I accidentally deleted this chapter, not exactly sure how it happened...though I suspect it happened when I highlighted the entire chapter to check how many words there were (I keep 10 chapters in one document), I didn't even notice until I went back to proofread it. Needless to say I had a bit of a panic attack, thinking that I had to rewrite the entire thing from scratch. Luckily for me, and you guys too, I use google doc, and I was able to figure out that they have a way to look at previous versions of your documents and restore them.

Whew! That was definitely not a pleasant experience...anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. It came back from the dead for you!


Chapter 13: A Synonym for Hero

Fishlegs sat in the passenger's seat, scowling, arms crossed, and shaking his head. "I can't believe this," He grumbled.

"Fishlegs, please," Hiccup sighed, drumming his fingers against the steering wheel as he drove along. "I really don't want to get into this again, haven't we talked about this enough?"

"No, we clearly haven't, because nothing I say ever seems to get through to you, what part of keeping this on the down-low involved telling Astrid and flying her around on Toothless' back?"

"It was one time,"

Fishlegs turned to look at him. "Oh, so you're not planning on doing it again?" Hiccup didn't reply, and just kept his eyes on the road. "That's what I thought,"

"Don't be like that, you know why we have to do this,"

"I know why you want to do this,"

Hiccup sighed again and shook his head. "Fishlegs…"

"I know, alright? I know you care about the dragons, and I know that keeping them safe is your number one priority, but don't act like your feelings for Astrid had nothing to do with any of this," Fishlegs said with a huff. "Because I know better than that,"

"Yeah, okay, I like her, and I wasn't about to just let her get kidnapped by a bunch of gangsters, I don't see why that's such a big deal,"

"It's not even that anymore!" Fishlegs cried out, throwing his arms into the air. "When she asked you to meet her, you should've said no! It's one thing to swoop in and save her every once in a while, it's something else entirely to start talking with her and making plans with her and going places with her, what if she finds out it's you? What'll happen then?"

"She won't."

"How can you know that?"

"When I'm the Night Fury, I'm covered in leather and my head is completely concealed in my helmet, she can barely hear me talk through that thing, she's not going to find out it's me,"

Fishlegs eyed Hiccup. "You're sure you don't want her to find out it's you?"

"Fishlegs, just trust me on this one, I don't want Astrid to find out it's me anymore than you do," Hiccup said firmly, gripping his hands tightly to the steering wheel. "Now can we just drop it already?"

He sighed and put his hands up in defeat. "Alright, fine,"

"Thank you,"

"Could you at least tell me why she specifically wanted me to come?"

"I don't know, she didn't specify," Hiccup said. "And she never wants to discuss details unless we're in talking person and in a secure location, you know, encase someone is trying to monitor us,"

"Did you guys find DNA or something while you were in the Outcasts hideout?" Fishlegs asked.

Hiccup shrugged. "I don't know, she didn't mention it to me when she ran out, she did see them, so I guess it's possible,"

"Wait," Fishlegs turned to look at his friend. "You didn't actually see the dragons yourself?"

Hiccup glanced over at Fishlegs and then back to the road. "No, why?"

"How do you know she's telling the truth?"

He furrowed his brows. "Why would she lie about something like that?"

"I don't know, I just don't think it's a good idea to tell her any information that could get us in trouble, she might have ulterior motives that we don't know about," Fishlegs explained, biting his bottom lip nervously.

Hiccup rolled his eyes. "Why are you acting like Astrid's a total stranger all of a sudden? We both went to primary school with her, you know what she's like. Astrid's a straight-shooter, she wouldn't manipulate us like that,"

"I don't know about this…" Fishlegs mumbled while shaking his head.

The Black Sheep came into view, Hiccup pulled into the parking lot and stopped the car. He turned towards Fishlegs and put a hand on his shoulder. "Listen, we don't have to tell her anything about what we did before the lab got attacked. Just stick with what I told you earlier, pretend you don't know about Toothless, the dragons, or the enlargium. All you know is what I've told you this morning,"

"I'm a bad liar, you know I'm a bad liar," Fishlegs said fidgeting in his seat.

"Just...say you have a stomach ache if you think you're going to reveal something,"

Fishlegs just stared at Hiccup is disbelief. "That's your brilliant plan to keep us out of trouble?"

"Do you have a better one?"

"Yes! Not going in there!" He exclaimed.

Hiccup shook his head and sighed. "Don't you think it'll be more suspicious if we don't show up? Astrid has no reason to think that we know anything about the dragons, so just calm down and act normal. She never asks me to meet unless it's important, we have to this; for the dragons,"

Fishlegs groaned and rubbed his temples. "Alright. Fine. But next time, unless it's one-hundred percent necessary, don't meet with her as the Night Fury,"

"Let's talk about that later, okay? We need to get this done first,"

"Alright, but we are talking about this,"

They both climbed out of Hiccup's car and began walking through the small parking lot and towards the front of the Black Sheep, where the entrance was. The restaurant was already buzzing with people, Hiccup and Fishlegs brushed past a few people exiting as they shuffled inside. It was quite noisy inside, the sounds of chattering people and clinking dishware filled the air.

Mulch walked towards them and gave them a small smile. "Hello boys, she's waiting in the back booth for you," He looked towards Hiccup. "You know the way there right?"

"I do, thanks Mulch," He said giving him a quick smile and a nod before heading off towards the back of the restaurant.

As they continued, Fishlegs leaned in towards Hiccup. "How many times have you been here with her? Is Mulch in on this whole thing too?"

"I've only been here once, and I'm pretty sure Mulch doesn't know anything," Hiccup whispered back. "Now will you just relax, you're starting to stress me out,"

Finally they made it to the back, and over to the last booth, Astrid sat inside, a cup of coffee and her laptop out on the table as she stared intently at the screen. She looked up at them as soon as they made it into view. "You're late," She said before shuffling her things closer to herself to make more space on the table.

"Yeah, sorry about that, we got...uh, delayed," Hiccup said awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck as Fishlegs climbed into the opposite side of the booth from Astrid. Hiccup moved to sit beside Fishlegs but he didn't scootch in further, instead just gesturing towards the spot beside Astrid. "Move over Fish," Hiccup said staring at his friend.

"Plenty of room over there," Fishlegs said staring back.

"Just sit down," Astrid said. Moving her bag over to make more room.

Hiccup shot a quick glare in Fishlegs' direction before shuffling in beside Astrid, it wasn't a very large booth, so they ended up sitting so close their arms brushed against each other. He cleared his throat awkwardly. "So, what exactly did you call us here for? It must be pretty important,"

Astrid nodded. "It is, and I want to make sure that everything we discuss here stays between the three of us, I can't have any of this information getting leaking to anyone else," She glanced to Hiccup, who nodded, and then to Fishlegs.

"We won't tell anyone," Hiccup assured her, trying to keep from looking his her direction, afraid of how close their faces would be if he did. "You don't have to worry about Fishlegs, he can keep a secret,"

"Alright," Astrid said. "I found some information, and I need you two to take a look at it," she explained, turning her laptop around so that Hiccup and Fishlegs could see the screen. "I was able to get my hands on a hard drive from the outcasts, I was hoping it would have some of the machine plans that were stolen during the attack on the lab, but instead it seems to have information of some chemical compound or something?" She pushed the laptop closer to Fishlegs. "Do you know what it is?"

He leaned forward to look at the screen and his eyes quickly scanned across the all the information. Hiccup noticed at Fishlegs stiffened, and his eyes slowly moved upwards to meet Hiccup's. "It's a molecule," He said.

"...A molecule?"

"A molecule."

Astrid glanced between the two as they stared at each other. "Do you know something about it?"

Fishlegs looked over at her. "...This was the molecule that was found on the other side of the machine, it was discovered not long before the attack, they must have found our files on it,"

"Is there something special about this molecule?"

"You mean other than the fact that it's undiscovered in the scientific community?"

Astrid shook her head and scrolled down the file. "No, I mean, look at this," She stopped at a page closer to the end of the document. "I'm no scientist, but from what I read, it seems like they're trying to make a condensed version of the molecule, why would they want to do that? Is there something they want to use it for?"

Fishlegs and Hiccup both lunged forward and began quickly reading through the file. "They're not just making a condensed version..." Fishlegs said looking over at Hiccup. "They're making a super condensed version…"

"Why would they do that?" Astrid asked. "Was there something special about this molecule?"

He squirmed in his seat a little. "...I don't know, we didn't have a lot of time to study it..."

"See the thing is, there was something else I found, and I think it might be connected to this somehow," She began, voice hushed. "You guys have seen the Night Fury right? The flying guy that's been all over the news lately?"

They glanced over at each other and then back to her. "Yeah, what about him?" Hiccup asked.

"The creature that he flies around on...I saw more of them in the outcasts' hideout, there were at least three of them down there, all huge with giant wings," She explained. "But that's not the only thing, they didn't just look like the Night Fury, they also looked like the creatures from the lab,"

"The lab?"

"I know you never actually saw them yourself, but I swear, the one I got a good look at was exactly like one of the creatures from the lab," Astrid said. "Same colour, same body shape, it was uncanny,"

Hiccup rubbed the back of his neck and laughed nervously. "...Uh...weren't those creatures really tiny?"

"They were, that's what I'm concerned about," She continued, shaking her head. "I don't know if you knew about this, but when my uncle went through the machine and found those creatures, they were huge on the other side, they only shrunk after they came through into the lab," Hiccup and Fishlegs both did their best to look shocked at Astrid explain what they already knew. "What if this molecule is somehow the key to getting these creatures back to their full size?"

"...That would be a problem," Hiccup said nodding.

"I've seen what the Night Fury can do, if these creatures can do even a fraction of what he can do, then we do not want them in the hands of the outcasts, or any criminals," Astrid said turning the laptop back around to face her. "If there's anything, anything you can learn about this molecule from these documents, tell me right away," She said pulling a small thumb drive out from the side of her laptop and placing it on the table in front of Fishlegs. "Can you do that?"

Fishlegs looked over at Hiccup, then took the drive off of the table and tucked it into his pocket. "I'll do what I can,"

"Thank you," Astrid said with a sigh of relief. "Make sure to keep that drive safe, and if you suspect that anyone is trying to steal it, destroy it. I have the original hard drive hidden elsewhere, it's more important to keep this from spreading any further,"

He nodded. "Right,"

"Good, let me know when you've learned anything, we can meet up again as soon as you have something," She said, closing her laptop and packing it back away into her bag.

"Sounds good," Fishlegs got up and shuffled out of his booth. "I need to use the bathroom," He said to Hiccup. "I'll meet you at the car, okay?"

Hiccup nodded as he stood up. "Sure," Fishlegs walked off towards the front of the restaurant, leaving Hiccup and Astrid alone at the table. He looked over at her as she slung her bag over her shoulder. "You're not going back are you?"

She looked up at him. "Back?"

"You mentioned that you saw the dragons in their hideout, are you going to try and go back in there?" He asked.

Astrid shook her head as she stood up. "They've definitely moved out of that hideout after I was able to get in, there's no point in going back there now, there'll be nothing left to find,"

"You know that's not what I meant,"

"You know I have to, if I'm right about this, they have four of those dragons, four. Have you seen what just one of them can do? Imagine how much destruction they could cause under the outcasts control,"

"That's your argument for going in there?" Hiccup stared at her. "You should leave this up to someone else, someone better equipped," Someone like the Night Fury he thought to himself.

"I appreciate your concern Hiccup, I really do, but there is no one else," She said shuffling past him and out of the booth.

He turned around as she went past. "No one else? So you're doing this alone?" Hiccup asked, he wasn't sure why he was asking her this when he already knew the true answer. Maybe he wanted to know if she would tell him the truth, or if she would keep the Night Fury's secret. Which did he want? Did he want her to side with him, or his alter ego? He wasn't sure of that either.

Astrid smiled at him. "I'm not alone, I'm doing this with you,"

"That's not what I meant either,"

"I know," She said turning to walk back to the front.

"...You shouldn't do this for him," Hiccup said suddenly, causing her to turn back around to look at him. "I know you how much you care about Finn, but you shouldn't risk your life like this, it's not what he would want you to do,"

"I'm not doing it just for him, it's bigger than one person now," Astrid said. "Everyone in this city, maybe even the country could be at risk...and my uncle...I've already come to accept that he's most likely already dead,"

Hiccup nodded and took a step towards her. "I guess you're probably right,"

Astrid's face slowly dropped as the realization hit her. "Hiccup...I'm-"

"Don't apologize," He said, raising a hand up. "You have no reason to apologize to me, you're the only one back then who didn't tease me about it,"

She scoffed. "That's not really something to be proud of, I could've done a lot more," Her eyes trailed to the floor. "After what happened to my uncle...I began to finally understand what it must've been like for you, and I started to wish I had said something, or done something. I don't know, made them stop saying those things,"

"We were just kids," Hiccup said. "Besides, what you did, not teasing me, back then it really meant a lot, still does," He gave her a pat on the shoulder as he walked past. "I'll see you later Astrid, take care of yourself,"

She turned around to watch him walk back to the front. "You too,"

He continue out of the restaurant, into the parking lot, and hopped back into his car where Fishlegs was waiting. "Was that so bad?" He asked as he put the key into the ignition and started the engine. "She didn't suspect anything,"

"I guess not," Fishlegs said. "What am I supposed to do about this though?" He asked, holding up the thumb drive Astrid had given him.

"Take a look at it, make sure there's nothing you don't know inside," Hiccup said, pulling out of the parking lot and onto the street. "Then wait a few weeks and tell her what we already know,"

"How am I supposed to explain that? The only reason we found out about that was because of Toothless!" He exclaimed, throwing his arms into the air. "She's going to find out we're keeping things from her!"

"She's not going to find out anything, just look through the documents and try to find a good explanation, it's not like she's a chemical engineer, she's not going to be able to check your science on this,"

"I suppose so…" He replied reluctantly. "Are you sure you want her to know about this? The more she connects all this to the lab, the closer she'll come to finding out about you and Toothless,"

"There's no way she'll find out,"

"How are you so confident that she won't find out?"

Hiccup stopped the car at a red light and turned towards Fishlegs. "Look at me Fish, you know what I'm like, you know what people think of me, do you honestly believe anyone would think that I'm the Night Fury?" Hiccup asked, raising his eyebrows. "Anyone at all?"

Fishlegs sighed and nodded his head. "Alright, alright, fair enough,"

"I know you're just concerned, but I really don't think it's going to be a issue, Astrid's never going to-" Before Hiccup could finish his sentence the faint sound of a alarm bell ringing could be suddenly heard in the distance. "...What's that?"

Fishlegs turned around in his seat to look through the rear window of the car. "I'm not sure, sounds like a security alarm," The ringing sound continued, but was soon accompanied by the distant sound of people yelling and screaming. "That doesn't sound good, we should probably get going…" He turned back around and noticed that the traffic light had turned green. "The light's green Hiccup," Instead of driving, Hiccup began to unbuckle his seat belt. "What are you doing? The light's green!"

"I have to go," He said turning and grabbing his helmet and leather jacket from the back seat.

Fishlegs looked back again as the cars behind them began to honk. "Are you seriously going over there? That's a job for the police!"

"Do you see any cop cars? Do you hear any sirens? Face it Fishlegs, the police have too much to handle as it is, they can't keep up with all the crime," Hiccup said opening up the glove compartment to reveal Toothless, asleep and snuggled inside a old wool mitten. He scooped Toothless up and plopped him into his pocket. "Somebody's got to help,"

"Was he there the whole time?!" Fishlegs exclaimed. "This is crazy!"

"Take the car back to your place, I'll come and get it later,"

"What? Hiccup!" Hiccup rushed around to the back of the car and opened up the trunk, where he retrieved a large duffle bag. Fishlegs shuffled over to the driver's seat and stuck his head out the window to watch. The cars behind them began to drive around his car and Hiccup quickly made his way across the street and over to the sidewalk. "Are you serious? Come back!"

Hiccup didn't listen, he just kept on walking, heading off towards the park. The further into the park he went, the louder the sound of the alarm could be heard, the sound was loud enough that most of the people in the park began to exit in the opposite direction, wary of what was causing the disruption. Hiccup was able to find a nice secluded area blocked off by some trees where he could suit up and let Toothless grow to his full size. As soon as they were both set up and ready to go, Hiccup took to the sky, soaring above many of the shorter buildings and getting a good vantage point of the commotion.

He saw the Royal Bank of Berk below, it was one of the larger bank's in the city, it was made of white stone and had great big white pillars out front. There weren't many people around, and the few that were were running off away from the bank. The doors were slightly ajar, and there was a faint trail of smoke trickling out. Just in front of the building there was a large black truck parked sloppily half on the sidewalk, half on the street. Hiccup's attention quickly returned to the doors as the sounds of two men yelling could be heard approaching from within. As they slammed through the open doors of the bank, black masks over their heads, each carrying two large duffle bags, one in either hand, the engine rumbled and revved, ready to drive away.

It was now or never, they quickly swooped down and Toothless shot out a blast down at the car, hitting it in the hood and destroying the engine. As the front of the car began to go up in flames, the man inside quickly dove out onto the sidewalk and gawked up at Toothless.

"What the helheim is that?!" One of the men cried out, dropping one of the bags to point upwards.

The man who had been inside the car scrambled to hit feet, grabbing the bag from the ground and starting to run down the sidewalk in the opposite direction. "Who cares! Run!"

They began to run down the street, bags in hand. No matter how fast they ran, they were no match for Toothless' flying speed and soon they were able to catch up and block the men from escaping. People screamed and ran from the scene, rushing to hide in buildings or behind cars. It wouldn't be long until the police arrived, all Hiccup has to do was keep them from getting away.

"This way!" One of the men yelled, making a dash for the subway entrance. He knew Toothless wouldn't be able to fit inside, there they would be home free. They weren't fast enough however, the heavy bags of cash weighed them down and made them run slowly. Toothless was able to leap into the air and land right by the stairs, blocking them again, this time letting out a monstrous roar as he did. That's when the sounds of police sirens could be heard approaching. "Lose the cash," He said, dropping his bag to the ground and dashing for the opposite subway entrance. One of the other men immediately followed suit, dropping his bags and following after.

"What? Are you kidding!?" The last man yelled to the others. "Fine! You can go fuck yourselves!" He yelled, grabbing one of the discarded duffle bags and rushing in the opposite direction.

Toothless jumped again, blocking the way of the last man. "Drop the bags," Hiccup ordered as Toothless growled menacingly at him. It was then that the police cars began to tear around the street towards them. Screeching to a halt only a few metres away. Hiccup smiled to himself, the other two men may have escaped, but at least he had managed to secure the stolen money.

"There! That's the monster!" Someone yelled to the police, pointing straight at Hiccup.

The officers all piled out of their cars and positioned themselves behind their doors, guns at the ready. "Put your hands in the air!" One officer yelled through a megaphone.

"Wait, I stopped the robbers!" Hiccup called out, waving his hands. It was to no avail, they couldn't hear him through his helmet from that far away, and even if they could, they probably wouldn't listen. The only thing they saw was a enormous monster, nothing else.

The man dropped his bags and put his arms in the air, lowering to his knees as he did. Hiccup and Toothless leapt back into the air and flew off into the sky, listening to the sounds of the police yelling for them to stop, and people's horrified shrieks.


Thanks so much for reading, please remember to leave any comments, questions, concerns, or cries of anguish in the reviews for me to read, I love to hear what you guys think!