Another chap on! And very well corrected by my beta, ladipretender. You're so sweet, girl! Thanks!

Thank you all for the reviews! You're awesome, guys!

Previously, Hiccup found out his father was mourning his supposed death for all 5 years that he was missing. Now, he's confused and the only thing he knows is that he needs to fix this without endangering his best friend's life.

Chapter 11

Unveiled Secrets

Hiccup walked away, his mind was in a haze. Confused and uncertain, he only knew he needed to go for a flight. In the middle of his hurry, he barely noticed Camicazi.

"Slow down. What happened to you? Are you okay?"

"My dad this whole time thought I'm died!" His thoughts were running so fast he couldn't put them in place. Camicazi raised an eyebrow, but before she could ask anything or see if he had a fever, he shook his head and reformulated the sentence. "I mean, this whole time I was gone, my dad thought I was dead!"

"This is a problem…" She mumbled, understanding.

"And you don't know the half of it. He thinks Toothless killed me and he wants to avenge my 'supposed death'."

"Then all you have to do is tell the truth."

"It's not that simple. Nothing is ever so simple. He thought I'd never do that; I'd never disappoint him and run away. And I don't want to disappoint him. I don't want him to hate me, you know?"

"He won't hate, Hiccup. He's your father."

"How can you be so sure? You've never seen the disapproving scowl on his face when it comes to me. Look, I just need to think things through. Carefully."

"Then what do you suggest?"

"I'm going out flying with Toothless…"

"Your dad wants to kill your best friend and you're gonna expose him like that?"

"It's night. No one will see us. I'll be cautious."

"You're a big boy; you can deal with the consequences of your choices. You have been warned, though." She said matter-of-factly as Hiccup ran to his house, where Toothless was.

It took just the mention of the word 'fly' to make Toothless happy and eager to go. They were airborne in the blink of an eye without anyone seeing them. They flew over the open sea, near their island but far enough away to be on the safe side. Hiccup let out an exasperated sigh and laid down on Toothless's back. Then, he explained everything about his father to his best friend. Everything, from the disapproving scowls for being the 'runt of the litter' through the conversation he'd had with his father just moments earlier.

"So, summing up, when we get back you'll have to be careful. Don't leave our house, I'll try to reason with my father and try to probe into what his reaction might be and then I'll reveal myself…" the dragon only crooned in response, concerned.

"I know it's dangerous and all, I hope that he might not want to kill me after that. But I can't just let him keep thinking that I've been dead this whole time, it's not fair and I can't let him die thinking that a dragon murdered me. But I also can't risk you. You know, when he was only two, he killed a dragon with his bare hands!"

Toothless would have given him a disbelieving look if Hiccup could see his eyes; so instead, he just gutturally hummed to show he didn't believe it at all. Hiccup could understand everything his friend was communicating, words weren't necessary.

"Hey, don't believe me if you don't want to, but that's what I've heard." He said smiling and remembering what people said about the great Stoick, The Vast. He kept motioning his hands although he was still lying down and the dragon couldn't see him. "Anyway, I know it'll be hard for you, but don't leave our house, okay? I'll make it up to you and give you all the cod you want when they're gone. You may only go out if you know I'm in trouble, like, for example, if he tries to kill me or something…" Hiccup trailed off and the dragon purred in agreement.

"Shall we go back now?" He asked the Night Fury after a moment of silence and once again he agreed.

They had been out for almost an hour now, and it would take at least 30 minutes to reach home, enough to be sure that everyone'd be sleeping, except for the one who'd be making the night patrol, of course. Hiccup sat up a bit lazily, feeling that the position made him sleepy and he only wished it to last long enough for him to crash on his bed and immediately drift off to sleep. But when he shifted the pedal to move the fake tail fin, he felt something was wrong.

He didn't notice before that it was so hard to move the tail. What was happening? He gulped at the thought of having the rope rip again and shivered as he imagined how cold the water would be in the middle of the night. Toothless'd be fine, his rough scales protected him from both the fire and from the cold. Hiccup, however, was different. If he fell, he might even get hypothermia depending on how long it took them to get home after the unwanted bath and how the wind blew.

He sighed, relieved to see that the rope was fine. The problem was the connecting rod. Hiccup had noticed it was getting a bit rusty; it actually wasn't unusual to have happen because of the humidity from the sea. In fact, it was the biggest problem he'd had to deal with before he went to the Bog Burglars. Metal rusts quickly in high humidity places like the islands of the Archipelago, so he often had to sneak into forges in the middle of the night, steal what he needed and run away to utilize Toothless's fire to heat up the metal and make the pieces he needed. He had made spare pieces and took them with him when he left Bertha's island.

However, Hiccup had't had the time to make a new one recently and had ended up forgetting about it until that very moment.

"Great. It's rusting again…" he mumbled sarcastically. Toothless crooned, annoyed.

The rust made it hard to maneuver, but it was less threatening than a rope rip. At least in the beginning state, which it still was. Hiccup forced his prosthetic to shift the pedal and he finally made the tight turn. He needed to fix it immediately. He could actually ask Hall to make another one, the boy was a prodigy in the forge almost like Hiccup; he was a big help, learning the job quickly. But Hiccup knew he couldn't really afford to take that risk. The Berserkers could appear at any minute and they needed to be prepared.

They landed near the forge, flying fast and silently. No one noticed their presence coming home. Hiccup lit up the fire and felt the cozy comfort slowly erase the cold numbness in his fingers.

"Hey, bud, let's get inside. Stay hidden in that dark spot just to be on the safe side, okay?"

Sharpshot was probably the only one to notice them and entered the forge, landing near his human. The tiny dragon was grateful for his rescue and he often stayed by Hiccup's side, though obviously not as much as Toothless.

He grabbed a piece of metal and shoved it into the flames to heat until it was red, then he took it out and started pounding with a hammer to shape it. He repeated the procedure a few times, before the dragons heard a noise. When Hiccup noticed the dragons were looking at the door, he stopped pounding and turned to look that direction only to hear noises of someone approaching.

"Hall? Is that you?" He asked curiously. It had happened before, Hall appearing in the middle of the night when Hiccup mentioned that he'd work late. That was not the case tonight but he also knew that the boy liked to stay late at the forge.

"No, sorry… I was awake and heard the sound of pounding metal." Hiccup recognized the voice as Gobber's and quickly turned around so his back was toward the door instead of his face. "I'm a blacksmith, so I couldn't resist…"

Hiccup immediately searched for his cape, just to mentally slap himself as he remembered he left it in his house before flying out with Toothless. It wasn't really nice to fly with it because of the wind, so he left it there, thinking he wouldn't need it.

"It's okay. You can look, but I think it's better for you to go back to bed…" Hiccup informed him and shrugged with his usual hand gestures. He remembered how his former mentor liked to see different forges and talk to other blacksmiths about their work. But Hiccup didn't have time for that.

"It's been a long time since I've seen someone working with the left hand…" Gobber commented in a low voice that Hiccup barely heard over the sound of the clanging metal, so he wasn't sure if his former mentor was talking to himself.

Hiccup reminded himself not to turn his face to talk to him, like he normally would do with anybody else.

"Very good crafted items you have here." He pointed out a bit louder, grabbing a beautiful dagger from the table at the corner. Hiccup risked a quick glance, barely turning his face.

Gobber didn't say it, but it had been a long time since he saw craftwork like that, since Hiccup, actually. The boy had this way of giving attention to every part and every detail of whatever he did, therefore, the pieces he made were always nearly perfect. And Gobber was always proud of him, back when he was working with him in Berk's forge. Though his apprentice was dead, now. Gobber tried to take other apprentices, but no one worked as well as Hiccup and he often lost them because they quit, unable to stand the old man's nagging.

"Thanks." He said.

"And I like the drawings too. Nice designs. Is it a tail fin?" Hiccup didn't need to turn to see the various drawings he'd left on the table and all over the walls, most were the things he created for the village or improvements for Toothless's saddle and prosthetic. Hall was drawing stuff too, but their styles of drawings were so different that even Bork could tell them apart easily without sticking his nose into the papers.

"Yes. It is a dragon's tail fin."

"Is it… the tail?"

"Yep." Hiccup answered not wanting to give more details.

"Why would a dragon need a fake tailfin?" Hiccup sighed, relieved that Gobber didn't ask from which dragon species that was.

"Because he doesn't have his own anymore. It was an accident, he fell and hurt his tail badly, so he needs a prosthetic to fly…"

"Is that so…" Gobber trailed off and Hiccup just knew he was just talking but not paying too much attention, he was glad for it because if he was, he'd probably ask what type of dragon that was…

Hiccup stopped pounding and he realized the connecting rod was almost finished. It just needed a few more strikes and some other pieces changed as well and it would be done. He shoved the metal piece into the flames again and stealthily looked over his shoulder to see why his former mentor was so quiet. Gobber never stayed too quiet for very long.

He found him looking at the drawings that covered the wall, slowly reaching his right hand to touch them, as if he recognized the tracing style from his former apprentice. Gobber missed him, Hiccup guessed. In fact, the older blacksmith could never get rid of the crazy ideas or designs that Hiccup had kept in his little room inside the forge. They were now in a chest, though.

Gobber sighed and Hiccup resisted the urge to look over his shoulder again.

"You know, lad, you remind me of someone I knew. He's dead now, but he was a good boy. Your drawings are very similar to the ones he used to do…"

"I think I'll take that as a compliment." Hiccup tried to joke to lighten up the mood, but failed miserably. "By the way, is it Stoick's son?"

"Yes. How do you know?"

"I've heard a bit about him… Are you sure he's dead? I mean, from what I've heard, he just disappeared…"

"Oh, yes, he is. We saw the remains…"

"So you… saw his body?"

"Well, no. But there was nothing else that could have happened…"

"Seriously? I mean, I don't know, maybe he befriended a dragon and ended up running away?" Hiccup suggested, shrugging as usual and Gobber started to laugh uncontrollably.

"Hiccup would never do that! He was a good lad. Maybe a little too small and un-Viking, though…"

"Is that so?" He asked sighing and starting to pound the metal into shape again.

"Yeah, I mean, he was utterly clumsy, always making a mess wherever he went. So scrawny that Stoick could lift him with an arm. A real fishbone…"

"Thanks for summing that up." Hiccup mumbled sarcastically out of habit, not even realizing he had said that loud enough to be heard.

"Wait, what did you say?"

"Hm… Nothing…"

"He… used to say that…" Goober whispered and Hiccup gulped, mentally slapping himself. "In fact, he also used to draw like that… and he constantly moved his shoulders like that too…" He concluded and Hiccup kept avoiding turning at all costs, moving around to get another piece to add to the prosthetic new tail fin. "Why aren't you facing me?"

"Look, I'm really busy and I think it's late, maybe you should sleep and get some rest…"

"Yeah. Okay, Hiccup, I guess you're right…"

"Of course I am, I trust you know the way bac-…"

"Got yah!" Gobber yelled proud and happy. His voice was so loud it made Hiccup jolt from surprise and Sharpshot jumped, screeching disapprovingly. Toothless huffed angrily too, but Gobber didn't see him hidden in the darkness.

"Wha-what?"

"Got, yah. Hiccup."

"I don't know… what you're talking about…"

"Of course you know. I just called you Hiccup a second ago and you answered; you didn't correct me or anything." Gobber announced and saw the young man face palm, not even realizing when he was close enough to put his right hand on Hiccup's shoulder, turning him around to face his former mentor. "Hiccup! I knew it!"

Scared of what Gobber's reaction might be, he jumped back and had to be careful not to burn himself. Though he did drop a few tools backing away. Toothless was silent and still until that moment, but sensing the probability of peril to his human friend, he stood up and growled menacingly. It was then Gobber's turn to jump back.

"What tha… Is that a…. a…"

"Night Fury? Yes, he is. Gobber, Toothless. Toothless, Gobber. Please don't joke about his name."

"But it's a Night Fury. No Viking's ever saw one and lived to tell the tale…" Toothless stopped growling when he saw Hiccup wasn't in peril and tried to look less threatening.

"Yeah. Not even the mightiest Vikings. But here I am. Safe and sound. Toothless is not a killing machine, you know. I mean, yes, he is very powerful indeed, but he's the best friend I could have ever asked for…"

"You gotta be kidding me…"

"Nope. This dragon has saved my life more times than I can count. He didn't kill me at the cove, Gobber. Stoick can't kill him…"

"Stoick! He needs to know you're still alive! We thought you were…"

"Dead. I know…"

"But, Hiccup, why did you do that? Why did you fake your own death?"

"I didn't. You just assumed I died because you found scales and a bloody piece of cloth. Dad told me earlier. I swear I didn't know it until a few hours ago."

"Then let's talk to him, lad."

"It's not that simple, Gobber. He wants to kill Toothless. I can't let that happen. He's my best friend. I just need to know if he'd hate me too much for thinking I faked my death and ran away so he won't kill us both, okay?"

"He doesn't hate you, Hiccup. Believe me. I've seen him mourning your death for the past five years."

"Thanks, Gobber. But I need to do this in my own way."

"Lad, I'm not giving you more than 24 hours. I can't do that to Stoick. We're not leaving until you tell him the truth, am I clear?"

"Crystal. I wouldn't want you to leave before that anyway. I just don't want him to harm my friend…"

"Great. By the way, Toothless? Seriously? Toothless for the 'unholy offspring of lightening and death itself'?"

"I told you not to mention the name… But yes. Toothless."

"I'm pretty sure I saw some teeth in that mouth."

"Yeah, I know… Toothless, show him what you can do, bud." The black dragon opened his mouth full of teeth and then retracted them.

"Okay. That was actually amazing. I admit it…"

"Wait until you fly a dragon. It's way more amazing."

Gobber smiled. As if he'd ever fly on a dragon. Hiccup just rolled his eyes; even Bork admitted it was wonderful to fly, though he was still scared of heights.

"And who is this other friend of yours?"

"He's Sharpshot. I found him when he was hurt and so weak he couldn't even fire up. We treated him and in no time he was back on his feet. I named him that because he's got the best aim on the whole island." A dark large tail suddenly hit his head. "Ouch! Okay, you're right, sorry. Sharpshot has the best aim after Toothless, of course. As we all know, a Night Fury never misses." Gobber couldn't help but grin to see their interaction.

"That's true. By the way, you know what I just realized?"

"What?"

"You just totally kicked your cousin's butt."

Hiccup tried to hold on but he ended up laughing as well, only to stop abruptly as he felt a very acute pain in his abdomen. He soon discovered he was feeling better most of the time, but laughing could still hurt a lot. Brely passed a week since he was cut and even though it wasn't a deep gash, it wasn't just a thin and harmless paper cut either. Hiccup felt the need to rest for a bit and sat on the chair by the table not too far from where he was standing.

"You okay, lad? I think Stoick mentioned something about you being hurt…"

"He noticed? Well, yeah. I was stupid enough to let myself get cut. It's not too wide but it's a bit deep. Nothing to worry about, though. I'll be good in no time. I just need to rest a bit…"

"Okay. By the way, what were you doing here?"

"You know that tail fin drawing?" Gobber nodded. "It's for Toothless. Remember the night I said I shot down a Night Fury? It was true. I found him by Raven's Point, he was bound by the bola that I shot him with. I ended up setting him free and luckily, he didn't kill me. Then I discovered that his tail was damaged by his fall. One night, you told me that a downed dragon is a dead dragon." Gobber nodded, remembering that night by the fire with all the young trainees "So, I decided I didn't want him like that. I was actually feeling guilty, but it wasn't just that. He soon became my friend and I wanted to help him. So I created his prosthetic. Its works very well, but it only if I'm controlling it."

"And what was the problem with the current one?" Gobber asked and Hiccup motioned for Toothless to approach which show his tail and the dragon did.

"It's starting to rust. It happens sometimes. Especially when he goes for a swim using the prosthetic. I have to keep maintaining all the parts. I often make improvements on it as well. I now use a very thin leather to replace the membrane. See how the original one is extremely thin, yet resistant and flexible? I tried to make the prosthetic as close to the real one as I could. I wanted to make it thinner, so I experimented with normal cloth too, but it ripped off too easily. I've lost track of how many times we've fallen already… I don't know which is worse, the ground or the water…"

"So, you're clumsy even in the air, is that so?" Gobber joked and Hiccup grinned, remembering not to laugh. "Shouldn't the ground be harder?"

"Yeah, but try swimming during the winter…"

"Say no more." He laughed a bit and looked at the stuff his former apprentice had left unfinished. "May I help with something, lad? You look like you need some rest…"

"I'd really like that, Gobber. Thanks."

"What do I need to do, then?"

Hiccup smiled and started instructing him, finding it funny that he was the one telling his former mentor what to do.

Flashback 11

"And if I refuse?" He asked stubbornly. Sometimes, the line between the bravery and the stupidity is very thin indeed.

"Well, let's just say you and your dragon will regret it. Now, if you excuse me, I have some things to take care of. I'll let you think for a while." Alvin said before turning to leave, but stopped before he walked away. "Oh, and one more thing. Remember that, if you don't do what I want, I have no use for you or your dragon. And you probably guessed by now that I usually don't keep things that have no use for me."

Hiccup sighed heavily as he heard Alvin's footsteps getting further away. He rested his head against the rocky wall and hid his face in his hands, knowing he needed to plan an escape and soon. Ironically, he felt lucky that he had Inferno with him; they probably didn't notice the handle on his right thigh or didn't know it was also a weapon.

He was so focused on trying to plan an escape; it took him a while to notice a tiny dragon on the other side of the cell. It was a Terrible Terror. Hiccup wondered why he was so quiet and still so he got closer to it. It was then that he saw just how weak and thin the dragon was.

The green scales seemed to be pale and lifeless, and his reddish wings were bound against his body with heavy chains. When the dragon noticed Hiccup getting closer, he tried to stand up and fire, but couldn't. He was too weak to do either. Hiccup wondered if the poor dragon was left forgotten in there and for how long.

"Hey, little buddy. It's okay. I'm not gonna hurt you." He informed very slowly getting closer to let the tiny dragon get used to his proximity. The dragon tried to growl, but was too weak. So when he stopped, Hiccup moved near him.

When he was finally close enough to touch the dragon, he petted him very slowly and carefully, showing him he wasn't going to harm him. Soon, the dragon closed his eyes, enjoying the unusually soft touch, and then Hiccup knew he was trusted. However, when he tried to take a look at the chain, all he got was bites from the tiny dragon.

"Ouch. You don't need to be so rude. I just want to try and take them off!" He complained, but thanks to his leathery clothing, he barely felt most of the bites.

The chains were secured by a padlock, Hiccup obviously didn't have the key and couldn't ask for it, but he could try to open it anyway. Camicazi had taught him more than just sword fighting. As a Bog Burglar, she lhad earned since she was very young to steal and open locks. And she did teach him the basics. Luckily, he always carried the tools (like a pick set) she gave him and he used it to free the dragon's wings.

The Terrible Terror slowly opened his wings, feeling a lot better than before and then jumped on the young man's lap, getting comfortable and nuzzling him as if he was giving his thanks.

"Don't worry, buddy. I'll take you out of here."

Hiccup said, petting him. Surely, he could use the pick set to open his cell. The problem was if he got caught. He didn't know anything about the dungeon he was in, but he guessed it was big, and he still needed to find Toothless. If someone saw him along the way, he might be able to engage in a fight if there were only one or two Outcasts, but not more than that. And, maybe, if someone saw his cell empty he could alarm everyone, but if he hadn't found Toothless by then, he'd be in big trouble.

He needed the right moment. And it was probably at night. The sun light barely entered into the dungeon, but he could guess it was still day because it wasn't too dark and there was a lot of movement and footsteps from afar. He'd wait until he thought there was very little activity and safe enough to go.

Meanwhile, on Drakheim, Camicazi was both furious and worried.

"It's already dinner time and he's not back. Where the hell is he? I mean, seriously, all it took was this mysterious girl to make him disappear. He usually doesn't go anywhere without telling me or inviting me to go with him. Now he's all after that girl…"

"Maybe they just need some time alone…"

"Shut up, Eret." She glared angrily. She, Eret and Bork were sitting at their usual table in the middle of the Great Hall with their dragons, having dinner.

"Cami does have a good point. Hiccup doesn't just disappear. Maybe something happened with them. Something bad…" Bork said worriedly. "Can't you guys go look for them? Just to be sure they're okay…"

"But how can we find them? We literally have no idea where they could have gone." Eret pointed out. Bork sighed as if he was gathering patience.

"Simple. Use a Tracker Class dragon. Garth has a Nadder, he wouldn't mind lending Runa or going along."

Back in the Outcast dungeons, Hiccup was still waiting for the perfect moment. He didn't know how long he had been there, but he was already tired and hungry when he heard footsteps coming. He hated to admit but he was a bit scared until he realized it was just Heather.

"You! This is your fault!" He yelled and she quickly tried to shush him.

"Stop! Do you want to call their attention? Don't yell, they don't even know I'm here!" She said, "I brought you food and water. Look, I'm sorry for what happened, but I had no choice. Alvin captured my parents and my little sister. If I didn't do as he said, he'd kill them!"

"Oh, yeah? Why should I believe you?"

"I know you have no reason to do so. And I'm not asking for forgiveness, but I am truly sorry. At the beginning, I was okay with it, but as I got to know you and everyone else I felt really bad for doing so…"

"Maybe you could have told us. We always have a choice." He continued, stubborn and angry.

"I know. I'm sorry. But I was scared, they'd kill my family. What would you do if your family or people important to you lives were threatened like that?" He immediately thought about his father. If Stoick was in danger, Hiccup'd do everything and anything he could to save him. And then, he remembered Toothless, who was currently in a dangerous situation and was equally important.

"I know the feeling. They have Toothless!"

"He's fine, for now. Really. He's bound and trapped, but he's alive and well." She said and handed him a cup of water and bread. "I know it's not much, but at least you won't starve."

"Isn't it Alvin's orders?"

"No. As I said, they don't know I'm here."

"And what about your family?"

"It doesn't really matter anymore. Now that I did what Alvin wanted, we aren't any use to him anymore. I was stupid when I believed he'd let us go."

Hiccup was divided. Was she telling the truth now? How could he know?

"They have Moody as well. It's only a matter of time until they find out that she's blind. He won't want a dragon like that." Toothless! He had to save Toothless. As soon as Alvin discovered that he needs Hiccup to fly, he'd get rid of the crippled dragon too.

"How can I trust you?"

"I don't know, but I'm asking you to do it."

He knew his next decision might save him or doom him and his dragon even more.

"Look, what if we all escaped? Together. You help me out of here and free Toothless, then we can go away."

"But how? Toothless and Moody can't carry all of us."

"We don't have to go very much further. And Toothless is strong; he can carry me and your parents while you fly with your sister on Moody."

"Okay. I'm in!"

So, who guessed Gobber would be the first to know Hiccup's secret? Who did you think would be the first?

And how do you think Hiccup and Heather will escape now?

For those who remember back in the beginning them mentioning that Sharpshot doesn't like to stay indoors for too long, that's why.

Hope you all enjoyed the chap! Leave your thoughts down below, I'd love to read your reviews!

Itban Fuyu