176AN: Okay, sorry I haven't updated in awhile, but I've been busy. So here's a little something to get you through the wait. This is just leading up to the battle. I am hoping to only do twenty chapters and the battle either being in the next chapter or the last chapter. I am planning on making a sequel to this story though. It will be called Home Sweet Home. It is the second in the Home series that I am doing and in that story, Austin will be older.
Anyways, I hope you enjoy! R&R!
The waves tossed the small row boat in every which direction. Bucket after bucket of water was dumped on the occupants of the small boat. They held on tight. The boat was packed full, with three humans and a large black dragon. Man and beast held on tight, as another wave crashed into their tiny boat. "What are we going to do!" Snotlout cried over the fierce storm. "I don't know! Just grab a paddle and start rowing!" Hiccup shouted, as he set Austing down beside Toothless, who wrapped a wing around the tiny, shivering form to sheild him from the rain.
Snotlout obeyed Hiccup's orders and picked up the paddle laying beside him. He stuck the end in the water and started to row with all of his might.
The rain was beating down. His arms were aching. He didn't know where they were. He didn't know how far away they were from Berk, but he knew that they had to keep going. Hiccup paddled with all of his might, giving it his all. They should be close, and if they weren't, they were far, far from close. "Hiccup! I see something! Look in the distance!" Snotlout's voice called over the crashing waves and the pourining rain of the storm. Hiccup stopped rowing for a second, and looked out into the distance. Sure enough, if you looked close enough, you could see the outline of a island not far from them. And if he knew it like he thought he did, that island would be Berk.
Meanwhile...
"How could you let them escape, you bumbering dungheads!" Alvin shouted at the two guards standing before him as they had just told him that Hiccup and Austin had escaped. "Are you that stupid!" he shouted at the two flinching guards. "Dunderheads!" Alvin said, grabbing a sword and plunging it through one of the guards. The other guard watched in horror as his fellow guard make a gurgling sound as blood fell from his mouth, and the guard dropped dead. Alvin took the sword out of the guard's body and looked back over to the other guard. Alvin held up the blood coated sword, lightning flashing, lighting up the whole room, making him look like someone in a horror movie. The guard quaked in fear as Alvin stalked over to him, sword in hand. "Don't worry." Alvin whispered into the guards ear. "I won't harm a hair on your head." He said and smirked evily as the guard calmed down. Alvin plunged the sword through the guards stomach and watched as surprise and pain etched itself on the guards face. "Ah, but I didn't say I wouldn't kill you." Alvin's menicing laughter poured out through the storm.
Hiccup and Snotlout tried their hardest to paddle towards Berk, Toothless even using his tail to paddle. They were getting closer.
ack on Berk...
Astrid watched worriedly out of the window of her father-in-law's house. Hiccup had been gone for two days now. She knew that their time was up. Snotlout and his Boss would be here soon. She just hoped that Hiccup would be back with their son as promised. She rested a hand on her stomach, rubbing soothing circles. She knew that she shouldn't be stressed. It wasn't good for the baby. She just hoped that her baby would be able to see it's daddy and brother when it was born, if it lived until birth.
Almost there.
Astrid sighed, sitting down in a comfy chair in the Haddock's house. She wanted Hiccup and their son to back here with her, safe and sound. She didn't want to think the worse. No, she had to think positive. A storm was raging outside, lightning flashing across the sky. She turned her head from the window. Suddenly, the door to the house burst open, wind and rain pouring in. Astrid jumped up in fright, but calmed down when she saw Ruffnut running in. "Astrid! Astrid! There's been a boat spotted out at sea! But it's not a Roman boat! It's smaller and it looks like it has two people and a dragon in it!" Ruffnut shouted and Astrid jumped up in excitment. It had to be her husband and son. It had to be Hiccup, Austin, and Toothless.
Astrid rushed over to where her coat was hanging. She grabbed it and put it on, making sure to bundle up warm. It was winter and a raging storm meant very cold rain. She put on her hat and rushed to the door. "Come on!" was the only words she spoke to Ruffnut, before she was out of the door.
Hiccup rowed and rowed, giving his all. He knew he would have a lot of explaining to do when he got back to Berk with an outcast but that was the furthest thing from his mind. "Row Snotlout! He shouted. He was cold, tired and miserable and being pelted by freezing cold rain was not making it better. They were almost there. He could see the shore about ten meters away. He could also make out a crowd of people staring out to sea at them. It seems that they took heed to the threatning letter and kept a watch out at all times.
strid stood there, hugging her coat tighter. She was soaking wet to the bone, but she could care less. That could be Hiccup out there and she wanted to know for sure. The row boat got closer to shore and Astrid could see that the dragon aboard the tiny boat was black, well, sort of a midnight blue color. The color of the night sky. Astrid knew of only one dragon that could have a hide of that color. The answer, Night Fury. The dragon, Toothless. If that was Toothless then Hiccup had to be in the boat. She watched in hopes that it was Hiccup, Toothless, and Austin, but as the boat drew nearer in the freezing rain, she could make out that the two people in the boat were adults. Her hopes for it being Hiccup, Toothless, and Austin dropped a little.
Very close now. Just a few more feet.
Astrid and everyone else on the beach took a step back when the two adults jumped out of the boat and into the freezing ocean water. The dragon in the boat followed as well and everyone watched as they hauled the boat onto the shore. Everyone one, including Astrid, watched with bated breath as the two adults came closer. Astrid saw one reach back into the boat and pull out something. Not something, but a child. Astrid took a deep breath and started whispering under her breath. "Please be Hiccup. Please be Hiccup."
She watched as the adult with the child motioned for the other adult to stay by the boat. The adult with the child started towards the crowd of vikings, dragon following behind. As the figure with the child grew nearer, Astrid could make out details. One, the adult with the child was a male. Two, the male wore a green tunic and there was a night fury trailing behind him. Three, he wore a prosthetic on his left leg, right under the knee. It was Hiccup.
Astrid took off running, ignoring the calls of other vikings for her to stay back, and that it might be enemies. But Astrid did not go back. No. She knew that it was not some enemies. She knew that it was Hiccup. She knew that is was Austin, Hiccup was carrying. And she knew that the dragon was Toothless. She knew that this was her family.
She ran as fast as she could through the rain, her winter furs soaked with rain. She didn't care about anything else. All she cared about right now was being reunighted with her family after three days.
Astrid couldn't stop as she threw herself at Hiccup. She wanted to see him now. She tackled him and Austin, her lips smashing againt Hiccup's in a fierce, passionate kiss. She wrapped her arms arough him and Austin. Hiccup must have known that it was her, because he instantly reacted. He started to kiss back, making the kiss one of love, devotion, passion, and need. He wrapped his free arm around her waist, pulling her closer. Toothless must have felt left out from the family reunion, because he came over and wrapped his wings around the family, reaching out and pulling them to his chest, the action making Hiccup and Astrid to pull apart. The laughed and pressed their foreheads together. "I missed you." Astrid breathed, hugging Hiccup tight. Hiccup chuckled. "I missed you too."
Astrid smiled as Toothless let out a coo of his own, most likely telling them that he missed the family be together too. Toothless released them and Astrid looked over and took Austin out of Hiccup's arms and held him to his chest tightly. She hugged him fiercely, not wanting to let go. "I love you baby." She said and kissed the top of his head. She never wanted her family to be gone again.
Astrid loosed her grip around Austin, but did not let go. Instead, she turned her attention to the person standing by the boat in the rain. By this time, the whole village had caught on and they were all gathered around them smiling and soaking wet from the freezing rain. "Hiccup? Who is that?" she asked, getting the attention of the villagers who turned and looked in the direction of the boat. Astrid turned her attention back to Hiccup who looked at her and the rest of the village and gulped. "Well, that is the person who helped me, Austin, and Toothless escape from the ship. I ran into him on the ship while I was looking for Austin, and he said that he could help me find him, but I didn't believe him. So I left him and went looking for Austin by myself. Unfortunatley, I was caught looking for the keys to the ship's hold in the captin's office. It turns out that the 'Boss Man' was actually Alivin the Treacherous." Hiccup spat and Astrid and all of the Dragon Bone villagers gasped in shock. The Berk villagers had no clue to who that man was.
"Alvin threw me into the hold, where I found Austin. We weren't able to escape, but this man came back and rescued me. He helped us escape the holds of Alvin the Treacherous' ship and he helped us get back to Berk. Now i know that when I reveal this man, some of you might resent him, hate him, or try to kill him. He was once a member of berk, but was banished. I have forgiven him and I owe him my life. The person I brought with me is..."
The people of DragonBone and Berk gasped as a figure stepped out onto the shore, in view of everyone in the rain. "Snotlout."