Hey, y'all. After a long absence, I'm back. I needed to pause This is Berk? It was draining me trying to force myself to continue it when I'm just not feeling it right now. I haven't written anything for far too long as a result and it's making the block worse, so I'm not abandoning it, but I am giving myself a needed break.

It's kind of crazy to me that story is giving me such a hard time, honestly. It isn't that complicated, and it's not like it's the first original strory I've ever written, though it will be my first original fanfiction. Which is honestly crazy, since I always thought Children of Fear would be the first.

In any case (after what? A year?), let's finally get into season 2.


PART 2―Dragon Hunters


The A Team:

Flying over Dragons' Edge Hiccup and Aric were on patrol duty. So far everything seemed good, but Hiccup was also not entirely focused. At the back of her mind was something that'd been bothering her for a while, coming back every now and then. But now that they were alone, maybe she could finally voice it. It was that dream again; it'd been weeks since the incident with the Pink Oleander, a little over a month actually, but she couldn't get it out of her head.

I love you.

I love you too.

It might have been a dream, but dreams meant something, didn't they? It had been over three years since they'd last really talked about their feelings for each other, and their bond had only grown stronger. So then, why hadn't he asked to make it official? If she could just talk to him about it…

"Um, Aric―"

"Hiccup, why aren't the Night Terrors at their posts?"

But then, it was never the right time.

"What?" Hiccup exclaimed, turning in shock to see their Night Terror sentries not where they were supposed to be. There was only one explanation. "Tuffunt!"

Flying back to base, they found the other riders, Ruffnut and Tuffnut included, at the detracted dome. And just as Hiccup thought, there were the Night Terrors.

"Yeah, right over there. Perfect, perfect, that's it", Ruffnut was saying as she held a stick and a Night Terror was lunging for it.

Hiccup and Aric landed Toothless and Shadowstar behind them.

"What are you two doing?" Hiccup asked matter-of-factly as she and Aric dismounted.

"What does it look like we're doing? Dragon training?" Ruffnut answered as if obvious.

"You would think that you, of all people, would recognize that", Tuffnut said next. "Prepare to be amazed, my friend."

The Night Terror they'd been 'training' turned to him.

"Shake!"

The Night Terror fell on his back and wiggled around in response. As Tuffnut laughed, Hiccup could only look at the display with confusion and Aric was anything but amused.

"Get it?" Tuffnut asked. "See, you thought it'd be a handshake, he'd put out his little paw, but I taught him―"

"Oh, no no, we understand", Hiccup interrupted. "I'm just not sure how useful a skill that is."

"Well that's not all he does. You wanna see him get my slippers?"

Now it was Hiccup's turn to be upset. He was treating this Night Terror like a dog.

"These dragons are not our pets, Tuffnut", Aric read her mind. "They're an integral part of our security system, a job to do that you're keeping them from and putting us all at risk."

"He can solve math problems by stomping his foot, and as long as the answer is always three", Tuffnut went on anyway.

"He's right, Tuffnut. And besides, you have a pet already", Hiccup pointed out, gesturing to Chicken pecking at the ground.

"Eh", Tuff shrugged.

"Dagur could park a whole fleet right offshore", Aric said sternly, all but yelling, "and we wouldn't even know they were there, because the Night Terrors aren't on their perches."

"Lighten up, Aric", Snotlout butt in, he and Fishlegs having been watching the twins goof off when Hiccup and Aric got there. "Dagur doesn't even know where Dragons' Edge is."

"Not yet", Aric stepped up to the Jorgenson. "But if you guys don't take this seriously, then he will soon enough."

"I say bring it on!" Snotlout exclaimed. "Let him bring that weak sauce in here! Hookfang and I will pummel his deranged butt."

"Hiccup!" Astrid's voice called. They all turned to see her running up with a Terror Mail. "Hiccup, it's Berk. And it's not good."

They set out immediately, and with just the island in sight Hiccup could see the destruction, flashes of the dragon raids coming to mind. Her father flew above the village on Skullcrusher, meeting them in the sky.

"Hiccup, I'm glad you're here", he said.

"Who did this?! Dagur?!" Hiccup nearly growled.

Her father didn't answer, but that was answer enough. "It was a hit-and-run attack", he said instead. "Catapults, volleys of fire arrows, hit a few buildings in town. Astrid, Aric, one of them was your parents' house. You should probably head over to―"

The two were already diving towards the village.

"Come on, bud", Hiccup said, and Toothless began to dive after them.

"Hiccup", her father called then, stopping them. "Best not, hun."

000

They saw the destruction before landing, but seeing it up close made it all the more devastating. Their house was gone, nothing but burnt logs and splinters. Astrid and Aric both stood in shock, and there was a horrible sense of fear between them, until they saw their parents.

" "Mom! Dad!" " they both shouted, running at them. They barreled into each other, and their parents laughed.

"We're okay", their mother soothed. "Weren't even home when it happened", she pulled from the hug.

"Last time you complain about going to the yak races, huh", their father teased, as if their house wasn't in complete shambles.

"Nice try", their mother teased back. "But it was lucky."

"Very lucky", Aric blurt out. "If you'd been home…"

"But we weren't, son", their father assured, putting a hand to his shoulder. "We're safe, and we're together."

"That's all that matters", their mother said. Astrid smiled, just happy their parents were okay, tears in her eyes as she went in for another hug with them, but something in Aric wasn't okay. He still felt scared, but more than that he felt…responsible.

000

"Alright, now that the fires are out", Stoick said, a group before him in town square. "Sven, you start the wall repairs. Bucket, you're in charge of roofs", he told them, and they fanned out.

"Snotlout, Ruff, Tuff", he then heard Hiccup, "You ferry whatever supplies they need. Fishlegs, you and Meatlug do the heavy lifting. I'll go looking for Dagur", she finished, and pride filled Stoick's heart at the sight.

"It was a strange attack", he told her as her friends fanned out with their instructions. "A single ship. It fired a few salvos, and then just turned tail and ran."

"That's not Dagur's style. Why attack at all?" she asked.

"Good question."

"I'll tell you what", she mounted up. "I'll ask him when I find him."

"He was heading due north. That's your best bet."

"Let's go, bud", Hiccup said, and the two shot up.

000

All day Hiccup and Toothless searched and nothing, not even a trace. It was getting to be dark and Toothless was getting tired, so Hiccup figured it was best they head back to see how things were going. She also wanted to see how Astrid and Aric were doing. She hadn't seen them since they raced off that morning, and she was a little worried.

Landing in the academy, Hiccup sighed with a bit of exhaustion. The others were there too, but she didn't see Astrid or Aric. She hoped they were okay. Then she noticed Meatlug, each one of her paws in an individual bucket.

"Uh…is Meatlug okay?" Hiccup asked.

"'Course. She'll be fine", Fishlegs assured. "But all that taking off and landing is really tough on her insoles."

"Oh, o-okay. Hope you feel better, Meatlug."

"Thank you, Hiccup", Meatlug barked cheerfully, marching her paws up and down the water filled buckets.

"Well, I couldn't find any sign of Dagur", Hiccup announced. "But, he did have almost a full day's head start on me. How'd you two do on the repairs?" she turned to the twins.

"Awesome. We fixed so many houses", Tuffnut said.

"Yeah, but everyone was so grateful. They just gave us all this food", Ruffnut said, gesturing to a table filled with different foods.

"They also gave us this furniture", Tuff followed, various chairs, pots, and more tables littering the space too.

"Hiccup!" Sven burst in. "It's a terrible tragedy! Someone's been looting the burned houses, taking food, furniture, anything valuable they can get their hands on!"

And suddenly, it made sense. Upon turning back to the twins with an accusing gaze, Ruffnut spoke out.

"That's horrible!" she shouted, hiding a gold necklace behind her back. "What kind of world do we live in?"

"Don't worry, Sven", Hiccup assured him. "I'm pretty sure it'll reappear. Very quickly", she punctuated for the twins.

A squawk alerted to Astrid and Aric's arrival, the sound coming from Stormfly, and Hiccup turned to see them land.

"Oh good, you're back", she came up to them. "How's your family? Everything okay?"

"They're fine", Astrid said. "Our house, though, the house we grew up in…is gone."

Aric stood silent.

"Hey, Astrid, do you need a shoulder to cry on?" Snotlout stepped in, placing his arm around her shoulders. Astrid turned with a sharp glare on him, then took said arm, spun with Snotlout practically flying in a circle until he was good and dizzy, and flung him into one of the academy's walls. He ended up landing upside down, back to the wall.

"Pain", Snotlout squeaked, before Astrid walked up to offer a hand.

"Thanks, Snotlout. I really needed that."

"Your welcome", Snotlout stood, voice strained and a hand to his pained shoulder. "I know my role."

Hiccup turned to Aric, having not said anything since he and Astrid joined them. "Aric, are you okay?" she asked carefully.

"Huh? Uh, yeah, sorry. Just…tired I guess", he said, though he seemed out of it, like his mind had been somewhere else and Hiccup had suddenly pulled him away from it.

"He went around the village helping people all day. I'm surprised he's still standing", Astrid said to her silently. "To be honest, it's a little worrying."

"I'm…sure it's just his way of coping with what happened; he'll be fine", Hiccup assured, though it was a little shaky. She'd never seen Aric so out of sorts before.

Still, she turned her attention to all the Riders. "Listen up! Dagur was last seen fleeing due north. By my calculations, he could be heading out of the archipelago. So, we're going back to Dragons' Edge first thing tomorrow. We'll use that as our base to search for him. Now, just go back to your houses, get a good night's sleep." That's when Hiccup realized. "Wait, where are you guys sleeping tonight?"

"Oh, we just figured we'd bed down here for the night", Astrid said, sounding far more nonchalant to the situation than Hiccup thought she would. Maybe it was from how her brother seemed to be taking all this, still barely having spoken a word. Astrid was right in that it was worrying, but the last thing any of the siblings needed was said worry or pity. As such, Hiccup decided on hiding any trace of it. She merely smiled and chose sly support instead.

"Oh, ah-ha, what a coincidence. I'm staying here too", she told them. Toothless looked at her oddly for a moment, which was quickly followed by Astrid giving her the same reaction.

"But you have a house and a bed", she said with an obvious tone.

"Yeah, but the way my dad snores, sawing logs. Toothless and I wouldn't get a wink."

"Liar", Toothless cuffed. Hiccup gave him a side-eye, before signaling Fishlegs to help her out.

"Y-yeah", he chimed in. "Meatlug and I were gonna stay here too. Just for old time's sake."

"We were?" Meatlug asked, though she didn't seem to be complaining.

"Ah-ah-ah, nobody is having a sleepover", Snotlout joined in.

"Exactly", Hookfang huffed.

"Without Hookfang and me", he finished, throwing down a bedroll.

"What?"

Hiccup smiled, hoping the promise of company would lift both siblings' spirits, but while it seemed to for Astrid, a light smile on her face, Aric seemed to be somewhere else. Hiccup frowned at it, but decided not to address it. Not at the moment, anyway.

Starting a small campfire, the riders set down in a circle much like their first night on the Edge, their dragons at their backs.

"Thanks, guys", Astrid said. "This is…kind of nice."

Hiccup smiled in response. Then her gaze traveled to Aric, the young man sitting beside his sister with his knees up to his chest, arms crossed over them. Hiccup scoot over closer until she was in touching distance of him.

"Hey", she said quietly.

Aric's eyes flitted over to her. "Hey."

"Are…you alright?"

Aric merely shrugged. "I guess I'm still in shock. So many people were almost hurt, my parents were almost hurt, and we weren't here."

"I know. But don't worry. Tomorrow, we're going to do everything we can to find Dagur and put him back in prison where he belongs", Hiccup said, before placing a hand to his shoulder. "I promise."

Aric gave her a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes, but the action eased Hiccup a bit. She moved back to Toothless, nodded a goodnight, and curled up with her brother.

000

The fire had died down, nearly out, and Aric hadn't as much laid down to sleep. Everyone else was out cold, even his dragon, off in unknown dreams, but he was wide awake. Somehow Hiccup wound up on top of Toothless, her dragon sleeping on his side as she hung over him like a small sack of potatoes. Aric almost laughed at the sight, but not even that seemed to cheer him up. His sister was peaceful at her dragon's side; it was as if nothing ever happened. How was it she could sleep soundly, yet he couldn't? Why couldn't he stop thinking, couldn't stop feeling, his mind and body simply refusing to rest? At last, Aric threw his blanket off himself and stood on his feet, taking his axe with him.

He walked through the quiet village, passing by all the houses of the people he'd helped. They'd all been so grateful, but wasn't it partly his fault they'd needed the help at all? Before he left with the Riders, it would have been his job to protect them. Even as a Rider, it'd been his job in a way.

He wished this guilt would go away, but it didn't seem like it'd be letting up anytime soon. He couldn't understand why. It wasn't like there was anything he could do, but maybe that was just it.

"Can't sleep, eh?" a soft voice like Stoick's spoke, catching Aric off guard.

He blinked for a second, turning to confirm who he thought it was, before answering.

"Not a wink", he sighed, not even questioning why the Chief was out.

"Can't stop thinking about what you might have done to prevent the attack", Stoick asked, though it sounded more like a statement.

He didn't answer.

Stoick caught his shoulder, stopping Aric in his stroll and turning him to face the man. "There's nothing you could have done", he told him. "You know that."

"I know that up here", Aric pointed to his head. "But, in my gut…"

"You still blame yourself", Stoick finished for him. "Aye, I know the feeling. We're warriors, you and I. Sworn to protect."

"How…do I make this feeling go away?"

"You don't. You can't. So, you own it. You remember it. And you do everything you can to make sure you never feel it again."

Aric sighed. Out of anyone, Stoick seemed to understand what he was going through. Without even telling him, he understood, as if he'd been through it himself more than a few times. Still, the Chief's answer didn't do much to help. How could he make sure he'd never feel like this again?

"Come on", Stoick then offered, resting a hand to his back, "I'll check the docks with you."

000

When Astrid woke, Aric was already awake. That wouldn't have been concerning, except he was in the same position he'd been in last night when she went to sleep and was leaning his head against crossed arms over his knees as if he were tired. After packing up her bedroll and securing it onto one of Stormfly's saddle bags, Astrid stepped up to her brother and knelt down beside him.

"Hey, you get any sleep last night?" she asked, trying not to sound accusatory. She knew her brother was having a hard time.

"Eh, spent most of the night thinking actually", he answered.

"I thought as much." Astrid moved to sit. "Want to talk about it? You were kind of out of it yesterday."

000

"So, we slept on the ground for Aric?" Tuffnut asked as Fishlegs packed up his things.

"And Astrid", Fishlegs said. "You know, in a show of support?"

"Wow. I completely missed that!" Tuffnut exclaimed.

"Ow, my back", Snotlout groaned and stretched, until Hookfang slapped him with his tail, flinging Snotlout across the arena and into the wall before rolling back up to his feet. "Huh. Thanks, Hookfang."

"Hey", Hiccup walked up to where Astrid and Aric were sitting. "Get any sleep?" she asked softly.

"Aric was actually just telling me about that", Astrid said.

"I spent the night thinking and, talking with your father", Aric told her.

"Oh. Well, we'll be wings up in an hour. Want any help with your gear?" Hiccup knelt down.

"Hiccup", Aric shook his head, "I've made a decision. I'm not going back to Dragons' Edge. I'm staying here, on Berk."

"Whoa! Wait, what?!" Astrid exclaimed and stood in shock. Hiccup stood as well. "Since when are you staying here?! When did you decide this?!"

"Last night", Aric stood with them. "When I was talking to Stoick."

"Wait, my dad told you to stay here?" Hiccup questioned.

"We're warriors, Hiccup", Stoick came up behind her, Hiccup turning to see him enter the academy. "We live by a code."

"I'm not leaving Berk defenseless again. I can't", Aric followed.

"Aric, one dragon wouldn't have made a difference", Hiccup said. She understood his reasons, the guilt he likely felt, but this was hardly the answer.

Astrid didn't appear to have the same sympathy. "Say it louder. I don't think he heard you", she said, her arms crossed.

"I know it wouldn't have", Aric pressed, shooting a quick glare to his sister. "Hiccup, I'm gonna stay and train new riders."

"What?"

"What?" Astrid asked more skeptically.

"An auxiliary", Aric's eyes lit up. "A backup team just for situations like this."

"That's…actually a pretty good idea", Hiccup began to warm.

"You can't be serious", Astrid still argued. Hiccup merely shrugged. It wasn't a bad idea.

"Okay. So when do we start?" Astrid asked, though still not sounding completely on board.

"Excuse me", Snotlout strolled up with Hookfang, "but I couldn't help overhearing your conversation. Probably because I was eavesdropping", he added quickly. "If you need instructors for this new dragon-training deal, I'm your man. A Snotlout trained rider will be able to anticipate his dragon's every move. It's like chess, except I don't know how to play chess."

Hookfang swiped his tail, Snotlout ducking in time. "See what I mea―" Hookfang swiped again, and Snotlout wasn't as lucky, flung across the arena again. "Checkmate", he groaned.

"Sorry, but I'll be doing all the training myself", Aric said. "This is something I need to do", he looked back to the two girls, especially his sister.

Astrid narrowed her eyes, but Hiccup gave a soft smile and nodded.

"Okay, change of plans", Hiccup announced. "Snotlout, twins, Fishlegs, you'll follow Dagur's trail north of the Archipelago. Astrid and I will fly back to the Edge and plan our next move."

"Actually, Hiccup, I think I'm gonna stay behind too", Astrid chimed. "Patrol around Berk in case Dagur double backed."

"Astrid, what part of I'll be doing all the training didn't you understand?" Aric argued.

"What part of patrol didn't you understand?" Astrid shot back.

"Astrid, I'm not gonna argue with you about this."

"Good. Neither am I."

Hiccup frustratingly sighed. "Okay. New change of plans. Snotlout, Fishlegs, and the twins will follow Dagur's trail. Astrid, you and I will stay to patrol around Berk to see if he's still in the area. Fair?"

"But―" Aric, started but Hiccup interrupted.

"Good."

Hiccup stepped away, the meeting dispersed, but Aric still followed after her.

"Hiccup, I don't need you or Astrid hovering over me. I told you, I need to do this."

"I know, but Astrid's clearly worried about you. I know you'd do the same if it were her. I've seen it."

Aric still wasn't convinced; she could see it in the way his brows were furrowed.

"I promise, you won't even know we're here", Hiccup assured him. "You'll be able to do your thing without interference. You have my word", she rested her hand over her heart.

"Alright. I'll trust you on this."

000

Word spread fast through the village of Aric's training. It wasn't long before a sizable group of Vikings of all sorts filed into the academy to have their shot at being a Dragon Rider.

"Nice turnout", Hiccup commented atop Toothless, the riders just outside the arena to see just how many Vikings would be willing to come.

"Yeah, look at them all, fresh-faced and full of dreams", Tuffnut said. "Dreams that are soon to be crushed. Ah, Hiccup, were we ever that young?"

"Hey, Snotlout, isn't that your dad?" Fishlegs questioned, and right there in the academy, standing next to Gustav, was Spitelout Jorgenson.

"What?!" Snotlout exclaimed. "Hiccup, you have to let me stay! I will get to make the rules. I will get to point out every one of his mistakes!"

"Not gonna happen, Snotlout!" Hiccup called.

"Oh, you owe me this! The world owes me this! SNOTLOUT! THIS IS SNOTLOUT'S!"

"Saddle up everybody", Hiccup cut into Snotlout's ravings, Toothless ready to take flight. "Aric's got work to do, and so do we."

The riders took flight, the team splitting up into their respective groups and beginning their tasks as Aric began his first lesson down below.

000

Aric stood before the group of Vikings before him, some fine warriors on land or sea, but hardly any equipped for combat on the back of a dragon. With Shadowstar at his side, he stood tall, strong, and like the warrior he was trained to be.

"So, you all want to be a Dragons Rider, huh? Looks like fun, right?" Aric took an apple from his pocket, throwing it up and down in his hand. "Well, it isn't. It's hard, and it's dangerous." Shadowstar roared and warbled behind him, punctuating each of his statements with her own.

Spitelout laughed. "Oh-ho-ho, dangerous? You came to the right place if you want dangerous."

"Well, that's a relief", Aric replied, before placing the apple he'd been holding atop his head. "Shadowstar, spine", he ordered, short and to the point.

Without fail, Shadowstar shot a single spine, shooting the apple off his head without as much as a scratch to Aric. Spitelout's eyes had gone wide.

"Your turn", Aric held another apple for the man, a smirk on his lips as Spitelout was caught off guard.

"Oh, uh, hold on. I'll need to, eh, stretch first", Spitelout began stretching his shoulders and arms. "Limber up. Don't want to pull a hammy."

Aric rolled his eyes. "Who's next? You? You?" he moved along the line. A few ran off screaming, Aric not all that surprised. "Okay, for those of you that are left, I suppose you'd like to meet your dragons."

"Yeah! Yeah!"

"Can't wait!"

"Bring it on!"

Turning around, Aric gathered up a pile of brooms.

"Meet your dragons", he said, and as expected, smiles fell. "Here ya go", he handed the first to Spitelout.

"Eugh."

"This looks like a Changewing", Aric handed the next to Mulch, "You get a Gronckle", he said to Gothi.

"Hahahaha", Gustav was laughing.

"What are you laughing at?" Aric asked sternly, shutting the kid up. "Hey look, it's a Sweeping Death", he thrust the last broom into his hands.

"Ugh", Gustav sighed and rolled his eyes. Being the most experienced rider of the lot, this was probably going to seem easy and trivial to the kid, but that didn't mean Aric was going to just let him goof off.

They started with practicing flying formations, following Aric in a single file line behind him.

"Flying in formation can save your life", he explained through the exercise. "It can hide your numbers, like the single file formation. It can allow you to cover each other's flank, or―"

CRASH

Out of his peripheral, Aric saw Bucket trip into Mulch, causing a chain reaction until everyone was in a heap on the ground.

"Nice move, Bucket!" Aric exclaimed. "You just got everybody killed!"

"...Sorry everybody", Bucket looked down shamefully.

"Drop, and give me twenty", Aric ordered, and Bucket strugglingly did so.

000

On Snotlout, Fishlegs, and the twins' end, they had been searching for most of the day and hadn't seen any sign of Dagur's ship.

"Well, I give up", Snotlout finally said. "Let's just head to the Edge already. I'm hungry", he whined.

"Agreed", Tuffnut said. "All this focusing wears you out."

"Yeah", Ruffnut agreed.

Three against one, Fishlegs had no choice but to agree. They changed course to fly for the Edge, missing the ship sailing right below them.

000

Dagur tracked the riders' flight with his spyglass, Savage marking it down on his map.

"Well? I'm waiting", Dagur said impatiently.

"Using their direction and our other men's sightings, their base should be in…this general area", Savage pinpointed.

"Oh, Hiccup", Dagur almost pitied. "So, soft-hearted and soft-headed. I knew my little attack on Berk would draw her and her lizard-flying friends out into the open. And you doubted me", Dagur gloated in a sing song voice.

"Uh, I don't recall that I did", Savage corrected, but that only got him a well earned glare from Dagur. "Then again, maybe it was me", he smartly took back. Savage was lucky he was useful, otherwise Dagur would have gotten rid of him a long time ago, the way he questioned him constantly. And Dagur hated being questioned.

That was quickly forgotten, though, with the thought of finding Hiccup's little base. "Hoo-hoo-hoo! The noose tightens", he laughed excitedly. "Assemble the fleet! We'll scour this area until we find Dragons' Edge!"

000

It was a few days now into training, and Aric decided his recruits were ready for their dragons. Sven got a green Monstrous Nightmare, Gothi a purple Gronckle, Mulch and Bucket a blue and yellow Zippleback, Spitelout a red and blue Nadder, and Gustav would of course be riding Fanghook.

"Okay", Aric called attention, mounted on Shadowstar himself. "Repeat after me. 'This is my dragon! There are many like it, but this one is mine!'"

" "This is my dragon. There are many like it, but this one is mine." "

"I can't hear you!"

" "This is my dragon! There are many like it, but this one is mine!" " the recruits spoke louder, Gothi scribbling in the dirt faster.

"I still can't hear you!" Aric singled her out.

" "THIS IS MY DRAGON! THERE ARE MANY LIKE IT, BUT THIS ONE IS MINE!" " everyone screamed, Gothi scribbling frantically.

"Drop and give me twenty", Aric told her.

Gothi dropped her staff with a sour look, and got onto the floor to start the long task.

000

Astrid looked on from above on Stormfly, a frown on her face as she decidedly shook her head at her brother's display. Hiccup and Toothless flew up to her and Stormfly, hovering beside them.

"Are you seeing what he's doing?" Astrid questioned.

Hiccup looked down, seeing Gothi slowly doing push-ups as Aric led the rest in an exercise. "Aric's always been a bit tougher, you know that."

"If you ask me, he's taking it a little too far. Hiccup, it's been days and he's only just given them their dragons. You don't find that odd?"

"Well… I-I mean… Look, even if I did, I promised him he could do this on his own.

Astrid didn't look impressed.

"Come on; we still have some areas to search before we can check on how the others are doing."

"If you say so", Astrid complied, reluctantly leaving sight of her brother's doings, and joining Hiccup in her search for the man who started this.

000

On the Edge, Snotlout was lounging in the sun on Hookfang while the twins played with the Night Terrors.

"Alright, who's ready to get out there and search for Dagur?" Fishlegs said as he came up to the three.

Snotlout and Hookfang snored, both fast asleep.

"Come here", Tuffnut laughed, a Night Terror screeching excitedly in front of him. "Sorry, I am very busy doing research."

"Throw it!" the Night Terror screeched, likely wanting Tuffnut to throw the stick he had in his hand.

"Guys, Aric and Hiccup told you to leave the Night Terrors alone", Fishlegs implored. "And you have a pet already, remember?"

Chicken flapped her feathers at her mention, Tuffnut giving her the side eye.

"I know you're nodding back there", he said. "I can hear your feathers ruffling. You stay out of it!"

Chicken clucked in response.

"They're supposed to be lookouts", Fishlegs crossed his arms.

"Oh yeah? Then how come he's so good at fetching things? Leg!"

The Night Terror lunged and grabbed hold of Fishlegs' leg with his teeth.

"Err", Fishlegs growled, before calling Meatlug, his dragon knocking the Night Terror off with her bludgeon-like tail. "Okay, I guess Meatlug and I will go searching alone. Again."

"See ya!" Tuffnut called, and Fishlegs just stormed off, at least as much as Fishlegs could storm.

000

Before heading out to the Edge, Hiccup decided she wanted to see how Aric's progress was going with the recruits. What Astrid said about the slowness of it the other day did bother her, as much as she wanted to act like everything was fine, but she was sure Aric knew what he was doing.

"Today's exercise is to dive at the target, do a barrel roll to avoid enemy fire, and then hit the target with a blast", Aric instructed, wheeling in a dummy for the recruits to target. Hiccup smiled as he hopped on Shadowstar and demonstrated the somewhat complex maneuver. So far, everything looked perfectly normal. In fact, if they passed this, it wouldn't be long before Aric was done and they could all go back to the Edge. Aric could have peace of mind, Astrid could stop worrying, and they could all get back to trying to find and capture Dagur knowing Berk was safe.

The first to go was Spitelout.

"Die target, die!" he shouted, doing the roll perfectly before shooting. His dragon missed, but for a beginner a really good shot, just grazing the dummy's helmet.

"Fail", Aric nevertheless said.

"Oh, you've got to be joking!" Spitelout shouted back.

Next was Gothi on her Gronckle. The roll was incomplete with the dragon flying upside down, but Gothi held onto her dragon's ears and kicked the dummy down. Great adaptability.

"Yes! Gothi coming in hot!" Hiccup cheered, but Aric disagreed.

"Fail! To be a dragon rider, you actually have to be on the dragon."

Mulch and Bucket went next, Bucket screaming the whole way through, and just like Gothi their dragon ended up upside down, but the two held on better, gripping tight with their legs. The Zippleback shot, hit the target, and then proceeded to circle around the target upside down with Bucket's bucket scraping against the ground.

"Fail", Aric said.

"Oh, come on! You've got to count that!" Hiccup exclaimed. Sure, it wasn't the most graceful of endings, but at least they hit the target and stayed on the dragon.

Sven and his Nightmare did the roll perfectly, but missed the target. Hiccup thought that would be it, but then Sven took out his axe and hit the dummy with that instead. Hiccup was sure Aric would pass him; it wasn't like he'd never used his weapon while riding Shadowstar. But then Aric surprised her.

"Cheating; fail."

"What is he doing?" Hiccup questioned.

"What he's been doing the past week and a half", Astrid appeared beside her, her arms crossed and sounding pretty annoyed. "Just watch what he does to Gustav."

Gustav came next, performing the roll and shot perfectly; a perfect score.

"F― Lucky shot; do it again."

Hiccup didn't miss how he'd started to say 'fail.' Gustav made a roundabout turn and performed the roll again, but when Fanghook took the shot, heading straight for the dummy once again, Aric suddenly kicked and moved the target. The shot missed, and Hiccup's jaw dropped.

"Hey! That's not fair!" Gustav shouted.

"Element of surprise; key to any battle. Now land and give me twenty. The rest of you", Aric went to a cart of brooms, "we need to start over from scratch."

"It's almost like he wants them to fail", Hiccup mulled over.

"I've watched him do this twice already", Astrid said as Aric roughly passed them out to each recruit. "It's always the same. He comes up with some test, finds something to fail them all on, and then starts over."

"And you didn't say anything?" Hiccup's tail swished.

"Would you have believed me?" Astrid questioned, and Hiccup had no answer. She supposed she wouldn't have. In fact, she already hadn't.

Hiccup cursed at herself; she should have done something sooner. She knew something was off, but like a fool she'd done nothing and denied it, playing every red flag off like something normal that would pass. But she supposed in the back of her mind, she'd still always known; that's why she was here with Astrid, wasn't it? Or was it always just Astrid pulling the strings?

"Have you said anything to Aric?" she decided on asking.

Astrid laughed. "Aric barely listens to me on a good day. But…I do know someone he might…" she trailed in a sing-song kind of tone, looking to Hiccup with suggestion.

Hiccup knew she meant her; Astrid wasn't exactly being subtle. And, well, she may have had a point. They were pretty close, and they did have…well, something going on. At least, maybe she could get him to open up? She knew she could always count on him to understand; he had to know he could always count on her too, right?

Once the academy cleared out, only Spitelout left to do another round of twenty push-ups, Toothless nudged her forward and Hiccup decided now was a good time as any. It was either that or let her brother pester her, and she wasn't particularly in the mood for that at the moment.

They went together, finding Aric casually leaning up against the dummy target with his axe, watching Spitelout.

"So, what did he do?" Hiccup asked, trying to start casually.

"He's Snotlout's dad", he answered, placing his axe against the dummy.

"Enough said", Hiccup shrugged. "Can we talk?" she then asked tentatively.

"About what?" Aric looked at her oddly, like he was trying to find some motive behind her question.

"About this?"

Aric's eyes, drifted up to the stands of the arena, and he must have spot Astrid watching them, because his eyes narrowed.

"Oh, really. And was it you who wanted to talk about 'this', or someone sending you to do it for them", he said, seeming to direct it up to where Astrid stood specifically.

Hiccup sidestepped to block his view. "Aric, I know what you're doing."

"And…what am I doing, exactly?"

"Well, you're being overly tough on these guys. I saw what you did to Gustav."

"The element of surprise?" Aric's hands went to his hips. "How is that being overly tough?"

"Aric, there wasn't any reason to do that."

"You don't think I knew he could easily clear that exercise? He needs the challenge if he's ever going to grow."

"And I agree. But…i-it's just… You want them to fail! That way you have an excuse to stay on Berk. You know I'm right."

"No, you're not. I don't know where you got this idea", Aric side eyed Astrid, "but you're wrong."

Hiccup paused for a moment, weighing what she wanted to say next. His need to help everyone after the attack, his odd quietness that evening after, and after just one talk with her dad, deciding he didn't want to go back to the Edge…

"You're not protecting them by doing this", she said.

"You don't know what you're talking about", he turned away from her.

"Look, I get it. You want to stay on Berk and protect your family. You're a Hofferson", Hiccup laughed a bit as she glanced up at Astrid. "It's what you guys do. But, you can't be there every second of everyday for the rest of their lives. And I know your parents wouldn't want that for you either."

Aric didn't say or look at her for a long moment, and Hiccup was afraid he'd push her away, but then he finally said something. "It's not just about them, Hiccup", he said. "It's everyone on Berk. It was my duty to protect them and I left. In a way, I failed them; I won't let that happen again."

"But that's the whole point of your auxiliary team. To be here when you're not", Hiccup pointed out. "Isn't it?"

Aric didn't answer, only glancing back at her. In that glance, Hiccup could see a mix of emotions, but it was too quick to discern what. Hiccup almost wanted to tell Aric of her dreams in that moment, convince him to stay by her side, but that didn't feel right. Instead, Hiccup gave a silent sigh to herself.

"Look, Astrid and I are heading out to Dragons' Edge, check on the others, see if they've spotted Dagur", she told him. "I'll be back in a few days. We can…talk more about it then."

Aric gave a silent but stiff nod, still looking away, but it was good enough for Hiccup. She left unsure of the future, but hoping he'd still be in it.

000

Hiccup and Astrid didn't make it to the Edge until late into the night, and when they arrived, they found themselves in the midst of an attack. Dagur's ships were firing a full frontal assault on the Edge; Hiccup could hear his deranged laugh as Snotlout and Hookfang retreated into the closing dome.

"Dagur's found the Edge", Astrid said in shock.

"This isn't good. Come on", Hiccup prompted, and with Toothless flying low between the ships, they tried to make it onto the island as discretely as possible.

"Fire!" they then heard when the ships were behind them, and whether it was because they saw them or it was just another attack, they had to maneuver around a barrage of boulders and fire-tipped arrows before they could get to the tunnel that led into the dome.

"Hiccup!" Fishlegs exclaimed when they came up from the tunnel and made it inside.

"Is everybody okay?" Hiccup immediately asked, hopping off Toothless and joining the group.

"Meatlug took one to the wing, but I think she'll be okay in a few days", Fishlegs said as Astrid dismounted, moving to check on Meatlug's wing. Deeming it okay for now, she noticed Snotlout had some burns on his arms, and got a salve from a bag resting on a belt on her hip.

"They got the drop on us, Hiccup! Hit us before we even knew they were there!" Snotlout exclaimed with what sounded to be anger as Astrid did so, before she non-too-gently grabbed one of his arms and applied it. "Agh! If our early-warning system hadn't been―!"

"Hey-hey, let's not start throwing the twins under the yak cart", Tuffnut said as he held a Night Terror in his hands. Said Terror was squirming, before finally escaping his hold and flying straight to Hiccup's shoulders for protection. The poor dragon was completely startled, even more-so when another attack hit and shook the ground.

"We have to fight back!" Hiccup exclaimed.

"We tried", Ruffnut countered. "It didn't go so well."

The ground shook again with another attack; they were trying to break through the dome.

"Dagur has us totally pinned down!" Snotlout exclaimed, still sounding angry.

"With a dozen ships", Fishlegs continued more calmly.

"And they have this catapult that can launch like twenty arrows at a time", Tuffnut added.

"That explains the blazing welcome we got", Astrid said.

"Yeah, it's actually pretty cool", Tuffnut continued. "I'm asking for it for Snoggletog. Think Dagur will give it to me?"

"It doesn't matter, okay?" Hiccup countered. "This is our home; we're defending it! Now think. What are our advantages?"

"Well we do have the high ground", Fishlegs offered.

"That's right."

"And good cover", Astrid added.

"And supplies?" Ruffnut more asked.

"And we have these fire-breathing war machines!" Snotlout almost boasted.

"Okay. I'm gonna send a Terror mail to Berk for reinforcements", Hiccup reached into one of Toothless' saddle bags for a piece of parchment and charcoal. "In the meantime, we hold the Edge!"

000

On Berk, Aric still thought about everything Hiccup said, even as his recruits filed in. A part of him still wanted to say Hiccup was wrong, that Astrid had just somehow found a way to butt into his life again, this time getting Hiccup involved just to convince him. And unfortunately, it was working. As much as he wanted to deny everything, another part of him knew he was scared to leave. The whole point of this was to give Berk a defense team of riders who could help defend Berk in their absence…in his absence. And yet, maybe some part of him didn't want to leave. Maybe Hiccup was right, and some part of him really did want his trainees to fail so he wouldn't have to. He wasn't even sure if he could.

His trainees were before him now, their dragons with them. It was time to start another day. Aric's hands rested at his back.

"Not all combat is in the air", he started, before him a fairly sized target he'd painted on the ground. "Today, we're going to practice precision landings."

Just then, Skullcrusher landed perfectly in that target, Stoick riding him.

"Like that", Aric said with a bit of a humorous smirk.

"Aric, we just got a Terrible Terror from Hiccup", Stoick right then informed. "Dragons' Edge is under siege by Dagur's fleet."

"What?" Aric was taken back for a moment. How was it that every time Dagur attacked, he wasn't there to help?! "How many ships?" he decided to ask, but if Hiccup was sending for reinforcements, it must have been bad.

"At least a dozen", the Chief said, and his suspicions were confirmed.

"Ugh, long odds", he said and raced to mount Shadowstar. As he did, his recruits rushed to follow.

"Let me help even them", Spitelout said.

"I'm coming too", Gustav added, followed by Gothi's firm nod.

"Absolutely not", Aric told them sternly. "You are not ready for combat. You will all stay here; that is an order. Let's go", he turned to Stoick, and they took off for the Edge.

000

The riders were holding off Dagur's fleet, but that was about as much they could do without more riders. While Snotlout, Fishlegs, and the twins took care of the men making it onto the island, Astrid and Hiccup took to the ships.

"Now, Toothless!" Hiccup roared, and as the two flew low to the ocean's surface, Toothless shot a well aimed plasma blast at a ship, said ship sinking as they pulled up. One down, too many to go.

"Is that the best you can do, Hiccup?! Because it's not enough!" Dagur yelled up at them, and unfortunately he was right. Where was Aric when she needed him?!

"Focus all your fire on―" Dagur was about to focus his men's fire on Hiccup's precious Nightfury, when one of them called attention.

"Dragons! Approaching from the south, ugh!" Dagur pushed him overboard, taking his spyglass to see for himself. Stoick and that blond Hiccup liked. Of course. "Two late guests", he said. "Clearly, they're not aware of party etiquette. Take 'em down!" At once, his men aimed their arrows at the new riders.

Barreling head first into battle, Stoick had Skullcrusher ram into one of the ships, successfully sinking it. When they rounded for another blow to another ship, a ship from behind caught them by surprise with a net. Skullcrusher was taken down and trapped on the deck, so Stoick decided to do what he knew best.

"Don't worry, boy", Stoick said as Skullcrusher growled at the two Berserkers armed before them. He chuckled as he got out his trusty axe. "This should only take a minute." A Berserker caught his attention from behind, the man giving his position away with his own laughter. "Maybe two", Stoick corrected with a shrug, then charged at the two men in front of him.

Noticing her father fighting 1v3 on one of the Berserker ships with Skullcrusher pinned down, Hiccup shouted in alarm, "Dad!" wanting to veer their course to aid him, but it also cost her focus.

"Hiccup!" Toothless roared, and forced them into a barrel-roll to avoid oncoming projectiles. It was sloppy and caused them to become unstable, but thanks to Toothless and Hiccup's quick reflexes, they were able to make it out and restabilize.

Aric and Shadowstar went ahead of them for Dagur's flag ship, attacking with a quick barrage of spines as they passed over and tried to move out of range from Dagur's assured retaliation, but they weren't fast enough. When Dagur shot his bola canon, one of Shadowstar's back paws got caught. They were being pulled down and reeled in, and Dagur was laughing maniacally. With a furious growl, Aric grabbed his axe.

He jumped from Shadowstar onto Dagur's ship with a battle cry and at long last did what he'd wanted to for so long; give Dagur a piece of his mind. Aric's axe swung down, blocked by Dagur's own. He pulled back, but in a fit of rage swung down at him again. His attacks were sloppy, unfocused, purely fueled by anger at the man in front of him who'd caused nothing but pain since the first day he stepped foot on Berk. Tormenting Hiccup, waging war over some stupid lie, laying waste to Heather, his own sister's, village, nearly killing countless Berkians in some meaningless attack, and now coming after his dragon, Aric was beyond angry. But it was because of that anger that Aric was easily disarmed by a Berserker behind him. In the midst of winding up for another swing at Dagur, the soldier had caught his axe and tossed it away, locking Aric in a hold that kept him trapped and an easy target for Dagur to take his first real shot. Just as Dagur was about to give the first blow, however, Monstrous Nightmare fire cut between them and shot Dagur's axe from his hands, a young battle cry ringing in the air.

"Element of surprise! Key to any battle", Gustav quoted victoriously on Fanghook, before Aric looked up further to find all his recruits flying in to join the battle. He almost couldn't believe it…almost.

"More dragon riders?!" Dagur screamed.

"Yes!" Aric said in confidence, before slamming his head back into the Berserker behind him, throwing the man off kilter for a moment and allowing him the opening to elbow him in the stomach and escape, jumping into Fanghook's claws to be delivered and deposited back onto a freed Shadowstar.

"That's cheating!" Dagur stomped his foot down and raged.

Landing on the ship her father was still fighting, Hiccup and Toothless growled at the Berserker they'd landed in front of, wings flared out, before Toothless bit onto the Berserker's crossbow and easily twisted and threw the man overboard. They turned to the one trying to hold her father in a head lock with his axe, the man's eyes going wide with fear. Stoick used it as the perfect opportunity to easily pull the axe from the man's hands and slam his head back into him, before Hiccup and Toothless shot a plasma blast, successfully knocking him out from the fight.

"Nice shot, hun", he praised.

Hiccup smiled back. "You're good to go, dad." She took off, and Stoick wasn't far behind.

The battle was finally turning around. With the Berserkers on land chased off, and no more making it to shore, Snotlout and the twins were taking battle to the ships now too, adding two more riders to their numbers. Stoick and Spitelout dove together towards a ship, their dragons blasting it in tandem and setting it ablaze. Bucket and Mulch stopped their Zippleback before another ship. There was only one man left onboard, and he aimed a crossbow at them like a cornered dragon.

"Surrender or perish", he threatened in a gravely voice, before Zippleback gas not from Bucket and Mulch's own started enveloping him from behind. By the time he smelled it and noticed, it was too late. The gas ignited and the man was thrown into the ocean with the force.

"Whoa!" Tuffnut said as he and his sister hovered on their Zippleback before them. "It's like looking into a mirror, but you're better looking."

Bucket awed at Tuffnut's words.

"Yeah", Ruffnut drawled in agreement.

000

Dagur watched as his fleet was suddenly being destroyed left and right no matter where he looked. With each dragon that took down a ship, Dagur felt himself going insane.

"AHHHHHHH!" he finally let out, ripping at his hair, before throwing any weapon he laid his eyes on.

"Sir, they're cutting us to pieces!" Savage exclaimed. "We need to withdraw!"

Then Gothi riding a purple Gronckle passed over them, spewing out lava.

"Oh, come on! Her?! Since when does she ride a dragon?!" Dagur shouted.

"SIR!"

"Yes, yes, I know!" Dagur hit his own head, before looking to where Hiccup and her Nightfury flew as Savage called for their retreat. "You're a cheater, Hiccup! YOU'VE ALWAYS BEEN A CHEATER!"

000

Gathering the recruits up on the Edge and into their now detracted dome, the battle over, they formed a line before Aric, all resolute and none at all seeming ashamed or worried for what they'd done and the punishment Aric would give.

Hiccup was a little worried herself. Would Aric fail them all and decide to start over with new riders? Would this be the perfect excuse for him to stay on Berk even longer?

"You all disobeyed a direct order", Aric addressed first. "Whose idea was this little mutiny?"

"It was mine", Gustav confessed, before getting down on the ground in a display of Aric's usual punishment.

"No, it was mine", Spitelout said next, doing the same.

"Mine", Sven went next, followed by Bucket and then Mulch. Before Gothi could finish writing, Aric stopped them.

"Okay, everybody get up", he told them, and they did so. "What you did was dangerous, foolish, and completely not what you were trained to do. But, it was also brave, and you worked together as a team. Despite disobeying orders, today you proved yourself as Dragon Riders, and I truly couldn't be more proud."

"Yes", Gustav went for a high-five with Spitelout.

"You hear that, Bucket?" Mulch awed.

Hiccup smiled at what she was hearing. Could he be…?

"Gustav", Aric addressed, and the boy straightened up at attention, "as the most experienced rider, I'm putting you in charge of the Dragon Riders' Auxiliary."

"Oh, yes! That's me. A-Gustav", he cheered.

"I'll be staying here on Dragons' Edge", Aric continued, and Hiccup couldn't contain the smile from her face. He was. He really was. She looked to Astrid and she had a smile too, one that was calmer, but no less happy. "After all, I can't protect Berk all by myself every second of every day", he looked back to them, a nod to Hiccup's words. "And you guys have proved you're ready to do the job."

"They did handle themselves pretty well. For the B-team", Snotlout said.

"B-team?" Hiccup objected. "No. This is Aric's team. The A-team."

"I like the sound of that", Astrid approved.

The new riders seemed to as well.

"But", Aric interrupted their celebrating. "If I hear you're slacking off one inch, I'll be on you guys like a Gronckle on granite."

"We'll keep the brooms handy", Gustav said. "Mount up, A-team!"

One by one, the A-team took off, and Aric saw them off with a content smile...until Snotlout rested his arm on Aric's shoulder.

"They grow up so fast, don't they?" he said, and Aric's face turned sour. He elbowed him in the gut, leaving Snotlout doubled over, and strolled over to where Hiccup and Astrid stood.

"So, what changed your mind?" Astrid asked.

Aric shook his head. "They did."

000

That night, as Aric and Hiccup patrolled, everything was quiet. The Night Terrors were at their posts, there weren't any sudden explosions to deal with, no suspicious or strange activity to investigate, and nothing to hold Hiccup back from asking Aric the one question she'd been wanting to.

The dream echoed again in her mind, but then, as Aric looked to her with that smile she loved, it faded away. Dream or no dream, whether it meant something or not, as long as Aric was in her future it didn't matter. They knew their feelings for each other, and when the time was right, he would ask. She knew it; she just had to wait.