fantods

(n.) state of extreme anxiety, distress

Hiccup's couldn't believe how close he was to losing you. If you were just an inch forward then you would be dead on the floor instead of in his hands. And then Hiccup's eyes widened ever so slightly when he became aware of what he's done. His hands were clutching your cheeks tenderly, as if afraid to ever let go. Hiccup had acted strongly on impulse, his first reaction was to make sure you were okay and that's when Hiccup realized how out of character that was for him. He sheepishly moved away his hands and cleared his throat.

You were still too dazed to even say anything. The only thing on your mind right now was how much you missed Hiccup's touch, how your face felt cold and empty without it.
Your heart was no longer pounding like you've ran a marathon, it was calm. Just staring at Hiccup's green eyes made you ten times safer.

"I, um... Hah, that was close." You chuckled nervously. You wanted to ease things up, but Hiccup's face remained thoughtful. He didn't look like he heard what you said, more so, he was probably too embarrassed to even think properly.

The sound of angry men searching outside brought Hiccup back to reality. It was becoming too dangerous to stay in the cave, but at the same time you couldn't get out because you'd be shot on sight. The only solution was to go deeper in the cave and pray to the gods that there will be an exit on the other side.

"We should go." Hiccup said rushing away as fast as possible, fleeing before things got even more awkward. You pursed your lips and boredly followed behind him. You took your time considering the Dragon Hungers haven't entered the cave yet.

Your footsteps echoed in the cave that grew darker and darker with each passing second. Before it got pitch black, you found a torch and Crystal lit it up. There weren't any bones or skeletons on the ground so that was a good sign. It meant that nothing was lurking in the distance... so far.

While walking you had the time to rethink why you were even stuck in this cave in the first place. Everything pointed to the trader.

"I swear to the gods, Johann is definitely working with the Dragon Hunters." You accused furiously. There was no other rational explanation. It was very suspicious how he was always at the wrong place at the wrong tine. How could he have possibly known about the Dragon Auction if he hadn't previously set it up with Viggo? Or why was he so caught up in returning his treasure chests that were worth nothing. It was an obvious trap and so was the last time.

"(Y/N), Johann has been Berk's close friend for more than eighteen years. He would never do that." Hiccup defended the trader as the two of you went further into the cave. You couldn't help but scoff.

"He's a trader Hiccup. The only thing they care about is money and Viggo is rich. So if you think about it, Viggo probably paid Johann to set us up so they can capture us." You countered determinedly, you've lost all trust for Johann and you weren't sure if you will ever regain it. Hiccup looked almost offended when you said that, how dare you suspect trader Johann to be a traitor.

"If that's the case then why doesn't Johann just tell Viggo where we are?" Hiccup challenged with a doubtful stare and for a second that made you ponder. Its easy as that, just tell Viggo where the Edge is and get it over with. So why does Johann play this game of chase?

"Well- Well... Well maybe they're planning to huh?"

"Sure and the earth is round."

"Maybe Viggo's fleet is gathering as we speak!"

"Look we'll talk about this later, now lets find a way to get out of here." Hiccup said exhaustedly and then mounted Toothless, probably intending to use his echolocation. It was much easier that way and you'd be able to leave faster. Which was great because you were starting to get anxious from the eerie silence.

"I still stand on my words though." You replied proudly and climbed on your saddle.

-----

You managed to exit the cave without any problems, fortunately. And after that was just a matter of going home. You were hoping to meet trader Johann on the way and confront him about everything he's caused, but you didn't have that luck. When you reached the Edge, you collapsed on the bed right away and drifted to sleep the moment your head hit the pillow.

The next couple of weeks though, Hiccup was acting strangely unusual. He was a lot more friendlier towards you and didn't distance himself whenever he had the opportunity. You found it weird in the beginning since you got used to his cold demeanour, but it was pleasant to have him pay attention to you once more. You didn't forget about the whole Johann scenario and you didn't want to bring it up in case Hiccup gets mad at you again. Plus you didn't have any solid proof that it was Johann's wrongdoing, for all you knew he could've treasured every possession he had, even those with less quality. You decided to leave it all behind and focus on something else.

It was one of those days on the Edge that had you idly walking around the room with nothing to do. The gloomy weather outside trapped you in the hut and you couldn't even go on a flight with Crystal, you were forced to listen to the pouring rain. You went over to the window and placed your arms on the frame. The bored expression rested on your face as you stared outside. It was rather beautiful, the sky looked like an artist's canvas covered in all the shades of grey and the sun's beaming rays were safely hidden behind the clouds. You soon grew bored of it and your back started to hurt after a minute.

You stretched, getting rid of all the stiffness in your muscle and after that you started cleaning up a bit. Even if your hut wasn't messy, you still wanted to polish it till it was squeaky-clean.

While you were busy dusting a cabinet, you noticed something hidden in the far back of it. Your eyebrows furrowed at the sight, it was a very small box you don't remember putting there. You got on your tip toes to reach it and after taking ahold of it, the red ribbon tied around the box immediately reminded you of the circumstances why the box was placed there in the first place.

It was the gift you were planning you give Hiccup for your first anniversary, initially it was planned for Snoggletog but in both cases you never got the chance to actually give it to Hiccup. You watched the box with a woeful expression, your fingers gently caressing the top of it. It reminded you of how happy Hiccup would've been if he received his present, but now you weren't so sure that he would react so enthusiastic.

You could just take the dragon eye out and tell him you randomly found it, but that would be plain and simple. While you were walking towards Hiccup's hut, you were still internally pondering what to do. Your pace slowed down as you started to approach the hut. With a shaky breath you were determined to give it to him and get this over with.

Your knuckles rhythmically tapped against the wooden door and luckily you heard a certain voice from inside saying that it was open. You walked in and a smile slowly found its way on Hiccup's features when he noticed it was you standing there.

"Hey. What are you doing?" You asked, hoping Hiccup wasn't busy with anything in particular. You saw open bottles of paint all around the desk, another bottle of ink and a few brushes dipped in water. In the center there was an open book filled with random sketches, presumably ones Hiccup wad intending to colour. He replied with a simple 'nothing' and then started closing the bottles and setting them aside.

"And you?" Hiccup asked expectantly and you started taking out the box from your pocket.

"I um, came to give you this." You said happily and held out the small box with the cute ribbon. Hiccup's eyes traveled down to your hands and his eyebrows arched up in surprise. He gently took it in his hand and pulled the ribbon. A wide grin slowly found its way on his lips when he opened the box. After the amnesia Hiccup didn't really know what the Dragon Eye was so after a lot of explaining he finally got the hang of it. And its safe to say that the excitement was as exact as before.

"Oh my Thor. Where did you find this?" Hiccup impatiently took out the dragon lens and inspected it closer. It was the same as any other lens from the collection, round, wooden and with a glass circle inside. But what was surely different were the maps and information's engraved on it and the only way to access them was with the Dragon Eye. And because of that Hiccup didn't waste a second longer because he was already looking for the it.

"From an island." You smiled cheekily and Hiccup shot you a look that screamed 'are you serious'. He then went back to digging through a big wooden chest. It was located in the middle of the room, right above it were all of Toothless's tailfins hanging perfectly aligned. Speaking of which, the black Night Fury and Crystal stormed in the room and chased each other in the very small space and because of that, the whole hut shook like there was an earthquake.

"Crystal." You said in a low, authoritative voice. No other words were needed because Crystal immediately came to a halt and her paw was left hanging in air while she watched you with a pout. Toothless playfully stuck out his tongue at Crystal and then rushed to Hiccup just as he got up.

While Hiccup was putting the lens in the Dragon Eye, Toothless was circling around him like a cat. He nuzzled his head against Hiccup who stumbled a bit and the auburn haired boy chuckled at his eager dragon. "Okay, slow burn bud."

Toothless opened his mouth and you got a clear view of the plasma that start to form in the back of his throat. Usually that was enough to light up the Dragon eye but what surprised everyone was the fact that nothing happened. Absolutely nothing showed up on the wall. Toothless tried two more times and in both cases you got the same futile results. This has never occurred before and it made you and Hiccup share a confused look.

"I-I don't understand. Why isn't anything showing up?" Hiccup said in utter disbelief. The simple explanation could be that either the Dragon Eye or the lens was broken. And while you were wondering which one it could be, Hiccup took one glance at Crystal and seemingly figured out the problem right away. "Crystal come here."

Toothless's plasma worked all of the time so you were skeptical that the dragon would be the cause. And you were proven right when Crystal tried flaming up the Dragon Eye and it didn't budge. You started rambling how Hiccup should have a look at the Dragon Eye instead of trying every dragon on the island, but then your voice died down when Hiccup clicked a button that changed the gem. Hence, changing the dragon class.

The whole room lit up with bright blue light emitting from the Dragon Eye and your mouth was left hanging ajar. You gaped with eyes as wide as a saucer plates, the wall was now covered in random symbols and scribbles and you couldn't tear your gaze away from it. It was a completely new map and there were so many unexplored things that were just waiting to be discovered.

But that was only part of the surprise because the biggest one was the drawing in the middle, it looked like a Stealth Strike dragon, it looked like Crystal. You had to walk closer to get a better view and assure yourself that your eyes weren't lying to you.

"No way... Is that... A Crystal... A Stealth Strike?" You were struggling so hard to form a proper sentence so you ended up blurting out random words that running through your mind. Your brain was currently severely malfunctioning from the new information but that didn't stop the wide, delighted grin that broke on your face. You couldn't believe it. After years of pointlessly searching for directions, for a clue, for anything at all, you legitimately hit the jackpot. You finally have a lead to follow. Everything you needed to know about Crystal's species was right in front of you. And you no longer had to travel from island to island in hopes of miraculously finding another dragon like Crystal.

"Oh my gods, oh my gods, oh my gods!" You screeched enthusiastically and turned to find your dragon radiating the same energy, she was tottering and vigorously shaking her tail left and right. And the excited glimmer in her eyes made you even more joyful. As quick as lightning, Crystal pounced on you and you gave her the happiest hug ever. You were absolutely grateful that she stuck with you all this time and never left your side, because without her you were never going to survive.

You parted from Crystal and locked eyes with Hiccup who was coming towards you with a grin. You were too excited to even let him finish his sentence about how amazing this is. Hiccup was cut off when you suddenly and without warning lunged at him with full force. You tightly wrapped your arms around him and squeezed him like a snake. You started spinning around along with Hiccup and the whole hut echoed with your shrill laughter. It was so contagious that even Hiccup ended up laughing and for a second you felt like you were on the top of the world.

Gradually you returned to your senses and that's when you saw just how close Hiccup's face was, merely inches away. His smile mirrored yours perfectly and you found yourself repeatedly glancing at it. Now when there weren't any other sounds, except for the occasional laugh, you noticed how fast your heart was beating. And you were having a hard time figuring out whether it was because of Hiccup or the Dragon lens.

You didn't dare to move a muscle for the sole reason that you didn't want to shoo Hiccup away. Normally he would've leaped away by now and turn into an awkward, stammering mess, though it surprised you how he stayed like this for this long and managed to keep his cool. For a moment it almost seem like his face was coming closer, it was probably just your imagination but then that moment was ruined when the door slammed open and Astrid came into view.

Out of reflex, you sprung away from Hiccup the moment you heard the door creak. Either Astrid didn't see or she didn't care enough to make a comment, she just got straight to the point.

"Hiccup we have a problem. A huge problem." Astrid said breathlessly and your mind started racing.

"Viggo?" Hiccup replied apprehensively.

But the look on Astrid's face was clearly showing that Viggo was nowhere near as bad as whatever the problem was. "Worse."

"What could possibly be worse than Viggo?" Hiccup asked the question that you were dying to know the answer to. And that's when you noticed something approaching from the distance, it was incredibly fast and before you could even see what it is, it came crashing through the door and toppling Astrid underneath it.

A purple Monstrous Nightmare with a peachy tinted snout and lavish orange stripes on the wings that almost came out looking yellowish. The dragon was a sharp reminder of Hookfang, like any other Monstrous Nightmare for that matter. And as much as it was interesting to see a random dragon end up in the hut, it was no match to seeing a person on its back.
It was a boy, a tad bit younger than you for sure. His hair was so dark it looked like thin strings of coal were glued to his scalp. He was wearing standard Viking clothes, green tunic and a belt buckle that was obviously too big, but still clung tightly and of course a helmet.

"Gustav!"

"Gustav?!"

"Gustav."

Your eyes darted back and forth at everyone while they all said the same thing, presumably the boy's name. They were all sprawled on the floor like sardines and finally the boy got up. Gustav's whole face beamed with joy as he looked at every aspect of the room, a wide smile slowly forming on his features. You noticed Hiccup hide the Dragon Eye behind his back while Gustav was coming closer. Now you were dumbstruck and wondering how on earth you weren't aware of this dragon rider's existence and why has nobody mentioned him before.

"Gustav, what are you doing here?" Hiccup asked, half-way realizing how bad it sounded. Though Gustav didn't seem to mind because he was too busy observing the room. "I-I mean, to what do we owe the pleasure of this visit?" Hiccup corrected himself and sat down in front of the wooden chest, leaning his arm on it.

And it seemed that the news of the guest spread fast because not a second later, the gang were all huddled in front of the door.

"Hiccup, did you hear Gustav is..." Snotlout exclaimed in utter shock, but then slowly stopped when he noticed the two new arrivals present in the room. "...Standing right beside you. Perfect."

"You're looking a little different there, Guster." Tuffnut piped in and walked closer to the thrilled looking boy.

"Yeah, I'm growing a beard." Gustav replied contently, he had his arms on his hips and was simply radiating pride. Everyone was having a hard time believing that since his chin was as clear as a whistle, but then Gustav pointed at a spot where there was a singular, thin piece of hair.

"Really? Let me see. Ha! Even Ruff has more hair on her chinny-chin-chin than that." Tuffnut said mockingly and plucked out the hair from Gustav's chin, which was probably his proudest achievement. The raven haired boy jumped back in pain and ended up smashing on the chest. By doing that, Gustav spotted the Dragon Eye that was conveniently resting atop of the wooden surface. And then suddenly all the pain disappeared, replaced by intrigue.

"Hey, what's that thing?" Gustav gasped and grabbed the Dragon eye which was still lit. Since he wasn't familiar with the object and wanted to check every bits and before anyone could react, Gustav ended up shining the Dragon Eye directly in his eye.

Nobody has done that before, but you were certain it would be blinding for a couple of seconds since it was strong light after all. You stood correct, because the next thing you know Gustav is spinning around like a drunken man that's had lots of ale.

"Oh! Whoa! You see these spots? Some sort of sun sword?" Gustav gasped and then clumsily let go of the Dragon Eye. Fortunately Hiccup caught it before it could hit the floor and he gave it to Fishlegs knowing that it would be in safe hands there.

"No, Gustav, it's not a sun sword." Hiccup muttered annoyed. While Fishlegs was explaining how that was the Dragon eye and how old and fragile it was, Gustav somehow managed to manoeuvre past the wooden chest and ended up slamming headfirst into the wall. That caused one of Toothless's tailfins to fall off the wall. The black dragon captured it in his arms and snarled at Gustav.

"It isn't something to just be touched." Fishegs chastised.

"Relax, Fishlegs, I know what I'm doing." Gustav said boastfully. He was still whirling like a ballerina and slammed into the wall once more, this time knocking down all of the tailfins. Gustav's dragon placed a fallen tailfin on Toothless's head and you let out a quiet chuckle. This was the literal representation of 'cherry on top'.

While the others started interrogating Gustav why he was here, you helped Hiccup clean up the wreck. The moment Gustav announced that he was moving in here, the room was filled by simultaneous chorus of gasps from everyone. You looked up, surprised to find that everyone has moved a step back. You didn't know why the gang was so shocked because Gustav seemed like pretty nice kid, a bit too curious for his own well being, but nice.

"Imagine... he would never... Wait, he's serious?" Currently, Tuffnut was in deep denial, but after the information finally sunk in, he calmed down completely. "I'll get the stake and firewood."

"Oh, hold on, hold on. No one is burning anyone at the stake." Hiccup stopped the twins before they actually do anything. Then Ruffnut shared her ingenious plan of throwing Gustav off a cliff instead, earning a face palm from Hiccup. He probably knew how that feels like.

"Guys, I'm sure there's a simple explanation. Please tell me there's a simple explanation, Gustav." Hiccup asked with a hopeful tone.

"Yeah, very simple. By the way, do not look right into that sun sword thing." Gustav advised and rubbed his eyes. "Whoo! Anyway, you said when I was ready, I could join the Dragon Riders. Well, I'm ready and I'm here to join. Where's my hut?"

-----

Hiccup gathered everyone outside for a group meeting, it was a very bold move to leave Gustav inside all alone and exploring like a thief that has just seen a pile of gold.

"We can't let him stay here Hiccup, he's too annoying." Snotlout scoffed, assuming Hiccup was going to say something like that.

"For once, I agree with him." Fishlegs added and that's when the rest chimed in sharing the same complain.

"Look, guys, we're just going to let him stay here for a day or two just so he can see what its like and then we'll tell him he's still too young to join. Deal?" Hiccup suggested a nice plan that was a win-win for both sides. It wouldn't crush Gustav's heart and he won't be bugging the gang for an extended period of time.

"And it the mean time we'll have to babysit him. Great." Astrid rolled her eyes and the gang all laughed, including you, but you all knew it was the truth.

"I'm not babysitting him first!" Ruff was the first to announce.

"Me neither!"

"Not me!"

"Count me out."

"I'm last!"

Before you uttered anything, it was already over and you were the only one left.

"Okay fine! Its not like Gustav's that hard to control! It will be easy-peasy."

You were dead wrong.

-----

"What's Astrid's favourite flower? Does she like chocolate? Or is she allergic to it... Anyways when's her birthday?"

You buried your face in your hands and dragged your hands down your cheek in pure annoyance. You thought that babysitting a sixteen year old kid would be a piece of cake since he's almost an adult and was probably mature enough, but you stood wrong because you've never met someone as childish as Gustav. You didn't know how to keep him occupied so you made the fatal mistake to take Gustav to your hut. You had some board games you thought he'd like but nope, the only thing Gustav wanted to do was talk about Astrid, go through your stuff and talk about Astrid even more.

You followed Gustav as he went from one corner to the other and started opening drawers, taking things off the shelves, flipping through your sketchbooks and then simply leaving them and go to the next thing. You thought yourself as a patient person, but he was getting on your last nerves.

"Okay Gustav! If you're so interested in Astrid why don't we pay her a visit then?" You snapped, though Gustav didn't seem to mind your agitated comment because he stopped everything he was doing and whipped his head in your direction. The most delighted smile popped on his face once you beckoned him to the door. Once out of the hut, Fanghook and Crystal lead the way to the arena while you and Gustav walked behind them the. It was quiet for a moment and instead of finding it relaxing that you no longer had to listen to Gustav ramble about his crush on Astrid, you found it weirdly uncomfortable how it was so silent all of the sudden.

"So, Hiccup and you aren't dating anymore?" Now that was a question you weren't expecting to hear from Gustav. For starters, you didn't see him as the type to be concerned about anyone but himself, let alone Hiccup and your's relationship. Which is why you were speechless for a short moment.

"Uh, who told you that?" You asked.

"Berk folks. You know how they are. News gets everywhere." Gustav shrugged. You knew how much village people enjoyed some juicy gossip and you knew for a fact that the innkeeper lady was responsible for this, since she was the only one that knew, besides Hiccup's parents but you doubted they would tell anything. And that train of thought came to a halt when you remembered that the last time Stoick was here, things ended on bad terms. So it was possible that he could've mentioned something.

You glanced at Gustav who was still waiting for your reply, but you decided to get some answers out of him first, see what the gossip is. "What are they saying?"

"Some say you dumped Hiccup, others say he broke up with you, then some say you both hate each other's guts and so on. I kind of last track. There are so many stories." Gustav said and you couldn't help but rise your eyebrows.

"Really? They talk that much?"

"Of course. Hiccup is the chief's son after all. That and people are so bored that they have no nothing else to do than gossip."

You let out a chuckle, but internally you were debating whether to come clean and hope Gustav wouldn't snitch. In the end you decided to stay true to yourself and everyone else. "Well either way its true."

Gustav's smile suddenly dropped to a frown. "Why? What happened?"

"Hiccup got amnesia. For a while he didn't remember Toothless nor me. Though strangely enough he did remember the gang and Berk." You briefed him in and watched as the raven haired boy stopped in his tracks.

"Wait so you're saying Hiccup lost his memory?" Gustav gasped and you saw the shock register on his features. You gave him a slight nod in response and told him not to tell anyone. You weren't sure how reliable Gustav was and you could only hope that he wouldn't share this with every villager on Berk the moment he goes home.

"Eventually he did regain his memories... But not his feelings." You replied with the last sentence coming out as a whisper. There was still a nagging pain no matter how much time passed. Sure Hiccup wasn't giving you the cold shoulder anymore and talked to you like he did with everyone, but the thing is, you wanted more than that. On the other hand you were receiving some mixed signals from him, some times you couldn't tell if Hiccup was advancing or simply being friendly. For a while you were used to Hiccup barely talking to you so now you were afraid you were just imagining things and that they're not what you think they are.

"Aw, but you two are perfect together!" Gustav protested hopelessly, probably out of pity. You knew that talking about this will only remind you what you've lost and you didn't want to spend the night overthinking this conversation, so you decided to change the theme before it was too late. And what better way than to make Gustav talk about his undying crush towards a certain blondie.

"Just like you and Astrid." You joked knowing for sure that you were only adding fuel to the fire. Astrid will certainly get back to you for this, that is without a doubt. But the excited, boyish grin that broke on Gustav's face was worth it.

-----

When you reached the arena, you spotted Astrid throwing axes in the barrels like she usually does. She swung the weapon which effortlessly hit the center of a barrel and you figured that was the perfect timing to announce yourselves. You gave her an encouraging applause and after seeing that Gustav immediately started clapping way more wildly and he even whistled.

You shook your head in amusement and heard him whisper 'Am I doing something wrong' when Astrid scowled at him instead of giving a grateful smile Gustav supposedly expected. You didn't say anything, just patted his back. He had lots to learn.

"Hey Astrid, Gustav here wants to help with your target practice. Isn't that right Gustav?" You nudged him with your elbow and earned a weird look from Astrid who had no idea what was going on.

"It sure is!" Gustav exclaimed enthusiastically, adding more confusion to Astrid. You gave her a 'Just roll with it' look and she let an exasperated sigh. Together with Crystal, you walked away from the center and took cover under the shades. You watched as Gustav was swooning over Astrid and she pushed him away. This was undoubtedly the most hilarious thing that has happened on the Edge these past few days.

Astrid took one of the barrels and tossed one to Gustav who miraculously grabbed it. "Okay. When I say throw. You throw." Astrid assigned the easiest job imaginable and she hopped on Stormfly. The Deadly Nadder did a few tricks in air together with Astrid and they finished off with a spin. You had to admit, it was pretty impressive.

When Stormfly was nearing the ground, Astrid ordered Gustav to throw the barrel. One look at the boy and you knew this wasn't going to end well. Gustav was leaning on his dragon and was holding the barrel to his side which meant that he wouldn't be fast enough to throw it away. The second thing pointing to doom was the fact that Gustav was daydreaming, out of all the times he could be doing that, he chose to do it now. And from the lovestruck expression on his face, you could tell he didn't even hear Astrid.

It was too late now, Astrid already called out the order and as a result of that Stormfly didn't hesitate to fire her spines. Your breath hitched in a second when as you realized that this will end up fatally, but thank the gods Astrid immediate reaction to throw her axe directed the spines elsewhere. All except one.

Astrid had to dive in and tackle Gustav out of the way where the spine almost hit him, but Gustav continued being in love at her and didn't even notice the fact she saved his life. Gustav uttered one 'hi' while Astrid got off him and that was the last straw. She was officially creeped out. You burst into laughter at the sight, Astrid was so angry you could practically see the steam coming out of her ears. But when she snapped her head in your direction and started marching towards you with heavy steps, you knew this was the end of you.

"(Y/N), I swear to Thor, if you don't take this muttonhead out of my sight right now, I'll break all of your bones, one by one." Astrid's seethed, venom dripping with each word said. You chuckled nervously and jolted towards Gustav who was still lying on the ground with a dazed smile, still daydreaming without a doubt.

"Okay Gustav, uh, how about you go to the twins? Help out with something." You suggested with a stutter, tense under Astrid's threatening glare. Surprisingly enough, Gustav agreed immediately. He flopped on his feet, exclaimed a positive 'sure!' and then dashed to the twin's hut along with his dragon, but not before sending a wink at Astrid.

"Ugh." Astrid growled once they were out of earshot. The corner of her lips screwed up in a disdainful grimace as she shook her head in disbelief. "Why did he have to pick me out of all the people."

"Match made in Valhalla." You said dreamily and Astrid rolled her eyes in response.

-----

A yawn escaped your mouth as you made your way to the clubhouse. After the little accident in the arena you retreated to your hut to take a nap, since your turn to babysit Gustav already passed, you assumed you wouldn't be needed anymore. And luckily nobody woke you up from the well deserved slumber. It was dusk when you got up and after freshening up a bit, you decided to see what you've missed.

"-no treasure. Second of all, we've already been there. And that entire island is honeycombed with the most unstable caverns we've ever encountered." Hiccup's voice rang from inside. One thing was for sure, he sounded absolutely pissed.

You pushed the door and wondered who he was yelling at. Presumably the twins. Most of the times it was really hard to make Hiccup angry, someone has to seriously mess up big time to get on his last nerves. When you stepped inside, the gang all turned to see who has entered, they only spared you a glance before shifting their gaze back to Hiccup who didn't even acknowledge your presence. He was too busy scolding Gustav for a reason you were yet to find out.

The poor boy seemed spooked out of his mind, he twisted wrapped his arms around his body seemingly wanting to appear as small as possible. You could tell he was getting uncomfortable from the gang's judgmental stares and from Hiccup's voice getting louder.

"You could've been killed, Gustav. Fanghook could've been killed. Look, this isn't Berk.The rules are different out here. You have to be smarter than this." Hiccup's tone softened towards the end when he saw the saddened expression Gustav gave him.

"I just wanted to prove myself..."

"Oh, you have. You have proven that you are not responsible enough, you're not mature enough and you're not trustworthy enough-" Hiccup's rebuke blurred in the background while you asked Fishlegs what on Earth happened.

He explained all the troubles Gustav has caused today while you were sleeping without a care in the world. Apparently Gustav destroyed Fishleg's topiaries, he filled the twins' Boar Pit with rocks and in some way he set Snotlout's hut on fire, which explains the scorched mark on his helmet. But to top it all up was the fact that Gustav stole the Dragon Eye and followed a drawing thinking it was a treasure map. Instantly your heart stopped beating when you remembered that the last lens was about Crystal's species.

"We all need some rest. We'll talk about this in the morning." Hiccup concluded his ranting tiredly and as if on cue, the gang started walking out.

"Hiccup, wait." You said anxiously, grabbing his wrist with a gentle grip. Gustav was the last to leave the room and you saw the glare he sent at Hiccup, it was so chillingly cold it could freeze magma. Hiccup noticed it as well but remained unfazed.

"Oh my gods, where is the Dragon Eye? How did you find Gustav? Fishlegs told me he stole it." You questioned the moment the boy stepped out.

"He did. But thank Thor I changed the lens before that, otherwise we never would've found him." Hiccup replied and you let go of a breath you didn't realize you were holding. Your shoulders slumped down to the floor as you relaxed. If it wasn't for Hiccup's clever thinking then you would have lost both Gustav and the Dragon Eye since neither one of you checked out the maps on the lens.

"And the Dragon Eye is in a safe place now so we don't have to worry. Plus I saw something interesting on the lens." Hiccup said while the two of you were exiting the clubhouse and you couldn't help but rise a brow.

"Turns out Crystal's species are called Death Wing. Pretty neat right?" Hiccup chuckled while you pondered with a gaping mouth.

"Death Wing..." You breathed out, the words sounding strange on your tongue. The new, or more accurately old, name seemed way too extreme to fit Crystal when she only reminded you of sunshine and happiness, not death and destruction. You were so used to Stealth Strike and thought that's how you were going to refer her until you found a clue, but you didn't expect it so soon and now you might have to get used to it.

"Don't you like it?" Hiccup asked disappointingly after hearing no reply. You instantly started shaking your head with a dismissive manner before Hiccup got the wrong idea.

"No, no. I mean, I like it, but its weird. You know?" You sputtered.

"(Y/N) its just a name." Hiccup deadpanned.

"Yeah, but its the same as suddenly renaming Toothless as a Prickly Pickle dragon."

"Prickly Pickle." Hiccup repeated with a ripple of laughter, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down ever so slightly. You had to admit, the comparison was pretty far stretched, but you had to paint a picture in his head for him to understand.

"Anyways, we'll tell the gang about this tomorrow." You said. No doubt they're all tired after babysitting Gustav and you doubted that anyone would care much, except Fishlegs. They'd probably just shrug it off and tell you to come back tomorrow, then slam the door in your face.

"For sure." Hiccup replied with a smile.

-----

You woke up in the early hours before anyone was astir. What started of as a quick morning flight with Crystal turned to be an endless search for goods that lasted for hours. You spent the whole morning collecting fresh new fruits and vegetables from the neighbouring islands and a few other spices from markets. You were currently gliding through the sky and enjoying the calm breeze, it was a peaceful day.

"What do you want to do today girl?" You asked your dragon who just roared giddily and that's when you remembered she dragons can't talk. "Okay I guess I'll choose."

While you were contemplating the multiple choices, Crystal descended down from the clouds and in front of you appeared Toothless and Hiccup along with Fanghook, but surprisingly flying solo. You yelled in surprise, not expecting to see the black mass all of a sudden and Hiccup jumped back in his saddle as well.

"What are you doing here?!" You exclaimed.

"What are you doing in the clouds?" Hiccup shot back with the same tone, but then as if it wasn't important he shook his head. "Nevermind that, Gustav is kidnapped."

"Oh my gods, he just can't stay out of trouble for one second." You said under your breath with an irritated tone and then looked back at Hiccup. "How? Is he okay?"

"He's fine. Dagur captured him and wants a trade, the Dragon Eye for Gustav." Hiccup replied rather calmly. "And he asked me to come alone. So you should go back to the Edge."

"No way, I'm not letting you go alone. Its dangerous and it could be a trap." You said with nothing but determination in your voice. The Dragon Hunters are all the same, no matter if its Dagur, Ryker or Viggo, they'll double cross anyone in order to get what they want and you can't have that.

"He might hurt Gustav if he sees you, I wo-" Hiccup was about to protested but you interjected before he could finish.

"Who says he has to see me?"

-----

It was a simple plan. Hiccup had to trade the Dragon Eye for Gustav while you hid in the clouds. Your job was to come out only if things didn't go as planned and Hiccup and Gustav's lives were put at risk. When you saw Dagur's ship in the distance, Hiccup and you parted and you flew up in order not to be seen from the hunters.

Crystal and you peered out of the fluffy surface and watched carefully at what was about to unfold. You were positioned behind the ship which lowered the risks of being seen. Now you can watch the Dragon Hunters without them even realizing it, unless of course one of the guards decides to randomly look at the sky. You were far away which meant you couldn't hear a thing anyone was saying. You had to rely on their body gestures to figure out what was going on.

When the two dragons landed, Gustav immediately ran to Fanghook and hugged him dearly. That's when all of the guards aimed their crossbows and you saw just how many of them there are. Some came out from the underdeck, some from behind big crates and some from the crow's nest of the ship. Toothless got visibly rigid and went into defensive mode, but Hiccup put a reassuring hand on his head and the dragon calmed down upon his touch.

After that followed the trade, Hiccup rolled over the Dragon Eye and Gustav was supposed supposed to sprint away from Dagur right away.

That didn't happen.

Instead Gustav persistently stood on his ground and didn't budge. He crossed his arms and rose his head like he had all the power in the world. After many of futile attempts trying convince Gustav to come back, Hiccup had enough. He walked over to Toothless and then looked back at Gustav as if saying 'This was a grave mistake'. Gustav only toughened his stance even more to prove he didn't care and that's when Toothless flew off.

Crystal immediately hid back in the clouds and flew to Toothless in secrecy. You were completely dumbfounded, why would Hiccup give up so easily? Why would he let both Gustav and the Dragon Eye in Dagur's hands?

"What was that all about?" You said, astounded by how things played out. You went on and on about turning around and seizing the Dragon Eye and Gustav, but Hiccup stopped you before things escalated.

"It was a ploy." Hiccup deadpanned and with that, all of your confusion seemed to disappear in thin air. "Gustav will lead Dagur to the cave I found him in and we'll trap him there, take the Dragon Eye and leave. Easy as that."

You nodded to yourself a couple of times while you thought how that might turn out. And then your lips curved up in an astonished grin. "I'm impressed, Hiccup. That's clever." You said truthfully. Their acting was so spot on you didn't even notice they were faking the whole scenario and you doubted that Dagur would've noticed as well. It was all an elaborate plan that turned out successful.

"Thanks to Gustav. He thought this through." Hiccup didn't fail to mention and again the surprise found its way to your features.

"Seriously? Who know he had something in that thick skull of his." You chuckled.

-----

Hiccup and you spent a solid hour waiting in the cave before you heard voices from outside. All the while the whole island was shaking wildly and each time you thought the roof will break and hundreds of rocks will fall over your head. Fortunately the cave was stable enough and only dust and pebbles hit the floor.

When you finally saw the shimmering light from the Dragon Eye, both of the dragons leaned down in order not to be seen. Crystal was hidden behind a lofty boulder and with the help of darkness, she blended perfectly well with the cave. Toothless was opposite of her and you got a clear view of Hiccup. The two of you nodded at each other and then waited apprehensively.

Suddenly Dagur's piercing screech echoed in the cave and that's when you spotted Gustav rush over to a rock and hide behind it. You were about to jump in to get him, but Hiccup signaled you not to.

"Gotcha!" Dagur exclaimed as he jumped in front of Gustav who seemed frightened.

"No, we've got you." Hiccup revealed himself with quick remark.

The look on Dagur's face was priceless when he realized that he was the one that got double-crossed. In a split second his whole demeanour changed and a wicked grin split on his face. Without warning, Dagur yanked Gustav's hand and flung him towards Hiccup. But at the same time he took the Dragon Eye and was now spinning it in his hands.
You wanted to wipe away that smug look on his face, but you stayed concealed.

"Dagur, hand over the Dragon Eye." Hiccup threatened and when Dagur didn't comply, Toothless shot at the ground right in front of him. It was a warning shot, it was powerful enough that it broke apart the ground. The rocks falling down reverberated in the cave, they tumbled against the walls and landed loudly. It was a really long, long way down.

"Dagur, you've got nowhere to go. It's over." Hiccup said while Toothless kept repeatedly shooting at Dagur's feet. Dagur jumped up and down like he was a kangaroo and it was funny to see it from the back.

"It's over? Really?" Dagur said with a challenging tone, he swayed the Dragon Eye in his arms in a tempting manner and then without any thinking, he threw the Dragon Eye in the hole. "Whoops."

You stopped dead in your tracks. Your plan was to snatch it from his hand while he was talking to Hiccup but now that it was thrown, you were left standing behind Dagur without any idea what to do next. Crystal was next to you as well, she was so stealthy that no sound was heard from her while the two of you were closing in. Her teal eyes gleamed in the dark cave and they widened when Gustav yelled 'Oh no'.

The next thing you know, Gustav jumped into the hole after the Dragon Eye. A terrified gasp escaped your mouth. He might be able to catch it, but he didn't have wings to fly himself up.

"Crystal! Dive!" You yelled and watched as Dagur turned around 360° degrees. His face shifting to even more surprise when he noticed you've been trying to sneak up on him.

Your dragon obligated right away and sprinted past Dagur, shoving him as she did so. Though, at the same time Toothless went after Gustav as well. Which left you and Dagur standing alone.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the famous (Y/N)." Dagur announced with an excited voice, but it wasn't the good excited. There was a menacing glint in his eyes that made sudden fear knot in your stomach. With each step Dagur took, you stepped one backwards. His aggressive stance made you wish you were ten miles away from him.

"Yeah, its me. Now you better leave or you'll regret ever crossing us." Your intent was to sound so brave that it will make Dagur bolt out of this cave and leave the island as fast as his ships can sail. But what came out of your mouth were just meek, wavering words accompanied with a stutter. It wasn't the least convincing. Instead it only made Dagur feel even more prideful now that he knew you were afraid.

"Oh, is that so?" Dagur said, followed by his short, maniac laugh. And that's when Dagur pulled out a knife, a sharp blade that reflected the sunlight shining on it. Your breathing accelerated once you saw how close the angry Berserk was and in that moment you started fearing for your dear life. "There's no way to go (Y/N). You can't escape like last time."

Your gaze darted from his wicked face to the dagger in his grip. If he attacked right now, you will most definitely be a goner. You hadn't fought anyone in quite a while so you doubted you could win if you attacked, plus you had nothing on you, nothing to defend yourself except your noodle arms.

"No, really. How did you manage to escape Ryker's ship? I'm genuinely curious. Tell me." Dagur said, but you only heard a jumble of random words. You couldn't concentrate on what he was saying. All you could think of was how to evade him. All of a sudden, Dagur took a leap forward and lunged with his dagger. You let out a scared yelp as you jumped out of the way and missed his attack. If you hadn't reacted that quickly then the dagger will have pierced through your stomach.

"Well? Answer me." Daggur laughed at your panicked state. He absolutely loved the fear in people's eyes and the helplessness when they realize they're cornered with nowhere to go. It filled his twisted, berserk heart with such unexplained satisfaction. And he craved more of it. Dagur attacked one a few more times, each time the knife got even closer to your body. You tried to run away but he always ended up in front of you one way or another.

"Okay, this is getting boring." Dagur concluded as if he has been holding back all this time and now he just wanted to get it over with. Dagur then charged with such incredible speed, you didn't have time to dodge his attack properly. The terrifyingly sharp blade managed to cut through your cloth and into your skin. Your breath clogged in your throat as the piercing pain shot up to your upper arm which immediately turned into an excruciating, burning sensation. That thick slice caused your blood to gush out like a stream of red water, leaking down your arm and dripping to the ground.

"Ah!" You screeched in pain and heard Dagur's hysterical laugh in the background. Your eyes were fixated on the wound and you didn't notice Dagur nearing until you were shoved with a powerful push. It caused you to lose your balance and crash down on the cold ground. The sudden fall and your arm twist triggering the burning to intensify to the point where it felt like your upper arm was jabbed by a thousand of tiny needles. The pain was the only thing running through your mind but it all seemed to numb down when you saw Dagur looming over you with the bloody knife in his hand.

"Hiccup! Help!" You called out desperately. "Crystal!"

You tried dragging yourself away, but Dagur was close to follow. He watched you pathetically trying to distance yourself as much as possible from him when in reality you barely moved from your spot. You winced each time you tried kicking Dagur away and each time he easily dodged the kicks.

"Bye, bye." Dagur let out the evilest laugh imaginable.

"Help!" You cried out one last time, tears building up in your eyes. Dagur swung the knife above his head and with full force he was about to dive in and slash you like a pig. But an ear piercing shriek from the side caused both you and Dagur to look in that direction. And that's when you saw Crystal flying maximum speed towards you. Her razor-sharp teeth visible from behind the snarl, one bite from them will have anyone mutilated beyond healing. But that wasn't the scariest part. Her eyes had turned into slits and the fire behind them was enough to make people run for their dear life. She wasn't your loving Crystal anymore, instead she turned into a wild, vicious dragon that had nothing in her mind than to destroy the thing threatening her rider.

Before Dagur was even aware of what was coming, Crystal rammed into him and catapulted him so far away, he reached the entrance of the cave. Crystal fired at him, not stopping until she reached her shot limit. Somehow though, Dagur escape unharmed but still screaming like a little girl.

"(Y/N)!" Hiccup's worried yell rang in the otherwise silent cave. He didn't even wait for Toothless to stop, he just jumped off mid run and was right by your side faster than a bolt of lightning. He helped you on your feet and even if your upper arm stung like hell, you still wrapped your arms tightly around him.

"Hiccup, I thought I was going to die." You cried into his shoulder, your tears leaving wet stains on his shirt. You were overjoyed to see him and you were glad he was unharmed as well.

"Shh, its okay. You're okay. I'm here." Hiccup whispered reassuring words into your ear that sent shivers down your spine. He rubbed gentle circles on your back as you cried your eyes out, mostly because of the pain on your arm but the near death experience was horrifying as well. Dagur's crazed, blood-hungry eyes will be haunting your dreams the next couple of days for sure.

When you opened your eyes and looked behind Hiccup, you saw Gustav standing there, looking at the trail of blood slipping from your arm. And that's when you remembered that you were a literal bloody mess.

"Gustav- uh. Look away. This is too much blood." You said awkwardly and parted away from Hiccup. By now your shirt has tainted to red and the bleeding didn't stop and if you continued to let it flow then you'd die out of blood loss. And you didn't want Gustav, a kid, to witness that nor see you in this condition.

"Oh please. (Y/N) we're vikings. I've seen more blood than I've seen ants. Plus this isn't the worst case scenario." Gustav said so nonchalantly, that you were almost afraid to imagine what he's seen in his life.

Suddenly, Crystal came rushing back inside followed by a fleet of Berserkers chasing her with axes and swords in his hands. Dagur must've sent in his men. Cowardly move.

Hiccup noticed them a second later and reacted way faster than you did. While you were just standing there,  staring at the angry men ready for battle, Hiccup grabbed your hand and started leading you towards Toothless.

"Come on, we have to go." Hiccup said with a serious tone and your gaze lowered to his hand holding you ever so tenderly. The astonished look stayed on your face even as Toothless picked you both up. Gustav had already mounted Fanghook and now the three dragons flew down the same hole Gustav previously jumped in.

It was a sudden drop, a sudden shift in gravity that made your body start lifting up from the saddle. You didn't want to fly away from Toothless so your hands instinctively snaked around Hiccup's waist. Because of the abrupt movement, a jolt of pain shot up through your arm and into your head, they both remained throbbing for the next seconds and you clenched your teeth.

You removed your hands away from Hiccup and clutched your arm to prevent even more blood from coming out. The air hitting the wound and your hand applying pressure on it didn't make the situation any better.
But currently, there was nothing else you could do.

The sun shone on you the moment Toothless exited the cave. Your eyes got adjusted to the darkness so now the bright sunlight was insanely blinding. You opened your eyes and saw Crystal and Fanghook heading forward while Toothless was taking a turn.

"Hey! Where are you going?!" Gustav exclaimed confusedly and Hiccup ordered him to stay where he was. Gustav was visibly reluctant and wanted to follow Toothless, but thankfully he obeyed.

"He's not getting away that easily." Hiccup said venomously with a voice so low it almost sounded like a growl. And now you knew exactly what he was planning. As much as you didn't want any casualties on your watch, Dagur had this coming for him the moment he captured Gustav to when he tried to kill you. So now it was just karma catching up with him.

When the ships were coming closer, you heard the plasma starting to form in Toothless mouth. It wasn't like the average one, it was longer and louder to the point where you wanted to shut your ears. "Now bud!" Hiccup yelled and Toothless fired the plasma.

Often times you forget how powerful a Night Fury is and shots like this reminded you of it. The moment the blast hit the ship, it exploded with a giant fire. Toothless passed the ship like a black bullet and you saw all the men on board jumping in the water. Toothless fired a couple of times more so now the whole ship was up in flames, broken in half and absolutely destroyed.

And from the water you saw Dagur flailing his arms. "I'll get you one day! Just wait and see!" He yelled and then screeched when an eel popped right next to him and started chasing him in the water.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sorry for the long wait I hope the lengthy chap made up for it 👌👌 Also the next chapter may or may not be the last one-- yEET

But I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! Vote and comment if you did! ❤