Hiccup and Toothless rested on a sea stack just before the beaches of Dragon Island as Hiccup had dubbed it. He was nervous, pacing back and forth sneaking glances at the mountain before them. Hiccup had no idea how they were supposed to get that monster out of the mountain, let alone fight it.

"Maybe this was a mistake bud, I think we need to go back," Hiccup told his friend.

Toothless snorted in reply and laid his head down on the ground, he had watched his rider pace for too long. All Toothless wanted to sleep and escape the nest while they still had the chance. Hiccup gave the dragon an exasperated look as the nightfury closed his eyes.

"Oh no mister, you and I are in this together. Which means you have to help me come up with a plan."

Toothless groaned in response and covered his head with a wing. Hiccup sighed and turned his attention back towards the nest. 'How do we get it to come out?' Hiccup pondered. The sound of a low buzzing filled his ear and a flock of Gronkles flew overhead. His mind immediately replayed the previous night's events and how the queen devoured the one Gronkle whole for not giving a proper offering.

"That's it bud!" Hiccup exclaimed. Toothless perked his head up upon hearing Hiccup's joyful shout.

"How about we do a little fishing?"

Astrid stared at the pens holding the dragons within the arena. She had practically kept herself up all night and into the early morning pouring over the information Hiccup had left behind. Once again Astrid mentally slapped herself on how Hiccup was treated. Maybe things would have been different if they had all listened to Hiccup more or at least given him the time of day. Without Hiccup though, Astrid had to train a dragon by herself.

Astrid dared not go into the arena in broad daylight. The young shieldmaiden waited until the cover of darkness, long past the time the usual patrols went to sleep. This allowed Astrid to grab a fish as Hiccup had instructed in his journal. 'Giving a dragon food is a great way to earn their trust' his words had read. So here Astrid stood, cod in hand instead of her axe in the middle of the arena.

"Okay Astrid," she began, attempting to calm her nerves. "If Hiccup can do it so can you."

Astrid looked at each individual pen, deciding on what would be her best option. She had seen Hiccup interact with the Gronkle the most but she didn't really like the idea of training one. Astrid eyes wandered to the pen holding the Zippleback. If two heads meant twice the status it must also mean that the two-headed beast would be harder to tame. Astrid paid no attention to the Terrible Terror door, the tiny dragon would be of no use to her, which left the Monstrous Nightmare and the Deadly Nadder.

She considered the Nightmare for a brief second but when the image of Hiccup's drawing replayed in her mind, Astrid walked over to the lever of the Nadder pen and rested her hand on it. Astrid took a deep breath and lifted the gate allowing for the dragon to charge forward if it wanted to. She quickly took a few steps back and watched with wide eyes as the Nadder cautiously walked forward.

The Nadder seemed confused at first until it saw Astrid. Its eyes narrowed and it lifted its tail, ready to strike at a given moment. Astrid instinctively went to grab her axe off of her back but she cursed herself when she felt nothing but air. The Nadder tilted its head, watching the Viking girl with curiosity. With a shaky hand, Astrid held out the fish to the dragon. The Nadder hesitated for a bit, twisting its head so Astrid could stay out of its blind spot. Sniffing the fish, it slowly began to approach Astrid once again.

Hiccup's heart was racing, practically pounding out of his chest as he flew into the dragon's nest. Toothless navigated the narrow passages well and soon the two found themselves in the nest itself. Hiccup guided the nightfury to fly circles around the pit. Thankfully none of the dragons who called the nest home bothered to investigate them.

"Alright bud we got one shot at this," Hiccup told the dragon as he patted Toothless's head.

The two flew directly over the pit and Toothless dropped the fish in his mouth into the cavern below. Hiccup quickly changed the position of the tail and the two quickly made space between the dragon's head that would surely rise at such a spiteful offering. Proving Hiccup right, the Dragon's head broke through the fog sniffing the air around it. It began to growl as if it knew something was amiss. The dragons around them grew restless as they began fearing the queen's wrath.

Hiccup sighed and pressed his body into his friend's back. With a quick change of the pedal, Hiccup and Toothless began diving towards the dragon. The screech of the nightfury filled the mountain causing the queen to look towards the source of the sound. Toothless let out a plasma blast that struck the queen on the side of the jaw.

The two pulled out of the dive and several dragons quickly followed. Hiccup was worried for a moment that they would attack him and Toothless but was relieved when they flew past them. The duo flew out of the nest and began to hover above the opening.

"You think that did it bud?" Hiccup asked his friend.

Toothless growled something in response, his eyes focused on where he had just flown out of. All of a sudden a huge roar emanated from the nest and the mountain itself began to shatter. The Dragon Queen's head began to break through the surface and as more and more of its body was revealed Hiccup began second-guessing his plan.

"Yep, that did it!" Hiccup shouted as Toothless began to back away from the beast.

The Queen roared once again as it continued to break the mountain apart as it exited. Hiccup and Toothless quickly gained some altitude before diving down again, this time striking the exposed underbelly. As they flew past, Hiccup took a look back and saw the wings on the Queen's back.

"That thing has wings!" Hiccup exclaimed. "Let's see if it can use them!"

Hiccup quickly changed the tail position and Toothless began to dive down once again. Toothless's screech filled the air once again as the two of them flew faster than they ever had before. Once they got close enough, Toothless shot the blast at the Queen and hit it on the back. The force of the impact nearly made the Queen fall flat down to the ground. The dragon shook its body and began to lift its wings.

"Well, it can fly!" Hiccup shouted.

Hiccup once again looked behind him and regretted it immediately when he saw the Queen give chase. He turned his head once again so he could look at where he was flying. Eyeing the sea stacks where the two were earlier, Hiccup guided Toothless in between and let the nightfury handle the rest. Toothless beat his wings furiously, trying to put as much distance between him and the Queen as possible.

The two quickly made it out of the maze of rocks but the Queen was still hot on their tail, crashing through the sea stacks Hiccup and Toothless just flew through. Hiccup needed to think quickly or that thing was gonna catch them. The dragon ride looked above him and saw the darkened clouds. This gave Hiccup an idea one that he was sure would work.

"Okay Toothless, time to disappear!" The tail position changed and the pair began to fly up toward the clouds.

"Come on bud!" encouraged Hiccup.

"Easy, I'm not gonna hurt you," Astrid told the dragon as it continued to approach her.

As much as Astrid didn't want to admit it, her hand was shaking as the Nadder approached. Astrid wished she didn't put as much faith in Hiccup's words as she did. It was too late now as the dragon was mere inches away from her hand. Without warning the blue dragon snatched the fish out of her hand and downed it within one gulp. Once it was done with its meal, it turned to Astrid and met her gaze once again.

"No, I don't have anymore," she told the dragon, assuming that's what it wanted.

The Nadder approached her again, its pupils no longer slit. Astrid slowly backed up until her back met the cold stone wall of the arena. It had not stopped following her, the dragon eyeing the girl in curiosity. Astrid stared into its eyes and for the first time, she saw an intelligent creature instead of a mindless killing machine.

'Slowly raise your hand, close your eyes, and look away. By doing this you're putting trust into your dragon and allowing it to choose whether or not it wants to close the gap between the two of you,' Hiccup's words read. Astrid could have sworn that she could hear Hiccup's voice in her mind, replaying the words Astrid had read. The Viking teen took a deep breath and slowly lifted her right hand in front of the Nadder. The dragon growled in response and began to back away.

"No, no, please, I'm not gonna hurt you," Astrid quickly reassured the dragon as she lowered her hand.

Astrid and the Nadder stared into each other's eyes once again, neither of them breaking away. Astrid sighed and took a deep breath once again. This time Astrid closed her eyes as she raised her hand. As she extended her arm out Astrid turned away and waited with baited breath. After what felt like an eternity, the dragon had made no move.

'I knew this was a waste of time,' Astrid thought to herself.

Just then something scaly pressed into her hand causing Astrid to flinch. Slowly, Astrid turned her head and opened her eyes to see the Nadder's snout pressed firmly into her hand. Astrid let out the breath she had been holding in and broke into a smile just as the dragon opened its eyes.

The Nadder squawked and pulled away from Astrid but didn't leave the girl alone. Rather it approached Astrid and rubbed its head against her arm. Astrid took this as a sign that it wanted to be scratched and so she did just that, lifting her hand just below the dragon's chin. A deep rumbling sound began to emit from the blue Nadder, almost like it was purring like a cat.

"Amazing," Astrid said aloud as she continued to pet her newfound friend. "I'm Astrid," the girl continued. "I know you know me, we used to fight a lot before. I'm sorry, if I knew what you were I would have never… oh gods," Astrid said with remorse as she eyed a section of scales that had scarred over. The scene of her bashing the dragon's head with the shield stuck in her axe replayed in Astrid's head.

"I did this to you, didn't I?" asked Astrid.

The dragon chirped in response, rubbing its head against Astrid's shoulder.

"I'm so sorry," Astrid apologized as she rubbed the damaged scales.

Hiccup and Toothless dived down towards the dragon queen, releasing another well-placed plasma blast on the dragon's back. Hiccup's plan had worked, using the cover of the clouds had made them invisible to the much larger foe. This allowed them to make quick runs on the dragon and plenty of cover to disguise their next move. Another dive down and once again a plasma blast met its mark, this time tearing a hole into the beast's wings.

The dragon roared in a mix of anger and pain as it tried to find the defiant nightfury and its ridder. The duo dived down once again, striking the monster in the jaw. The queen had enough and began to shoot fire all around it, attempting to hit anything that was within its vicinity.

"Watch out!" Hiccup yelled over the thundering rumbling of the fire.

The pair attempted to dodge a streak of fire that had gotten too close. For the most part, they were good but when Hiccup turned to insect the tail, fear began to rise within him. The prosthetic fin was on fire, clipped by the fire.

"Okay, time's up!"

The two approached the queen once again who eyed them in fury.

"Come on is that the best you can do!" Hiccup taunted. Toothless also growled something towards the queen and the two began to race down towards the ground quickly followed by the queen.

The ground was rapidly approaching and when Hiccup looked back at the burning tail, it didn't give him too much hope. Hiccup desperately tried to think of what they could do in such a situation but his mind was drawing a blank. As far as he could tell this was the end of their saga.

The events of the past few weeks began to replay in his mind. The dragon raid where he shot down Toothless, meeting his friend for the first time, the moment they shared in the cove when the two of them bonded, the flight with Astrid, Hiccup's first flight, and the moment-.

"That's it! Just hold on a little longer bud, trust me," Hiccup told his friend as he pressed his body closer to Toothless's back.

From behind him, he could feel the dragon queen getting closer.

"Hold bud."

The dragon opened its mouth and it began to build gas in its throat.

"Hold."

The queen was just about ready to ignite the gas when suddenly Hiccup shouted, "Now!"

Toothless quickly turned around and fired a plasma blast straight into the beast's gapping maw. The purple fireball exploded in the back of its throat, igniting the gas that the queen was about to send flying at the pair. Toothless turned around and spread his wings, allowing for the air to slow their descent. The dragon queen attempted the same but the damage from the battle, the fire from within her, and the speed in which she was plummeting into the ground caused the wings to tear apart.

The dragon collided with the ground in a horrifying manner, its body exploding on impact. Hiccup and Toothless raced up the dragon's back, trying to outrun the ensuing inferno. Flames began to lick all around them as Hiccup quickly changed the tail from position to position as they attempted to flee. As Hiccup went to change position once again he felt little resistance. Hiccup turned around and watched as the last bit of the tailfin burnt away and broke off from the dragon.

"No!" Hiccup shouted.

Toothless began to roar which made Hiccup turn to see the massive club of a tail slowly flow towards them.

"No, no!"

Hiccup tried in desperation to attempt to swerve them out of the way but was no use. Time began to slow as the two crashed into the tail, Hiccup flung from the saddle. Toothless twisted his body and watched in horror as his best friend began falling towards the growing fireball. Without haste, Toothless attempted to dive down and catch his rider before it was too late. As the onyx dragon closed in on his friend, the world around him was consumed by fire and that's all he could make out as he lost consciousness.

The day was beginning to break on Berk and Astrid was running out of time. Much to her displeasure, Astrid had to lure the Nadder back into its pen. The dragon crooned as Astrid stood at the lever for its door.

"I'll be back, I promise," Astrid told her friend.

The dragon made a depressed sound and Astrid felt her heart shatter into several pieces.

"I know, this is only temporary I promise. I'll get you out of here."

This seemed to brighten up the dragon somewhat. With a reluctant sigh, Astrid lowered the gate on the Nadder's pen. Not wanting to stay longer than she should, Astrid broke into a sprint and left the arena.

As she neared the top of the hill that led back into the village, something told Astrid to look behind her. When she did Astrid could have sworn that rising on the horizon were two suns. Astrid couldn't help but stare at the sight but brushed it off as she began to hear the village come to life.

Astrid approached her house and snuck inside, hoping her parents were still fast asleep or long gone. She shut the front door as quietly as she could and quickly made her way upstairs. Once in her room, Astrid eyed Hiccup's journal and back at the twin suns on the horizon. Astrid sat down on her bed and watched as the second sun began to dissipate.

"Hiccup I don't know why but I feel like you're responsible for that."

A small fishing boat had docked on the shores of an island previously unknown to them. The men on board had been attracted to the land by a massive ball of fire that had seemed to emanate from the place. The small group made their way onto the island and began scouring its beaches for any signs of life.

A small fog had settled around them and ash fell like snow on a cold winter's night. A blonde-haired man approached their leader after a brief bit of searching. Obviously, they weren't gonna find anything, nothing could have survived that kind of fire.

"Horik, there's nothing here. Let us get back to the boat and head home," the blonde-haired man said.

"Hmm, maybe you're right. Something had to cause that explosion we saw though," Horik responded. "Sven have the men-"

"I found something!" someone yelled.

The two men rushed over to the voice and saw a black-scaled beast lying on the ground. It appeared dead but the sound of a pained breathing wrote off that theory. Judging by the way it was angled, it was protecting something.

"Should we kill it, put it out of its misery?" the man who had called them over asked.

"No Thorvald," Horik answered.

The man slowly began to approach the beast. The sound of his footsteps must've awoken the beast as bright green eyes met his blue ones. Horik raised a hand, opening it to reveal his palm to the animal.

"Easy, I'm a friend."

The thing didn't seem convinced and shifted itself around whatever it was protecting. Horik wasn't deterred and continued to slowly approach the creature.

"Easy," he reassured the beast.

The animal blinked slowly and unfurled a wing, revealing a boy in its arms.

"It's a dragon!" Sven yelled.

"And it's got a boy," another shouted.

Horik turned around and attempted to calm his friends down. Once they were quiet, Horik turned back to the dragon and continued to approach it.

"We mean no harm, dragon. I am Horik Erikson and this is my crew," he introduced. "Is the boy hurt?"

The dragon seemed to understand him and whined at the question. It let go of the boy in question, which allowed Horik to get a good look at him.

"Sven, get some medical supplies, he's hurt!" Horik ordered.

Horik rested his hand on the dragon's head, attempting to reassure it. "Don't worry, we will heal your friend."

Hey less A/N and more story this time, ain't that neat. As part of my deep dive into the ancient HTTYD fan fics I've seen quite a few do the whole 'eh war just never ends and Hiccup is kinda just there attempting to not get anyone killed.' Frankly, some of the best runaway AUs follow that plotline like Persephone and Phantom of the Arena, both of which are great stories.

As for this chapter, I imagined in sort of a poetic way that Astrid trains Stormfly just as Hiccup and Toothless defeat the Red Death. I'm also trying my hardest to not make Astrid sound OOC. Idk why but a lot of these stories I've read Astrid just seems OOC more often than not. Not saying it's a bad thing cause it's pretty hard to work around the hard Viking type. And who am I to judge, I made Astrid OOC in my last HTTYD story so aren't I the hypocrite?

That's enough rambling for now. Only one review to answer...

Guest: Glad you like it so far and we're just getting started!

Until next time...