The Plan

"YOU!" Dagur recognised the pirate immediately and his face twisted into a sadistic expression of triumph. "Arrest that man! He's an escaped slave!"

Hiccup stepped backwards instinctively, finding himself hard against the growling dragon, his arms wrapped protectively around his son and trembling hard. The dragon growled and nudged him as he felt his spine turn to ice. This was what he had feared, the encounter that he wrestled with in his nightmares...especially that horrific vision he had endured that night they had found out they would have to go to Berserk. Every muscle tensed but he sensed that the dragon would protect his son. Cautiously, he put the boy down and pushed him behind him, next to the dragon. Trembling hard, he took a tiny step forward, dropping his hands to his swords.

"No, I am Captain Fury, pirate," he growled. "And I suggest you back up if you ever want to see your sister again!" Dagur's eyes widened in shock and horror before hatred replaced everything.

"I am going to take you and torture you to death," he growled, a heavy sabre clenched in his fist. "And there will be condemned men who will pity you for your suffering because I will take months and years to end you. Hand me my sister and I will make your death merciful." Hiccup drew his swords and raised them, his emerald eyes hard.

"I've tasted your mercy," he said bitterly, shifting his weight and readying himself for battle. "I have scars all over my back from your mercy. I have nightmares from your mercy. And I will never forgive your mercy, Dagur. So if you attack me, if you kill me-and my crew slits your sister's throat!"

"Who'll know when you're taken and screaming and begging me for death?" Dagur snarled. "Or maybe I'll torture the boy. Your son? Maybe his screams will persuade you to be a bit more helpful!" The warmth and light left Hiccup's eyes, replaced by cold fury. His knuckles whitened and he leaned forward.

"Harm him and I will exterminate your entire tribe," he breathed. Dagur laughed, the crazed sound loud in the sudden silence. And then his men charged the pirate.

The first guard didn't even see him move, merely feeling the blade of the sword slide between his ribs. He was still staring stupidly as the the blade that had killed him was tugged back, slicing round and slitting a pair of throats before impaling the man standing behind them. The guard hit the floor as the pirate danced over him, swords carving out and round, stabbing and slashing with fearsome precision and utter abandon. Blood sprayed as the pirate dropped to a knee to avoid a wild slash before impaling the man who tried to cut at him, disembowelling another and hamstringing a third.

Dagur gazed in utter shock. As a slave, in chains and condemned to die in the galley, Fury had been sarcastic, quietly brave though scared and very, very brutalised by the Governor but he had never imagined the man was a walking battalion. Yet he had scythed down half his squad in a little under a minute, protecting the boy and driving Dagur's men back. The Berserker Governor waved his sword in a rage. "CHARGE HIM!" he roared. "I want the boy. AND I WANT MY DRAGON!"

Arild pressed against the dragon, shocked and astonished at the pirate's sudden ferocity. The others had told him how fiercely his Dad had fought after he had fallen on Drago's ship, how furiously he had responded to the thought he had lost the boy but Arild hadn't really believed it...until now. He had seen the fear in his father's face and heard the sudden cold fury in his voice, especially when his son was threatened. The horrible red-haired man was still glaring at Arild and seemed to want to get his hands on the dragon. And while his Dad was really fighting his way scarily through the armed guards, the red-haired man was edging around the battle towards the small, black-haired boy, his sword raised. Trembling, he pressed harder against the dragon and felt the Skrill rumble and warning at the aggressor.

"Help," he whispered as Dagur closed on the boy, his pale green eyes locking on the dragon's face.

"You're magnificent," he exulted. "Gods, I have waited my entire life for you...now Berserk can resume its rightful place as ruler of the Archipelago...and beyond. And you will achieve all that. I will use your power to smite my enemies. Wow, that makes me feel all tingly. Smiting sounds like so much fun! And we can smite away all day long. Now what am I going to call you? Gotta have death in it, hasn't it, boy? Howsabout Deathbringer? Deathwing? Deathfly? Deathdeath? Er...we can finalise the details later...once you kill Fury for me!"

Arild stared. The man had started scarily and then had started rambling...which was even more scary. But he was very extra sure that he wasn't going to let the horrible man steal Stormy. He pressed back against the dragon and felt his palms rest against the warm, scaly skin. He knew he was breathing hard and could see a couple of men moving round to flank his father. Without thinking, he darted forward. "LOOK OUT, DAD!" he shouted as one raised his sword. Hiccup ducked, swinging his sword round and slashing at the man, bringing his other up to block a swipe at his own head. But Dagur swooped as well, lunging forward and grabbing the suddenly vulnerable small shape and lifting him up, helpless.

"DAD! HELP!" the boy cried. Hiccup stared up, wrenched from his rage by the terrified cry.

"Okay, Fury-drop the swords or you'll be looking for a new son!" Dagur growled and pressed the edge of his sword against the boy's thin neck. Wide green eyes brimmed with tears and begged his father for help and, breathing hard, the pirate lowered his bloody swords.

"Leave him alone," Hiccup said quietly. "It's me you want..."

"NO," Dagur sneered, "Actually I want you both and the dragon!"

"Stormy...help..." Arild whispered, tears streaking his face as the edge of the sword bit harder into his skin.

"I don't think my Skrill will help you, urchin!" the Berserker sneered and lifted the boy higher. And then there was a roar. Completely fearless, Dagur turned to face a dragon with arched back, bared teeth and slitted acid yellow eyes. "That's it, baby...come to Daddy..." he said confidently.

The Skrill slashed at him and tore his arm open. Giving the most piercing scream, Dagur dropped Arild and staggered back, eyes utterly shocked.

"It...it attacked me!" he shouted. Hiccup barged past him, kicking him to the floor and grabbed the sprawled boy firmly in his arms.

"You okay, bud?" he murmured. The boy nodded, beyond words, as his father faced the angry dragon. "And you...if you care for him, you'll get us outta here and away from them!" The dragon inspected him narrowly, then opened his wings, grabbed the pirate tightly in his back paws and lifted off, shooting up into the air. Staring up, open-mouthed, the Governor of Berserk was struck dumb...for about three seconds.

"BRING THEM DOWN!"

oOo

Racing through the town, the fugitives glanced back and found that all attention was being focussed a little further down the hill...where the dragon had landed. They had efficiently knocked down a quartet of guards stupid enough to try to impede their flight and stolen their weapons. Since then, no one had been following them so they gradually staggered to a stop, breathing hard and catching their breath. Snotlout was bright red, Cami's hair had completely escaped from the elegant knot it had been coiled in and the hem of her gown was stained with mud. For some reason best known only to Odin, the twins had managed to get covered in cloudberry pie. Snotlout managed a double-take as Ruffnut picked a piece of pastry out of her hair.

"Do I need to ask?" he sighed.

"Hey-he started it!" she protested, waving vigorously at her twin. Grinning, Tuff wiped a big handful of pie off his face and tasted it.

"This is the best pie we've ever stolen!" he proclaimed.

"Yeah-and then you threw it at me!"

"You threw it back!"

"ENOUGH! Gods, I have no idea how Hiccup puts up with you!" Cami sighed, exasperated, then glanced at Snotlout. "Have we lost them?"

"Only because they are concentrating on the dragon," he admitted, then saw the creature rise into the air and his eyes picked out the figures clamped in its fearsome paws. "Oh, Thor...and my cousin and his son!"

"AWESOME!" Tuff exclaimed, his face admiring. "Wow! Fury gets all the cool things to do!"

"Speaking of which-shouldn't we be hearing explosions by now?" Cami asked him pointedly, readjusting her skirts for better running. Tuff waved his hands airily, grinning madly.

"Madame, you are speaking with an artist!" he replied in an offended tone. "You question my diligence and the sense of timing with which I have imbued the explosion. But my instinctive understanding of the destructive process means that my sense of timing and theatre are all but unparalleled..."

"You mean you set the fuse wrong," Ruff sighed. "It should have gone off by now but could go any time!"

"And you're the best Fury has?" Cami groaned. Snotlout nodded.

"Actually, they're pretty effective," he admitted. "Blew up my family's house from some stupid distance while their cannon was parked on a roof!"

"Happy days!" Tuff sighed and his sister clouted him. "Yeah-you did your part too, sis," he added with affection.

"So what do we do about dragon boy and the flying Captain?" Cami asked shortly, straightening up and stalking down the hill. They could see weapons being readied to fire at the swooping Skrill.

"We...interfere," Snotlout decided to Cami's very cynical expression. "But we head towards the ship as well. We have a plan and if we don't do our part, we will be facing Berserk as well as Drago!"

Then behind them, an almighty explosion sounded, followed by another...and then another. The Governor's mansion was consumed in flames with black smoke billowing into the sky and pieces of masonry from the shattered shell continuing to rain down on the town. Everyone turned to look at Tuffnut.

"Ah, there it is," he grinned.

oOo

Hiccup had never felt anything like it. Fear. Absolute, total and utter fear, clasped in the paws of a monster that shouldn't exist and had been frozen for centuries in some amber substance that his son had managed to disturb. Fear that he would be dropped and dashed to death on the roofs of the town hundreds of feet below with the boy. Fear that he would drop his son. Fear that he would be eaten. Fear that he would fail and Arild and Astrid and everyone he cared for would perish or be enslaved by Drago. Fear that he would disgrace himself by screaming at the flight.

"Dad! Look! I can see the ship from up here!" Arild shouted excitedly.

"Oh Thor, Oh Thor, oh Thor..." Hiccup prayed in a panic. His legs were swinging free over a horribly huge drop, the dragon's claws were digging agonisingly into his torn and recently stitched side and he knew Dagur wouldn't give up.

"Oh look...that house has just blown up!" Arild added, craning his neck to look up at the dragon. He stretched out his small hand and stroked the dragon's neck gently. "Stormy-can we go and have a closer look?"

"Um...why Stormy?" Hiccup asked, trying to make his voice not sound like a panicked squeak as they banked sharply and swooped up over the village to circle the burning ruins of the Governor's mansion. Professionally, he noted the accuracy of Ruff and Tuff's demolition job and a brief smile flickered across his lips.

"Because his colours look like a stormy sky, Dad," Arild explained, his green eyes briefly flicking to inspect his father. Hiccup had him in a death grip and his face was white. "Don't you like flying?"

"Um...less keen on not being in charge of where we're going," he admitted. "Why do you think I like taking the helm so much? Bud-can you get...Stormy...to take us back to the ship?"

"Okay. Stormy-can we get back to the ship..." Arild asked simply and pointed. The dragon gave a small growl and turned on a wingtip, then glided down over the village. The breeze was cold in Hiccup's face as the dragon half-folded his wings and they accelerated. Then he heard Dagur scream.

"FIRE!"

Nets flew up into the air, wrapping the dragon tightly and fouling his wings. With a mournful roar, he fell from the sky, wrapping himself around the man and boy in his paws. With a crash, they crunched through the tiled roof of a small cottage and slammed hard into the ground. Stunned, the dragon gave a pathetic groan and Hiccup struggled against the ropes of the net, scarcely less bruised or winded. Arild was semi-conscious, whimpering and cradling his splinted arm. And then the door smashed open and guards surrounded them. Hiccup stared up into the enraged and crazed face of Dagur the Deranged.

"Now I have you all..." he gloated. "So we can now talk about my sister..."

oOo

Astrid was prowling the deck furiously, her axe twirling in her hands. She had seen the dragon flying around, seen the explosion and seen the dragon go down...but nothing since. Sven was sitting with Heather who was chained as well as roped in the spare cabin and was struggling and cursing intermittently. Fishlegs and Roar were manning the cannons and Bucket had cleaned the deck for the sixth time in sheer anxiety by the time Snotlout, Cami and the twins raced back. Astrid looked up in worry as they arrived back.

"Where's Hiccup?" she demanded. Snotlout looked completely confused-and then worried.

"I thought he was with you!" he replied in shock.

"He left because Arild got separated from Fish and Sven when the dragon woke up," she sighed. They shared a look and then both glanced up at the town. "Gods, you don't think that..."

"That boy could get into trouble in an empty room!" Snotlout noted with a wry grin. "Even if he isn't Hiccup's blood kin, he sure tries hard to be! Of course he was with it!"

"WHAT?" Tuff asked, confused.

"The dragon has been captured...and so have Hiccup and little Toothless," his twin told him, smacking him round the back of the head not so gently.

"Perfect!" Cami growled. "Now we have to mount a rescue mission..." Astrid grabbed her arm and stared deep into her eyes.

"No! We stick with the plan," she said firmly. "Fish...get ready for phase two. Have the teams ready to go as soon as they can. No one will be looking at the docks now...and certainly not at the galleys..." Whooping, the twins high-fived.

"Finally, we get to do something awesome!" Tuff grinned.

"And get out of these stupid clothes," Ruff added, already shrugging off her stole. "Can you get my buttons..." she asked her twin as they made their way to their bunks. Smirking, Cami turned to Astrid and realised the girl was watching her. The pirate fluffed up her hair and nodded.

"I may have ruined your reputation, Lady Astrid," she teased and surprisingly, Astrid just smiled back.

"You have no idea how glad I am to hear that, Captain Camicazi," she replied. "I'm having far more fun in these few weeks back with Hiccup than I've had in the five years I was forced to give him up. My precious reputation was something my father fostered-not me. The only reputation and title I want is as his wife!" Cami winked at her.

"Good answer," she replied and headed off to change as well.

An hour later, a couple of small fishing craft were bobbing gently across the harbour towards the mass of slave galleys that composed Dagur's feared Berserker fleet. Not being averse to slavery and being utterly ruthless meant that the Governor had no qualms in making all his naval vessels dependent not only on wind but also on human power. And even in port, the slaves had no respite, chained miserably to their oars awaiting the next command by the galley master.

As soon as the leading fishing vessel floated by the first galley, three shapes lowered themselves into the water. Roar and the twins silently swam to the nearest galley and slithered in through the oar ports, staring at the shocked slaves. They pressed their fingers to their lips and then silently crept up on the galley-master, taking him out of action. With a few comforting words, they efficiently began to unlock the chains and free the slaves. Blinking, shivering and shocked, they were frightened, hostile and pitifully grateful as the pirates helped them swim to the fishing ships and scramble aboard. Tuff and Roar checked for any other slaves in the cages, but they were empty...and then Tuff left a little present as they swam on to the next ship.

As they moved from ship to ship, more and more slaves wanted to help them by swimming to further ships and releasing more of the slaves in a human chain reaction. Tuff and Ruff had their time taken up by planting charges on every ship they liberated while Roar, Sven, Bucket and Mulch-who were in the boats-were having to ferry freed slaves to the Night Fury before returning to fetch another load. Finally, they had visited all fifteen ships of the fleet and Dagur had no slaves left. The cages in the last ship had included a handful of woman and the twins had willingly and sympathetically helped them back to the pirate vessel, helping them aboard and to the waiting crew.

Most of the slaves had accepted the chance to take the trading vessel the pirates had arranged to be sailed into Berserk the previous day and they sailed that hour-but a dozen volunteered to join the crew of the Night Fury-including a shabby, shamed older woman who requested to speak with Snotlout. Without any hesitation, the Heir to Berk came over...and his jaw dropped.

"Jannicke!" he gasped, recognising the cook from the Jorgensen mansion who had been his friend for years. "But how-how are you here?" She looked ashamed and stared at the deck self-consciously.

"When that young boy escaped, someone told Master Magne that I had spoken to the two strangers who rescued him," she admitted. "He immediately arrested me and shipped me out to his friend Dagur as a slave." Eyes widening in shock, Snotlout laid a hand on her ragged arm and she flinched.

"Jannicke...I am so sorry," he murmured, distraught.

"I-I can't go back..." she said. "He...I..." Impulsively, Snotlout hugged her, his eyes filled with pain and anger.

"If Hiccup hadn't already killed him, I'd kill him myself," he growled as he felt her cry. She stiffened.

"Master Hiccup?" she murmured. Gently, Snotlout looked at her, hearing the curious note in her tone.

"Jannicke?" he murmured and she sighed.

"Master Magne boasted about how he spied on young Master Hiccup and lied about what he saw," she sighed. "He also told his manservant that he had done it to remove you so he could get the family business." She looked at the deck. "And he wanted Lady Astrid for his own...but she refused him four times. Everything he did was for his own benefit. He was a bad man." Hugging her once more, the Heir pulled away and looked across to Astrid and Fishlegs.

"She is an excellent cook," he suggested with a smile.

"And you're suggesting Sven isn't?" Fishlegs replied, his mouth quirking. Sven had precisely two recipes: fish stew and brown meat stew. He used them in strict rotation. Roar cast him a glance and then had to look away to prevent himself from laughing as Snotlout grinned.

"I'm saying that Jannicke can cook more than two dishes, can cater for the expanded number of crew and may manage something healthy for a growing boy!" His voice was passionate. "Um...if you don't mind staying. If not..."

"I will take you on as my cook," Astrid promised and took the older woman's hand. "Snotlout's recommendation is more than enough for me." Looking up with uncertain, hazel eyes, the cook gave a small smile.

"I-I think I'd like that," she murmured, "though I should probably cook for the boys here first." A small smile warmed her face. "Which way to the galley?"

As she was shown below decks by Roar and-surprisingly-Cami's colleague, Mathilda, Astrid joined Fishlegs, Cami and the twins at the prow, staring across the darkening harbour. Afternoon was waning and they now needed a new plan. They had achieved everything Fury had set out for them in his meticulous plan-ruined only by the miraculous reappearance of the Skrill. The galleys were bobbing up and down innocently, the faint creak of timbers audible above the plash of the waves.

"How long this time?" Snotlout sighed and Tuff winked.

"Any time about...now..." he said, gesturing across the harbour as the first of the galleys exploded. And then, in a line of explosions spread through the fleet of galleys, blasting the slave ships to matchwood. Smiling, Cami leaned on the front rail, watching the carnage and the reflections of the burning, sinking ships in the harbour before she glanced up as Snotlout moved alongside.

"He really is the man for the grand gesture," she reminisced, watching the remnants of the Berserker fleet sink. "But Mathilda checked: the word in town is that he, Arild and that dragon are prisoners of the Governor..." There was a silence and every eye turned to Astrid, who stared back, her face pale.

"Which of course was the one thing he really feared," she sighed. "So how do we get them out?"

"Full frontal assault would be useless," Cami mused. "Too heavily armed..."

"And our attempt at getting him handed over failed because he saw through your disguise," Snotlout added and ducked the half-hearted swat she aimed at him.

"Yeah, yeah, not exactly Milady," she shot back.

"And I doubt he would hand them all over just for Heather," Fishlegs said thoughtfully.

"Dude-you're not thinking like the Captain!" Tuffnut scolded them, leaning precariously on the figurehead-a black dragon with unfurled wings and acid green eyes. "Any plan to get him out has to be wild, insane and totally over the top...because we all know the Captain manages to get himself into messes about ten times bigger than anticipated."

"Granted," his twin continued, "so why are you offering our best bargaining chip for him when we have a much bigger bait?"

"What bait?" Astrid asked.

"Berserk!"