Disclaimer - I just own the story, that should be familiar to you by now.

Feedback would definitely be nice, especially since this is the chapter where Hiccup completely turns.

The Dragon Pirate.

The watchmen had sighted the approaching trading ship only a few hours ago, drawing closer and closer to their island. The watchmen were on permanent duty; the Dragon War may have been over and there were no more raids now the nest had been destroyed, though the rumours and stories that drifted around the archipelago like storms and winds and tidal currents were so nonsensical that they were mostly disbelieved, and the islands further away from the former dragon nest had assumed they would pass.

They didn't. Soon there were sightings and stories passed from one mouth to another about a boy, a traitor, who rode on the back of one of those beasts. The outer islands had rarely suffered from dragon raids due to the distance, but when they had raided, the attacks had been so quick and so sudden they caused a vast amount of damage like the dragons were punishing them for being so far away from home.

Now the war was over, everyone in the Barbaric Archipelago had been waiting for the dragons to regroup and launch an attack, so the need for the watchmen and the other lookouts had become even more paramount. On top of that the islands and the tribes, even the ones further out of the core of the archipelago, had to endure the relentless attacks from rival tribes and from the Outcasts, so the watchmen had to be on guard all the time to protect their tribe and everything they had.

For the outer islands, this was even more essential since they had heard rumours of someone incredibly dangerous, someone known only to the chiefs of the tribes.

When he heard about the trading ship arriving at his island, the chief of the tribe limped as fast as he could towards the harbour to greet him, cursing the old injury he had endured for years after his leg had been torn and scorched off by a dragon who'd been trying to escape and he'd gotten in the way, but more importantly to assess whether or not he was a threat. The core didn't know it yet, but they would do in a few years from now, but there was trouble brewing in these waters now the war was over. There had been rumours about Drago Bludvist on the rise since the end of the war. The core tribes didn't know, especially after that disastrous meeting between the chiefs of the major tribes (some of the ones that suffered the most from the dragon raids) that the outer tribes had heard stories and rumours about some warlord out there that had dragons under his command, but the stories were so infrequent no-one took them seriously.

Not anymore. Now more and more people were bringing rumours of Drago thick and fast. Already ships belonging to travelling chiefs who were making their annual pilgrimages to their neighbours to discuss treaties or to establish new ones to strengthen relations, and fishermen and traders and other travellers had been attacked by dragons covered in man-made armour.

The trader jumped onto the jetty when his ship was secured and the chief studied him. He didn't look too dissimilar from any other trader as far as the chief could see. He wore a long, luxurious cloak made from expensive material topped by warm but fresh fur.

"Welcome!" the chief greeted.

"Thank you, sir," the trader returned graciously. He had a slightly nasally voice, and he had a scar running down his face. Strangely, he was wearing a hood over his right eye, held in place by a band. Some type of injury? The Chief didn't know and couldn't say, but he wasn't going to ask. It was common for traders to be injured. They regularly came across hostile dragons or hostile Vikings, so the injuries were normal. He was shorter than the average trader, but there was something about his open manner that appealed to the chief.

"How far have you come?"

"Too far. I've been at sea for months. I've got many wares to sell and I've also got news about the Dragon Rider."

The chief was so surprised by the mention of the dragon rider in the conversation he actually stopped. Many of the chiefs from the outer islands believed it was the fault of the so-called rider and the destruction of the nest which had spawned him that had made Drago move more quickly and more openly than he had done over the years, but in truth some of them were more than aware Drago would have moved with or without the rider.

"What 'bout him?" the chief asked guardedly. The chief didn't know for sure what to make about this dragon rider even if he was responsible for ending the war, though he had to agree with the consensus the rider was blaspheming against Viking tradition.

The trader opened his mouth but he quickly closed it. "Its probably best if I tell you and the rest of your tribe later on, if its all the same with you chief. I can tell you in your Great Hall-"

But the chief was not prepared for this to happen. "I'd rather you told us the news now!" he said, putting a lot of emphasis on the word now.

The trader gulped when he realised he was not going to win this little argument, and he nodded meekly. "Very well, chief."

Half an hour later, the trader found himself in the Great Hall of the tribe. He had already sold a few of his wares and had earned a small amount of cash for his troubles, as was his condition after agreeing with the chief to tell them his tale. For the meeting with the dignitaries of the island, only the chief and the rest of the council had made sure the Hall would be closed off so then they could hear the story of what had happened to the dragon rider without anybody else interjecting, though the story would soon be passed down to the rest of the tribe.

"Speak to us, trader," one of the council instructed when everybody in the Great Hall was finally settled and waiting for the trader to tell them the tale he had in store for them, "tell us what happened to the Dragon Rider."

"Is he dead or alive?" the blacksmith asked.

"Let him speak," the chief held up a massive paw of a hand to silence his council and his friends, though he did take their points. Ever since the Hairy Hooligan tribe had spread the tale about what had happened to their former heir and sightings of the rider had increased along with stories of how he freed captive dragons from Kill Rings and from dragon catchers who made their business capturing dragons and selling them to other tribes for slaughter or for other purposes, many people wanted to track him down for their own purposes, or to kill him for his traitorous actions.

The trader leaned forward. "The Dragon rider was caught by the Outcasts."

The Vikings in the hall talked to one another for a moment about this, some of them discussing the potential outcomes to this news, and what it would mean for the Outcasts to have the rider's knowledge of dragons for themselves. The Outcasts would almost certainly go out there to find more dragons, train them up, and then use them as weapons. No-one would be safe. The dragons had shown the Vikings that aerial superiority was greater than anything the Vikings were capable of.

Vikings were a hardy people with a great knowledge of navigation and shipbuilding but against an army of dragons that knowledge would not save them.

Finally, the Chief of the tribe called a halt to the debate and told the trader to carry on with his story.

"I don't know the exact details of how he was caught, but I found out an Outcast had been dropped onto the island belonging to the Bog-Burglar tribe with the story. I got the story off of 'em when I travelled to their island months ago. The Bogs didn't take too kindly to the Outcast on their island, but he was badly injured when they had him there, so there wasn't anything they could do to him that could compare to his injuries."

"What happened to him?" one of the council asked, his voice showing he didn't have a great deal of sympathy towards the Outcasts, but curious nonetheless.

"One of his arms was torn off, and one of his legs had been scorched and mangled. The Bogs managed to heal him and brought him out of the fever he caught," the trader's young face was solemn as he relayed this gruesome part of the story.

The Vikings in the hall had another debate, only this one was more horrified by what had happened to the Outcast, but they were quickly shut up and the trader was allowed to speak again.

"When the rider was caught, he was taken straight to Alvin the Treacherous, who was more than happy to meet the rider and had sent various Outcasts to follow the boy's trail in the hopes of capturing him and taking his secrets. When they finally met, he had that opportunity. Alvin ordered him to give them the secrets of dragon training, but the rider refused. He refused even when the Outcasts threatened to maim him. The rider had already seen and heard what the Outcasts were capable of, and he knew they were dangerous enough as it was with their ordinary weapons. If they had dragons…. well, the rider described the scene well, and the Outcast who was caught on the Bog-Burglar island hadn't forgotten it. Skies full of dragons, each one carrying an Outcast, dive-bombing the tribes in the same manner as the dragons during the war, burning and destroying the islands, battering down the defences of each of the tribes, levelling the houses so then the tribespeople had nowhere else to hide, before the Outcasts fought the warriors hand-to-hand and overpowering them. Once the warriors were finished, then the Outcasts would take the people of the tribe prisoner. Many of them would be sold into slavery, while the others who were ambitious were given the chance to join the Outcasts. We all know that's how the Outcasts operate, right?" The trader explained, looking from one elder to the next, and seeing them nod in agreement before he carried on.

"Alvin was….furious with the rider's defiance; for a kid who was reputed to be useless on his island, the boy was defiant, and even when he was beaten black and blue, the boy refused to talk or even describe what he had done to make the Night Fury bend to his will," the trader said.

"I still can't believe it was a boy who rides a Night Fury."

"Yes."

"Hold it, where in Thor's name was the Night Fury?" One of the more smarter Vikings in the hall asked suddenly when he spotted a flaw in the story. "Surely it wouldn't have wanted its master to be captured?" he scoffed at the end, clearly finding the idea of a dragon serving a human ridiculous.

The Chief thought he saw something like anger flash for a moment in the trader's brilliant green eyes, but when his expression lightened and became more humorous he decided the young man was just frustrated few seemed to be taking his story seriously.

"Apparently the dragon was told to fly away, or something like that; the Outcast was very vague about the details when he was interrogated by Big-Boobed Bertha and the other Bog-Burglars. He may not have known the details himself, or he was hiding them; either way, I don't know how the Night Fury was able to get away from the Outcasts, but his master was not so lucky. Alvin had him locked up for three months."

"Three months?" someone echoed. "Doesn't seem so long."

"It was long enough for Alvin to beat the rider while trying to figure out the best way to persuade him to change his mind," the trader replied.

"But he didn't?" The village healer asked, leaning forward, her eyes showing a keen professional interest that was commendable.

"No. The Outcast described how Alvin had gotten so frustrated he'd had the boy whipped with chains a month after he'd been captured. Alvin had just about had enough of the defiance from the rider and had decided to make the boy see for himself just how badly he saw defiance. He had the boy's tunic torn off and then he was tied to a pair of posts in the village, and from there he produced a length of chain and started to methodically whip the boy, not to death but close to it. In the hands of a strong Viking like Stoick the Vast or Alvin the Treacherous, such a beating would cause injury to even the strongest, able-bodied Viking. The boy was lucky. He could have been killed. The only reason he wasn't was because the Outcast healers told Alvin he was going too far."

The island Chief noticed the distaste in the trader's voice at the mention of Alvin the Treacherous, which was understandable considering the things Alvin had done to various tribes during his marauding life, but he didn't understand the distaste the trader felt towards Stoick the Vast, who was considered to be one of the most capable and benevolent chiefs in the archipelago who had contributed a great deal towards the dragon war, but then again he was like many other chiefs who had done the same.

The trader had probably missed some cash or something. It was none of the chief's business since there were some other Vikings he himself didn't like himself.

"The boy was kept locked up, and the only people allowed near him were the guard that brought him a meagre meal every day though Alvin had promised him better food if he would cooperate and talk about what could be used to make the dragons obey them, and the healer who tended to his wounds. But many of the guards decided to have their own way with the hoy. Many of them regularly beat the boy, but they had to tone down their beatings when one of them went too far and nearly punched the boy which almost sliced into the boys' lung."

The Chief closed his eyes for a second. Despite not being fond of the idea of a boy raised in a Viking village with traditional Viking philosophies entering his mind, only to betray his village by riding a dragon despite ending the war which had torn apart lives and lands throughout the archipelago for the last three centuries, the Chief did not like the idea of someone dying by a punch to the chest where his lung could be sliced to pieces by a broken rib.

Becoming aware the trader was looking at him, the Chief met the young man's eyes. There was no expression whatsoever in the trader's eyes, and he wondered what was going through the trader's mind.

The trader broke the silence. "The rider was lucky, he could have been killed. According to the Outcast interrogated by Bertha, the rider was not allowed any interaction for weeks. Alvin was furious. He personally tortured the guard responsible for the beating. While Alvin had done a fair amount of injuring the boy himself, it wasn't as serious. Alvin wanted the boy to remain alive and healthy so then he could be brought around to the Outcast's way of thinking, and now thanks to the guard that chance had probably been lost. The boy was left to heal for a month after being on the island for two months already."

"You said he'd been a prisoner for three months," the blacksmith noted thoughtfully, "what happened? How did he get free?"

The trader looked thoughtful himself. "The Outcast was vague about how the boy freed himself. Most of it was guesswork. The boy was still recovering in the healer's hut, under limited guard since Alvin and the other Outcasts didn't think he was going anywhere, and he was not physically strong enough to cause them any problems. He was only restrained with rope because the healers didn't want his recovery affected by heavy metal chains holding him down. But he was able to free himself with something sharp, and then he managed to sneak away into the night."

"What's so vague about that part?" One of the council asked the trader, who looked back confused.

"Pardon?" the trader asked, looking at the member in confusion.

"You just said the Outcast held by the Bog-Burglars was vague about how the boy freed himself, and yet your story states he was able to slice his ropes," the council member said almost accusingly.

"Ah, I see where this is going. The reason why the Outcast was vague was Alvin had quickly spread disinformation about the escape. He had spread some vague tales himself about the boys escape, one after another until even the Outcast Big-Boobed Bertha's got in her custody can't tell the difference. But it makes no difference; the basics of the rider's escape are all the same in each telling, it's just the way they're told they're different."

The Chief wondered what had really happened. It sounded like something Alvin would do in order to save face, but he just wasn't sure. "Go on," he encouraged the young trader to go on with his story.

But the young man needed to take a moment to get his mind back to where he had been, and then he carried on with his tale. "Alvin had the entire island searched for the rider. But there was no sign of the boy. To make matters worse, the boy had stolen a boat and sailed away. The Outcasts found it missing in the early hours of the early morning, but Alvin still ordered a search of the whole island to make sure the boy hadn't just sneaked around the coast and found a hiding place far from the Outcast's village."

The Chief thought that made sense. While it would be a good move on the rider's part to escape by heading out to sea, it was also just as wise to sneak around the coast of the Outcasts' home island, risky as it was, and recover while using the trees and rocks for cover.

"But there was no sign of the boat anywhere, not even beneath the surface. It didn't take long for Alvin and the others to begin realising he had headed out to sea, but they didn't know where. That didn't stop Alvin. According to the Outcast, he sent out ships in every direction and even led one of the hunts himself, but they never found the boy. The Outcast was part of a different hunting group, and they were at sea for the best part of a fortnight but they found nothing. Alvin and the others came up with the same. Nothing."

The trader paused for a second. The council members looked at one another, wondering if that was the end of the tale, but the Chief was unconvinced since one of the Outcasts had been interrogated by Bertha. A moment later he began to speak once more. His voice was low, grim.

"A few weeks later and more hunts which also turned up nothing, the Outcasts were attacked by the Dragon rider. He came back on his Night Fury and together they destroyed the village. The attack was so sudden and shocking the Outcasts hadn't expected it. They hadn't even heard the Night Fury's signature whistle which signals the onset of death itself."

The council collectively shivered. The tale of the Night Fury had spread all over the archipelago for centuries and the breed of the demon was such the sound of the whistle shrieking noise was enough for warriors to plan their own funerals with a lot more than what tradition dictated.

The trader continued, "Together the rider and his beast destroyed the village. The ships were destroyed one by one after the dragon passed over them, almost as though Loki himself wished to make things more interesting. Explosions would go off. Smoke, fire, explosions ripping through the defences and men being blasted into pieces. Meanwhile, the beast itself picked up some of the Outcasts, taking them up screaming and struggling into the air, only to be engulfed by the night sky…. and then dropped from a great height."

The council shuddered as one at the thought of a death like that. It was more subtle than a conventional dragon-related death, somehow.

"As for Alvin….. the Outcast is not so sure, but he saw a great light engulf his chief. But whether or not Alvin is still alive, he doesn't know. The Outcast's memories at that point of the attack are sketchy; he doesn't remember much, except a great pain in his leg, and the feeling of being snatched and taken up into the air. The next thing he knew, he was dumped on the island of the Bog-Burglars and left there to rot," the trader finished.

For a moment there was nothing but silence as everyone absorbed what the trader had told them all. "But that is not all," the trader went on, looking seriously around the Hall, "that was weeks ago, but I've come across islands where the tribes describe the Dragon rider and his demon attacking and stealing things like tools, weapons and food. Ships that were sent out on regular missions have gone missing, and lives have been lost. Thanks to Alvin the Treacherous, the Dragon rider has become a major threat."

"He already was! He freed dragons from the Kill Rings!" Someone shouted, and others shouted and nodded in agreement.

The Chief saw the trader's face darken at the loudness of the interruption and he stood up so fast it stunned everyone. "SHUT UP, all of ye!" he bellowed. "Let the trader finish."

"Thanks, chief," the trader smiled gratefully, though it was strange to see half of a smile when half of the young man's face was hidden by that hood, the smile quickly faded as the young man's voice and features became more businesslike. "You are correct," he said, looking around the hall, "but the Dragon Rider had never attacked anyone before. When she learnt of the threat, Big-Boobed Bertha spread the word to the other tribes, using her own people and traders and other travellers. My journey is taking me further beyond the outer rim of the archipelago, so you had better tell as many as you can about the threat of the Dragon Rider."

The trader remained on the island for another few days before he left in his ship. He had made a small amount of money in exchange for some of his wares, and although he claimed his ship had some provisions already such as meats and mead, he didn't say no to a few others. He could be at sea for some time, and he would need all the supplies he could get. A few in the village had asked him how he'd managed to become a trader so young, and he had smiled and told the curious people his family had always been traders. He had been on this particular ship since his father and grandfather had built it and taken it out to visit the various islands in the archipelago.

A few had asked him questions about his scar, but he had refused to answer the questions about why he was wearing his hood though he knew such questions were logical since half of his head was covered and he hadn't explained why. He had no intention of it since it was none of their concern and besides it was a secret.

Finally, he left in the mid-afternoon and he sailed away and he pushed his ship off away from the dock before he made sail. Once his ship was beyond the horizon and the island was out of sight, the trader took a deep breath before he left the quarterdeck and began searching the ship for any sign of any stowaways though he knew it was unlikely anyone had sneaked onboard. He wasn't worried, though; he might not be physically able to fight anyone, but his dragon was.

Heading down into the hold, he braced himself while he let his scent pass through the open slit cut into the door and he opened the door. Instantly he was pushed onto his back by a massive black mass. He groaned in disgust when he felt the Night Fury excitedly lick him.

"Okay, Toothless! Get off! Let me up!" Hiccup groaned as he tried to stop the Night Fury's slobber was covering him completely, but he knew he would have to burn these clothes since the slobber was virtually impossible to clean out.

At last the overexcited dragon backed off, eyes wide, while he panted like a dog. "Yeah, I'm happy to see you too, bud," Hiccup said as he wiped off as much of the slobber off of his hands, but he knew he was just getting it all over himself. He looked up and saw his dragon's expression as he heard a warble.

"I'm okay. I'm glad to see you as well, and I'm sorry that I haven't taken you flying for days," Hiccup apologised, and the dragon whined. Hiccup took a deep breath and sighed, hating to see his best friend unhappy like this. 'Anyway, I'm finished. We no longer need to hide."

Toothless looked sadly at him.

Hiccup looked down knowing what his dragon was thinking. How had he reached this point, he asked himself. But he always came back to the same old answer. He went silent for a moment as he remembered what had happened. The story he had told the tribe, one of many, for the past few months (he was surprised when he had not been asked by anyone, least of all the chief of the tribe himself hadn't bothered to ask him when the whole story had taken place. He guessed it was simply because they had been taken aback by the tale he'd told them, and their knowledge of the Dragon rider and his exploits had been fairly limited and basic since very few people came out this far. They had probably assumed the incident with the Outcasts had taken place months ago since it would take forever for one of their ships to travel that far into the Core, so they hadn't seen the point) had been told. There was no reason for him to hide anymore.

Ever since he had been shot in his arm after those Vikings had stolen the supplies he'd been holding on that little island some time ago, on top of that confrontation with Astrid, Hiccup had tried to develop a standoffish approach when it came to other Vikings, in fact he had gone out of his way to avoid Vikings all together and he had decided to simply stop giving the tribes like the Hooligans clues to where he was in the archipelago.

He had begun to travel mostly at night and sleep and explore islands in the day and early evening for a few days to get an idea of where there was where he could find fresh food and fresh water along with any other raw materials he could use for later before he left. It wasn't difficult - Toothless was mostly a nocturnal creature, though he was adaptable for both daytime and nighttime flight, and his eyes were sharp enough no matter what time it was.

But the Outcasts…. Hiccup hadn't expected to encounter them, and to be honest he had the feeling the renegade Vikings had felt the same way when they'd attacked him and Toothless. One minute the Outcasts were not there, and the next they were on top of him and Toothless, and they had managed to throw a bola tied to a strong rope at Hiccup's legs.

Meanwhile, the Night Fury had been fighting several Outcasts, and with better luck than Hiccup. But he had still been taken by surprise by the Vikings, which showed they weren't the conventional Viking who would have blundered in. No, they were decent dragon hunters and that meant they had learnt that the best way to creep up on a dragon was to be as quiet as they could while trying to avoid rustling bushes or stepping on twigs while keeping themselves downwind. How they had managed to track him and Toothless down, Hiccup had no idea. Alvin had not really been social, and to be honest, Hiccup hadn't wanted to ask him too many questions.

Hiccup looked down, remembering how the Outcasts had tried to pull him towards them while fighting a tug of war against Toothless, who was desperately trying to drag him away from their grubby hands. But Hiccup had known it was no use - there had been too many of them, and Toothless was fighting a losing battle trying to stop them dragging him off.

It had all happened so fast. Somehow, Hiccup had managed to reach for his dagger and cut the rope so he could get to Toothless, only for another Outcast to grab him, but not before he managed to adjust Toothless's tail-fin to allow the dragon to fly without him, though not for long periods. Toothless had been horrified by what he had done.

Hiccup had yelled at his dragon to escape, but the stubborn Night Fury didn't take off, but after exhausting all of the gases and liquids in his body that needed to be mixed together to form plasma bursts that were so superheated they could melt iron that was a foot thick, the dragon knew he had no choice, but that didn't stop him from trying. It wasn't until Hiccup had insisted he escape, Toothless did but not without a mournful howl. The Outcasts tried to use their bolas to bring the dragon down, but they'd missed. Hiccup had managed to build a new model of the prosthetic after finding the time to renovate an abandoned forge on an island with a long since abandoned village. The archipelago was full of them. Over the centuries the dragons or their human enemies had driven off the Viking tribes, forcing them to abandon their homes.

Hiccup had encountered quite a few of these villages over the years. Some of them had been half flattened decades ago, but many of the familiar structures remained. Hiccup had managed to renovate the forges of a few of the islands before and after that mess on Nadder's Point. There were only so many places in the archipelago anyone would think to look for him if the tribes tried to hunt him down, and as long as he was seen flying miles away from the abandoned tribal islands, no-one would think to look and no-one went anywhere near the islands, to begin with.

It was considered to be taboo to travel anywhere near the abandoned homes of the tribes since it was considered there were ghosts from the fallen warriors who had met their ends. These days only pirates or Outcasts needing resupply or a place to hide travelled to the well-known ones, but Hiccup had found a few small, remote islands with abandoned villages on them. One such island was basically a giant rock with no beach but a large river, and further inland was their village. The Vikings had built their home like that in order to hide their home from their enemies and to build up defences by using the natural environment, but why they disappeared Hiccup didn't know.

While he'd been there Hiccup had spent a lot of time and energy using the forges' outdated tools to work on the tail fin. He had come up with numerous designs and ways to make the fin work without him to manipulate the gears to keep his promise to Toothless that one day the dragon would be able to fly on his own again. When Hiccup had found the island that had long since been abandoned, no signs of the place being visited or raided, never mind inhabited, which showed a fertile place to begin to work on the tail fin. The new model of the tail fin was slightly more advanced than the one he'd used in the battle with the Queen, but while it allowed Toothless to fly on his own for short periods, eventually the Night Fury would need him to work it but it had allowed him to escape to freedom.

Hiccup led Toothless back up to the quarterdeck, the Night Fury following virtually silently as he sensed his human rider deep in thought, but crooning worriedly because he could sense Hiccup's dark mood. The Night Fury wished he could communicate with his human to let him know of just how horrifying it had been for him when Hiccup had been taken by the Outcasts. After spending hours flying in a spiral motion around the same island just to give himself more control in the air since the tail fin was still being developed; in fact the only reason they'd travelled to the island with the Outcasts on them had been to test it further away from the forge in the first place. He had also been trying to find Hiccup's scent so he could attempt a rescue, but he had been too high up, and the wind had blown all kinds of scents into his nostrils which made it virtually impossible. By the time day had come the Outcasts were gone and he had no idea where they had gone, though it wouldn't have made much difference. The tail fin was only good for short range flights, and Toothless had no idea how far out Hiccup was, though the boy knew where the island was thanks to the stars. He had learnt from Gobber how to navigate via the stars. It also helped that the Outcast Vikings had chained him to the mast so he had plenty of opportunities to look up.

Hiccup could not believe how stupid Alvin and the other Outcasts were in taking the precaution to blindfold him. Navigation by stars was pathetically easy, a child could do it.

Then again whoever said some Vikings had brains.

Hiccup would never forget the truly pathetic ways Alvin had tried to persuade him to give up his secrets about dragon training. He had not spent the best part of a year avoiding the Viking tribes, running whenever someone got curious about him whenever he arrived on one of the hub islands only to be caught out.

But he had always known there was a chance he'd be captured. He couldn't keep his guard up at all times, and besides, he hadn't expected the Outcasts to be there in the first place. They hadn't even been looking for him. They'd only taken advantage of a situation.

Alvin had tried to bribe him, offering him promises of power, of bringing the archipelago around with himself and Hiccup as leaders. What was truly pathetic was Alvin made those promises without realising Hiccup genuinely didn't need the Outcasts if he wished to become a tyrant. He had almost laughed himself to death, but he hadn't since it wouldn't have ended well. Alvin would have asked what was so funny, and the reason would have made the older Viking lose it completely when he was trying hard to keep up a facade that was as fake as his 'promises.'

If Hiccup had wanted to gain power, he could very well gain it for himself. There were hundreds of dragons out there in the archipelago. It wouldn't have taken him long to create an army out of the winged reptiles and begun an all-out war over Viking territory. And he would have won. Hiccup would never have made the same mistakes as the Queen dragon had; sitting in some stupid nest, gorging himself to death on so much food he would never have been able to move again while leaving so many of his subjects to die at the hands of an army of angry Vikings.

No, he would have destroyed the tribes and laid waste to their islands.

But he wouldn't do that. He would never go that far. It wasn't his nature for a start to go that far, to desire to destroy Vikings everywhere. Besides, he wanted to explore the world, to see new lands, to learn new languages and about new legends and cultures. While his former tribes' treatment of him had been bad, it hadn't been that twisted, so Hiccup didn't see it as worthwhile.

Besides Hiccup knew Alvin was lying anyway which only made the promises more empty than a wasteland. Hiccup had once been the former heir to the Hairy Hooligan tribe and, no matter what his former father thought, he had picked up more than most expected. He had heard a great deal about Alvin over the years. He knew the other Viking was known to be a liar and a murderer.

Did the Outcast really think he was stupid? Hiccup had learnt a great deal during his lessons as an heir, even if his former father had shown little faith in his abilities. Learning about Berk's enemies had been part of the curriculum.

But he was still frustrated and annoyed with Vikings and their short-sighted ideas. The worst of it was Alvin had guessed it quickly.

Alvin had tried to appeal to Hiccup's frustration with the rest of Viking-kind, guessing correctly the boy was at times lashing out at how badly he'd been treated and hounded since the day he had escaped and ended the war in one go. Out of all the more "kinder" forms of persuasion, of which included good food and living space despite being chained tightly to the main mast for a few hours, this one was more appealing to Hiccup because he just wanted the Vikings to grow up, but he knew it would never happen. The only way to change the Vikings was to mass slaughter the adults and make sure the babies and small children survived, that way they could be educated to see that the world of Midgard didn't need to be seen in shades of black and white.

When Alvin finally accepted the fact nothing he was doing was making any difference and that Hiccup refused to help, he decided to forget the need to be patient or kind which were foreign concepts to a Viking, and he decided to beat Hiccup. Alvin the Treacherous was reputed to be stronger than Stoick the Vast, but the Outcast leader had no idea Hiccup had expected the blows to come sooner or later. It was small slaps at first; Alvin wanted information from Hiccup, he couldn't get it if the young rider was dead.

After being slapped around for days, it moved on to being physically pummelled while Alvin tried to hold a tight grip over himself but with each slow punch that broadcasted his intentions a mile off, Hiccup was able to adapt and prepare for the pain. But what he didn't expect was being whipped with a length of chain. Again, Alvin held a tight grip on his control, though it made little difference; by the time the beating was over with, Hiccup was practically catatonic for days.

Alvin always kept a tight grip over himself because he knew how valuable Hiccup was, beaten or not. It never occurred to the guards themselves what would have happened. The guards were frustrated with their leader's 'softness' and they decided to show Alvin how it should have been done, but they went too far.

Hiccup had been lucky, he could have been killed. When the beating was over he found himself back inside the Healer's hut, and Alvin had personally tortured and Blood-Eagled the guards after subjecting them to the loss of their hands and feet and their tongues. He had gone wild with fury at what had happened to the prisoner because Hiccup was lucky to survive. Maimed, yes, but alive. He grimaced as he thought about what the Outcasts had taken from him.

Hiccup had lost sight in his right eye thanks to the knife that was slashed down his face when one of the guards went too far and lacked the control Alvin was trying hard to maintain. There was now a scar that ran down the length of his face, down his forehead and just above the corner of his mouth, but he kept it hidden either by wearing a hood or an eyepatch.

Once more his ability to recover quickly had taken him by surprise and soon Hiccup was able to see again, though it had horrified him when he had found out what the guard had done - just because he had lost sight in the eye during the confrontation didn't mean he was aware of it through the pain - and he had made plans to escape. He had taken advantage of the Healer's absence to have a look around her hut, and he had found a small cutting knife on one of the tables. Hiccup had kept an eye (no pun intended) looking out for the tool, and for a week he kept watch for the guards and for Alvin.

One night he had made his move. He had cut the rope holding him down; Alvin had been amazed by his near rapid recovering after the chain whipping, but the latest injury had given him cause for concern, but the Outcast had decided to take no chances and had Hiccup roped to the bed.

Once he was free, he had simply escaped while using his sketchy knowledge of the island to find a boat and return to the smaller island where Toothless was hiding and waiting for him. Escaping from Outcast Island was actually easier than he'd expected since the Outcasts believed no-one would have the guts to go up against them, but he quickly proved that belief wrong.

Toothless had been horrified by the extent of Hiccup's injuries, but Hiccup had reassured the Night Fury he would get them checked out soon, but first, they had a job to do. They travelled to Outcast Island and destroyed it. Hiccup had been telling the truth about not knowing whether or not Alvin was dead or not, but he didn't care. But if he encountered the Outcasts again then they would be wiped out.

After destroying the Outcasts' sorry excuse for a home, Hiccup had Toothless snatch up one of the guards and after brutally maiming him, guided the dragon into the territory of the Bog-Burglars.

Oh, Big-Boobed Bertha soon heard from the Outcast what had happened and she had spread word (it had hurt Hiccup he didn't get the chance or the opportunity to say hello to Camicazi, but that was life), and soon he'd travelled to a hub island similar to the one at Nadder's Point. After making up a plausible story for the island's healers, Hiccup had got himself checked up. During his recovery, while Toothless was safely hidden on the island, someone from the Bog-Burglar tribe arrived and spread the news of what had happened to the Outcasts. Soon after he got away, Hiccup found and stole a ship used for trading and he started taking it out to the distant parts of the archipelago, disguised as a trader, and told a story of how the dragon rider had turned pirate.

He spun tales of how he himself had begun raiding numerous islands for goods while destroying them at the same time. There was nothing fake about that part, it was true enough. The Outcasts had driven the last shred of innocence out of poor little Hiccup, and now all he wanted was to lash out at the Vikings everywhere. He was sick and tired of hiding in the shadows. He was tired of the endless hunts for him that were still going on even when he was trying to remain distant from the Vikings. It was time for everyone to see he was worse than they believed. Everyone believed him to be a monster because of his actions and how he'd trained Toothless and rode him, and they delighted in spreading rumours and lies about him causing death and destruction. Hiccup hadn't truly tried to dissuade that belief. He knew it would be impossible anyway, so why bother?

But the Outcasts had done it. They had shown him there were those out there who would not stop until they had him in their grip, dead or alive. He preferred to be alive, but he would not fly around with his head in the clouds. No more.

He was done being the Dragon Rider.

Now he was the Dragon Pirate, a rider who flew on a Night Fury, plundering ships and islands for needed supplies, and after that mess when the crossbow bolt had skewered him, he wasn't going to take no for an answer.

Turning to his dragon, Hiccup smiled. "It's time, bud," he said.

Until the next time..!