Well, I didn't think I would get this chapter out so fast. Don't be surprised if this story doesn't get updated next month, I'm going to be extremely busy.

This chapter is gonna be a long one as we sprint towards what should be the end of Act I. As mentioned in the previous chapter there will be a time jump. It's that time jump that'll take us from Act I to Act II.

Dear Hiccup,

I'm glad to hear you're okay, I was worried about you. Things are okay, great actually. There hasn't been a raid in a few weeks which I assumed was your doing. Seems I was right, I mean you defeated the Queen for Odin's sake!

Berk isn't the same without you. Gobber has been different, he hardly talks with anyone. The only person he talks to is me, just because I've picked up your slack and become his apprentice. Your father though… no one sees him. He spends most of his days in his hut grieving. He misses you a lot more than you thought he would have.

As for me, I found your journal. The drawings in there were the most impressive pictures I've ever seen! I mean they're almost life-like. I've also begun to train a dragon using the notes you left behind. It's a slow process but we're bonding, it's the Nadder by the way.

I wish you were here, you would know what to do. I can't break her out of her cage or else the village would notice, I almost got caught by Fishlegs of all people. I can't keep training her in the arena if he keeps coming around.

Make sure you feed Sneaky a lot of fish when he gets back to you. Let me know where you are so I can see if there is a map I can send you.

Hope to see you soon,

Astrid

Hiccup smiled as his eyes left the paper in his hands. He looked at the dragon and tossed it a fish Hiccup had stored away.

"There you go Sneaky, rest up," he told the dragon.

Sneaky grabbed the fish out of the air and downed it immediately. Hiccup laughed before he made his way over to his best friend.

"Well, bud, looks like we truly turned her to our side," Hiccup told Toothless. "I knew she would want to train the Nadder. So whatta you say bud? Want to head on home or continue going?"

Toothless huffed and lifted his tail which was still missing a repaired fin.

"Oh right," Hiccup laughed sheepishly while he rubbed the back of his head. "Welp, I can deal with that once we visit Brandt this morning. I'll do some more work for him so I can do a full repair and we'll make some improvements while I'm at it."

Toothless huffed again and laid back down by the fire warming the small hut they called home.

Astrid approached the forge and saw Gobber already at work. The burly man was hammering away at a sword on the anvil. She quickly slipped past the counter and placed her satchel on the back table. Astrid then walked over to the wall and grabbed an apron.

"Ah nice of you ta finally show up fer work," Gobber heckled, looking up from his work.

"Yeah, I'm sorry. I slept in today," Astrid apologized as she slipped the apron over her head.

"Ye've been doin' tha a lot lately," he told her.

"I've been training hard for the next raid, whenever that may be," Astrid replied.

Gobber nodded and the two fell into silence as Astrid began to lay some more coals on the fire.

"Not too much Astrid, don't want to smother the embers."

"Right," Astrid said, being careful not to tip the bag of charcoal too far.

"Tha's good, now use the bellows."

Astrid nodded and lowered the bag, placing it next to a nearby table. She then walked over to the bellows and pulled them down, the rush of air causing the new coals to light almost immediately.

"Thank you, Astrid. Sword, sharpen, now," he told her handing the sword he had just been working on.

"Please don't tell me this what Hiccup had to put up with daily?" Astrid asked.

"More or less," Gobber simply responded.

Astrid groaned before she grabbed the sword from Gobber and made her way over to the sharpening stone. She placed the sword on the stone and began to spin with the pedal. Astrid perhaps focused too heavily on the spinning wheels as her eyes began to close…

"Astrid!"

"Huh?" Astrid replied sleepily.

"Wake up Lass!" Gobber yelled.

Astrid shook her head and focused back on the stone, the sword had chipped which meant it had to be reforged. Gobber sighed and grabbed the sword out of her hand. He then hobbled over to the fire and stuck the sword back into the white-hot embers.

"Whatever it is yer doing at tha arena needs ta stop," he sternly told her.

It took a few seconds for Gobber's words to sink in. What did he mean by…

"I know that arena like the back of my missing left hand Astrid. I know you've been going into the arena and Fishlegs told me he saw ye there too," he added.

"Gobber I-" Astrid started

"Don't tell me ye haven't been going in there lass," Gobber interjected. "Not to mention Hoark said he saw ye carrying a basket with you in the direction of the arena. I found tha basket, reeked of fish."

Astrid's eyes widened and her hands began to tremble as Gobber started to approach her. On instinct she looked down on the ground, avoiding eye contact with Gobber.

"You've been feeding them, haven't ye?" Gobber accused.

"No, I-"

"Then why are ye carrying a basket of fish to the arena?" Gobber asked.

"I-"

"Look me in the eye Astrid," Gobber demanded.

Astrid looked up at the blacksmith and the thought of running briefly entered into her mind.

"You've been a big help ta me Astrid with Hiccup no longer with us. It's why I haven' gone and brought this up with Stoick. So start talking lass."

Astrid gulped and shifted her weight on her feet, preparing for the worst. She opened her mouth to talk but no words came out.

"Well?" Gobber pressured.

"I… I have," Astrid managed to say, her voice barely above that of a whisper.

"Tha's wha' I thought," Gobber said with a sigh. "Why Astrid, those devils don't need feeding. If anything you're making them stronger and more dangerous and-"

"I haven't been feeding them all," Astrid quickly interjected. "Just the Nadder."

"Just the… you shouldn't be feeding any of them!" Gobber yelled.

"She's not like the other dragons Gobber, she's different, intelligent even," Astrid tried to explain.

"It's a dragon, Astrid. They only know how ta kill and one day if you let that thing out of its cage it'll do the same to you. They've killed hundreds of us!"

"And we've killed thousands of them!" Astrid argued. "It's not their fault that they raid us, they're-"

"And how do ye know tha' Astrid? I mean after everything they've done to us, I'd never expect this out of ye. How many of your family have you lost those devils? What about your uncle? Does he mean nothing to you now because you think you can befriend a monster?"

"I-"

"And what about Hiccup? Tha' Night Fury tha' killed him was just trying to show his love by eating him?"

"He-"

"I can't believe this, thinkin' a dragon can be tamed like a dog they-"

"They can be tamed!" Astrid shouted.

"How do you know that!" Gobber responded.

"Hiccup showed me!"

"Wha?" Gobber asked dumbfounded.

"Hiccup showed me what dragons are truly like," Astrid reiterated.

Gobber scowled at her, "How dare ye talk about 'Iccup like that. I knew that lad better than anyone on this island, even his own father. Hiccup would have never thought dragons could be tamed. He was at the top of the class for Odin's sake. I knew you were jealous of him but to soil his name like-"

"Hiccup's alive!" Astrid shouted in frustration.

"What?"

Astrid cursed herself mentally but she had dug her own grave and now it was time to lie in it.

"He's alive Gobber," Astrid repeated.

Gobber stared at her slack-jawed as if all the air in his body had been sucked out at once. Astrid gulped and waited for his response. The blacksmith simply staggered back to a nearby table as Astrid nervously shifted on her feet.

"You said-" Gobber began

"I know what I said Gobber. He asked me to lie for him because Hiccup didn't want anyone to know the truth. Hiccup really did shoot down that Night Fury. I know because I've seen him, Hiccup freed Toothless, the Night Fury. He fed him, rebuilt his tail because it got torn off, trained him, and learned how to fly.

It was because of Toothless that Hiccup got so good in the ring. Everything he did, he learned from Toothless. The Zippleback, the way he managed to get the Nadder to fall to the ground with just his hand, the Gronkle collapsing at his feet, all of it. When Hiccup won, I followed him. I… I found him and Toothless, Hiccup showed me what dragons were truly like. Everything we know about them is wrong," Astrid explained.

All the anger Gobber once held had dissipated as the burly man listened to Astrid. His entire weight was now being supported by the table.

"Gobber?"

"He's alive?'" Gobber asked quietly.

Astrid nodded and Gobber responded with a shaky laugh. Tears began to roll out from his eyes, followed by a muffled sob.

"Show me," he demanded. "Prove to me tha' 'Iccup is alive."

"Sure," Astrid answered.

Astrid walked over to her satchel and pulled out Hiccup's letter. She handed it to Gobber and let him look over the note. The Shieldmaiden watched as his expression changed several times as he went down the page.

"I knew the lad was too stubborn to die," Gobber whispered to himself after a while. He then looked up at Astrid who stood impossibly still as Gobber read Hiccup's letter. "Tell me everything," Gobber asked.

Hiccup walked down to the forge and saw Brandt hard at work. As Hiccup and Toothless made their way into the village, many of them stopped and stared at the duo. He ignored the glances the villagers were giving him and Toothless and approached the Blacksmith.

"Morning Brandt," Hiccup greeted.

"Ah Hiccup, what brings you down here?"

"Was hoping to use the forge again," Hiccup responded.

"Sure thing Hiccup, your foot needs fine tuning I'm assuming?" Brandt asked.

"No, I need to make a new tailfin for Toothless," Hiccup told the Blacksmith.

"Right…" Brandt replied. "Listen Hiccup, you paid your debt to the village and I helped you get the materials for the foot," Brandt added, gesturing to Hiccup's prosthetic. "If you want to use my forge, it's gonna cost you."

Hiccup nodded solemnly and began to turn away. Toothless growled at the blacksmith as he too turned away.

"Hiccup wait," Brandt called out.

Hiccup turned back and saw Brandt walking towards him.

"I still do need help so I'm willing to cut you a deal," he told the boy. "If you work for me for two days, you can use my forge for half a day. Do we have a deal?" Brandt asked.

"That's all I need," Hiccup replied.

Brandt smiled before walking back into the forge. Hiccup followed and got to work immediately. He quickly put on an apron and grabbed a sword from the pile of weapons Brandt had created. Hiccup then approached the sharpening stone and began to spin it.

Horik walked down the steps from the village's great hall and noticed the Night Fury sitting outside Brandt's forge. Confused, the Earl walked towards the forge. As he got closer, Toothless raised his head to look at who was getting close to him.

"Easy dragon," Horik reassured Toothless, raising his hands to get Toothless to lie back down.

"Hail, Horik!" Brandt greeted.

"Hail, you lumbering tower of yak dung!" Horik responded.

Brandt laughed and patted Horik on the back before returning to work.

"I noticed the dragon out front where's-"

"Right here, Mr. Earl, Chief, Leader, uh… sir," Hiccup inserted.

"Ah Hiccup my boy, how's the foot holding up? Brandt told me you finished it," Horik asked.

"Good sir, it feels like I almost never lost it!" Hiccup answered.

"That's good," Horik told him. "Then if your foot's good, why are you working in the forge again?"

"I-" Hiccup began.

"The boy needs to fix the dragon's tail," Brandt interrupted.

"Oh?"

"Yeah Toothless can't fly, he lost a tailfin when I found him," Hiccup explained. "Once I repair it, I'll be out of your hair."

"Nonsense my boy!" Horik shouted. "You and your dragon have been no inconvenience. Sure it's a fire-breathing beast that has raided nearby villages but your dragon is friendly enough. And you Hiccup, Brandt went on and on about your skills in the forge. Brandt doesn't sing the praises of anybody you know."

"He's right lad," Brandt agreed. "Eriksbœr is as much your home as it is mine."

"Speaking of which, where exactly are you from Hiccup?" Horik asked.

"I'm from Berk," Hiccup answered.

"Berk? Makes sense why we found you on that island then," Horik told him.

"Berk?" Brandt inquired.

"Ah some no-name village in the middle of the archipelago north of the Faroes," Horik disregarded. "The only thing of note is that they fight dragons and were once allied with King Ragnar."

"King Ragnar?" Hiccup asked, puzzled.

"I didn't expect you to know him, that part of Berk's history is long gone," Horik answered. "Long ago before you were even born Berk was an ally of King Ragnar Lothbrok, or rather at the time Earl Ragnar. Earl Ragnar was looking to spread his influence across Scandinavia. He scoured all over the north finding the best warriors. When he came to Berk he met their young Chief Stoick The Vast. Those two became the best of friends as Ragnar told Stoick his dream of becoming king of the Northmen.

That sounded great to Stoick, as Ragnar promised a lucrative deal that would see Stoick become Earl of the Archipelago. This was also beneficial to Ragnar as Stoick held considerable say in what the Archipelago did and still does. Anyways the two and their armies set off to conquer vast amounts of land, and they did. The two men swept over Norway and Sweden like wind to a blade of grass.

One day the two came across a beautiful woman named Aslug who happened to be the Queen of Goatland. Ragnar became enamored with her, Stoick however not so much as he was loyal to his wife. The two married, thus Ragnar was crowned King. King Ragnar and Stoick continued their campaign of plunder, bringing them to Kattegat a stronghold in southern Norway. Ragnar considered the city perfect and conquered it for himself, truly establishing his realm.

By this time Stoick had grown weary of the campaign and the dragon scourge continued to hamper things back home. Before Ragnar and his allies could set off for a far-off land known as England, Stoick and his allies from the archipelago opted to return home. This angered Ragnar but because Stoick had been so loyal to him, the king let him leave.

Ragnar's ambitions haven't eluded him though. Every year he sends word to all chiefs, earls, dukes, and what have you, asking for men for his raids. He always hoped that one day Stoick would answer his call and join him once again. I doubt it though as I think those Berkians have more trouble with their dragons," Horik explained.

"I see…" Hiccup trailed off.

"Ah sorry, I like telling stories," Horik apologized with a laugh. "Well don't let me distract you, take care both of you!"

"Will do Horik," Brandt replied.

Horik nodded and the Earl walked off, leaving the two blacksmiths in the forge. Hiccup watched Horik leave for a while longer before he turned back to sharpening the swords Brandt had made.

"And you promise me tha' beast won't attack me?" Gobber asked.

"I'm positive, just don't do anything that'll make her think you're about to attack her," Astrid reassured as she approached the lever to open the Nadder's cage.

"Got it, so I'll stand here like a newborn babe and get me head ripped off," Gobber deadpanned.

"You wanted to see if what I told you was true, this is the best way to do," Astrid told the blacksmith.

"Tha's before I'd knew you'd bring me unarmed into the arena," Gobber argued.

"Just calm down, she won't hurt you," Astrid said as she raised the gate.

The Nadder charged out and was startled to see Gobber standing in the middle of the arena. The dragon immediately became defensive, raising its tail into an attack position. Astrid saw this and rushed to her dragon's side, placing a hand on her head in an attempt to calm her down.

"Easy girl, it's okay he's a friend," Astrid tried to soothe the dragon.

The Nadder relaxed a bit once Astrid began to pet her. Her piercing yellow eyes did not leave Gobber. The dragon remained in her defensive stance a raised a wing in front of Astrid in protection.

"She's just scared, she might think you want to attack her. Try talking to her and make her feel safe," Astrid told the man.

"You want me ta what!? Gobber shouted.

The Nadder roared in response and spikes rose up from her tail.

"Gobber!" Astrid yelled in annoyance, rubbing the scales of her friend to get the Nadder to calm somewhat. "You need to be calm and talk quietly."

Gobber sighed before composing himself. He looked towards Astrid who had not moved from the Nadder's side. She was standing right next to it with no weapons in hand and was petting the beast. Gobber raised his right hand and slowly began to approach the two.

"Easy beastie," Gobber soothed the Nadder as he hobbled closer. The dragon tilted its head in confusion and began to lower itself out of its defensive stance. The spikes on her tail retreated into the scales which made Astrid smile.

"Offer her a fish," Astrid instructed.

Gobber nodded and grabbed a cod out of the basket of fish Astrid had brought with them.

"Why not give her some lamb or any of the animals they've stolen from us before?" Gobber asked.

"Hiccup said dragons mainly eat fish, all the animals they took were to appease their queen," Astrid explained.

"You still need to tell me more about this queen," Gobber replied.

"Later, focus on the Nadder."

Gobber sighed and continued to walk towards the Nadder. "Easy ye overgrown lizard, I'm a friend… fer now."

The Nadder left Astrid's side and began to slowly creep towards Gobber, sniffing the air occasionally. Her eyes rested upon the cod in the blacksmith's hand. The dragon let out a happy squawk and charged towards Gobber. The blacksmith retreated a bit, surprised at the Nadder's sudden move.

"Relax Gobber, she just wants the cod," Astrid offered while stifling a laugh.

Gobber glared at Astrid before he tossed the fish in the dragon's direction. The Nadder caught it before it even made it anywhere near the ground. Gobber watched as the cod was swallowed whole and the dragon took another step towards him.

"Uh, what's it doing?" Gobber asked.

"She's just trying to get to know you. I've learned that Nadders love to smell you, I think that's how they decipher if we're friendly or not," Astrid responded.

The dragon was now a few feet away from Gobber. The blacksmith's heart was racing as a beast he killed many times before, an animal he'd seen rip Vikings to shreds, was as docile as a house cat.

"Raise your hand Gobber, let her bridge the gap."

Gobber did as he was told and raised his right hand. He looked away prepared for the worst but was surprised by something warm and scaly pressed into his hands. Gobber looked back and his eyes went wide at the sight. The Nadder had pressed its- no her, snout into his hand. The blacksmith's mouth went agape and looked towards Astrid who watched the whole thing play out with a smile on her face.

"Now do you believe me?" she asked.

"Dragons aren't the devils we thought they were?"

"Nope," Astrid answered.

"And it took Hiccup to befriend a Nightfury to figure it out…" Gobber muttered.

"Here girl," Astrid called to the Nadder.

The dragon immediately broke contact with Gobber and rushed to Astrid's side. The Nadder bent down to Astrid's level and began to nip at her hair.

"Hiccup is out there somewhere and I intend on- ow! Please stop that," Astrid reprimanded the dragon. "I intend on bringing him home one way or another," she continued.

"And how are ye gonna do that lass? We've got no idea where the lad is and if we did know, it could take weeks by boat to find him," Gobber countered.

"But could be only days by a dragon," Astrid quickly argued as she patted the blue Nadder.

"Fair," Gobber replied with a slight nod. "Wait…" Gobber suddenly said. "How are ye supposed to get around by dragon? Thing is still locked up here and I don't think Stoick would believe yer Nadder somehow 'got out.'"

"I mean…" Astrid started.

"This arena has been here fer centuries Astrid, maintained by the best blacksmiths and masons. No dragon has ever broken out," Gobber told her sternly. "Besides if one beastie got out, they'll all get out. Tha's how they've always been."

"I don't think I can wrangle four dragons by myself…" Astrid trailed off.

"Yer gonna need some help then," Gobber stated.

"Who would help me though? We're on an island of dragon-slaying Vikings. We don't exactly take too kindly to new ideas!" Astrid shouted in frustration.

Gobber nodded his head in agreement, "Aye, to quote Hiccup 'we've got stubbornness issues.' Astrid chuckled when she heard one of Hiccup's many ways to describe the village of Berk. "But tha's the thing, Hiccup changed your mind," Gobber continued. "If he can change the mind of Fearless Astrid Hofferson, the lass who was supposed to become a dragon-killing expert. He might be able to convince the other teens," Gobber offered.

"Hiccup isn't here and I'm not him. I've only been training the Nadder for the past couple of weeks. I doubt I would be able to convince them…" Astrid responded with a sigh.

Gobber shook his head in disagreement, "No lass you're not Hiccup and you'll probably never have a way beasts as he does apparently. But-"

"Thank you for summing that up Gobber," Astrid groaned.

"Let me finish lass," Gobber reprimanded. "As I was saying, you're still a leader to those teens. If Hiccup were here, he'd probably be relying on ye to keep Snotlout and the Twins in check. Point is you have his book and his lessons, now you gotta put them into practice."

Gobber smiled reassuringly at Astrid before he turned around and started to walk towards the arena entrance. Astrid watched the blacksmith leave in confusion and began to chase after him.

"Uh, Gobber, where are you going?" Astrid asked.

"Are ye deaf? You're gonna need help, lass. I'm gonna get ye that help," Gobber answered over his shoulder before disappearing. Astrid sighed nervously before she shook her head and walked back to her Nadder.

As Gobber walked into the village he couldn't help but notice Bucket and Mulch making their way up toward the Great Hall. Bucket was groaning in pain being helped up toward the hall by Mulch. This only could mean one thing…

"Oh Gobber good to see you," Mulch greeted.

"Is he okay?" Gobber asked pointing at Bucket.

"The ol' bucket of his is starting to tighten," Mulch responded.

"Oooooh!" Bucket groaned loudly.

"Then a storm's coming then?"

"What da you think?" Mulch replied exasperated. "His bucket hasn't been this tight since that Tysdagr [1] blizzard from nearly twenty years ago."

"Aye, I remember tha day. Took us nearly a week to dig out Phlegma," Gobber recalled.

"If it weren't for that bucket of his, we wouldn't have known the storm in time."

"OOOOH, Mulch just get me to the hall," Bucket groaned again.

"I am, don't get your knickers in a twist," Mulch told the poor man. Mulch turned back to Gobber with a sigh, "I'm sorry Gobber, I've gotta knock out the poor oaf with ale."

Gobber nodded and let the two of them leave. The gears in his mind began to turn. If Bucket was predicting a Storm, it would be the perfect cover to get the dragons out of the arena. Gobber smiled to himself before he set off to find the teens.

Astrid stared at the dragon cages as she played every possible scenario for what could go wrong in her head. Hiccup was so much more qualified to teach the others about dragons. For the umpteenth time, Astrid was wishing she had done more to convince Hiccup to stay. From behind her, the Nadder up to Astrid and nudged her back. Astrid turned her head to look at the blue beast and smiled. The shieldmaiden went to go pet the dragon but as her hand was about to make contact with her scales…

"Astrid if you're planning on getting eaten I'd go with the Gronkle."

Astrid turned around and was greeted by the sight of the teens and Gobber entering the arena. She looked towards the blacksmith who gave her a simple shrug in response before standing next to the exit ramp. Astrid took a deep breath to calm her nerves before walking towards the teens.

"You were wise to seek help from the world's most deadly weapon," Tuffnut announced to Astrid, getting way too close for her liking. "It's me," he added after a beat.

"Get out of my face Tuff," Astrid sternly told the male Thorston.

All of a sudden, Tuffnut was yanked away by Snotlout who also invaded Astrid's personal space.

"I love this plan," Snotlout quickly complimented.

"First back up before I kick your ass all the way to next Snoggletog," Astrid warned with a shove to the Jorgenson. "Second, I didn't even tell you the plan… because I don't have one… yet," she added sheepishly.

"Oh so there is no plan, you just decided to have us stand in the same room with a loose dragon?!" Fishlegs shouted.

Astrid pie-faced Snotlout out of her way and walked over to the chubby teen, Nadder in tow.

"Not exactly loose, that part I'm still working on. She's harmless though, if she wanted to kill me she would have done so already," Astrid offered.

"Right… The fire-breathing, poisonous spine-throwing, flying reptile is harmless," Fishlegs replied sarcastically.

"Hey don't talk to my babe like that," Snotlout defended.

"Snotlout…" Astrid growled. The Nadder sensing Astrid's anger began to growl at the Joregnson. Snotlout shrieked and quickly ran from Astrid's side, hiding behind Fishlegs for protection.

Astrid quickly turned and faced her Nadder, attempting to calm her down. "Easy girl," she tried.

"What are we doing here Astrid?' Fishlegs asked.

"The lass needs help," Gobber answered before Astrid even had the chance to open her mouth. "Seems our great dragon-killing martyr didn't actually want to kill dragons," he added much to the confusion of the teens.

"Hiccup didn't die in that cove," Astrid supplied.

"So he's a ghost?" Ruffnut asked.

"No he's not a- Hiccup didn't die, he ran away," Astrid replied frustrated.

"But-"

"I helped him leave Fishlegs, he asked me to lie for him, to make everyone believe he was dead. I can't believe I have to explain this again…"

"'Iccup wasn't lying when he shot down tha Nightfury. Apparently, he found it, nursed it back to health, helped it fly, and trained it," Gobber interjected. "He used what he learned from it in dragon training an' tricked us all into thinking he was good at fighting dragons."

"I found them in the woods and Hiccup showed me what dragons are truly like. Ever since he left I've been training the Nadder in secret," Astrid told them.

"That's why you were here the other night," Fishlegs quickly put together.

"I wanted to see if Hiccup was right or if that Nightfury was just a one-off. My girl here, " Astrid gestured to the Nadder, "proved to me that dragons were as intelligent as Hiccup said they were."

"Then why did Hiccup leave?" Fishlegs asked.

"He felt like he had no choice and risked having the village find Toothless," replied Astrid.

Fishlegs stared blankly at Astrid, who was- "The Nightfury," Astrid quickly corrected.

"Oooh," came the response from the Twins.

"I tried to stop him," Astrid continued. "But he was deadset on leaving. Hiccup wanted to find an end to the war between us and the dragons but was certain he had to do it away from Berk."

"So you've proved Hiccup was right, why do you need us?"

"The lass needs yer help breaking the dragons out. Even some of our best can only handle a dragon at a time. Besides I don't feel like taming one of them beasties," Gobber answered.

"Thank you Gobber," Astrid muttered.

"No problem," Gobber responded cheerfully.

"Wouldn't breaking the dragons out make us traitors?" Snotlout asked.

"If ye were caught yes," Gobber answered with a nod.

"Great…" Snotlout trailed off with mock enthusiasm.

"Ooh I love betrayal," Tuffnut shouted excitedly.

"Nothing like a good stabbing in the back," Ruffnut agreed.

"Guys focus," Astrid told the Thorstons.

"You want us to train the other dragons?" Fishlegs asked.

Astrid nodded, "Gobber is right I can't do this alone. We owe it to Hiccup, I owe it to Hiccup for showing me the truth. The longer the dragons stay in the arena, the riskier it becomes for us to train them. Please guys, if not for me then for our countless ancestors who have died fighting a pointless war," Astrid tried to reason.

Snotlout and Fishlegs didn't seem too sure, the Ingerman biting his nails as he thought. The Twins however seemed a bit too excited to break the dragons out. Snotlout suddenly spoke up, "Maybe your dragon is another exception, prove to me that all dragons are like that," pointing to the Nadder.

Astrid nodded with determination, "Sure thing Snotlout."

Hiccup walked around Toothless who was bouncing around the grassy knoll overlooking the village. The rider had put the final touches on the new rigging for Toothless' new tailfin and was about to put the fin itself onto the Nightfury.

"Hold still Toothless," Hiccup told his friend, trying to get the black dragon from moving his tail.

Unlike the previous fin, this one matched the dragon that wore it. It was sleek black, its paint a mixture of Nightfury scales and saliva. This mixture also proved to make the tailfin fireproof as Hiccup had discovered when he accidentally dropped it into Brandt's forge. As Hiccup promised, he also made a few corrections to the rigging to hopefully make their movements a bit faster.

Hiccup attempted to dive onto Toothless' tail, only to miss by a wide margin. The boy got up with a sigh and sent an annoyed glare at his dragon companion. Toothless laughed in response and got back into play mode.

"You know for someone who has been wanting to fly, you're sure doing a good job at keeping yourself from the sky," Hiccup attempted to lecture his friend.

Toothless groaned in response and stopped moving away from Hiccup. The Viking teen smiled and positioned himself on the dragon's tail. Once he knew Toothless wasn't going to move again, Hiccup began to strap the tailfin onto Toothless. Hiccup tightened the leather strap as best he could and stood up from the ground. Toothless looked back to see the black tailfin and gave a gummy smile at his friend.

"See wouldn't have taken so long if you just stayed still," Hiccup tried to reason.

Toothless responded by using his tail to sweep Hiccup off his feet. Hiccup fell to the ground with a thud which made the Nightfury laugh. The rider sat up from the ground and glared at Toothless.

"Thank you for nothing you useless reptile," Hiccup muttered.

The dragon laughed again, Hiccup shook his head and stood up. "Welp looks like we're about done here bud. A lot of places to go from here bud, we could try going south and see where that takes us," Hiccup offered.

Toothless ignored him, preferring to continue to look at his new fin. Hiccup shook his head and patted the dragon's head. As Hiccup watched the sun set over the village he couldn't help but notice a small shape rapidly getting closer to him. Hiccup squinted his eyes to try and get a better look.

"What is tha-"

Whatever the object was collided with his chest, sending the boy backward. Toothless quickly stopped staring at his tail and bounded over to where Hiccup lay. The dragon used his head to nudge Hiccup into a sitting position.

"Thanks, bud," he thanked with a groan.

Hiccup looked over his chest to see if what had hit him impeded itself into his bad. Thankful whatever the object was, didn't do much damage if at all. Hiccup then started to look around to see what the object was. To his surprise, on the ground near him sitting as if nothing had happened was a green Terrible Terror.

"You sure know how to make an entrance," Hiccup lamented.

The tiny dragon squawked in response and rubbed up against Hiccup's arm. Toothless growled at the dragon and wrapped his tail around Hiccup.

"Jealous much?" Hiccup asked his friend.

Toothless simply cooed in response and went back to staring at the Terror nuzzling Hiccup's arm. Hiccup ignored his dragon and picked up the Terror, checking it for any injuries. As his eyes scanned the dragon, he noticed a scroll attached to its back left leg.

"Seems Astrid trained another Terror," Hiccup told Toothless.

Hiccup unraveled the rope attached to the scroll and set the Terror down. Opening the scroll revealed Astrid's handwriting, albeit a bit smudged.

Hiccup,

I'm sorry but Gobber knows. I was tired and wasn't thinking straight. He confronted me about being in the arena at night. I let a few things slip and I thought I had no other choice but to tell him that you're alive.

He was shocked but glad to hear that you were okay. I showed him what you showed me about the dragons and now he's on our side, which is good I guess. He just left to go get help, I think it'll be the gang though. I doubt any of the adults will be too on board for what we're about to do.

I've gotta get the dragons out of the arena. Both Gobber and Fishlegs nearly caught me, it's just too risky. How we're going to do it is still up in air but I could use your help. If you're able to get Toothless back in the sky, please for the love of the gods come back to Berk and help us get the dragons out. If I fail, no doubt I'll be branded a traitor and more of a reason for your father to hate me.

Hiccup Haddock, you're my only hope.

-Astrid

Hiccup lowered the paper as the gears in his mind began to turn. He couldn't go back to Berk but Astrid needed his help. Gobber now knew the truth which made him feel guilty. What did Astrid mean by 'more of a reason for your father to hate me'? It was way too much for Hiccup to think about at once.

Toothless cooed and rubbed his head against Hiccup's shoulder. This broke Hiccup out of his thoughts and forced the boy to look at his dragon companion.

"Astrid needs help bud but if we go back then…" Hiccup began. "I put you at risk and we'd probably be in bigger trouble than we would have if we stayed. But I can't not help Astrid after everything she's done for us."

Hiccup sighed and buried his head in his hands as he tried to figure out what to do. Toothless nudged Hiccup forward and gestured to the sky with his head. Hiccup stared at his friend before nodding.

"You're right bud, we have to help."

Hiccup stood up and dusted himself off before hopping on Toothless' back. The Terror that had delivered the message began to flap its wings, ready for the flight. Hiccup smirked and opened Toothless' tailfin. The Nightfury let out a roar before taking off into the sky. Hiccup and Toothless were headed home.

[1]: Tysdagr translates directly into Tyr's Day otherwise known to us as Tuesday.

Debated on splitting this chapter into two parts or not just because of how long it got. I know I'll probably get some comments about how quickly Gobber came to terms with the whole dragons aren't our enemies we don't have to kill them thing. Imo Gobber would probably be very susceptible to the idea only because of Hiccup. If Astrid had made no mention of Hiccup, Gobber would probably react very similar to how he does in some other runaway stories I've seen.

It was very hard to not do an Astrid-centric chapter because of how many moving parts there are to her story. Astrid not only has to free the dragons, train Stormfly, and help set in motion the main plot of the story. Hiccup is kinda just sitting there on a vacation on a less frozen island. Sure I could go more into depth about what Hiccup is doing but it wouldn't move the story along quite as much.

Speaking of moving the story along, I wasn't too happy with the exposition dump. I kinda wrote myself into a corner with that one but it'll all make sense why I did what I did as we get further in the story. A broader picture will be painted in the next chapter with Stoick…

Until then my friends!

-Dilloncoll