This story is now 9 chapters shorter than it was… simply by combining the chapters that were far too short.

And yes, this means new material is coming!

Chapter 15: Finally

Back in her apartment, Astrid didn't bother turning on the TV. For now, her own thoughts were loud enough that she didn't need a distraction. And she had plenty to think about as she paced around her living room. Occasionally she stopped to look out the window, where she saw only the barest impression of the trees in the darkness beyond.

She tried not to think about things that lurked in the dark of the night.

This time, it had worked out. Eret said she had been just in time. By some miracle, she had gotten Jack out of the fight in time, and Rapunzel had gotten to the garage soon enough. To quote Merida, he was going to live to torment them all another day.

But what happened next time?

The next time, they would probably be facing Pitch Black, or Gothel, or Drago, or Mor'du, or stars' knew who else. If she'd had such a hard time sitting out something she had been told was nothing to worry about, what was going to happen when her friends went up against a major threat?

And this time, it had been Jack.

What about when it was Hiccup?

She didn't know. And she didn't exactly want to find out.

Finally, it all came together while she stood at the stove, heating up a can of soup for dinner. The solution was simple, really. She was surprised she hadn't thought of it sooner. Pulling her phone from her back pocket, she called the number that she knew was at the top of her recent calls.

"Hello?" Hiccup sounded as though he had something in the side of his mouth as he spoke.

Astrid didn't bother with pleasantries. (She had always thought they were overrated, anything.)

"I want to join the team."

Astrid hadn't known how he would react. (Surprised? Disapproving? Enthusiastic?) But she hadn't expected the reaction she got.

"Well, Jack wins that bet," Hiccup said, still sounding distracted. She thought she heard a metallic click in the background.

"What bet?" she asked, temporarily sidetracked, and not entirely sure they were on the same subject.

"He and Merida made bets on how long before you said that," he said. "Earlier I heard him upping the ante. I don't know specifics, but Jack doesn't raise the stakes unless he knows the odds are in his favor."

"How much?" If Jack got anything out of this, she wanted a percentage.

Hiccup chuckled. "Fifty dollars, I think."

What was ten dollars out of fifty? Twenty percent? That seemed reasonable.

Astrid shook off those thoughts, determined to get back on topic. This wasn't something she would back down from, even if she had to fight her way in.

"So, can I join?"

Hiccup snickered. When he spoke again, the thing in his mouth had been taken out. "Astrid, if I say no, you're going to start a whole debate to change my mind. If I still say no, you'll probably just bulldoze over me. I might as well save time and just say yes now."

"Do you not want me to?" she asked. Not entirely sure how to interoperate that.

"That's not—I do!" he said. "Just think about it for a minute, okay? This isn't a game – its life or death. It's not something you do on a whim. If you really want to join, you need to be committed."

The weight in his voice took her aback a little. While Hiccup was often serious, this was a different kind of gravitas. It suited his words, but those surprised her a little as well. For the past few weeks, listening to them banter and laugh, she had never thought much about whether or not they considered just how much danger they put themselves in.

Today should have proved otherwise, though.

She thought about Hiccup's fall, and realized how naïve she had been.

Of course they considered it. They were forced to. That was probably why they laughed so easily.

"I understand," she said, her own tone taking on a new seriousness.

"Well, considering the way you ride, I didn't think you'd have a problem with that," Hiccup said.

It was her turn to snicker.

"Besides, why do you think I gave you Stormfly?"

"You've been planning this?"

Hiccup made an "eh" sound that she recognized to mean he was shrugging. "You're not a spectator, Astrid. You proved that today."

"Don't you need to vote on it, or something?" He was the team's obvious leader, but she had the impression they were all involved with important decisions.

"We already did."

"What? When?"

"The first night you came out here – when you found out about us," he said. "We had an emergency meeting and realized that, if you didn't turn us in, you'd probably want to join. That's when Jack and Merida started betting on how long it would take."

"How did that go?" She hadn't even considered that they would need to have an emergency meeting. Turning them in had never even crossed her mind, though she knew the police were always offering a reward for any information regarding the Big 4.

"Unanimous. Well, Merida was a qualified yes, and my mom withheld her vote until after she met you."

"And they said yes?"

"Yeah," he said. "The other night my mom asked why I didn't just invite you."

That was a very good question.

"So why didn't you?" she asked.

"Because it's the kind of thing you have to choose for yourself," he said. "You're more likely to think about the consequences if you have the idea for yourself. And that made a lot more sense in my head."

"It makes sense," she said. "I saw the consequences today."

"Yeah." He sighed. "All these near misses lately, while Pitch is planning something. It's not exactly reassuring."

"That's why it will be a good idea for you to have another person," she said. "Not to mention another dragon."

"You don't need to sell me on it, Astrid," he said, and she could hear him grinning.

"So… I'm in?" she asked, just to be sure.

"You're in," he confirmed. "Come by the house after your classes tomorrow, and we'll get started."

#

"Get up."

Astrid had always considered herself an active person. She had grown up wrestling with her brothers, and been able to hold her own despite the fact that they were all bigger, and stronger, than she was. In a family of athletes, the only way to get attention was to prove yourself physically.

In elementary school, while most girls played hopscotch, or gossiped near the jungle gym, Astrid had been running races with the boys. The first week of school it was pretty much guaranteed she would get in trouble for beating up the one boy who said girls couldn't run.

PE had always been her strongest subject.

In middle school she had been the star volleyball player. And that had carried over into high school, until the day Gobber had introduced her to motorcycle racing. A sport that still required her to be physically fit.

In college, she had passed Calhoun's physical evaluation without much struggle. And she handled the twice-weekly classes without much trouble.

She was a physical fitness major, for heaven's sake!

So she had thought the superhero thing would be a breeze. If Hiccup and Rapunzel could do it, she should be fine, right?

"If this were a real fight, you know you'd be dead, right?"

Jackson Overland was proving just how wrong that assumption had been.

In a word: Very.

She felt Jack crouch down beside her on the living room, where they had pushed aside the furniture to spar. Toothless lay curled up in one corner, watching them through half-lidded eyes.

Jack flicked her forehead lightly. "You in college to be what, again?"

"A fitness trainer," she groaned, a forearm draped over her eyes. "You don't have to rub it in." She was starting to wonder if she needed a different major.

"I'm trying not to," he said, and the smirk was so obvious in his voice that it was physically painful. "It's really hard, though."

She had been training with Jack for a week, in between classes, and flight training with Hiccup. To top it off, she'd had Calhoun's kickboxing class the night before. It was the first time she had ever gotten out of the class and barely been able to walk. She had gotten back to her apartment and barely stayed awake long enough to take a shower before she collapsed into bed.

She had known when she agreed to the spar that she didn't have the energy she needed to successfully take Jack on. But her pride hadn't liked the thought of saying no. And she hadn't had an excuse, since Hiccup wasn't back from class, and Rapunzel had gone grocery shopping, with Merida as her assistant.

Now she lay on her back on the carpet, too sore and drained to find the motivation to get up.

When she had agreed to train with Jack in hand-to-hand combat, she hadn't expected he would push her so hard. To look at him, she hadn't thought he had that kind of strength, or stamina.

"One more round, then you can rest," Jack said, standing up.

When Astrid lifted her arm from her eyes, she saw he was holding out a hand to help her up.

Gritting her teeth, she steeled her strength and forced herself to stand up without his help. Her dignity was sufficiently tattered, thank you very much.

"Good." Jack nodded in approval.

For some reason, that approval chaffed. Maybe because Astrid had never expected Jack to be someone whose approval she wanted in this area. In any area, really; but this one especially.

But it was that annoyance that gave her the motivation to gather her strength and resolve. One more round. She could handle one more round. Her father was always telling her and her brothers that they could handle more than they thought they could.

Of course, how many of his students had he driven to the emergency room with that philosophy?

Jack moved to attack.

Good.

With his parkour skills, trying to attack him usually proved to be a waste of time. If it wasn't fully planned out, to compensate for his ability to dodge, she just wore herself out.

After days of work, and Jack shouting at her to use her head, she was finally getting that point. (Only after she had gotten so exasperated that she had broken his nose by slamming her forehead into his face. "That's not what I meant by 'use your head'!" he had said, even as Rapunzel healed it. Merida at least had found the whole thing hilarious.)

She had noticed early on that Jack's fight style relied heavily on the use of his legs, leaving his hands free to control his powers. Though his kicks were sharp and powerful, so it wasn't as if that put him at a disadvantage.

He came at her with a roundhouse kick, aiming for her left side. One of his favored moves.

Taking advantage of the movement, Astrid hooked her elbow around his ankle. Before he could slip out of the loose hold, she brought her right foot around in her own kick. Her shin collided with his stomach. Not full force. But with enough that he gasped at the impact.

Even as the blow landed, Jack was moving. Twisting his body so he could vault backwards and pull his foot free.

Astrid lunged forward the close the distance. Jumping over his low, sweeping kick.

Falling back on old habits from her childhood, she tackled him to the ground. Pressing his face into the carpet.

He tried to fight back, but Astrid dug her elbow into his back to keep him down. She was breathing heavily, but satisfied with her first victory.

The garage door opened, and she looked over to see Hiccup coming down the hallway. Though the way Toothless had jumped up had given away who it was before he came into view. He didn't show any sign of surprise when he saw them. Just quirked an eyebrow as he went into the kitchen. "I'm sure he deserved it."

"Ha, ha," Jack said sarcastically. "You win, Astrid. You can let me up now."

"I dunno," she said, not even trying to hide her grin. "I kind of want to gloat a bit."

"Let me up, or I'll throw you off."

With her knee pinning one of his arms, while the other was trapped under him, and her elbow in his back? She snickered. "I'd like to see you try."

"Uh, Astrid," Hiccup said, his tone warning. "You remember he can—"

One second she had Jack pinned.

The next, she was on the floor again, looking up at Jack as he straightened. He had moved so fast, she hadn't even seen how he did it.

In the kitchen, Hiccup sighed. "You remember he can fly, right?"

Astrid grimaced as she sat up. "No. I forgot about that."

She swatted away the hand Jack offered her. Between her sore muscles, and her bruised ego, she didn't feel like standing up. Especially not if she needed help to do so.

Hiccup came over with two glasses of orange juice – one of which he held out to her, while he took a sip from the other. That she did accept. She hadn't even realized how thirsty she was until the juice hit her tongue.

"What? None for me?" Jack asked, in mock offense.

"You can fly," Hiccup reminded, gesturing broadly towards the kitchen as he took a seat on the couch closest to where Astrid sat on the floor. Toothless had followed him, and now curled up on the floor once more.

"So much for winners and spoils."

"You cheated," Astrid muttered.

Until today, Jack hasn't used his powers, so the move had been completely unexpected.

"No such thing," Jack said, voice turning grim.

"Don't you have an essay to write?" Hiccup asked, brow raising as he nodded towards the arched doorway.

Jack groaned. But still managed to sound casual as he said: "I can tell when I'm not wanted. Don't get into trouble without me."

"Wouldn't dream of it," Hiccup muttered, as Jack vanished from view.

Once he was gone, Astrid moved across the carpet so she could slump against the foot of the couch. Her arm was a few scant inches from Hiccup's right leg.

"He's right."

She cringed.

"Everyone we fight plays dirty," Hiccup went on. "Jack's just trying to prepare you."

The severity of his tone kept her from being annoyed.

Well, she was still annoyed. But she also saw his point. And, if they kept her alive against the likes of Pitch Black, she guessed she could accept Jack's training methods. Even if they did leave her sore and tired.

"I had kickboxing last night," she said, closing her eyes. "Then two hours of training with Jack today."

"And you two have been at it all week."

"I'm exhausted," she admitted with a yawn. Not something she liked saying out loud.

Thank goodness she didn't have racing on top of all this. She wasn't sure she could have handled it all.

"Are you too tired for some flight drills?"

She didn't want to admit it… but she was.

She was spared have to say the words, though.

Down the hall, a door slammed open. They both looked towards the arch, and the sound of running steps on the carpeted floor.

"Hiccup!"

Jack grabbed the side of the archway to slow his momentum as he hurtled into the living room.

"What—" Hiccup started.

"Turn on the news," Jack said. His eyes darted around, then he lunged for the remote before Hiccup or Astrid could make a move. His entire body fidgeted as he hit the power button, and waited for the TV to come up.

Hiccup started to ask again what was going on.

This time he was stopped by Pitch Black's gaunt, angular face appearing on the screen. Astrid's breath caught in her throat at the sight of him, and she felt Hiccup tense. Toothless rose to his feet, teeth bared, growling at the screen.

"Hello, Burgess," Black said. His voice was deep, rich velvet, with traces of a British accent. And it was terrifying. "It's been a while, hasn't it? I'm sure some of you had begun to hope you had seen the last of me." He chuckled, deep in his throat. "Well, I've missed all of you as well."

Astrid shuddered.

"Now, I'm sure you're wondering why I'm sending out this little message, so allow me to explain. Not that you have much choice." That seemed to amuse him, though Astrid saw nothing funny about it. "In recent years, our fair city has been plagued by a certain pest problem. And, for a while, I was willing to play along. I confess, it was even a little…" his thin lips pulled in a twisted smile "fun."

Jack snarled, but Hiccup waved for him to be quiet.

"I no longer have the patience for costumed freaks and their pet dragons, however," Black went on. "So I've decided to make it my personal mission to rid this city of the Big 4. Once they're out of the way, things will go back to how they were. I'll own Burgess once more. Only this time, you'll know it."

He started to turn away from the camera.

"Ah, before I forget. There are two personal messages I want to send out – since I know neither of you are taking my calls.

"To my daughter: Well done, cutting off my funds. I was far more impressed than upset. Don't try to deny it – Jackson isn't intelligent enough to be that thorough. Really: brava, my dear."

The mention of Jack caused her stomach to clench. As if Pitch were looking straight through the screen, into the living room.

But then it got worse.

"And, Jackson. Despite that, I won't insult your intelligence by trying to pretend this isn't about you. We both know it is. I have no intention of resting until I'm sure you've been stopped. After your betrayal, you should expect nothing less." Black smiled. The expression was all teeth, and hard eyes.

"Don't bother trying to track this feed, Night Fury. You would only be wasting your time. Until next time, Burgess." He gave a dramatic salute, and the screen went dark.

It stayed that way for a heartbeat, before Black's face came back.

Jack turned the TV off before the video could start over.

Silence hung over the living room for several tense moments.

"What do we do now?" Astrid asked.

"Nothing," Jack said bitterly, not looking away from the screen.

"What?" That was not the answer she had expected.

"What can we do?" Hiccup asked. "I can try tracking it, but it will probably just be a dead end. He could be in Timbuktu for all we know."

"He set it up so there's nothing we can do," Jack said. "To make sure we know that he's in charge."

"So we're supposed to sit here and do nothing?"

Jack's phone rang before the boys could do more than exchange frustrated glances. Dread and resignation took over his expression even as he took the device from the pocket of his hoodie. "It just doesn't end."

He looked more like he was about to face a firing squad than answer a phone call. But he didn't raise it to his ear once he had accepted the call.

"Hey, Emily Jane."

"Don't call me that!" Just by how furious the woman on the other end was, Astrid understood why he hadn't exactly been enthusiastic about the call. "Especially not now."

"Sorry." Not that he sounded at all sincere.

"Do you have any idea how hard I've worked to keep my name from being tied to my father's?" the woman asked, her accent noble and fluid even through her anger, and the tinny quality of the phone's speaker. Astrid thought she had heard the voice somewhere, but it must have been her imagination. "In this day and age, it's almost impossible to keep something like that from the press. Especially in my position."

"Yes, I do know," Jack said, flopping back onto the second couch. "Because you tell me every time we talk!"

"I do not have time for your attitude, Jackson."

"You sound just look him," Jack muttered. Looking over at Hiccup, he mouthed "save me", his blue eyes pleading.

Hiccup shrugged, his expression asking what he could possibly do.

There was a moment of silence from the other end, save for the crackle of the woman exhaling. Astrid wondered if she was counting to ten to try and maintain control her temper. When she spoke again, though, her whole demeanor had changed. The authority had drained away. And she sounded… scared.

"I have worked too hard to try and build this life. It's been three years. Why would he call me out now if he isn't including me in whatever he has planned?"

Jack didn't respond for a moment. Then another. His annoyed expression had faded, and he looked up at the ceiling as if trying to find an answer.

"Just do something about it, Jackson."

"I was planning to."

"And were you planning to get stabbed last week?"

Jack scowled. "I'm hanging up now."

"I'm looking out for you."

"Right." He rolled his eyes. "Thanks, Emily."

"I told you—"

"I'll stop calling you Emily Jane when you stop calling me Jackson," he said.

There was a sound of exasperation, then the line went dead.

Jack scowled, throwing his phone onto one of the armchairs.

"Who was that?" Astrid asked.

"That," Jack said, rubbing his eyes, "was Emily Jane Pitchiner. Or Seraphina Typhan. Whatever she's calling herself now."

"Isn't she the one who's always on the news talking about keeping the city green or something?" Astrid asked. That would explain why she had thought she'd heard the voice before. "Doesn't she own a cosmetics company?"

"Green Leaf Cosmetics," Jack said.

Cosmetics were beyond Astrid's area of expertise, but it was impossible to live in Burgess and not know who Seraphina Typhan was. Green Leaf Cosmetics was one of the largest local company, and the CEO was always in the news.

"So she's Pitch's daughter?" she asked, putting the pieces together. That was a connection Astrid never would have made.

Jack nodded.

"Where are Rapunzel and Merida?" Hiccup asked.

"They went to the store. Do you want to call them?"

Hiccup shook his head. "What's the point? This was just him making sure we haven't gotten too comfortable."

"I hate this," Astrid muttered.

"It's not exactly my idea of fun, either," Jack said.

"Why did he go out of his way to say this is about you?" she asked, remembering the last part of Black's message. "What's the point?"

Jack shrugged.

"To cultivate public disapproval," Hiccup said, rubbing the back of his neck. "We're not exactly popular as it is. Most people think we're public menaces. Pests. Costumed freaks." His tone was so bitter it was almost painful. Picking up on that, Toothless nudged Hiccup's knee, making a small cooing noise to comfort him.

"Thanks, Bud," Hiccup murmured, resting his hand on the dragon's head.

He took a deep breath before he went on. "Call Jack out, tell the city it's about him, and they'll blame him for whatever comes next. And, by extension, the rest of us."

"Not that Westerguard isn't doing a great job of that already," Jack muttered sarcastically.

Astrid looked over, trying to remember where she had heard that name before. "The guy who wrote that anti-Big 4 book?"

"Anti-vigilante," Hiccup said. "But, yeah."

"And I have to go finish my essay on that book," Jack said, scowl deepening. "And attend his appearance at the college next week."

"So we're really just going to just go about our lives, and not do anything?"

"There is something we can do," Hiccup said.

"You said—"

"We can't do anything about Pitch. But we can work on your training, so you're ready when he does make a move."

Astrid sighed, still exhausted. But she forced herself to stand up, and followed Hiccup out to the stables.