A/N: Hello! I'm back. I did leave you guys on a bit of a cliffhanger last chapter, didn't I? ;) We will continue now, but first... this is now my most reviewed and most followed story yet and it's not even finished! So thank you guys! Keep the reviews coming! And on that note:

ThePhoenixGhirl: Yup... you'll see ;)

CzarnyKot356: The masked man's identity will be revealed this chapter... And a happy new year to you too! And thank you for not spoiling it for me. I've already seen a few spoilers on Instagram by accident because people don't put up a spoiler warning. I mean I like what I see but I don't like seeing it, you get me? And I also love Viggo, because of his overall character in the series :)

keldlando: Oh, you'll see what happens ;)

Massive HTTYD Fan: Don't worry, no criticism taken. And you shall see this chapter...

Nishnibbles: Awwww thank you! I don't know how you write, but I'm sure it's not as bad as you think. I find I'm often more critical of my writing than others are, because you're always your biggest hater. That's just how it works. Practice makes perfect, but a bit of skill and talent helps too ;) Hope this encouragement helps you. As for the island, maybe I didn't use enough imagery for you, I don't know. It's clear in my mind. Thank you for pointing that out, that can help me write better in the future :)

IAmHelenOfTroy: XD

Anyway... I guess you are all bursting to know who the mysterious buyer is and how Hiccup is going to get out of this mess... so I won't hinder you from reading anymore ;)

Wide-eyed, Hiccup stared as Viggo and his buyer – his buyer – shook hands. The man nodded towards him, walking towards him proudly in a way that would have made Hiccup feel like throwing up if the nerves weren't already doing that. The Hunters holding up started moving forward as well, and a switch flipped inside of him. The pain in his back was next to nothing, dulled by adrenaline as he squirmed, wriggling his arms to try and release their grip, and dragging his legs across the ground. His captors were stronger though, at least, until Hiccup slammed his prosthetic into the kneecap of the man to his left. A yelp of pain and the Hunter was on the ground, allowing Hiccup to swivel round and kick the other guy in the gut. The grip on his arm loosened and he was able to pull free, turning around to find an escape route. Hang on… where's the masked man gone? Argh!

A muscular, dark coloured arm wrapped around his neck tightly, causing Hiccup to splutter.

"Do we always have to play the same game, Hiccup Haddock?" That voice… how come he hadn't recognised it? He forced his chin up, resisting the grip of his assailant. He couldn't see all of his face, but he had seen enough to know who it was. Brown eyes, long face, short black hair and a healed scar running down his left eye.

"You again," Hiccup growled, wishing his hands weren't restrained behind his back so he could pull at his arm. First, he tries to buy Toothless at the auction, then he captures me and almost gets me killed, and now this?! He stamped his prosthetic down on the ground, trying to find his attacker's foot, but he was one step ahead of him.

"Get him under control," Hiccup was thrust towards the soldiers, who had by now recovered from their blows. Their grip returned to his arms and he could feel every muscle in his body tense up in frustration. He began to notice the pounding pain in his back again but tried with all his mind to ignore it. His health could easily be restored, but he was starting to wonder whether his freedom was just as easy to get back. "I thought you said had got him ready?" His buyer raised an eyebrow at the scowling Grimborn brothers.

"He is, the arrow wound on his back is going to take a while to be fully healed, and puts him in quite a lot of pain," Viggo reassured him, and it was only then that the dark man glanced at the red-stained bandages that were wrapped around the shirtless teenager and grunted.

"Difficult one, aren't you?" Hiccup scowled at the guy's smirk, but then he gasped in surprise and pain as a dark fist collided with his jaw. He blinked, the stinging in his face increasing exponentially. "Anyway, how about we get on with the formalities of the transaction." Viggo nodded, walking over to the sack on the ground. Ryker followed, peering in, then lifted it up to feel the weight. Viggo watched as he nodded.

"My brother approves, and I trust you not to go back on your agreement, should we settle it?" The trio all nodded and a new man walked out of the trees, holding a- oh no! Hiccup instantly recognised the metal object that was now being passed to his buyer. A déjà vu feeling arose in him, and for a few seconds, he pictured himself backing away from the smouldering hot iron held by the Hunters while he and Dagur were prisoners...

But this time it wasn't just a threat to make him talk. He was being branded for real now. He would become a piece of property for the rest of his life. How will I ever be able to go back to Berk if I escape? How will I ever be able to face dad? I probably will never see him or any of the other Riders again... His mind wandered off in a panic as a drop of sweat ran off his forehead and down his cheek, almost looking like a tear.

"Hold still," Were the words that awakened him to reality again, and only then did feel a hand pressing again his shoulder, presumably to hold the skin still. Out of instinct, he struggled again, trying to wriggle out of the Hunters' iron grip. But it wasn't deterring his buyer. The heat that was radiating from the iron could be felt on his skin even though it hadn't touched him yet. His ex-bounty hunter was taking his time and finally, Hiccup stopped writhing, closing his eyes in defeat, trying to steady his shaky breathing and bracing himself for the burning pain.

"STOP!" A voice boomed. Hiccup opened his eyes in surprise, releasing a breath he didn't realise he had been holding as the man withdrew the brand and left his shoulder unharmed. Everyone turned to see who had interrupted the exchange and Hiccup's eyes followed the voice to- THROK?! Hiccup's mouth fell open and his eyes widened as the Defender marched towards them, dragging someone along with him. What in the name of Odin… Hiccup's mouth only fell more open as he saw what appeared to be a boy who looked exactly like him. The clothes he wore were almost identical to the ones Hiccup would have been wearing, complete with tousled brown hair and a prosthetic leg. Well, the leg isn't exactly the same but it's close…

"I warn you," He was talking directly to Hiccup's buyer. "You are being fooled by Viggo Grimborn. He is trying to sell you an imposter. I assure you, this is the real Hiccup Haddock the Third, son of Stoick the Vast, heir of Berk and master trainer of dragons." Hiccup watched in astonishment as his buyer glanced between him, Viggo and Throk, clearly confused. The Dragon Rider caught sight of Throk and his lookalike winking at him, heard Viggo and Ryker growl in anger and suddenly it clicked. This is Viggo's slave… my Thor! You would almost think he was me! And Throk… is he with the others? He glanced at the sky, trying to catch a glimpse of Astrid or any of the others. Where are they…? The tail of a Deadly Nadder poked out of the clouds for a split second and a smile crossed Hiccup's face for a moment before he covered up to not raise any eyebrows.

"Seize him!" Viggo shouted, pointing an accusing finger at the ginger-haired man, but the buyer raised a hand to stop him.

"Oh? Is that true?" He raised an eyebrow, nearing towards them.

"It is, sir. There have been words of a slave on the market who looks exactly like Hiccup, and I think your business partner here has bought him and is trying to sell you an imposter! Whereas I have captured the real dragon trainer!" Throk answered, earning a scowl from the bound slave. Hiccup tried to keep a neutral facial expression, wondering what in the name of Thor was going to happen next. He glanced at the Grimborn brothers, who looked like they were about to explode and Hiccup had to swallow laughter at the colour of Viggo's face. All eyes were on the buyer, who looked deep in thought.

"I know," He said after a few seconds. "I shall have to test the two Hiccups to find out which one is the real one. We shall go to my base, which is a few hours away by boat, and in my arena, we shall discover which boy is the master dragon trainer I seek," Viggo opened his mouth to speak, but the buyer raised a finger to silence him. "The first one to object admits that they are the one with the imposter." That shut him up. Viggo looked like he had just swallowed fire, and Ryker's hand was clenched around the hilt of his sword. A moment of silence followed, Viggo and Throk having a stare-down while Hiccup and the slave looked at each other in bewilderment.

It felt like minutes later that Viggo gestured for the Hunters holding Hiccup's arms to go back onto the ship and Throk started dragging the slave towards the ship that was docked a bit further up the shore.

"One more thing," The buyer shouted at the retreating men. "Both contestants will be held on my ship, which is docked on the other side of the island." Viggo looked ready to kill everyone who was standing on the island, which Hiccup thought was a bit odd. I mean, unless the slave has been taught to train dragons, he should get his deal… right? He didn't fully understand what the others were planning, he just hoped for Odin's sake that it would work. The grip the Hunters had on his arms was replaced with new arms as he was led towards the other side of the small island, closely followed by the slave and his escorts. The buyer shouted something to Throk and Viggo about the location of his base, but Hiccup was already too far away to hear properly.

Please, guys, let your plan work…

"Hey,"

Hiccup lay on his side in his cell, exhausted, as he looked up into the slave's cell. The walk to the buyer's ship had been a long one, and on top of that, the least painful way of walking was a more tiring way. The manacles around his wrists had been removed, thank Thor for that, but it did make it more comfortable and tempting to fall asleep, although he knew he had to stay alert if he was going to make it out alive and free.

"H-hi," He replied, tone raising at the end in uncertainty.

"Seems you're a wanted man,"

"Yup," Silence fell again.

"It's weird how alike we look. It's like we're long lost twins," The slave said, almost cheerfully. Hiccup grunted, remembering the time his father had insisted he was an only child after the Heather fiasco. Not that he didn't believe him, but this guy did have a point.

"You know I'm helping your friends, right?" This caught Hiccup's attention as he suddenly realised he had no clue what had been going for the past few days.

"What went on back on the Edge?"

"The Edge?"

"That's the name for our base,"

"Oh. Well… I have to say, despite all the training Viggo gave me, cutting off half my leg and all that-"

"Wait, he cut off your leg?!" Hiccup raised his head in shock, only to wince in pain and lower it onto the floor again.

"Don't hurt yourself, Master's done enough to you as it is," The slave looked genuinely concerned for him. "But yes, he bought me on the slave market, cut off my leg and started feeding me information about you and your friends. I literally had to study every single element about you. But I'm not a good actor. Anyway, I was dumped in your hut the night you were kidnapped and I was supposed to take your place and make sure they didn't attack Master while he got you out of your waters. But I got really nervous and messed it up pretty quickly. Your dragon started growling at me from the start, and I never really understood why Astrid got so angry at me for going straight to bed-" Hiccup gasped, the pieces slotting together.

"We were going to meet on the cliff for a date, that's why,"

"You two are dating?"

"Um… yeah,"

"Well, that explains a lot,"

"Yeah. Wait… did she try to kiss you?" The slave hesitated. "I take that as a yes,"

"Yes, that was just before she realised I wasn't you and almost killed me…"

"Sounds like Astrid,"

"Yeah, well, that wasn't part of the plan, so I took off running. But you know, dragons flying over you while you're running on an unfamiliar island is bound to fail so they got me and demanded I told them where Viggo was headed." He chuckled quietly. "I'm a bit stubborn though, so I gave them awkward answers every time Astrid dropped me to get me to talk,"

"Hm, seems like we're even more alike than we realise," Hiccup chuckled, genuinely laughing for the first time since his kidnapping. The slave smiled in reply.

"Well, you know the bit about the failed rescue attempt," He sighed, glancing at the blood-stained bandages. "And your friends had to retreat. I got an arrow to the foot as well, but eventually, Fishlegs treated that,"

"How do you not scream when you walk?" Hiccup exclaimed in disbelief. The slave shrugged.

"I've been a slave for most of my life, I'm used to being in pain," He said sadly. Hiccup frowned, then muttered quietly to himself.

"You'd think after all the times I've been captured I'd have got used to it by now,"

"You get captured a lot?"

"Let's just say I'd be surprised if anyone has beaten my record on number of times being kidnapped in five years…" Hiccup paused, inhaling deeply and trying to ignore the pain in his back. "Do we have a plan?"

"Hm?"

"Do we have a plan to get out of here, or the arena that guy is taking us to?"

"I guess… Astrid is counting on you to train that dragon, get them distracted and then they will attack from the air and the Defenders of the thingy, or whatever they're called, will attack on land,"

"Wait… all the Defenders of the Wing are here?"

"Yeah, apparently they heard word of you being on the slave markets too and were on their way to see if you needed help and Astrid spotted them while they were tracking you, explained everything and they agreed to help," Hiccup felt a smile creeping on his face. Gods, I really owe them one.

"What if you have to go first?" Hiccup asked.

"Um… I haven't thought of that…"

"Maybe I could give you a speed lesson in dragon training, uh… what's your name?" Hiccup asked.

"My name's Sigurd. And yes please," He was beaming now at the idea of training dragons. "I don't remember much from where I lived before I was sold as a slave, but we weren't exactly friends of dragons." Hiccup smiled at his enthusiasm, trying not to wince or grunt in pain as he sat up.

"Then let's get started."

A/N: I really, really enjoyed writing that dialogue. It kind of just came out in one go without much thought. Anyway, what did you think? Let me know in the reviews. Also, while I was looking up Norse names for the slave, I found out a few interesting things. Excuse me if you already know these, but here we go:

Viggo means battle, Thorston means stone of Thor, Gustav means staff of the gods, Astrid means divine beauty and I chose the name Sigurd because it means guiding the victory... my little attempt at foreshadowing.

Another little note, this was the seventh chapter! That might seem incredible to you, but you didn't see the original plan for this story! It was going to be a story with maximum three chapters (back then I only had the lookalike idea thing) and boy has the story developed! I'm really proud of it. :)

Anyway, I shall see you in a few days for the next chapter!

~httydfangirl123