𖣯 ✹ 🌷(makligr) ꏍ ！┈─❟
╰───►chapter twenty-five; hiccup
❝ maces and talons! ❞

    FOR ONCE, Hiccup felt as though they were winning. They might be far from stopping the Dragon Hunters once and for all, but every win▬even if it was a small one▬amounted to something. They were freeing dragons every raid with little complications, leaving Dagur and Ryker screeching with fury as the Dragon Riders left, victorious. After all that has happened recently, Hiccup felt as though they were finally heading in an upwards slope. 

    He wasn't the only one in uplifted spirits. After another successful raid, Hiccup's friends were also revelling in their glory▬as did all Vikings. It was loud and rambuctious in the stables back on the Edge this morning. In an unlikely change, Snotlout and Tuffnut were cheering each other on from Barf and Belch. Snotlout had switched saddles with Ruffnut in a thrilling turn of events and got his chance to cause a huge explosion that rocked the Hunters's boat off course. And while Ruffnut was sulking, frustrating on Hookfang's back, Snotlout and Tuffnut celebrated this victory louder than the rest of them. 

    "Did you see that look on Ryker's face?" Snotlout was saying, waving his arms animatedly from Barf's saddle. He grinned at Tuffnut beside him. Neither paid any attention to Ruffnut as she slipped off Hookfang's saddle, grumpy and annoyed. "It was so▬ahh▬!" Snotlout yelped as Ruffnut took his ankle and pulled him right off her saddle. He shrieked when he hit the ground and she stormed off, not impressed. 

    That didn't faze him at all. Seconds later, he was back on his feet. He turned back to Tuff with a wide grin as he leapt off his saddle to join him. "I was like, 'Tuff, now!' And, you were like▬"

    "'Your wish is my command, Snotman!'" Tuffnut waved an eager finger, grinning, too. "And then▬"

    "BAM!" they exclaimed together, throwing up their arms. 

    Yrsa was not impressed either. She rolled her eyes and set her stare back onto Hiccup as they continued their conversation. "We have to pull Heather out," she told him as they spoke in hushed tones under the shadows of their dragons. "If Astrid hadn't reacted, her cover would have been blown."

    Hiccup fixed his leather armour and gave Yrsa a short look. "Well," he muttered and closed the flap of his saddle bag, "I wanted her out weeks ago and then somebody talked me into▬"

     She sighed, slumping and walking closer to him. "Yes, I know," grumbled Yrsa, not appreciating his comment. Hiccup shrugged and arched a brow, knowing he was right. She sighed again and crossed her arms, her brows knitting together with worry. "But, things have changed, okay?"

     Hiccup leaned back against Toothless's side and he warbled, gazing at the two of them. Helrose sniffed at Yrsa's hair, though she didn't flinch▬she was used to her dragon's antics, now. "How?"

     "It's way too dangerous, now," said Yrsa. She sounded quite distressed and Hiccup pursed his lips. 

     Realising how fretful she was, Hiccup let his shoulders relax and he stood back up. Gentle, he said to Yrsa: "It's always been way too dangerous."

     But Yrsa just shook her head. "No, I'm serious," she fiddled with her braid, tucking stray curls behind her ears. Meanwhile, over her shoulder, Snotlout and Tuffnut wrestled and laughed. "This has gotten crazy, Hiccup. She's on a Dragon Hunter ship with a dragon ... And, she hasn't even met up with this Viggo character!"

    "Exactly," he reached out a hand and rested it on her shoulder. Yrsa huffed but listened to him. He squeezed her shoulder to try and comfort her worries. "Viggo Grimborn leads the Dragon Hunters. If we can take him down, the whole Dragon Hunter will be without a leader and they will collapse."

     Yrsa slumped, suddenly looking very tired. Hiccup thought back to days not quite so long ago that he would consider Yrsa insane or ill to ever worry about Heather, but now there seemed to be a blossoming friendship ... or the start of one. Enough to make Yrsa concerned. 

     "Haha!" cackled Snotlout behind them. He pulled Tuffnut into a rough side hug. "You are so tough and nutty!"

     Tuffnut grinned and punched him in the chest. "And you are so loud and snotty!"

     They started to wrestle again, rolling back and forth across the stable floor. Hiccup sighed and decided to look away▬for he knew he'd find himself too weirded out by this blossoming friendship, as well if he watched them any longer. 

     He focused his attention back on Yrsa. "Have you mentioned any of this to Astrid?"

     Yrsa shrugged and seemed to take a step closer to him▬maybe she didn't even realise. She just inched closer, and Hiccup's fingers dropped down to her elbow to gently hold her there▬his heart fluttered, brief and light. "No ... But even she's getting tense. What if something happens, and then everything we've worked towards▬"

    "Hey," Hiccup grasped her other elbow gently as well without thinking, though he did not pull away. Yrsa glanced up at him, a little surprised by the gesture, but she did not pull away, either. "Nothing is going to happen to her," he reassured her. She frowned. Hiccup squeezed her arms and her frown softened. "I know you might scoff at this, but Heather is way too smart for that."

     Yrsa did scoff, but a small smile tugged at her lips. Hiccup's own lifted into a soft smile, too, when he saw it. "And if she thought for a second that they were onto her," he continued, "Windshear would get her out. Besides, what do you think she would do if we tried to pull her out of there?"

     She sighed and looked down at her boots. She knew he was right, so she didn't say anything▬Yrsa glanced back up at him once more, her gaze shining with that vulnerability Hiccup didn't see often. "She'd never go for it," he reminded Yrsa in a gentle tone. "You have to remember that."

     Hiccup's heart raced slightly when he somehow found the courage to slip his hands down further to take ahold of Yrsa's own. He heard her breath hitch softly. "Everything's going to be okay," he promised her. "Trust me." He gave her a small smile once again and felt his heart lift to see her give him a sweet, little one in return. 

    Until Snotlout and Tuffnut barrelled past them, and the moment was ruined. 

    Hiccup shot his gaze up to the ceiling, frustrated as he was forced to let go of Yrsa's hands.

    The two of them turned to stare, incredulous when their friends crash-landed the wagon and Tuffnut was thrown over Snotlout's shoulders, landing painfully on the wooden floor. They burst into laughter. "BEST TIME EVER▬!" they gasped at their synchronised exclamation.

    Snotlout jumped out of the wagon, eyes wide with shock and Tuffnut crawled onto his knees. "Oh, my Thor▬"

    "▬I cannot believe you just said that!" they cried out. They then gasped again. "Me neither!" 

    Snotlout squealed like a little girl. "Did we just think each other's thoughts?!" He asked Tuffnut with giddy excitement. 

     Tuffnut got back onto his feet. He looked as though he was very behind in Snotlout's excitement, but nodded anyway. "Uh▬I think we just did, 'cause that's what I just thought!"

     "You know what this means?" Snotlout took him by the shoulders. 

    "I have▬" Tuff forced a chuckle and then shook his head, "I have no idea."

    "We just became▬" Snotlout held up a finger and sang: "▬official best friends!"

     "What?" gasped Tuff. "I have never had an official best friend!" He then beamed. "Always unofficial acquaintances!"

     "Well, you do now. Come on▬Bring it in, but this time, for the real thing..." Snotlout then pulled Tuffnut into a bone-crushing hug and both Hiccup and Yrsa shared a dubious, estrangled glance at the many exclaims and giddy squeals the two of them made. (Mostly Snotlout). 

     When they got even louder, though, Yrsa lost it.

     "Ugh!" she threw her hands up in anger. "Will you two please either take it somewhere else or just shut up? I can't hear myself think!"

     She then stormed off and Hiccup watched her go, not sure whether to follow or not. 

◞ ★ ꒱꒱◜

     HICCUP KNEW Yrsa needed time to cool off after this morning, but he was grateful that she decided to come with him and Astrid to meet up with Heather later that night. The Edge had been surprisingly quiet for the rest of the day, which instead of making him feel relieved to have a break from the chaos, it also worried him. Silence meant usually one thing▬that the Twins were up to something. Truth was, he hadn't seen the Twins, or Snotlout since they returned from raiding the Hunter ship. He had to leave Fishlegs in charge of the Edge while he, Astrid and Yrsa were gone, and he just prayed to the gods above that nothing crazy happened in his absence. Last time he left Fishlegs in charge, he and Ruffnut somehow got married (well, not technically, but they certainly believed it for a while there).

    It was dark when they finally closed in on the sea stack they corresponded with Heather to meet up at. It was at an even distance between them, and where the Hunters had Heather currently▬which meant it safely concealed both of their whereabouts from Viggo and Ryker, effectively keeping Heather's secret under wraps. 

    As it got darker, and the oceans and skies were a midnight velvet colour, Hiccup used Toothless's sound ecolocation to help them see across the vast waters. Stormfly was a great help. She knew Heather's scent, and as a Tracker Class dragon, could easily track her down even without much light to guide her way. 

    They rode in tense silence. It was hard not to let the severity of the situation weigh them down. Hiccup often felt as though the world was weighing down on his shoulders, and like Atlas, it was his responsibility to keep the sky from falling. Right now, the pressure felt far heavier than it has ever before. 

    Noticing his apprehension, Toothless warbled and Hiccup managed a small smile. He leaned forward and placed his hand on his dragon's snout, tender. "I'm okay, bud," he reassured him. 

    Beside him, he heard the sound of wings beating against the wind, and the tender growl that told him Helrose had veered in close. He glanced to his side and found Yrsa holding a very similar look to Toothless. "What are we actually going to do once Heather gets ahold of Viggo?"

    Hiccup sighed, and he could feel Astrid's questioning stare as well even if he couldn't see her well▬both of them expecting him to have thought about this. And he has▬he has considered this at great length until the flame of his candle had burnt to nothing late at night. "Truthfully? I don't know. I figured we'd tackle that problem once we actually get there."

    "We know nothing about Viggo," said Astrid in her strategy voice. "But Dagur has probably told him a lot about you already. He could be expecting us."

    "I know," sighed Hiccup.

    "But Dagur has never truly gotten the upper hand over us," Yrsa added, and Hiccup was grateful for the positive upswing from her. It was rare▬so whenever he heard it, his confidence always grew, because Yrsa meant it. "Whatever idea Viggo has of us, he's still going to be underprepared."

    They reached the sea stack and the glint of silver in the moonlight told Hiccup that Heather was already there. He, Yrsa and Astrid touched down with their dragons, and Helrose opened her maw to let loose a low glowing flame for light. 

    As they dismounted, Astrid approached Heather first. "Are you sure you weren't followed?"

    Heather nodded, determined. She gently stroked Windshear's horn and met the trio in the middle. "Positive." She looked rather tired after a long flight and likely a very long day. Her braid was loose over her shoulder. As soon as she reached the group of them, her Razorwhip immediately bounded over to their dragons, and they all bobbed their heads in greeting and started to chase each other in circles around the sea stack. 

    "Besides," continued Heather, placing her hands on her hips, "Viggo supsects Ryker and Dagur."

     Yrsa frowned at this, perplexed. "Really?" she murmured, sharing a quick glance with Hiccup. He could tell by the look on her face that this troubled her.

    "I know what you're thinking, Yrsa," said the rogue dragon rider, "but it's not that far fetched. Viggo has a tense relationship with his brother, Ryker. And Dagur isn't exactly the most ... stable person around."

    Astrid scoffed at this. "You can say that again."

    "He asked me to go with him to capture the Flightmare," continued Heather and their eyes widened. "Just me, Windshear and him."

    "Flightmare?" let out Hiccup, not sure how he felt about this revelation. He tried to rack his brain for possibilities as to what the Hunters would do with the Mystery Class dragon that used to terrorise Berk nearly every decade on Dreadfall, but he came up with nothing. "Why would Viggo want the Flightmare?"

     He expected the others to be equally as confused, but instead he was met with blank, unimpressed stares. Heather sighed. "Hiccup, you're missing the point."

    Yrsa smirked. "He does that from time to time."

    Hiccup sent her a look. "What? No▬no, I don't."

    "Look," Heather held out her hands to spell it out for him. "It's me, Viggo and Windshear. Just us. It's the perfect time for an ambush." 

    He sighed and slumped, not too sure about this. It wasn't that it didn't cross his mind, but he had this nagging feeling in the pit of his stomach about this whole thing that made him err on the side of caution. "I agree, but how exactly does Viggo think the three of you are going to capture the Flightmare?"

    Yrsa considered this. She tilted her head, her mind also going over many and every possibility. She pursed her lips, and she didn't look too confident anymore. Hiccup knew then that he was right to be cautious. He trusted Yrsa's judgement▬more than his own a lot of the time. If she was unsure about this, then Hiccup was wise to be, too. 

    "He's got a point, Heather," she decided to say. "Why would Viggo want you there and not Ryker or Dagur? Why would he trust you the most▬you who has a dragon?" she gestured back at Windshear who was playing tug-a-war with Stormfly over a random stick they had found. "And somehow you're willingly wanting to capture dragons?"

    "You haven't met Viggo Grimborn. He is a professional Dragon Hunter."

    "Yeah," said Yrsa bluntly, apparent in her response. "Exactly my point. He's the leader of the Dragon Hunters and you have a dragon." At Heather's frown, she held up her hands in surrender. "Look, I'm just saying, be careful about this. You're going to be alone with him▬seems like he could be trapping you."

    "What's my brother's saying?" said Heather, not dettered. "The trappers trap can trap the trapper? Our ambush will get Viggo when he leasts expects it. You guys show up, grab Viggo and we set the Flightmare back on its path."

    Hiccup knew Yrsa wasn't convinced. Deep down, he wasn't either. She had a point. But what other option did they have? This might just be their one chance to get Viggo and stop the Dragon Hunters▬or at least put a huge dent in their operations. He crossed his arms and shared a look with Yrsa and Astrid. "I suppose ... Now all we have to do is find it."

    Heather smirked. "One step ahead of you, Hiccup." She rummaged for something in the leather bag thrown over her shoulder. "It follows a stream of glowing algae as its food source▬"

    Hiccup nodded, "Right▬"

    "▬Last year, I spent a lot of time tracking it, pinning down its location every couple of weeks. I know where it should be and I gave that information to Viggo."

    Some of Yrsa's troubling frown softened. "Which ... would be good reason for him to trust you," she admitted. 

    "Exactly," smirked Heather. Out of her satchel, she pulled out a piece of rolled up parchment. "Listen, I better get back, but▬" she opened the parchment for them to see, and all three Dragon Riders squinted at the map, "▬this is the algae trail. Follow it to here▬" she pointed to the 'x' on the far left side of the map. "This is where we'll be."

    Hiccup set his jaw. He nodded. "So will we."

    He took the map Heather held out for him and frowned down at it as he turned back to Toothless. He and Astrid went to mount their dragons as Heather took off in the opposite direction. But Helrose crooned, nudging her head at Yrsa who was still at the edge of the sea stack. She frowned in the direction Heather went, and Hiccup pursed his lips.

    "Yrs?" he gently called and she glanced back at him. 

    Astrid noticed the look on her friend's face and glanced down at her dragon. She rubbed Stormfly's scales. "Come on, girl, let's get going▬these muttonheads need some time alone. They'll catch up."

     She took to the air, and Hiccup slipped off his saddle again. Toothless followed behind him, pushing forward quickly to sniff at Yrsa▬worried. He nudged his head into her stomach and managed to get a little smile out of her when she stumbled, realising what was happening. Yrsa chuckled and wrapped her arms around the Night Fury. She pulled one arm away to give Helrose affection, too▬never wanting the other to feel left out. Deep down, Yrsa was the most considerate and caring person Hiccup knew. She was so very much like their dragons in the way that as soon as one earned her trust and loyalty, she'd do anything for them▬her devotion was deep and strong. It was why that no matter their differences, now that Heather had broken through the barriers of Yrsa's defences, here she was, filled with worry for a girl she used to insult and seethe over. 

    "It's going to be okay," Hiccup reassured her, reaching out and placing his hand on her shoulder. She met his gaze, unsure. Even though he understood, he was still taken aback by how much concern Yrsa had for Heather. Things seemed to have changed so much between them. And that thought made ... well, Hiccup wasn't exactly sure what it made him feel, but that boiling feeling festering in his stomach▬the only way he could describe it ... it couldn't be jealously, but, that was exactly what it was.  

    "I don't like this plan," Yrsa told him and he pushed away his green feelings of jealously away, locking them down and hoping they'd never resurface again. 

    "I know," murmured Hiccup. "But ... what if this is the one chance we have against Viggo? We can't let it go to waste."

    "But if Heather▬"

    "If she's in danger, she has Windshear," he reminded her and Yrsa pursed her lips. "And we'll be there ready to get them out of there if they need us. This plan will work."

    It has to, he added to himself.

    "I hope you're right," said Yrsa in a soft murmur and Hiccup sighed. "But I have a bad feeling about this."

    "I know," he said again. 

    "But I trust you," she nodded to herself and met his gaze again. Sure of herself, she repeated, "I trust you. So, if you think this is the way to go about this, then we'll do it."

    Hiccup smiled at that. He couldn't help the flutters in his chest and stomach. "It's a crazy plan," he admitted.

    She chuckled. "Yeah," Yrsa shrugged. "But that's us, right?"

    Hiccup's smile broadened. "Always."

    Then Yrsa did the last thing he expected. She tugged him down slightly and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek. Then, she pulled herself up onto Helrose's saddle, chuckling at Hiccup who stood there, flabbergasted. "Race you back to the Edge?"

    The proposal of a race brought Hiccup back to reality and he grinned. He threw his leg over his saddle. "Oh, you're on, Milady."

◞ ★ ꒱꒱◜

    "WHOA!" 

     No matter how many times Hiccup may stress that a flight was strictly a stealth one and there should be limited talking, it was inevitable that one of his friends would ignore it and talk anyway▬or all of them.

    Fishlegs was marvelling Heather's map from Meathlug's saddle, blissfully ignorant and forgetful of the dire circumstances they were in. Hiccup, Yrsa and Astrid had caught up with the others back on the Edge (who all seemed to have miraculously reappeared from wherever they had been hiding when they left), urging them to saddle up and take to the air immediately. Where Heather's map took them, it was a few hours flight, and even longer by ship. Hiccup could easily believe the distance towards the Flightmare was shorter for Viggo, which meant they had to get there as soon as they could to prepare their ambush. 

    "Heather's tracking and mapping skills are quite extraordinary!" continued Fishlegs wistfully. He let out a sweet sigh, quite mesermised. "Is there no end to that girl's talents?"

    Yrsa took a deep breath, rolling her eyes. But she managed to keep whatever she wanted to say on the edge of her tongue and stay silent. 

    From the back of the formation, Tuffnut leaned forward on Belch, resting his arms on his horns. "Uh▬Can we just talk about the elephant in the sky for a second?"

    Hiccup shot him a scowl over his shoulder. What part of the world 'Quiet' don't his friends understand? "No."

    Tuffnut ignored him. "Cool. Why do we think Viggo want the Flightmare so badly?"

    Ruffnut glanced at him from the right head of the Zippleback. "Maybe Viggo likes the way that algae stuff makes you glow when you rub it all over yourself."

    They laughed. Hiccup made a disgusted face. But then, he considered their words and sat up straighter in his saddle. "You know what? You may not actually be that far off. He's gotta be using its algae or its paralysing spray for something."

    "We could ask him ourselves, if we were waiting for him when he gets there," grumbled Astrid and urged Stormfly forward, leading the formation further across the dark ocean towards the island in the distance. 

    They closed in on the island soon enough. Hiccup veered them towards one of the taller cliff faces▬they'd have good cover and good view from there. Toothless was eager to land, grumbling and fidgiting in his Gronckle Iron armour. He never liked it, but he had to wear it if they were to go up against Dragon Hunters and their dragon root arrows. 

    The others soon landed alongside him. Hookfang huffed and nudged at his armour. He and Toothless were the only dragons they had armour for so far. 

    "All right, everyone, we need to find that Flightmare," Hiccup dismounted and scratched Toothless behind the ears. "Keep an eye out."

    They all wandered to the edges of the cliff, gazing down at the island below with narrowed eyes in search for the glowing scales of the Flightmare. It wasn't long before Hiccup noticed a haze of blue to his left. He glanced over and was momentarily struck by the beauty of the algae as it spread through the stream, turning its water into a beautiful, translucent and glowing blue. And at its shore, feasting on the algae, was the Flightmare.

    Flightmares are a Mystery Class dragon, once thought to be a scary tell to ward of children from sneaking out late at night on Dreadfall, but this medium-sized creature was very much real. The stories used to say it could freeze a Viking with fear the moment it locked eyes with them.Hiccup now knew that the algae it ate had a chemical reaction with its acid flame, turning it into a paralysing toxic mist. Its bioluminscent scales were beautiful▬they always glowed the colour of the algae it consumed. Hiccup would love to one day train it, but it was an elusive and aggresive dragon with an attack and venom of ten, even though its shot limit was low, it was a trying dragon at times▬and one they needed to approach with caution unless they wanted to be paralysed for a good few hours. 

    "There," he pointed it out. "Now, let's stay together," he turned to his friends. "We need to make sure Viggo doesn't get anywhere near that dragon."

    "How will we know when Viggo's here?" asked Fishlegs.

    Yrsa made a face, incredulous. "Seriously?" she just pointed out to the ocean horizon and Toothless let out a low, vicious growl. There, between the sea stacks, a lonesome ship was slowly drifting towards the shore. "Use your eyes, Fishlegs. He already is."

    Hiccup took a deep breath and set his shoulders, his brows knitting into a scowl as he watched the longship draw nearer. He clenched his hands, determined and faced the Twins. "All right, Ruff, Tuff, make sure you get enough algae▬"

    Ruffnut rolled her eyes and swiped the pouch Hiccup held out for them, "▬To lure the Flightmare away. We know."

    Tuff scoffed and shook his head, his hands on his hips. "Gah!" he waved Hiccup off and the son of the Chief sighed, not in the mood for this. "This guy never stops. 'Lure the Flightmare. Don't eat the algae.'"

    "Ridiculous! I mean, why would we eat the algae?"

    The Twins both gasped, their eyes going wide as many ideas struck them. Slowly, they turned to each other and grinned. "Why wouldn't we eat the algae?" they murmured conspiratorially.   

    Hiccup sighed once again and face-palmed as the Twins took off downstream, snickering amongst themselves. "I'm going to regret this, aren't I?" he murmured to Yrsa who watched on, arms crossed.

    "Probably," she didn't sugarcoat it.

    "Muttonheads," muttered Snotlout and Hookfang huffed an angry puff of steam over his shoulder. He glanced at his dragon and smirked. "Yeah, you tell 'em, Hookie."

    The only one not to share the small chuckles and eye-rolls over the Twins' antics was Astrid. She was still standing alone at the opposite end of the cliff, standing in Stormfly's shadow as her face dropped and her stomach churned. She noticed something else in the horzion. "Uh ... Guys? You might want to see this."

    Hiccup and the others spun around. He frowned and rushed to Astrid's side▬and then he saw it. His breath hitched in horror and his heart dropped down with his stomach. He felt sick.

    In the shadow of the large, tallest sea stack, were figures of boats that mere minutes ago, were never there. They had snuck around, hidden by the rocks and the blanket of the night▬Four additional Hunter ships, all of them armoured with dragon trapping weapons and catapults. 

    It only got worse from there. "Hiccup?" called Fishlegs from behind him. "You might wanna see this, too."

    He skidded across the grass and he gasped. "No, no, no," he slowly started to realise what was happening when he saw three more Hunter ships in the distance▬large ones, too. Ships filled to the brim with warriors and dragon root bolt launchers. Soon, they were surrounded and outnumbered. 

    Snotlout frowned. "Uhhh..." he was at Hiccup's shoulder. "I don't understand," said his cousin, easily disguising his fear with a furious anger. "I thought Heather and Viggo were coming alone."

    "They were!" 

    "Which probably means they're not coming at all," finished Yrsa. She gritted her teeth and threw up her hands. "Ugh! I knew this would happen! Damnit Heather! Of course Viggo saw right through her."

    Hiccup felt a breath of shame eat him up in his chest with every breath he took. He should have seen this▬he did see this, but he let his desperation to find and capture Viggo cloud his logic and reason. But they had no time to wallow and place blame, not when flaming boulders lit up the night sky as they catapulted across the ocean, heading straight towards them. 

    "EVERYONE! LOOK OUT▬!"

    The Dragon Riders leapt for their saddles, taking to the air just in time as the catapults struck the cliff face, setting the grass and trees alight. Smoke billowed into the night and embers cascaded over their heads. Stone and flames went everywhere.

    More and more ships seemed to appear out of nowhere. Hiccup gritted his teeth as he urged Toothless up higher in the clouds for cover. He tried to think of a plan, but there were so many of them▬Hunters and Berserkers alike. With a crazy turn of events, he realised that they were the ones being ambushed, not the other way around. 

    Hiccup yelped and quickly switched positions of Toothless's tail, allowing them to barrel roll out of the way of an oncoming volley of dragon root arrows. To the left, he heard Stormfly squawk and Astrid angrily swiped the arrows away with her axe. 

    "We have to do something!" Yrsa shouted from somewhere to Hiccup's right.

    "Yeah, I'm aware of that!" Hiccup replied, swooping down low to avoid more arrows. Helrose blasted the next volley above him. "I'm working on it▬Whoa!"

    He pulled Toothless up and back just in time when a Zippleback and a pair of screaming Twins shot up vertical in front of him. Moments later, was the Flightmare, screeching and soaring after the Twins and Barf and Belch▬somehow, Ruffnut and Tuffnut had gotten themselves covered in blue algae. He watched them go, incredulous. "Not ... not the way I would have done it, but I guess that's one way to go..."

    Impatient, Yrsa pulled Helrose to a stop in front of Toothless and pointed down at the ships. "Helrose and I are over being sitting ducks! Snotlout and I are going to take the middle row! You send Toothless down the centre▬" she glanced up at the others. "Astrid, Legs! Take out the catapults. Let's go!"

    Hiccup blinked and watched Yrsa dive down with Helrose emitting a fearful shriek into the night. He was stunned with something that wasn't surprise for a good second before he snapped out of it and waved his hand at the others. "Uh▬what Yrsa said! Let's go team!"

    Hiccup tilted backwards into a somersault and dived Toothless down, gaining speed that made the air split between them. He leaned low on his saddle, gripping the handlebars tight with a clenched jaw. Last minute, he pulled out of the dive. "NOW, BUD!"

    Toothless fired and the sonic purple lit up the sky so brightly it could have been day. Hunters and Berserkers dievd away from their launches as Toothless's blasts exploded them to splinters. He spun out of the arrows he missed, letting loose a few more blasts that knocked out a few of the longboats' oars. Overhead, Yrsa spun her axe and swiped away a few arrows as Helrose let out a column of fire that sent even the bravest of warriors screaming from their catapults that burst into flames. 

    Snotlout looked just as insane. The two of them were a good team▬no matter how many times they butted heads. They worked well together, and their dragons complimented each other in battle. Where Yrsa and Helrose went, leaving destruction and screaming Hunters in their path, Snotlout and Hookfang followed▬a vicious, speeding ball of fire that burned any arrows that tried to get close before sending ships sinking with the Monstrous Nightmare's ferocious, deadly molten fire that burned hotter than fresh lava.

    Astrid and Fishlegs were wreaking havoc with the front ships catapults. While Astrid and Stormfly dived and weaved, Fishlegs and Meatlug rammed head on. Meatlug swallowed catapulted boulders whole and threw them right back▬except, this time, they were coated in Gronckle lava, and smashed right through the decks of ships, sending them sinking. 

    Meanwhile, above, the Twins were still screaming for their lives with a Flightmare close on their tail. The sky was soon a maze of Flightmare mist; a dangerous hazy blue that one too many times got a bit too close to Hiccup and the others for their liking. 

    After a good run at the Hunters, the Dragon Riders returned for cover in the clouds, though with the Flightmare mist, it was harder to hide away from the Hunters' and Beserker arrows. 

    "Hiccup!" said Astrid breathlessly. "There's too many of them▬Ah▬!" Stormfly quickly spun them away from the rampaging Zippleback and Flightmare. 

    "Yeah!" whimpered Fishlegs, dropping Meatlug out of the way of the hazy blue mist. "And the Flightmare really isn't helping."

    "We'll be fine as long as we stay away from the mist!" said Hiccup, dodging a wayward arrow. Toothless screeched angrily and sent a well-aimed blast that took out the launcher even this far away. 

    Ruff and Tuff swooped past him. "Hiccup!" shouted Tuffnut, anxiously glancing back over his shoulder at the angry Flightmare behind them. "Can't you just let it know we're the good guys?!"

    "Yeah!" Ruffnut ducked to avoid an arrow. "Tell it to come in for the big win!"

    Now, Hiccup wasn't usually the one to say this. But sometimes, out of nowhere, at the strangest and most random times, the Twins actually said something that made sense▬even if they never realised it themselves. "Ruff, Tuff▬You guys are brilliant!"

    Tuffnut frowned, startled by Hiccup's grin. "I▬I don't know about brilliant," he murmured thoughfully. "But▬" he then smirked, "▬I guess we do have a certain glow about us..." he cackled. "Get it? 'Cause of our faces."

    Hiccup sighed. "And the brilliance is short-lived. Just▬Everyone! Follow me!"

    He tilted Toothless back down towards the island, leading his friends low through the winding trees and crevices. He unclasped the pouches tied to his saddle and with his metal leg still hooked in his saddle, slipped down sideways and held out one pouch. Toothless swooped past the stream and Hiccup scooped up as much algae infested water in his pouch as he could. 

    His friends all quickly understood what his plan was, and soon, their hands and their dragons' claws were filled with a sticky, glowy blue arsenal. 

    Hiccup led his team of Dragon Riders back towards the boats. None of them had any clue what was going on when they all dived in one by one, dropping their pouches (or throwing them at an unsuspecting Hunter in the face), covering their deck and even the warriors in thick, gooey, glowing blue algae. 

    He pulled Toothless back up into the air, watching as the Dragon Hunters and Beserkers all glanced down at the algae at their feet. And then, ignorant, they began to laugh.

    Ryker laughed the loudest. Hiccup narrowed his eyes▬admittedly, he was going to be satisfied to see the man who had trapped and taken Helrose be completely overrun, and not even realise until the last minute. "HA HA!" he bellowed a hysterical laughter, doubling over. His men soon followed. "OH NO!" he taunted upwards to the clouds where Hiccup and the Dragon Riders were watching. "You got us! We surrender!"

    Hiccup smirked, smug when he watched all of their faces start to drop when they heard the whistling shriek of the Flightmare▬heading straight for them. They had no time to react. Half of Ryker's men on his boat were frozen by the Flightmare's mist before he had the chance to shout even a single order. 

    "Ryker, Dagur," Hiccup held out his arms, smug from his saddle. Ryker Grimborn clenched his teeth and glowered up at the Dragon Riders, and their leader who chuckled, "I'd like you to meet my friend, the Flightmare."

    The ships were chaos. Hunters screamed and fled, but weren't fast enough to escape the cloud of mist that shrouded their sails and their catapults. Men were frozen right where they stood. Dagur tried to rally his army, but most dived over the edge in fear for their lives, who were paraylised from head to toe.

    As Hiccup returned to the clouds, a mighty roar echoed across the night. White-hot fire the colour of steel shattered the catapults of a ship yet to be engulfed in Flightmare mist, and moments later, there revealed Heather▬alive and on Windshear's back.

    She soared towards Hiccup. "I'm so sorry, Hiccup!" she cried, sounding miserable with guilt. "Viggo. He▬He made me▬"

    "I know," said Hiccup, holding out his hands. "I know. It's okay, he tricked us all. Where is he now?"

    Heather glanced back the way she game, distressed. "Still on his ship, I think▬" she pointed to one that drifted alone on the West side of the island. Hiccup narrowed his eyes and set his jaw. An unfamiliar feeling of anger swelled up in his chest. 

    Suddenly, Yrsa gasped. "Hiccup!"

    Her distress sent him into alarm. He urged Toothless around to see what she was pointing at, and his eyes widened. "NO!" he shouted, watching as the Hunters managed to overwhelm the Flightmare. They threw nets over its body. It screeched and tried to defend itself, but then one managed to clasp a tight muzzle over its snout, leaving it defenceless. 

    Hiccup's plan had been too ambitious. He might have stopped a lot of the fleet, but he had led the Flightmare right into a trap.

    This was his fault.

    Heather gritted her teeth furiously. A vicious look crossed her features▬a crazed anger of the Beserker. "Sorry, not gonna happen!" with a cry, she dived Windshear down into the thick of the arrows and flames before Hiccup could react.

    "Heather!" he shouted, throwing out a hand to try and stop her. "Wait▬No!"

    "What is she doing?!" cried Yrsa with livid frustration. "Is she mad?! Heather!"

    Heather and Windshear took to a sharp dive towards Dagur's ship. They dodged the first set of arrows and nets, but weren't so lucky on the next. The second net spirralled and encased them. They went crashing onto the deck. 

    "For the love of Odin!" let out Yrsa angrily. She huffed and tilted Helrose down towards the ships. "I'm going after her!"

    Hiccup's eyes widened and his stomach twisted. "Wait, no, Yrsa▬hang on!" 

    But in a split second, she was gone too. Hiccup let out a frustrated cry. "Let's go, bud!" He tried to follow, but where Yrsa managed to slip through the first defences as the Beserkers and Hunters reloaded, Hiccup couldn't. He had no choice but to pull back to avoid a cascade of dragon root arrows. "YRSA!" he shouted over the sound of wood whipping through the wind. 

    He spun Toothless out of the way. He heard Yrsa's furious shouts, and glanced back over. "NO▬!" 

    A boulder grazed Helrose's leg and both of them went spiralling down. Hiccup threw out his hand, as if that would be able to catch her▬he was too far away, he couldn't get any closer. All he could do was watch as Yrsa and Helrose crashed onto the ship near Heather and was soon swarmed by Hunters. They threw a net over the both of them, and they were captured. "YRSA!"

    Astrid swooped in beside him. "We got her!" she promised and Snotlout pulled up on his other side.

    "Yeah!" Hookfang burst into flames in his fury. "We'll keep trying for them! Those Hunters will regret it when they meet the wrath of Snotfang!" Snotlout yelled a blood curdling cry that was more like a strangled scream (and wasn't exactly that brave) as he and Hookfang dived into the arrows with Astrid, Fishlegs and the Twins following. 

    Hiccup watched them, and felt something resonate deep within him▬to see his team have Yrsa's back no matter their differences, no matter their arguments, and no matter all the times they butt heads and complained. Yrsa believed she was alone, but the truth was, this whole time, she had a whole team that would dive into the depths of Niflheim if it meant saving her life▬and she had no clue. 

    Hiccup gritted his teeth. He would be going with them, but he and Toothless had places to be▬and he knew that if Yrsa was here, she'd be telling him herself to go after Viggo. And so, with one last look at his team and the battle below, veered Toothless around. His Night Fury folded his wings and they shot towards the western side of the island where Viggo's ship drifted aimlessly underneath the shadows of the sea stacks. 

    He and Toothless landed on the deck of Viggo's ship. He leapt off his saddle and Toothless growled, baring his sharp teeth at the entrance to the upper deck. Hiccup scowled, scanning the deck of the longship, but there seemed to be no Viggo in sight. 

    "Viggo?!" he shouted, furious. He clenched his hands. "Show yourself!"

    There was no answer. There was no movement. Viggo was long gone. 

    Hiccup took a few deep breaths to control his anger, wanting to throw something. Toothless noticed and warbled gently, nudging his snout at Hiccup's hand, but he just pulled away. 

    "He can't have gone far, bud," he said, moving to saddle his dragon again. "We have to find him."

    Toothless was uneasy at his rider's fury, nervous at how easily it was controlling his logic and reason.

    Another dragon landed on the deck. Hiccup glanced over, and his eyes flashed to see Astrid and Stormfly. Hiccup left his saddle and marched over to the Hofferson. "What are you doing here?" he demanded. "Where's Yrsa?"

    The look on Astrid's face told him enough. Hiccup stopped and felt something in him rip apart. He shook his head, breathless for a moment as he realised. "No," he said stubbornly. Astrid winced. 

    "Hiccup▬" she tried but he cut her off.

    "No!" he kicked the deck with his metal foot, furious. 

    "We couldn't get to them," Astrid tried to explain, wary of his reaction. "There were too many of them, we were outnumbered."

    "So?" Hiccup marched back to Toothless. "We'll go again. And again▬we keep pushing at them. Take out their catapults, their launches▬we can't just leave her!"

    "They're gone, Hiccup!" snapped Astrid Hofferson, trying to get through to him. Hiccup clenched the handle bars of his saddle, breathing deeply. Toothless warbled another concerned moan up at him. "The Hunters took her, Heather and the Flightmare. If you went after them, it'd be suicide."

    He clenched his eyes shut. He knew she was right. He knew it wasn't her fault. They were outnumbered and outmanned▬tricked and led right into Viggo's trap, and Yrsa paid for it.

    Hiccup leaned forward in his saddle, defeated. Yrsa had seen this happen. She had been unsure of this plan. She had been wary and she had been right! And Hiccup sent them into this trap anyway. She had trusted his judgement, and he let her down, and now she was gone. 

    This was all his fault.

    Hiccup took one last deep breath and sat back in his saddle, meeting Astrid's tearful gaze with a distraught, miserable one of his own. "I screwed up," he admitted, slumping in defeat. "Viggo's gone, too ... Astrid, this guy isn't messing around."

    "No kidding," she muttered and Stormfly nudged her shoulder, sensing how upset she was. Astrid couldn't even manage to give her dragon a scratch. "Hiccup, I'm sorry▬"

    "It's not your fault," he sighed and placed a hand on Toothless's snout, searching for comfort. "I led us into this trap. I made the call. I placed the Flightmare right into their hands. I▬I put Yrsa in this position. This ... this is all my fault..."

    "It's not just on you," stressed the Hofferson. She walked up to him and he met her gaze again, vulnerable. "Hiccup, we're a team. This is all our faults..." she pursed her lips, a horrible thought hitting her. "Hiccup," she said again, distressed, "what if▬what if they▬?"

    He knew what she was going to say and held up his hand. "Don't say it. They're alive. Yrsa's alive. I know it. Viggo would want to question her, he wouldn't kill her."

    Astrid's shoulders fell. Those words didn't do much to reassure her. "So ... what do we do?"

    Hiccup didn't know. He glanced out at where the sky met the ocean, and felt his heart tug towards wherever they were taking Yrsa. He had to find her. He had to save her▬he didn't know how, but he wasn't going to give up until he found her, and he had her back. That thought filled him with a new sense of determination. "Our dragons may not be enough. We're gonna have to out-think this guy, outsmart him somehow. Or Yrsa, Heather, Helrose and Windshear ... they stand no chance."

    He set his jaw and scowled out at the horizon. "But we'll find them," he promised the night sky. "We'll find them, Astrid▬I won't stop until Yrsa and Helrose are back home. And Viggo?" Hiccup Haddock clenched his hands. Toothless growled. "He's going to regret ever messing with us▬I'll make sure of it."

✰彡

   a/n: hey guys!!! look i'm back and better than ever! sorry that it's been ... a year. i don't know who is still reading yrsa's story, and i know i still have httyd 3 to write in her main book. I haven't forgotten, i promise! i explained this in Valkyrie's rtte book, but i'll explain again. I fell out of love with the httyd fandom for a while. not the series and the characters and everything itself, but the fandom. the casting for the httyd live action film, and how everyone reacted, especially surrounding nico parker, and how they treated her, made me realise how toxic and just horrible the httyd fandom can be. i was ashamed of it, and i no longer wanted to be apart of it.

    but the growing support the live action film is getting from a few selective editors i've seen, and are mutuals with, and people on my account here have brought back my faith in the fandom, plus the teaser trailer has had be return to my hyperfixation of this series. so here we are, writing my httyd books again, and i have missed these characters and their dynamics so much. 

    i hope those of you who are still reading yrsa's story enjoyed this chapter, and i also hope the difference between the first part of this chapter which i had already written, and the parts i continued recently are not too different in style and quality that its hard to read. Also, i promise, you will not have to wait an entire year for the next chapter haha. ily all <3 

    (minimal editing).