I'm very sorry for the very long wait! These past few months have been so hectic, that there was no time for much of anything. The last time I had any time to write was so long ago, that I can't even remember it. Long story short, no one ever really tells you how much work getting into college is. You know you have to apply, but no one ever tells you about the essays, questions, applications for applications, fees, SATs, ACTs, and so on. The classes aren't that bad anymore, but they had better not be when I barely had time to come home from a project, test, and/or volunteer work to eat, do homework, shower, and sleep. And while I had some chapters basically finished, the ending is still not finished, and the others are not set in stone either. I hope you guys are still interested in this story, and let me know if I still have it! Happy New Years, everyone! here's hoping it's a good one!

I'd love to hear what you guys have to say, so please leave a review and make my day!

And, of course, ENJOY!

Hiccup was surprised to see Astrid had made it a point of taking care of the Nadder. She would come to the hangar everyday, and would bring a basket of fish and some chicken if she could. She would sit with her and talk with her. She would also groom her as the Nadder had been miserable not being able to do so herself.

The Nadder had also taken a liking to her. The minute she would get there, the Nadder's mood would instantly rise. When Astrid would sit with her she would make sure her hair was groomed, her clothes were just right, almost in return for the grooming.

When he would drop by he would tease her by saying," You're almost a true Viking..."

She would just stop what she was doing for a moment almost in shock before shaking her head," This is just until she's better..."

He was personally amazed at just how easily she managed to find her own dragon, whether she chose to admit it or not, all on her own. Most of Berk hadn't even been able to do that without his help. He wouldn't push her, but he was still very happy.

This was a change considering how bad things were going in general. He'd spent the greater part of the time side by side his dad with the headaches that came from trying not to worry about the unpending news they expected to receive from Trader Johann about Drago. The Nadder's injuries were more than worrying considering who had injured her.

They now knew to an extent of what he did, and now...he couldn't be very far from Berk if an injured dragon could make it there before collapsing. He was worried about what would happen to Berk, to the dragons, and to Astrid. If Drago was near and if he found her...he didn't want to think about what could happen.

For now, he was doing everything he could with his Dad to make sure that when the time came they were as ready as they could be.

Astrid laughed as the Nadder nipped at her braid," You sure are high maintenance aren't you, girl?"

She just squawked and Astrid shook her head amused. The Nadder was recovering beautifully, and the thought made her both happy and sad. She was happy that the Nadder was getting better and that she would be fly and fish and everything she should be doing, but as crazy as it sounded...she didn't want to say goodbye to her just yet.

The blue dragon was growing on her more and more by the day, and she liked to think it was mutual. But the minute she was well enough she would fly off, she would never see her again. Thinking about it tended to ruin her good mood, and so she decided she would deal with it head on...when it happened. For now she would enjoy spending time with her.

She had never thought she would say that, but life on Berk was agreeing with her. The people were wonderful, but it was the dragons that truly made it what it was. She had spent her entire life living in fear of these creatures for reasons that, now, were ridiculous.

Sneaky had come back, and had settled himself into the Hofferson household much to her parents' annoyance and amusement.

Astrid looked at the Nadder and realized that she hadn't referred to her by a name and found it unsettling. Nearly every dragon on Berk had a name, and the Nadder should not be the exception.

"What should your name be, girl?" she asked playfully.

The Nadder squawked almost excitedly and she laughed," Let's see..."

She sat thoughtfully and looked at the Nadder's blue scales which blended with the sky, and yet she thought back to when she first came to Berk. She'd looked like she'd flown from Hel and back. She seemed like the type to keep going through everything no matter how challenging or hard things seemed. She would keep flying until the storm passed...a storm flyer...

"How about Stormfly?" she asked aloud.

The Nadder nipped at her braid and nuzzled her happily and she smiled," Stormfly it is."

She turned suddenly at the incredulous chuckle that seemed all too familiar by now," It suits her."

She smiled at Hiccup and nodded," Doesn't it? She seems like the type to actually do it, too."

He chuckled," That she does, and you seem to beat me at coming up with names..."

She gave him an innocent look," What! I don't think I could ever beat 'toothless'..."

"Oh, quiet, you," he said pretending to be indignant, but his grin betrayed his words.

"What?" she said and blinked innocently as Toothless almost...snickered behind Hiccup.

"Don't start, you mutinous reptile," Hiccup said giving Toothless a dry look," You're supposed to be on my side!"

She laughed as Toothless made a face and then leaped forward and downright cuddled her as Stormfly joined him.

"Ah, and now you do that!" He said rolling his eyes," I'm starting to feel betrayed..."

She grinned," And here I thought you were the 'great dragon master of Berk'..."

He frowned almost helplessly," You're also supposed to be on my side, Astrid..."

" I am?" she asked sighing dramatically, but then grinned mischievously as she motioned to Toothless and Stormfly," Maybe...but I don't think they are."

"Very funny," he said shaking his head ruefully.

She shrugged fake modestly," I try."

"Anyways," he said," Gobber wanted me to tell you that he would be coming to recheck Stormfly, but she should be able to leave pretty soon."

"Leave?" she said frowning sadly.

He seemed to understand and smiled reassuringly," It'll be fine, Astrid, you'll see."

She forced a smile back and tried to believe him.

True to his word, Gobber did drop by, and promptly declared Stormfly was ready to go," She's a fighter, she is."

Astrid looked at Stormfly and smiled sadly," She is..."

Gobber nodded enthusiastically and opened the pen and gestured toward Astrid," Alright, lass, you know what to do."

She bit her lip sadly. She did know, but she took one look at Stormfly and didn't know if she wanted to. Stormfly nudged her and she patted her head," Let's go, girl..."

Stormfly squawked and followed her out and went outside for the first time in a week or so. She happily stretched her wings and she and Toothless...frolicked...around and she felt herself smile This was for the best.

Hiccup placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled reassuringly. She nodded appreciatively and then walked over to Stormfly," Hey, girl, you ready to go?"

Stormfly nudged her and made a noise in question as if to say, ' what about you?'

She shook her head," You're all better now...you can go home."

Stormfly cocked her head to the side and squawked her disapproval and nudged Astrid in dismay and edged her forward.

Astrid didn't know what to do and cursed her eyes that were beginning to tear up," You can go home...you don't have to stay here anymore...you can-"

And just when she could almost feel her tears welling up Stormfly defiantly stretched her wings, got ready to fly, and took Astrid with her.

Hiccup blinked in surprise when Stormfly managed to show Astrid the wonders of flying before him and chuckled to himself," Well, look at that..."

Sure she looked a bit startled but once Stormfly let her adjust herself, she did pretty well, and they were off. He turned to Toothless and Gobber who looked amused as well," I think that was a pretty good start, right?"

Gobber chuckled and nodded enthusiastically," We'll make her a true Hairy Hooligan in no time..."

They were just about to go when suddenly Fishlegs landed near them and said in an urgent tone," Hiccup, your father needs you right now!"

He frowned," What for?"

Fishlegs shook his head," I don't know, but he was at the docks with Trader Johann and it didn't look good."

He nodded and hopped on Toothless," Come on, bud, let's go...bye, Gobber!"

Gobber waved him off and he rushed towards the docks a bad feeling already settling in his stomach.

Toothless landed swiftly next to Stoick, Skullcrusher, and Trader Johann and Hiccup hopped off and immediately asked," What's wrong?"

Stoick gestured grimly to Trader Johann who looked completely worse for wear and shaken. His clothes were torn and dirty and ragged even by Viking standards. His eyes held a haunted terrified gleam only someone who'd been to Hel and back should be allowed to have. And he seemed to be shaking and yet was completely still. He frowned," What happened?"

Stoick sighed and said," Drago's dragon army has begun to terrorize the neighboring islands and Trader Johann...well...why don't you explain it?"

Trader Johann took a deep breath and nodded," I was at my usual stops trying to restock my ship. The only problem was, that while I heard the odd whisper here and there...nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Or at least until I made my way nearer to the Viking territories and islands.

"I made my stop at the Berserkers and waited for a full day on shore, but no one came down. I didn't know what to think of it until I made my way to the village and found it in complete ruins."

Hiccup's eyes widened," But what happened to the Berserkers...the armada...the-"

"They were gone," Johann said his eyes glazing over," All that was left were ruins, a few stray fires, and what was once a village."

Hiccup tried to imagine the Berserker's island empty and couldn't imagine anything that could have wiped them out, especially with Dagur and Heather in charge of things.

"I then made my way to the Meatheads and this time made the mistake of going straight towards the village only to come face to face with Drago Bludvist, himself," he murmured in a shaken tone that seemed to be on the verge of breaking down," He very calmly strode over to where I was and ordered some of his men to detain me...he demanded to know why I was there and what I wanted and where I had come from...

"I tried to explain that I was just a trader and had only tried to see why no one was coming to the docks...and then he grew bored and ordered them to take me with the rest of the prisoners after 'extracting' all the informations they could from me...

"I was in the cells for weeks...and they only got more and more crowded. I saw the other villages and even their chiefs except they were worse off than myself," he said obviously recalling a horrific experience," After weeks of not being able to get much informations Drago got the idea of using me to get a message... to you...Master Hiccup..."

"To me?" he asked incredulously yet warily.

"He said," You tell that dragon master boy...that I want what he stole from me, and unless I get her back...Berk won't be the last one to suffer the wrath of an entire dragon army"."

Stoick's face was stone and he turned to Hiccup," You don't suppose...?"

"Astrid?" he asked and his dad nodded," Who else could he want? He wants her back, but at what cost?"

"He's destroying all the villages around us, son!" Stoick exclaimed exasperatedly.

"But sending her back won't make a difference," he retorted not willing to give in," He's just wants us to return her to hold someone over our heads in exchange for our surrender."

Stoick shook his head slowly," But we have no other choice-"

"Of course we do!" he exclaimed," We can't give up before we've even tried! We have to fight-"

"I already told you, Hiccup," Stoick said tiredly," Drago Bludvist is not someone you fight or argue or mock. Those who do pay the price..."

"How would you know?" Hiccup demanded," You can't know-"

"But I do," Stoick said cutting him off before turning to Trader Johann," Will you be staying on Berk?"

Johann nodded," Just until I can figure out what to do."

"Of, course," Stoick said," You'll be very welcome here, but we should be going...there's a lot we need to discuss now."

He nodded and then seemed to remember something," He also gave me this, and said to give it to his...err- daughter?"

Hiccup's blood boiled and Stoick took the letter Johann offered and Hiccup had no other choice but to follow his dad back home where his mom was already waiting for their return very worried," What did he say?"

"Nothing good," Dad answered pinching the bridge of his nose,"This is just what I feared.."

Valka frowned and turned to Hiccup," What happened, dear?"

"Drago had already begun his dragon war and had already wiped out the Berserkers and the Meatheads...he'll soon be heading towards Berk."

She gasped and her expression hardened," What did Johann say?"

"He had a message for me...a letter for Astrid and he made it very clear that he wants Astrid back," he said angrily at the barbarian's audacity.

"Astrid?!" she exclaimed in shock.

He nodded shortly and ran a hand through his hair. He would rather face Drago himself than let him even near Astrid ever again.

Stoick looked at both of them before saying," Alright, here's what we're going to do. We are going to talk to Astrid. We'll ask her more about Drago and see if there is any hope for Berk...once we have as much information as possible...we will need to officially inform the village of what's happening."

"And then?" Hiccup asked hesitantly.

"And then...all that's left to do is wait."

Astrid cried out in joy as Stormfly flew higher and higher. She would be the first one to admit how amazing it felt to be so...free. As they flew over the water surrounding the island, Astrid reached out and patted Stormfly's side," Thank you, girl."

The Nadder crooned in response and they flew for a while longer. The sky seemed to go on forever and she couldn't believe she hadn't tried it earlier. Her worries seemed to vanish and all that was left was her Stormfly and the world that seemed to stretch out for miles.

For a while at least, she would enjoy the moment and they stayed up there for as long as possible. It wasn't until Berk came back into view that her thoughts went back to how much she owed Hiccup. He had been the one to show her what she was missing and he was the one that had shown her what her life could be. He had saved her, in more ways than one.

She was lost in her thoughts when suddenly a familiar figure flashed in front of her and she was surprised to see it was none other than Hiccup and Toothless," Hiccup?"

He looked frantic and the minute he saw her he seemed to calm down," Astrid! Thank Thor!"

"What's wrong?" she said frowning.

He frowned back and just said," I- we need to talk..."

Her eyes widened in concern and she nodded before following him to the Haddock's residence. She was surprised to see her parents already there and they rushed forward to embrace her as though convincing themselves that she was still there.

"What's going on?" she demanded looking around at everyone's anxious expressions.

Stoick looked at her gravely," I'm afraid that we've received some bad news..."

She stepped forward and approached him," What is it?"

Stoick placed his hands on her shoulders and she barely managed not to fall," We've received news of...of Drago, and it concerns you, lass."

She blinked and her breath caught in her throat but she managed to choke out," What does he want?"

"You, dear," he mom choked out almost tearfully," He wants you."

"What?" she said feeling as though her entire air supply had been knocked out of her lungs, and she struggled to control her breathing," Is this true?!"

"He wants you back, Astrid," Stoick said nodding gravely and then handed her something," He sent a letter for you."

She took the letter and looked at Fath-Drago's familiar handwriting. She saw her name very clearly addressed on the front and promptly fell to her knees. Everyone immediately went to help her up but she brushed them off and tore the letter open and read:

Astrid,

I guess after everything I've done for you, it was never enough, you ungrateful girl. I am giving you two options. You either come back and I spare Berk the full force of my dragon army...or you can stay and watch as I destroy Berk. The choice, since you appear to like make your own decisions so much, is yours. I expect to hear from my ungrateful, pathetic excuse of a daughter as soon as possible.

Your Father,

Drago Bludvist

A chill ran down her back as Hiccup helped her up and everyone asked if she was alright, and she wordlessly handed the letter over.

Her mind was racing as she tried to find something...anything to do. It couldn't be the end, and Drago couldn't really be serious. Either way, no matter what she decided everyone would lose-everyone but Drago.

It was then that she realized something and she almost laughed at her own stupidity. After being away for so long, she'd almost forgotten how it was that things worked. Of course he wouldn't lose, he was Drago Bludvist and he'd instilled it in her for so long, she wondered how she could've managed to forget it so easily. You either did things his way, or not at all... And yet, again he was still being somewhat lenient... The question being...why? Why would he bother doing so, when he'd made it clear that he didn't like her. He had gone so far as to say he hated her very existence on their worst days, and that she was a terrible inconvenience load of baggage on their better days. So why did he want her back?

Everyone had just finished reading over the note when her resolve overtook her and she made her way outside where Stormfly was waiting for her.

Hiccup called out to her," Astrid! Don't do this! Where are you going!"

She looked at him as though he were crazy," Where do you think I'm going? I have to do something!"

"No, you don't!" he said grabbing her by the shoulders and pushing her hair back," This won't solve anything-you won't win!"

She tried to push him away and almost snarled at him," You don't think I know that?"

He stopped and frowned, obviously confused," Then why would you-?"

"No one can win against Drago," she said," you either accept defeat or pay the consequences."

"But you can't just give yourself up instead of fighting back," he tried to reason but she cut him off.

"I can if it means that he won't destroy Berk," she said and before he could say anything she was off.

Off to hopefully find some answers from her oh-so-dear adoptive father.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Things are getting good! I can't promise the next update will be anytime soon, but I couldn't just drop this story so early on, and unfinished. It kept bothering me even when I had so many things on my plate. I hope you eventually forgive me, and stick with this because it'll give me more incentive to do so, too!