V for Viking

Chapter 3 - Astrid's POV

This day is shaping up to be very…odd, to say the least. After everything that went down last night, Hiccup decides to show up and reveal himself to the whole tribe. I don't know what he's planning on doing, but it is clear that he isn't back because he missed Berk. What was really odd was how Hiccup was acting when I first saw him at the docks. He didn't seem shy or awkward at all; instead, he looked at home surrounded by Vikings. And he didn't even look out of place. He's tall enough to look down at most men now, and he's filled out about as much as his frame will let him. He's built sleekly and powerfully, and everyone is impressed.

Currently, Hiccup is in the Great Hall telling the village tales from his 'travels.' Spitelout pulled me aside and asked if we could meet just outside the Hall, and I knew what he wanted to speak about. It seems not everyone instantly forgot our missing men.

"What news, lass?"

"None. No trace of them at all. I searched everywhere, and didn't find as much as a leaf out of place."

Spitelout looked surprised, but whether by the information or the fact that I couldn't find anything I don't know.

"Aye…that's not good. You don't suppose they could have fallen in the water?"

"Well…if they did, they didn't swim out…" I said somewhat grimly.

Spitelout shook his head absently and turned to go back inside. He stopped when he noticed that I wasn't coming.

"What, you don't want to hear any of this? There's bound to be a few miracles involved if Hiccup's back!" He said with a laugh.

"No… I don't think I do…" I said in a somewhat melancholy fashion.

"Aww, don't let it get to you."

That caught me by surprise. Surely, he can't know…

"Let what get to me?"

"Anything. Those men will be back soon enough, I'll bet. Perhaps they just didn't want to be found. Now come on, everyone should be in here; it's a celebration."

I relented and walked inside. Instead of trying to find a place to sit among Hiccup's seated audience, I kept a wide base and stuck to the shadows. From where I ended up, I could hear everything and see Hiccup, Stoic, and a few other important people.

It appears that I walked in right as Hiccup was finished with one story because someone in the crowd called out a question.

"Now, lad, ye ain't a boy any more. Where have you been that's had the best women?!" Apparently, we were already passing out mead because this man nearly fell over himself despite sitting down. Some of the men laughed at the question, and laughed harder when the women just rolled their eyes.

"What, you think I would give away my biggest secret?! Ha… well, let's just say that the Bogs were very hospitable on my return here!" Hiccup mocked.

That answer caught several people off guard—some even spit out their mead. Gobber laughed so hard that he fell backwards off of his seat next to where Hiccup stood, and in the process dumped a full tankard of mead on himself.

Ugh. Whoever proclaimed that drinking and celebrations should go hand in hand is a spawn of Loki. These people are making fools out of themselves, and I can only imagine what is going through Hiccup's head right now. Does he scan the room and see the people he wants dead just laughing at his stories? Does he mock how unaware they are in his head? That's something that I feel like I would do if I were as mad as Hiccup… 'Oh, look, there's so-and-so who just pissed himself! I'm really doing him a favor by murdering him!'

"Now, come on Vic, we've got women and children here!" Stoic half-chastised while fighting down a laugh.

Oh Gods, Stoic must be on Hiccup's list! He's probably one of the two tied for the top spot! Is Hiccup really planning on killing his own father? And who is the other spot? Gobber? He is the person Hiccup spent the most time with, so I suppose that could be true. Or could it be Snotlout? Could I be up there? Hiccup was very precise when he called me the twenty-ninth on his list, but could that have been a ruse?

"Well, I see you standing there with at least three blades on you now. What sort of fights have you gotten yourself into?" Someone from the crowd asked. Everyone seemed to like that idea, leaving no room for Hiccup to wiggle out if he wanted to.

"Well, two years ago I did get into a duel with a Roman General…" Hiccup said nonchalantly in order to get a rise from the crowd.

It worked. They practically begged him to tell more.

"Well, I was passing through a small town outside of Rome itself, and had just woken up after spending the night in a gorgeous country home. Apparently, it belonged to a Roman General, and when he came home, he wasn't pleased with what I was doing with his daughter…" Hiccup trailed off, with a mischievous grin on his face. A few of the mothers and women in the room made a face, but an uproar came from the men. 'Look how smug he looks too!' 'Looks like he had two sword duels that day!' and all sorts of other snippy comments had pretty much everyone in laughter; many were in tears.

"So he challenged me to a duel to the death, then and there! He tossed me a sword, and I had the fight of my life butt-ass naked after tiring myself out all night!" Hiccup laughed as he finished, and no one could gain control of the room for several minutes. Anyone who tried (Stoic and Spitelout both) succumbed to laughter at some joke or other; nearly everyone had a few good words to get it about this.

Eventually, the room settled down and Stoic took control again.

"Well, it seems there is only one thing left to do! I think we should have a feas-" Stoic started to announce before I cut him off.

"Not so fast, Stoic. I think Hiccup need to display his 'sword fighting' prowess. Gods, Snotlout, his other 'sword fighting' prowess!" Snotlout snickered, so I had to call him out. He went beet red. "It seems to me that we have two heirs now…"

The crowd hushed, and Stoic's brow furled.

"Aye, you're right. Good catch, Astrid. Hiccup, you were presumed dead and Snotlout was given the title of heir. Although you are certainly not dead, we can't just take that away from Snotlout now. If you want your birthright back, you must challenge Snotlout to a duel…" Stoic stated, giving Hiccup the ability to simply nod to challenge Snotlout.

He went a step further.

"I only have one question: are we fighting here, or the arena?"

The crowd went nuts in a way that only Vikings anticipating a fight can. Hoots and hollers echoed throughout the Hall. Snotlout pulled his shoulders back and walked up to Hiccup as manly as possible so that they could shake hands and seal their duel. Hiccup stood up straight and made sure to make a show of looking down at Snotlout while shaking hands with him.

It wasn't even breakfast yet, and already we were about to have a duel between two heirs for Berk's future. This day is not going to end well, I just know it.

Everyone flocked to the arena; there wasn't a single villager who wasn't there, save for Griff and Svimmon. Aside from the Chief's Chair and the spots next to it (for Gobber and Spitelout), one couldn't find room to breathe in the crowd. Fortunately, as Berk's Main Shield Maiden I was tasked with going into the arena to officially start the fight. I escorted both Hiccup and Snotlout to the gate, and walked with them into the arena while telling them the official rules.

"This is a simulated-death battle. Do not kill your opponent. The only way to win is the pull back on what would be a killing blow, or have the other admit defeat. Small, nonlethal wounds are allowed. No outside help, and no other kinds of cheating. Am I clear?"

They both nodded; Hiccup seemed deep in thought, and Snotlout was just trying to look tough.

I walked with them into the arena, and watched as they each picked out their weapons. Snotlout went first, and he went for a mace off of the weapons rack first. He strapped a sword to his back, and then took an extra dagger. Once armed, he returned next to me.

I looked at Hiccup to let him know it was his turn, but he didn't walk to the weapons rack. He took a few steps forward until he was out of arm's length, then removed the fir cloak that he had been wearing. Underneath was his black armor (to which the crowd 'oooed' and 'awwed') which I just began to notice how 'slim-fit' it was designed. It nearly perfectly molded to Hiccup, and almost looked like a second skin. Although Hiccup didn't remove his pants, I would bet that his lower half is similarly armored (save his fake leg).

"Oooh, big deal. He was hiding his armor. That stuff looks flimsy anyways; get on with it!" Snotlout called out with irritation in his voice.

"Alright then, I'm ready!" Hiccup called out, without ever picking up a weapon.

"What?" Just about everyone called out. Hiccup only smiled innocently, and Snotlout didn't question an obvious advantage. He and Hiccup lined up opposite each other, and I remembered that I still have a fight to set off.

If the crowd wasn't watching intently before, now they really were. Stoic himself was on the edge of his seat, with his hand rubbing his chin as he carefully eyed the scene before him.

"Alright, I'm going to back away. On my mark, the fight will commence."

I took a few steps back, then raised my hand in the air. Both men's muscles tightened, and when I dropped my hand, they charged each other.

Snotlout charged faster, and Hiccup decided to wait back for him. With Hiccup still unarmed, Snotlout went for a damaging blow to Hiccup's unprotected temple, but Hiccup swiftly ducked under the blow. With Snotlout's strength focused on stopping the back-swing from his missed mace blow, Hiccup popped back up and applied his momentum into an uppercut blow to Snotlout's gut. Snotlout doubled over with a loud grunt, and as Hiccup came back down from his uppercut-jump, he brought his elbow down on the back of Snotlout's head.

Snotlout was knocked straight to the ground face first, and Hiccup flicked Snotlout's mace up to himself with his feet. He then showed the mace to the crowd and flung it at the weapons rack, lodging the spikes into the wooden panel.

Snotlout wasn't done yet, though. He picked himself up off the ground and drew his sword as he and Hiccup reestablished their fighting stances. Hiccup reached into one of the pouches built into his armor along his waist, and his hands reemerged holding two gauntlets. They looked like normal gloves, and were half-made of the same black material—Toothless scales by Hiccup's admission—as his armor. But the other half was made of a shiny metal that I didn't immediately recognize and something tells me Hiccup isn't just putting on an ordinary pair of gloves for a sword fight.

Hiccup carefully and deliberately put his gloves on, then adopted what looked like a strange hand-to-hand combat defensive stance. He held one hand out towards Snotlout, and another behind his head but with the elbow bent back towards Snotlout. He gestured for Snotlout to attack, and Snotlout did, but not as hastily this time. Snotlout was more cautious this time, if only a little.

Once in range, Snotlout swung in a downward diagonal, and instead of ducking this time Hiccup backed up a step and deflected the blow with his gauntlet. Snotlout recovered better this time, and swung again, this time horizontally. Hiccup jumped back a step and threw his face forward, allowing his hip to move back and narrowly avoid Snot's sword. The crowd gasped as they watched the tip of Snotlout's sword clip Hiccup's stomach but fail to make a cut in his armor.

Snotlout wasn't deterred. Those first two swing were set-ups; the next blow was his goal the whole time. With Hiccup out of balance, he wouldn't be able to dodge a completely downward power-blow. Snotlout stepped into it with one foot and brought his sword down hard, and the crowd gasped even harder when they realized that Hiccup couldn't dodge.

But apparently Hiccup wasn't planning on dodging, nor did he need to. He reached up with his right arm and caught the blade with his gauntlet, then squeezed to get a firm grasp on the sword. Snotlout's eyes went wide and his surprise froze him in place as Hiccup launched an uppercut with his left hand that broke the sword in half: Snotlout held a useless stub and Hiccup held half of the blade in his hand.

The crowd was shockingly silent, and even I almost didn't breathe. Hiccup flung the sword piece backwards and nailed the weapon rack without looking. When I looked closely, I could see deep groves in the edge of the blade where Hiccup's fingers had bent the metal, leaving a handprint of sorts.

Snotlout still hadn't recovered from his surprise, and Hiccup took advantage of his stupor. He brought his foot up and connected with Snotlout's stomach, sending him flying onto his back. Hiccup kicked him so hard that the half-sword fell out of his hand and to the ground, so Hiccup picked it up by the handle. Despite having the wind knocked out of him, Snotlout recovered enough of his battle instincts to know that he was royally boned unless he thought of something and fast. As Hiccup walked towards him, Snotlout tried throwing his last blade—the dagger—but was unable to put any serious force into the throw. Hiccup snatched the blade out of the air with his free hand before it hit him in the face, and threw the blade back at Snotlout. I flinched, having been on the receiving end of Hiccup's throwing blade skills recently, but the blade impaled the ground between Snotlout's legs. It missed his balls by about half an inch, but Snotlout squealed like a girl regardless.

Hiccup had reached Snotlout now, and slammed the broken sword into the ground next to Snotlout's head to proclaim his victory. The crowd went wild, and Hiccup offered Snotlout a hand up. Snotlout begrudgingly took his hand, and once Snotlout was on his feet, Hiccup whispered something to him. I didn't make it over to them before Hiccup stopped whispering, so I'll add that to the list of things I ought to roast Hiccup over a fire to find out. What was interesting was the look on Snotlout's face: it changed from sour to somewhat surprised then quietly pleased as Hiccup whispered in his ear. Whatever Hiccup said, it cheered Snotlout up.

Stoic tried for ages to get the roar of the crowd to die down, and when he was finally successful the smile on his face looked like it might spill over and pour onto the ground. I snuck my way in between Hiccup and Snotlout because it was my job to ensure they won't pick a fight and so that I can remain close to Hiccup. I don't know what Stoic is about to say, but I have a feeling that it could jog some memories for Hiccup. And the last time that happened, I got a knife in the stomach.

"I know what you're all going to say… 'Stoic, Hiccup can fight! Who did he inherit that from?!'" The crowd laughed, and Stoic waved them off. "But anyways, today is a new high for Berk. We've not had a raid in years, we just proved that we're the best tribe around not two months ago (and we've got the Shield Maiden to prove it!), and now my son has returned home a hero and also a force to be reckoned with! The only thing that's more worthy of a feast would be a meeting with the Gods themselves!"

The crowd went absolutely wild. If there's one thing Vikings enjoy more than food, fighting, or mead, it's a feast (which usually includes food, fighting, and mead).

For the rest of the day, Hiccup was surrounded by Vikings galore and appeared to thrive with the attention. He seemed to be showing everyone that he was much more Vikingly than anyone had ever thought possible for him. Drinking contests, heckling the barmaids, even swearing contests; nothing seemed to faze him…. Which worried me. I made sure to only drink enough mead to not seem suspicious; whenever I get my opportunity, I don't want to waste my chance to interrogate drunk Hiccup by being drunk myself.

It was dark when Hiccup finally left the feast. Many Vikings were already passed out, and Hiccup didn't look that drunk despite having feasted all day. He seemed to scan the room for something, then once he found it he announced that he was going to go talk to an old friend. Eventually, he pried himself away from his followers and headed up the hill to the Chief's house. Stoic had already tended an offer for Hiccup to stay in his old room, so I wondered if he might be going to bed before Stoic even left the Hall. I waited in the shadows behind the Chief's house, and surely enough Hiccup came out the back door a few minutes later. He climbed onto the roof of the house and watched out for something.

I decided to shift around until I could see both Hiccup and see down the main lane of the village in case Hiccup was waiting for someone to meet him. After about ten minutes, the door to the Great Hall opened and Stoic came stumbling down the lane with a few Vikings. Although the other Vikings were absolutely hammered, Stoic was like me and didn't drink excessively tonight. Maybe something felt off, or maybe he didn't want a hangover, but for whatever reason Stoic decided to keep his wits about him tonight instead of drinking them away. Hiccup scrambled down from the house and signaled towards the woods, and as he did his Nadder emerged from the tree line. Quickly and quietly, the Nadder stuck its head into the back door and let out a barrage of fire inside the house that no one approaching the house could see.

With that done, Hiccup sent the Nadder away and disappeared into the shadows until he reappeared right next to me. I nearly jumped a foot, but Hiccup approached me from behind and put a hand over my mouth to stop me from squealing.

"I noticed that you think you're stealthy. You're not." He whispered, while keeping his eyes glued to Stoic.

He released me, and we both just watched the lane together.

"What are you doing?!" I whispered urgently, but Hiccup seemed to ignore me. By now, Stoic was nearly to his front door, and smoke had started to escape from the roof.

"What the—FIRE!" Stoic yelled as he burst down the door. We lost sight of him, and I could only pray that Hiccup hadn't set a trap for Stoic in that house.

"I told you that I'm going to tear this village apart. I've decided that it is easier to do that when I'm dead." He whispered, never looking away from the scene in front of him.

The fire had now spread to engulf the house, but that didn't muffle and extremely loud and off-putting scream of rage that suddenly erupted from Stoic.

"He must have found my 'body.'"

Those who hadn't wasted themselves started to gather around, and eventually Snotlout came out of the woods behind Stoic's hall and joined them. He didn't go unnoticed, as many villagers watched him emerge, but filed into the ranks silently.

"What was he doing out there?"

"I asked him to meet me in the woods around now. It's just going to sweeten the pot…"

Stoic leaped back out through the front door, and everyone cheered when they saw their Chief was okay. Their cheer died down in about two seconds once everyone saw the murderous look on Stoic's face.

"WHO WAS THE LAST ONE AT MY HALL!?" Stoic roared, causing the crowd to flinch. When no one answered, Stoic presented the bottom half of Snotlout's broken sword from the fight to the crowd.

"I FOUND THIS EMBEDDED INTO THE HEART OF MY SON! WHO WAS THE LAST ONE AT MY HALL!?" Stoic thundered louder than any of Thor's lightning bolts.

No one in the crowd said a word, but many people's faces adopted a horrified expression. Slowly, a few heads turned towards Snotlout, before someone spoke up.

"Snotlout emerged from the woods behind your hall just after the fire started…"

Everyone turned to look at Snotlout and a ring formed around Snotlout as people got as far away from him as they could.

"Okay, I am so glad that I decided to screw this 'going in order' thing. This is going to be great!" Hiccup whispered with a terrifying amount of glee in his voice.

I, along with probably all of Berk, watched in horror as Stoic bounded four steps and grabbed Snotlout by his neck, squeezed, lifted him into the air, and then hurled him into the nearest wall all while releasing primal yell.

Author's Note: Yea, so I've decided to make this story longer! Lucky you, Mr. 'Reader that likes this story'! It sucks to be you, Mr. 'Reader who hates this story but reads it anyways'!

If you have any thoughts, reactions, comments, concerns, or even little easter eggs that you want to know if I can hide into the story, then leave a review.

Oh, all the names of non-essential characters (such as the missing men) are spoofs of characters from a show I watch. If anyone catches it, they get to make up the next random name I use.