This project has been in my head for quite some time now, not letting me sleep, think or do anything at all, so I finally decided I needed to write it down... And here it is.
I have very precious memories regarding this movie in many different ways, and it has a really deep and strong emotional value for me, so please, if there's something that sounds off or you need any help with my headcanons or whatever, head to my tumblr and ask me about it. Because constructive criticism is always welcomed and because I want this story to be almost perfect.
Of course, I write this story for just entertainment purposes, and I don't make any money from this. The worlds and characters belong to their respective owners, I just bring them together here for the reasons listead above.
Recommended music for the chapter: "The Legend of Ashitaka", "The Demon God" and "The Journey to the West", all by Joe Hisaishi.
They hear the emergency horn at their backs, and Hiccup turns his body slightly to look at Berk over his shoulder, not finding anything uncommon.
With a clicking sound of his tongue and a weak pressure made with his knees at Toothless' flanks he moves, maneuvering easily against the wind and diving under the clouds, its shadow being reflected in the vast water under them.
Hiccup guides him to the security post, but when they overfly the Academy's chain ceiling the rider sees movement by the corner of his eyes, and Hiccup calls out Astrid's name, the sound slightly muffled by his mask, a head of blonde hair looking upwards upon hearing him from the ground. "Haven't you heard the alarm!? Put the dragons in their stables and take the kids to the Great Hall immediately!"
"What's happening!? Have you seen something!?" Toothless glides over the arena, Astrid's voice rising to make up for the sudden loud chattering of the scared trainees at her back.
"I don't know, but we're not risking it! Now move, and hurry up!" When Hiccup sees her mounting on Stormfly in a swift gesture he actually snaps at her, exasperation mixing with his already stressful enough concern. "What do you think you are doing!?"
"Going with you!" The nadder takes off and approaches Toothless, Astrid's determined expression clearer now that she's closer to him. "I'm not letting you go alone against whatever this is!"
"I don't have time for this right now, Astrid!" He growls, green eyes burning behind the leather and metal helmet. "It could be literally nothing, but if it is then I need you to put the students safe first! Look at them!" Astrid flinches at his voice, blue eyes peering downwards with a creased brow. The trainees are hugging their dragons tightly, mostly hidden behind their wings. A couple of sobs can be heard, as well as nervous squeaks coming from the scaly animals, probably sensing their alphas' anxiety as something heavy starts to hang in the air surrounding them. "I need you to organize the other riders to keep people calm and get everybody safe at the Great Hall, please", Hiccup commands much softer now, and Astrid finally nods reluctantly, squeezing one of his freckled hands and looking into his eyes before landing and do as he told.
That solved, rider and dragon move now to the security post built on Raven Point, where Eret stands with his tiny eyes squinted at something in the distance, a displeased scowl on his lips that the other boy doesn't appreciate. Toothless lands easily on the wooden platform at the top and Hiccup dismounting him hurriedly while taking his helmet off with a harsh gesture.
"What's the matter?" He doesn't intend his voice to sound this rough, but between his late body changes and the actual annoyance that he feels there's nothing Hiccup can do about it. He was supposed to go on a quick but much-needed flight with Toothless, his new responsibilities as chief making it harder and harder for the two friends to spend timer together, and the dragon's refusal of letting any other rider fly him or using his fly-alone tail starting to dwell on the scaly animal.
The other man doesn't comment on it, however, explaining the situation instead. "There's something strange approaching us... by air", Eret clarifies, still staring in the same direction as Hiccup unfolds the spyglass attached at his hip, the chief copying his watchful posture.
There, partially hidden by dark clouds, not farther than one or two minutes of pleasant gliding away, a huge mass of something that resembles a gooey figure is flying in their direction, each bat of its long wings sending a nauseating smell with the harsher breeze that starts to suddenly blow.
The monster leaves the clouds completely behind him, fully coming into view as the substance covering it moves on its own accord and reveals it's true form. Hiccup observes intently with a shallow breath, brow scrunched in wariness: the corpse of a giant dragon is the only thing keeping the beast together, chunks of bloody flesh attached to it in a disgusting picture that defies the impossible by crying a powerful scream of rage despite not being alive.
Hiccup passes the spyglass to the other male to put on his helmet again, its scent of leather overpowering the one of rotten meat momentarily, and Eret simply curses a Holy Odin's beard under his breath when he focuses his sight on the beast. "It's some kind of demon! He's cursed!"
The foreign beast is upon them in mere seconds, a sharp roar of anguish falling from its muzzle. Hiccup watches in horror the strange substance covering it more closely now, black and scarlet worm-like creatures engulfing the monster in a ball of pure venom, the smell coming from it unbearable by now. The motions of its wings creates strong waves of air that make the wooden platform tremble violently at their force, the long poles holding it in place starting to creak and break under its weight. Hiccup grabs Eret forcefully by his arm and the two of them run by Toothless' side at the back of the structure, getting a hold on the rail there when the platform shakes abruptly. Hiccup whistles for Toothless to pick them, but the dragon seems to not hear him, too petrified in terror to attend to his rider's desperate screams as the creature nosedives against them.
With the structure finally giving in, Hiccup runs three forceful steps and grabs Toothless by the saddle. The rider mounts him in an agile motion and yanks the reins upwards, pieces and bits of wood falling around them. "Move bud, move!" The dragon snaps back into reality at the sudden command, dodging a pole and one of the beast's poisonous wings just in time. Eret cries somewhere under them, and when two pairs of green eyes spot him between the chaos they fly in a halt through the remains of the wrecked post, Toothless' limbs completely glued to his sleek body before effectively catching him up mid-air with his paws. "Toothless, out Eret on the ground and follow it! Hurry up bud!"
"Are you fucking crazy!? It's going to kill both of you!" But Eret's words are of no use. Dragon and rider leave the startled male on the ground as the wooden structure falls over the cliffs of Raven Point, the monster passing it without a second glance and moving forward in Berk's direction. They take off as fast as they landed, Toothless' joints creaking with the effort and Hiccup gripping the reins for dear life as they try to reach the beast's head.
"Careful bud!" They position themselves next to one of the creature's eyes, the worm-like substance attempting to get a grip on them instantly. Hiccup maneuvers the saddle and they glide to their left, capturing the monster interest for a few seconds. The chief takes Inferno from his hip and lights it up, shaking it over his head frantically as he screams. "Please, leave us alone! We don't want to hurt you! Demon or God, please turn around and leave our island alone!" The creature answers him with a high-pitched cry and a hit with one of his wings, and Hiccup can't help slicing the appendage with one flick of his wrist, Inferno burning the rotten meat of the beast.
Now hurt, the demon turns his attention completely on the rider and his dragon, flying after them over Berk's cliffs. The beast's flight starts to turn erratic, the loss of one of his wings giving Hiccup and Toothless a narrow advantage as they avoid rock pillars that the beast smashes easily with its body, the substance covering it shooting like arms to grab them as it growls in fury.
Suddenly the beast turns to the right, forgetting the two alphas to focus on something else, and Hiccup distinguishes Astrid and the trainees silhouettes under them, running to the Great Hall as fast as they can. The monster screeches and dives for them, one of the younger girls tripping startled and falling to the the ground. Astrid puts her body in front of the injured girl without hesitation, her axe glistening with the sunlight that reflexes on the polished blade, her knees crouching in a fighting stance as the monster approaches them.
Hiccups heart stops beating in his chest at the picture, his mind running wild to think of a plan. "Toothless, shot it on the left wing!", he commands agitatedly, the dragon obliging with a plasma blast falling from his muzzle. It has the desired effect: with both of his wings out of the game, the beast crashes against the hard soil irremediably, distracting it enough for Astrid and the trainees to escape.
The demon lies limply on the ground, its body heaving with the force of its breaths much like Hiccup's one on Toothless' back, when without any warning its venomous arms shots in every direction. Toothless shines a brightly blue as his body shakes violently, shooting powerful blasts at some of the limbs trying to get to them as Hiccup cuts some of them with Inferno.
Hiccup's right forearm is abruptly trapped by one of the worm-like creatures, the poison seeping through his flying suit and reaching his skin making him clench his teeth in pain, the aching one of the worst he has ever felt. The chief cuts the supernatural appendage with Inferno at the same time that his dragon screeches in concern and shots one last hit at the creature's eye, the demon finally giving up fighting.
Toothless lands a secure distance away from the monster and Hiccup falls on his side on the grass-covered soil, gripping his arm and breathing agitatedly as the acidic venom starts to slowly melt the leather of his sleeve and the skin under it. Toothless sniffs his forearm and tries to lick it with a worried rumble in his throat, but the boy pushes his head aside from the extending wound. He doesn't really know how the substance could affect Toothless, and he's not letting anything happening to his friend. "Don't touch it bud", he swallows with a difficult breath, the pain cursing through his arm growing with each passing second. Hiccup unfastens the clasps of his suit and grabs a handful of the grass next to him, rubbing the remains of the venom off from his skin with it.
"Hiccup!" Astrid enters his range of vision by his left flank, kneeling next to him and looking at his arm with an horrified expression on her features. The girl copies his gesture, taking grass and soil in her tinier hands and scrubbing his wound with it. Hiccup's jaw starts to ache with the pressure of his tensed face.
"Son! Oh Gods!" Valka arrives in a halt with Gothi on Cloudjumper's back, running immediately by his other side and kneeling next to the pair. His mother takes out a wineskin from her furry coat and starts to pour its content over Hiccup's forearm, the mixture of hot water and dragon spit making him throb at first but then soothing his burning limb with its healing properties. The chief finally relaxes his tense muscles the tiniest bit, the hurt subsiding little by little.
They're soon surrounded by the rest of the riders and warriors of the tribe, concerned looks and whispers coming from both the Vikings and the dragons. Toothless presses his muzzle against Hiccup's ribs and the boy gets a hold of his neck, his friend helping him to stand up, his mother and Astrid touching him reassuringly at his sides.
Gothi the elder approaches the giant demon cautiously, taking a pouch of salt and herbs out from her clothing and throwing a handful at its face, making undecipherable gestures with her staff. The woman puts his palms together in front of her chest and vows respectfully at the creature, mouthing some words under her breath.
The demon roars deeply from his throat, the sound followed by clicks and growls full of resentment, and the last bits of his putrefied meat melt away from his bones with the acidic substance before the villagers' eyes. The poison and blood from the demon fall to the ground, leaving a boiling hot carcass and a patch of dead grass at his path. The last thing Hiccup sees before blacking out of exertion is his mother's terrified face looking at him.
The wounded chief is taking care of by the elders and his mother while he's still unconscious. Simultaneously, men work on the malign spirit's bones, cutting them in pieces and collecting them carefully with thick leather gloves, loading them into baskets attached to some dragons, their riders then throwing them into one of the cliff's caves.
Astrid leads the labor with a stern gaze and a heavy heart, both knowing that Hiccup would only trust her to take his place in those moments and on the other hand just wanting to leave everything and go to the chief's side. She couldn't stop thinking about how she could have prevented it from happening, prevented Hiccup from getting hurt, if only she would have taken the children to the Great Hall sooner...
Eret squeezes a supportive hand on her shoulder at some point during the evening, and the girl has to smile at him. She punches him softly on a shoulder as well, and for a moment Astrid doesn't feel so guilty anymore.
Snotlout approaches them quietly, frown scrunched in confusion as he deposits something on the girl's clothed palm. Astrid studies the black sphere on her hand, rough around the edges and compact at the core, showing it immediately to Gobber.
"Aye, it's iron", he assures, "although not from 'round here, and Johann has never trade one so pure. It must be from the far East."
Astrid looks at the iron piece, wondering clear on her features.
Night falls rapidly after that, and the young chief wakes up with her mother humming a lullaby at him, holding his freckled hand quietly between her bony own. Valka says nothing when she notices him stirring on the bed, neither she stops her quiet singing, and for a few seconds she can pretend that everything is fine, even if it isn't.
It is different from awakening after the Red Death, but at the same time it feels like a deja vu. He isn't in pain, and for a moment he needs to remember why he is in the healer's hut, looking at his bandaged forearm absentmindedly. Toothless is there with them, and the dragon rumbles deeply in his throat as he nuzzles Hiccup's cheek in a comforting way that his rider is very grateful for.
A warm tear rolls down Valka's face. It falls on Hiccup's hand. "Mom, why are you crying?"
Valka smiles softly at him. In the fire-lit room his green eyes look as big and innocent as when he was just a baby that Valka could hold, and at the memory a sob threatens with ripping through her tight chest. "It's nothing, my boy."
They don't talk anymore after that, but it isn't necessary for Hiccup to feel the gloomy air that surrounds them and seems to take a hold on their hearts. The chief sits on the bed with a heavy sigh, and Valka stops singing, looking at the fire instead. Hiccup moves closer to her chair and hugs her lovingly, petting her long brittle hair —which she wears long and free these days, just like Stoick liked— and drying away her tears with two calloused thumbs. Somehow it feels like a farewell.
Mother and son enter the Great Hall when the moon is high in the sky, although the place isn't quiet at all.
Angry cries and high-pitched laments gradually turn into concerned whispers at their arrival, and those turn into a respectful silence as they walk into the familiar space, the chief moving forward with square shoulders and a solemn expression on his face.
The elders are sitting at the center of the room, the fire at their backs casting frowning shadows on their brows and scowls on their lips. Gothi, in the middle of them all, gestures him to have a seat, ad the chief obliges with a tiny vow of his head, his mother sitting at his right.
Toothless sits behind him, curling his tail protectively around the boy's middle, his wings engulfing him in a cocoon of scaly dark skin and taut muscle. Hiccup crosses his legs under him and reclines on his friend's chest, the steady rhythm of the dragon's breathing peaceful against his ribs and neck.
On the floor between the elders and the two alphas extends a coarse piece of white cloth, the symbols and runes covering it painted in blood. On top of it sits a pouch, the leather used to make it also dyed red, and the chief's composed stance falters for an instant at the sight of the two elements.
The elder at Gothi's right positions the pouch immediately before Gothi, and the elder at her left disentangles the cord circling the pouch's opening. A few gasps can be heard as Gothi rubs her wrinkly tiny hands in a drop of sacred oil, the scent piercing the boy's nose unpleasantly. The silent elder takes a handful of beautifully adorned bones from the pouch, and she throws them on the cloth ceremoniously.
Hiccup looks mostly downwards during the ritual, but something makes him turn his head discreetly at his left for a second, and there he finds Astrid's big blue eyes boring into his skull. They can't talk during that short second, but he can distinguish the sorrow and raw concern into that gaze clearly as if it was a lake of clean water, and he offers her a smile. And Astrid smiles back, because the gesture it's all Hiccup, and nothing hero, or chief, or dragon tamer. Just Hiccup smiling at her soothingly, filling her chest with reassurance.
The clicking sound of two bones rubbing against each other breaks their connection, and the chief returns his attention to the elders again. Gothi's brow is furrowed in something that he can't decipher as she looks at his mother, and Valka nods solemnly at the mute request.
"Son, show everyone your right arm", his mother orders softly, and the young man obliges without hesitance, peeling the bandages from his skin and extending his limb in front of him. The villagers start to murmur under their shallow breaths, watery whispers ands terrified questions getting no response from the elders.
Gothi makes them fall silent again with a gesture of her hand. "My chief, are you prepared to learn what fate the bones have foretold you?" Valka says, translating the elder's words in dragonese.
"Yes. I was prepared the very moment I mounted on Toothless' back and flied."
The dragon coos against his ear at the mention of his name, and Gothi nods with the tiniest of smiles at them before letting clicks and growls fall from her tongue, his mother muttering human words soon after. "The infection will spread throughout your whole body, bone and flesh alike. It will cause you great pain and then kill you."
"Is there no way we can stop it?"
"The chief got that wound by defending our isle and saving our lives!"
"Do we just sit here and watch him die!?"
The room erupts in a cacophony of indignant screams, but Hiccup doesn't heard any of them. Instead, he looks at his mother by the corner of his right eye, and he takes her hand when he sees the fresh tears that roll down her cheeks. "I love you", he murmurs, and she murmurs it back.
This time it takes a roar from Toothless to shut everybody up, the dragon shining blue and his teeth bared in a show of dominance. Gothi checks that Valka has stopped crying before continuing with her speech. "You cannot alter your fate, my Chief. However, you can rise to meet it, if you choose. Look at this", Gothi puts a strange sphere in front of him, and from her place in the room a shiver curses through Astrid's spine. "This iron ball was found in the dragon's body. This is what hurt it so. It shattered his bones and burned its way deep inside him. This is what turned it into a demon." The elder locks eyes with the young chief intently, and he hunches forward to meet her. "There is evil at work in the west, my Chief. It's your fate to go there and see what you can see with eyes unclouded by hate. You may find a way to lift the curse. Do you understand?"
"Yes", he simply says, and he means it.
"You shall go tonight."
Hiccup takes every material thing that matters to him and puts it in a leather bag: his sketchbooks, his charcoals and makeshift pencils, the few pieces of clothing he has and a tiny toolbox —his emergency kit for repairing his prosthetic or Toothless' tail or saddle—, as well as a quilt and a heavy fur cloak for the cold.
He takes his viking helmet, the one which is an exact replica of Stoick's one, and he considers what to do with it for a few moments as it glistens in his hands. He had been polishing it a lot since his father died, cleaning it whenever he felt sad and then putting it next to the bigger one on the shelf on top of the chimney, later sitting on Stoick's armchair and looking at them for hours with Toothless cooing sympathetically at his feet.
Astrid finds him almost just like that, Hiccup sniffing the scent of his gone father of the armchair and the dragon nuzzling his mop of brown hair in a loving gesture. "Hiccup? Are you going to take that?"
"Oh, hey Astrid", he laughs quietly to hide his glassy eyes, finally making up his mind and putting the helmet on its right place. "Nah, it belongs here."
"It will be here, waiting for you until you come back. Just like the rest of us", she mumbles clumsily with a small smile, squeezing one of his hands carefully. Afraid.
"We need to talk, Astrid", he looks at her seriously and Astrid shakes her head in denial.
"No, I don't want to hear it–"
"Astrid, please, don't make this more difficult for me. Please." Hiccup's pleading voice is soft and low, and she has always been marveled by the power it held despite not being the booming and powerful one of his father. They look into each other eyes and Hiccup gives her with a watery smile. "I need to thank you for all the happiness and love and confidence and support you have gifted me during these past years. You're extraordinary, Astrid, you truly are. And that's why I can't expect you to wait for me." Astrid tries to interrupt him, but Hiccup presses a calloused finer on her lips. "I don't want you to waste my life waiting for me, because I don't know if I will come back at all. I don't want to leave you with empty promises. You will always be my first love, Astrid, I don't want you to forget me. But please don't just hold onto memories and waste away your potential. The Astrid I love wouldn't do that."
They are both crying by the time Hiccup stops talking. Astrid nods her head, the words in her mind asphyxiating her as she tries to voice them out, but Astrid has never been good with words anyway.
They don't kiss, because it's too painful to do so, and Astrid cuts off Hiccup's braids with her dagger before depositing it on Hiccup's palm to confusion of the latter. Hiccup studies it, the blade shining with hues of blue and purple due to its material being originally a rare and precious gem that Stormfly gifted her rider years ago. "Your crystal dagger? Astrid, I can't accept this, you love it too much!"
Astrid stares at the knife with a tiny smile on her lips. "Please, it will protect you. That way you won't forget me."
He hugs her tightly. "Oh Astrid, I could never forget you."
A sepulchral silence falls over Berk that night as dragons and humans alike cry for the destiny of their alphas.
Hiccup and Toothless stand before Valka and Cloudjumper on Raven Point, the eyes of the villagers and the dragons fixated on them. The two pairs vow at the other in a gesture of respect. From now on, his mother and her companion will be the alphas.
Mother and son hug for a long moment, and Hiccup repeats the action with his most beloved ones: Gobber, Fishlegs, Snotlout, the twins, Eret and finally Astrid. Hiccup mounts on Toothless back after the dragon has growled his farewells to his flock, and the two of them lift into the night sky as an invisible shadow.
The freckled man takes a deep breath and a last glance at Berk under them, the lit torches pulling him back home, but the starry sky above them pulling him to the unknown.
"To the east, bud", Hiccup commands, and soon after he can't see the lights in the distance anymore.
Thank you for reading, and of course reviews and favourites are always welcomed.
- Caliope.