Opens door, preparing for an axe to be thrown.*

Um...hi...so...felt inspired. And it wouldn't be possible for my new co-writer. Ready for the name?

Nightstar Fury!

Yes, THE Nightstar Fury. Believe me, I'm just as surprised as you. So with her help, I was able to push through my writer's block and we've pushed forward. Go check her out on AO3! Now there's a lot of stuff to unpack in this chapter, but before I leave you, quick author's note. Before this chapter you've probably seen Elsa and Anna's father's named Adgar. Well from now on his name will be Agnarr. At some point I will go back and change ever Adgar to Agnarr, but from this chapter forward it's Agnarr.

Anyways, enjoy this chapter!

Chapter 21

A couple days had passed since Hiccup and Elsa discovered the trap in the woods. The two had quickly written to their various allies, and now Berk and the tribes aside from the Berserkers had arrived in Arendelle. For the first time since King Runeard's reign, Hiccup and Elsa had opened up the war-room, a room deep within the bowels of the castle in order to discuss their next plan of attack.

Hiccup slammed the dart on the table.

"Someone's here."

Stoick turned to his son.

"What do you mean, son?"

"Someone managed to slip past our scouts and lay a trap in the woods for Toothless."

Gobber growled.

"Let me at 'em!"

Stoick grabbed his friend's arm.

"Slow down, Gobber. Let's get a search team on the ground. Scouts in the air. Toothless and Hiccup will fly the coastline.

While Hiccup simply glared at his father for taking charge, Eret, who had brought a box of paper down to the war room, shook his head as he inspected the dart.

"Yeah. I wouldn't advise taking Toothless anywhere, Chief. I know this handy work. Grimmel the Grisly. Famous back where I'm from. The smartest dragon hunter I ever met. Well, next to me of course."

"Well, he can't be that smart," replied Hiccup. "He left his trap unmanned."

Eret just laughed.

"Nothing's accidental when it comes to old Grimmel. He lives for the hunt, to get inside the mind of his prey, to control its every choice. It's all a game to him."

Astrid snorted.

"Well, he doesn't know who he's playing with."

"Yeah. We've dealt with his kind before. Remember Viggo? Don't know what happened to him. He fought with us for a couple months after Drago and then vanished. At least we have the experience."

"Don't underestimate him, Hiccup," replied Eret. "Grimmel is nothing like Viggo Grimborn. Mark my words, he'll be back."

Hiccup nodded.

"Then we'll be waiting for him."

Suddenly the war room doors flung open as Olaf stood there, his tiny body shaking in fright.

"Dragon! New dragon! It clicks! Hiccup! We need your help!"

Fishlegs squealed at the possibility of a new dragon. Hiccup turned to Elsa, and she nodded.

"We better check it out."

"Meeting adjourned," called Hiccup as he and Elsa made their way up towards the courtyard.

Meanwhile, the former King and Queen were trying to calm Sleuther down.

"Easy, boy. They're trying to help!" Agnarr said, struggling to hold onto the dragon.

Obviously, the Triple Stryke felt nervous with newcomers reaching them; he caught them by smell and he was unsure if he could trust them or not. While the former King and Queen struggled, they hoped there wouldn't be a fight. Calming Sluether was priority one, to avoid any fights. The two former rulers of Arendelle also wanted so much to see their girls again, and Agnarr wanted to see Hiccup too. Surely things would need to be explained to the boy, who was probably more of a man now. Agnarr always felt bad about not telling Hiccup of him being the king at the time they met, but given where Hiccup came from, and Agnarr seeing Hiccup as a son; the former king didn't want Hiccup to feel pressure about living up to any titles or have any expectations of him in such a position.

"Please, settle down…" Iduna pleaded with the dragon. "Those here will not harm you…" She offered. Still, the Triple Stryke did not settle.

Not too long after with fruitless efforts to settle the Strike Class dragon down, Elsa and Hiccup came into view first, not far behind them were the others. Instantly, Anna, Elsa, and Hiccup recognized the people with the new dragon.

"It...It can't be…" Elsa breathed out.

"M-Mom? Dad?" Anna whispered.

Both sisters were in utter shock and almost in tears to see their parents who they had believed for so many years now had perished on a ship looking for Ahtohallan, and answers about Elsa's icy magic. Hiccup was beside himself to see Agnarr again, and while there was joy that the man was alive...There were bubbling feelings of hurt. Hiccup had never known Agnarr was the former king until he learned who Elsa and Anna's parents were, that's when the truth had hit him. Of course, with the parents having been gone so long, Elsa was named queen and now, with her marriage to Hiccup, he was king. So much would need to be discussed, but the first thing to take care of was the out of control dragon. Hiccup didn't recognize it, but he couldn't have this dragon causing any trouble. The people would worry about random dragons showing up and being aggressive.

"Hiccup…" Agnarr said softly. "He's a good dragon…"

"I know he is, but he's worried and scared about this place and all the people. Step aside, I'll handle it," Hiccup told them. Agnarr and Iduna nodded, stepping off to the side and safely away from the dragon. Explanations would definitely come later on. Hiccup took a breath and let it out slowly while approaching the dragon with his hands up. "It's alright, big fella…" He soothed gently. "I'm not going to hurt you and neither is anyone else," Hiccup added. The Triple Stryke ceased his thrashing to face Hiccup, staring him in the eyes intently, angrily and a growl emitting.

Toothless, though, took a readily to attack stance and growled as well and the Triple Stryke growled more. "Toothless, stop. It's okay, bud...I got it," Hiccup reassured his friend. Toothless, reluctantly, settled down and sat back but watched closely in case he needed to step in to protect his rider. "It's okay," He tried again with the Triple Styke.

"His name is Sluether, Hiccup," Iduna mentioned gently.

"Thanks," Hiccup replied, bowing his head. "Sleuther...Settle down," He said now, coming closer. Sleuther braided his tails, and they made a clicking sound. Sleuther advanced on Hiccup, and he dodged to the right to avoid a strike. 'Okay, so braided then clicking signals he'll attack…Noted.' Hiccup thought to himself. Hiccup kept his hands in sight of Sleuther, he stepped forward again as the dragon raised it's tails, ready to strike. Hiccup stopped.

"Hiccup, be careful!" Elsa told her husband. Despite the shock of her parents being alive, which she wanted answers about, the man was still her husband and she worried for him against an angry and riled up dragon.

"Don't worry, I got it," Hiccup promised her. He stepped on a stick, then looked down to see two of them there. Hiccup got an idea as he grabbed the two sticks and held them together, but not touching. The dragon braided it's tails and Hiccup heard the click, so he clacked the two sticks twice. Sleuther let down his guard to look around and Hiccup took his chance to move closer, but then it looked back at him and growled. Hiccup, again, clacked the sticks to make the dragon look around and Hiccup took a few more steps closer. "That's it…" The dragon looked back at Hiccup, preparing to pounce. Hiccup clicked the sticks together and the dragon made a sound, but when he looked back at Hiccup, the sticks were in one hand at his side and Hiccup's left hand was up and his head was turned away. Sleuther glanced over Hiccup a few times, then finally unbraided his tails and moved his head in, the snout making contact with Hiccup's hand and purring almost. Hiccup smiled, looking back at Sleuther now. "Atta boy…" He said gently before Sluether moved in more to nuzzle him.

Hiccup led Sleuther back towards everyone, with Sleuther obviously remaining quite calm now and enjoying Hiccup scratching under his chin. "What kind of dragon is he, Hiccup?" Fishlegs asked.

"Not sure," Hiccup replied.

"We were told by the man who let him take us home here that he's a Triple Stryke," Iduna informed softly. "And that male is also the one who gave him the name Sleuther," She added.

"Dragons are typically from the Archipelago...So is that where you were?" Hiccup inquired. Agnarr nodded in response. "Who did you get him from?"

"Dagur, he said his name was," Agnarr replied.

Hiccup would figure things out later, there was already a lot happening to test his patience and sanity. "Let's get...Sleuther into the stables. Then I think we should all talk as there are probably curiosities and questions from several people here," Hiccup said.

"I agree, love," Elsa said, coming up and linking her arm around Hiccup's. "I'll bring everyone inside, and we'll go to the meeting room," She offered.

"Okay," Hiccup agreed as he gave her a quick kiss and then led Sleuther towards the stables, and Toothless followed closely.

Later that night, Hiccup was pouring over his father's journal, looking for clues on the Hidden World. He wandered the halls, entering the throne room. Earlier that day, Hiccup, Elsa, Anna, and everyone else tried to catch up on six years of time. Everything was laid bare before everyone, but with the thought of Grimmel in the back of Hiccup's mind, he had decided to put the talk with Agnarr on hold while he planned for the battle ahead.

"Alright. Alright, come on, give me a clue here. Give me a clue, Dad."

As Hiccup poured through his notes, Toothless was asleep in the corner of the room. Off to his left a cart of goodies and tea stood near the throne. Closing the journal, Hiccup made his way to the cart, noting the steam that was rising out of the kettle. He wasn't alone.

A small flame lit up the room, revealing a grey-haired woman, leaning back in Elsa's chair, her legs dangling off to the side. In one hand, she held a cup of tea, the other was filled with a fireball. She was wearing a light dress that hugged her curves tightly, almost as if she was here to seduce Hiccup. Pfff. Like that would work.

Æsa smiled softly, though her smile held a hint of evil.

"Oh, I hope you don't mind if I help myself. This is, uh... quite good."

Hiccup lit Inferno up at her.

"Oh, I'm so scared….but... That is impressive. But let me finish my drink."

She fired a dart from a crossbow which hit Toothless as he growled out in pain.

"Toothless!"

Hiccup ran towards Toothless as Æsa finished her drink.

"What did you do to him?"

"Eh, nothing that he won't sleep off. It's my husband's toy...so..I know it's fine..." Æsa sat up as she sat back in Elsa's chair.

"Ahh. Haha. May I? King Hiccup, hmm? Do I say King Hic-cup or do I just call you Hiccup? What do you prefer?"

Æsa stood, extinguishing the flame in her hand, and circled Hiccup, running her fingers along his chest and back, feeling the firm muscle in them.

"Mmm...I can see why the Queen of Arendelle likes you,but you are probably wondering why I am here…"

Hiccup frowned, staring coldly at Æsa.

"So, let's get to the point. My husband is the Night Fury killer. He's hunted every last one but yours. You are going to give me that dragon. Or I will-

"I will never give him up," Hiccup replied, his face full of determination.

Æsa stood up and pushed Inferno out of his way, laughing. She started walking towards Toothless.

"You wish dragons to live free among us, like equals? A toxic notion, my boy. History has shown that we are the superior species. What if word of your misguided ideas were to spread? It would be the undoing of civilization as we... know it. Hmm."

Æsa noticed straw sticking out of Toothless' tail, and she kicked it. A sleepy Fishlegs wearing a Toothless costume sat up.

"Did we get him?"

As Fishlegs fainted and fell back asleep, Hiccup knocked the crossbow out of Æsa's hands

"Now!"

Several dragon riders appeared from their covers, including Astrid, Valka, Gobber, and one red-headed Princess wearing dragon scale armor. Anna smirked.

"Sorry to barge in!"

Hiccup held Inferno to her neck.

"You think you can come into my home, sit in my wife's chair, and threaten my dragon?! This is Arendelle, and we have defended our way of life from far worse than you and your husband!"

"Oh. Haha. A fighting spirit, I love it! Only, I'm afraid you're mistaken. You've never seen anything like me or my husband!"

With a loud whistle from her mouth, green acid started dripping from the roof along with flames as a Deathgripper crashed through the roof. Astrid, who was hiding on a wooden beam above the room, jumped down to the floor of the throne room, rolling to cushion her landing.

"Ah!"

Hiccup called to her.

"Astrid, look out!

The Deathgripper got ready to strike with its tail but missed Astrid who was sitting on the floor. As she got clear, another whistle, not from Æsa, but above her whistled as another Deathgripper attacked the riders. Valka called out to her son.

"Look out! Son, get clear!"

In another part of the castle, Elsa was studying in the library, when flames burned down the wall next to her. Coughing loudly at the smoke, a voice called out.

"Why...if it isn't the Queen herself. I met your husband. Shame I had to kill him."

Elsa, not knowing who the woman was or what she could do, quickly attacked her, as a clash of fire and ice started brewing.

As everyone evacuated the throne room, Hiccup could hear a voice call out through the smoke and flames.

"Have my dragon ready when I return, or I will destroy everything you love!"

Hiccup knew that had to be Grimmel, but with the smoke and flames threatening to overwhelm him and his mother fled the room and into the courtyard to find Arendelle in flames.

Agnarr quickly came over.

"Hiccup! Have you seen Elsa?!"

"What? I thought she was with you!"

Hiccup turned to the castle, seeing the entire structure in flames.

"She must be inside!"

Hiccup quickly ran towards the door when a blast of hot air knocked him back, blasting him off his feet, knocking him unconscious.

Meanwhile, deep inside the castle, Æsa, and Elsa were fighting fiercely. Blasts of orange and blue filled the flaming halls of Arendelle Castle. However they seemed to be equally matched, though Elsa was quickly losing strength from the heat and smoke. Her emotions were all over the place, but she had to fight on. If she lost, she would lose the only thing that...as far as she was aware, was the only thing left of her husband.

"You're weak, Queen Elsa!" called Æsa. "Too bad about your child! What a shame it must be to your ancestors, and your allies! To be carrying the spawn of a Viking!"

Elsa's eyes glowed dark blue at that.

"You can insult me...or my husband….hell even my sister! But don't you..ever...EVER INSULT MY CHILD!"

With a scream of emotions, Elsa blasted her ice with her last remaining ounce of strength left in her. The blast struck Æsa in the heart as she collapsed, her powers fading as the flames died down around them. A gray-haired man landed near her on a Deathgripper and picked her up bridal style, leaving Elsa to die in the fire.

Elsa coughed as she tried to head for a nearby window, but the smoke and heat had taken their toll. Hot wooden beams landed nearby as Elsa collapsed, coughing as she struggled to breathe, her vision dimming.

"I'm sorry, Hiccup…." she said to herself as she let darkness claim her.

Elsa's vision started to brighten as she saw a white mass form in front of her. The mass started to focus. Details formed in, spikes of blue and shimmering blue eyes that matched her own as she recognized her dragon.

"Skaði…"

Skaði jumped for joy, but as Elsa reached down with her hands to find her baby, she was surprised to find her stomach practically flat. There were some rolls of fat but it wasn't the taut stomach she had before. She began to heavily breathe and Skaði quickly went to get help. Some people quickly came in and gave her something to drink as her body slumped and started to relax.

"I..no...I lost….the baby…"

The next time Elsa woke up, she could feel someone's hand on her hand. Looking to her right, she could make out Hiccup.

"Hiccup…"

"Elsa! You're...you're awake! You're okay,"

Hiccup kissed her head.

"We almost lost you...multiple times…."

Elsa shook her head.

"Our...our baby...I...I'm so sorry…"

The door swung open as Valka held a bundle of blankets in her arms.

"Ah, good...you're awake. Come meet your daughter."

Elsa nearly choked.

"My daughter?"

Valka lowered the bundle of blankets into Hiccup's arms. Hiccup sat slowly on the bed next to Elsa as he helped Elsa hold their daughter.

"She came early."

"How…I thought..."

"A miracle to be sure," Valka replied. "I'll give you a few minutes."

Elsa held her daughter close to her chest, smiling softly. She was beautiful, a small layer of reddish-brown hair was atop her head, and as she yawned, she opened her eyes, a piercing blue staring up at Hiccup and Elsa. Elsa turned to Hiccup.

"How..how long have I've been out?"

"A month," Hiccup replied. "We've relocated to Berk."

Elsa was shocked to hear this news.

"Arendelle?"

Hiccup shook his head. It was clear from his expression that Arendelle had been wiped off the map. Elsa looked down in sadness.

"And Grimmel?"

"Gone," Hiccup replied. "Once we've defeated him...we'll rebuild Arendelle. I promise, Elsa."

Elsa nodded and held him and their daughter tightly. They may have lost the battle...but they didn't lose the war.

About a week after Elsa had woken up, Hiccup called together a meeting at Berk's Mead Hall to figure out their plan of attack.

"Alright! Alright, everybody! Settle down, please!"

Everyone however continued to scream and yell as Elsa covered their daughter's ears. Both Elsa and Hiccup had decided to call their daughter, Zephyr.

Hiccup reached out to Fishlegs.

"Fishlegs, have you ever seen that species of dragon before?"

Fishlegs shook his head. Spitelout cried out.

"Let me at 'em!"

Another viking cried out in reply.

"I'll give him a piece of my mind. And by mind, I mean fist!"

The Viking punched one of the surviving Arendellian Soldiers, knocking him out.

"Did you miss the part where almost all of Arendelle died? Have you seen the castle? This is a new kind of enemy and I underestimated him. Now, that's on me. But I will not do that again."

Eret nodded.

"I agree with Hiccup. We haven't seen the last of Grimmel. He's a predator, single-minded and patient. He won't stop until he gets what he wants."

Valka nodded at Eret.

"I'm with Eret. We have to take this threat seriously."

Hiccup sighed.

"Grimmel is just a sign of the times. Our enemies are getting smarter, more determined. We were not just overcrowded. We were exposed, and vulnerable. We still are! Short of full-blown war and risking everyone we love, I don't... I don't see a way of staying here any longer.

At that everyone started talking, and Astrid finally fed up with the Vikings and Arendellian's talking. She slammed her axe down onto the table.

"Hey! Hear him out!"

Astrid nodded at Hiccup and sat down. With a whisper of thanks, Hiccup continued.

"If we want to live in peace with our dragons, we need a better plan."

Stoick turned to his son.

"So, what are you saying, son?"

"I'm saying we have to disappear. Off the map. Take the dragons to a place where no one will find them."

A viking spoke up.

"And where might that be?"

Elsa finally stood, holding Zephyr in her arms as she faced her people and the vikings.

"He's talking about a quest for the Hidden World."

A female viking spoke up.

"The hidden what?"

Stoick spoke up.

"I made notes and maps in search of the ancestral home of all dragons, tucked away somewhere beyond the edge of the world."

Hiccup nodded.

"It may be the solution we need. We're dragon people. It's where we belong."

Some of Arendelle and Berk's citizens were not sure. Hiccup sighed.

"Look, I know for some of you Arendelle is your home. Same with Berk. I know...I made a vow to protect them.

Some of the citizens looked up at Hiccup, starting to believe. Hiccup nodded.

"But Berk and Arendelle are more than their places on the maps of the world.. We are Berk! We are Arendelle! The people! The dragons! I say Berk and Arendelle is wherever we go.

Ruffnut and Tuffnut sat on a nearby bench, looking bored until Tuffnut stood up, shouting.

"I'm with him! Who else?"

Elsa facepalmed, but removed her hand from her face when someone from the crowd called out.

"I'm with you!"

"Me too!" said another.

"Aye!"

Soon, the entire Mead Hall was shouting and supporting both Hiccup and Elsa. Hiccup choked up, but smiled.

"Then grab your belongings! Grab your dragons! Let's find the Hidden World!"

Elsa pulled Hiccup off to the side.

"Are you sure this is wise?"

Hiccup nodded.

"I'm sure. We'll get through this Elsa. I promise."

Elsa wasn't as sure.

So...thoughts? Please don't kill me. I'll be back with a new chapter soon. It may take a while, but we'll get there. Love you guys! Take care! And check out Nightstar Fury out on Ao3!