Astrid's head was pounding so much that it woke her up. She went to rub her head but her hands were stuck behind her back. She looked around in confusion. She was in a dark, damp, wooden room. Her memory finally hit her and Astrid's anxiety spiked. She looked for any clue as to where she was, or who had grabbed her. The room was swaying, so she was probably on a boat, unless it was just an effect of the poison. Astrid was just about to try and stand up when the door opened, blinding her with sunlight in the process.

"Good afternoon Astrid!" A low growly voice called out as someone stepped in, closing the door and plunging the room into darkness again. The guy was as big as Stoic, with black ratty hair and beard. He has a scar on his right cheek going right up to his eye. She had never seen this man before, but immediately knew who he was.

"Alvin the Treacherous!" She spat at him.

"Oh, you know who I am? I'm flattered!" He sneered. "You must be wondering what you're doing here. Well I heard the Hooligan tribe got a new heir, and I just had to meet you!"

"I'm sure that's not all." Astrid growled. She had to be very careful. Alvin is a ruthless man who tried to over take Stoic for the Chiefdom and got banished to Outcast Island where he became the Chief rather quickly. He would cause all sorts of trouble for Berk, and tried every underhanded trick in the book.

"Well, I never did get a chance to meet Stoic's brat, though I did try a few times!" Alvin chuckled. "I guess I'm just wondering how much is true. Are you really the new heir? Did Stoic's brat really die? Oh, I wish I could've seen Stoic's face when he found out!" He laughed again, making Astrid's blood boil.

"More importantly," He continued. "I'm wondering how important you really are to Berk, and what they're willing to do to get you back?"

There was a small commotion behind Alvin, and the boat jostled.

"Looks like we're here!" Alvin grinned. He grabbed Astrid's arm and dragged her out of the dark room into the overly bright day light, burning her eyes. She was continually dragged forward even though she was blinded by the sun. She couldn't see but she could tell she was being lead off a boat somewhere. It took a couple more minutes for her eyes to adjust. When they did she found herself walking into Outcast Island. Into the mountain it self! They carved out caves and tunnels in the rocky island for their shelter. Smart, as the whole island was just sharp rocks.

Astrid was led in circles going one way then another, deeper and deeper into the mountain. She tried to keep track of the path but she didn't last long. There were so many turns and hallways, she's pretty sure they doubled back a couple times. Finally, after walking for what felt like an hour, Alvin dragged her down a short, dark tunnel lined with torches on one side. The other side had four cells, separated by stone walls with iron bars for doors.

"Here you are!" Alvin pushed her in the second to last cell and shut the door, locking her in.

"I hope you find the accommodations to your liking." Alvin jeered. "If not, I'm sure someone will be around to tend to your needs. Now if you'll excuse me, I must meet a man about a ransom." Alvin walked away laughing, leaving Astrid alone.

It took Astrid half the day to untie her hands, making her wrists raw and red. Outcast Island is a two or three day boat ride from Berk, depending on the weather; meaning Berk should already know she's gone. Alvin probably left a ransom note when he took her. Astrid tried to think up a plan of escape, she didn't think it would be too hard to break down the cell door. The problem was what to do after. She could spend days walking around the mountain trying to find an exit. Maybe she'd get lucky and run into someone and she could beat the information out of them? It was all too risky. She would also need to steal a boat to get off the island. The more she though about it the worse it look. No wonder no one bothered to patrol, every plan had about fifteen different flaws that could get her killed.

No one came by that day, or that night. She was left alone for hours. It was difficult to tell how much time passed. There were no windows, no light other than the torches. Astrid estimated she had been in the cell for a full day and she was very anxious. Astrid didn't sleep and was starting to feel like a caged animal and she was about to snap! She was getting her self riled up to break out and just play it by ear. The most unsafe plan and least likely to work, but she had to try. She wasn't going to sit around! Maybe she'd get lucky and find a weapon or two. Who knows? Not her.

She was just about to start kicking the bars when she heard a commotion. It sounded like a drunken viking stamped. Cheering got louder and she realized they were coming towards her. She quickly pulled back into a corner and curled into a ball. She may be tough but nothing about this situation seemed good. The noise grew louder as the party came right up to her cage, but then they stopped right before her cell. They jeered as they opened the cell next to her and threw someone in. She couldn't see who, as she was trying to stay out of their sight, but she did hear him hit the floor pretty hard.

Astrid heard chains clinking and snapping shut, she assumes they chained him to the wall. The group cheered again as they locked the door talking about how Alvin would be pleased and so excited to see who they caught. The Outcast stomped off again, no doubt going to celebrate their latest catch. They didn't seem to remember she was there. This could work in her favor. The two of them could work together to get out of here. They could help each other escape and if need be she can leave this person behind to save herself! A little cowardice, but she had no clue why he was capture. Just because the Outcasts hate him doesn't automatically make him a good guy.

Astrid heard the new guy fumbling around in the cell, most likely testing the strength of the shackles. She crept forwards towards the bars, trying to peek over, but she couldn't even see the bars for his cell.

"Geeze!" A nasally voice called out, sounding muffled. "Who just leaves a sack over someone's head? Doesn't anyone on this island have manners."

Astrid couldn't help the small laugh that escaped her. He seemed so nonchalant about being held captive. Strangely, his attitude calmed her anxiety a little.

"Ahh… Hello? Is there someone else locked up here?" Clearly this guy had thought he was alone.

"Hey! I got captured from my tribe a few days ago. What are you in for?" Astrid didn't want to tell him she's the Heir to the Hooligan tribe. May cause more trouble than it's worth down the road. She'll go with the standard 'my family's rich' line if he asks.

"Oh, you know, just your standard Outcast enemy. Me and Alvin go way back. I annoy the hel out of him but he can't kill me because I have information he wants." The voice replied in a good-natured tone.

"So, you're an old enemy of Alvin's? Have you been locked up here before?" Astrid replied coolly. If he knows a way out they could work together! It would make stealing and sailing a boat so much easier.

"Oh yeah, hundreds of time! I get attacked by Alvin every month or so, but I always manage to sneak out. He hates that!"

"They got me with Poison Dart venom. Damned cowards couldn't even face me head on." She needed him to know she's tough. That she'd be an asset in escaping.

"Yeah, the Outcasts are good at surprise attacks. They got me while I was on my way to meet some friends, they said it was an emergency. I was so worried about them I didn't notice one of their ships till it was too late." He sighed.

Astrid was tired of playing around, she wanted to get right to the point. "Look, I'm pretty sure I can get out of this cell. You seem to know your way around and with the two of us we could steal a boat and get out of here. What do you say?"

He was silent for a moment.

"How do you plan on getting out of the cells? They're sturdier than they look."

"Are you saying you don't think I can knock these down?" She asked angrily. She hated when people looked down on her for whatever the reason.

"Like I said they're sturdier than they look…" Another moment of silence. Astrid was about to start kicking the door down to prove her point.

"Which cell are you in?" The stranger asked.

"What?" Astrid asked rather rudely.

"Were in the hall with only four cells, right? Which one did they throw you in?"

"The second to last one."

"Okay! If you can get me out of this cage I'll get you off this island. Deal?"

"So, you believe that I can knock the door down, but only because I'm in the second to last cell?"

"Oh, no. You can't knock these down. These are the same metal they use to hold dragons." Astrid growled a bit in defeat. "But I have something you can use to pop the hinge off. So, do we have a deal?"

"Deal." Astrid agreed. "So what's this tool?"

The stranger directed her to the back corner. He said there was a loose brick there and if she got it out there would be a tool she could use to undo the cell hinges. It took her a minute to find the right brick. When she did there was in fact a strange looking tool underneath it. The stranger told her how to use the tool in order to slide the pin out. It took less than a minute for the door to come off. It stayed up right since the other side was still locked, meaning no one would hear them escape. Astrid snuck out and went to undo the next cell.

As she undid the hinges she studied the man in the cell. He did indeed have a sack over his head. He sat on the floor with his arms shackled above his head. He was skinny, wearing a normal red shirt, but his pants had a lot of leather straps wrapped around each leg. Where his left foot should be was a metal prosthetic. Most prosthetics she'd seen were just wooden pegs, they only other prosthetic she'd seen like that was Gobber's detachable hand. But this thing looked like it had some tricks hidden in it.

Astrid got the last pin out and the door creaked open. She walking into the cell to undo his hands.

"Cool leg." She said, as she kneeled down to unlock his cuffs, the tool being just as useful for picking a lock.

"Thanks! Made it myself!" He said happily. "Couldn't have just any old peg leg."

"Reminds me of the Blacksmith on my Island. He has several different hand prosthetics."

"Wait. You don't mean Gobber, do you?" Astrid freezed for a moment. This guy knew Gobber?

"From Berk?" He continued when she didn't answer. "You're from Berk?"

"Yeah."

"What did you say your name was?"

"I didn't." Astrid finished undoing his cuffs and stepped back as he brought his hands down. "I'm…"

She didn't finish. The guy pulled the hood off to revile a familiar, and rather handsome, face. Luckily she didn't need to finish her sentence. He took one look and knew her immediately.

"Astrid?" He asked, with a crooked little smile on his freckled face. She could only nod back, to busy trying to place how she knew him.

"Wow! It's really you!" He stood up, surprising her with how tall he was. Really, he was only a head taller than her but for some reason that seemed wrong.

"Ah, hey! Hi Astrid! Hello Astrid! Been a while huh?" The babbling. That's what stuck a cord with her. Astrid looked into his eyes. They were the same bright green they had been when he was a kid. An impossible shade of green she hadn't seen in years.

"Hiccup?"