Quick note before beginning, there is a plot-twist in this chapter that might surprise a specific amount of you as one character which most of you know from the HTTYD Franchise willing switches sides. I won't tell who it is or what side it is, but I hope you enjoy!

Also, thanks to those who reviewed last chapter!

Stoick peered down at the trail from where Toothless previously was, seeing exactly what his son Hiccup had described to him. Multiple pairs of footsteps, a large drag mark, and then nothing - aside the fact that there were wheel trails in their place afterwards.

"Bloody Hel you weren't kidding." said Stoick, stroking his beard. "This storehouse is bashed up, and there's clues all around here. Whoever these people were that took your Dragon, they certainly had no decency at all."

"Aye. It looks like they were in a rush." replied Magnus, pointing out the damage. "A majority of the crates and barrels here seem to be pushed over whilst their steps trail all around the place. Almost like it was a wrestle."

Hiccup nodded his head. "Well, it clearly was." he said. "Taking down a Night Fury is no easy feat, plus- Toothless isn't one to be messed with. He doesn't go down without a fight. You've seen it, we've all seen it."

"Well then we'll have to devise up a plan." responded Eira, stepping in. "These bastards won't get away that easily with taking something that belongs to the Chieftain's son. And they've messed with the wrong people."

"Agreed." replied Stoick as he stood from crouching down to inspect the mess. "Here's the plan: Eira, you will rally Magnus' guard and perform a full search of the village, patrolling left right and center. Magnus, Hiccup, you two will go down to the docks and represent in my absence for the arriving vessels. They ought to be near."

"Aye. But what if they attack us?" asked Magnus.

"Well, if they were to attack us then they would've been launching catapults by now, or made their presence known with their faction colors."

Stoick placed his hands behind his back, making his way out of the storehouse. "Then it's settled. I'll rally the Chieftains and have a discussion with them. We must plan our next course of action soon. Until then, you must do what you must and not slack off. We're in a war after all… now, if I were you all, I'd get to it."

Without another word, the Chief was off, and soon so was Hiccup and Magnus, and then Eira who made her way around to gather the guard.

Hiccup and Magnus however, the two of them discussed in low tones as they made for the docks, wondering what reason there would've been for capturing Toothless if he had saved them all.

"Are you sure he's going to be fine?" asked Hiccup in a low, whispering voice. Magnus looked back at him and gave him a nod and wink of his eye.

"It won't take long before we find them. My guard are among the elite warriors of Berk, and they are trained to track even the most difficult of trails. Toothless will return in one piece, and this I promise you… for now however, let's see what our strange visitors have to say to us."

…

Down at the docks, dozens of Berkian warriors as well as those from the other Tribes were gathered along the piers, all eyeing the incoming ships that raised the white flag of peace and truce. It seemed they weren't hostile after all, however their presence was still unknown, and their reason for being on Berk was unknown.

"Their ships, now up close, certainly tell us that they're not Ivar's." commented Hiccup, earning a nod from Magnus.

"Aye. But let's just hope we don't make any further enemies that would interfere with our conflict against him. We already have enough on our plate, and a thousand more warriors against us is the last thing we need before we lose this war."

With that being said, the small but leading armed longship with the white flag raised made port in front of Hiccup and Magnus who stood with guards of all Tribes on their flanks, especially with some of Magnus' elite. And as the large plank of wood hit the pier, six warriors begun making their way off the leading longship, and in the center was their leader.

The one who commanded them had black hair, and stood taller than the rest of his men. His hair dropped back into a ponytail, and he had facial hair covering his chin. His outfit consisted of a tan furred vest and a linen shirt along with leather pants and boots, and at his side he had two short swords sheathed.

"That's their leader?" Magnus asked in a low tone. "He seems a bit young."

Hiccup nodded in response, crossing his arms. "Aye, but it looks like he's definitely older than the both of us. We'll just have to wait and see."

As the stranger stepped forward towards Hiccup and Magnus, he gave a deep bow before them with his arms spread out at his side, presenting himself to the two Berkians.

"Greetings." he said to them. "It's a surprise that we managed to meet. Now, before I tell you who I am, I would like to tell you that I come here on neutral standards, and thus you might be wondering why I am here… Well, when I heard about what happened here from one of my scouts who saw the whole thing, about the battle against the army that blasted my fort to bits, I just had to come here. Who knew that you would be the ones to stand up against that great force, especially with Dragons."

"Um, fort?" asked Magnus.

"Aye, my fort." the stranger replied. "My master- ...or well, 'former' master, had me exiled from his ranks for good, along with the execution half of my men as punishment for my failure. Initially he intended on punishing me as well as he told me he would've be less understanding than what he had previously done to me, but I managed to escape behind his back before he could take any real action."

"Failure to do what?" asked Hiccup, arching his brow.

"...Failure to keep our stock of Dragons caged and held for my master. We were formerly-"

"You're Dragon Trappers." angrily responded Hiccup, unsheathing his sword as he stepped forward and gripped it tightly, the thought of spilling blood spread throughout his mind. "What did your spies do with Toothless!?"

The stranger arched a brow. "With who?" he asked with tension, only for Magnus to step in, in between the two as he stuck out his sword to separate them, especially since his blade was closer to Hiccup.

He shook his head at the young lad. "Don't do this, Hiccup. We don't even know if they were his spies - and I highly doubt they were."

"Spies?" the man asked once more. "What are you two talking about? We just arrived here, and this one here is accusing me of spying on-"

"My friend Hiccup here is just tensed up, warrior." interrupted Magnus, placing a hand on the man's shoulder, trying to side track. "He's had a rough day and we've been making many preparations for our next upcoming battle against our enemy which is now your enemy. Plus, I don't think it would be wise to ask him questions whilst he's in this state, Mister…"

"My name is Eret." the man replied. "Eret, son of Eret. One of the finest trappers alive… or well, former I should've said."

Hiccup sighed, sheathing his sword - though he still remained irritated. "Well then, Eret." he said. "Please, tell me why I shouldn't order the guards to arrest you for being a former a trapper, and I want a good reason."

Magnus facepalmed himself. "Hiccup…"

"I no longer having intentions of trapping Dragons." Eret stated, and in a bold expression. "I only trapped Dragons because that was what I was ordered to do. I did it for my survival and for my income of wealth as well as for my men's, and now with my fort blasted to bits and all the Dragons I captured set loose, there isn't a point for me to continue the hunt. I have nothing left except these loyal warriors who followed me wherever I went."

Those words from Eret, though somewhat unbelievable to Hiccup, gave him a sense that perhaps the former Trapper was not lying. His words sounded bold and truthful, and he saw no lying expression from the older Viking's face. As well as considering the poor state that the rest of his warriors were in along with the ships, perhaps he was indeed truthful.

Hiccup, seeing no other option, fully backed off and released his grip from the hilt of his blade. "Then tell me, Eret son Eret." he began, sounding more tolerable. "What is it you want? And why have you come here?"

"...I want to join you in your fight against the Great Viking Army." he told the young Viking with ease. "Your enemy is my enemy, and there is no doubt that my former master has already gone to their side to aid them… or for his own benefit. But regardless, this Great Army is beyond anything I've ever seen; in both manpower and weaponry, and I want revenge for not just what they have caused me to be in, but as well as to give my men and I a chance for survival… this is all I ask of you. When all is set and done, all two hundred of my men will be at your disposal."

"...I see no lie in your words, Eret son of Eret." responded Magnus, glancing at the exhausted warriors that stood on Eret's flanks. "The proof is already shown before us. You and your men are in no state to continue, and definitely not in any form or shape to fight on like this. Please, allow us to tend to you."

Hiccup nodded in agreement as Eret eyed him, now fully tolerating the new ally. "I will be more than willing to help you out; and I'm sure my father - the Chieftain, will be reluctant to tend to your needs... You may signal your men to make port on the empty Western piers. From now on, we're allies in this."

Hiccup stuck out his hand, expressing his acceptance to Eret as he now considered him an ally of Berk. In response, the Viking grabbed ahold of Hiccup's hand firmly and shook. "It's a pleasure to be with you, lads." he told the younger Viking. "I'm glad that we were able to come to an agreement-"

"Magnus, Hiccup!" a young woman's voice called out from behind the ranks, and instantly all of the attention was attracted as Eira came running through towards them, nearly breathless.

She stopped in front of the two, catching her breath before standing up straight and nodding at them. "We found Toothless. He was locked up in a cage; but as of now he is in our possession and freed from clutches. The captors too are as well in our possession." Her tone sounded relieved.

Hiccup's eyes widened. "Wow… that was fast." he said. "But is he alright?"

"Toothless is fine." she assured him. "But wait until you ask the bastards who thought it was a good idea about kidnapping him. They're in deep boar crap now…"

…

"Our influence is beginning to spread widely throughout Norway and Scandinavia, High Chieftain." said Frode of the Dark Eye Clan, glancing at all of the other greater Chieftains as they sat in a circle on their thrones. "Inferior Tribes and Clans are beginning to submit to our indominatable might, and everyday our forces are slowly increasing, yet at a great rate of time."

Ivar chuckled. "All seems to be going excellent." he said. "Soon when all is set and done, we shall move on to conquer other lands that have been out of our grasp, and we will fill our bellies with food and sit on thrones of silver with gold jewels."

"Aye, and it's not only the Scandinavians that are coming from all around to join us." said Karvein, joining in on the conversation. "I've made contact with one of the greatest Germanic Clans found in Northern Germania and they have agreed to join us in our war, though they do not in any sense rival the Bloody Berserkers."

Ivar turned his gaze on Karvein with his brows raised. "I see… and, who are these Barbarians?" he asked, gesturing with his hands before sipping from his mug of mead.

Karvein lightly chuckled in response. "They are called the Saxons, High Chieftain."

Ivar gagged, splurting out the mead from his mouth as he began to cough. "S-Saxons?" he asked, breathing for air. "You mean those heathens and infidels who fought us during the war of England? Those filthy christians-"

"My King." interrupted Vlar, raising his hand up. "With all due respect, if I may speak, Karvein does not refer to the English Anglo-Saxons, but rather the Germanic Saxons. Those who consisted of our ancestors of whom had resided for hundreds of years even before us. They are the reason us Vikings and Rus' even exist."

"Indeed." said the High Seer, and Chieftain of the Dark Eye Clan. "From what I can see from Karvein's words, as well as hear, the barbaric Saxons may yet turn the tide even further in our favor… and yet- it seems the Vikings of the Archipelago are also doing their best to turn the tide in their favor."

Ivar leaned forward in his chair, grasping his hands together. "And what exactly does that mean, Seer?" he asked, though not surprised. "I can only assume from your words that the 'Vikings', these heathens, plan to go for an important target, if I am not mistaken?"

All eyes soon fell upon Ivar with curiosity. Even the High Seer of the Dark Eye Clan grew intrigued as a smile spread wide across his face from beneath the black hood he wore, and he shifted in his seat with his mail armor and robes. "Exactly, son of Lothbrök." he told him, standing from his chair as he walked towards the table in the center of the room; that which had the war map spread out on it.

"If I could guess however," he began, motioning towards the map. "I would say that this pitiful army could strike somewhere that is near Norway, but not quite there. Perhaps a week or so away from us to the Northwest. Perhaps-"

"Perhaps Black Rock Isle. The prison fortress." interrupted Ivar, grinning widely with a devil-like look on his face. He slowly began to drift from his chair, grabbing his walking stick and adjusting his legs as he began to limp himself over towards the war map table, gazing and keeping his eyes on it. "I know they would attack there as the strategic position and containment is of great importance to them."

Hjalmar stood from his throne, joining in on the conversation after much listening. "That is the island where over a thousand prisoners are held, if I am correct High King?" he asked Ivar as he wiped his hand across the flat surface of his prosthetic axe-fist. "It contains prisoners who are slowly being broken by their own emotions and actions…"

"And correct you are, Hjalmar." nodded Ivar, lowering his brows along with his grin. "In this prison fortress, hundreds of the prisoners which we hold consist of the remaining major Tribes we found from all across the Archipelago. About three or five of them I'd say. And not only that; but these specific hundreds are all warriors."

Karvein gave a grunt. "No doubt the Archipelago Vikings and Berk will make way there to free the prisoners and gain nearly a thousand more men. Enough to stand their ground against us."

Ivar shook his head, still his smile remained wide across his face. He then turned to his left and made his way towards an empty chair that stood right in front of the table. As he sat in it, he began to give a light chuckle; and, once again he shook his head.

"They likely believe that the fortress is weak as only two cog ships, half a dozen Devastators, and two hundred warriors of the Völsung Clan remain on that island…" he said with a deep, low, and evil voice. "...But they are wrong."

Vlar raised one of his brows at Ivar. "What do you mean, Boneless?" he said, questioning the High Chieftain's thoughts and motives.

"What I mean is that the men who operate the island are no ordinary Vikings." he answered, turning to face the other Chieftains. "These Vikings of whom I hired and recruited into the Völsung are some of my elite guard. The warriors who will remain by my side in every battle to come. And the warriors who will go from being ordinary elite mercenaries, to true Vikings."

He once again turned around to face the table, placing his elbows atop of it as he grasped his hands- grinning wider than before with his teeth now showing out.

"You're walking towards my trap perfectly, Hiccup." he said to himself, giggling. "Once my Jomsvikings take care of you, I will finish dealing with what we started all those weeks ago back here in Kattegat. You will be burnt upon the remains of your filthy hut, and then I will lead a force that Berk will not be able to stand against; by my hand."

"...No one can, or will save you, Hiccup…"

Next chapter, the captors will be revealed!