A few minutes later, Hiccup, Rylan, Freil, Toothless, and Jolt all burst out of the dungeons. Cold, damp air hit them as they ran out, and the light gray clouds sprinkled softly down on them. 

Hiccup and Rylan both stopped in their tracks, taking huge lungfuls of fresh air. It was clear and cool, filling both of them with hope and strength. Toothless shivered excitedly, thrilled to be outside, and Jolt shook out his long neck with ecstacy. 

But then they remembered their situation. Toothless's fake tail had been confiscated as a precaution when they had been captured, and Jolt wasn't strong enough to carry all of them.

Freil lead them over to a pile of boulders nearby and whispered, "They'll be keeping your things in the storehouse. There's usually only one guard, but we'll have to be sneaky. If Alvin knows you're out..." he let his sentence trail off meaningfully. 

"Right," Rylan said, nodding. "So what do we do?" 

Glancing around conspiratorally, Freil said, "We make a diversion." 

--------------------------------------------------

The storehouse guard leaned against the cold stone, fighting to keep his eyes open. He'd been up most of the night because of a couple Terrible Terrors who had decided to fly around his room. The annoying little pests had knocked over most of his belongings and scratched all the walls. 

"Nasty little dragons," he muttered, rubbing his eyes. As he settled himself more comfortably against the wall, he heard a couple of voices whispering nearby.

"Okay, I'll sneak up from behind and then you'll come around from the other side." 

The guard did a double take. The voices sounded like they belonged to teenage boys. What were they talking about? 

The voices were coming from behind a large outcrop of rocks. Grinning at his genius of surprising them in the act, he crept over to the rocks and peeked around the edge. 

A heavy rock was slung in his face the moment he had appeared around the corner. The foolish grin still stuck on his face, the guard fell with a thud. 

"Twice in one day!" Rylan whispered ecstatically. Hiccup snickered softly, and the three boys grabbed the guard by his legs and hid him behind the rocks. 

With a crisp jingle of metal, Freil procured the keys from his pocket. He handed the ring to Rylan, who crept swiftly and silently over to the storehouse. After a few attempts to find the right key, the door swung open. 

He stole inside and emerged a few minutes later with Jolt's saddle, Toothless's tail, and his own helmet and axe.

Sighing happily, he handed Hiccup the tail and spun his axe. "It's good to be back," he grinned. 

As Hiccup secured the tail, he said quietly, "Okay. When I'm done we need to book it out of here. Be ready." 

Freil shuffled his feet awkwardly. Rylan answered the question before he could ask. "You're with me Freil. Come here." 

Jolt lowered obediently to the ground, allowing them access. Hesitantly, Freil reached out and touched the smooth scales. He giggled nervously, having never touched a dragon before. Jolt sighed impatiently, and Rylan helped Freil climb up. 

The two Outcasts looked down on Hiccup, who had just finished attaching the tail. He clicked his metal foot into place and said, "Let's go!" 

Toothless and Jolt spread their enormous wings for the first time in weeks. The wind brushed past them, the wide gray sky welcoming them back. 

The dragons surged off the ground, wings just scraping the ground as they took off. All three boys closed their eyes. For Rylan and Hiccup, it was with happiness. With Freil, it was the terror of being off the ground. He clung to the Rylan like wool on a sheep. 

But for that one second that they weren't looking, something terrible happened. 

Unknown to them, Throg had woken up and immediately alerted Alvin of their escape. The moment they had left the ground and closed their eyes, Outcasts had swarmed underneath them. 

Weighted nets began flying everywhere. With a roar of warning, Jolt forced the riders to open their eyes. A heavy net clipped Toothless on the leg, sending him spinning away. 

Through the storm of nets, Rylan heard a terrifying sound. Alvin. 

He was sitting astride his abused dragon, forcing it to go faster and faster. The Whispering Death drew closer and closer, but it's eyes were downcast and held no conviction. Alvin's eyes however, blazed with fire and fury. 

"Rylan! Freil! You traitorous, villainous dogs! You have betrayed your tribe and shamed us all with your fratenization with Berk. You are unworthy of the proud beast you ride, and I will get it from you if I have to rip you limb from limb!" 

Jolt bellowed a challenge, turning to face the furious Outcast chief. Below them, all had fallen still. The nets stopped flying and the only sound was the loud pump of wind created by the dragon's wings. 

Hiccup and Toothless had been knocked far away, but they could clearly see what was happening. 

For one second, everything fell silent. Then, out of the storm clouds, there came blasts of fire from every direction followed by a swarm of dragons.