Hey Stoick – it's Alvin here.

Normally I would say: 'I've captured your son; bring me the Dragon Conqueror if you ever want to see him again!' or something to that effect.

But... your boy has told me about the way you've treated him, so his stay might become permanent – I know all too well how horrible it is to be betrayed by the person you care about the most.

He is your son – he should mean the world to you. I've only spent a few days with Hiccup and yet I can clearly see how much this has hurt him. Hiccup told me you gave the title of Chief to Snotlout! That kid is a moron, he'd probably burn the village to ashes. I don't know what's happened to you.

Quite honestly, I was going to just take Hiccup and help him thrive on Outcast Island, because clearly, he isn't welcome with Berk. However, whenever Hiccup talks about you, he isn't angry; he's just upset. He misses you. So, I properly invite you to Outcast Island, to reconcile with your son. I have informed my soldiers to let you in and to not attack. Before you see Hiccup however, we need to talk.

I hope we can become a united force to be reckoned with in the future. We can have a truce and together we can protect the people we care about. Honestly Hiccup has changed me for the better and I want to keep a connection to him.

I'll see you soon,

Alvin.

Stoick sighed, the crumpled letter fluttering in his hand against the wind. He'd reread the letter so many times, he's shocked that the words haven't faded by now. He'd like to truce with Alvin, but Alvin could not be trusted.

He glanced towards the night sky, deep in his thoughts. The teens and their dragons had already gone to bed, and he was all by himself. Normally he would say 'that's how I like it – being in solitude' but without the presence of Hiccup it's different.

Being alone is different to being lonely.

Whenever he was in their house, he'd be pondering downstairs, and he could hear Hiccup moving around upstairs. The faint shuffling on the floorboards, the slight clank of metal, these sounds were incredibly comforting.

Thor, he missed Hiccup. He missed his son.

As he bent his head towards the water surface, he saw a shadow of a dragon. He looked up and saw Stormfly and Astrid.

Astrid landed her dragon, and walked up to her Chief.

"Hey Stoick. How're you doing?" She asked.

"Hello, Astrid." Stoick greeted her. "I'm doing fine."

"Hiccup was also 'fine' but then..." Astrid trailed off. Stoick flinched slightly.

"Right... You're right, Astrid." Stoick said softly, placing a hand on Astrid's shoulder. She jumped slightly, but made no move to brush it off.

"I know you hold animosity for the way I treated Hiccup. I destroyed him – my only son, the only other family member I have. Astrid, I look at you and Hiccup and what I see is something I've only ever seen in a few people – mostly me and Valka, but I've also seen it in Lavender and Ivan too. Someday I'm sure you'll be Hiccup's wife, and I know you're perfect for each other. I really do feel terrible for how I hurt my son. And I want to make it up to him. I love him, Astrid, and you know how hard it is for Vikings to show emotion."

He chuckled. "If it could take us back to before this all began I'd shout it louder, multiple times – I'd scream it if I had to." His eyes were full of tears.

"Stoick, I-"

"I'm sorry Hiccup!" Stoick shouted. "I'm sorry son! I wish I could take it all back! You never deserved any of this." His voice grew louder, as the tears ran down his cheeks: "I WISH IT HAD NEVER HAPPENED AT ALL! SON, I LOVE YOU AND I APOLOGISE FROM THE DEEPEST PIT OF MY SOULESS HEART! YOU'RE MY WORLD, MY LIGHT, AND I COULDN'T LIVE WITHOUT YOU!"

Stoick slumped down and clutched the railing with his hands, staring at the stars. He wiped his tears away roughly with his hand, but he couldn't stop sniffing.

"I love you Hiccup. Please, please, forgive me."

Astrid sighed.

"... Chief."

Stoick looked at her.

"Astrid? You're calling me Chief...?"

Astrid crouched down.

"We'll get him back, Chief. I promise. And I'm sure he forgives you."

Stoick stood up, and looked at Astrid. Her eyes held steely confidence.

"... Thank you, Astrid."

He glanced back towards the sky.

"It is fairly dark, we should head to bed. You and Ruffnut are sharing a room, correct?"

"Yes Chief, and it's much better than being in a room with the two loudest snorers!"

Both Astrid and Stoick laughed.

"Yes, I might look into moving Fishlegs out of the boys room for our return trip."

Stoick turned around, and headed to the door, Astrid following. Wind brushed past her ears, and she turned back around.

"Chief; is that...?"

Stoick turned around too.

"By Thor, it is! Astrid wake everyone else up – we've made it to Outcast Island!"

---Time Skip---

Hiccup coughed and tried to find a napkin, tissue or anything to wash the disgusting spit off his face with his eyes closed – the spit was everywhere... in his eyes, ears, nose, hair: literally everywhere on his face. Honestly, Hiccup had no idea how one man's spit travelled so fast, nor how it so easily covered his face.

Alvin's eyes blazed in fury, as he watched Hiccup stumble around with his eyes closed. He recognised that spit skill.

"How dare you spit shadily at Hiccup!" He growled at Savage.

"Spit... shadily?" Hiccup asked, as he fumbled around. Alvin walked over and handed Hiccup a rag.

"It's something Outcasters do." Alvin explained as Hiccup dried his face. "A special way of spitting – it spreads quickly and if aimed at the face, can get everywhere – you have to flick your tongue the correct way, only a few Vikings can really get the hang of it. If it hits you in the face, it is supposed to mean they really hate you – and it is incredibly disrespectful."

"Why would he do that to me then?" Hiccup asked, rubbing the last bit of spit off his ears.

"I didn't do it to you! I did it to that moron Alvin! He's a terrible ruler and he doesn't care about any of the villagers here. I was happy following him before because he had power, and with his mindset I knew he was going to go far – but you changed him! How he's all 'soft' and 'nice'. He's weak! And if the spit didn't hit him: I'm glad it hit you. You're the cause of his change after all!"

He broke free of the guards – whose grip has slackened over time – and rushed Hiccup.

"Maybe if you die, Alvin will recognise how stupid he's being!"

Hiccup yelled, and stumbled back, but Alvin jumped in between, catching Savage by the wrist.

"How dare you? First you spit at Hiccup, then you nearly kill him! That's it; you're going to cell number four."

Savage's face paled immensely.

"Not number four! Let me stay in jail number one! Or two! Or Thor, even three! NOT NUMBER FOUR!"

"Guards take him away – and don't let him escape again, or you'll both be joining him."

As Savage was dragged away, Hiccup had to ask.

"Alvin, what's cell number four?"

Alvin paused. "Ahh. Cell number four. Cell number four means..." He turned around to face Hiccup.

"He will be killed for treason. And he will be killed by dragons."

Finally got another one done! It took a while, but I'm starting to regain my writing ability, and made an extra-long chapter, by a page or so. Sorry for the wait, I'll try to get the next one out soon – if it takes more than two weeks, it means I'm working on my other TAGGED chapter (thanks KaylaAdrianse!) or I'm working on Baked Bean.

Thank you for sticking with this book – the ending is in sight!

Also – this is our 20th chapter!! (I don't include the prologue). Thank you so much for sticking with the book through 20 chapters, this story has been so fun to write.

I had made a poll several chapters ago, but I deliberating. The clear winner was MHA (My Hero Academia) but currently I'd like to write a fanfiction about... a real person. A YouTuber. HEY! It's not going to be THAT kind of story! I mean a story like the one's I've already written – like this one – but with a YouTuber. I've had this idea in my head for several months, and it won't leave my head. What do you guys want me to do? Please let me know.

But for now...

Peachy out! 😊