*facepalms* I actually meant to post this earlier, but then I had some problem with my computer, so I had to get that fixed, which took a while, and then, blah blah blah, insert excuses here, no one wants to hear them, yadda...XD Haha, I love you guys! :D Shout-outs:

StarFlight13: I think out of all the ships I sail, Hiccstrid has to be at the top. XD

1 Fan: Yep! I love to update! :D

AquaticDragon: Thanks! :D

Jo: Lots and lots of feeeelllssiiieessss! And yeah, poor Hiccup...I feel so bad for him. :(

Artwing7: "For once, everyone lives!" :D

Midnight510: Yeah, "ready the ships..." "I understood that reference!" XD

midnightsky0612: Die, Viggo. :D

wikelia: Let's hope not! :)

Crystallion12: Viggo deserves SO MUCH more than just "death." Death is too good for a guy like him. I like your method: interrogate him, BURN HIM, DIE, VIGGO, DIE! :D And yeah, I'm glad to be back! I missed writing fanfictions, and I missed all of the Dragonites, too! :D Thanks! It's good to be back! :D Highschool: the workout that never seems to end. XD

AnimeAngel: EPIC BATTLE! :D BATTLES, YES! I love writing battle scenes, so chances are, you guys will get a long one! :D

SnivyDragon: Feeeeeeeeeeels! :D And yep, ain't no one allowed to hurt Hiccup without Stoick landing them in near-death if not death itself! Go Berkians! Die, Viggo! :D

"Dagur wants a word with you on his ship, Dagur," snapped Ryker; he hated his new position. Messenger. Who did Viggo think he was, sending he, Ryker, to tell Dagur of Viggo's demands, instead of sending one of the lowlier members of the crew? Honestly, the nerve…

Dagur grinned at Ryker and put his hands together. "What would Viggo want a word with me for?" he said madly, rubbing his palms together. "Are we still on for the fight, or do we have a chance in plans?"

"He wants to play a game with you," said Ryker as if the words were toxic.

"Oh." Dagur looked disappointed. "That game." He sighed heavily, more of a groan. "Whatever!" he said in a sing-song voice, and within moments of sailing on the ship Ryker had brought over for the occasion, they arrived on Viggo's ship and headed below decks, where Viggo awaited, the Maces and Talons board set.

"If you think I'm playing this stupid game again," snapped Dagur as soon as he saw Viggo, "you're wrong-"

"Why?" said Viggo pleasantly. "Do you fear you will lose to me, Dagur?"

"No!" said Dagur, crossing his arms. "I just...don't see the point of playing a game while we have a war to prepare for! I'm trying to give my men a talking to, to get them ready, but I can't even get twenty minutes of peace before you're yapping at me to get back here!"

Viggo rose to his feet. "This is why we must play," said Viggo, "so you can remember your place among us. You must battle me so you can understand who the thinker should be, so you understand why you do not have a bigger role in our army. Do you understand, Dagur?"

Dagur crossed his arms even tighter, though he smiled innocently. "Clear as the skies," he said, and then, he turned and left.

If he had doubted his plan before, he didn't doubt it now.

Viggo was going down.

…

Hiccup cracked his eyes open and shut them almost instantly; there was sunlight streaming through something, probably his window, and it was not inviting. Just as he became comfortable with the darkness again…

"Hiccup? You awake?"

Hiccup opened his eyes again and squinted. The blurry figure of Astrid swam into focus.

"Yeah," he croaked. "How...how long was I-I out…?"

"A few hours," said Astrid, "but Gothi said you'll be wanting to sleep a lot more than usual...she said it's expected."

"Oh…" Hiccup said quietly, and he shut his eyes. "Did...did Viggo-"

"Hold up," said Astrid, and she pressed her finger to his lips to silence him. "You were stabbed a few days ago. You are not going to spend your recovery asking us questions about Viggo, alright? Gothi just got you stitched up. She's impressed by your recovery so far. Don't blow it now."

Hiccup opened his eyes long enough to say, "But...you look worried again-"

"Yeah, I'm worried," said Astrid. "I admit it. I've...I've got a lot on my mind, but you don't have to worry about that. Don't worry about me. Just worry about healing up, alright? In a few weeks you'll be fine."

Toothless cooed happily and nuzzled Hiccup's side in agreement. Hiccup laughed weakly, coughed twice, and shut his eyes again. Astrid sighed heavily and kissed his forehead; she was just happy he was still alive.

At that moment, the hatch leading into the hut lifted open, and Toothless, once again, lunged at the door, teeth bared, snarling.

"Steady, Toothless. It's just me. Thanks for keeping guard."

Stoick. Toothless sheathed his teeth instantly, and both Night Fury and Berkian Chief stepped into the light of the room.

"Stoick," said Astrid in greeting; she was still holding Hiccup's hand, and she didn't plan on letting go any time soon.

"Astrid," said Stoick, and he sat down on the edge of the bed across from her, pressed his hand against Hiccup's forehead, and frowned. "His fever's gotten higher-"

"But he's getting better," said Astrid reassuringly. "He was awake a few minutes ago, actually. Gothi's expecting him to have a full recovery, without sending in a healer from the mainlands."

Stoick sighed evidently in relief; he looked years older than he'd ever looked before. "Thank Odin…" he whispered, and he let his hand linger on his son's forehead for a few moments before withdrawing it. "And what of his fever?"

"Herbs should bring that down," said Astrid. "Like yarrow and peppermint. She doesn't think the wound is getting infected, or anything. She thinks the fever is just his body trying to mend itself. It's a good sign. She'd be more worried if he didn't have a fever."

For a few moments after Stoick nodded, there was silence. Then, Stoick finally said, "The men are out. They're going to meet Viggo and his army in battle."

At the mention of Viggo, Astrid's eyes narrowed in fury. "Death is too good for him," she snarled. "He deserves more than death."

"Yes, he does," said Stoick, who, like Astrid, looked simply beside himself with fury. "But unfortunately, the most we can do is make his death as painful as we can."

Toothless unsheathed his teeth and growled again. Astrid rubbed the dragon's head in hopes to abate some of his fury, but she was as angry as Toothless was, as angry as Stoick was.

"Oh," said Stoick, "the dragon riders wanted me to ask you how you were doing."

"I'm doing okay," said Astrid. "Would you mind if they came in and saw Hiccup next time he wakes up? They were worried about him...if Hiccup's up to it, of course, and I'll make them go one at a time-"

"Of course," said Stoick. "Of course they can."

"I'm surprised they didn't go after Viggo with the rest of the army."

"Admittedly, so am I," said Stoick, "but I think they stayed behind for the same reason you, Toothless, and I did. Once they realize Hiccup's alright, I'm sure they'll go meet Viggo in battle."

For a brief moment, Astrid had a flashback.

"I'm sorry, Astrid...I couldn't...I couldn't...wasn't...smart enough…"

"No, no, you did great, Hiccup. You were terrific, you really were…"

"I tried...I tried…"

"Hiccup...HICCUP!"

And then that moment ended, and Astrid nodded.

"I'll go meet Viggo soon," she said. "How long do you think it'll take before our army gets to Viggo's?"

"If Viggo did all this," said Stoick, "to start a war against us, which I believe he did, he isn't going to wait around for us to reach him. He's going to bring his ships out to meet us. If that's the case…"

"It shouldn't be more than a day before the war really begins," said Astrid, and she looked down. "It's my fault, Stoick," she said. "If I had figured out Viggo's plan before he got here, Hiccup wouldn't have...he wouldn't have gotten hurt like this."

"It's not your fault, Astrid," said Stoick, shaking his head. "Don't blame yourself. I know, it isn't easy to do, but believe me, it's not the right thing to think about."

"What do I do, Stoick?" said Astrid, almost sadly. "I...I keep thinking about what I could've done to prevent...this." She gestured at Hiccup helplessly; Toothless gave a low growl.

"Aye," said Stoick, nodding, "but there's nothing you could've done. You know that, Astrid."

"I do," said Astrid. "I know, but I don't...I don't...my conscience still tells me-"

"That it's your fault. I understand. I've felt like that a lot in the past, Astrid, and it's not something easily overcome. You know this from experience."

Astrid nodded, remembering the day she had trained Berk's A-Team, and the reason behind the training.

"Tell you what," said Stoick. "Take all the furious, angry feelings you might have towards yourself, and point them all at Viggo."

It took Astrid a few moments to do this, but when she did…

"Viggo is going to die."

…

"So, according to Gothi, Hiccup is going to have a full recovery."

Snotlout, Fishlegs, Ruffnut and Tuffnut leapt from their seats and sighed collectively in relief. Ruffnut and Tuffnut did a celebratory bang against each other's heads, and Tuffnut, still too thrilled to help himself, grabbed Snotlout by his shoulders and bashed their heads together, too.

"That's great news, Astrid!" said Fishlegs. "As of now, though, how's Hiccup doing?"

"Well, Toothless lunges at everyone who walks through his door," said Astrid, "so I think as far as everything goes, he's more 'protected' than anything. He's still pretty out of it, but Stoick said you guys can go see him next time he wakes up, if you want."

"Well, he's probably going to be 'out of it' for a while, isn't he?" said Fishlegs. "I mean, with a wound like the one he sustained, we're lucky he's still alive."

"Yes, blah blah blah, we're lucky he's alive," said Snotlout. "So, when can we see him?"

"Aw, Snotlout!" said Ruffnut, and for the first time since Hiccup's injury, she was joking around. "You do care!"

"Of course I do!" snapped Snotlout. "Hiccup's my cousin, I have to care! That, and...well...Hiccup's saved our butts more than I want to think about, so...I kinda owe him a 'thank you'-"

"SNOTLOUT CARES!" shouted Tuffnut flat-out. "HE CARES! PEOPLE OF EARTH, THERE HAS BEEN A DEVELOPMENT! SNOTLOUT CARES AFTER ALL!"

Ruffnut sighed. "I guess I owe you five sheep."

"Okay, fine!" said Snotlout angrily, crossing his arms. "I do care, alright? I care about Hiccup, I care about you all! Now leave me alone! Astrid, when can we see Hiccup?"

"We can go on over now if you want," said Astrid. "But we have to go one at a time. We don't want to overwhelm him before he's ready."

She mounted Stormfly, and the other riders hopped on their dragons enthusiastically. Once they were all ready, they took to the sky and flew over to Hiccup's hut.

It was a few hours before Hiccup woke up again, and when he did, it was to Astrid, Fishlegs, and Toothless staring down at him, each of them looking considerably concerned and relieved.

"Fishlegs?" he murmured.

"Hiccup!" said Fishlegs. "Thank Thor!" He quieted down dramatically after another moment, though he never stopped talking. "We've all been so worried, are you okay?"

"I'm-"

"I'm sorry, we're all sorry! We wish we could've stopped Viggo, but...but...oh Hiccup! We're just glad you're okay!"

"Yeah, I'm okay," Hiccup said tiredly. "Thanks, Fishlegs…"

"The others wanted to see you," said Astrid, and Hiccup lifted his dazed eyes to look at her. "Stoick left a little while ago, but he said he doesn't mind them seeing you as long as you didn't."

"Oh, sure," said Hiccup. "Yeah...go 'head."

Fishlegs rose to his feet and smiled, wiping at his eyes. "Well, get well soon," he said.

"Thanks, Fishlegs."

And Fishlegs left. He was replaced by Snotlout, who, after being cleared by Toothless, stepped over, almost shyly.

"So...Hiccup," he said. "You getting along okay?"

"Okay. D-Define okay?"

Snotlout rolled his eyes. "Well, I'm glad," he said. "I guess I just wanted to tell you...um...well...thanks. Thanks for, y'know, always protecting us and everything. I don't think I've ever said it to you before...but I think you're brave, probably even braver than me...why are you looking at me like that?"

"Who are you and what have you done to Snotlout?"

"Hey, I'm not heartless!" snapped Snotlout.

"Well..."

"Well, not completely…"

"Better…"

"But I think you're brave, and I respect that," said Snotlout, and he shrugged, hoping it didn't look forced. Saying this was harder than he had thought. "So...thanks."

"Thanks yourself."

"Right…" Snotlout headed back to the door, and when he left with one final smile, the twins raced in, almost hysterically, as if they were being chased.

"Hiccup!" they shouted in unison, and before Hiccup could say anything, they launched into a fast, unstoppable conversation.

"We're sorry-"

"-we didn't stop Viggo in time! You should've-"

"-told us he was trying to kill you! We would've blown the Edge full of boobytraps, we could've stopped him-"

"Yeah, seriously! We could've!"

"But we didn't-"

"So we're-"

"Sorry!" they finished, in unison, and then, they looked at each other, said, "Jinx! Great minds think alike! Oh, Thor, we're still saying the same thing! Stop it. You can stop it. It's not funny anymore. Stop. Stop. Stopstopstopstopstopstop-"

"No, it's fine," said Hiccup, nodding in reassurance. "I...I get it. Thanks, guys…it...means a lot..."

"Okay, out you get," said Astrid, giving the twins a small shove towards the door. "Let him sleep."

"Bye, Hiccup!" the twins called, and Hiccup barely had time to respond before he was sleeping again. Astrid looked from him to Toothless and nodded.
"Watch him, Toothless," said Astrid firmly. "It won't take long."

Toothless nodded in agreement, and Astrid headed outside. Snotlout, Fishlegs, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, and their dragons were all waiting, Gronckle Iron weapons at the ready.

"So," said Astrid, "now we all know he's going to pull through. You guys ready?"

"Ready," the riders replied in almost perfect unison.

"Let's go show Viggo what we're made of," said Snotlout, punching his fist into his palm.