ASTRIDS POV.

The words had barely left the Night Riders mouth before Astrid was denying his question. "No, no I'm not going to go on a suicide mission for a few worthless dragons!" She exclaimed folding her arms and turning away from the man dressed in dragon scales.

"I know you don't think that Astrid." She heard the man say from behind her. "You have no idea what I think!" She replied in a harsh tone. Astrid heard his deep breath echo from the inside of his mask as he prepared to make his case.

"You're right, I have no idea what you think." She could hear the shifting of the grass under his feet as he approached her. "But I do know that you don't think dragons worthless." She could feel his presence just a few inches behind her now.

"When we were in the air on Toothless." He began. "You were amazed with what you were seeing." The masked man placed his hand on her shoulder which sent a shiver up her spine. "And when I pointed it out to you, you did what I knew you would." The man walked around in front of her and the two locked eyes.

Her eyes locked with his green, and his eyes locked with her blue. "You pulled away, because it shocked you that you had let your guard down enough to place your hands on a dragon." The Night Rider now took his hand that was still placed upon her shoulder and slowly trailed it down her arm until it reached her hand.

"But then when I placed your hands on Toothless's neck." He intertwined his and her fingers once again like he had done on the flight. "I knew like you know now that dragons are not worthless creatures, but smart and intelligent creatures instead."

Astrid broke there hand and eye connection and turned away. Astrid had to say something but she couldn't think of anything. But she didn't have to because he took the lead on the conversation again. "Astrid if you can look me in the eyes and say dragons are worthless then I won't ask you to help again."

The man gently placed one of his gloved hands on her chin and moved it to the right so the two would be making eye contact again. In her chest there was a short but sudden feeling of emotion towards the man but it quickly dwindled. "But If you can't, then I beg you Astrid please help me." What should she say in response to such a valid argument?

But was it valid? Was he right? Did she really think that dragons were worthless creatures? She had before, before the flight with the Night Rider and his dragon. But know, only Odin himself knew if she would stand with him or against him. After the moment had dragged on for to long she severed the eye contact between them and once again turned away, because she couldn't look him in the eyes and say it.

"I'm sorry but I can't help you." Her voice was pinched for a reason she didn't know. The Night Rider came up behind her and grabbed one of her hands from behind. "Why did you brake the eye contact." She winced at the words and her muscles tightened. "I broke it-." She shut her eyes, could she really say this?

"I broke it because-." She winced again shutting her eyes tightly but this time a single tear slipped out of her eye and ran down her cheek. Astrid thought back on her life in that moment. All the event leading up to this very moment. All the dragon training and the raids. The death of Hiccup by the very same dragon that sat just a few feet away from her.

The flight with the Night Rider through the clouds. She prepared a sentence in her mind. This sentence would not only decide her own fate but the Night Riders fate as well. She turned towards the man and locked eyes with him. "I broke it because I can't look you in the eyes and lie to you."

She was fairly certain that the Night Rider may have also had a tear slip from one of his eyes but she wasn't certain. He embraced her in a long and endearing hug and the emotion appeared once again in her chest. Only this time it didn't go away after merely a few moments. It was present until there hug was severed.

"I don't have a weapon, how am I supposed to fight?" She asked as to two walked towards the Night Fury that sat on the ground ready to spring into action at any given moment. The Night Rider thought about her question for a moment before pulling his sword from his sheath and offering her the hilt.

The swords blade had a series of beautiful carvings engraved into it and at the bottom of the hilt there was beautiful gem. "I can't take your sword what are you supposed to fight with." She asked pushing his outstretched arm with his sword in it back to him. "I have my dagger." He said pointing with his eyes to a sheathed dagger on his left forearm.

Astrid reluctantly wrapped her fingers around the hilt of the sword and took it from his hand. The sword was lighter than any other sword she had ever held and it was perfectly balanced. "It's made of groncle iron." He began to explain. "It's lighter than any other iron but twice as durable." He said as Astrid gave it a swoosh through the air.

"Here take these." He said handing her a handful of the small clay capsules. "What are they?" She asked examining one of the many capsules closely. "You'll see, just throw them at the ballista when I say so." He explained extending his hand out to her to help her mount the dragon.

She accepted his hand gratefully as riding a dragon was still something that she wasn't comfortable with. Astrid positioned herself in front of him on the saddle gripping the sword and clay canisters tightly. The dragon which he had called Toothless many times before walked over to the edge of the sea stack getting ready to attack.

The Night Rider shifted one of his feet and there was a clicking of the prosthetic tail on the dragon as it adjusted into a new position. "Remember when I say throw the capsules." He reminded before Toothless jumped off the sea stack outstretching his wings and soaring towards the boat.

Astrid almost hurled when the dragon started to twist and turn in the sky as it avoided arrows, rocks and larger arrows from the ballista turret. It was only for a brief moment of steady flying near the back of the ship at the ballista turret that she could make out her situation.

The ships deck was covered with dragon hunters firing arrows at them from crossbows and bows, two of the catapults were in splinters and the three of them neared the ballista turret at insane speeds that were only increasing. "Astrid now!" Yelled the Night Rider as he threw his capsules at the ballista and she did the same.

With deadly aim as the capsules hit the ballista turret exploding into a thick cloud of Zippleback Gas the Night Fury shot the cloud making it explode into a red and orange fire ball. "Now it's time for the dragons!" Yelled the Night Rider through the sound of the blast.

Toothless landed at the stern of the ship near the remnants of the ballista and the two humans hopped off. Astrid quickly blocked an oncoming attack from a burly hunter with ease and disarmed him knocking him off the ship and into the cold ocean water. The Night Rider ducked under and attack and pulled the dagger from the sheath on his arm.

He blocked an attack from a hunter sword with the dagger and Toothless knocked the hunter off the ship with a quick and precise whip of his tail. "Always stealing my thunder aren't you bud." Joked the Night Rider. "Astrid I'm going for the dragons below deck!" The Night Rider yelled blocking another attack. "You stay here and keep the hunters busy."

And with that he slipped out of her line of sight and down below deck leaving Toothless and herself to deal with the rest of the furious hunters. Two larger hunters who almost rocked the boat when they moved charged Toothless with there axe's drawn high above there heads but with a well placed plasma blast the two were unconscious.

There was the sound of a whistling arrow and Astrid barely had enough time to duck as the arrow flew over her head and stuck itself into one of the wooden masts. The hunter quickly scrambled to a barrel with arrows in it and reloaded. He fired another arrow that Astrid also dodged, and another and another.

When Astrid reached him with one slash of the groncle iron sword she had cut the bow in two pieces. The hunter who stood before her put his hands up in surrender but with a swift punch to the temple he to was unconscious.

Through the wooden floor boards beneath her a great gust of wind blasted through. Followed by another and another then in the center of the ship a great hole exploded and dragons began to fly out and freely into the sky. Her chest was flooded with the feeling of pride and happiness as all the dragons flew away freely and into the-.

Astrid was knocked onto the hard wooden deck by a large man with no hair and a mustache. In his hands he brandished two large swords and he was clearly very upset about the loss of all the dragons. Astrid had to roll out of the way as his to swords came down on top of her breaking the wooden deck on impact.

"Stay still!" He screamed slashing at her with both his swords again only missing by a fraction of an inch. The man brought both of his swords up into the air and back down on top of her this time she blocked them with her sword but the impact made her drop it. "Goodbye missy." He said raising his swords but was interrupted by the Night Rider.

"Ryker!" The man who she know knew was Ryker turned to see his new opponent. How was the Night Rider supposed to beat him? Sure the Night Rider had a fair amount of muscle under his armor but Ryker was basically muscle with a brain and two swords.

"Night Rider! Catch!" She said hurling the groncle iron sword through the air. The Night rider caught it in his free hand and got into fighting stance. Ryker charged at the Night Rider with both swords outstretched by his sides ready to perform a barrage of fast sword attacks that she had seen before while practicing on Berk.

Ryker began the barrage and for a moment it began to look like the Night Rider could have met his maker as his defense was nothing compared to Ryker's insane blows. That was until the Night Rider blocked both of Ryker's swords with his sword and upper cutted him in the jaw knocking him to the ground.

Ryker scrambled for both his swords that he had dropped in the process of being knocked down but the Night Rider pressed his swords blade to his throat. Ryker who could very well be on deaths doorstep only calmly looked the Night Rider in the eyes. "Just get it over with." He said in a low and grumbling voice. The Night Rider looked at Astrid and then back to his opponent. The masked man raised his sword above his head and brought it down plunging it into the floor leaving Ryker alive. Ryker looked at him surprised. "Well you sure have changed haven't you... Hiccup."

The sentence hit Astrid harder than any physical object ever could. Hiccup was the Night Rider! The Night Rider was Hiccup! She remembered the scar she had seen on his chin when she had been alone with the unconscious Night Rider. She had sworn she had seen it before, and she had. Because it was the same scar that Hiccup had.

And he had also said that a mother had been killed by a dragon when he was a baby just like Hiccups had been. So many things that had not made sense to the girl before now did. Her attention now fell back onto the Night Rider or Hiccup as she now knew who he was under the dragon scale mask.

Hiccup's Forrest green eyes were on her just as hers were on him. They were both processing what Ryker's sentence meant for them. Hiccup looked back down to Ryker and with a swift punch he knocked the man unconscious. He called over his dragon, the same dragon that she had thought had killed him.

Astrid who still laid on the ships deck rose from the ground and addressed him. "How are you-." But he cut her off. "Don't say a word Astrid." He instructed her. He clearly was very upset at her realization. He pulled Astrid onto hr saddle in front of him and Toothless took to the air.

It was ten minutes into the flight that she asked the question. The question that had been on her mind since she had heard Ryker say his name. "Are you really Hiccup?" She asked in a chocked voice. The Night Rider was silent for what felt like an eternity until he answered with one fateful sentence. "I think you know the answer to that Astrid."

(Authors Note) Wow you have no idea how long I've been wanting and waiting to write this chapter and know I have! I really hoped you enjoyed this chapter and the other chapter I posted today. Two long chapter in a day! Good job Sammy! -Samuel Scutter