A/N: Helloooo again! A few of you guys have been asking what the noise was. So to answer ThePhoenixGhirl, Romantica123 and anyone else who wants to know... I'm not going to tell you. But it will be revealed in the coming two chapters. You'll see... Onto shoutouts:

ThePhoenixGhirl: Thank you, hope you enjoy this chapter!

Romantica 123: XD You shall see. And yes, please don't hyperventilate or anything. And yes, maybe Hiccup should be careful ;)

Angel Talon: LOL that would be interesting XD

Massive HTTYD Fan: *cackles in the distance*

Jokermask18: Thanks :)

Anyway, enjoy the chapter ;)

It was only once the sun had risen and Astrid was about to head for the Clubhouse for breakfast that she realised her axe was still wedged in the wall of Hiccup's hut. She grunted in frustration, not in the mood for going back to her insolent boyfriend's residence. He has to apologise for forgetting first. Until then, I'm not talking to him. Because what kind of a muttonhead boyfriend agrees to meet you and ten seconds later abandons you to go to bed? She understood that he was tired, but this was ridiculous. He could have just told her he was too tired to hang out, and everything would have been fine. But if I have to wait for him, I won't have my axe with me… Ugh! She paced on the platform outside her hut, not sure what to do with her dilemma as Stormfly looked at her in curiosity. But then again, he might not even be home. Thor knows how often he takes early morning flights or goes out to do this and that… She decided to go to his hut to check.

"Morning girl, let's get my axe back," She muttered to her dragon, who squawked fondly in reply. The pair took off, looking over the sunlit sea and the shadows of the sea stacks on the water before Stormfly swooped down to land on the platform outside Hiccup's hut. Astrid jumped off her back, feet landing on the wood with a thud. She stood silently for a minute, trying to figure out if she wanted him to be home or not. I hope he runs out now to apologise… she found herself thinking. But apart from that, I don't want to see him. She remained motionless for a few more seconds, before deciding he wasn't coming and placed her ear on the wall.

Nothing. She pulled on the metal lever, watching as the door opened and revealed the messy, dark hut. He wasn't home and neither was Toothless, that was for sure. But what she didn't understand was why the desk hadn't been tidied up yet. The piece of furniture was still on its side, and cogs and mechanic parts lay scattered on the floor, alongside the sheets of parchment. That wasn't like him. He would've cleared it up. She ambled into the hut, the sun that entered through the opening of the door being the only source of light for her. She spotted her axe immediately, and started stepping over papers and cogs to get there. By Thor, she was lucky she hadn't tripped up in her rage last night. And on second glance she noticed brown footprints on some of the sheets. She finally made it to the wall, where she pulled out her axe and started walking back towards the door, when a deafening roar that could only come from a Night Fury made her jump, her foot hitting one of the metal parts and causing her to stumble. Stormfly looked at her human in concern as she face-planted outside the door.

"As if this day couldn't get any better…" She grumbled, mounting the Deadly Nadder, sheathing her axe and flying off to the dome where the roar came from. The wind in her hair did little to calm her down as she landed, seeing Hiccup leaning against Toothless while sharpening his knife… First off, why is he sharpening his knife? And why is Toothless still growling at him? And what is so wrong that he roared so loudly? She jumped off her dragon and walked into the circular area with her axe.

"What was that noise?" She asked, hands on her hips, also half waiting for an apology for last night. But his expression remained emotionless, and when he looked up at her his face was blank.

"What noise?"

"You know, the deafening sound of a Night Fury roar that could wake up a Foreverwing?" Hiccup stole a quick nervous glance at his dragon before looking back up at the maiden.

"I didn't hear it," He mumbled, just loud enough to hear, but telling by the Night Fury's indignant huff, it wasn't the whole truth.

"What is going on with you?" She raised her voice, feeling anger and exasperation build up in her just like last night. Hiccup looked back up from his knife, which was gleaming and sharp by now, and shrugged his shoulders. A silence fell, which Toothless filled by growling at the Rider. Astrid took a deep breath in, trying not to lose her temper. She walked over and sat next to him, hoping to get a warm response, a sad smile to show how he was feeling, a sigh followed by an apology, anything that would give her a glimpse of the Hiccup she knew and loved. She was starting to miss him, she realised. Starting to miss the person sitting next to her, just because he had been acting strangely for 12 hours or so. What is going on with me? And more importantly, what is going on with him?

"Are you alright?" She asked calmly, hoping she could make him open up. But once again, he just nodded, emotionless.

"I'm fine,"

"But Hiccup, what are we going to do-"

"GOOD MORNING DRAGON'S EDGE!" Came a loud voice from the sky as Ruff and Tuff descended from where they stood on the back of their flying dragon. They strolled into the dome, standing tall and proud as if they were addressing their subjects. The male twin then approached Astrid enthusiastically.

"Astrid, I think-"

"Whatever you're about to say, I disagree." Astrid snapped, much more concerned about her boyfriend than the twins' stupid ideas.

"What a way to kill a morning good mood," He grumbled, face falling as he walked back to his dragon.

"Talking of morning mood," Ruffnut giggling, referring to the look of tiredness and grumpiness displayed on Snotlout's face as he flew down on Hookfang. Astrid rolled her eyes at them, glancing at Hiccup, who seemed to be paying no attention to what was going on around them.

"Hiccup, I think we all want to know what we're going to do about these attacks from Viggo. You had a point yesterday when you said it wasn't like him. But what's the plan?"

He shrugged nonchalantly. "Eh... maybe we should just hold off for a bit and see what Viggo decides to do. At the moment all he's doing is losing dragons, so he's bound to make a calculated move soon. We'll wait for that." Astrid made a face.

"Uh... excuse me if I'm getting the wrong idea, but aren't we supposed to be getting one step ahead of Viggo instead of letting him do whatever he wants?" Tuffnut commented, eyes narrowed.

"What if we can't get one step ahead though?"

"Are you saying you've lost hope?" Astrid asked, concern growing every second.

"No, I'm saying that we have to consider the possibility that we can't do anything yet," Hiccup replied, putting the knife and the stone down and looking up. Astrid frowned.

"Are you sure you're alright?" She asked.

"Yeah,"

"You don't look it," He sighed, causing a spark of hope in Astrid that he might finally be opening up.

"I'm just a bit tired, Astrid that's all," Astrid nodded comfortingly, despite being completely unconvinced. But she decided to let him rest before questioning him. She would get to the bottom of this later.

"Go have a nap then. We can discuss more about Viggo tomorrow, right now you need to rest. Meet me this afternoon on the cliff," She replied firmly. Hiccup nodded, standing up and flying off on Toothless.

"What's up with him?" Snotlout asked the minute their leader was gone.

"Yeah, like he's totally lost his 'we have to be one step ahead of Viggo' motivational thing," Ruffnut said, also puzzled.

"I don't know. Yesterday we arranged to meet up and next thing I knew there was a loud noise, he knocked over his desk and went to bed. His hut is an absolute mess," Astrid added, forehead furrowed in thought. "I'm going to ask him what's wrong later, and he'd better open up," She sighed. "But I guess until then we take the day off. Enjoy the day, gang!" The group dispersed, Hookfang and Snotlout flying grumpily back to their hut, Fishlegs heading towards the beach and the twins snickering as they flew off to Thor-knows-where. Astrid sighed, feeling bored already. This was going to be a long day.

Astrid sat on the cliff later that day, sharpening her axe next to Stormfly. She was almost doubting that Hiccup would show up. I mean, after all the weird things that have happened recently, I wouldn't be surprised...

"Astrid!" Came a voice, followed by the sound of a Night Fury's wings beating. Toothless landed next to her, and Hiccup clumsily got off and walked over to her, subtly limping. Astrid smiled at him, trying to ignore his limp and all the other worries she felt for him.

"Hey, babe," She replied as he sat next to her, feet dangling over the side of the rocks. "How are you feeling now?" He shrugged.

"Better, I guess," He looked at the ground, avoiding her gaze.

"But you weren't just tired,"

"What do you mean?" He peered up at her, meeting her gaze with timid eyes.

"There's something else bothering you, or else you wouldn't be acting like this," She edged closer to him, taking his hand in hers and pulling it onto her lap. But he didn't react, simply looking out towards the horizon emptily.

"Nothing's wrong, really. Maybe I'm thinking too much about Viggo, I don't know,"

"Well, have you thought of anything yet?" She pressed on, squeezing his hand encouragingly. He shook his head sadly, turning to him. They stared at each other for a few seconds as she watched his facial expression falter. He quickly turned away and stared at his prosethetic leg.

"You will eventually," She replied, still trying to connect with him, because at that moment it felt like her words were just like fire on Dragon-proof metal. Hiccup grunted in reply, not really engaging.

"No, Hiccup, listen to me. You will," She lifted her hand to his chin and turned his head to face her. "I know you will," She leaned forward to kiss him like the many times they had before, her lips pressing against his motionless mouth. She continued to kiss him, waiting for him to kiss back... but he didn't. It took a few seconds, and when his lips starting moving they were hesitant, scared. Like his 15-year-old self would be... Astrid pulled back in surprise. Why is he rejecting my affection? She looked up into his brown eyes searching for an answer, but they didn't contain the light she was used to. Wait. Brown eyes?! Hiccup has green eyes. She stared into his eyes again, praying she was just mistaken. But his eyes gleemed with chestnut brown pigment. She opened her mouth in confusion, taken aback. She studied his face, noticing how his features looked slightly different. She remembered his limp, Toothless' hostility, his out-of characterness, his hesitancy to kiss her.

"Who are you?" She asked, eyes narrowing. This time it was Hiccup who looked taken-aback.

"I'm Hiccup. Isn't that obvious?" He replied. His voice, it's also different. He wouldn't say that.

"No you're not," She argued.

"Yes I am," He said adamantly, clearly getting defensive. She shook her head. Hiccup wouldn't say that. 'Astrid, snap out of it, it's me' something like that, not this... But how?

"Who are you really?" Astrid raised her voice, anger filling her. Where was her boyfriend? What had this horrid imposter done to him?

"I'm Hiccup!" His voice also rising.

"Tell me something about him. Something about his past. What happened on Thaw Fest 4 years ago? He and Snotlout?" She shouted, already referring to Hiccup in the third person. The imposter cowered at her anger, expression displaying his cluelessness on the topic.

"I thought so. Who are you? Don't try and convince me you're him. What have you done to him?" Astrid's eyes were ablaze with worry and anger. The boy hesitated, mouth moving but no words emerging.

"WHO ARE YOU? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HICCUP?" She stood up, towering over him as she demanded an answer. She reached for her axe, pushing him to the ground and holding her axe to his neck. She heard growls, and looked up to see Toothless and Stormly growling at him in a defensive stance. She stared into his eyes again, pressing the axe into his throat slowly and gently but enough to make him crack. He gulped, then spoke with a distinct Northern accent.

"I work for Viggo Grimborn."

A/N: *cackles even louder* Didn't see that coming did you? ;) This is going to get interesting...

Anyway, please leave me a review to let me know what you thought, everything (within reason) is appreciated. And I will see you in a few days for the next chapter ;)

~httydfangirl123