Hi guys, I'm SO sorry I haven't updated in such a long time… I spent all of Thursday packing, and Friday riding in the car for 11 hours…. I wrote this in the car, actually. AND, I've been waiting to see if FanFiction would fix itself, but I guess not. It's been WAY too long and I feel really bad for not updating… so HERE YOU GO. ANOTHER UPDATE!

Also, we've hit 40 FOLLOWERS! THANKS SO MUCH GUYS! AND, WLGL has gotten over 4,500 views! WOOP WOOP

SHOUTOUTS

Dimensional Phaser: That's exactly why it's called SUSPENSION! *cackles*

Animalsarepeopletoo: YAY, thank you! That means a lot! I was laughing when I came up with the idea, I just HAD to write it. Well, I do love hitting people with my cliffhammer! *holds up cliffhammer* His name is Cliffnailer.

SailorMew4: Heh.. I wasn't totally sure how to make Stoick react, but I think I did okay! And Hiccup's sarcasm is SO much fun to write!

Thepurplewriter333: Thanks! I was planning on it, luckily…

FanWriter02: AGH, I feel you… FanFiction has been having issues lately. FIX IT ASAP FANFICTION! Thank you so much!

Silverwood68: You'll have to wait and see! Yes… yes they do…

NOW, ON TO CHAPTER 8! Chapter 9 will be up sometime later this week, probably. I'M NOT LEAVING FOR THAT LONG AGAIN IF I CAN HELP IT.

Hiccup wriggled his wrists, trying to free them from the ropes. Thank the gods for my wrist guards, or I'd probably be bleeding by now. After a few minutes of fruitless effort, he gave it up as a lost cause. They were just too tight. That masked man definitely knows how to tie a knot… he thought wryly.

He sighed heavily through his nose, trying to think of something else. Maybe if I can get off my boot I can free my legs? He wriggled his legs- or, foot and prosthetic. Hiccup pulled his legs up and scraped his heel against the ground, trying to get his boot off. After a few minutes, it fell off with a thunk. Hiccup froze and listened for the masked man. When he didn't hear his heavy footsteps, he figured he was safe-for now.

Now that the boot was off, Hiccup could easily slide his prosthetic out of the ropes. Finally! He thought. He leaned against the wall of the ship and stood slowly. Hiccup felt around with his foot, finding his boot. He flipped it upright and slid his foot back into it part-way. Hiccup figured it was probably better to walk with his boot half-on than barefoot, after all. Maybe there's something sharp around here… Keeping his back against the wall, he ran his tied hands across the curved wooden wall.

Wood, wood, more wood… OW! Hiccup jerked his hand away. He felt blood trickling down from the cut on his palm, but he hardly cared. He grinned happily and barely contained a shout. Finally! He slowly reached his hand back to the wood, feeling for the sharp object. When he found it, he rubbed the ropes over it. He cringed every time the scrape sound was made, hoping the masked man wouldn't hear and investigate.

Thud. Thud. Thud. Hiccup's eyes widened drastically. No! I'm almost done! But, it was unmistakable. The masked man was walking towards the stairs.

Astrid watched Stoick trudge in the direction of his house. "Sir, we've already looked. We have no idea where they could be!"

"Zip, zero, nada!" Tuff put in helpfully.

Astrid glared at him, then turned back to Stoick. "It's been over three days, they could be anywhere. We don't even know if they're in the Archipelago or not!"

"That doesn't matter. Skullcrusher is the best tracker around!" Stoick insisted, then sped up his footsteps. Astrid ran up to him and jogged beside the Chief, trying to match his pace.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"To get something of Hiccup's, of course. Skullcrusher can track his scent." He said, and Astrid glanced at his face. It was mostly stoic, but she could see both worry and fear in his eyes.

"We'll find him," she said, trying to be reassuring. The chief just grunted and pulled open the door of his house, slamming it behind him.

Astrid bit her lip, wondering what she should do. She decided she'd go back to the other riders, and jogged back down the hill. When she got to them, she noticed they all looked relieved.

"Well, that went well." Snotlout said.

Fishlegs whimpered. "I thought we were dead for sure!"

"He could be plotting our murders right now," Tuff said thoughtfully. "Maybe he wants to chop us up with his battle axe, then cook us in Marinara sauce." He licked his lips. "We would make a good meal. Especially Fishlegs."

Ruff rolled her eyes. "He's not going to eat us, Tuff. He's probably going to set Skullcrusher on us, then throw our remains in the ocean."

Fishlegs visibly paled. "Oh Thor."

Astrid face-palmed. "Guys, he's not going to kill us! Or cook us, Tuff." Tuff put down his raised finger and frowned. "He's much more worried about finding Hiccup, as we should be."

"We need to focus on one threat at a time. The closest and most dangerous one is Stoick!" Snotlout said accusingly. Astrid growled and punched his arm, making him wince.

"This isn't a joke, guys! Stoick is not going to kill us, but Hiccup could be killed at any time!"

"Hey, why do you care so much?" Snotlout rubbed his injured arm. "It's not like Fishbone has Stoick the Vast after him."

Astrid opened her mouth, then closed it. "Snotlout, really? You know how dangerous that masked man is." She couldn't tell him the real reason why she cared so much- not yet, anyway.

He grumbled under his breath and opened his mouth, but before he could answer Stoick walked up. He had a green shirt clenched in his fist, and was trailed by Skullcrusher. "You lot ready to go?"

Astrid glanced back at their dragons, who were lying on the ground. They looked completely exhausted. Astrid sighed heavily. "I think the dragons need to rest first. They flew 30 hours with no break, after all." Stormfly made a squawk of agreement.

Stoick furrowed his eyebrows, sighing heavily. "Then I'll go alone."

Astrid's eyes widened. No way, I need to help! "Chief, it's far too dangerous. We're dealing with an extremely skilled bounty hunter, who even beat Throk." Stoick looked at her questionably. "He's a Defender."

Stoick growled and narrowed his eyes. "Fine. You've got five hours, then I'm leaving with or without you." He trudged away angrily, the shirt still clenched in his fist.

Gobber ran up to the riders, out of breath. He doubled over, panting. "D-did I miss him?" He stuttered out.

"No, we decided we're leaving in five hours." Astrid answered.

Gobber sighed in relief. "Good, I should go pack my undies."

Hiccup froze and listened to the footsteps, which were definitely getting closer. What do I do, what do I do? His eyes darted everywhere, although he still couldn't see. Hiccup was used to using all of his senses to make plans, but without his sight it was much harder.

He was starting to panic. The masked man would definitely notice the discarded ropes on the ground, and then would see his legs were free. Plus, he was only about half-way through the ropes on his wrists, so he probably couldn't break through those yet.

Hiccup took a deep breath and closed his eyes-not that it made a difference, he couldn't see either way. Okay, maybe if I hide my legs he won't notice anything? Hiccup sighed mentally. That'll have to do. Hiccup walked slowly back to the spot he woke up and sat down, leaning against the wall. He curled his legs underneath himself, hoping that would suffice. Hopefully he won't notice.

Hiccup closed his eyes and leaned his head against the wall, hoping the masked man would think he was asleep. Thud. Thud. Thud. Hiccup listened to the footsteps descend the stairs, then transfer onto the wooden floor. Hiccup listened to the thumps, which were moving farther away from him. What's he doing? Hiccup thought. He heard something shift and the man grunt, and guessed he picked something up. The footsteps came closer, then stopped directly in front of him. Hiccup forced himself to stay relaxed. Oh gods…

Once Stoick's deadline was reached, Astrid trudged back to meet the other riders. Stormfly was well-rested and happy, and occasionally squawked at the passing villagers. Astrid smiled fondly at her dragon, then frowned again. How could she be happy now, when Hiccup was missing?

She spotted the riders and jogged up to them, her dragon following. "You guys ready to go?" She stopped in front of the riders, who had clearly just stopped bickering.

"You bet!" Ruff said.

"As ready as a book! Wait, what?" Tuff said.

"What does that mean?" Snotlout stared at Tuff incredulously.

"I have absolutely no idea."

"All right, riders!" Stoick clapped his large hands together and walked up to the riders. "Are you ready to go find my son?"

"Ready as I'll ever be." Snotlout muttered.

Luckily, Stoick didn't hear that last part. He dug the green shirt out of his pocket, then held it up to Skullcrusher to sniff. The Rumblehorn look a long whiff, then snorted. "He's got a scent. Let's go!"

"Wait!" Gobber ran up to them, Grump trailing behind lazily. "I want to go too!"

"Gobber, I need you here to take care of Berk." Stoick placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. "I appoint you as acting Chief."

"But-"

"No buts! You can see Hiccup when we get 'em." Gobber grumbled under his breath, but obeyed none the less.

The dragon riders-minus Gobber- mounted their dragons. Skullcrusher took off with two mighty flaps of his wings, then the rest of the dragons followed.

Astrid directed Stormfly to fly beside Skullcrusher. She glanced down to check on Toothless, who was sleeping in Skullcrusher's talons. They had stopped by the Edge to pick him up, since the dragon would obviously want to help find his rider. Besides, they could use the extra firepower.

They had flown for over thirty hours straight, and the Chief had stayed awake the entire time. He hardly ever blinked, and had large dark circles underneath his eyes. Astrid understood- she could barely sleep herself. "Chief, you need to rest." Astrid said gently.

"I can't rest." He said blearily. "What if we find them, and I'm not awake?"

"I'll stay up and wake you if we do find them. Get some sleep please, sir. You need to be fully rested in case if we need to fight."

The Chief yawned widely. "I suppose you're right, Astrid." He barely stifled another yawn. "You're a good lass." Astrid smiled slightly, then watched Stoick lay over his dragon. "You'd make a good wife for my son." Astrid blushed crimson. She was certain he wouldn't have said that if he was fully awake. She watched the Chief for a few more minutes, until she was certain he was asleep.

Astrid glanced around her, and noticed the others were also asleep. It was night time, after all. Astrid barely stifled a yawn herself. No. I've got to stay awake. She shook her head and blinked blearily. Hopefully we'll find them soon…

Astrid blinked, trying to wake herself up fully. She was pretty sure she heard someone yell. What..? She sat up fully and rubbed her eyes. "What's going on?"

"Skullcrusher is slowing down!" Stoick yelled. "I'm not sure if he's tired or is losing the scent. Hopefully it's the former." Suddenly, Skullcrusher stopped completely. He hovered midair, roaring. "What?"

The other dragons barely stopped before running into the Rumblehorn. "What was that for?" Snotlout yelled angrily. "Hookfang was almost knocked out of the sky!"

"Quiet!" Astrid yelled, then watched Stoick.

"What is it boy?" Skullcrusher spun in a circle, sniffing in all directions. He finally stopped and roared frustratedly. "No, no, no! He's lost the scent!" At Stoick's words, Toothless wailed despairingly.

"How?" Astrid asked incredulously. "We're in the middle of the ocean! How could Hiccup be here?"

"Either he's drowned, died, or something masked his scent." Fishlegs said worriedly. "Hopefully it's the third one." Toothless snorted in agreement.

Astrid bit her lip and punched Stormfly's saddle, growling angrily. She barely stopped herself from outright screaming. "I can't believe it! How are we supposed to find them now?"

"I don't know, Astrid." Stoick said sadly. "I don't know."

Splelch. Suddenly, something slimy, wet, and extremely smelly cascaded down Hiccup's head. He gasped and sat up, spluttering. "Why would you do that?" He was nearly overwhelmed with the urge to puke.

"Had to mask your scent." The man replied gruffly. "Viggo said you have tracker dragons."

Hiccup's eyes widened. "Were those fish guts?"

"Haddock, to be specific." Hiccup scrunched up his face in disgust. Well that's ironic. "We'll be at Viggo's base in about an hour. Get ready." Hiccup felt fear wash over him, but kept his expression neutral. The masked man's footsteps receded, then went back up the stairs again. What am I supposed to do now?

...poor hiccup. First I blinded him, made him get captured, and NOW he's covered in fish guts! *coughs* DOES THAT COUNT AS A CLIFFHANGER? *silence* I guess you're right.

Now THAT took forever to write. Lemme tell you, it's really hard to write in the car when you already get carsick easily. Did you guys like it? Please review! SEE YOU TURDS NEXT CHAPTER! (Get it? Katurdi, you guys read my story, so you're turds… I'll shut up now.)