A/N: Hellooo! I'm back with another chapter... reviews!

CzarnyKot356: Yes... cliffhangers... I enjoy those ;P

Antox: Yup, an arrow. Stupid arrow.

ThePhoenixGhirl: Yes he did. There are some measures that people stoop to that are... well... you get what I mean.

Angel Talon: Did I just kill Hiccup? Noooooo, I could never. Doesn't mean I can't hurt him though! And to answer your detective question... no comment. You'll see.

Massive HTTYD Fan: Poor Hiccup, indeed. And it's not going to get much easier for him any time soon... And thanks, by the way!

IAmHelenOfTroy: hehehehehehehehehehe

Guest (review on chapter 3): Oh... I hope you survive the wait.

Guest: YEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS *cackles again cuz it's fun*

By the way, Romantica 123, if you're still alive, please say hello! I haven't seen you in a while and I miss you :(

So... the Riders are in quite a pickle to put in mildly... here's chapter 5:

The plan had been going so well. Everything was falling into place, and Hiccup even surprised them with his own escape initiative. Until the gods turned their backs on them.

Astrid had attacked full of fury and battle spirits when the ship had been in range. War cries, startled Hunters, and fire everywhere as they set their plan into motion. It was a simple distraction rescue plan, but they had thought through a few different ways to cope with unexpected things, just like Viggo would do. Pretty fool-proof. And as it turned out, they didn't even need to rescue Hiccup, he had managed to escape on his own accord. Sure, he was manacled and was carrying the contraption that kept his wrists bound, but it did make their work a lot easier.

"Hiccup!" She had shouted, scared that he would get hurt by the Hunters approaching him from behind. He was pretty damn genius, that guy, using that hunk of metal as a weapon, even if it was pretty heavy.

"Use the chains as a shield!" She had suggested when he lost momentum, praying to the gods that there would be an opportunity for her and Toothless to get him off that deck. But how were they going to deal with the added weight… oh, problem solved. She couldn't help but get distracted by the delighted look on her boyfriend's face when he realised he was almost free. He started to make his way to the stern of the ship, which was Astrid's cue it was time to go.

"Light up the way, Toothless," She whispered and Toothless replied with a growl that sounded like 'you don't have to tell me twice'. Astrid smiled, bracing herself for when they would dive down to get him as the deck exploded in a mix of green, yellow, red and blue. Hiccup ran straight through the path made by the purple fire.

"Hiccup!" She shouted as encouragement.

"Coming!" He shouted in reply as he scrambled towards the stern and climbed onto the wooden ledge, clearly straining to keep his balance and not topple into the waves below him. "Now, Toothless," The air immediately whipped through her hair as the Night Fury dived towards him. Hiccup glanced worriedly back at the ship. She followed his gaze and then her heart skipped a beat. Viggo overlooked the battle, hands behind his back and a determined scowl on his face. Beside him was Ryker, who was standing on top of one of the cabins, longbow in hand, an arrow pointing directly at her boyfriend. "Come on Toothless, we have to get him before he gets hurt," She whispered, praying to the gods that they could get him in the air before the arrow- She didn't want to think about it. She stole a glance at Hiccup's pleading, hopeful gaze and bit her lip in worry. Come on, come on, come on. Time seemed to slow down as both the arrow and Toothless' claws raced to him. Just a little longer, just a little-

Hiccup gave a pained gasp as the arrow pierced his back, then toppled off the ship and into the sea, half-conscious.

And now she watched in horror as all the Hunters ran to the stern and threw nets and chains into the water.

"No! Hiccup!" Snotlout shouted, diving Hookfang into the water, but Astrid sat on Toothless' back, frozen. No… it hadn't worked… the arrow had got there first… Within seconds of the Hunters tugging at their ropes, Hiccup's motionless figure could be seen emerging from the ocean, the bloody arrow still wedged into his back. Toothless growled, fidgeting as he tried to work out a way to save his rider… but it seemed so hopeless. Soon after, Snotlout and Hookfang flew back out of the water, breathless and morose. They all watched in despair as the Hunters pulled the arrow out and slapped his back to clear his lungs. A heart-wrenching yell of pain came from Hiccup's lips and his eyes twitched. Astrid's eyes fell on the blood that already saturated the area around the wound and dripped onto the deck. Viggo stood smirking from where he had been standing the whole time, almost completely in the shadows as the sun slowly sunk towards the horizon.

"Viggo!" Astrid found herself yelling, her hands trembling slightly. The man looked up at her calmly, one eyebrow raised. "Let him go!"

"And why would I do that, my dear Astrid?" His smirk was growing at a maddening rate.

"I'll exchange him for your imposter, you can have him back!" She shouted in reply, desperate for anything that would get her Hiccup back. Viggo laughed at her.

"Do you really think I find him more valuable than your leader? Why, if I wanted him back so much I never would have dumped him in Hiccup's hut that evening! He's just a slave, slaves have little worth in this world. Besides, all people are expendable."

"Hey, every human is equal and has immeasurable worth!" Fishlegs shouted angrily.

"And this is not a game!" Tuffnut added, he and his twin scowling. But Viggo ignored them, only giving Astrid a mocking sympathetic smile as he studied her scowl. "At least you'll have something to remember your loss," He ambled away smugly, muttering a word to his brother before retreating below deck.

"Fire!" Ryker shouted as the Hunters aimed their crossbows towards the five dragons in the sky. Astrid growled, ducking to dodge a few of the projectiles coming her way.

"Astrid, what are we going to do?" Fishlegs shouted over the whizzing noising that bombarded them.

"We fight back, of course!"

"But we don't have a good angle or viewpoint," Snotlout replied, glancing at the darkening sky. "It's getting dark, there's too many off them, we're here in plain sight and-" He stopped speaking as a boulder almost knocked him out of the air. "It's too risky, even for us!" The female warrior, said nothing, not knowing what to do. Arrows flew past them at a rapid pace, every dragon growling as they dodged. A scream came from the imposter as an arrow pierced his good foot, and the twins hugged their dragon's neck as their helmets were jostled by the flying weapons.

"We can't stay here, regroup at the Edge," Astrid commanded, feeling overwhelmed. The dragons obeyed immediately, grateful to be out of range as they began the long flight back. It was a sullen journey, no one spoke. They had watched victory come so close, and then be snatched out of their hands right before their eyes. Astrid's pushed her loose hairs back in stress, a tear running down her cheek.

Babe…

Hiccup…

Wha-what is going on? Why does my back- OW! He was slammed against the floor which such force that he felt like his back was exploding in pain. He felt warm liquid trickling down his skin, sticking the fabric to the wound. He squinted his eyes open, blurrily looking at the Hunters approaching him. They rolled him onto his stomach and a rough hand gripped his armour as another cut it open, revealing the clean wound beneath it and leaving him shirtless. The blood started to trickle down his skin. Hiccup moaned in pain. How had he gotten into this mess anyway? One minute he had been on the brink of freedom and now he was-

"You got a good shot, sir, right between the shoulder blades," He heard a Hunter comment, interrupting his thoughts.

"Aye," Ryker chuckled, causing Hiccup to grimace. "Bandage him up. Otherwise he'll die before we get there." Get there? Where on earth are we headed? If we were going to Viggo's base we would be there by now, so where- ARRRGH! A grubby finger pressed down on the wound, hands grabbing Hiccup's limbs as he writhed. Bandages were wrapped around his chest but so sloppily that he wondered what good they would do to stop the blood flow.

"Ah, hello brother," Ryker's voice darkened.

"How's he doing?" Viggo replied, calmly.

"I don't think he's awake, but he'll live," He paused, and Hiccup could imagine the Dragon Hunter leader nodding contently. He felt his stomach twinge and he struggled not to throw up. Had Viggo planned this whole thing? "Why didn't you just let me beat 'im up? He almost got away!"

"My plan hurt both his body and his morale. Punches and kicks would only make him more determined. We're supposed to break him, not harden him. It wasn't my choice to have the Riders attack at that time," Ryker audibly growled. "I know you don't approve of my methods, but may I remind you who of us set up the deal and conducted a plan to capture him. We should get to the meeting place within a day or so. Make sure he doesn't make another break for it. He'd be foolish to do so, but you never know." Footsteps disappeared, and Hiccup prayed to the gods that the pain would too.

"Get the chains, we're not letting him out of his cell again," Ryker muttered, venom clear in his voice. Hiccup grunted, hating the helplessness he felt. Every movement hurt and he could already feel the cloth that covered the wound soaking through. The pain was excruciating and he had to bite his lip to stop himself from screaming as the Hunters rolled him onto his side – none too carefully. The dreaded sound of chains came closer and closer until he felt the remaining metal rings on his wrists be pushed up his arms and a new set click in place. Another ring was snapped around his leg and he flinched as the new bolts were hammered in. He squeezed his eyes shut, wishing he could move his fingers to his ears without screaming.

After what felt like hours later he opened his eyes and looked around him. The Hunters were finally leaving, Ryker taking a final glance at him before smiling maliciously and locking the cell.

"Left you a little note," He whispered, smirking as he walked down the hall. What? His eyes flickered around the cell. Same walls, same green-tinted gate, same wooden floorboards… His gaze fell on the new bolt in the floor that kept his three remaining limbs bound. It was bigger this time, and looked much too heavy to lift out of the ground… let alone in his state.

But in front of it, a little piece of parchment was propped up, sitting sideways so he could read it from where he lay.

This one is bigger, more bolts, no gaps and no wire to help you.

Sit tight. We'll be there soon.

-V

A/N: See you in 2019 ;) Question of the day: favourite rtte episode? Mine is Triple Cross.

~httydfangirl123