WARNING: SPOILERS FOR RACE TO THE EDGE! IF YOU DON'T WANT TO BE SPOILED, STOP READING RIGHT NOW!
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Was that an adequate warning? Was it? Everyone who doesn't want to be spoiled gone? OKAY! :D So, I haven't actually seen all of the Race to the Edge episodes, but I accidentally had the season finale spoiled, so...yeah. I'm writing this now, because when you have an idea, you can't wait around. It ain't gonna write itself! :) Hope you enjoy it, and let me know if I got anything wrong. This would take place directly after the season finale for the second season of Race to the Edge, and it contains some of my HEADCANONS. Some CANON, some HEADCANON. Enjoy! Oh, and remember...YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO BE SPOILED AS I WAS, DO NOT READ ON! :D :D :D ENJOY! :D
Oh, and p.s., "Stay With Me" will be updated soon. Until then, you'll have to wait to find out what happens to poor Hiccup and his friends. BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! :D
Hiccup and Fishlegs sat across from each other at a small table, the gameboard of Maces and Talons sitting atop the surface of the wood. Fishlegs looked concerned; Hiccup wore his best poker face. He pointed to the North corner of the board, where lurked two of his remaining seven hunters.
"Your move, Fishlegs," he said.
Fishlegs looked absolutely frantic, and he kept covering his face with his hands as if expecting the board to vanish and all to be over. He moved his Chief piece with a trembling hand and waited.
Hiccup took one of his hunters - the one holding a giant mace - and knocked Fishlegs' Chief over.
"I win," he said.
Fishlegs, groaning, though it sounded to be more in relief than annoyance, stood from his seat and left the table. Behind the chair stood Astrid, Snotlout, and the twins, who had been watching the game from start to finish.
"Okay, another round," said Hiccup, setting up the pieces again. "Astrid, Snotlout, Ruff, Tuff, which one of you want to go next?"
"Hiccup, you've played, and beaten us all at least twice," said Astrid. "It's time for a break."
"No, I can't take a break," said Hiccup gravely, not even looking up at Astrid as he continued to reset the pieces. "You don't understand."
"Yes we do!" said Snotlout, arms crossed, leaning against Hookfang. He looked almost smug. "You're just angry because you were beaten, and you're not used to being beaten! If you ask me, you're just sulking."
Hiccup's glare would have been enough to make anyone back down, even Snotlout. "I failed," he said. "Heather could have been killed. One of you guys could have been killed, because Viggo beat me. I have to be ready the next time he tries to attack us. We can't risk something like that happening again."
Snotlout didn't say anything else; he merely sighed and, for once, had nothing to say.
"Listen, Hiccup," said Astrid, "you've been at this too long. Viggo's been gone for weeks, he's not going to come back and attack any time soon-"
"But he will come back," said Hiccup. "You and I both know he will. As soon as he finds some way to open the Dragon Eye, or whatever he wants to do, he'll be back, and unless I'm ready, he'll beat me twice...and this time, he might not be as forgiving."
"Hey," said Snotlout arrogantly, "none of us got killed last time."
"He wasn't trying to kill us last time," Hiccup said, pushing back his chair and rising to a stand. "He could have killed me at least three times, but he didn't. He was after the Dragon Eye then, but now that he has that, who knows what he'll be coming for next time he attacks."
Astrid looked down at the Maces and Talons board, once again set up, as it was supposed to be. Then, she raised her eyes back to Hiccup.
"Hiccup," she said, "you'll have plenty of time to prepare...but right now, you also need time to yourself. Take a break, alright? Go on a flight with Toothless. It'll help you take your mind off things."
Hiccup looked at Toothless, who was gazing outside sadly at the dark, night sky. He looked at Hiccup and growled longingly. Hiccup sighed; he hadn't flown Toothless ever since his defeat...he didn't even know how long ago that had been.
"Fine," he said, "but tomorrow, we're all doing another round, or two, or three-"
"Go, already," said Snotlout, gesturing towards the door. "After you, Princess Outpost."
Hiccup turned and mounted Toothless wordlessly. Astrid approached, looking uncertain.
"Don't worry, Hiccup," she said. "It'll be fine."
Hiccup sighed again, offered her a small smile, and Toothless launched himself into the sky, wings spread to full length. Astrid watched them until they were out of sight; then, she turned to face the other riders. Ruffnut and Tuffnut were having a staring contest with Chicken, Snotlout looked bored, and Fishlegs was still eyeing the Maces and Talons game.
"He's too hard on himself," said Fishlegs. "He doesn't realize how much he did against Viggo. Going down the Typhoomerang's fire...I never would have thought about that, and I'm supposed to be the one with all the dragon facts."
"None of us are Hiccup," said Tuffnut.
"Yeah," said Ruffnut, shaking her head. "Put yourself in his shoe for once."
Astrid looked at the twins, sure this was another one of their crazy, meaningless schemes. "What do you mean?" she said, hoping her suspicion wasn't obvious.
"Well," said Tuffnut, "think about it. Hiccup's been through a lot, right? And none of it was really his choice...you know, losing the leg, being targeted by Alvin, now by Dagur, and now, by these lunatic dragon hunters."
"Yeah," said Ruffnut. "Imagine going through so much and being able to get through so much, because of his massive intellect. I mean, seriously. Hiccup's smart, clever, and he knows more about dragons than even Fishlegs here, and he knows how to take what he knows and apply it to our situations."
"And now imagine someone taking everything he's good at," said Tuffnut, "and TWISTING it-" At this, Tuffnut wrenched his hands, as though strangling someone, "-and using it AGAINST him until FINALLY...he starts to doubt himself."
Snotlout, Fishlegs, and Astrid stared at the two craziest members of their team, mouths agape in both shock and confusion.
"What?" said Ruffnut. "We can have points, too, you know."
"If that's true," said Astrid thoughtfully, "it would make a lot of sense. Hiccup would do anything for any of us, no matter what happened to him…"
"And Viggo knew that," said Fishlegs, "somehow. And he used it against Hiccup by capturing Heather."
"And Hiccup's planning," said Snotlout, finally dropping his prideful attitude long enough to get out his thought. "Viggo was just one step ahead of him."
"And finally, the final blow," said Fishlegs. "Dragon knowledge. Hiccup knew the Flightmare could paralyze, and Viggo knew he knew that, so Viggo had the Flightmare paralyze Hiccup and Toothless in order to take the Dragon Eye."
"So he took all of Hiccup's strengths," said Astrid, "and used them against him."
"Man, this Viggo guy is a genius!" said Tuffnut. "Outsmarting Hiccup! That takes some serious stuff. Serious stuff."
"And if he did it intentionally," said Fishlegs, "with the motive of making Hiccup insecure…"
"He succeeded there," said Astrid. She looked up at the sky, where Hiccup and Toothless had recently disappeared. "We just have to talk to Hiccup," she said, "tell him that we know he's not a failure...make sure he knows that we're here for him."
"Good idea," said Fishlegs. "For now, let's all get some sleep. Hiccup might be gone for a few hours."
The riders nodded, bid each other goodnight, and retired for the day, hoping tomorrow would welcome better things than today.
Soaring over Dragon's Edge was the form of Toothless, nearly impossible to see during the dead of night. The moon, nearly full, shed light on the forest below, though from up here, Hiccup couldn't see the ground; only the tops of trees and the sound of the tide pulling against the waves.
Hiccup sighed heavily. "What about you, Toothless?" he asked quietly. "Do you think I ever actually stood a chance against Viggo?"
Toothless growled and tossed his head.
"Well, I know he had the advantage in numbers," said Hiccup, "and he had more time to plan than me...he forced my hand for Heather, I didn't have much time to do any planning...he had the entire thing mapped out in his head, ever since he found out she was a traitor...with more preparation, I think I might stand a chance."
Toothless growled again.
"I know, I know, I'm probably overthinking it," said Hiccup, "but next time Viggo attacks, I don't know, maybe we'll be ready...but first, I have to make sure that I'm ready. I have to strategize, be like Viggo...Thor, I hate saying that…"
Toothless growled a third time, but this time, he didn't do it in answer to Hiccup's questions. He was growling at the ground below, at the tops of the trees. It took Hiccup little to no time to realize the change in behavior, and when he did, he leaned forward, looking at the ground urgently.
"What is it, bud?" he asked.
Toothless didn't have time to answer. From below came a SWISH, and the next thing Hiccup knew, he and his dragon were captured by a thick net. Toothless roared and thrashed, but the net held tight, and they soon lost air.
As they fell, Hiccup tried to pull his dagger off his belt and cut the ropes, but this was hard to do, and the only thing he managed to achieve was slicing a deep gash through his own hand and dropping the knife before they hit the ground.
The treetops broke their fall, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt. Hiccup lifted his head as much as he could with the rope still over him and glanced over at Toothless, who had come out unharmed, but still roped by the net. Before Hiccup had the chance to do or say anything, someone strode towards him.
Someone Hiccup recognized and loathed all the same.
"Good evening, brother," said Dagur, grinning madly. The scars on his face looked horrible, and his hair looked redder than usual, the gleam in his eyes more insane than ever. "I hope you don't mind me coming over uninvited. Oh, and I brought some friends with me, too! I believe you two have met."
Dagur stepped aside, and Ryker took his place, crossbow held in his hand. Toothless snarled at him both, and Hiccup bared his teeth.
"Evening, Hiccup," said Ryker.
Toothless growled threateningly, and men held the rope down to keep it securely in place.
"Why have you come here, Ryker?" Hiccup growled. "You have the Dragon Eye, don't you? You have what you want."
Ryker's glare hardened, and Hiccup glared harsher in response.
"My brother thinks you are useful to us," said Ryker lowly. "Foolish, if you ask me. If I had my way, you'd be dead."
"Come, come, brother," said another voice Hiccup recognized, "there's no need for threats. This boy is our guest of honor. He should be treated well."
Hiccup swallowed hard, refusing to show his fear. "Hello, Viggo," he said.
"Hello, Hiccup Haddock the Third," said Viggo calmly. "It is so wonderful to see you again." He raised one finger, and Ryker shot the arrow loaded in the crossbow; it was tiny, more of a dart than an arrow, and it sank right into Toothless' leg.
"TOOTHLESS!" Hiccup shouted, and before he could react, Toothless' eyes shut, and he dropped to the ground, snoring. Hiccup turned back to Ryker, Dagur, and Viggo, an inch away from snarling. "What did you do?" he demanded.
"Sedated him," said Viggo, "but it shouldn't harm him. Now, stand up, or we will have to do the same to you."
The nets were flung off him, and he didn't see another option. So, he stood up, albeit reluctantly, and glared harshly at his enemy. Viggo's men charged forward and began tying him up, arms behind his back, more ropes pinning his upper arms to his side.
"A little threatening, you know, for someone who's supposed to be your 'honored guest,'" said Hiccup.
"Correct," said Viggo. "Admittedly, I didn't want to have to do this, Hiccup, but unfortunately, you are not to be trusted on any account. Dagur tells me you have a way of escaping through others, and that is something that will not happen as long as you are my captive. Are we clear?"
"As clear as mud," said Hiccup with a slightly hysteric grin. "What are you going to do with Toothless?"
"Nothing," said Viggo, smiling. "He is to be left here as a clue for your fellow dragon riders. We shall see how well they can think without their leader guiding them by the hand."
He looked down at the nets, smiled, and then back up at Hiccup. "We didn't use our own nets, Hiccup," he said. "We smuggled nets from Outcast Island. I believe you've heard of it? No, I believe Berk has a peace treaty with the Outcasts, does it not?"
Hiccup didn't answer.
"Yes, yes," said Viggo. "I trust your riders will find your Night Fury...and all evidence will point towards…"
"The Outcasts," said Hiccup. "That's...that's…"
"Ingenious," said Viggo.
"Tedious," said Hiccup.
"Fair enough," said Viggo, examining a fingernail idly. "But it will lead them astray, at least for a time. Even you can see that."
"But why?" said Hiccup, already racking his brains for all answers, all possible conclusions. "Why would you want to lead them astray like that?"
"Well, think about it," said Viggo, putting his hands together. "If all evidence points to the Outcasts, where will they search for you first?"
"Outcast Island."
"Precisely," said Viggo. "As far away from our base as possible. I believe we will have plenty of time to get acquainted, Hiccup. Plenty of time for another round of...oh, let's say...Maces and Talons?"
Hiccup's glare was so cold it was below freezing point - but the more he glared, the bigger Viggo's smile became.