Author's notes: it's a stupid thing to do when you upload a chapter on a lack of sleep and don't realize you've uploaded the wrong edited version until hours later. Trust me (a.k.a go back and reread chapter 11)

While it should have been time for the big freeze, Berk and the surrounding islands seemed to be getting warmer and warmer each day. Many of the villagers went around with their shirts off (unfortunately in some cases), and the day after Hiccup had bonded with Toothless, the heat seemed to be at its peak. Five viking teenagers sat around a lake hidden deep in the forest, stripped down to their skivvies as they tried to keep cool. It really did seem like Hiccup had been embraced by the group as a whole, even if Snotlout did keep on coming over to dunk him in to the water, which ended up in an all-out brawl between the two boys.

Astrid sighed as she lounged back against a rock, watching them with a raised eyebrow as she sunbaked next to Ruffnut, looking at the other girl as she used her foot to shove Tuffnut into the fight with a grin. "Where do you think Fishlegs is?" she asked her as Hiccup wrapped his arm around Snotlout's neck and shoved him head first under water.

"Eh, you know he can't swim," Ruffnut replied, retracting her foot as she rested back on her elbows. She tilted her head to Astrid as Snotlout struggled to get out of Hiccup's grip before he turned it around and shifted the Outcast over his head. "I bet he thought up some excuse to keep from coming."

The dragon conqueror hummed as she stretched languidly like a cat, linking her fingers together. Usually she wouldn't be so worried but she relied on Fishlegs's abundant knowledge. Something had been up with Stormfly since this morning, and she couldn't tell what. She might have been the dragon conqueror but there was no doubt that Fishlegs was a budding dragonologist. "I went to his house this morning and his mother said that he must have gone out before she got up. But it's strange - he left Meatlug behind."

"Well that is weird." Ruffnut idly started braiding part of her hair, sitting up and pulling a clump over her shoulder. "He never goes anywhere without her."

"She seemed a little agitated...I say we give him until the end of the day before we start worrying though. He could have gotten distracted." Astrid raised an eyebrow to where Snotlout was struggling to keep afloat with Hiccup on the middle of his back holding him down, raising her voice. "Hiccup! He's gonna drown if you keep that up," she snapped, gaining the boy's attention.

"He started it," the auburn-haired Outcast said before he reluctantly kicked off, watching Snotlout splutter and shake his head and brushing wet hair out of his eyes before he shoved at Hiccup again.

"Well I'm stopping it!" Astrid slid down from her rock and into the water, coming up and wading her way over to them to pull them apart as the fight started anew. "Can't you boys just...wow, the water's a lot warmer than what I remember."

"I'll say. It felt like my throat was burning up when he was holding me down," Snotlout said, shaking water out of his ears as he glared at his cousin, who just shrugged.

"That's what happens when your lungs start to collapse."

"Why you...!"

"Enough!" Astrid placed her hands on both boy's chests and shoved them away from each other. She pursed her lips together with a frown, scooping a hand through the water before dropping it in alarm, looking at her friends. "Everybody get out!"

"But how're we going to keep cool?" Tuffnut whined.

"Now! Do you want to be boiled like a lobster?"

The surface of the water started to bubble and the four teenagers scrambled for the rocks surrounding the lake. Hiccup rolled onto the surface and reached to help Astrid out, watching Ruffnut pull her brother and Snotlout out of the water. The five teenagers watched the water bubble before it shot up into the air like a geyser, exploding overhead.

Astrid ran the back of her hand over her forehead, her other on her hip as she eyed her friends. "Everyone okay?"

The boys nodded and Hiccup ran his hand through his wet hair. "Is the water on Berk always this hot?" he asked, watching the angry gush of water rise and rise before it finally fell, continuing to bubble. The air around them was beginning to become stifling and they started moving away, beginning to head back to the village.

"Not usually, no." Astrid picked the hair tie from her side braid before she tied her hair up, keeping it out of her face. "We're almost due for the big freeze but it's warmer than usual. Too warm. I've never seen water boil like that without being heated up from some source."

"I have." They looked towards Hiccup. "Water around volcanoes become hot springs because their temperature is so warm. When the volcano is about to erupt, the water starts boiling. Outcast Island is an old volcano that's dormant, but the lakes around the base are too warm to drink from."

"But the only volcano near Berk is a good five hours sailing distance," Tuffnut stated, his brow furrowed as he wrung out his hair. Once done, he flipped the clump over his shoulder and started on the other side. "How could it be affecting us?"

"Volcanoes have a fire stone that prevents them from erupting," Astrid explained, tapping her finger to her chin and resting her elbow on the upturned palm of her other hand. "Exterminator dragon eggs guard it from being stolen, because once you've woken them up they won't go back to sleep. They'll keep burning everything until they find the culprit and their stone."

"So someone must have stolen the fire stone belonging to the volcano near Berk." Hiccup wriggled a finger in his ear to get the water out. "And it must have happened a long time ago for it to be getting like this."

"So all we have to do is kick the butt of the guy that stole the fire stone and return it to the volcano?" Ruffnut raised an eyebrow before she lifted her hand. "I volunteer to make him hurt!"

"It could be anywhere by now if it was stolen years ago, Ruff." Astrid gave a small sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose. "I guess the only thing we can do is ask the chief if we can look through people's houses. Preferably before the volcano erupts."

Nodding to each other, the five teenagers started quickening their pace towards the village, hoping they were going to be successful, or the entire Archipelago would be doomed.

"Aye, I've heard of fire stones." Stoick ran his forearm across his forehead as he studied the young vikings before him, brow furrowing. "I don't see what that has to do with the heat wave we're going through right now when we should be approaching the big freeze."

"Sir, the lake we were in earlier started to boil," Astrid started explaining, using her hands to elaborate what she was saying. "The volcano is getting ready to erupt any day now! Any hour even! What this means is that the fire stone was stolen from it! Swarms of angry Exterminator dragons could potentially damage all wildlife around the Archipelago!"

"They'll hunt until nothing is left or they get their fire stone back," Hiccup interjected, causing Stoick to look at him. "Every single viking and village will be burnt to crisp and then there will be nothing left of our civilization. We have no choice but to ask that people upturn their houses and look for the stone." At the look on his biological father's face, he continued. "It could have been passed down as a family heirloom. It takes years for a volcano to fire up like this."

Stoick stroked his beard before he sighed, relinquishing the fact that these kids seemed to know what they were doing. "Alright. I'll send word to the Meatheads and Bog Burglars to search through their houses too. What does this stone look like?"

"Like a ruby, but brighter. It's said to have fire like qualities in its colour but it's not warm like fire."

"And once we return it to the center of the volcano, the eruption will cease?"

"Theoretically."

The chief pinched the bridge of his nose. They were going on theories. Wonderful. "Very well. I trust you lot know what you're looking for, but I will call together a meeting in the great hall to discuss it with the village in what detail I know. Don't start looking until we have everyone up to speed."

When they nodded, he walked away and Astrid turned to her friends, "Gather your dragons. Once we find this fire stone, they'll be able to withstand the heat of the volcano and return it to the center."

As they began to disperse, Hiccup turned around when he heard someone calling his name. Looking over his shoulder, he saw Gobber gesturing to him from the work shop. "I'll see you guys later." With that said, he hurried over to the older viking and upon reaching the work shop was ushered inside.

"What're they being all sneaky for?"

"Gobber must have finished Toothless' new tail," Astrid said in response to Snotlout's question, beaming as she clapped her hands together. "Perfect. That'll be one more dragon we can count on to help deliver the fire stone." At the looks on his and the twin's faces, she waved a hand. "I'll explain later. For now, let's go get ready."

Hiccup couldn't stop grinning to himself as Gobber showed him the set up. It was exactly like in his designs, right down to the red tail fin that opened up beautifully. He nodded his assessment, turning to look at him. "This is perfect."

"I made a couple of tweaks in the design," Gobber said, showing Hiccup just where those tweaks were. "Theoretically speaking, it should allow the dragon as much freedom as possible while still keeping him under your control, and with the weight of the tail, you'll be able to go faster than anything."

"Excellent." Hiccup closed the tail fin where he was making sure it straightened out and folded back in properly. Speed would be everything he'd need in order to get away from Berk should he be found out, and once he had Toothless trained he'd be unstoppable. Besides, he already had Fenrir, and she was fiercely loyal to him if last night had proven anything. "You do your job well, Gobber."

"Ah well, when you've been around for as long as I have, you pick up a few skills here and there." He patted the boy on the shoulder, moving off to another corner of the work shop to start on another project.

"Well I could hardly have made this without you, old man," he responded with a grin, earning an indignant 'hey now!' from the older viking. He tucked the gear under his arm, making a mental note to keep Gobber alive. Alvin would be pleased to have use for a man like that. No doubt that Gobber would fight back of course, but that was the fun in breaking someone into submission. The Outcast prince straightened himself, raising an eyebrow. "What do I owe you?"

"We'll call that one a freebie as long as you do what I said and consider forgiving Stoick," he called over the sound of metal being ground over the wheel as he started sharpening the blade in his hand, using his mallet hand to keep it steady.

Hiccup moved closer to hear him, frowning a bit as he shifted the contraption under his arm. "Well...I was thinking about taking up his offer to live with him."

Gobber stopped the wheel in a bit of alarm before his expression returned to normal, pursing his lips together. "As long as you're sure you can curb that urge to kill him, boy. Otherwise, I'm afraid I'll have to do something to you that you won't like."

The teenager let a small smirk cross his face, expression unreadable as he shrugged. "We'll see about that." With that said, he swept out of the work shop, leaving Gobber to wonder what the heck he meant by that before he shrugged himself and went back to his real work.

The air was starting to get warmer as the villagers of Berk gathered in the great hall, the doors wide open so that they wouldn't be steamed alive. Many of them were still without their shirts, and even the teenagers wore as minimal clothing as possible, with Ruffnut and Astrid binding their chests to keep their breasts covered. Besides, they might be fighting something soon and why bother being stuck with bindings and an un-breathable top?

Stoick stepped up onto the slab in the center of the room and his people quieted down, shushing at each other until they all fell silence. The chief cleared his throat, expression stern and commanding. "It has come to my attention that the cause of this unnatural heat wave that we have been experiencing over the last couple of days is because a fire stone has gone missing from the volcano to the north of the Barbaric Archipelagos." Murmurs shot up from the gathered crowd and Stoick raised his hand to silence them before he continued.

"For a volcano to get this bad, it needed to have been stolen from the volcano fifteen years or so ago. I've sent word to the Meatheads and the Bog Burglars to search their houses for a gemstone that looks like a ruby but appears to be made of fire, but we must search our houses too. Anything that could have been passed down as an heirloom through your families that sounds like the fire stone must be brought forward. Astrid and her team will fly their dragons to the center of the volcano, where they will deposit the fire stone and hopefully stop the volcano from erupting. The dragons will be able to withstand the heat to get close enough to return it. If we don't, the entire Archipelago is doomed."

The gathered vikings began talking among themselves again as Stoick stepped down, and the teenagers started leaving, pulling away from their spots at the back of the crowd. One by one, they filed out into the equally warm air of the outside, where their dragons were waiting. Hiccup picked up the gear resting at Fenrir's feet, climbing onto her. "I'm going to go put this in my camp, then I'll be back. It won't do me any good to go looking through people's houses because no doubt I'll get blamed if I find anything."

Astrid nodded. It made sense to her that people would think that when a week and a half ago he had been their enemy. Watching Hiccup take off, she was about to walk down the steps when a Gronckle came bounding up, worry clearly on her face as she whined softly, tiny ears drooping. "Meatlug! Isn't Fishlegs back yet?" A whimper was all Astrid got in response.

"Okay, I hate to admit it but I'm really getting worried," Snotlout said, crossing his arms over his chest as he pulled his hand away from where it was resting on Hookfang's neck. "That nerd barely gets up before mid-morning let alone go on walks before isunrise/i, especially without that puppy of a dragon of his."

Ruffnut reached to gently rub the bridge of Meatlug's muzzle as the tawny dragon's nostrils flared, pursing her lips together. "It is strange..."

Meatlug's eyes widened before she pushed past Astrid and Ruffnut, sniffing around Tuffnut who let out a 'hey!', and then she wandered over to the spot where Hiccup and Fenrir had been, nose pressed to the ground. A growl sounded low in her throat and the other dragons let out calls of alarm. Astrid glanced from Meatlug to Stormfly, frowning deeply before she turned her attention back to the others. "You guys don't think...?"

"If Hiccup had anything to do with Fishlegs's little disappearing act, I'm going to kick his butt," Tuffnut growled out, smacking his fist into his palm. Ruffnut and Snotlout nodded in agreement and Astrid pursed her lips together.

"Maybe we're just jumping to conclusions..." She tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. With her friends ready to go though it didn't look like she was going to calm them down. "Look, we'll just ask Hiccup if he saw Fishlegs this morning, and that will be it. If he says no, then that's fine. If he says yes, that's no reason to attack him. We'll hear him out. But first we have to find this fire stone. We won't be able to find Fishlegs if the entire Archipelago goes up in flaming lava."

With her friends satisfied, Astrid turned away from them and began walking down the steps leading to the great hall on the path towards the plaza, her brow furrowed in confusion. It was true that Hiccup wasn't exactly one of them, but still, she liked to think the best of him since his apparent turning over a new leaf. Putting off finding Fishlegs for now seemed to be the best choice. After all, he couldn't have gone very far, could he?

Once he had put Toothless's new prosthetic in his camp, Hiccup took off on Fenrir again, his hands gripping her saddle. The higher they went, the warmer the air, so he nudged her to stick to lower grounds, just above tree level. He scowled, sneer curling on his upper lip as his mind rolled over what he'd heard them say when he'd had Fenrir hover behind the great hall. "I should have gutted the fatty when I had the chance," he snarled, knowing how worried they were starting to get over their missing friend. At least a death was easy to push off onto others. Capturing the boy's dragon would have been ideal too but he hadn't been about to risk waking up a hundred vikings just for one dragon. His fingers dug in in a white knuckled grip and Fenrir cooed softly, feeling her rider's anger. "Looks like my plans might have to speed up."

Damn it. Oh well. The important thing was to get Toothless into the air right now. After he delivered a little something. He nudged Fenrir to bank a left, circling over the forest behind the mountain and upward, towards the landing where Mildew's cottage was. The boy slid from his dragon once she was about to land, feet landing on the soft earth near the edge of the old man's cabbage field before he walked over to the house. Considering the bad mood he was in, he didn't bother knocking, instead just throwing the door open without much ceremony. "Where are you, you old hag?"

Mildew just about jumped where he was standing over a cauldron of a pot, stirring something that smelled like dragon barf before he closed the lid over it. Fungus bleated, hiding behind his human. "What do you want inow/i, boy?" It was a good thing he'd closed the lid over the pot, because he nearly fumbled with the small sack Hiccup tossed him at the question. Finally, Mildew closed gnarled old fingers around it, tilting the sack up and dropping the fire stone into his palm. His eyes widened upon seeing the fire stone, nearly dropping it in shock. "This is a...!"

Hiccup grinned wickedly, tilting his head to crack his neck as he rolled his shoulders. "A fire stone. Good, you recognize it. I shouldn't have to explain what it does, or why I'm passing it to you."

"Ohhhh no. I am not taking the fall for you again, boy!"

Removing the dagger that he'd bartered from Trader Johann from the holster on his belt, Hiccup tossed it up into the air, catching it by the handle. "I wouldn't test my mood today, Mildew," he purred dangerously, free hand coming to rest on his hip as he drew his other up the handle of his dagger. "I'm in a particularly bad one, I'm afraid. One that will only be quenched by the sight of blood." He closed the distance between them, backing him into a wall holding four portraits as Fungus watched on, bleating pathetically. Mildew held his breath as he felt a blade dig into his neck, head tilting as far away as possible from the axe as Hiccup dug it in, the corners of his mouth lifting viciously as his eyes danced with bloodlust. "It's been so long..."

As the blade continued to dig further into shriveled skin, a whimper left Mildew's throat as the fire stone clattered to the floor with the first draw of blood. "STOP! Stop it!" Hiccup's knife hand stilled and he let out a shaky breath. "I'll do it. I'll do what you want."

"Mmm...you'll have to convince me a bit more than that," he murmured, beginning to move the blade again. His free hand came up, curling around Mildew's collar as he pressed him hard against the wall behind him. The dagger started to drag downward in a torturous motion, intent on causing pain before the curve of the blade left, only the tip of the end digging in. He leaned in, watching the way the blood trickled down as he licked his lips. "How long has it been since you've gained a new scar, Mildew? Ten? Twenty years? I'll be more than happy to give you the slave mark."

"Y-you need me to take the fall for ya, don't you, boy?" Mildew's fingers scrabbled at the rock behind him that served as the back wall to his house, the sharper edges causing them to bleed as his heart started beating wildly in his chest. Even an old man like him knew that the slave mark was something that could not be removed, that would be there until he finally kicked the bucket. He hurried on as he felt the blade cut further down and Hiccup pinned him rougher against the wall, intent on keeping him there. Of all the days to be shirtless. "How much good will I be to ya dead?"

"Nobody will find you for weeks because nobody will come looking for you," Hiccup purred, watching the way blood pooled around the tip of his dagger and started flowing down, tilting his head as dark green eyes flickered up to meet frightened grey blue ones. "I could take my time killing you. Keep you here for idays/i, tied up, kill your precious sheep in front of you and make you eat it. There's a reason why I earned and keep my name, you know. I'd be more than happy to show you how."

All of a sudden, though, Hiccup pulled away, letting his dagger twist in the skin at the center of Mildew's chest, grinning nastily as the old man cried out. "I'm afraid if this volcano erupts though I won't have weeks to toy with you." He pulled the knife away, mouth stretched from ear to ear as he licked the blade tip into his mouth, careful not to cut his tongue. "Better clean up, old man, otherwise questions will be raised. And we don't want questions, do we?"

"N-no we don't." Mildew's hands clamped around the line of blood trailing from his neck down to his chest, swallowing deeply.

"Good boy. See how things are so much easier when you're agreeable?" He reached forward, pinching a warty cheek between two fingers and tugging on the flesh there before he pulled away and turned around, drawing the dagger from his mouth. He twirled the dagger around his fingers before sheathing it, bloodlust seemingly quenched for now. "I trust you know what to do."

"Yes..."

"Excellent. Don't mess this up, otherwise I will follow through on my threats, Mildew."