Chapter 8

...

"Hiccup!"

The sound of Fishlegs' voice caught Hiccup off-guard, causing him to nearly fall off of Toothless' back as he turned to look at his friend. "Fishlegs! Wha-What are you doing here? And why are you by yourself? You should be back on the Edge with the others."

"The A-team is watching the Edge right now. The rest of us are looking for you and Astrid. You didn't think we wouldn't try to find you two when you never came home, did you?"

"Well, I uh..." The auburn-haired Viking rubbed the back of his neck.

"Where's Astrid?"

"Oh, you know, just hanging out with my mom."

"Your mom?" Fishlegs questioned, furrowing his eyebrows. "But she's -"

"I know, I know, she's supposed to be dead." Hiccup sighed. "Well, she's not. And I don't know where the other riders are, but you'd better get out of here. There's dragon hunters around."

"D-Dragon hunters?" Fishlegs' eyes grew wide. "But...but...I thought after Viggo -"

"So did I. But apparently Viggo wasn't the end." He went on to repeat everything Valka had told him about Drago Bludvist and his men.

"So why are you and Astrid staying here if it's that dangerous?"

Sighing, Hiccup shook his head. "I can't face my dad. At least for now. If I do, he's gonna keep planning this wedding, and that's not a risk I'm willing to take."

"Uh...Hiccup...I...I think the wedding's off. I mean, Deirdre went back to Berserker Island, and Stoick's out looking for you. I'm pretty sure it's safe to go back."

"Fishlegs!" Tuffnut shouted. He and Snotlout, both seated on Hookfang's back, appeared in the distance. Barf and Belch flew beside them. "Oh, there you are, H. We were looking for you. Thought you were dead. But anyhow, you guys gotta help us!" He threw his hands into the air. "Ruffnut...Ruffnut just got captured!"

"What?" Hiccup's eyes widened.

"Ruffnut is captured!" repeated Tuffnut, raising his voice. "I repeat, Ruffnut is captured!"

"The dragon hunters," Hiccup muttered under his breath. Louder, he said, "Alright. You three follow the hunters' ship. I'll go get my mom. She'll be able to help us."

"You want us to go? Without you?" questioned Fishlegs.

"Yes, go. I'll be there as soon as I can."

"But -"

"You'll be fine, Fishlegs. I have confidence in you!" Hiccup called as he flew away towards Valka's dragon sanctuary. Upon landing in the midst of eating dragons, he jumped off of Toothless and shouted, "Mom! Mom!"

"What is it, dear?" Valka asked, hurrying over to her son.

"The dragon hunters. My friends came looking for me, and the dragon hunters captured Ruffnut. We need your help."

"I'm coming, too." Coming to stand beside Valka, Astrid crossed her arms over her chest.

Hiccup sighed. "But Astrid, your ankle is still -"

"I said that I'm coming with you. You didn't think I'd stay here alone while everyone else is going on a dangerous adventure, did you?" The blonde narrowed her eyes.

Hiccup sighed. "Okay, okay, fine. Come with us. Just...just be careful." He placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I will," smiled Astrid, covering his hand with her own. "Now let's get to it."

"Mom, there is something I need to warn you about," Hiccup began as he flew into the air with Valka and Astrid.

"I think I have a plan," came Valka's response.

"No, Mom. It doesn't have anything to do with the dragon hunters. It has to do with -"

"Hiccup!"

The little group turned around to see Stoick flying behind them on Skullcrusher.

"Dad, uh...I can...I can explain," The auburn-haired Viking ran a hand through his hair.

Stoick didn't seem to hear his son. Instead, his focus was on Valka, who was looking at him with wide eyes and parted lips. "Val," he whispered, urging his dragon over to his wife. "Val, is it...how is this possible? I thought...I thought you were dead."

Valka shied away from her husband's gaze. "Please don't be angry, Stoick. We both know I had to leave. For Hiccup's sake. I couldn't kill a dragon. I couldn't even watch you kill dragons. And I couldn't bear to see my son grow up to kill dragons, either. I wasn't meant to be a Berkian. And you and Hiccup deserved better."

"I'm not angry, Val." Stoick pressed his large hand against Valka's cheek. "I'm just glad you're safe." He then turned to Hiccup. "And you, son. I'm sorry."

"It's okay, Dad. Just so long as you're not gonna make me marry Deirdre. But for now, we need to get to Ruffnut."

"To Ruffnut? Where is she?" asked Stoick.

"The dragon hunters have her."

"Who?"

"You have a lot of catching up to do," Hiccup said.

...

When the little group arrived at the dreaded ship, Snotlout and Tuffnut were seated on a flaming Hookfang, shouting threats to the hunters. Fishlegs was off to the side, cowering in fear as a hunter attempted to lasso Meatlug with a dragon-proof rope.

"What in the name of Thor is going on here?" Stoick demanded.

"Chief!" Fishlegs exclaimed. He began flying to Stoick, only to be thrown from Meatlug as the hunter caught him off guard and captured the Gronckle.

"Fishlegs!" Hiccup prompted Toothless to dive, causing him to catch Fishlegs on his back.

"My Meatlug!" exclaimed Fishlegs, clapping a hand over his mouth. "Oh Thor, not my Meatlug!"

"I'll get her." With that, Stoick charged forward.

"Stop!" The hunter held up his hand. "Do you realize who you're dealing with?"

The dragon riders grew silent, watching in confusion as the stranger flexed his muscles.

"I am Eret, son of Eret," he eventually said, pointing to himself with his thumb. "The finest dragon trapper alive. And if you try to take this Gronckle, or any other of the dragons on this ship, I am going to -"

"Enough!" Hiccup shouted.

Eret abandoned his thought, instead turning his bewildered eyes towards Hiccup. "Is that a Night Fury? Oh, Drago will be -"

"Drago?" interrupted Stoick. "Drago who?"

"Why, Drago Bludvist. How many other dragon trappers are there up in these parts?"

Stoick's face turned to stone. "Drago Bludvist," he growled, balling his hands into tight fists.

"What's wrong, Dad?" asked Hiccup.

The Chief shook his head. "Drago Bludvist is a bad man, with no conscious or mercy. He murdered all the chiefs at a tribe meeting before you were born. That is, all of them except for me. He's cold-blooded and deadly, and if we don't get Ruffnut out of there -" He broke off as Astrid landed on the ship's deck and slipped down a ladder, Stormfly quickly rising back into the air before any of the dragon hunters noticed what had happened.

Biting his lip, Hiccup quickly dove after the blonde, sneaking Toothless below deck while Eret was distracted by Stoick. "Ruffnut!" he whispered as he caught sight of the trapped Viking. Astrid was struggling to undo the lock.

"Have you guys seen Eret?" Ruffnut asked, her eyes wide. "He's just so perfect, and I miss looking at his biceps. I mean, it's only been twenty minutes, but -"

"Ruffnut, we don't have time to gossip right now," hissed Astrid. "Let's just get you out of here before we get caught."

"Wanna help us out, bud?" Hiccup asked, prompting Toothless to fire a plasma blast.

Ruffnut folded her arms over her chest and rolled her eyes. "The bars are dragon-proof, idiot."

"If only Gobber and Grump were here," muttered Hiccup. Louder, he said, "Astrid, you don't have any Changewing acid, do you?"

Astrid shook her head. "Not on me."

"If you take my son, you have to take me, too!" Stoick's voice boomed.

Hiccup and Astrid turned to see the large Viking crashing onto the floor, his axe in his hand. Eret came after him, holding a sword to the his neck.

"Eret, no!" Hiccup shouted. Toothless fired an accompanying blast.

"Don't order me around, you do-gooder dragon rider." Eret wrinkled his nose.

"I'm not ordering you around. I just...well, you know, I think that Drago would give you more credit if you brought all of us do-gooder dragon riders to him in one piece."

"And you know, Eret," Ruffnut cut in. "I'd...I mean, we'd love to spend some quality time with you."

The hunter loosened his grip on the sword. "I doubt you guys are looking to spend quality time with me, but the skinny boy with the oversized head has a point. I'll take the four of you with me."