Of course, back on Berk, no one had the faintest idea what had happened on Dragon Island. Valka didn't know her son was losing blood by the second. Hope didn't know the agony ripping through his mind. Astrid didn't know the suffering he felt just sitting and holding on to the saddle. However, after maybe about en minutes, Toothless had Hiccup back on Berk. He was still conscious, but in intense pain.

Hope was still at the beach house. Derek had arrived after a while and he and Hope got into a heated chess game in the beach house. Destiny sat by and watched, goading each of them on in her funny speech. Hope never would have been aware of Hiccup's return if it weren't for Treetrunks. As soon as Hiccup had arrived, he'd insisted that someone bring the Book of Dragons to Treetrunks. Upon receiving the book and hearing the story, Treetrunks rushed to the Haddock residence, intent on telling Hope the bad news. The only person home was Astrid. Treetrunks asked where Hope was, and then broke the news to Astrid. She rushed to the beach house next, returning with Hope later. Astrid rushed to the doctor's shop, where they had just removed the arrow and were putting a healing salve on it and bandaging it. When Astrid was reassured by the doctor that Hiccup would live to see another battle, she met Hiccup's eyes. The blood drained out of his face, and not because of the wound in his side.

"Hiccup. Horrendous. HADDOCK!" shouted Astrid, walking over to Hiccup with a broad stride. The man bandaging Hiccup's side looked at Astrid's red face and hurriedly finished what he was doing before rushing from the room, slamming the door behind him. Hiccup gulped and met Astrid's eyes. "Okay, first, you were gone for days. Second, you come home without any of the men. Third, YOU ARE PARTIALLY BLEEDING TO DEATH!"

"Astrid…" said Hiccup, flinching from her last shout. She stood in front of him, hands on her hips, chest heaving with her heavy breaths. Her expression said 'Well?'. Hiccup gulped and took a deep breath. "Astrid, I'm sorry."

"Damn right, you're sorry!" exclaimed Astrid, crossing her hands across her chest. "What am I supposed to tell Stoick? Valka? Magnus? Hope?"

"Hope… Gods, she's probably thinking the worst," said Hiccup, realization dawning on him. Astrid's expression began to soften when she saw him flinch and heard him curse under his breath, hands moving to cover the bandaged area. "Where is she?"

"At the beach house," said Astrid, taking another step forward. Hiccup flinched again, but in anticipation of pain instead of because of pain. Astrid instead fell to her knees at the foot of the chair and folded her arms across his lap. She smirked upon thinking about how he was going to have a scar. Yet another one. That was okay, she loved men with scars. "Hiccup, I'm sorry I yelled at you, but you have to see things from my perspective. No word from you for days, and then you come back bleeding half to death. And alone at that? What was it? What was on that island?"

"Astrid, it was…" Hiccup was cut off by the door Astrid had slammed shut flying open. Their heads whirled to see Hope standing in the doorway. She rushed to Hiccup and wrapped her arms around him, revelling in the relief she'd been looking forward to upon doing so. "Hope!"

"Don't you ever scare me like that again, Daddy," said Hope, pulling back just enough to meet his eyes. Hiccup reassuringly. She only called Hiccup Daddy when she was feeling very emotional, no matter what emotion that would be. "I trust Mom already yelled at you. I'm just relieved that you're alive."

"Um… I don't wanna seem rude, but… what about my dad?" asked Fishlegs, standing in the doorway clutching the Book of Dragons to her chest like a lifeline. Her throat closed up, choking her next words. "Is he… Is he gone?"

"The last time I saw him, he was alive and fighting fit," said Hiccup, causing Treetrunks to loosen her grip on the book. "I don't know why he asked me to give you the book. When he comes back, you'll have to give it to him."

"If he comes back," said Derek, watching from just behind Treetrunks. All eyes went to him as soon as the comment sunk in. Treetrunks turned around slowly with a broken and panicked look on her face. Derek held up his hands in surrender. "I'm sorry, that was quite possibly one of the stupidest things I've said in my life. Pay no attention to me."

"Now, as I was saying," said Hiccup, focusing his attentions back on Astrid. "Astrid, it was Haggard."

"H… Haggard?" said Astrid in disbelief. Hope's jaw went slack and Treetrunks' eyes went wide. Derek's own features took on a panicked and somewhat guilty expression. "Haggard? Haggard the Cruel?"

"Yes, him," said Hiccup. Astrid stood up and began massaging her temples and pacing. "I know! I thought he was dead too!"

"You and Toothless dropped him in the waters at Glacier Bay at high tide, how the hell could he have survived that?" asked Astrid, the disbelief obvious in her voice. "Haggard. Haggard and his men. And you just left the rest of your strike force on Dragon Island?"

"Astrid, Fishlegs insisted," said Hiccup. "And besides, it's hardly like this is the first time we've faced him."

"Daddy, it was a mistake to go to Dragon Island," said Hope, pacing with her hand on her chest. "They wouldn't have seen you. If they hadn't seen you, maybe they would've been happy with Dragon Island. Now, they won't stop until they've burned Berk to the ground, killed everyone on it, and scorched the earth so that any survivors could never come back."

"You're positive it was Haggard the Cruel?" asked Derek, his tone sort of panicky. Hiccup looked over at him and nodded. "Well, this just became awkward. And it has put me on the spot."

"Why?" asked Hope, turning to face him. "What does any of this have to do with you?"

"None of it has anything to do with me," said Derek in a rushed voice. He began to back out of the room. "If you'll excuse me, I have some things I have to… um… Yeah. See ya around."

With that, Derek hopped on Jack and flew off, but not towards his house. Hope ran to the doorway and watched as he flew off in the same directions that the flock of dragons had come from so many days ago. Hope's eyebrows knit together and he turned to face the other three.

"I have no idea what that was," said Hope. The others said words of agreement and Hope looked back out at the horizon. Derek was still heading towards Dragon Island, but now there were more silhouettes in the distance. It appeared to be most of the strike force. Hope whirled around. "Dad, they're coming back! The men! They're coming back!"

Treetrunks ran to Hope's side and smiled when she saw her father and Meatlug among the numbers. It was only a matter of minutes before everyone was back on the island. Most of them headed straight for the doctor's. Treetrunks slam-hugged Fishlegs and gave him back the Book of Dragons. Hope still couldn't get over Derek. Why had he panicked? She could understand panic; after all, Hiccup had been attacked by a man who was supposed to be dead. But there had been something else in his tone. Guilt. What did Derek have to be guilty about? And why had he headed straight for Dragon Island?

She would've followed him, but there were other things to deal with. Hope took it upon herself to comfort those who lose loved ones to the battlefield. There weren't many men who hadn't come home, but the sorrow was still deep. There were parents mourning their child, widows mourning their husbands, and children mourning their fathers. Hope was going to have a long day.

Author's Note: Sorry, it's short, I know. It's supposed to be a little teaser. Go ahead, get mad at me. All will be revealed next chapter!