(Okay, time for a bit of an explanation.
I've been watching Dragons: Race to the Edge, just because I felt nostalgic and wanted to catch up on it. Hopefully, I can finish watching so I can move on to other shows on Netflix. There's a lot more shows I want to see, but I feel like if I start another series right in the middle of watching another one, I'd be procrastinating.
But enough of that. Let me discuss the real deal now.
So, while watching RTTE, I'm already on to season 3. I watched the episode "Buffalord Soldier", and it really struck a chord with me. It's amazing how Hiccup was willing to do anything to help Astrid, especially in this episode. It really resonated with me.
And somehow, it gave me an idea for a fanfic. I had the idea of writing an AU of this episode in particular. So, this fanfic is essentially an AU of "Buffalord Soldier", in which Hiccup got the Scourge instead of Astrid. This gave me the idea of Astrid willing to save Hiccup through any means possible.
So, here is my fanfic. I hope you like this AU fanfic idea, and um...enjoy reading it!)
"This is perfect. The sea below us, the wind in our faces...This is perfect, huh bud?"
Hiccup was having the best time of his life. He watched his and Toothless' reflections in the churning ocean before them. It was already his turn to be on flight patrol, and so far, everything was going as planned. Who ever knew that flying on patrol would be so thrilling yet so easy? Every now and then, Hiccup wanted to take the time to get in some freestyle flying.
Yep, it was a good day for a mid-morning flight. This is great, Hiccup thought to himself as he and Toothless soared above the ocean below. At least everything's going well on this patrol. But at least I know that Astrid and Fishlegs are helping keep everyone in line back at the Edge. Or, unless, something involving either Snotlout or the twins happens, and I'm not there. Oh well. Everything should be fine back at base.
As the dawn began to descend into early morning, Hiccup began to survey the perimeter below him. So far, nothing. Everything was left as it was. "Okay, everything's okay here. Nothing to report," Hiccup muttered as he put yet another checkmark on his checklist. "That's it done. Nothing but ocean for miles." He turned to Toothless. "Want to do some free flying, bud?" he asked.
Toothless purred in reply. Suddenly, his scales pricked up. He began to sniff something. "What you got, bud? Pick up somethin'?" Hiccup asked. He then noticed a lone fishing boat below him. It looked solitary.
Toothless uttered a low growl. "I see it too," Hiccup said. "Let's go check it out."
The pair then landed slowly on the deck of the boat, hoping not to disturb anybody. Fortunately, there was no one managing the ship; it was completely deserted. "Hmm, no," Hiccup said. "Nothing here." He turned to Toothless. "C'mon bud," he said. "Let's go." But before Hiccup mounted on to Toothless, he heard something.
"H-Help...us..."
Curious, Hiccup decided to investigate the source of the noise. He began to slowly enter the cabin of the ship, despite Toothless' growling protests. Rolling his eyes, Toothless decided to follow Hiccup.
The inside of the cabin was dark. "Hello?" Hiccup called out, hoping to reach someone. "Is anyone here?" There was no reply. Hiccup ventured through the doorway to see if anyone was inside. "Hello?" he called out once more. "Um, is anyone here?" Still no answer. The hallways were too dark for him to see anything. "Man, it's so dark inside," Hiccup said. He then grabbed a torch from the overhang. "Toothless, give me some light here," Hiccup told Toothless.
Toothless purred as he slowly emitted purple fire from his mouth, lighting up the torch. "Thanks, bud," Hiccup said. Toothless then stood watch at the doorway.
As Hiccup ventured inside the cabin, he began to hear more moaning coming from deep within the cabin. "H-Hello?" Hiccup called out, swallowing hard. "Um...I'm a dragon rider. I come in peace!" As he explored the cabin, the moaning slowly turned into hoarse whispering and hissing. Hiccup's heart began to beat faster as he walked into the hull of the boat.
As he slowly made his way through the doorway, he felt something. Hiccup slowly brought his torch in front of him. His eyes grew wide with terror. What lay before him was horrifying...
"Help...us..."
"Please, h-help...us..."
"Don't...leave...us..."
Hiccup was at a loss for words. He covered his mouth, almost wanting to vomit. This sight was more than he could bear to see. "No," Hiccup whispered, slowly backing away from the hull. "No! No way!" He turned to the exit. "I gotta go," he whispered.
But before he could make a break for the exit, Hiccup heard a hissing sound. He then felt someone grab his neck. Hiccup turned around, and a pale green hand snatched him by his shirt collar! "Aagh!" Hiccup screamed as he tried to run away. He then felt a sting in his neck; the hand had scratched him by the neck.
Hiccup ran outside to the deck, still visibly shaken by what he had seen. Toothless began to roar in distress as he saw Hiccup run toward him. Toothless then purred softly as he noticed the scar on Hiccup's neck. "It's all right, bud," Hiccup reassured Toothless. "I'm okay. It's just a wee scratch. No need to worry."
Hiccup then mounted Toothless. "Come on," he said. "Let's go home." Toothless nodded and took off into the sky, leaving the hapless boat to roam away into the distance.
...
Back at the Edge, things were as they were supposed to be: a bit of activity going on. Nothing unusual had been going on for the past few days. Astrid and Fishlegs had been put in charge of things to keep the riders in line while Hiccup was out on patrol. So far, everything had been going well for them. They were given the basic duties of revising their supplies and building a few weapons in the event of a dragon hunter invasion.
"Hmm, the Monstrous Nightmare gel supply seems pretty in check," Astrid muttered. "That's another item off my list." "Hey Fishlegs!" Astrid exclaimed just as she finished revising the wood and Monstrous Nightmare gel supply chests. "Astrid! Can you come over here for a second?" Fishlegs called out. After checking off the last item on her checklist, she and her dragon Stormfly flew up to Fishlegs' hut.
"What is it you wanted me to see?" Astrid asked. "Come check this out!" Astrid walked over to Fishlegs' desk, which was littered with hundreds of notes. "What have you been working on?" Astrid asked. "I spent the whole day looking at my dragon notes, and I decided to organize them into this handy chart!" Fishlegs said. "Wow, that's amazing!" Astrid said. "May I see it?" "Ooh, you are gonna be so blown away once you see this!" Fishlegs said excitedly.
Before Fishlegs could show Astrid his work, they heard an explosion. "What was that?" Fishlegs asked. "Whatever it was, it either has Snotlout or the twins written all over it," Astrid said. She and Fishlegs both got on their dragons and took off to find the source of the explosion.
The two riders then ventured to the shore of the archipelago, where they happened to find the twins launching gas and fire into small caverns. "All right, just one more blast, for fun!" Tuffnut exclaimed. "Whatever you say," Ruffnut said. "You heard the man, Barf. Gas it up!" Barf then opened his mouth and released his green gas into the cavern. "Now let's blow this sucker right up, Belch!" Tuffnut said, punching his fist in the air. Belch then clicked his jaws, ready to light the gas on fire.
"STOP!"
The twins turned around and saw Astrid and Fishlegs ride up to them. Thinking that one of them was going to get scolded, Tuffnut and Ruffnut pointed at each other. "What are you two doing?" Astrid demanded. "We were just, uh...well..." Ruffnut said. "Just doing a bit of pest control," Tuffnut said smugly. "Pest control?!" Astrid questioned. "What you two were doing looks like the opposite of pest control!" Fishlegs exclaimed. "You two almost blew up the archipelago!" "Then maybe we wanted to remodel the place a little," Tuffnut said. "You know, maybe sculpt the cliffs a bit..."
Before Astrid could scold the twins, she heard a crashing sound. "Fishlegs, you take care of this," Astrid said as she and Stormfly took off for the Edge. Fishlegs was left to lecture the twins.
Astrid then flew back to the base, where she found Snotlout standing next to a pile of splintered wood. "All right, what happened now?" Astrid asked. "I just thought the lumber looked a little crooked, so I thought I'd fix them a bit," Snotlout said. "Really? Because all I see is a bunch of splintered wood," Astrid said. "What happened?" "I think I may have seen a mouse, and it may have made me jump back a little," Snotlout said sheepishly. "And I know there's a wee bit of damage, but there's nothing a little Jorgenson brawn can't fix." Snotlout then shuffled his arms nervously. He knew that he was in for a beatdown from Astrid, or at least a hard punishment.
But before Astrid could scold Snotlout and lecture him next, she suddenly heard the flapping of wings. She turned around and gasped. Hiccup and Toothless had arrived back at the Edge! But for some reason, something felt off about Hiccup. He didn't greet Astrid or even smile when he saw her. This was unusual for Astrid; usually Hiccup would have greeted her with a smile, or at least scold the twins or something. But not this time.
"Hiccup!" Astrid exclaimed. "You're back!" "And might I say, we're happy to see you," Snotlout said sarcastically. Hiccup stayed silent. "Hello? No comebacks?" Snotlout questioned. "What's the matter with you?" Hiccup still said nothing. Astrid slowly approached Hiccup. "What happened out there?" Astrid asked. "Did you see something on patrol?"
Hiccup still fell silent. "Everyone," he muttered. "In the clubhouse. Now."
...
Pretty soon, Hiccup called the riders back to the clubhouse for a meeting. He wasn't sure if it was a good idea to tell them what he found on patrol. But still, he had to work up the courage to tell them eventually.
By then, everyone had arrived in the clubhouse, waiting for Hiccup to break the news to them. "Huh, strange," Fishlegs said. "Hiccup doesn't just show up and call us here for a meeting. It's not like him." "I know," Astrid said. "But something must have alarmed him, otherwise he wouldn't have called us here." "Well, I just hope he gets this over with. I still want to go back to blowing up stuff," Tuffnut said. "Yeah. Barf and Belch are hungry for destruction," Ruffnut added.
"Are you kidding me?" Astrid asked. "You two really have to get your heads—"
"Guys."
Astrid and the other riders then turned to face Hiccup. "What happened out there, Hiccup?" Fishlegs asked. "Were there dragon hunters? Or trapped dragons?" "No," Hiccup said. "Let me guess: was it Viggo you saw?" "No," Hiccup said. "Well come on. Lay it on us," Fishlegs said. "What did you see?" "I...It was a fishing boat," Hiccup said. "Just drifting out there in the ocean, all by itself."
"That's it? Just a measly little fishing boat?" Snotlout asked. "Snotlout!" Fishlegs hissed. "Come on, tell us more," Astrid said softly. "What was in that boat?" "What I saw in there was—" Hiccup felt his breath caught in his throat. He couldn't bring himself to tell them. "Well, what did you see?" Fishlegs asked. "I-I don't want to talk about it," Hiccup said, getting up from his seat and walking away.
"The meeting's over?" Tuffnut asked excitedly. "All right! Let's go blow up some stuff!" But before he could run for the exit, Astrid stopped him short. "I don't think so," Astrid said. Then she turned to Hiccup. "Dang it, you always gotta ruin the fun," Tuffnut grumbled, sitting down.
"What did you see?" Astrid told Hiccup. "I saw bodies," Hiccup said. "There were bodies inside the hull. It was horrible. I couldn't stay long enough." "There were bodies?" Astrid asked. "Yeah, you should have seen it," Hiccup said. "It scared me. Their skin, it was all pale and green. They looked hideous. I just ran out of there while I had the chance." Fishlegs heard what Hiccup said and gasped.
"Gosh, that's terrible," Astrid said. "Were there any survivors?" "Just one," Hiccup said. "The others weren't so lucky." "Then we should go back out there and help them," Astrid said. "Stormfly!" Soon, Astrid's Deadly Nadder Stormfly galloped toward Astrid. But before Astrid could mount her dragon, Hiccup stopped her. "No Astrid, you can't go," Hiccup said. "It's too dangerous for you to go there. And besides, it's too late for them." "Oh," Astrid said as she dismounted from Stormfly. "I understand." "Thanks," Hiccup said, holding Astrid's hand.
"Um, you guys?" Fishlegs asked. "What is it?" Hiccup asked. "When you said 'pale green skin', I just realized something," Fishlegs said. "Something really awful." "Yeah, we know what you're gonna say," Hiccup said. "If I remember correctly," Fishlegs asked, "I believe pale green skin could be associated with..." "With what?" Astrid asked. Fishlegs had a dark look in his face. "The Scourge of Odin," he said.
"Wait, wait, wait," Snotlout said. "Did you just say 'Scourge of Odin'?" "Hey, no need to cause a panic, okay?" Astrid said. "No, no!" Snotlout said. "Why would I be panicking about the single deadliest plague that tore through the archipelago centuries ago and wiped out every Viking village? Yep, I'm definitely not panicking!" "Really?" Astrid asked. "Snotlout, it's okay," Hiccup told him. "I got out of that boat as fast as I—" "Nope, don't you touch me, Hiccup!" Snotlout said, distancing himself from Hiccup, for fear that he was going to catch the illness. "Quick, Hookfang! Let's get out of here before I'm infected!" Snotlout then mounted his dragon, preparing to take off.
"Wait, wait, wait. Stop," Astrid told Snotlout before he even had a chance to fly out of the clubhouse. "You don't even know if Hiccup has the Scourge. Maybe he didn't catch it." "Right, I knew that," Snotlout said fearfully. He was still clearly worried for himself. "Wow, I can't even imagine if Hiccup did get the Scourge," Ruffnut said. "I can't even imagine anything," Tuffnut said. "If one of us is sick, then you know what that means." "We burn our clothes?" Ruffnut asked. "You know what? Good idea," Tuffnut said. "Then let the clothes burning commence! Barf, Belch! Light it up!" The Zippleback was ready to release gas and ignite it.
"Guys, lets not panic," Astrid told them. "We don't know for sure if Hiccup does wind up with the Scourge or not. Maybe he didn't catch it, maybe he did. But there's no absolute answer yet. We just have to piece it all together so we know." She then turned to Hiccup. "You guys can go now," he told them.
As the others proceeded to leave the clubhouse, only Astrid was left standing with Hiccup. She then turned to Hiccup, who had his back turned to her. Astrid put a hand to Hiccup's shoulder. "Hiccup?" she asked. "Are you feeling okay?" Hiccup shrugged and smiled a little. "Yeah Astrid, Im okay," he told her. "Honest." Astrid smiled. She knew Hiccup would be fine. "So, you want to go check on the supply lines?" she asked. "Not right now," Hiccup told her. "I'm a little tired. I just want to be alone for a bit." "Okay, whatever you say," Astrid said, patting Hiccup on the back.
As she left, Hiccup smiled a little. But a part of him was still worried. Should he tell her?
Just maybe...
