I'm back, everyone! The last chapter was the longest I've ever written, but I'm glad I did. I hope to get this as long as the other one, but we'll have to wait and see! Also, this story still needs to be finished, but I already have an idea for another story! But that's not relevant now, so enjoy this one!

Guest 1: I know that this is not the 'normal Dark Hiccup story,' but when I came up with this story, I told myself that I would make it a dark story. Also, I know that there's a lot of OOC, as I needed some tribes to make him known and show just how dark he is. The more known tribes from the Httyd universe will appear soon enough, though!

Guest 2: As I've said, it was only to show how ruthless Hiccup was, so I can say it won't be described again. As for the rape part, I think it would demoralize them more if all that happened without anyone noticing it.

Chapter 14

(Death's Lair)

It has been about two months since the destruction of the Hermaðr, and Hiccup was keeping himself busy. The people who followed him built an armada with ships Hiccup designed. They were made of Gronckle iron, an iron Hiccup discovered could be caused by a Gronckle and was a lot stronger than regular iron but not as strong as Shadow Steel. They were twice as long as any Viking long boat and about triple in height. He also found a way to build canons with the help of Zippleback gas. They had canisters storing it, which they put into a barrel; after that, they loaded another cylinder-shaped object that contained more Zippleback gas and gunpowder. It uses some complicated mechanism to make the rounds explode on impact. They had ten of those ships ready, and each of those ships had four canons onboard. They were reading themselves for battle, and Vikings loaded the vessel while Hiccup and Toothless talked to the dragons.

"You will follow us, and after the first barrage from the canons, you come in and destroy their buildings. Everyone who tries to escape is to be killed. When you're done, everyone but five will go back. Understood?", Toothless explained with Hiccup standing at his side.

"Yes, my lords.", came the response.

"Come on, brother. The boats must be ready now.", Hiccup said, scratching Toothless's chin.

Walking to the docks, they passed three pillars with three people hanging upside down. These people were from the Hermaðr tribe and still had little resistance, so Hiccup devised new torture ideas. Walking past them, he could see that two of them were at the edge of breaking, but the last one, Hallr, was harder to break. That has to wait, though. The subsequent destruction has the highest priority.

Reaching the docks, they saw that the ships were loaded and the men were boarding. Solfird walked closer and bowed before them.

"My Lord, the ships have been readied as you instructed.", he said.

"Good, now let's get moving. We want to reach them in three days.", Hiccup said, boarding the lead ship.

"Sir, you said you wanted to keep the tribes in the archipelago for the last. Why do we sail to one now?", Helge asked hesitantly, since the last time didn't end well for him.

"Yes, and I intend to keep it that way. At the same time, I want to show them that they are not safe. Thus, we will destroy or recruit the Peaceable. They're a tribe known for their non-confrontational behavior, so it should be easy enough.", Hiccup said, standing at the bridge of the ship, "Set sail!", he ordered.

Unfurling the sails, the ships moved out into the sea to their unaware target.

(Two days later)

It has been two long and boring days moving via boat. Hiccup and Toothless occasionally to kill the boredom and to let Toothless stretch his wings. They came across a handful of dragons, and two of them were killed by Toothless; after that, the rest decided to join them and follow.

Now Hiccup was standing on the bridge again, watching as the speck in the distance came closer. He couldn't wait to see his canons in action. There was also little hope that they would surrender and join him, but either way, he would go victorious out of this.

"We'll be seen in about 2 hours and reach the firing distance in about two and a half! I want everybody ready and every canon loaded!", Hiccup yelled out the command.

The reaction was instant. Everyone ran around, doing their assigned job and preparing everything needed. Hiccup walked over to Toothless and activated the automatic mode of the tailfin.

"Tell the dragons to get ready. If they surrender, they will stop and wait for orders.", he told the dragon.

"While I'll do that, you'll get everything ready here. Especially those fancy swords of yours.", Toothless said before taking flight.

Toothless flew through the clouds and stopped before the horde of dragons before telling them the orders. When they confirmed them, he dove down again and landed with a heavy thud on the ship. From the looks of it, they were all set and ready to go. Now, they just had to wait to reach them.

(Two and a half hours later)

Using his spyglass, he watched the villagers standing around or moving to the defenses after they saw them approach. He smiled, 'Nothing can save you now. Only surrender or death will be your options.' he thought. Looking around, he sees that the other ships are ready as well.

"Aim!", he yelled. Canons were being pointed at the village.

"FIRE!", Hiccup ordered.

There was a loud series of forty -BANGS- as soon as the order fell. Seconds later, they could see explosions going off in the village. Every round hit the target. There was a bit of silence until the first dragons appeared and rained fire on the last standing buildings and catapults. In the meantime, the first ships reached the docks and began unloading Vikings. Hiccup was leading them in the village.

Reaching the center, they saw the entire village assembled behind their chief, or what was left of it. On the other side, the attackers stood all behind Hiccup and Toothless. Above them were the dragons hovering and waiting for orders. Hiccup also knew that the canons had been reloaded and were ready to fire at any moment. The chief of the Peaceables stepped forward.

"Why did you attack us? We've done nothing to you. And yet you came here and brought death and destruction.", the man said, grief heavy in his voice.

"You know, I've never done anything to anyone, too, yet I was still treated like trash. I was being beaten and shunned every day. Everyone has a breaking point, and I reached mine.", Hiccup said.

"That's no reason to kill and destroy as you want.", the chief answered.

"Maybe not, but that is what I do now. So I give you your choice. Surrender and bow to me, or die.", Hiccup said while Toothless spread his wings and snarled.

"How about we make a deal? We fight. If I win, you leave this island forever. If you win, we will bow down.", the man said, taking his axe.

"I only make fights to the death.", Hiccup replied in a cold tone.

"So shall it be.", the man said.

Hiccup nodded, and the bystanders stepped back to give them some room to fight. They circled each other, analyzing their opponents. The chief saw that he had two swords, so he used a fighting style only a few used. From the stature, the chief thought he was weak and relied more on speed than power. 'Should be easy to win.', he thought. Hiccup saw that his enemy relied mostly upon strength, and that was where he beat him. This man didn't know of the power he possessed.

As the chief charged with a battle cry, Hiccup stood there waiting for him. When he reached his enemy, he swung the axe down, only to hit the ground where Hiccup stood just a second before. Not having time to react, he got kicked ´back and was sent to the ground. Standing up, he turned around and faced Hiccup. Now Hiccup decided to take his weapons. Pulling them out, they lit up with blue flames, similar to Toothless's. He could see the confidence of the chief faltering.

Hiccup charged forward and brought his first blade down from above while the second came in from the left. Trying to block the incoming attack, the chief brought up his axe. The next thing everyone knew was the painful cry of the man as his hand was cut off and he was sliced on the side. He dropped down to the ground, taking shaky breaths. Hiccup walked over to him, whispering in his ears, "You lose.", before stabbing him with both swords in the chest.

The village watched with wide eyes and horror as their leader dropped dead to the ground. They couldn't believe what they just witnessed. In their shock, they didn't notice the dragons landing around them and the Vikings cutting off their only way out. Hiccup shook them out of their trance when he addressed them.

"People of Peaceable! Your chief and I made a deal that if I win, you will all be kneeling before me! As you can see, I won!", Hiccup declared, lifting his flaming sword in the air.

The villagers knew that the stranger was right. They heard the conversation before the fight. So, with no way out, they dropped their weapons and kneeled. Hiccup smiled while Toothless roared, telling the dragons to start going home. It only took a minute before the last dragon left the island. By now, the Vikings began to escort their new members to the ships. They were allowed to bring their weapons as they would be implemented into Hiccup's army.

It took them about an hour to gather everything and load everyone on the boats. After they were ready, they set sail back to Death's lair. On the lower deck of the lead ship, Hiccup and Toothless were already planning on what to do next.

"Maybe destroy one or two other tribes outside the archipelago and take over a third. After that, we could start by taking the tribes in the archipelago.", Toothless suggested.

"Sounds like a plan, but first, we must build more ships and canons. I could make some canons more portable so we can take them onto land.", Hiccup said, rubbing his chin.

"Hmm. What if you use wheels? Like on the wagons.", Toothless told him.

"They can't hold the weight of the metal. And even then, it would need a lot of men to push them.", Hiccup mumbled, frustrated.

"True...", the dragon hummed.

There was a knock on the door before they could think more about it. Telling the outsider to come in, the door opened and revealed Solfrid. He walked in and closed the door behind him. He dropped to one knee before he addressed them.

"My lord, there were ships spotted on the horizon.", Solfried said.

"Any insignia on their sails?", Hiccup asked, irritated that he had been disturbed.

"N-No, sir. We think they are traders.", the man replied, getting nervous as he picked up on the irritation of his lord.

"Engage and make them stop. As soon as you do that, come and get me. Now leave.", Hiccup said, turning his back on his second in command.

Taking the hint, Solfrid scrambled to his feet and out the door, closing it behind him. Hiccup sighed, rubbing his temple. He walked over to his desk, picked up his swords, and readied his armor. Walking over to Toothless, he scratched the dragon's chin, making him purr.

"You ready, bud?", he asked.

"I'm always ready, brother.", Toothless said, still purring in delight.

Not long after they talked, there was a knock on the door and a call for them that they stopped the traders. Checking that everything was in place, they walked to the door. Opening it, he saw one of Solfrids men standing there, clearly looking nervous.

"S-Sir. We stopped the traders as you wished.", the man said.

"I figured.", Hiccup said and walked past the man, followed by Toothless.

Reaching the upper deck, Hiccup looked around and noticed that it was around noon. He saw a small commotion on the ship's left side, so he walked over. As he neared the group of Vikings, they parted, letting him through. Looking down, he saw three ships without any insignia on their sails.

"Identify yourselves!", he yelled toward them.

His tone did not leave any room for arguments. There was slight shuffling in the lead boat until a familiar face appeared. Hiccup couldn't help but smile as he saw him.

"Johann!", he called out.

"H-How do you k-know my name? Mister...?", Johann stuttered out.

"That's because I know you. I see you don't recognize me, but be assured that no harm will come to you. As long as you play by the rules.", Hiccup said.

"O-Of course! Just tell me the rules, and I happily abide by them!", Johann said, eager to get away as far as possible.

"Well, first of. Every ship that comes into the archipelago must pay a fine of 10 gold coins. Those can be given to a patrol ship or paid on our island. Anyone who doesn't pay will be destroyed and killed. Second, if you have any information regarding some tribes in the archipelago, you will inform us immediately. Although, we probably already knew that, so that doesn't matter. And lastly, if anyone tries to use anything against us, well, I don't need to tell you what will happen.", Hiccup said, adding the last part in a cold, calm tone, sending shivers down Johann's spine.

Johann thought about complaining about these conditions but decided against it as he looked again at the man above him. His black armor shone in the sun, along with two swords. Beside him, a black dragon he had never seen before was looking at him with a deadly glare. Those two were surrounded by a lot of Vikings dressed for battle. Not to mention that this was only on one ship, but there were ten in total.

Swallowing the lump in his throat, he began to stutter a reply, "O-Of course! Just let me go below and get you your money."

With that, he vanished on the lower deck. Hiccup saw in the corner of his eyes that the other traders were also rushing to get the gold. Satisfied that they were paying instead of fighting, he turned toward one of the men standing around him.

"When they paid their fine, bring it to my storage.", Hiccup said before locking eyes with Solfrid.

Walking up to Solfrid, he grabbed him by his neck and dragged the man with him. The man watched as their leader dragged the struggling man behind him without any effort. They shook out of their trance when they walked through the hatch that led below.

Under deck, Hiccup pulled Solfrid with him until they reached his chamber. Throwing the man inside, he closed the door after he and Toothless went through. Turning around, he saw Helge crawling slowly toward a wall, trying to escape him.

"I thought I was clear when I said YOU should get me? Instead, you send one of your former men.", Hiccup said in a calm, yet deadly manner.

"I-I'm s-sorry, sir! I was m-making sure that everything was ready when you came up!", Solfrid yelled, desperately looking for a way out.

"It's a shame, you know. I was beginning to believe you would stay with us till the bitter end. Unfortunately, I was wrong.", Hiccup spoke, slowly walking closer to the cowering man.

"P-Please, my lord! Have mercy!", the man cried out.

At that, Hiccup let out a small chuckle, "I thought by now you knew that I don't grant mercy."

Reaching the man, Hiccup picked him up and threw him against the wall, holding him with one hand around his neck and lifting him about three inches above the ground. When Solfrid was about to black out, he dropped him to the ground but kept his arm in his hands. He held the upper part of the arm with one hand while the other grabbed the lower part. He slowly bends the lower part backward. Screams of pain filled the air as the arm was being broken slowly. With one final crack, the arm hung limp to the side. He repeated the same move with the other arm and his legs. The screams had already ceased due to exhaustion, so that Hiccup could hear the whispers from above. He knew they were wondering what was happening, but they would see soon.´´

Walking over to a chest, Hiccup pulled out some ropes and packed them in a pocket on Toothless's saddle. Looking at the whimpering form of Solfird, he thought about what to do next. An idea forming in his head, he turned to Toothless.

"You wanna bring him up and have a go at him yourself?", Hiccup asked.

"Sure, why not? Kills the boredom.", the dragon replied, walking over to the man.

Grabbing him by his right arm with his mouth, he didn't bother to retract his teeth; Solfird gave another cry of pain. Following Hiccup out the door, they made their way to the upper deck. On the way there, Toothless purposefully dropped Solfird a few times. Climbing through the hatch, everything on the deck stopped as they looked at the three emerging from below.

Before Toothless could start his part, Hiccup whispered, "Try to let him keep an arm and a leg. I have an idea."

Nodding, Toothless dropped the man on the metal deck while the crew slowly formed a circle around Toothless and Solfrid. The man tried to pick himself up, but it was useless. He only managed to turn on his backside so that he was looking up. He immediately regretted his action as he saw the scene before him. He whispered a small, "Have mercy.", before the dragon lunged at him.

Pinning him to the deck, Toothless slowly dug one of his claws into the man's chest. When it was deep enough to hurt but not kill him, he dragged it down and stopped above his waistline. Pulling the claw out, he shoved it back in the line at an angle that allowed him to pull open the skin like a book. The entire time, Solfird screamed in pain and begged for mercy. Once, he looked at his Ex-second in command and begged for help but was only met with a slight shake of the head. No one wanted to help him, fearing that the same fate would await them.

Toothless wasn't finished just yet. Grabbing the man's left leg with his mouth, he put a paw on the opened chest and ripped it off. With the leg dangling from his mouth, he turned to look him directly in the eye. As they locked eyes with each other, the dragon swallowed the leg. Deciding to save time, he carelessly ripped off his right arm and threw it overboard. Looking back at Hiccup to get the 'Okay', he received a nod and laid eyes on his target again.

Charging a small blast, he aimed at the chest and fired. It sends organs flying everywhere but keeps the body intact. Satisfied that the man was indeed dead, the dragon walked over to Hiccup, getting a scratched under his chin.

Hiccup looked at some of his men before giving them orders, "Pick the body up and hang it between the masts. I want everyone to see what happens when you disobey me."

Throwing them the rope, he saddled Toothless, and they both shot in the air.

(Berk)

On top of the stairs leading to the great hall stood Stoick. At his side, his faithful friend Gobber. Both overlooked the village as it was still busy with building defense structures. A thirty-foot-high stone wall now surrounded the town itself. On top of said wall were eight catapults directed to the docks and ocean. Ships were patrolling the waters around the island.

"Three months and still not one ship spotted. Maybe we need to send out scouts and try to find this so-called 'Death Angel'.", Stoick said.

"I don't know Stoick. Should we fight them, I'd rather fight on home ground.", Gobber told him.

"I know Gobber, but we can't just sit around here and wait for him to build up his army!", Stoick exclaimed in frustration.

"How is the training going?", the smith decided to switch the subject.

"It's going. It could be better, but it's not bad.", the chief answered, happy to talk about something else.

"Count on Astrid to make them warriors.", Gobber chuckled.

"True. Any idea of what we should do, to slow 'Him' down?", Stoick asked his friend.

"Maybe, but let's discuss it with the council first or...", the blacksmith was cut off as a familiar-looking trader ran up to them.

"Chief Stoick! I bring urgent news!", the trader yelled, stopping before them.

"Gobber. Gather the council.", the chief said, leading Johann into the great hall.

It took Goober about 20 minutes to gather everyone, but now the entire council was collected in the hall. Again. This time, Johann was in the spotlight, explaining his encounter outside the archipelago. They told him he could leave when he finished the story, which he happily did. As soon as Johann left, Spitelout stood up, slamming his fist on the table.

"This has gone far enough! Let's sail out there and destroy this blockade.", he yelled.

"Unfortunately, I have to agree with Spitelout. Berk relies on the traders, and if they can't pass the blockade, we won't hold long.", Mulch said, Bucket nodding with him.

"I would say that we give them the gold to pay it in the meantime, but Berk doesn't have enough. I think attacking will be the best option.", Stoick said, "Who agrees?".

Every member raised their hands to agree. Nodding to himself, Stoick locked eyes with his brother, "Since it was your idea, you will be leading this attack. Take three ships and any Viking who wants to come."

"Of course, chief. You'll see, this blockade will be over before it even began.", Spitelout said with his usual arrogance. Turning around, he left the hall.

"Everyone dismissed.", Stoick said, watching everyone leave except Gobber.

"Let's hope we made the right choice.", Gobber said, patting Stoick's shoulder.

(Two weeks later)

Spitelout stood at the front of the long boat, watching the sea around him. He smiled to himself, 'This blockade will not stand against my mighty warriors.'. One of the other shipmen yelled for his attention. Looking back, he saw him pointing to the east. Following the man's gesture, he saw it too. A speck in the distance, slowly growing more prominent. He turned around, ready to shout orders.

"Set course! We will board first and try to scare them off! The rest of you will stay back until needed!", he yelled, indicating that the other two ships kept their distance at first.

"Let's show those bastards what real Vikings can do.", Phlegma the fierce said to him.

"We will. I feel it.", Spitelout answered.

It took them about 20 minutes to reach the other ship, and as they got closer, most of the crew on board the Berkian vessel became less confident in defeating them. The sight of the large metal ship was terrifying. As planned, Spitelout's boat was the only one to make direct contact with them for now. They threw hooks up the side of the ship and started to climb up, with Spitelout and Phlegma leading it.

Once they reached the top, they looked around and almost stumbled back over the side. In front of them were nearly double the number of warriors the Berkians had right now. They looked at them with slight confusion and amusement; they weren't expecting that someone would actually try to board them.

With his left hand, Spitelout signaled to one of his men to call for backup while he tried to buy time. Stepping forward, he stood with broad shoulders, trying to give off confidence.

"Who's your leader, and why are you out here?", he asked the men.

"We are here on orders of our lord, lord shadow. We were tasked to tax the ships coming in and out of the archipelago. Are you going to pay, or do you want to die?", one of them said while one man was rushing below deck.

"I want to talk with this "lord" of yours.", Spitelout said mockingly, making the Vikings behind him laugh.

One was about to reply and was stopped when the one who rushed away returned, followed by a man in black armor. They all parted and bowed as the armored man walked through them to the front. Stopping in front of Spitelout, the armored man looked him up and down before speaking.

"As I hear, you want to talk to me. Say what you want to say before I grow bored of you.", the man spoke.

"It's not exactly talking that I wanted to do.", Spitelout began drawing his sword, followed by his warriors and those climbing up the ship behind the enemy, "It's more like, you end this now or die."

The response they gave them was different from what the Berkians were expecting. There was a moment of silence before the armored man let out a slight chuckle. The rest of the crew started to smile, too, adding to the growing confusion amongst the Berkians.

"Spitelout Jorgenson, you're a bigger fool than I remember.", the man said.

"How do you know my name?!", Spitelout shouted.

"Easy, I know you and everyone you brought with you.", the man said, laughing.

"Nonsense! I don't know anyone so pathetic as you! On Berk, we don't tolerate runts like you! The last one that lived there learned his lesson and fled.", he countered, a smug smile at the last part.

There was a complete silence as the armored stranger kept silent. No one moved or made any noise except the ocean waves hitting the ships.

"I know that none of you ever treated him like a human. Therefore, don't expect us to treat you with kindness. Now either pay or face the consequences of your foolish actions.", the man said, barely a whisper but loud enough to be heard by everyone.

In the blink of an eye, the armored man and his soldiers had their weapons drawn. Spitelout and the leader locked eyes as the battle around them began. Vikings fell left and right while Spitelout and the armored man still looked at each other. One Berkian rushed Hiccup, and in a fluid motion, he bent backward, evading the axe head before countering with his sword, hitting the man in the abdomen.

Spitelout was the first to charge, swinging his axe from the right side toward Hiccup. He expected to slice right through the armor into his opponent. He didn't expect the man to catch his axe with one hand and hold it in a steel grip. Still stunned, Spitelout didn't see the sword that was about to hit his leg until it was too late. It was a tiny cut but could worsen if the fight took too long.

"You call me pathetic, and that's all you've got?", the man taunted him.

At that moment, Spitelout saw Phlegma creeping up behind his enemy, who looked like he had no idea. Smiling, he stood back up and held his axe before him.

"You'll be surprised when you see what we can do.", he answered.

Hiccup knew that someone was behind him, but he wanted to keep up the image he was unaware of. Phlegma was raising her weapon to bring it down, smiling at Spitelout. Bringing the sword down, Hiccup sidestepped and turned around, swinging his sword. It connected with the wist of her hand holding the sword, cutting clean through it. Letting out a scream of pain, she dropped to her knees, looking up at Hiccup, hatred in her eyes.

"You bastard! You will pay for this!", Phlegma yelled.

Getting at eye level with her, he spoke in a barely audible whisper, "How does it feel to be beaten by your former heir?"

Phlegma's eyes widened at this before she began, "Hi...", but was cut off as a sword crashed through her skull.

Pulling out the blade, Hiccup turned to his uncle, who looked stunned, shocked, and terrified. Letting out a laugh, Hiccup walked closer to him, his sword still coated in blood dripping from the blade's tip.

"I will make you regret that.", Spitelout growled out through clenched teeth.

Raising his axe, he charged with a battle cry. Bringing the axe down, Hiccup sidestepped again, but this time kicked Spitelout in the stomach. Seething with fury, Spitelout began making random slashes at Hiccup, who evaded them each time. Five minutes and Spitelout was starting to get tired. Deciding it was enough, Hiccup swung his weapon at the axe he once crafted, and his opponent watched in horror as the sword cut it in half. With one last kick to the chest, Spitelout fell on his back. Looking up, he saw that he was beaten and had swords already making slight contact with his neck.

"Look around you. You've been beaten. I will let you walk away this time. Be sure that the next time you try a stunt like this, I won't show mercy to you.", the stranger told him. True to his words, Spitelout looked around him and saw that only ten Hooligans remained. They had all dropped their weapons and surrendered.

He let Spitelout stand up and gathered him with the rest of the Berkians. As they stood in a line, Hiccup addressed them once more.

"You fought well. For this, I will grant you with the face of who has beaten you.", Hiccup said while reaching for his helmet. When he pulled it off, he heard the gasps from the Berkians. With a dark smirk, he locked eyes with his uncle again.

"How does it feel to be beaten by a runt, dear uncle?", Hiccup asked.

"H-How?", was all that Spitelout could say.

"You'll find out soon enough, don't worry.", he said, "Now I must tell you that you can't tell anyone who I am. If you do, I will find out and kill you. How's the training going under Astrid's watch?", Hiccup told them.

"How do you know about that?", his uncle asked.

"Just because I don't live there anymore doesn't mean that I never came back after I left.", Hiccup answered with a smirk.

It was a lie. Hiccup hadn't been to Berk after he left, but he had some Terrible Terrors who roamed the island and reported back to him. He could sneak back into the village but wanted to wait until he was ready.

The Berkians all nodded, not wanting to test him right now. They climbed on their ships and started to sail away. On the lead ship were four and three Vikings on the other two. When they were a fair distance out, Hiccup turned to his men.

"Destroy the support ships.", he ordered and watched as his men prepared the canons.

When they were ready and had their targets in sight, Hiccup ordered them to open fire. Two loud -BANGS- filled the air, and they watched as the rounds hit their targets. Spitelout couldn't comprehend what happened as their support ships exploded into a giant fireball, and debris was thrown everywhere. He saw debris flying toward him, and his world turned black.

Hiccup watched as the two ships sunk, and the third ship got away just in time. Turning around, Hiccup saw his men all looking at him. Putting on his helmet again, he began walking to his cabin.

"You have work to do. Now get to it.", Hiccup said before he disappeared.

Reaching his cabin, he saw Toothless lying on a stone slab in the corner of his room. The dragon looked at him blankly, not letting Hiccup read what the dragon was thinking. Putting the helmet on the table to the left of the door, he sat on his bed next to Toothless's slab on the right side of the room.

"What are you looking at?", Hiccup asked the dragon after a few minutes of total silence.

"Why did you do it?", was all the dragon said.

"Did what?", he asked.

"Why did you reveal yourself? I thought you wanted to wait.", Toothless told him, now sitting up.

"I don't know. At the moment, it felt good to rub it in my uncle's face.", Hiccup said, putting his face in his hands.

"What if they tell them?", The Nightfury asked, walking closer to his brother.

"I'm sure they won't, if they even remember what happened. And if they do, we will know." Hiccup said, looking at his brother and his brother's eyes.

"You know that I trust you, right?", Toothless asked, receiving a nod, "Then I will tell you that you should start in the archipelago now. I know it seems rushed, but we should make our move before they spill the secret."

Hiccup sighed, closing his eyes, "I know that, brother, but I can't just sail straight to Berk. Technically, I could, but I want to show more power. Make them feel as I did once. Useless."

"And you will. I didn't say that you have to take Berk right now. Why not take the other tribes first?", Toothless suggested.

"Your right. We can make this happen. The first to be taken over are the Berserkers. They already have a vast fleet, and maybe I can't make Oswald join me, but his son, Dagur, will join us.", Hiccup exclaimed, already forming a plan in his mind.

"First, we have to make more ships and canons. Also, we will move to Dragon Island to watch over Berk more.", he added.

"Sounds like a good plan.", Toothless said, nudging Hiccup with his head.

"Let's go to sleep. We'll have a lot of work to do.", Hiccup said.

Hiccup lay in his bed while Toothless heated his slab and curled on it. They both fell asleep in ten minutes.

(Two weeks later)

Stoick was walking toward the mead hall when the horn that was used to alert for incoming ships blew through the village. Running to the nearest watchtower, he looked out to the ocean. In the distance, steadily coming closer, was a ship. Taking the spyglasses from the guard, he looked closer. It had the Berkian insignia on the sail and, from the looks of it, was heavily damaged.

"Get the healers and Gothi! Meet me at the beach; from the looks of it, that's where the ships headin'!", Stoick told the guard as he turned to the stairs.

While running to the beach, he heard that other villagers had also spotted the ships, and now most of the tribe made their way to the beach. Reaching the coast, more than half the village was assembled when the healers arrived. It took the ship another ten minutes to run on the shore, stopping halfway out of the water.

"Gobber, you'll come with me first. When we give the 'all clear', the healers will follow.", Stoick told the village.

The tribe nodded, so Stoick and Gobber climbed on board. When they looked around, they feared the worst. Chaos and everything was thrown around. On the left side of the ship lay a body that, from the looks of it, had been penetrated with a lot of shrapnel. Small wholes covered the entire body. On the mast of the ship was another body belonging to a woman. By a closer look, they recognized it as Astrid's mother, Ingrid. She was impaled with an extended part of what looked like a part of a ship that pinned her through the chest against the mast. Looking closer at the other body, they saw it was Fishlegs's father.

There was a cluttering at the end of the long boat. They were slowly making their way toward the source of the sound. They saw a few chests lying around, and by the sound, something or someone was underneath them. Throwing them aside, they saw none other than Spitelout Jorgenson. He was in a bad shape. Minor cuts covered his entire body, but the worst injury was in his right eye. What was once a normal-looking look was now just a mushed speck of white.

Spitelout reached with one hand toward the chief, slightly grabbing the chief's collar before whispering one sentence, "He's coming."

With no more words, he passed out, being caught by Gobber. They both looked at each other with horrified faces.

"Take him to Gothi's hut. I'll tell Fishlegs and Astrid about their parents.", Stoick said.

Gobber left the boat and took Gothi with him, followed by a worried Snotlout. Stoick climbed out of the ship, looking at his tribe. His eyes wandered toward the two teens who lost their parents. With a sigh, he cleared his throat, getting everyone's attention.

"Prepare a pire for our fallen warriors. Astrid, Fishlegs, I need to speak with you. It's urgent.", Stoick said, the grief heavy in his voice.

The village dispersed, and said teens walked closer. He could see the worry in their eyes. Astrid knew that her mother had volunteered to go with Spitelout, so she was worried about what had happened to her. Fishlegs already feared the worst as his father was not the best fighter but one of the best strategists on the island.

"I'm sorry, but I must tell you that both of your parents were on the boat. Sadly, they did not survive.", Stoick said, closing his eyes.

Fishlegs immediately broke down in tears while Astrid tried to compose herself. Looking at the chief, she asked through clenched teeth, "Who was it?".

"We can't say for certain who it was as we need more information from Spitelout. All he said was 'He's coming', then he passed out.", the chief told her.

Nodding, Astrid left without another word. Stoick knew it hurt her, but she was more angry than sad. He was angry, too, but he had to stay strong for his people. Walking over to the still-crying boy, he patted him on the shoulder, "Come on, boy, I'll take you home.".

They walked through the silent town. All that was heard was the sniffing and whimpering of Fishlegs. When they reached the Ingerman's residence, Stoick led Fishlegs in and told his mother what happened. The reaction was the same.

Stoick walked home and sat in the chair before the fire pit. There was a knock on the door. Calling to come in, the door opened and revealed Gobber. The smith walked in and closed the door behind him before sitting in the chair opposite the chief.

"How is he?", Stoick asked, taking a sip from his mead.

"He's in pretty bad shape, especially his eye, but he'll live. However, he won't be using that eye of his. Snotlout is a mess, too; he was crying the whole time and asking if he would make it.", Gobber told him.

Stoick took another sip, nodding, "Now we just have to wait for him to wake up so we know what happened out there."

"Aye, but from what I conclude, it's nothing good.", Gobber said.

"You think it's him?", the chief asked.

"He's the only one I can think of.", the smith told his friend.

"Let's not suspect anything. We'll wait till Spitelout wakes up. If it's him, we need to be more alert.", Stoick said.

"Stoick, you know that the survival training for the teens is coming up. Do you think it's wise to do it with this threat now?", Gobber asked, concern in his voice.

"I know it's dangerous, but this training is essential for them. I have concerns myself, but we still need to do it. The good thing is that the island is only about three hours away.", Stoick told him, poking the fire.

"Alright, I'll tell them. I think it will be hard on Fishlegs and Astrid, so that we will go in a week.", the smith said, standing up.

"You do that, and I wait for Spitelout to wake up.", Stoick told him.

They shook hands, and Gobber left, leaving Stoick alone. The smith went through the village, searching for the teens. Fishlegs was at home, still crying, but reluctantly agreed to join. Snotlout was eager as always, thinking he could show off. The twins liked the idea that it could be dangerous. Astrid just nodded, not saying anything.

Deciding it was enough for today, Gobber went to his own home to sleep. Unaware that two small yellow eyes watched him and flew off the island, unseen by anyone. The observer had new information that his masters would like to hear.