Hello everyone! I'm back with my next multi-chapter story, Into The Fire. I've thought about this What-if fanfic for a long time. I think that the writers missed a huge opportunity not letting Hiccup be captured at the end of this episode, so...

I decided to take that opportunity. Hope you enjoy this What-If scenario!

(Consider follow/fav/leaving a review :)


Chapter 1: Escape

Dagur swung his sword, deflecting a sailing arrow. He made it to the brush. He whacked the bushes and stray branches to cut a clear path. If he kept straight, he could make it to the shore. The hunters must have come here by ship. He could take it, be free at last-

"You're a fake, Dagur! A fake!" rang a yell from behind him, laced with the venom and hatred of someone betrayed. "I hate you! You hear me?! I HATE YOU!"

Hiccup's distant words cut through Dagur's mind. He found his feet skidding to a stop. He looked over his shoulder, panting, and his expression fell.

What was he doing? Abandoning Hiccup and his dragon to those Hunter scum? He groaned, shaking his head to clear it. No, he would not fall back to that nasty habit of self-preservation. Not again.

He bolted right, straight towards the waterfall. If he was going to take out those Hunters and get Hiccup out alive, the only chance was with a dragon. Hiccup's dragon. Dagur doubled his pace, kicking up dirt with his boots. He made it to the jagged wall to the left of the falls. His eyes followed the long vines trailing down from the side of the cliff that he had twisted into a makeshift ladder. Sheathing the sword in his belt, he began clambering up it as fast as he could. He just hoped that the Night Fury had recovered. If not, Hiccup was in deep, deep trouble.

He climbed up and up, one hand over the other, slowly but surely making his way up the ladder. He was almost there when he felt the vines give way. Next thing he knew, the vines snapped and he was sent swinging to the left. He yelled in terror as his right hand lost its grip and he nearly was flung into the forest below. Luckily, he was able to hold on with both hands the remaining vines. He panted, looking down at the ground which now was a considerable distance from him. There was an audible snapping sound just above Dagur that told him he was still not out of danger. Above him the vines were splitting.

"Oh, great, perfect," he groaned, his eyes darting left and right, searching for a solution. There had to be one. Then, his eyes fell on the sword tucked into his belt.

SNAP! The vine broke and fell.

Luckily, Dagur had managed to unsheathe his sword and bury its blade into the crags of the cliff just in time. He dangled precariously over the river, both hands clutching to the hilt of the sword which now was his lifeline. With a grunt of effort, he swung to the left and reached for a protruding stone in the face of a cliff, found secure footing, and began climbing. He scaled up the cliff, using the sword as an ice-axe, while his arms quivered and ached in protest.

"Come on, work for me here!" he grunted, hoping to Valhalla he would not lose his grip.

He tried to quicken his pace, but it was not easy. Rockclimbing required caution, something he did not exactly have time for. He clambered up the face of the rock, hand following sword, sword following hand, at as urgent a pace he could muster. He slipped four or five times and nearly fell, but eventually, he reached for the edge of the cliff and pulled himself up, panting and gasping from exhaustion.

"Whoo! Let's hope we never have to do that again."

Dagur darted into the cave to find Toothless still lying in the exact same spot that he had been since the antidote, lying with his eyes tightened closed.

Dagur rushed over and crouched down to examine him. He was about to place a hand on the dragon's head when one green eye snapped open. In a flash of black, the back of Dagur's head met the rocky floor as the Night Fury pinned him under his paws. He growled ferociously, his teeth barred.

Dagur chuckled nervously. "Easy, bud, I'm not here to-"

Toothless silenced him with a growl, leaning into his face.

"Okay, okay!" squeaked Dagur, twisting away in fear (and slight disgust at the dragon breath). "I know that you still don't trust me, and that you think I've hurt Hiccup, and that stuff was nasty. All valid, but I promise you- I'm not here to hurt you or Hiccup. In fact, the reason I'm here is for him."

Toothless pulled back, grunting in confusion. Dagur exhaled sharply in relief.

"Hiccup's in trouble. The hunters ambushed us in the woods, and they have him. It wasn't my fault-!" Dagur added abruptly when Toothless began snarling again. "But he needs your help, right now."

Toothless' expression softened, and he pulled his paws off of Dagur's chest.

"So…" Dagur said. "What do you say we work together?"

For a moment, the Night Fury made no noise. He just stared at Dagur with his large, green eyes. Then, turning to the side, he lowered his right wing and nodded to the saddle on his back.

Dagur smirked determinedly. With a mischievous giggle, Dagur stood up and hopped into the saddle.

"Isn't this great?" Dagur slid his feet into the pedals, though he had a bit of difficulty with the left. He clicked open the tail after a few tries, and he sighed with a satisfied smile. "The two of us, fighting alongside each other to save our beloved-Whoa!"

Without warning, the Night Fury bounded forward, galloping towards the entrance. Dagur clung to the handles, watching as the waterfall grew nearer. The Night Fury spread his wings, got ready, and leaped through the opening and-

WHOOSH! They soared through the waterfall. Dagur sputtered, wiping the water from his eyes.

"Okay, maybe a little warning next time? Hey!"

Dagur shielded his eyes as Toothless shook his head vigorously, spraying water droplets in the Berserker's direction. The Night Fury bellowed a draconic laugh.

"Yeah, thanks, man," Dagur muttered. He cleared his throat. "Now, if I'm guessing correctly, the Hunters are taking Hiccup to their ship. So, we head towards-"

A scream tore from Dagur's throat as Toothless lurched forward and zoomed off east towards the beach. Dagur ducked down, the force of wind pushing at him with the strength of a thousand men.

Dagur's back tensed, his feet shifted in the stirrups to find a better position. He thought he perceived a faint click from behind him, but he hardly registered it before Toothless roared in panic. The Night Fury came to a screeching halt. The next thing Dagur knew, they both dipped right and shot down, down, down in a plummet. They fell faster and faster.

Toothless shrieked, flapping his wings hard, which only sent them into an uncontrollable spiral. Dagur gripped fast to the saddle, yelling in terror.

"Come on, Toothless! You gotta pull back up!"

The sea of green was approaching, the foliage swam into sight. Dagur's mind fired at lightning speed. He had to stop their fall, or they were dead. Then, Dagur's eyes caught sight of the Night Fury's prosthetic tail. It was shut like a drawn sail.

Thinking quickly, Dagur shifted the left pedal back. Click! The tail opened. Toothless screeched, unfolding his wings, slowing their fall. Dagur pulled in the reins in effort. With a jerk, the Night Fury and the Berserker halted just a hair before the treeline. Dagur's head whiplashed forward, his body going flat against Toothless' back.

Dagur retched, biting back a wave of nausea. "Well, that was close."

Toothless growled incredulously.

"Okay, I'm sorry. Not as good a flyer as Hiccup." Dagur sat up and searched for the beach. He spotted the faintest patch of golden-brown touching the wide, wide blue. "Gotcha! Thataway!"

Toothless wasted no time and shot off like a bolt. Dagur yelped in surprise and gripped the reins. He kept his feet straight; he preferred to avoid another near death experience. They sliced through the air at lightning speed like an arrow from a bowstring. Dagur's stomach lurched, his ears popped painfully; he had no idea how the riders, how Hiccup, did this every day.

The forest greenery washed away to gold. The beach swam into focus. They were getting closer, closer, closer…

Dagur and Toothless lurched to a halt. The Berserker's head whiplashed forward with a crack.

"Ow!"

When Dagur looked up, he found the beach completely still. No ship in sight.

"Wait. No." Dagur did a quick scan of the area. The ship had to be around there somewhere. "We can't have just missed them."

The Night Fury gave a sudden screech. Dagur looked at the dragon who seemed to be nodding his head at something in the distance. Fixing his eye on the horizon, Dagur could glimpse a miniscule silhouette. The Dragon Hunter ship. They had missed.

Toothless made a lurch forward with an angry snarl, but Dagur pulled the saddle reins back, stopping him. Toothless glared up at him in furious incredulity.

Dagur flung his arms out. "Look, we can't just rush in! Ya wanna be shot again?"

Toothless growled in response, nodding again to the ship.

"Hey, boy, I know, I know. We'll go after Hiccup." Dagur reached his hand slowly forward in an attempt to touch the Night Fury's head. At first, the dark creature shrunk away, but after the Berserker persisted, he acquiesced with a mournful croon.

Dagur sighed, stroking Toothless' head. He glanced up at the horizon. They needed a plan.

But what?

. . .

The hazy, black curtain gradually melted away, and Hiccup's eyes fluttered open. He breathed in slowly, his mind wonderfully and mysteriously sluggish. He stared at the wooden wall before him with neutral eyes. He blinked twice, slowly becoming aware that he was lying on a rough wooden floor and the back of his skull pounded painfully. His face contorted into a pained expression as his fingers gingerly went to the back of his head where he felt a slight swelling. He looked right and left in a blurry state of confusion.

What was going on? Did he pass out here? Where was here?

With a groggy grunt, he sat up and was met with an unfamiliar sight which shocked him awake.

Oxidized-green bars. A cell door.

Impulsively, Hiccup ran forward to fall and trip at some invisible force that pulled him back at the wrists. After recovering from the fall, he inspected his wrists to find two thick shackles secured around them which were tethered to stake in the floor.

"What-" he murmured slowly, and in a snap, his mind began connecting the dots.

Everything that happened that morning, that day, all the memories seemed to flash before his eyes.

"Toothless."

He rushed to the bars again, but the chains clanked and pulled him back in cruel reprimand. He struggled and strained against their unforgiving grip, yet the cage bars remained just out of his reach. He panted and jerked, but all he received for his efforts was the cold, rough metal scraping against his bare wrists, rubbing them raw.

No, Hiccup panicked internally. No, please, no, this can't be happening.

He hoped to Valhalla that this was just a dream, a nightmare, because then he could wake up. He could escape.

But he knew that was not the case. This was no dream. It was not a nightmare. Not this time. This was actually happening.

He was trapped with no way out.

And it was his own fault.

Hiccup's breaths quickened to erratic gasps as the realization and terror sunk in. Helpless and hopeless, he screamed.