I'd like to give an apology for the wait, guys. My initial plan was to upload this chapter Friday, but due to delays from the site not letting upload the doc as well as having to finish up - I had to wait. But, the wait is over, so no worries. (Also, apologies for any spelling errors.)

And of course, thanks to BrawlerGamer and KaliAnn for the reviews last chapter!

Right, now without anymore waiting - let us go on to chapter 21!

"What!?"

Stoick's voice bellowed throughout the Great Hall as he slammed his fist against the arm of his throne. He stood on his feet and walked towards Astrid and the others.

"It's true!" she stated. "Ivar's fleet has outraced us. It seems that a small chunk of his Great Army has made its way here. Chief, we'll be in deep danger if we don't act NOW."

The Chieftain expressed worry in his eyes. "B-but, surely it was another Viking Tribe that the scout captain came by?"

"It wasn't!" called out a voice from far off, as the source of it slowly walked closer and closer, revealing the scout captain wrapped in bandages. "I saw the hostile Vikings with my own eyes! They beared hornless plate helmets, showing only their beards and wicked eyes! They wore chainmail for their armor, and carried furred animal skins on their shoulders! And their axes… their axes were deadly enough to cut your head in two with a simple throw! Their colors were marked black, with a red raven as their crest crossed by two axes! Chieftain, the lass isn't joking!"

"Tha' crest must be tha symbol of tha Great Army." muttered Gobber.

Stoick said nothing… he sighed, falling back in his throne. "There has to be reason on how Ivar could have managed to get his fleet here so quickly within a matter of what… a weeks time?"

"Aye, about a week, sir." nodded the captain. "Though it could've been that they had already planned ahead of time, thus these Völsung were able to outrace us in our time… not to mention the speed of that longship - gods it was fast."

"And, it's large." commented Astrid. "The captain said that it was twice the size of our own longships. He says they have two masts rather than one."

"Aye, that's true as well!" the captain called out again. "It was nearly impossible for me and my men to board the vessel. They just kept jabbing their spears and throwing their axes at us to keep us off."

The larger Viking leaned in his throne. "And what happened when you got onto the ship?"

"...It was a slaughter." the scout captain said, after a moment of silence. "We were flanked all around by two dozen men as they rushed us, at least twenty five. They killed half of us in less than two minutes, while we only got a few kills off them. They were fast, agile, strong, and skillful, and they weren't even as muscular as us! Hel, there were women in their crew!"

Tuffnut splurted in a giggle of laughter. "Pfft! Obviously! What do you think they are they gonna do, cook us a poisoned Yak-?"

"TUFF!" Astrid let out, silencing the young Viking as he squinted his eyes at her with a frown.

"What an amateur..." he said, low enough for Astrid not to hear him.

"As I was saying though," continued the captain. "You can see what we're up against. If one of these ships are in the Archipelago carrying this many men, who knows how many more are out there?"

Stoick placed a fist against his cheek. "What did Hiccup say about this?"

"He's going to help in making preparations for the coming tide." answered Fishlegs, stepping closer to join in the conversation. "We don't know how many our enemy has to throw at us, or even how big they numbered. All we can do is wait and be ready."

"Hmph. I have a feeling that the Great Army will be bigger than we imagined..." responded Snotlout. "However, we still have yet to see how they are in combat. Once a Viking, always a Viking - I will not stand down."

"...Eh, lad 'as a point." pointed out Gobber, causing Stoick to change his direction from his facefist to the large Viking. "Stoick, ye an' I 'ave gone against tha toughest foes of our time, an' not once did we know what they could'a done ta us - all we know is tha' we went in an' came out tha victors. T'was tha same reason tha' we triumphed over Alvin before he surrendered and became friends with us, or even with Dagur before he offered ta ally with us."

"And your point is?" the Chieftain asked.

"What I'm sayin' is tha' no matter how great tha threat is, we'll still show 'em what it means ta be Viking. Ya've shown our former enemies in tha past what it means ta be Viking. Now, it's time ta show tha Völsung what happens when they mess with tha Hairy Hooligans. We don't know what they 'ave in store fer us, but I say tha' we'll bring 'em battle one way o' another."

The Hooligan Chieftain nodded slowly, heeding Gobber's words as advice, and taking it in with heavy thought. The smithy was right. In the past, the Hooligan Tribe had stood against the most terrible of threats that they have encountered, and yet they came up at the top as the victors. Stoick knew that he was the one who led Berk to war in it's darkest hours against its enemies, and now there was an even bigger threat approaching at their doorstep.

This one would be different, he knew that. But the response would not be any different, so long as victory is assured.

And Stoick knew that one way or another, victory would be a reality.

"Gobber." he said.

The smithy scratched his nose. "Aye, Chief?"

"How many warriors do we currently have garrisoned around Berk?"

"Abou' four hundred, countin' tha militia an' volunteered."

Stoick stood to his feet, putting his helmet on. "By the morrow I want you to call them all to the plaza. I must give them a speech that they will all remember for the rest of their lives."

…

Hiccup wandered the forest as the snow lightly fell from the sky, making his way towards the hidden cove that laid deep within the woods. His cloak was wrapped around him and his woolen hood was up.

For why he was making his way to the cove - it was because of something crazy on his mind. For days he hadn't made contact with Toothless, the Night Fury he had fed and witnessed from afar, even when he came to the rescue to save Hiccup and Astrid from the Nightmare.

So if the Night Fury could do something for him, and he could do something for the Night Fury, then perhaps there was a chance for him to do what he wanted to do.

It was crazy, yes. But still worth it.

Upon nearing the cove, he could see that the lake in the center was beginning to freeze up and harden. The fish in the pond of water were likely already frozen, making it easier for Toothless to catch them and thaw without having to wait for the momentum.

But as Hiccup looked around, he saw no sight of Toothless being near him, and he raised a brow inquisitively, intrigued. "That's weird… where is he?"

Hiccup slowly slid down the cliffy and steep hill, knowing that it was possibly frozen with ice - thus making it slippery. And obviously, it was. At the bottom of the hill, he glanced around in circles to inspect the environment, seeing if he could or couldn't spot the Black Dragon.

"I understand that this Dragon knows how to hide and blend in." he said to himself. "But he couldn't have possibly flown off. Didn't he stay here for-"

Suddenly there was movement in the snowy bushes that laid a few yards off and away from him, and Hiccup quickly unsheathed his sword and pointed it out towards the source. He was ready to see what exactly was behind the bushes, whatever that was watching and possibly closely observing him.

But he didn't need to guess as it soon became apparent.

A large black figure slowly came out, with his wings folded and his body remaining low. Hiccup sighed in relief upon seeing the sight of the Night Fury come into view.

"Hey, Bud." he said, smiling at the Dragon.

Toothless let out a garbled sound, almost as if he were laughing at seeing Hiccup's worry expressed, and the young Viking rolled his eyes at the Black Dragon. "Alright, alright. You got me. I was worried." he admitted.

The Night Fury with interest then pounced around on the ground, almost as if he wanted Hiccup's full attention - which he obviously earned. The Dragon then ran over to another side of the cove, and he made a light roar which told Hiccup to followed.

He obliged and ran over to Toothless, and as he made his way he, noticed something on the ground that caught his attention. Though there was snow lightly falling, some areas in the cove were clear of snow, thus were visible of their terrain. What Hiccup saw was a sketch - a drawing of something in the dirt.

Squinting his eyes however, he got a closer look and saw what it was. He remembered that he made it. It was a drawing in the dirt that he made of Toothless, using a simple stick days back before the heavy downfall of snow came. He then looked back at Toothless, and the Dragon sat there - glancing between Hiccup and the sketch.

The young Viking gave a shrug, using his finger as he ran it through the dirt and started to continued drawing it. He used his memorization of the Dragon to draw the details he knew - the wings, the fins, and even the two from paws. Though the sketch wasn't large, it definitely did begin to show out.

Eventually, Toothless walked closer and observed as the young Viking drew him, and immediately he became fascinated over the sketch, watching as Hiccup with his finger made the various lines and dots in the dirt, and this gave inspiration.

The Dragon happily picked himself up and walked over to the tree he would sometimes hang onto, and as Hiccup drew he suddenly heard a loud and large snap. Quickly he turned around towards Toothless, seeing something he didn't expect.

Toothless actually began drawing himself, making circles in the clear dirt that wasn't covered by snow. As he spun with the large branch in his mouth, he kept making marks in the dirt, mimicking what Hiccup did. And though the young man didn't understand what he was supposed to be drawing, he had a good idea on why he was drawing.

Soon enough the Night Fury was finished with his sketch, and as Hiccup looked down and around he saw that they were just circles and markings that Toothless made, and the Dragon gave a crooning noise as if he was proud with what he made.

"Interesting…" Hiccup said to himself as he stood up to inspect what Toothless made, only to be met with stepping on one of the lines.

The Dragon gave a growl, and Hiccup quickly reacted by backing up, only for him to then stop growling. He raised a brow inquisitively in further interest, and he made a test as he stepped on the line again.

Once again, Toothless growled, and Hiccup went along with this for a few more times until he decided to cope with the Dragon and do as he wanted.

After stepping over the first line, Hiccup was soon to find himself walking over many of the lines of the sketch Toothless made, almost as if it were a maze. He put his arms out to balance himself as he stepped over line after line, going in circles as if it were some sort of dance. What was the Dragon doing, he wondered? Perhaps it was some sort of test that the Dragon wanted to do, to prove something? He didn't know… however, it was then that after he stepped over the last line, he felt warm breathing on his neck.

Hiccup turned around to face the Night Fury who was but a few feet away from him, close enough as if he could touch the Dragon. From this, a chill of tension ran down his spine.

At first, he wasn't sure what to do now that he was in direct eye contact with the creature, but his curiosity got the best of him. And so, with a reach of his arm, he extended his palm outwards to the Night Fury, holding it up in front of him which laid only a foot in front of Toothless' head. He then closed his eyes, and looked down...

…...

Suddenly, something laid against Hiccup's palm. A warm scaly object rested on his hand, and as Hiccup looked up at Toothless he saw the Dragon had placed his relaxing head against his palm. The young Viking immediately became surprised.

Toothless was soon to back away however, as he let out a quick and large exhale of air from his nostrils like a Horse, and ran off swiftly.

Hiccup however looked at his palm, expressing wonder on what in the name of Helheim had happened.

"What…?"

…

Dusk eventually fell over Berk, and Hiccup was quick to make his way back to the village. Upon arriving however, he saw that there were many warriors and militiamen running towards the direction of the docks. The hustle seemed intense.

"What is going on…?" he asked himself.

"HICCUP!" a voice bellowed throughout the plaza. Hiccup was hasty to turn towards the source, and from behind he saw his father rushing towards him with Astrid and Fishlegs by his side.

"Dad!" he called out, running towards the large Viking. "What's going on?"

"Some ships have been spotted off the coast, Son." he answered. "We were easily able to identify who they were."

Hiccup's face lit up. "Who are they? Völsung?"

"Berserkers." replied Astrid. "We could easily tell by the way they were gathered, as well as their colors. It's at least ten longships or so. Though we don't know how many are aboard them yet."

The young lad's eyes widened. "Have they come to wipe us out?"

There was a pause for a moment. Stoick changed his glance towards the incoming ships, and he shook his head. "...It doesn't seem like it." he said. "Their ships look devastated and in ruins."

Without any further questions or time to waste, the four continued as they made their way down to the docks, with the warriors down below hastily making way for their Chieftain and his son.

Thankfully, Stoick was quick to spot the Berserker Flagship, and with haste he and the others rushed towards one of the opened piers which coincidentally would be the pier that the Flagship would harbor itself at.

As it docked, a boarding platform would land on the pier, and just the Chieftain was about to eagerly welcome the Berserker Chieftain - Dagur - he saw something he didn't expect.

Injured Berserker warriors came down from the longship, each of them wrapped in bandages and their faces and skin charred from what was likely to be black and burnt rubble. They were all in disarray, and exhausted it seemed.

Dagur was the one to come off the ship, with his sister Heather at his side as she held her arm across the limping and wounded Chieftain's shoulders. He slightly grunted in pain.

"Dagur…?" he asked, and the young Chieftain nodded at Stoick with a struggled expression. "What happened? ...Your whole fleet looks as if it was on fire!"

Dagur sighed. "We were attacked! Under siege!" he answered. "A large group of hostile Vikings came at us and attacked us from the sea, and we were easily overwhelmed to ten large longships; carrying warriors that were skilled and beyond any that I have ever seen before."

Stoick's eyes widened. "And…?" he asked slowly.

The young Berserker Chieftain looked down as he shook his head. "...W- We lost our home, Stoick." he stuttered. "We lost Berserker Island! They've taken it and enslaved and killed anyone they could find. What I have with me is what remains of my people..." The Chieftain then fell to his knees and muttered to his dead father; "Dad. Forgive me. I have failed you..."

"Who was it that attacked you?" asked Hiccup, stepping forward.

Heather, Dagur's sister, shrugged as she eyed Hiccup, though not familiar with him. "They never told themselves who they were. All we know is that their colors were black, and their sails had the symbol of a red raven being crossed by strangely-shaped two axes. That's all we know…"

It was then apparent, that from that description, one name immediately came to Stoick's mind...

"Ivar…"