Chapter Text
Viggo sat alone, the cool night air biting against his skin as he stared out over the ships. The remnants of yet another defeat littered the sea, his forces scattered, his plan undone once again by Hiccup and his stubborn crew of dragon riders. It seemed that not even a submaripper tied to the bottom of the sea could stop them.
He drew in a slow breath, as through cataloguing defeat rather than feeling it. That boy, Hiccup, was unlike any opponent he had faced until now. While the other members of his merry crew were easy to account for, predictable in their ways … he was not. Too clever for his age. Too quick to adapt. His riders followed without hesitation, dragons bound to him through something far stronger than fear. That kind of loyalty was dangerous.
And it made him fascinating.
Letting out a quiet breath, his lips curved into something resembling a smile. "If only you'd join me …"
Even a blind man could recognize the boy's talent, through most mistook it for luck or recklessness. His strength lay in the way he noticed things others overlooked, finding paths where no on else through to look. On its own, it was remarkable, yet driven more by impulse than strategy. With the right guidance, that raw edge could be sharpened into something formidable, a mind capable of shaping not only dragons, but also outsmarting their enemies, turning potential and instinct into power.
But the boy was stubborn. Sentimental. Too blind to see that mercy would be his undoing.
Viggo's fingers brushed the edge of a game piece tucked in his coat pocket. His next move was already taking shape, and it was going to be the biggest one yet. Break the riders. Break their unity. Make Hiccup see the truth, that survival meant standing at Viggo's side, or not at all.
The smile that touched Viggo's lips was assured. It can only end one way.
The real game has only begun.
Back on Berk
The riders came back into the port at dusk, moving slower than usual. Their clothes were torn, faces streaked with salt and sweat, and dragons trailed close behind, wings drooping with the same tiredness. Hiccup slid down from Toothless, landing harder than he meant, the rest following closely. Today's events made them beyond exhausted, but at least Berk has it's suppliers back.
"That was way too close," said Astrid, swiping the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand. " If Viggo keeps pushing like this, Berk's supplies are gonna run out faster than we can replace them."
"I swear, this guy's getting bolder every single time we meet him. Almost left us starving this round. I say we starve him next time." Grumbled Snotlout while kicking a rock between this feet.
Fishlegs gave a slow nod, looking worried. "Yeah, he's testing us. Trying to wear us down … like all this is only a game to him."
Rufnutt, walking ahead, elbowed Tuffnut and grinned. She didn't bother lowering her voice. "Hey, did you see how Hiccup nearly had a full-on hypoxic collapse back there?"
Snotlout blinked looking towards the two. Great, here they go again with their bullshit. "Hypo-what now?"
Tuffnut's eyes lit up, which generally meant nothing good. "It’s this really fancy term for when your brain’s like, ‘Hey, I’m not getting enough oxygen,’ and your body’s like, ‘Welp, time to freak out.’" He started gesturing wildly. "Imagine holding your breath too long, except waaay worse. Our fearless leader was basically suffocating underwater. Heart pounding, lungs screaming, brain ready to just," he snapped his fingers, "cut the lights."
Snotlout frowned already, fed up just by being in their proximity. "You're making that up."
"Nope," Ruffnut said, shaking her head. "It's real. Lungs stop working right, heart starts racing to fix it, but the pressure and no air just," she made a flat-line motion, "shuts you down."
Fishlegs rubbed his temples. "So … his brain almost shut off because he couldn't breathe?"
"Exactly!" Tuffnut beamed. "That’s why he looked like death warmed over afterward. His body was in emergency mode."
Astrid gave them both a look. "And you just know this because…?"
"Because," Ruffnut said with a proud twirl of her finger, "while you were running around panicking, we were reading about drowning mechanics. Knowledge is power." She smirked. "Also, we need it for the boar pit. Trust me, it's gonna be epic."
Snotlout just stared, sick of them already. "Why would you need drowning facts for a boarpi—"
Before he could finish, Tuffnut somehow materialized behind him and lightly stroked his cheek. "Shhh. That's classified."
Grossed out, he jerked away. "Ugh! Don't touch me!"
The humor didn't last. Because a few feet away, Hiccup stood apart from the rest, fists clinched, with eyes fixed somewhere far beyond the harbor. His shoulders were tense in a way that said it wasn't just about today's fight: it was about all of them, Viggo and this never ending nightmare between them.
"I’m gonna end this," he said quietly. The words weren’t loud, but it made every bodies head turn towards him.
The twins immediately tried to cut through the tension, because of course.
"Oh yeah, big tough Hiccup’s gonna ‘end this,’" Ruffnut teased, bumping Tuffnut.
"You’re gonna need a bigger sword, Hicy. And also our twintuition," Tuffnut added with his general flair, pointing at his helmet.
"Don’t worry, my brother from my mother, who’s not actually my mother, we’ll think of something , but only after dinner, because I’m starving, and trust me, you do NOT wanna see me when I’m hungry , or rather …. hangry," Tuffnut finished with yet another dramatic stretch.
No one really reacted or listened to him anymore. The group was still focused on Hiccup, or lost in their own worries basically leaving Tuffnut talking to empty air.
Snotlout snorted behind him Hiccup. "Just don't trip over your own feet, sorry foot." Astrid then threw him a hard punch in the shoulder which sent him stumbling back.
Her and Fishlegs then moved closer to Hiccup, trying to calm him after everything happening today.
"We're with you," Astrid said, voice firm but warm while placing a hand on his shoulder. "No matter what comes next."
Later, Hiccup sat with his dad, the weight of the island's missing gold pressing heavy on both of them. Gobber had been generous enough to leave them with a little privacy while entertaining Toothless for some time.
Stoick spoke softer than usual. "This is on you son," he said, but it wasn't the blaming tone, not like before Toothless, before he was called anything else than Hiccup the Useless. It was more like the, 'we are going to fix this together' kind of tone.
Hiccup's shoulder sagged under the weight. Guilt gnawed at him like a pack of terrible terrors fighting each other for fish.
" I should've seen it coming," he said while throat cracking. "You warned me about the dangers , all of you did but i still went with it. I … I don't know what to do …" His head dropped, and he buried his face into his hands.
Stoick put a firm hand on his shoulder. "Don't let it break you. Not now."
Hiccup nodded slowly, trying to breathe through he mess of feelings. But even after that, he didn't feel any better.
Back on Dragon's Edge
The night had settled on the Edge, quiet except for the soft noises of dragons shifting and occasional murmur from a restless rider. Everyone was drifting off to sleep, except Hiccup that is.
He lay awake, staring at the ceiling, mind buzzing. His fingers absentmindedly traced the scales of Toothless, who even in sleep seemed to inch closer to his best friend.
The terror of the bounty had shaken him more than he expected. Being captured once was bad enough, but being caught again, tossed from one dangerous person to another, not knowing what was coming next …He never knew that someone like Savage could make him choose drowning rather than whatever Viggo planned with him. Worse than anything that happened before. Not even today's close death call underwater in a make-shift chamber was this bad.
But fear was a luxury he couldn't afford anymore.
He ran a steady hand down Toothless scales, trying to think of a plan: something, anything to stop Viggo. To keep Berk safe.
A few days later
Hiccup's head throbbed when he woke up, still heavy from another night of little sleep, just like every night before this one. And then came the noise.
Voices. Loud arguing right outside the door. His door. Perfect, just perfect.
He pushed himself up and cracked open the door to find the crew gathered around a torn, crumpled piece of parchment, terror mail. The poor terrible terror to which it was attached looked just as confused as he was.
"Guys, what has happened?" Hiccup asked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Toothless padding in behind him.
Fishlegs held up the letter from Stoick, face grim. "Trading's started again, but ore and iron prices have shot through he roof. Traders won't budge. Stoick even got Alvin to help negotiate, but …" Fishlegs trailed off.
Astrid intervened, "Berk's gold still gone. We can't afford these prices."
Snotlout groaned, "So basically, no resources. No weapons. No armor. We're defenseless if Viggo decides to attack. Juuuust great."
Hiccup's mind went into overdrive, piercing it all together with the recent events.
"Viggo must have a plan. He's making Berk weak. Vulnerable. It seems the whole submaripper fiasco was only the beginning."
He paced slowly, stopping in front the table in the clubhouse, hands flat against the wood. The gesture made every living being in his presence focus solely on him.
He looked down, eyes narrowing, trying to make sense of what it could all mean. "There has to be a place, somewhere he's stashing the gold, supplies, maybe … even maps or plans on how to crush us."
Then, he looked up, addressing his friends.
"I need to arrange a meeting with him."
The crew exchanged worried looks, like he'd suddenly grown a second head.
"You want to meet with him?" Fishlegs asked, eyebrows shooting up.
"I have to," the rider said, steadily despite the exhaustion. "He wants something from me, and I don't know what exactly. Berk's defenseless and he's planning something big. If I can find where he's hiding the gold, maybe we can figure out how to fight back."
Snotlout muttered, "You're crazy. Like, more than usual."
Hookfang rumbled low in his throat, dipping his massive head once in a rare gesture of agreement. Even Barf & Belch, who could't agree on the direction of the wind most days grunted and nodded in unison.
"I'm the only one who can do this, " Hiccup insisted with burning eyes. He looked from one friend to the next, daring them to argue. "It's … it's me he wants. Always has been. If I don't go … Berk's finished."
Hiccup turned away from them, moving towards where they keep their supplies. His hands shook as he dug through the storage cabinet, pulling out some supplies: rolled parchment, a vial of ink which he shoved into Fishlegs's arms.
"Tell Johann to send messages to the other merchants scattered around the northern markets. Ask if they've seen anything suspicion, any sign of Viggo's stash or base. And if he can, get word to Viggo himself, let him know I'm coming."
Fishlegs nodded and hurried off. If there was one person that could make a message delivered, it was Johann.
Hiccup took a deep breath, bracing himself for the long road ahead. "I'm getting ready, we need to make this plan work." Alongside Toothless he went back to his hut preparing for another sleepless night.
The morning light crept in slowly through the cracks in the wooden walls of Hiccup’s room. He sat cross-legged on the floor, a clutter of maps, scraps of parchment, and half-drawn sketches spread around him. His fingers tapped nervously against the table, eyes darting from one piece of information to the next.
The others were outside, preparing. You could hear the clatter of armor, the murmur of their voices, and the occasional sounds of dragons. The whole island seemed to wait for what's coming next.
Hiccup's mind wasn't on gear or weapons, through. It was on the what-ifs — what if Viggo wasn’t bluffing? What if this meeting was going to end up as a trap? What if this was the last stupid move that finished Berk for good?
But he couldn’t think like that. Not now.
Just as he was getting lost in his own thoughts Astrid made her presence known, knocking and slipping inside, her face serious but also laced with worry.
"You ready for this?" she asked, folding her arms.
Hiccup nodded, trying to look braver than he felt. "As ready as I’ll ever be."
She gave him a small smile, like she believed it too.
Fishlegs popped his head in next, holding a rolled-up scroll. "Johann sent word," he said quickly. "Merchants in the northern markets spotted strange shipments, gold, weapons, all headed north. Viggo’s stockpiling. He must be building something big."
Snotlout stomped in behind them, rubbing his knuckles raw. "Good. I wanna smash whatever it is."
"Calm down, Snotlout," Astrid shot back. "We need to be smart about this. Can't just run in swinging like idiots."
"Shut up Astrid."
She didn’t even flinch, just tilted her head, eyes narrowing into the kind of look that could peel bark off a tree.
Snotlout grunted but didn’t argue back. Smart man.
Later, as the sun climber higher, Hiccup found a quiet moment alone near the cliffs. The weather would have been perfect for flying, if he did not have other things to worry about.
He pulled out a small, battered journal, his old flight log. Flipping through pages filled with doodles and scribbles, he stopped at a drawing of a dragon with wings stretched wide, reminiscing of the times before all had gone wrong. Before, when all they hoped for was discovering new species of dragons.
"Can’t let it end like this, buddy," he whispered to Toothless, who padded close, resting his head on Hiccup’s knee. The bond between them was more than just rider and dragon; it was the reason Berk had survived this long. If he lost Toothless, everything else might crumble too.
The dragon as if sensing his distress, decided to envelop the human in a one-sided hug, catching him by surprise. "Hey, Toothless, what are you—" He didn’t get the sentence out before a warm, wet swipe of a tongue ran from his shoulder to the side of his face, and then again for good measure.
Hiccup spluttered, wiping his cheek with his sleeve. "Ugh—seriously? "The dragon’s eyes narrowed into the reptile equivalent of a grin.
A reluctant smile tugged at Hiccup’s mouth. "Okay, okay… you’re right. I should be more optimistic." His voice was softer now, but steadier.
Back in the village, Astrid was already in commander mode. "Alright, listen up. Rules before we go. One, we stick together. Two, we watch each other’s backs. Three, no hero stunts." Her eyes flicked hard at the twins, because of course they were already grinning like maniacs.
Ruffnut and Tuffnut exchanged a look like they’d just been challenged.
"What if we disguise ourselves as… fish?" Ruffnut blurted out, straight-faced. "Nobody suspects fish."
"Yeah, except fish don’t fly," Tuffnut countered, spreading his arms like wings. "Unless they’re… super fish. Which we could totally be."
A few groans circled through the group. Fishlegs rubbed his forehead while Snotlout muttered something about "Odin help me."
But Hiccup… Hiccup couldn’t help it. A small smile tugged at his lips. For a second, the weight in his chest loosened. These stupid, ridiculous moments were what kept them from falling apart.
That night, long after the preparing died down, Hiccup sat with Stoick by the fire. His father looked older than usual, lines deeper, shoulders heavier, but the firelight caught the iron in his eyes.
"Whatever happens tomorrow, you’re not alone," Stoick said steady, steadier than he felt. "Berk stands with you. Always."
Hiccup swallowed, staring into the flames. The promise pressed down heavier than any armor. "I’m not letting Viggo win," he whispered. It sounded less like a vow and more like a prayer.
Stoick’s big hand landed on his shoulder, firm as stone. "Good," he said. "Then neither will the rest of us."