Chapter Ten

A/N: This is it, guys. Last chapter. I hope you all enjoyed this as much as I did. Thanks for all the reviews, favorites and follow! If you're curious what my next fanfic will be, you can head on over to my profile and I have it all explained there.

In response to...

Breyannia: Haha, you took the words right out of my mouth!

The Wolf Raven: Lol, I'm glad your boat is now floating. XD

Guest: Well, if you insist. :D

Ps, lots of over-protective fluffiness in this chapter... Just sayin'.

"Are you sure about this?" Hiccup whispers in a nervous voice. He and Astrid are crouched in a narrow alley between the Blacksmith shop and another building. The dragons are waiting for them just inside the woods, a few yards away. But only so they aren't spotted...

"It's not like we have a choice." She counters. "We don't have time to wait until it gets completely dark. We have to do this now."

Hiccup gulps and returns his attention to the Forge. Inside, the fires are still burning and the Blacksmith is hammering away on a sheet of iron. He's a big, muscle-y man like most Vikings... It would take a miracle for the two of them to knock him out. But Astrid's right. They can't waste anymore time. If only the dragons wouldn't draw attention, it would be a cinch to get rid of him.

Just then, Astrid stands up and presses her back to the wall, sticking to the shadows to stay out of sight. She glances down at Hiccup, who is still peeking through the window with a nervous look on his face. Her eyes drift down to his burned arm, being cradled against his chest by his other hand. No way he'll be able to use it for a while...

With a tiny frown, she turns away from him and her eyes harden. "Hiccup," She says under her breath. "Stay here, I'll call when it's safe." Astrid he doesn't wait for a response before taking a bold step toward the door, battle-axe in hand.

But before she can reach it-

A hand closes around her wrist and tugs her back into the alley. When she looks back, she finds Hiccup glaring at her.

"Don't even try it." He grumbles. "I'm going with you."

"But your arm is-"

"You're hurt too, remember?" He reminds her. "And a concussion is worse than a few burns!"

"Hiccup-" But again, she's cut off when he stands up as well. His hand is over hers when he says,

"If we're doing this, we're doing it together."

After making sure no one else is around to see, they slink into the Forge. Hiccup goes first, peering his head around the corner. He can see the very bottom of the Blacksmith's boots from underneath a table at the other end of the room. The rest of the man's body is hidden behind a furnace. He can't see them for now.

Shuffling carefully inside, Hiccup motions for Astrid to follow. Her hand hovers on his shoulder, ready to pull to him out of the way if anything goes wrong...

All they need to do is get behind him... That shouldn't be so hard, right?

So, with a little breath, Hiccup glances back at Astrid and nods. She returns the gesture before crouching on the other side of the furnace where the Blacksmith is working. Heart pumping fearfully, she readies her axe and bites her lip, not wanting to show emotion.

Hiccup offers her a fleeting smile before slipping around the corner to draw the Outcast's attention. But as soon as he does- "AH!" Hiccup cries out in shock and pain as a rough hand grabs his left arm... The burns screaming out their protests at the contact.

"WHO ARE YOU?!" The Blacksmith demands, furiously. His black eyes narrow as they take in the tiny, unfamiliar boy. "WAIT! YOU MUST BE-" But his loud voice is cut off when Astrid finally jumps to action. She cracks the butt of her weapon over the man's head, the wooden handle actually shattering over his skull.

For a moment, he just stands there, seemingly frozen. Then, his eyes roll back in his head and he collapses to the floor, landing at Hiccup's feet.

The boy whimpers quietly, eyes squeezed shut against the sharp pain. He almost flinches when Astrid gently takes his shoulder again.

"Are you okay?" She asks, concern plain on her face.

He nods but doesn't say anything, afraid his pain-stricken voice might betray him if he does. Instead, he steps over the unconscious Outcast and hurries to the back of the shop, where he finds a bin full of loose fabrics and leathers. He grabs a sheet of the correct material and begins rifling through drawers, looking for something to help him sew Toothless's fin...

Astrid watches his feverish search with a frown. His arm must be more painful than I thought... We need to get home and take care of it before it gets any worse. "What can I do?" She asks, in hopes of quickening their escape.

But by the time she thinks to ask, he's already got everything they need. "I'm already s-set here. Let's just get back to the dragons and fix Toothless's tail so we can get off this island..." He tells her, grimacing when his voice wavers slightly. "Besides, Toothless probably heard me just then...he's got to be scared out of his mind by now."

And Astrid has to agree with that. So she silently follows him as they duck out the door and run back toward the trees where their dragons are waiting.

Surely enough, Toothless did hear his human's cry a moment ago. It had taken nearly every ounce of his will power to keep from running to Hiccup's side that very second and barbecuing whoever caused him pain... But he also knows that doing that would have only caused more trouble for his friends so he stayed where he was and waited.

His patience is awarded when the familiar sound of a metal foot catches his ears. Jumping excitedly to his feet, Toothless sprints down the hill to meet his Rider halfway.

"Hey, bud. Sorry it took so long." Hiccup whispers, smiling a little when the Night Fury nuzzles his cheek. "We got held up...but I have everything we need to fix your tail!" Toothless coos at him and sits down, flipping up his torn tail fin for his Rider can see. "Thanks." Hiccup says as he kneels down, laying out the materials in front of him. Picking up a needle and some thick thread, he gets to work...

Alvin's ship is now engulfed in flames. He and his remaining men are confined within the upper deck, all of them crowded to one side while the Riders circle them like hungry sharks...

They're beaten and they know it.

Or, at least that's what it must look like to Stoick. He hovers very close to the ship, feeling confident that he and Thornado are practically untouchable at this point. "Are you ready to give up yet, Alvin?" He shouts down.

But Alvin only glares at him, hate shining in his eyes. Not only did his plan fail miserably, he didn't even get to kill that brat Hiccup like he'd planned to... Speaking of which, where did he and his little girlfriend run off to?

His question is quickly answered as a high-pitched shriek rings through the fogged filled air. All eyes turn upward simply out of instinct. One of Alvin's men whispers, 'Night Fury...' before a black shadow slices through the grey sky above them.

Stoick smiles in relief. They can finally leave...

But Alvin is a persistent one and is very good at taking advantage of other people. While Stoick is momentarily distracted by his son's arrival, the Outcast leader lifts his sword high above his head, digging its blade into Thornado's side!

The Thunderdrum roars in agony. His flight pattern disrupted by the unexpeted blow so he and his Rider go tumbling down to the deck of the flaming ship.

The teens stare in horror as their chief's descent brings him directly to Alvin's feet... The dark haired Viking sneers as he lifts his sword again. In a raspy voice, he growls, "Berk is mine now!" And the steel blade archs down, straight toward Stoick's neck.

"Not if I can help it!" Hiccup shouts as Toothless dives toward the boat, mouth and nose glowing violet. "Toothless, plasma blast!"

The Outcasts gasp as Alvin is thrown off his feet by a well-placed bolt of fire. He lands with a heavy thud on his back, tunic smoking and sword having skittered harmlessly to the side.

The Night Fury simultaneously grabs Stoick with his feet and shoots back up into the air before his enemies can retaliate.

Hiccup cranes his neck to see his father, his expression twisted with concern. "Are you alright, Dad?"

"I'm fine!" He yells back. "But Thornado was hurt! You've got to get me back down there!"

"Actually, Dad..." Hiccup mutters, motioning down to Alvin's boat. "It looks like Thornado is handling himself pretty well..."

Said Thunderdrum is currently wacking the Outcasts overboard with his tail, occasionally blasting a sonic boom at those who try to sneak up behind him. And of course, this brings a proud smile to Stoick's face.

"Atta boy, Thornado!" He barks. "That's how it's done!"

Thornado flashes him a knowing look before finally tossing Alvin overboard into the churning ocean water below...

By the time the Riders clear out of Outcast Island, the sky is finally pitch black and littered with stars. But the darkness doesn't stop them from landing on the nearest sandbar they can find.

The teens hop off their dragons and rush over to Hiccup and Toothless, all of them talking excitedly at once. The questions are the same as any young Viking would get under these circumstances...

"Did you get any scars?!"

"How did you get away?!"

"Did you get to blow anything up?!"

And of course, Hiccup can't get a word in edgewise to answer any of them. The most he can manage is an uncomfortable little 'uhh' before he's interrupted by more thrilled curiosity. Only two of the Riders don't bother him.

Stoick. Mainly because he's preoccupied with binding his dragon's wound and figures his son doesn't want to talk about this right now...

And Astrid, who is still saddled on her Nadderhead and watching Hiccup with a satisfied grin on her face. She can understand the other kids' excitement. After all, none of them have seen Hiccup in days. They must be curious about what happened to him. Come to think of it, there are a few things even she's still wondering about...but that can wait until later.

Quietly, she slides down from Stormfly's back and walks over to the jubilant teenagers, lifting a hand to tap Hiccup on the back. He turns, and as he does, Astrid reaches out to cup his cheek in her hand. With the other hand, she tugs him forward by the hem of his vest, their lips meeting in a warm, lingering kiss...

The other Riders groan and roll their eyes, someone muttering 'get a room' as they walk off.

When she finally releases him, Hiccup staggers back, feeling breathless and light-headed. He smiles, almost stupidly at her. "What was that for...?"

But Astrid only shrugs. "Do I need a reason to kiss you?"

He chuckles, noticing that her fingers are still linked with his. "I guess not." He admits.

Of course, Astrid has plenty of reasons to kiss him after today... But she also has reasons for something else...

"OW! Astrid!" Hiccup yelps as he rubs his ribcage where her fist connected.

"That was for scaring all of us to death!" She reminds him. "Don't do it again!"

"Pff," He rolls his eyes and hops onto Toothless's back. "Trust me, I don't think a situation like this could happen again in million years... I think we're good for now."

And with that, the Riders take off, eager to return home and for things to go back to normal after four, long days of utter insanity.

A/N: AND THERE YOU HAVE IT! Wow, we covered a lot of information in this chapter... *Phew*. Sorry if it sounded rushed, I just wanted to get this done because dividing it into two chapters would have been pointless.

Anyway, thanks for everything guys, you're awesome! :D

And if you want to know about my next fanfic, check out my profile.

Until next time!

...by the way, I don't remember but I might have used a similar ending in another of my stories...if so, let me know. XD (I'm so professional)