Thank you to everyone who took the time to review. I'm glad you're enjoying it. I sincerely hope that it stays that way.
Just a warning though: I have a bit of a hectic schedule, so I deeply apologize for any serious breaks in updates, I swear I won't completely give up on this story.
Danny groaned and his eyes fluttered open, he instantly shut them against the bright light. His other senses caught up, and he smelled pine trees and felt grass beneath his finger tips. Well at least he didn't fall into some crazy scientist's lab. But where, and when, exactly was he?
He sighed and gently opened his eyes. After a second of adjustment, Danny's eyes traveled around the trees of the clearing he found himself in. The gentle twittering of birds surrounded him and a steady sunlight streamed through the branches of the trees.
Something was biting into his eyes, it took him a few seconds to remember what it was. He'd been wearing the contacts for who knew how long, it would probably be a good idea to remove them. He sat up and stretched out, his muscles still sore from electrocution.
Stupid Vlad. He thought bitterly. How am I supposed to get back?
He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. He'd have to figure something out later.
After taking another second to breath, Danny reached to take the colored lenses from his eyes. Or, at least, he was going to, until someone slammed into him.
For such a large man, his attacker was incredibly quiet. Even with his advanced senses, Danny didn't hear the man until it was too late.
The larger body crashed into the teen with the force of a tidal wave and sent them both rolling across the clearing. Danny yelped as his rib crashed into the earth. The boy's head collided with a rock and a jolt of pain shot through it. A metallic taste met his mouth and he fought to retain his consciousness. Danny's chest was shoved into the grass as the man twisted him over and tied his arms behind his back.
This all happened in less than a second and the young Fenton barely had time to process it before he was disabled. He mentally cursed Vlad again, everything would be so much easier if he had his ghost powers.
"Who are you!?" He struggled against the ropes. "What do you want?"
The man laughed. "You're different than I expected Hiccup Haddock. I'd heard you can read most situations with ease. I suppose I'll have to explain this one to you, you're my prisoner. My name is Bane, and I want the bounty that's been put on you."
Danny blinked, though he knew the man couldn't see it. "What on earth are you talking about?"
Bane sighed and flipped him over. "I'm no idiot, Haddock."
"Could've fooled me." Danny muttered. He glared up at the man who wore a mask that covered most of his features. Bane's eyes were a deep grey, and his messy hair was a deep black. He was big and muscular, wearing a cloak to disguise it. He had several weapons strapped to his chest and they clinked together every time the man moved.
Before his brain had time to process anything else, Bane yanked the boy to his feet and steered him out of the clearing.
"Where are you taking me?" Danny glared at the man.
"Let's just say, Ryker wants to have a talk with you." Bane answered and shoved the teen forward. "Now shut up."
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Ryker could hardly believe his luck. Just a few days after losing the boy to the riders, he received a Terror Mail informing him that Hiccup Haddock was soon to be his again.
He laughed as he stared out at the waves from the meeting place on the beach. In the distance, he could make out a boat bouncing along with the waves, getting closer with every second. It wouldn't be long now.
Not twenty minutes later, the small ship pulled onto the beach. A cloaked figure stepped off the deck in a single bound, landing with a splash on the shore.
"Ryker, I presume?" The man had a hoarse voice, almost as if he'd spent the past ten years screaming in a closet.
"You have me at a disadvantage." Ryker observed. "You know my name, but I don't know yours."
"Bane." The man supplied. "Did you bring the gold?"
Ryker sighed, he wasn't about to make the same mistake twice, better to give the man the money than lose the boy again. "Yes, and you the kid?"
"Of course." Bane nodded before hoisting himself back onto his boat.
After a moment, a smaller form was tossed from the ship. It yelped as it landed on the ground with a thud.
Bane dropped down next to the boy. "Well, is it him?"
Ryker narrowed his eyes, it certainly looked like Hiccup. But there was something wrong.
The boy shifted into a sitting position and cast a glare at Bane.
"Hiccup," Viggo said suddenly from behind Ryker. "What are you wearing?"
The boy groaned. "Look, I have no idea what you're talking about. I'm not Hiccup, whoever the heck that is."
The two brothers glanced at each other.
"That's not..."
"It doesn't sound like..."
"Who are you?!" They demanded in unison.
"Why do you want to know my name?" The boy asked casting a wary glance at the two men.
Ryker growled. "I'd like to stop referring to you as 'the boy' in my head. A name would be helpful!"
The boy rolled his eyes and muttered something about 'Skulker' and 'Vikings' Then he met the man's eyes. "Why don't you just call me whelp or something? Lots of other people do."
Ryker growled in frustration, finally deciding to dub the boy 'Runt'. "Suit yourself."
Viggo eyed Runt. "I'm curious as to why you look so much like our young Dragon Rider."
"A what Rider?!" The kid choked out.
"You mean to tell me," Ryker massaged his temples. "That you don't know what a dragon is."
"Of course I know what a dragon is." Runt protested. "I just didn't know that they existed. Much less that people rode them!"
The two brothers shared a rather confused look. The boy must have come from somewhere without dragons, but there was no such place! Was there?
"Where exactly are you from?" Viggo asked.
Runt paled visibly. "Um. Well you see... I- um." The boy shook his head to stop his stuttering. "I'm not going to tell you."
"Why not?" Viggo asked, ever curious.
The kid gave his brother a really look. "Gee, I wonder why some kid you just had kidnapped doesn't want to tell you where he's from. Besides, it's none of your business."
Viggo leaned down to be face to face with the boy, and looked him in the eye. "Everything is my business."
Well, I'm sorry. This is so hard! It's difficult to deal with this storyline. Sorry if you don't like it. Thank you for your support.