A/N: Happy Thanksgiving everyone, hope you enjoy it! Thankfully I have time to treat you guys with another chapter, hope you enjoy it!

(Normal pov— Isle of Berk, three years ago)

Hiccup and Astrid were splayed out along a field of grass, bathed in the sunset of Berk. The duo had finished feasting in the Great Hall with their friends, now they were alone to spend some quality time together. Sitting up, Hiccup looked to the horizon and wondered to himself what else is out there. It was something he had thought of all the time, even when he was a boy. But after founding the Edge, finding new species of dragons, and the dragon sympathizers he'd met in Scandinavia, Hiccup knew that there were whole other worlds beyond the one he called home.

"I know that look," Astrid sat up and scooted closer to Hiccup. "You think there's more out there?"

"I know there is," Hiccup nodded firmly while looking to his betrothed. "We're Vikings, and part our way of life is not only just battle and honoring the gods, but also exploration. Many of our people have traveled beyond our world to see what else Midgard has to offer. Can you imagine if you, me, the gang, and our dragons ventured out beyond our world to see what else is out there?"

Chuckling softly, Astrid rested her head against Hiccup's shoulder and nodded. "That sounds amazing," she then took one of his hands and laced their fingers together. "As long as you're in my life Hiccup, I don't care what we do. Whether we live our days in Scandinavia, fall in battle, or die of old age. As long as I'm with you, I will die a happy woman." Hiccup turned to Astrid and the two shared a warm smile, she brought their laced fingers to her face and kissed his knuckles. "I love you, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III."

"I love you too, Astrid Hofferson," he used his free hand to tenderly caress her cheek and nodded. "You're the sun that fills me with light and hope; you're the only woman I want to be with." Leaning in, he pressed his lips against hers and he smiled to himself when she moaned happily and returned his kiss. As their kiss grew more heated, Hiccup gently laid Astrid down on the grass and loomed over her. Breaking apart to catch their breath, the young couple gazed at each other with such love and adoration that it took their breath away, Hiccup grinned at the sight of Astrid's cheeks flushed, mouth agape as she was regaining her breath, and raw love shining in her azure eyes.

Hiccup still couldn't believe he was betrothed to this goddess of a woman, he was going to look forward to spending the rest of his life with her.

(Hiccup's pov— Present day)

Waking up was agony, I wanted to dream a little while longer of the times Astrid and I shared over the years. But I knew that if I didn't get up, I was bound to get caught and most likely killed. Four months at sea and I have made good use of that time; I've taken the time to understand the languages of the men and women under Drago's command, I've sabotaged the war machines in the ship I was stowed away on, and I had earned many of the enslaved dragons trust by feeding them from the food stores on board this ship, giving them water, tending to their wounds, and showing them that I'm not like the other humans they're forced to suffer beneath.

For four months, my Scuttleclaws and I have been acting like ship rats; scavenging what we needed to survive our time out at sea. Although the enemy would see my actions as cowardly, I say that committing mass genocide and wiping out an entire race because they refused to bear the yoke of a power-hungry madman is a true act of cowardice. These people don't deserve to be met with honor, they're animals that will soon drown in a sea of their blood soon enough. The warship I had stowed away on belonged to the African War Chief, Ajamu, the Stern. He was one of Drago's "Chosen" warriors, meaning he was one of many foreign warriors among this cesspool of human filth who could potentially lead in Drago's sted, should he die.

None will assume Drago's mantle, and none will remain to lead.

I will see to that personally.

Currently, I was dumping the last crate of the weapons Ajamu had on board his mighty warship, not only that but I had sabotaged the war machines and dragon traps they had down below as well. Now that Ajamu's war supplies were all but gone, he was all but useless to Drago now, his title of "Chosen" would most certainly be stripped or he would meet his demise for failing to ensure his cargo was secured. Those under Drago's command feared him, they simply could not suffer defeat, for they knew that failure would result in their demise. I would use that to my advantage and create a chasm between Drago and those under his command; one could only know fear so long before they decided to rise above it and ultimately crush that fear with courage.

A smirk graced my lips, that would be the key to turning this alliance of murderers against each other, I would commit acts of sabotage and Drago would believe those in his command are imbeciles and would either demote them or simply kill them for all under his banner to bear witness. The fear of seeing their own being slaughtered like cattle will cause the others in Drago's army to either tolerate their leaders' acts of bloodshed for so long before they decide to rebel against Drago. Eventually, Drago will be isolated, leaving him vulnerable and alone.

And my blade will find its way into that monster's heart.

Suddenly, the sounds of footsteps could be heard, I quickly turned to my Scuttleclaws who were quietly playing with each other, and told them to hide. As the baby dragons hid themselves, I quickly moved behind one of the sabotaged war machines and pulled out two throwing knives, which were laced with Slitherwing venom. Peaking my head around the corner, I saw an African man and woman, both of them bore the armor of warriors under Ajamu's flag, and it appeared they were checking the stock below deck. Taking a deep breath, I ready myself as these two hostile warriors noted that their food stores were all but depleted, the crates of weapons were disposed of, and that most of their war machines were now nothing but pin cushions, unfit for battle.

"This offense will certainly give Drago cause to end our lives, we have failed in securing the cargo on this ship—"

"Worry not, brother. None of us here would have the stomach to cross Drago by committing acts of stupidity like this," the woman reassured. "None of us did this, but someone else did." Drawing a sword strapped to her hip, the woman then turned to her brother. "We have a stowaway on board. Find them, and we will bring them to Ajamu." Nodding, the brother drew out his sword and these two warriors began to thoroughly search for me.

This was not good.

If I revealed myself, the enemy would be alerted of my presence, as would Drago. Surprise was my greatest ally at the moment and right now it was in jeopardy. Cursing under my breath, I knew that I needed to think of something fast, or else my quest for vengeance may very well end today. As the brother drew close, I held my breath and my grip on my knives tightened, I was ready to strike but the surprised cries of the sister caused the brother to turn around and see that my Scuttleclaws had begun to overwhelm the sister, sinking their small, yet sharp teeth into her flesh. Her blood-curdling screams filled the air and before the brother could rush to his sister's aid, I grabbed him from behind stabbed him multiple times in the stomach, and then drove one blade each into his throat and his heart. Removing my blades from my opponent could hear the urgent voices of more warriors coming our way.

"Not good," I quickly devise a plan and noted a set of keys on the man I just killed. "Please, let these be the keys to the dragon cages." As I relieve the fallen warrior of his keys, I quickly race to the nearest cage and place the keys into the locks. Thank the gods the cages opened, and the armored dragons I had been helping quickly turned to the lower deck stairs to see larger African warriors coming down to face us. With enraged roars, the armored dragons I had freed then unleashed waves of fire at the incoming aggressors, the smell of burning flesh was revolting, yet I ignored the unpleasant stench and continued freeing the armored dragons below deck. Despite the hostile warrior's efforts, they were overwhelmed by the dragons they had oppressed were either burned to an unrecognizable crisp or ripped to bloody pieces. They soon burst out of the lower deck and began causing mayhem above deck. Seeing there was no point in trying to remain below deck anymore, I turned to my Scuttleclaws and had them follow me as we witnessed many of the warriors on board this warship fall. However, the warriors under Ajamu's command were putting up quite a fight, they were killing many of the dragons I bonded with and it hurt me to see these amazing creatures being slain so brutally.

Knowing that surprise would still be my greatest weapon, I knew that I needed to flee this now burning warship and get to land. But before I could reach my Scuttleclaw, a large hand grabbed me from behind and I received a bone-crushing blow to the head, the force of the blow shattered my riding helmet in half and sent me flying into a nearby war machine. My vision was foggy, my ears were ringing loudly, and I could feel blood trickling down my head. Releasing a shaky breath, I groan in agony as I look up to see Ajamu approaching, his mace chain breaker in hand, and the fire behind illuminated his hulking figure in a menacing manner.

"So, you are the coward who stowed away on board my warship and caused... this," gesturing to the mayhem ensuing, the African War Chieftain bore his teeth. "Who are you? Hmm?" As Ajamu seized me by my hair, I pulled out a throwing knife and slit the top of his wrist open, and then drove that blade into his chest. Roaring out in pain, the hulking African War Chief bashed his head against my own and threw me like a child that held no further interest in a toy. As I slowly got back to my feet, Ajamu then gasped in horror and fell to a single knee as he inspected the chest on his wrist and then looked back at me for an explanation.

"Slitherwing poison," I said without compassion. "Whether you're familiar with it or not doesn't matter to me, that poison takes hold of its victims quickly. You'll be dead in less than a minute." Ajamu's dark skin blanched and he roared out in agony as the poison began to kill him at an alarming rate. Quickly racing to my Scuttleclaws, I climbed on top of one of them, and as we took to the sky, something sharp embedded itself into my side. Crying out in agony, I look down to see an ax embedded in my side, Ajamu had used his last minutes of life to deal me a killing blow before he fell face down on the deck of his warship, dead. The warriors onboard the now doomed vessel nocked their bows and fired arrows at me and my Scuttleclaws with deadly precision. As we climb higher, I take a deep breath and rip the ax out of my side with an agonizing roar. Blood began seeping out of my wound at an alarming rate and I urge my Scuttleclaws to get to land quickly.

However, my Scuttleclaws were slowly but surely getting shot out of the sky, I looked down to see that the remainder of the enemy warships had aimed their war machines towards the heavens to shoot us down. My small pack of Scuttleclaws were drastically cut down from nine to two in little to no time at all, the enemy certainly had deadly aim and knew where to land a killing blow even from long range. As we neared land, I could see nothing a vast wasteland, but I wasn't worried about that at the moment, for now, I wanted to get away from the enemy flotilla and patch myself up before I bled to death. A ballista whistled through the air and struck another one of my Scuttleclaws, the baby dragon let out an agonizing shriek, and its now lifeless carcass landed on top of me and my Scuttleclaw. As we plummeted to our death, I quickly used my suit's glider and preserved my life. However, I then crashed into a hill of sand and then fell on the dry, unforgiving ground.

"Oh gods, that hurt," I wheezed out in pain while sitting up and shaking sand off myself. Excruciating pain shot up my side and I looked down to see that sand had gotten inside my wound, causing me to groan loudly. Quickly reaching into a pouch strapped to the side of my pants, I pull out a clean cloth and put appropriate pressure on my wound to prevent myself from bleeding out here in this wasteland. I then look for my Scuttleclaw and gasped in horror as I saw it not far from where I had crashed, its body was limp and its neck was now at an unnatural angle. This couldn't get any worse, I was now in a foreign land without any means of fast travel now that all my Scuttleclaws were killed and I was bleeding to death. "Could this day get any worse?" I groaned to myself as I began to tread through this unforgiving wasteland.

Hours passed by and I could feel my grip on life slipping each passing second, despite the pressure I was placing on my wound, I was losing too much blood. With an exhausted groan, I then collapsed onto the shifting sands, I could feel tears swelling in my eyes, I had yet to avenge my loved ones and I was to die in an ocean of sand?

No, I have sworn on my sacred arm ring to avenge those I lost, I risk my standing in Valhalla if the oath of vengeance I swore is not kept.

I... I couldn't die. Not yet!

As my vision turned black, I could see... a circular object heading my way, and it was coming fast. And, there was a cloaked figure with a straw hat riding on top of whatever creature was rolling in my direction. Once they stopped in front of me, my vision turned black and my grip on Midgard slipped.

I'm not afraid of death, I crave it.

But I cannot be with my loved ones in Valhalla yet until I exact my revenge on Drago and all who follow him.

Alföðr, please preserve my life.

A/N: Raya to the rescue, these two are finally going to meet in the next update.