The boots stopped right in front of the tree, he heard a large thump, the sound of the large viking hitting his fist against the trunk of the tree. It shuddered, more dirt and root chips showered down on Hiccup's head. He closed his eyes tightly, and waited for what was to come.

"Alright, lets get back" the viking said, turning away.

Ok? He had not been expecting that..

"What? You're gonna let em get away?" Mildew snapped.

The viking once more strode forward, grabbing the front of Mildew's shirt.

"Think about it you fool. Who's gonna believe em, if you're at home, and no other viking to be found hmm?" he said, shoving Mildew back.

The older viking glared at the larger one, as he moved back up the hill.

"Come on, we ain't got all day...we can talk on the way"

Mildew shook his head, but followed. Hiccup opened his eyes, to see Fungus standing still in the clearing. He was staring right at Hiccup under the tree. Hiccup swallowed.

"Come on Fungus, dinner sounds good yeah?" Mildew called.

The sheep gave a baa, and slowly turned to follow. Hiccup didn't know how long he waited, but he realized he had held his breath a lot in there. He let himself take a few deep breaths, before moving to the hole. Getting out was a bit tougher then getting in, it took a few minutes for Hiccup to manage with his leg, the soil kept giving way below. He stood, dusting himself off, glad to be free of the cramped space. He looked around, making sure he was in fact alone. Leaning against the tree, his mind began racing again. This...this was not what he wanted to hear, this was not what he wanted to be happening. He sighed, his father was definitely in trouble, and he was the only one at the moment who knew. The trip back to the village was slow, Hiccup needed some time to think, by the time he made it within view of his home, it was dark out, and the torches had been lit. He was not paying attention, so he failed to notice the large black dragon barraling towards him.

The impact sent him flying back onto the ground, as the heavy weight of the dragon on top of him gained his attention. Toothless was licking his face, giving growls and purrs of relief and happiness to see him back. Astrid opened the door to his home, hearing the commotion.

"Hiccup!" she rushed down the steps, soon followed by the others.

Hiccup managed to push Toothless off, laughing a bit. He turned a bit serious once more as he stood, Astrid throwing her arms around him in a hug.

"We thought something had happened when you didn't come back before night" she says, pulling back.

"What happened to you?" Tuffnut said, looking over Hiccup's less than neat appearance.

"Roll in the mud?" Ruffnut asked, and they laughed.

Hiccup attempted to brush some of the dirt off, "no, and you wouldn't believe what I've been through tonight even if I told you."

"Try us" Astrid said, crossing her arms.

Hiccup glanced around a bit, a few stray people looking over at them.

"Ah, not out here, lets go inside.."

Astrid placed a bowl of hot stew and a mug in front of Hiccup once they were inside.

"Eat" she said, though her tone was more commanding than friendly.

Hiccup didn't need to be told twice, as he realized just how hungry he was. The others sat, getting comfortable, though Snotlout stayed leaning against the wall near the door.

"You gonna tell us or not?" he said.

Astrid shot him a look, "let him eat Snotlout."

Hiccup wiped his mouth a bit with the back of his sleeve, "I'm fine..he's right, you guys need to know."

"ooo...serious" Tuffnut said, leaning forward a bit near the fireplace.

Hiccup rolled his eyes, "Mildew is working with Alvin."

He didn't feel like sugar-coating it, he was to tierd for that at the moment. Toothless gave a growl from the corner at the mere mention of the viking's name. The others froze.

"What...how do you know?" Astrid asked, wanting to get the facts straight.

Hiccup told them everything, from the time Astrid had left, to when he had gotten out of the hole and returned home. The others were silent. Only the sound of the fireplace was heard, as all of them were stuck in their thoughts. Snotlout pushed away from the wall, moving forward past Astrid. He slammed his hands down on the table by Hiccup.

"Are you sure that is what happened?" he said.

Hiccup glared a bit, "why would I make it up?"

"Uh I don't know" he gestured slightly with his hands, "maybe cause you've been bugging us about your dear old daddy since he left, and you want to have some excuse to go riding off to be the hero again."

"Oh and I suppose I decided to run around, rough and dirty myself up for good measure to" Hiccup countered.

Snotlout gave a sarcastic smile, "I don't doubt you fell on your face, happens a lot, kinda clumsy eh Hiccup?"

Hiccup stood, moving close to Snotlout, staring him in the eyes. He didn't care if he was in his personal space or not.

"My father is in trouble, and I do not really care what you think, one way or another I will save him..with or without you" he pushed past him, heading for the door.

Man he sounded a lot braver then he felt, his nerves were screaming at him. He had an even greater bad feeling then before, and he had no idea what he was up against. Astrid moved in the way, blocking the door.

"Will you calm down..both of you" she snapped glaring, "Snotlout you're a jerk, and Hiccup your hot-headed right now, both of you need to take a breath. It has been a long day, and Hiccup is in no condition to go anywhere tonight, especially alone, not that we would honestly let him anyways."

Hiccup looked at her, then slowly at Fishlegs as he stepped forward.

"She's right...You need rest Hiccup, and Snotlout is angry, cause his dad's out there to" he said quietly.

Hiccup paused, "what..."

He turned to face Snotlout, who was glaring at him.

"Yea...so what, my dad is out there to, one of the vikings on the ship your dad drug off with him" he said, "but the difference between me and this loser is my dad is a Jorgenson, and Jorgenson never lose."

He shoved his way past Hiccup and forced the door open, walking out and letting it slam behind him. It was silent once more. No one really knew what to say. Astrid placed a hand on Hiccup's shoulder.

"Get some rest...we can all meet in the morning at the academy and discuss a plan" she says.

Even Ruffnut and Tuffnut were silent, standing, they shared a glance. Slowly everyone left, leaving a sore, weathered and tired Hiccup alone with Toothless. He sighed, rubbing his neck a bit, as he turned. Toothless sat up, tilting his head with a curious look.

"I don't know what we're gonna do buddy...I really don't" he said, making his way up the stairs.

Toothless followed, moving to his rock slab, as Hiccup moved to a bowl. He poured some water inside, and slipped off his vest and shirt. He flinched, his shoulder hurt. He must have hit it quite a bit with all the day's action. He sighed, dipping a cloth in the water and attempting to wipe away some of the dirt and grime. The water felt nice and helped a bit, Toothless curled up and watched slightly, a bit of a worried look in his eyes. Hiccup did his best to clean up, before moving to his bed. He sat down, and just stared off into the wall for a bot. It was still hard to take in, they had guessed Mildew had something to do with it, but Hiccup had thought it would have been to obvious. Seemed some things were right in front of your face for a reason. He slowly laid back, groaning a bit as his sore body fought to relax. He didn't want to move, not even to blow out the candle or pull the covers up. He was exhausted, and before he knew it, he was asleep.