on the other hand…

They had only been fighting for about a minute when the Hunters gained the advantage. Stormchaser had been shot. The dragon had let out an earsplitting and heartwrenching scream of pain and collapsed to the ground. Viggo felt everything inside of him wanting to run to him and make sure he was okay, but he knew that it was up to him now to take the two Hunters down. Letting a shout of frustration escape his lips, he charged at the approaching men.

His fire sword slammed into the Hunters axe with enough force to make his opponent stumble, but just as Viggo stepped forward to follow up his attack, the other Hunter shot an arrow at him and the time it took for him to deflect the projectile was enough for the staggering Hunter to regain his balance and charge again. The sword and axe met once more but Viggo's attention was drawn from his attacker for a moment as he spotted the archer loading another arrow into the crossbow and a finger steadying over the trigger. His eyes flickered between the two Hunters for a moment, refusing to relent the force he was applying to his sword. His indecision was over in a split second, however, as the arrow flew towards him and Viggo gripped the arm of his opponent and pulled him forward. He just missed the archer's look of panic as the other Hunter stumbled between them, straightening just in time for the arrow to sink into the back of his neck. The man paled, a desperate hand reaching up towards Viggo. Viggo recoiled and grimaced as the man collapsed, making a horrible mix of gurgling and choking sounds for a few long seconds before falling silent.

Viggo looked up at the archer, who stood a few metres away looking as white as the snow on Glacier Island. He raised his sword at the man, staring him down. The Hunter turned to flee in terror and Viggo gave chase, quickly catching up and kicking the archer's leg so he fell forward, hitting his head hard on the stump of a tree and rolling unconsciously on the floor.

It took a moment for Viggo to recover as he stared at the man he'd killed and the man he had knocked out – both of whom had once served him and Ryker. He was slightly surprised to feel remorse for these people who thought capturing Hiccup was the only way to make ends meet. It took him a moment to realise he himself had also felt that way once.

Viggo shook himself out of his thoughts when he heard Stormchaser groan in pain. He hurried over to the wounded Skrill, kneeling beside him.

"Are you alright?" he asked sincerely, searching the purple hide for the injury. The arrow protruded from the Skill's side, the tip bloodied. Viggo reached for it and hesitantly gripped it, glancing at Stormchaser's face before pulling it out. The dragon gave another groan but when Viggo placed a hand on his snout, he noticed that the Skrill was looking out into the forest. For a brief moment, he felt confused but then his eyes widened with sudden realisation. Where was Hiccup?

He shot to his feet, scanning the quiet forest around him.

"Hiccup?" He shouted, only to get his own echo back as a reply. He glanced down at Stormchaser, reluctant to leave him with an untreated wound. But he also knew that if Hiccup wasn't here, he most likely needed help. He knelt down beside Stormchaser again. "I'll be back," he promised, smiling at the trust he saw in the dragon's eyes and then running into the forest, igniting his sword again.

Had he not been quite so worried about Hiccup, he might have noticed the irony of him chasing and fighting bounty hunters that were after Hiccup – Thor knew how far Astrid had had to go to protect Hiccup from the bounty he had placed on his head.

He continued to scour the forest, searching for any trace of where Hiccup's fight might have ended and cursing himself for being so careless as to let him out of his sight.

His fervent jogging halted when he saw Hiccup's inferno embedded in the ground next to a tree. The blood drained from Viggo's face. This was only getting worse and worse. He scanned the ground around the sword, spotting scuff marks in the grass. Leading toward the other side of the island. Viggo cursed under his breath. They had burned down the ship in the bay below the cliffs, but the other bay? He had forgotten all about it. If the Hunters managed to get Hiccup off the island, was it his fault?

He shook his head to clear his thoughts and after pulling inferno out of the ground, hurried off to the bay.

Hiccup had tried to convince himself that he'd made the right choice to surrender but found himself struggling to believe it. The Hunters were none too gentle as they shoved him face-first onto the ground, twisting his arms behind his back and tying his wrists. He then felt himself being rolled onto his back so that the leader could shove a rag into his mouth. He barely had time to let out a muffled grunt of protest before they dragged him to his feet with such force that he immediately stumbled again and with his hands forced behind his back and unable to break his fall, fell on his face again. He groaned as two Hunters grabbed his arms but when he tried to get to his feet, he couldn't – so the Hunters started to lug him along and Hiccup winced as his legs dragged against the forest floor. Where was Viggo? Had he won his fight with the Hunters so that he could come to help him? Or was he just as helpless as he was right now? Was it worth hoping that his former archenemy would bother trying to stop his capture?

The Hunters continued to drag him through the forest, their grip on his upper arms and the bonds on his wrists cutting off the circulation of blood to his hands and leaving them numb. He heard them excitedly discussing what they would do now they had their prize, even sounding happy that they were leaving several of their fellow bounty hunters behind so they wouldn't have to share their money as much. It didn't seem to matter that they had no promise of money even with him in their possession and Hiccup grimaced at their disregard for their comrades. But his face fell when he heard them mention home.

"Can't we bring him to Berk?" the man to his left asked their leader, who proudly strode ahead of them wherever they were going. "He's their heir, they'll pay more than old hunchback." Hiccup frowned. So there was some remnant of his people out there. Though how these Hunters had possibly got it into their heads that whatever was left of Berk could pay more than Johann after the war was completely beyond him.

"Maybe, Lars, but first we have to get him off the island before that traitor shows up again," the leader replied. Hiccup's mind whirred. So they wanted to get him off the island? But how? On a raft? He doubted the Hunters could have a raft for four people ready for a speedy escape. And Stormchaser had burned their ship down. Unless…

At that moment Hiccup looked up to see a small bay just a downhill slope away with a little rowing boat moored in it that could probably just about fit four people. This was the hilly part of the island Hiccup had never explored and that Viggo had clearly forgotten about. Then a sudden realisation hit him in the face – that this explained why this morning the Hunters had said that Stormchaser had burned down their main ship. How could he have missed that?

"See that, boy?" the leader turned to sneer at him as they approached the bay. "Seems that traitor friend of yours has betrayed you too! Typical!" He laughed – and so did the Hunters either side of him. Hiccup strained to look around in the forest, searching for any sign of Viggo. There was none.

"Bet he's lying dead in the dirt by now," Lars joked and Hiccup winced – only for his eyes to widen at the sound of a familiar voice.

"Are you entirely sure about that, Lars?" Viggo said from where he now stood, holding a fire sword in each hand and blocking the path to the boat. Hiccup didn't have to wonder whether Viggo and Lars knew each other as the latter froze, dropping Hiccup's arm so that he lopsidedly fell to the ground. He hardly found himself caring though, as a relieved laugh escaped his bound lips.

"Viggo," the leader growled. "You're still alive."

"So I've been told," Viggo replied, a slight smirk on his face.

"You'll stay that way if let us leave the island."

"I think you'll find that you are free to leave, just as soon as you've handed over your prisoner there. He happens to be a friend of mine and I'd hate for you to treat him badly or hand him over to Johann," Viggo replied calmly, but the Hunter leader only scoffed.

"Your friend? Listen here, traitor, you may have fought off the two men I sent you, but we have a hostage."

"No," Viggo corrected. "You have someone you require to be alive to have any hope of getting the money you need to survive." Hiccup didn't think he imagined the hint of sympathy in Viggo's voice as he said this. The leader growled, unsheathing his sword and charging towards Viggo, who appeared entirely unafraid. The Grimborn stood calmly on the shore, motionless until the last moment when he dodged and used the handle of Inferno to knock the Hunter leader over the head. The man crumbled to the ground and Hiccup noticed the two remaining men that stood on either side of him tense. Lars muttered something to the other, who grabbed Hiccup by the arms and heaved him to his feet. He watched as Viggo and Lars approached each other, weapons raised.

"You're a dead man walking, Viggo," the Hunter-turned-bounty-hunter growled. Hiccup could tell he was trying to be intimidating but when Viggo laughed, he appeared to shrink back.

"I have been for a while now, Lars," Viggo said, smirking. "It doesn't scare me anymore." The corner of Hiccup's mouth lifted and as Viggo charged, he kicked his prosthetic back into the other Hunter's knee. He felt the grip on his bound arms slip as the man stumbled and Hiccup whirled around to deliver another kick, sending the Hunter falling to the ground. He felt something pulling on the gag from behind him and tensed, but with a smile, he realised it was Viggo. A second later, the fabric fell away.

"Thanks," he said as Viggo cut his bonds and handed him Inferno.

"We need to get out of here," was Viggo's only response. Hiccup nodded, glancing between Viggo and the Hunter who was slowly getting back to his feet.

"We can't let any of them off the island in case they go to Johann," he said. He quickly scanned the surrounding forest, then frowned. "Where's Stormchaser? Can he burn the ship?" But when he saw the worry shining in Viggo's eyes he didn't need a verbal response – and suddenly Viggo's need to get out of his fight made sense. It wasn't a matter of being outnumbered – they could win this fight with a bit of time and effort – it was the knowledge that Viggo's beloved Skrill was lying injured, vulnerable and alone somewhere in the forest. A feeling that pained Hiccup to remember. The memories of his capture and failure to protect his friend weren't welcome on the best of days – let alone now.

The apparent recovering of Lars and his fellow bounty hunter shook him out of his thoughts as both Hunters steadied themselves and started to approach. Hiccup could almost feel Viggo's anger radiating off him like heat waves – and it wasn't because he had ignited his fire sword.

"Take them down. Don't get captured," Viggo said.

"I'll do my best," Hiccup muttered, also igniting Inferno. The Hunter he was up against looked slightly disoriented as he wobbled forward with his axe raised – but if he had the stubbornness (or the desperation) to get up and fight, Hiccup wasn't about to underestimate him. He heard the clang of Viggo's sword hitting Lars' axe behind him and then his own opponent charged. Inferno met the Hunter's axe with such force that the flames danced in the man's face, momentarily blinding him, allowing Hiccup to punch him across the face. The man spun around but somehow managed to keep his balance, raise his axe and approach again. But before their weapons could meet again, Hiccup stabbed his prosthetic down on the man's foot. The Hunter howled and in a sudden wave of rage, Hiccup shouted:

"That's for capturing me," he paused to deliver the fatal blow. "And that's for everything else." He watched the man bleed and felt the pain and grief of the words he'd shouted, yet he felt a pleasant wave of satisfaction – as if winning this fight, holding his own and honouring Astrid with that line had somehow brought him one step closer to closure.

The sound of Viggo grunting in pain brought him back to the urgency of the situation. He whirled around in time to see the fire sword slipping from his grip as the Grimborn doubled over in pain. Lars raised his axe over Viggo's head and Hiccup sprinted towards him, preparing to throw a well-aimed punch to the jaw. But he had too much momentum and instead, body-slammed Lars to the ground with so much force that Hiccup found himself winded too. He gasped in air, his arms flailing as his also winded opponent struggled to get on top of him. They rolled along the ground until Hiccup felt the man's elbow slam into his face. He flinched, momentarily pausing his struggle. When he opened his eyes again, the axe was on his throat.

"We should have killed you when we had the chance, pest," he growled, only to tense in fear.

"Drop the axe, Lars," Viggo said from behind his attacker. Hiccup shifted slightly despite the threat of the blade and the headache that was coming on to see that he was holding a sword to Lars' head. There was a moment of tense silence as Lars glared down at him with a hint of fear in his eyes, until he awkwardly got up, leaving. Hiccup didn't wait for Viggo to help him up, instead, he pushed himself up and tried to kick Lars' leg to stop him from running. But he missed and the Hunter ran down to the bay undeterred. Hiccup let out a discouraged huff, then felt Viggo grip his arm and heave him to his feet.

"How do we stop him?" Hiccup asked him, gesturing at Lars, who was getting into the boat.

"It's too late to stop him," Viggo said grimly. His gaze flickered between the bay and the forest. "I would have knocked him out but that would have put you in danger. I'm going to find Stormchaser." Hiccup reluctantly watched him hurry off into the forest, understanding the Grimborn's worry for his injured dragon.

But as he turned to watch Lars rowing away from the island to Thor knew where, he had to wonder whether all of this fighting had been for nothing.

If Johann came with the full weight of his army, they didn't stand a chance.