A month had passed since Johann had put a bounty on Hiccup's head. Hiccup refused to leave the Edge. He felt he was safer there than on an island he knew nothing about. No one left Hiccup alone. Someone was always with him. Toothless decided that Hiccup was safer at night wrapped up in his wings.
That didn't stop the team from taking turns watching them at night. Hiccup had grown tired of being constantly watched. He felt like a prisoner. Only Dagur seemed to get this and gave Hiccup his space during his shifts. Instead of staying in Hiccup's hut at night, he and Sleuther perched themselves on the roof.
During the twins' shifts, they took it seriously and didn't screw around. Now was not the time for jokes. War was coming and everyone could feel it.
One night, Hiccup decided to break away from his night watchman and go for a late night fight.
Hiccup hooked his new leg into Toothless's new stirrup. His fake leg had three feet. One for walking, the second for flying, and the last for walking on ice. Once up in the air, Hiccup began to visibly relax. The tension in his shoulders melted away. No one was watching him.
"You know, bud," Hiccup sighed as he leaned back and laid on Toothless. "This is best I've felt in over a month. Just me and you, with no one around checking every cloud and sea stack before we fly near it. I'll admit living with a bounty looming over me is hard, but the longer I stay out of his hands, the better the chance of drawing him out."
The two flew for a bit longer, Hiccup never leaving the saddle to try new tricks. "I'm terrified, Toothless," Hiccup revealed. "I'm terrified of what Johann will do once he gets his hands on me. How far will he go to see me suffer again? I'm not ready for it. I've already suffered once at the hands of that lunatic. I don't want to again."
Toothless crooned at his hatchling and glanced at him with worry. The Night Fury knew he would never admit this to anyone else. Hiccup wasn't ready to face the man who tortured him to the point of coma. Hiccup would probably never be ready. He was a broken man who could barely face his own friends.
The two landed outside their shared hut. Hiccup flung his door open and was greeted with a punch in the jaw. Hiccup stumbled backward before falling to his knees. He put his hands over his side jaw and screwed his eyes shut.
"Hiccup, Hiccup, Hiccup," a familiar voice taunted. "You should have known better than to leave your protection at all."
That voice. Hiccup knew that voice. It belonged to a dead man. It belonged to Ryker.
"What did you do to Snotlout?!" Hiccup demanded. He should have been more surprised that Ryker was still alive but after Alvin, Dagur, Viggo, and Johann, he really wasn't. People in his life have a tendency to not die.
Ryker stood Hiccup up. "Don't worry. He's still sleeping. You and I need to have a talk."
Hiccup stared at him. "What do we have to talk about?"
"Johann. He's tired of waiting for you to be captured. He wants his revenge and nothing is going to stand in his way," Ryker answered. "He's getting ready to move in on your little Dragon base. He plans to launch a full-scale attack within five days. Be ready."
"Why should I trust you?" Hiccup wondered.
"Because I'm the only thing stopping those damned bounty hunters from ever reaching this island," Ryker replied, pointing at himself. "Why do you think there haven't been any enemies spotted since the bounty was sent out?"
Hiccup pondered this. When the first bounty came out, hunters were on top of him right away. Now it seemed like they were taking their time.
Just then a watery roar came from the beach below.
"I'll be right there, Minnow," Ryker called down.
Hiccup did a double take. Ryker had a dragon. Not just any dragon. A Scauldron. "How?"
Ryker smiled. "Minnow saved me from drowning. He carried me to an island where the inhabitants treated me. He watched from the water to make sure I was alright. I took what I learned from watching you and your team and put it to use. Once I learned that the world thought of Ryker Grimborn as dead, I remained that way until I saw the wanted posters."
"Why are you protecting me?" Hiccup asked.
"You are the only thing standing between Johann and his rule. If Johann succeeds in killing you, that's it for dragon kind. It will be the end of the world," Ryker answered. "Nothing will stop him. Once you stop him, with my help, Minnow and I will disappear. You'll never hear from us again."
"How can you help?" Hiccup wanted to know.
"I have a man on the inside. Jorn," Ryker said. "He's a healer that's been treating Johann for hypothermia, muscle weakness, migraines and a series of other ailments from being trapped in the ice. Despite all this, Johann is getting stronger every day. He's determined to have you under his foot."
Hiccup stood still. He thought for a moment. The Edge was far from ready for an attack. The islands dragons were far from trained. The rest of the supplies they needed hadn't arrived yet. It was still two weeks away. He had to go to Johann and meet him head-on.
"If you were to show up with me, would they believe you were still a Dragon Hunter?" Hiccup wondered.
"Probably. They all think I'm dead," Ryker said, seeing what Hiccup was getting at. "I could 'claim' the prize and come back here, and get the Riders to follow. Shouldn't take more than a few days. Not enough time for Johann to do any damage."
Hiccup gulped. He was putting his life in the hands of a man who tried to kill him multiple times. But Viggo had changed, so why can't Ryker? He had to trust that Ryker was going to come back and tell the Riders. He should leave a note just to be sure. Toothless would also have to stay behind.
"So, whatever we do, we have to ensure that they don't come looking for you right away," Ryker said as if reading his mind.
An hour later, Hiccup was ready to leave with Ryker. He had left a detailed letter about his conversation with the man. He talked of his plan to face Johann alone. He left that letter with Snotlout. He wrote a separate letter for Astrid telling her that he was, in fact, scared, but this seemed to be the only way. The one chance they had at stopping Johann before he got too strong.
Hiccup knelt down to where Toothless was laying. "I'll be back, bud. I don't know what state I'll be in, but I will return. Look after Astrid for me. She's going to need all the support she can get. Make sure she understands that I'm not doing this for revenge. I'm doing this to save our future."
Hiccup placed his forehead on Toothless's. The dragon crooned quietly, begging Hiccup to stay.
"I've got to go, bud," Hiccup said as he stood up. His heart and stomach wrenched with fear and guilt, but this needed to be done. Johann could not regain any more strength.
"Time to go," Ryker said from outside.
Author's Note: Thank you so much for the reviews. Don't worry action and feels are on the way. What is Johann going to do with Hiccup once he had him? Is Ryker really a good guy? Stay tuned to find out.
Special thanks to Draconicbeing2.0 for being the best beta reader ever.