Chapter 1

This is New Berk. Sure, it’s not your average Viking village. But then again, we’re not your average Vikings. We’re not raiders, plunderers, or barbarians. We’re a peaceful people and there are some children among us who have known nothing but peace their whole lives. That wasn’t the case ten years ago. Back then, things were different. Back then we had…dragons. But in order to protect them, we had to let them go. And not a day goes by that we don’t miss them.

The sky was cloudy, sunny, with barely any wind Perfect flying weather. But first there was a battle to finish. The young, future chieftain stood up on his Night Fury, tightly grasping Inferno, the flaming sword he had invented himself. Hiccup sparked the sword and it immediately lit up with an orange fire. He felt his prosthetic leg click in the custom-made stirrup next to Toothless’ saddle, changing the position of the dragon’s tail as the duo prepared to dive bomb the dragon hunter ship below that was, as of yet, unaware of their presence.

The Night Fury folding his wings in at his sides, tucked his legs in and began plummeting toward the ocean that seemed like it was such a long way down. As Toothless shot downward like a rocket, Hiccup was pushed back into his saddle, the wind whipping at his face. He ducked down and laid flat against his dragon’s body to become more aerodynamic, the ship below rapidly approaching. He smiled to himself as he was reminded of the numerous times he done this with the other riders on countless missions here at the Edge, fighting Ryker and Viggo, and even before this, back on Berk against Alvin and Dagur. This lone ship would be no different.

As the two neared, someone on deck finally spotted them and ordered arrows be fired. Toothless did a barrel roll and Hiccup held onto his saddle with one hand, still holding Inferno in the other. Hiccup steered Toothless away from the ship to come around for another attack when another arrow sped toward them. Hiccup took notice and blocked it with Inferno, then Toothless turned around and began flying straight toward the hunter ship.

“Now, Toothless!” Hiccup shouted. “Barrel roll! Multiple blast!”

Hiccup pulled himself in against the saddle tightly, as the dragon began rapidly spinning, firing out plasma blast after plasma blast at the ship. The two pulled up just at the last minute and flew through the smoke. They stopped and hovered in the air. Hiccup cheered as he watched the ship sink.

“Great work, bud,” he said. “Now let’s head home.”

Hiccup was suddenly startled awake by a punch to the shoulder.

“Ow!” he exclaimed. He quickly rolled over to see Astrid standing at his bedside, smiling.

“W-why?” he said.

“Come on,” Astrid replied, heading toward the stairs, “breakfast is ready.”

She then stopped and turned back around.

“Oh, and the kids made a mess downstairs,” she added. “They can’t wait for you to see it.”

“Oh. Great,” Hiccup muttered to himself as he got out of bed. “Good morning to me.”

Hiccup headed down the stairs to start the day. Not a very eventful one, but that was now normal ever since the dragons left. At the end of the day, Astrid could tell that something was on Hiccup’s mind and decided to ask him about it.

“Okay, Hiccup,” she said. “You haven’t been focused on anything all day. So, what’s is it?”

“What are you talking about, Astrid?” he replied, casually. “I feel fine.”

“Do you want to do this the hard way?” she asked, giving him a look that told him she knew he was lying, and he knew if he didn’t tell her now, she would end up strong-arming it out of him.

Hiccup sighed.

“Fine,” he gave in. “Last night I had a dream.”

“Okay.”

“It was about the old days. Before everything changed. Namely, while we were on the Edge. Toothless and I were flying high up in the clouds and for a while, I felt like I was really there again. And I haven’t been able to shake that feeling all day.”

“Yeah,” Astrid replied, “it seems to be going around.”

“What do you mean?” Hiccup asked.

“Earlier today I heard the twins talking about their boar pit,” she said, “and I’ve kind of been thinking about it too.”

Hiccup thought for a moment.

“What if we went back?” he suggested.

“What?” Astrid asked, a bit startled by Hiccup’s suggestion.

“What if we went back to Dragon’s Edge?” Hiccup repeated. “For old time’s sake.”

“Hiccup, what about your job as chief?” Astrid asked.

“I’m sure my mom could take over for a month or so,” he replied. “We could even bring Zephyr and Nuffink. They’ve heard the stories, and I think it would be great if they could actually see it.”

“Hm,” Astrid thought. “That’s not a bad idea, Hiccup. We could all use a change of pace. When do we leave?”

“How about tomorrow?”

The next morning, Hiccup gathered the other riders together to tell them about his plan.

“No way, Hiccup,” Snotlout protested. “I finally got away from that place and now you’re gonna drag me back there?”

“Okay, fine, how about we put it to a vote, just like the old days?” Hiccup suggested.

“All in favor of taking a vacation to Dragon’s Edge?”

Hiccup and Astrid were the first to raise their hands.

“Well, it would be a nice getaway from the hustle and bustle of the town,” Fishlegs said. “And I’d love to see my old view of the ocean from my hut again. I’m in.”

“Boar pit! Boar pit! Boar pit!” the twins chanted.

Everyone then turned and looked at Snotlout, who had his arms crossed and was looking upset, but eventually he cracked, as usual.

“Fine.”

“Okay then,” Hiccup said. “Go back to your homes, get whatever supplies you need, and we’ll all meet down at the dock.”

The group split up, returning to their homes to gather the essentials they would need on their weeks-long voyage back to the Edge. Food, fresh water, a few tunics, and some other things. Valka and Eret agreed to look after the village while they were gone.

“Thanks, mom,” Hiccup said as he shouldered a couple bags of food. “We should be back in a couple months at the latest.”

“Take care, son,” Valka replied a Hiccup, Astrid, Nuffink, and Zephyr headed down to the docks.

When they got there, sure enough, everyone else was there waiting for them. Fishlegs and Snotlout were loading a ship with the supplies, although Snotlout was trying to show off by attempting to carry more than he could handle and the twins were busy fighting, as usual. Fishlegs was the first to spot Hiccup.

“It’s about time,” he said.

The twins stopped their fight and rushed to get on board but Tuffnut stopped suddenly and turned to Hiccup.

“So, you’re sure this is an actual vay-cay?” he asked. “You’re not planning on putting us to work or anything? No slimy, parasitic leeches this time?”

“I promise, Tuff,” Hiccup said, chuckling, as he was reminded of the disastrous vacation they took while they were on the Edge, which led to Grimoras infecting their dragons and turning them wild again.

“Alright!” Tuff shouted.

“Just keep the salt to a minimum this time, okay?” Hiccup said.

“Aw, buzzkill,” Tuff replied as him and his sister got onto the boat.

“What was that about, dad?” Zephyr asked Hiccup.

“Um,” Hiccup hesitated. “I’ll, uh, tell you on the way. Now go get on board.”

Zephyr and Nuffink rushed onto the boat as Snotlout walked up to Hiccup and Astrid.

“Wait a minute,” Snotlout said, “we’re all going to live together on the same boat for two weeks straight?!”

“Oh, come on, Snotlout,” Astrid replied. “We all lived on the same island together for over a year.”

“Yeah, at least on the Edge, I had my own hut,” Snotlout continued. “Here, we all have to share the same, cramped space for two weeks with Hiccup as our navigator, no offense.”

“Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence, Snotlout,” Hiccup replied, sarcastically.

“Hey, did I not say I wouldn’t be living on your island when you became chief?” Snotlout asked.

“Are you not still here?” Astrid fired back.

Snotlout paused, trying to think of something to say, but couldn’t and fell back on his usual response.

“Shut up, Astrid.”

“We should get going,” Hiccup said. “Like you said, it’s a two-week journey to the Edge.”

Astrid and Hiccup shared a kiss before boarding and Snotlout took notice as they shoved off.

“Ew!” he exclaimed. “You see? I have to deal with this for two weeks now.”

Hiccup and Astrid only smiled at each other.

“This should be interesting,” he thought to himself.