"Fishlegs, flaming boulder!" Hiccup called. Meatlug chomped down the boulder and Fishlegs patted her.

"See, girl? I told you we'd have time to eat."

"Arrows coming next, guys!" Arrow called. You flew around on Nightshade. You saw a perfect opportunity to strike. They were focused on the twins and Snotlout at the moment, so you came in from behind and got ready. 

"Nightshade, multiple blasts!" She fired, sending almost all of the men on that ship into the ocean. You grinned and kept flying. You saw another ship straight ahead. "Let's give them a water feature in the hull, shall we, girl?" She roared in agreement and fired three of her darts into the ship. It began to sink and the men were too busy worrying about that to focus on trying to take down any of you.

Soon, Hiccup freed the dragons on Ryker's ship and you all took off. You hurried away together. You saw the look on Arrow's face as he looked back at Heather. He'd made Stormfly hit Windshear so it looked real. You knew that he didn't like doing that. I'll have to talk to him later about it.

You made it back to the Edge not long afterward. You landed at the stables and you walked over to Arrow and Hiccup as the two started to talk. Ruffnut stormed off with Hookfang right behind her since Snotlout and Tuffnut were magically two peas in a pod now. You ignored the two as best you could.

"We have to pull Heather out. If I hadn't reacted, her cover would have been blown." Arrow said.

"Oh, I wanted her out weeks ago and somebody talked me into-" Hiccup began.

"I know I did. But, things were different then." Arrow insisted.

"How?" Hiccup asked him.

"It's way too dangerous."

"It's always been way too dangerous."

"Exactly, which is why I didn't like it when she asked me to help her take down Dagur before. It didn't feel right. Though...now I can kina get behind the Dagur thing." You said, bitterness in your tone at the last part."

"This has gotten crazy, Hiccup. And, she hasn't even met up with this Viggo character." Arrow persisted.

"Exactly. Viggo Grimborn leads the Dragon Hunters. If we can take him down, the whole Dragon Hunter army will be without a leader and they will collapse." Hiccup told him.

"Both of you have good points. We don't know how close Heather is to meeting him or even finding out where he is, but we also can't let the chance slip away. Arrow, it's a tough decision for everyone, but it's not exactly up to us anymore." You added. Tuff and Snotlout cut into your thoughts as their volume continued to grow.

"You are so tough and nutty!"

"And you are so lout and snotty! Ha!" The two tumbled around and you heaved inwardly. Gods, save us all.

"If something happens to Heather..." Arrow continued.

"Nothing is going to happen to her. She's way too smart for that. And if she thought for a second that they were onto her, Windshear would get her out. Besides, what do you think she would do if we tried to pull her out of there?" Arrow frowned as Hiccup spoke. "Exactly. She'd never go for it. You have to remember that." You patted his shoulder.

"It's alright, Arrow. If it really starts getting to the point where she can't handle herself, then we'll try to convince her to come back. We'll still be there for her, no matter what, okay?" He looked at you and nodded.

"Okay." Then, Tuff ran by pushing Snotlout in a wheel barrel. 

"Whoo-hoo-hoo-hoo! Best time ever! Oh, my Thor. I cannot believe you just said that! Me neither!" They said together.

"Did we just think each other's thoughts?" Snotlout asked.

"Uh. I think we just did. 'Cause that's what I just thought." Tuff replied.

"You know what that means?"

"I have...I have no idea."

"We just became official best friends~!" Snotlout said in a sing-songy voice.

"What? I have never had an official best friend! Always unofficial acquaintances!" Tuff exclaimed happily.

"Well, you do now. Come on. Bring it in, but this time, for the real thing."

"Ah, ah! It's good. It's good, it's real. It's real enough!" Arrow groaned in annoyance.

"Ugh! Will you two please take it somewhere else? I can't hear myself think!" He snapped and stormed off. 

"You want to go somewhere where nobody can tell us off?" Tuff asked.

"I thought you'd never ask." The two hurried off and you sighed in relief.

"Finally, peace and quiet." Hiccup chuckled at your comment. Then, he fell silent. It took him a moment before he could speak again.

"So, um, (Y/n)...I...well, I was just, uh, w-wonderin' if you...would like to...maybe...go out with me?" You were shocked. What did he just say!? You were actually freaking out. Does he like me!? Oh my Thor, I didn't think he'd just come out and say it like that! Then, he realized what he'd said as he saw the stunned look on your face. "I-I MEAN AS FRIENDS! Like, just go and hang out together for a while! Y-you know...t-together...l-like we used to back home...eheh..." He corrected, blushing out of embarrassment. You paused. Oh... You smiled at him, hiding your disappointment.

"Oh! Y-yeah, of course! That sounds great!" You replied, lying through your teeth. It would've been better if you'd actually asked me out. He gave you a smile in return, but it wasn't that genuine either. You didn't notice, however.

"Y-yeah! Great..." You noticed his change in tone, however.

"Is something wrong?" He looked at you again.

"W-what? O-oh, no. I-it's nothing. I-I just didn't want to make you uncomfortable, you know? S-sorry..." If only you knew.

"Oh. It's alright. I understand you didn't mean for it to come out that way." You replied. He nodded.

"Y-yeah, that's good."

"..."

"..."

"I-I'll go get Nightshade. Meet you up there?" He nodded as you finally spoke up, the awkward pause ending.

"S-sounds good! Eheh..." You walked off and went to go get Nightshade. You frowned as you left. There goes that dream... You thought gloomily. I'll never be able to tell him.

Hiccup's POV

Gods, I'm such an idiot. I'll never be able to tell her... I sighed as I mounted Toothless. He grumbled worriedly at me. I frowned.

"I'm sorry, bud, I just...I wish this were easier. It just keeps getting harder to talk to her and even worse when I hide it. I don't want to drive her away again, but...I don't know what else to do." He purred softly at me and I smiled. "You're right, bud. I shouldn't give up hope. I wish I were brave when it came to this stuff. I guess dragons weren't ever what I really had to be scared of, huh?" He made a roar of agreement and I chuckled before we took off.

I met her up in the sky and she smiled at me as I arrived. The setting sun was behind her, giving her an almost angelic glow. I did my best not to blush. I smiled at her and she led the way as we flew off. I follow her, racing her around the island after a little while. We did tricks and she did some showing off, but I didn't mind. I had done some myself.

After about an hour of flying, we decided to head back. I smiled as we glided under the stars together. The flight back wasn't long since we hadn't left the island, but it was peaceful. It helped put me at ease. Even I had to admit that some of the stress had been getting to me.

We landed together at the stables. She hopped off of Nightshade and came over to me. She was still smiling and all I could do was fight the urge to hug her. If I did it the way I wanted to...it would get weird fast.

She hugged me first and I relaxed, finally able to hug back. She pulled back and I looked into her eyes. I would never get used to how her (e/c) eyes just seemed to sparkle whenever I saw her. 

"That was one of the nicest flights I've had in a while." I blushed slightly, but I still gave her a smile. That was a good thing, after all.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it," I said as I let go of her.

"Anything fun with you is enjoyable, Hiccup. I thought you knew that already." I felt my heart beating faster at the amount of sincerity in her voice. Yet, the statement itself was so innocent. It was clear she had no idea what those words meant to me.

"Well, that's not what the others tell me," I replied, trying to brush it off. She laughed.

"Because they don't work like we do. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" I nodded as she began to leave.

"Y-yeah, see ya, (Y/n). U-um, sleep well!" I called. She chuckled.

"I will. You get some good rest too. You probably need it." I smiled.

"Yeah, you're probably right." She left and I sighed heavily. "Thor almighty, what's wrong with me? I can hardly talk to her anymore! We're best friends and I can hardly speak without sounding like an idiot! I really need to get all of this sorted out. If I can't work with her without worrying about her every second she's around, I'll never be able to do anything right or helpful." Toothless grumbled at me. "Oh, quiet, you. Don't even start."

*Later* 

I was making sure that everything was ready for the night when Arrow rushed over to me. I saw the look on his face and I knew instantly that it had something to do with Heather. I let him explain as he came over to me. 

"Hiccup, Heather just sent word that she's met Viggo." I was stunned. "She wants to meet with us, tonight." I thought about it.

"Alright, but let's get (Y/n). She was with us earlier, she needs to be there too." Arrow nodded and we hurried to get her. 

Your POV

You were flying through the sky after Hiccup and Arrow. You were excited to see Heather again outside of fighting her. Well, pretending to fight her. The last time you'd had any real interaction with her was the avalanche incident. You weren't sure how it was going to go between the two of you, but you were willing to forgive her if she actually said she was sorry.

You all arrived at the meeting spot soon enough. Heather wasn't there yet. You waited patiently together for her to arrive. After about ten minutes, Heather flew in on Windshear.

"You sure you weren't followed?" Arrow asked as she landed.

"Positive." She replied as all four of the dragons played together. She spotted you fairly quickly. Everything was silent as you walked up to her. She rubbed her arm.

"So...how's your back? I, um...heard you cracked your spine." She started.

"My bones are all healed, but I'd say it was more you who cracked my spine." You told her. You didn't say it harshly, but you did want to give her the hint.

"I know..." She looked at you with saddened and guilty eyes. "I'm really sorry, (Y/n). I didn't think you'd actually get hit. I would've found a way around it if I had. I swear." You smiled at her.

"Hey, I have to give you credit. You fooled us." You told her. She still looked guilty.

"But I shouldn't have done that. You got hurt because I was too busy worrying about my cover. Your life isn't worth that." You gave her a hug.

"You know, I don't think your life is worth spying either." You told her. She hugged back before you both stepped away.

"Don't worry, I can handle myself." You grinned.

"So can I. Just warn me next to you plan to send stuff falling on top of me." You both smiled at each other before turning back to the others. They seemed happy that you both had finally talked it over.

"Anyway, Viggo suspects Ryker and Dagur. He asked me to go with him to capture the Flightmare. Just me, Windshear and him."

"Flightmare? Why would Viggo want the Flightmare?" Hiccup asked.

"Hiccup, you're missing the point." Heather replied.

"He does that from time to time." Arrow agreed.

"N-No, I don't."

"Hiccup, even I have to admit, things tend to go over your head at times." You chuckled, patting his shoulder.

"Hey!" He snapped back, but you saw the grin he tried to hide. You chuckled again before getting back to main matters.

"Look. It's me, Viggo and Windshear. The perfect time for an ambush." Heather explained.

"I agree, but how exactly does Viggo think the three of you are going to capture the Flightmare?" Hiccup asked.

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

"Right, but you're not going to actually let him capture it."

"Of course not. That's where the ambush comes in. You guys show up, grab Viggo and we set the Flightmare back on its path."

"Hmm. Now all we have to do is find it." Hiccup said.

"It follows a stream of glowing algae as its food source," Heather explained.

"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."

"Which made him trust you even more. Hmm."

"Listen, I better get back. This is the algae trail. Follow it to here. This is where we'll be." Heather said, handing over her map.

"So will we."

"Be careful out there, okay?" Arrow told her.

"Don't worry about me. I'll be fine." She replied.

"See you out there." You told her.

"See you out there, guys." With that, she took off and you all went back to the Edge together.

*Later at the Flightmare's island*

"Whoa! Heather's tracking and mapping skills are quite extraordinary. Is there no end to that girl's talents?" Fishlegs said giddily. Arrow shifted uncomfortably on Stormfly. You frowned, knowing that Fishlegs liked Heather, but also knowing that he had no idea Arrow liked her as well. You felt even worse knowing that Heather actually did like Fishlegs and she wouldn't go for the warrior type. She only saw Arrow as a friend. Tuffnut brought you out of your thoughts.

"Um. Can we just talk about the elephant in the sky for a second?"

"No." Hiccup replied.

"Cool. Why do we think Viggo wants the Flightmare so badly?" Tuff asked.

"Maybe Viggo likes the way that algae stuff makes you glow when you rub it all over yourself," Ruff added.

"You know what? You may not actually be that far off. He's gotta be using its algae or its paralyzing spray for something." Hiccup agreed.

"We could ask him ourselves if we were waiting for him when he gets there," Arrow said, speading up with the rest of you following after him.

"There! Let's stay together. We need to make sure Viggo doesn't get anywhere near that dragon." Hiccup called.

"How will we know when Viggo's here?" Fishlegs asked. You looked out and saw a boat in the distance.

"He already is. Okay, Ruff, Tuff, make sure you get enough algae..."

"...to lure the Flightmare away. We know." Ruff told him, taking the bag.

"God. This guy never stops. Lure the Flightmare. Don't eat the algae." Tuff said.

"Ridiculous. I mean, why would we eat the algae?" Then, they paused.

"Hmm...why wouldn't we eat the algae?" They said together before taking off. you all waited for a moment, but then Arrow called out, sounding worried.

"Uh, Hiccup?! You might wanna see this!" He hurried over and saw ships coming in from the left.

"Hiccup, you might wanna see this, too!" Fishlegs called. More ships were coming from the right.

"Uh, I don't understand. I thought Heather and Viggo were coming alone." Snotlout said.

"They were. Which probably means they're not coming at all." Hiccup pieced together. Flaming boulders suddenly came in out of nowhere. "Everyone, look out!" You all hurried to get into the air. Nightshade roared as you both narrowly dodged a boulder.

"Whoa! Easy, girl! Easy! It's okay. We've done this before right? Now, let's go." You told her. She barked in agreement as you hurried to join the others. You all tried to fight off the Hunters, but then Ruff, Tuff, and the Flightmare shot by. The twins were screaming since they had the algae on themselves.

"How did that even happen?" You asked.

"Not the way I would have done it, but that's one way to go." Hiccup commented.

"Nevermind, we need to find Heather!" You called.

"Right! Everyone split up! Search for Heather and try to avoid all of the dangerous weapons." Hiccup told them.

"Really? You don't say? Too bad, I was planning on getting hit by a flaming boulder today!" Snotlout shouted.

"Just do what I told you!" Hiccup snapped back and took off. You went with him as you all searched for Heather and kept trying to fight off the Hunters.

"Hiccup, there's too many of them!" Arrow called.

"And the Flightmare really isn't helping." Fishlegs pointed out.

"We'll be fine as long as we stay away from its mist." Hiccup replied.

"Hiccup, can't you just let it know we're the good guys?" Tuff asked.

"Yeah. Tell it to come in for the big win." Ruff agreed. Hiccup looked down at the algae river and he grinned.

"You guys are brilliant!"

"I don't know about brilliant. But we do have a certain glow about us. Get it? 'Cause of our faces." Tuff said making Hiccup's face fall.

"And the brilliance is short-lived. Follow me!" You all followed after him and gathered more of the algae. You all flew over to the ships and dropped the bags. Ryker and his men began to laugh.

"Oh, no! You got us! We surrender." Ryker laughed.

"We surrender. Good one, Rykie! Bring it on, Hiccup!" Dagur called, but then the Flightmare dove down and started attacking them. 

"Ryker, Dagur, I'd like you to meet my friend, the Flightmare." Hiccup told him.

"And he isn't a big fan of Dragon Hunters!" You laughed as the Flightmare froze a bunch of their men.

Soon enough, Heather turned up. She looked worried and sorry as she came over. You knew it wasn't her fault, but she still said it anyway.

"I'm so sorry, Hiccup. Viggo...he made me!"

"I know. It's okay, he tricked us all. Where is he now?" Hiccup asked.

"Still on his ship, I think." She replied. Then, you saw that the Flightmare had been captured.

"Sorry. Not gonna happen." Heather growled and dove down.

"Heather, no!" Hiccup called.

"Wait!" You told her, but she didn't listen. They fired a net at her and she was taken down.

"Arrow, keep trying for Heather. It's time Viggo and I were properly introduced." Hiccup said and hurried over to his ship. You wanted to go after him to help, but Arrow called you back.

"No! We need you to help us get Heather!" You frowned, but you turned back and helped them. You were able to get closer than the others, but you were forced back. You frowned, knowing it was no use. You knew Arrow would protest, but that didn't matter. It was too late.

"We're outnumbered! Retreat and regroup! Gather together on the island and stay together!" You ordered.

"No! We can't just leave! Heather is still down there!" Arrow objected.

"We don't have a choice! Regroup, Arrow! That's not an option, it's an order!" You called. He shut his eyes tight, refusing to accept it for a moment. He shouted angrily before taking off after the others. You hurried to find Hiccup. You found him on Viggo's ship. It was empty and he didn't look happy. He turned as he heard you land. You sighed.

"We couldn't get Heather. There were too many of them. I ordered the others to regroup on the island."

"What about the Flightmare?" He asked.

"They still have the Flightmare too. There was nothing we could do." You explained.

"(Y/n), this guy isn't messing around." Hiccup told you.

"I know. I've never seen the Hunters work