''Well, congratulations, Savage.'' said Hiccup as he studied the walls surrounding them after they had both been shoved into a cell together. ''Now we're back at square one.''

Savage didn't even turn around to face the Rider and leaned against the chilly metal bars of the door. ''Yeah, go ahead and blame it all on the Outcast!'' he replied to his comment.

Hiccup twisted around furiously. ''Why, it's not me who decided to come to Dragon Hunter Island for Snoggletog!'' shot Hiccup, throwing his arms up to gesture around them. ''What have you even been doing all this time if you had no tribe? Bounty hunting?''

''What else?'' demanded Savage as if it was the most obvious question to answer. ''I had to fend for myself after all..!''

Hiccup eyed the Outcast silently for a long moment. Then Savage sighed loudly.

''Shouldn't your Dragon Riders arrive soon like they always do?'' asked Savage, spitting out 'Dragon Riders' as if the two words tasted bitter on his tongue.

''That would be unlikely.'' said Hiccup, walking to the door and leaning against the bars just as Savage was doing. He'd heard guards be assigned to the cave entrance, but there were none near their cell. ''Gotta get out of here myself.''

''And leave me?'' demanded Savage suddenly, turning to face to boy.

''What, and drag a bounty hunter along?'' asked Hiccup as if the question had been serious. He was crazy if he thought he'd help him get out of this place after trying to kill him multiple times. ''I don't think so!''

Savage bared his teeth and reached for his knife, only to find the sheath empty. Instead, he balled his fists and took a threatening step towards the boy who glared at him dangerously as if he was challenging him to attack again. But the Outcast held back, controlling himself.

''You know,'' said Savage, clear hatred for the Rider in his tone. ''The only reason I'm holding back is because of Krogan's warning.''

''Oh, yeah? And what's that?'' said Hiccup, never turning his gaze from Savage's. Then as the man was about to answer, he replied to his own question. ''Oh let me guess! If I die, you die, right? I heard this one before.''

Sudden crashing at the entrance of the underground caves lured both of them back to the door of the cell. Smoke filled the air and Hiccup had a pretty good idea what was going on. That was burning Zippleback gas! A smiled of triumph printed on Hiccup's lips as he watched the curve for a Rider to appear. Sure enough, Astrid came in sight followed by Snotlout.

''Astrid!'' he called to the blonde-haired girl as he saw her defiant eyes searching the tunnels where her boyfriend was locked up in. ''Over here!''

Her head snapped up at his voice and their eyes met. ''Hiccup!'' she called back, dashing for his cell. ''Thank Thor you're okay!''

Snotlout appeared behind her and pulled out the key to any lock around here that he had probably stolen from the guards they'd just beaten up.

''Oh, so he's the one who brought you here I suppose?'' said Astrid, cocking and eyebrow as her eyes landed on Savage next to Hiccup behind the bars. Hiccup followed her gaze and saw the Outcast glare dangerously at her.

''Is it so obvious?'' said Hiccup as Snotlout worked on getting the key right into the lock, sticking out his tongue. ''How did you know where to find me?''

Astrid reached to her back and pulled out the 'wanted' post from the time when Viggo had made it clear he wanted Hiccup and the Riders to back off. She showed it to both of them, throwing a glare at Savage.

''This gave us a pretty good start.'' she said before putting it back where she had pulled it from. She then turned to Snotlout. ''What's taking so long?!''

''It won't open!'' said Snotlout, panicking as the key refused to click inside the lock.

Astrid sighed and pushed him aside. ''Give me that.'' She twisted the key on the right side and the door flung open wide.

It had seemed things couldn't go wrong from that point, but Savage had other plans. Too quick for any of the three of them to stop him, he grabbed Astrid's dagger at her belt when she had turned around to lead Hiccup to the exit and grabbed their leader. In only a split second, he had him trapped between the blade and himself. It was his classic threat to order one's allies to do as ordered, just like he'd done with Heather.

''Lead me out of here along with you, or…'' ordered Savage, pressing the blade against Hiccup's throat.

Astrid and Snotlout who had drawn their bigger weapons and ready for battle shared a look and nodded. They knew Savage would be the most likely to slice their leader's throat. They just couldn't take that chance.

They walked slowly out of the underground caves, Astrid leading the way to the exit while Snotlout had his bludgeon ready at hand while following Savage holding Hiccup captive.

Eventually they left the lit passages and came out into the open. The sky was going pale, the stars slowly vanishing as dawn announced another day. At the entrance were waiting the twins on their Zippleback and Fishlegs on his Gronckle.

They trio was about to cheer as they spotted Astrid leading the group, Hiccup right behind her. But their excitement soon twisted to wariness as they saw Savage holding Hiccup closely with a blade.

Toothless, who had been flown here by Astrid while her own dragon had tagged along, growled low at the man threatening his rider's life.

''Savage, the deal ends here.'' said Astrid, coming face to face with the Outcast. ''Let him go.''

The man eyed her for a moment, firmly holding the handle of her own dagger much more than necessarily. Then he simply lowered the weapon and backed off. Hiccup, now free, turned around to face the man while backing off to join his fellow teammates.

He met the boy's eyes darkly. ''Farewell for now, Hiccup.'' And with that, he disappeared into the trees next to the tunnel entrance to be seen again for an indeterminate time.

Hiccup's gaze remained on the light forest for a moment and was brought out of his thoughts by a hand on his shoulder. ''It's good to have you back.'' said Astrid, axe at hand. Hiccup smiled warmly and placed his hand over hers.

''Guys, I don't mean to interrupt,'' said Fishlegs on his hovering Gronckle above their heads. ''But we ought to get back to the Edge before—''

''Before this whole place blows up!'' shouted Tuffnut, throwing his arms in the air excitedly.

''Again!'' added Ruffnut at his side, nodding with a large smile printed on her face while her twin brother wore his smug expression of approval.

Toothless cooed and bumped into his rider. Hiccup grabbed his fat head into a choking hug, scratching him intensely to show him how much he'd missed his best bud.

''Well, '' said Astrid, approaching her love. ''Looks like we're out of here.''

The Riders around nodded their approval, but before Hiccup or Astrid could mount their dragons, a voice called out from the open before them. ''I'm afraid I cannot let you leave this island unharmed.'' said Viggo loudly, yet, still calmly. They could see Krogan at his side, an axe at hand. Multiple Hunters and Flyers stood behind them as well, ready for close combat.

Astrid glared at the Dragon Flyer leader. ''Still fit for a little battle?'' she asked Hiccup as she circled the Night Fury to grab her boyfriend's flaming sword that she'd packed up for a case just like this one. She tossed the sword to him and Hiccup grabbed it by its handle, smiling confidently.

''What can't I do with good old Inferno?'' he said, clicking on the switch to create a spark, igniting the blade.

The Dragon Riders exchanged a look and positioned themselves to face their challengers.

''Leave Krogan to me.'' ordered Astrid, teeth bared. ''I want him to remember this moment…'' And with a battle cry, they raced into battle.

Hiccup brought down his sword on the shield of a Hunter. His blow left the man uncovered long enough to receive a good kick from a heavy prosthetic metal leg in the ribs. It sent the soldier to the ground with high chances of fractured bones.

He left him for his next assailant, clashing his sword with an axe. Hiccup briefly fought the Flyer, who was actually close to his size, and finished him off with a well-deserved punch in the jaws.

''That's for enslaving dragons!'' he said as he slammed his fist against his masked face. Once lying on the ground, weapon out of reach, Hiccup used his metal leg again, kicking the man in the side. ''And as my beautiful girlfriend would say: That's for everything else.''

Hiccup suddenly sensed a presence behind him and without really thinking of who it might be, he swung his flaming sword while twisting around to face his opponent. His blade clashed against another sword, sending sparks flying around from the strong impact of the two weapons. Hiccup held his sword in place as he raised his eyes to meet Viggo's.

''Why, hello again, my boy.'' calmly greeted the man before carrying on with their close combat.

Viggo retrieved his sword, sending Hiccup's to the ground from the pressure he'd been applying against his enemy's. He lifted it up again to block the Hunter's blow from above, moving out of the way as he let his fall. Taking the opportunity while Hiccup was on the defensive with his sword low, Viggo swung his blade at his opponent's prosthetic, sending the Rider to the ground with one blow.

Hiccup found the tip of Viggo's sword pointing down at his chest, his dark eye and blind one gazing down at him in triumph. But the Rider refused to give in. Seizing this moment while his challenger thought he'd win, he slammed his Inferno against the man's blade, keeping it away from his chest or throat long enough for him to get back on his feet.

Viggo had followed the movement of his sword, letting the enemy out of his sight. When Viggo returned his good eye on the spot where Hiccup had been a moment ago, he only found a dusty ground.

But thing was, he had no clue that the Rider was standing right next to him on his left side. Hiccup followed Viggo's every move like he'd do with a Deadly Nadder, staying in his blind spot.

''Stormfly!'' called Astrid to her dragon across the battlefield. Viggo's head snapped in the direction of the call and saw the girl hop on her Nadder, taking off in their direction.

Hiccup knew what was coming next and clicked on the switch once again to light up his sword. The noise made Viggo shift to face him, and he immediately swung his weapon at him furiously. The boy ducked beneath it and backed away from the Hunter, raising up his hand to be grabbed by Astrid who'd just soared by.

Hiccup looked around for the other Riders, finding everybody in the air.

''How in the world do you fly this thing?!'' yelled Tuffnut as he tried controlling Toothless' tail. The Night Fury roared in exhaustion, tired that the twin kept changing his prosthetic's position.

…

''Can't keep yourself out of trouble, can't you?'' said Astrid as she looked down at the 'wanted' post from Viggo. They had all made it back safely to Dragon's Edge, arriving late in the afternoon. The gang had gathered in the Clubhouse, the place Hiccup had left before getting kidnapped by Savage.

''I-I don't know what you're talking about…'' replied Hiccup, scratching the back of his head as he snatched the paper from Astrid's hands and shoved it in Toothless' mouth. ''See? It's like it never existed. Right, Toothless?''

The dragon spat back the paper in disgust, plastering it perfectly on his rider's face for the drawing to match the exact locations of the face features.

Laughs filled the whole building and Hiccup hurried to take off the post. He laughed with them and looked down on at the wet paper; the thing that had caused all of this. That's when he recalled why he had ever left their Snoggletog Eve dinner to go to his hut. Astrid's gift…

He looked up at his girlfriend who was still laughing with her teammates, a fist in front of her mouth as she did. Then her eyes met his and she detected worry in the way he was looking at her. She walked to his side more serious now, wondering what had suddenly dragged him down. They left the gang in the Clubhouse and began walking the platforms in bright daylight.

''Astrid, I have to tell you something…'' he began, embarrassed. He brought a hand to the back of his neck, that thing he'd usually do every time he was nervous. ''You remember what Tuffnut said the other night about couples exchanging special gifts?''

''Yeah?'' she said slowly, wondering what the deal was.

Hiccup looked down at her, ashamed. ''Well, I never got you anything. I didn't know we were supposed to get something! I-I…''

''Hiccup!'' said Astrid, bringing him out of his troubled thoughts as she grabbed his hand. And then she began laughing lightly, actually sounding amused. Amused!

Hiccup stared at her in disbelief. Wasn't she supposed to go mad? After all, he never got her this gift Tuffnut had talked about.

''Uh, I don't wanna sound harsh,'' said Hiccup hesitantly. ''But why are you laughing? I don't understand.''

''Hiccup, to be honest, I didn't have a clue what Tuffnut was talking about either.'' she said, gently placing a hand on his chest as she looked up at him. ''Stop worrying about it. This 'tradition' Tuff came up with at the table the other night was all made up. It doesn't exist!''

''Wait, so you mean that all of this has been over a fuss?'' he demanded, bringing three fingers to press against his forehead.

''Come here.'' said Astrid, cupping his face as she kissed him.

Hiccup searched her blue eyes and he suddenly recalled a similar situation to this one.

''When you think about it,'' he said, placing his hand over hers covering his cheek. ''This was nearly the same situation of when we exchanged our betrothal gifts. Except of course, it was my turn to think I hadn't gotten you something.''

''You're right, it nearly was.'' she agreed, turning on herself as Hiccup grabbed her hand to spin her in slow motion. ''That is if there was actually something to give.''

''Well, '' began Hiccup as he trapped her between his chest and arm. ''If there is one thing I can give you…''

Astrid raised her eyes to him and Hiccup gestured at the sunset before them, spraying the most beautiful colors in the sky like a brush would with paint.

Hiccup separated himself from his love and repositioned himself, offering his hand in request for a dance beneath one of the most beautiful sunsets on Dragon's Edge.

*sighs* That's it. This is the end of one of the best fanfics I've ever written... (in my opinion)

Now, as I was writing chapter 2, I thought ''Man. This is taking quite a dark side for a Snoggletog fanfic...'' So I made Hiccup sing :) Too bad if you didn't like it 'cause I did. I haven't got much to say so...

Rain out! Happy Snoggletog guys!