It is said that you do not choose your destiny. You cannot run from it or avoid it. You must not fear your destiny. You should embrace it, accept it, and respect it. For it may be a blessing in disguise that brings out the best within you, and allows you to blossom your true potential. So when destiny comes baring down your door, remember; Do not be afraid.
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Hiccup looked around the village of Berk from his vantage on Toothless' back. Only the day before, Drago had been defeated, and the tribe was still celebrating victory. But that didn't change the fact that they had a lot of work to do; houses needed to be rebuilt, the blasted-off tusk from the Bewilderbeast needed to be removed from the harbor, and the ice needed to be cleaned up as well. At first, some had suggested to simply let it melt, but it quickly became clear that that wasn't an option; it wasn't melting evenly, and they couldn't risk shifting ice crushing more houses. But, for all the damage, it was still a great victory, and his people were singing as they worked, bringing in loads of supplies via dragon, and carrying out debris the same way. A few of the artisans had already approached him on the idea for a memorial for his father, carved from the rock of the island itself. Toothless warbled and smacked him with an ear flap. "Sorry, Toothless. Woolgathering." Toothless rolled his head and, with his tongue sticking out in focus, braked to bring in the supplies to the work gang below.
"That's it! Perfect!" one of the workers shouted from below; they steadied the cargo and unloaded it before Toothless took flight again and the work gang got back to their repairs.
Toothless landed on one of the cliffs overlooking the village. Dismounting, Hiccup smiled and looked around him. Things were a bit trampled, busted, and covered in ice, but his tribe showed perseverance; they would prove to their enemies that they would not break.
"Hiccup!" Valka's voice came from behind and Hiccup turned to see his mother, his eyes squinted ever so slightly as a smile crossed his lips.
"How's everything at the forge?" Hiccup asked, as he unhitched the harness from the palette and bent to give Toothless a short rubdown as a thank you for all the work his best bud had been doing.
"Oh, it's fine, Hiccup. Everything is fine there." she gave him an odd look, cocking her head as if in thought. "Hiccup, there's something I need to talk to you about." she threw a glance at the villagers and dragons all around them, and then added, "Alone? Away from the others? It's too crowded here." she spoke softly. Her demeanor subdued, as if she was ashamed.
Well, there was plenty of that to go around.
"Sure, Mom," Hiccup said, and mounted up. Following Valka and Cloudjumper, they went out into the sea stack maze for some distance.
They landed on one of the taller sea stacks, and Valka dismounted from Cloudjumper's back. She walked over to the edge of the sea stack and gazed at Berk in the distance. Hiccup followed suit and stood next to her. She was standing up straighter than she had before, and he straightened to match her.
"It's amazing how much these creatures can do," Valka mused, watching as a small squad of riders flew in the distance, carrying in more supplies to aid with Berk's rebuilding.
Smiling proudly, Hiccup took in a deep lungful of the late afternoon air and replied, "They really are amazing, Mom."
Then her words hit him. "Wait, 'creatures'? That doesn't sound like you." She didn't say anything, and he continued, "Well, I guess they are... but that's not the word I'd use. It sounds like the sort of thinking that Drago would use. 'Creature'. 'Monster'. 'Thing.' Is that what you meant to point out? Because, yeah, they are amazing beings, and you and I both know how they're feared and misunderstood." He tuned to look at her. "You were wrong, Mom. You shouldn't have hid away for all those years. You could have been changing people's minds all that time, helping end the fear of them."
Valka looked to Hiccup, her expression inscrutable. "And what if we can't change their minds?" Valka asked.
Hiccup went to open his mouth to say something in response, but the thought of what happened, the memory of having lost his father, quickly stopped his tongue. A man who kills without reason cannot be reasoned with. Hiccup shied away from the memory. His father had been right, and his shoulders hunched in pain.
Valka took Hiccup's chin in her hands. "It's in human nature to fear what they do not understand," Valka explained. "You've done your best, but not everyone will be persuaded in the end. You had some success with your father-more than I would have ever credited him-but with others..." She trailed off, and looked pointedly at the ice-covered village in the distance.
Hiccup winced and nodded, taking her meaning.
After a while, Valka spoke again. "Things have changed. You've grown so much since that night I abandoned you. You were just a babe, and now look at you."
Hiccup nodded. "Yeah... gods, they have." He touched his forehead. Even though it had been cleaned off, he could still feel Gothi's finger touching his brow, painting the sigil of the chief there. Now, he was wearing his father's fur cloak, cloak pins and belt, and was trying not to feel like an imposter, a literal child play-acting in his father's clothes.
Then another thought occurred to him, and Hiccup grimaced. "I'm sorry, Mom… I can't imagine that it's easy for you to see me in Dad's stuff-"
"No, not that," Valka interrupted him. "You've changed." She reached over and touched the belt buckle, and for a moment, Hiccup felt something-like the air was charged with lightning, like being around the Skrill...
And then it was back to normal.
"What was that?" he asked, blinking.
Valka didn't say anything, but he would have sworn that, for a moment, she looked confused... followed by an uncharacteristic cruel curl of her lips. But it was just for a moment, and then she was shaking her head and rubbing her temples. Then she turned to him.
"Son... what would you give to be able to have done more?"
"What are you talking about?" Hiccup cocked a brow.
"Have you wondered if there was more you could have done?" Valka asked, looking Hiccup over.
"Of course I have!" he blurted, his heart spasming in pain. "I could have listened to Dad, I could have been more careful, I could have stopped Drago from ordering the Bewilderbeast to take control of Toothless, I could have... I could have dodged. But... I didn't. And... and my best friend got his mind violated and Dad... Dad died."
There was a pained warble at his side. Hiccup looked, to see Toothless, whose expression of guilt was plain on his face.
Hiccup reached over and gently rubbed Toothless' head. The Night Fury leaned up against him supportively and rumbled.
"But you managed to keep Toothless from firing at you for quite a while," Valka said. Her tone... odd.
Hiccup took a deep breath. "I felt something, a connection, a spark..." He sighed. "I thought, maybe, just maybe, that it was the gods telling me that I could reach Toothless, that I could have helped him if I just tried hard enough," Hiccup clutched his hands in the air as he pulled away from Toothless, but then they fell back to his side. "But Dad…" Hiccup felt a sob rushing to the surface. He steeled himself, trying to push away the horrible memory.
"But then your father interrupted, breaking your concentration."
"I... Mom!" Hiccup protested, shocked. "How can you say that? He saved me. You were there!"
"You were asserting control; that was what kept him from firing at you for so long," Valka gestured to Toothless who flinched as she pointed at him. "But then Stoick knocked you aside, distracted you, and Toothless fired-and it got him killed."
Hiccup looked back at her, the sob he felt suddenly vanishing as confusion-and a tinge of anger-replaced it. What on Midgard...?
"That spark you felt... that wasn't the gods," Valka said, placing her hand on Hiccup's shoulder. "You have a gift, Hiccup. A gift you need to learn to control,"
"Gift?" Hiccup repeated. He gave her a dubious glare, his anger still flickering. Her tone was shifting in a way that confused him.
"I can show you how." Valka cupped Hiccup's cheek, staring deep into his eyes.
"I don't... understand. Mom, what are you talking about? Gift? What gift?" Hiccup asked, baffled.
Valka chuckled softly, apparently amused with Hiccup's confusion. "We can only do so much on our own," she approached Toothless and caressed him. Toothless hesitated at first, but melted under her gentle touch and gurgled happily. He rubbed up against her. "Once you learn to harness that gift, we can show the world what dragons can do,"
Hiccup looked at Valka before sharing a puzzled look with Toothless. Toothless gurgled and tilted his head, gesticulating his own confusion.
"This gift... did Dad have it too?" Hiccup asked.
"Your father was as mortal as they come. His strength came from another source," Valka said, tapping the buckle Hiccup now wore.
Hiccup looked down at the buckle. It looked like an ordinary buckle that anyone else might wear. "I don't understand. What do you mean 'mortal'?"
"I mean exactly what it sounds like, son. Your father was... well, only human. You... and I... aren't. But that..." she motioned to the belt buckle, "was a gift from my father to Stoick when I first came here. It blessed him, and tied me to him..." She inhaled sharply. "And now that tie is broken." She closed her eyes and a smile-a frightening smile-crossed her lips. "At last."
"I... I don't understand. Are you saying that Dad's belt buckle was enchanted somehow?" Hiccup asked. "What, like megingjörð?" he joked, referring to Thor's Belt.
"Yes. It is exactly like the Belt of Power, forged by the dwarves from the light of a dying star," she said. "In fact, if I recall... correctly," she said with a sound of effort, "it is the Belt."
Hiccup looked at his mother and felt his heart melt in sadness. "Mom."
"Yes, my son?"
"Mom... you've just had a tremendous shock. Your life of the last twenty years is gone, your husband died... you're not-"
She laughed. "Oh, you think I've gone insane, haven't you?"
Hiccup grimaced and tried to make it a smile. "I wasn't going to say it, but..."
"My dearest son... I can guarantee you that there is no fog of misunderstanding falling across my mind. In fact..." she spread her arms and turned several times, her smile growing frenetic, "it is quite the opposite."
Hiccup swallowed. One parent dead... the other lost and growing insane...
Best to play along until he could get Gothi to help her. He couldn't bear to lose her too. Not so soon after having found her.
"So... you're saying my... Dad's belt was the Belt of Power, forged by the dwarves, enchanted to double his strength?" Hiccup asked carefully.
"Exactly." She smiled at him. "In fact... if I recall what Gobber told me, you're a smith of uncommon skill. Can you identify what metal it is?"
Hiccup, still playing along, his heart breaking at the sight of his mother's descent into madness from grief, shrugged and removed the belt. Holding it up to his eye, he examined it closely.
And frowned.
"That's... not iron. Or bronze. Or steel..."
"It is uru, son. Forged from the heart of a dying star," Valka said, "enchanted by the great dwarven smith Eitri... altered by my father to imprison me."
Hiccup blinked and wordlessly put the belt back on. He couldn't identify the metal, sure... but that didn't mean that his mother's claims were true.
As the belt slipped back around his waist, Hiccup stared down at it. He couldn't identify the metal... and there had been that weird energy before... just before his mother's mind had started to break.
"I can show you how to use it. Use it in ways that your father never knew how to," Valka said, and spoke a word.
Hiccup gasped as energy seemed to flow into him from the belt.
"What the Hel?" he managed to breath out after a moment, his voice ragged. "What was that?"
"The belt is attuned to you now. You have the strength of a jotunn... for starters." Valka smiled at him. "I will show you how to use it, how to channel yourself through it... and together, we shall rule!"
At those words, Hiccup jumped back-and found that he'd somehow jumped half the width of the sea stack. Toothless made a shocked noise and bounded over to him. "Mom! You're... you're not well! Look, something... something bad is happening to you! You're... you're acting completely different! It's like you're a whole other person all of a sudden!"
Valka looked at him and sighed. "Well, I suppose that you did get my intelligence. Yes, I am a 'whole other person'. 'Valka' was a disguise. A mask. Something to chain me and hopefully reform me, tied to your father... by my father. With his death... it's fading. And I'm myself once again."
Hiccup continued to back away, Toothless at his side. "So... who the Hel are you, then?"
Valka's grin grew bloodthirsty. "Who the Hel. Oh, yes. Who the Hel indeed..." Her grin widened even further and she pushed her hands to her head as if she was going to rub her temples in frustration. "Let's see if this works..."
She ran her hands through her hair, and Hiccup could see the mask fall off and fade. His mother's auburn hair darkened... and then transformed into a crown of black spikes. Her leathers and furs wavered and shifted from the greens and blues to become darker and more form-fitting.
Her hand produced a blade from... nowhere, and she held it like greeting an old friend... not helped by her next words. "Hello darling! Oh, how I missed you!" she said, and while she was still the same woman, with the same voice... she wasn't Valka, not in her posture or her tone. Whereas Valka had been friendly, in a feral manner, her voice slightly hesitant, as if she'd forgotten how to make words, the woman in front of him was aggressive, arrogant, and spoke with incredible certainty and poise.
Hiccup sucked in air from shock and fell back. "Y-you're…" Hiccup trailed off and scooted away in panic.
"That's right. Mommy dearest is Hela, the goddess of Death, Odin's firstborn, commander of the legions of Asgard, and the rightful heir to the throne," she flourished her hands and gave him a curt bow.
"What, but, how… Did, did Dad k-know about this?" Hiccup stammered, his panic made it harder for him to think clearly.
"Your father died never knowing the truth about who I am," Valka... Hela said with a nonchalant shrug. "Rather by design, really. My prison was tied to his life, courtesy of your grandfather. He made me into someone I wasn't, all in the hope of changing me." She shrugged again. "Didn't work."
Hiccup looked over to Toothless. How much of all of this his bud understood, Hiccup had no idea, but there was no question that Toothless saw his mother as... as a threat. His eyes were narrowing and his body was curled and tense, ready to pounce and put himself in between Hiccup and... Hela. "Shh, Toothless, bud, it's okay…" Hiccup grabbed a hold of Toothless' harness, pulled himself back to his feet, and propped himself up against Toothless.
"It's a lot to absorb in such a short moment. But you will come to accept it, as we conquer the Nine Realms and then add to them," Hela proposed. "All mortals care about is acknowledgement, to be something more than mere mice running around trying to survive from day to day." She motioned to the flock of dragons flying over Berk. "You will be a great herald, my son. Commanding the dragon legion that we have amassed. And the world will learn what true fear is," Hela stepped towards Hiccup but stopped, hearing Toothless' growl intensify into a snarl. Hela shot Toothless an annoyed glare.
"Good dragons under the control of bad people do bad things. You told me this once before, and you were right. Dragons are not weapons! They can be our friends," Hiccup reached out to Toothless, laying a calming hand on the Night Fury at his side.
Hela snorted. "That wasn't me. That was a mold my father was trying to force me into. 'Valka' was a weak-minded pacifist hypocrite without the will to commit to her own beliefs. 'Don't kill dragons'... but don't act to save them when her own family was slaughtering them. 'Love your husband'... don't talk to him for twenty years, without even sending a message to him. I was sickened by just how weak she was, prowling around in the back of her mind. She took the easy path, avoiding pain." Hela pulled another sword from nowhere. "I embrace it." She stepped forward. "You are ruled by sentiment, just as she was. This weakens you. Your blood is the blood of Asgard, however weakened by Midgardian pollution. And it is the calling of Asgard to rule over those weaker than us." She pointed the blade at him. "So you can embrace that... or I can carve that Midgardian weakness out directly. Your choice."
Hiccup set his jaw. "'A chief protects his own,'" he quoted. His brow furrowed as anger replaced confusion, and he drew and ignited his blade. Toothless glared at Hela and he gave her a snort of disapproval.
"You're overconfident. I like that - but it will get you killed," Hela stated, sounding more amused than anything else.
"I've faced worse and still managed. You're not nearly as scary as a certain giant green dragon. And we beat her," Hiccup said.
Hela laughed, amused. "The only reason you've survived this long is because you're Asgardian. You would have been dead years ago if it weren't for your royal blood." She shrugged. "But if it's an impression I need to be making..." She flicked her hand and Hiccup suddenly screamed as a line of hot fire grazed his cheek, a blade moving almost faster than he could have seen flicked from her hand and slicing open his face. He reached up and touched the gash, to find the wound already scabbing over.
"That would be the Belt," Hela said conversationally. "And that's just one of the lesser powers at its disposal." She had another blade in hand-and then blinked as Toothless shot it out of her hand with a massive blast of fire.
Hiccup gritted his teeth and rushed her before she could recover, his feet tearing up the grass, his speed faster than he'd ever managed before. But Hela rolled her eyes, feinted, and casually dodged, using his own momentum to send him sprawling in the grass. Before he could recover, she snatched him by his wild hair and pulled him up against her. Hiccup cried out.
"You still think you can defeat me?" Hela yanked his head back. With his neck exposed, she put her blade against his throat. It dug into his skin, and he hissed in pain as he could feel his pulse pounding only a finger width away from the edge of the blade, a trickle of blood flowing down towards the base of his neck.
Toothless shrieked at the sight of Hiccup's spilled blood and bounded at Hela... but she stretched her other hand out as he neared and he yielded.
"No," Hiccup begged, watching her drop Toothless with a disarming gesture. Toothless went down in a dreamlike state. Cloudjumper approached Toothless, inspecting him.
"Oh, don't worry about your pet. He's only unconscious," Hela promised. "I'd kill him, but he's useful, as he just demonstrated."
"He's not my pet!" Hiccup struggled against Hela, but the cold metal against his throat held him in place as he felt it cut his flesh. His eyes darted around, trying to find something to help him out of his predicament.
That arrived in a storm of flapping wings.
"Hiccup!" came Astrid's sudden call. Hiccup felt Hela tense at Astrid's arrival, and acted purely on instinct. Shifting his weight in her hold, he managed to jostle Hela's aim just as she threw her blade at the newcomers.
"We saw the fire-blast, are you-woah!" Stormfly balked and banked as the sword missed her by mere inches, making Astrid shout in surprise.
He sagged in relief as he saw the blade sailing off into the distance, a motion that made the blade at his neck cut deeper, but he couldn't care less.
"Does anyone know the meaning of the word privacy around here?" Hela shouted in frustration.
"Who the Hel is that!?" Snotlout shouted in disbelief as they banked around the sea-stack.
"Hel indeed," Hela said with a gyration of her hips and turned to Cloudjumper. "Fine. This will make for a good test of your abilities. Get rid of them," she commanded.
"No, don't!" Hiccup pleaded. Cloudjumper pulled away from Toothless and looked towards the riders that surrounded them. His stare was vacant, his pupils turned to slits. Then he suddenly took off and flew directly at the dragons, chasing after them as their riders made them dodge. Within seconds, he'd cleared the air for his master.
"That's much better." Hela rolled her neck, popping her joints. She watched with a satisfied grin as the riders scattered like seabirds.
Hiccup couldn't move, feeling the blade pressed against his neck. And with Toothless temporarily out, all he could do was watch, his heart pounding in fear, as Cloudjumper launched an assault on his friends, attacking anyone who got too close to them.
Relieved, Hiccup noticed how they effectively dodged Cloudjumper's attacks after the first moment's surprise. He was glad that they wouldn't hurt one of their own, but had to look away as the dragon he'd come to know as a gentle creature tried to kill his friends.
But Hela pulled on his scalp, forcing him to watch his friends in aerial combat. "Isn't it glorious?" she purred in his ear as they watched her pawn chase after his friends.
"They're so easy to command. Imagine the destruction they could bring to Asgard! I will be on the throne by sundown, and you, you my son..." she kicked Inferno's blade away from them, "if you can forge that with these primitive tools here on Midgard, then imagine what weapons you will be able to make for me when I appoint you as Eitri's master!" she laughed with excitement.
Hiccup looked on, watching helplessly as his friends dodged to avoid Cloudjumper's attacks. He could see a plan forming as they assumed formation-something he had taught them.
His friends began to distract Cloudjumper, luring the dragon away from Hela and putting on a distracting aerial display to pull his attention away from their strategy, weaving in and out through the sea stacks, mist and fog-until they flew through a blanket of clouds and emerged on the other side.
Hiccup smiled; there were only five dragons, not six.
He looked out of the corner of his eye at Hela, hoping she was fooled by the disappearing act. Hiccup looked up, wondering just where the sixth rider was hiding as he scanned the clouds.
His question was answered as there was an abrupt blast of Nadder fire hurtling towards them out of the cloud. Hela reflexively threw the blade in her hand-pulling it away from Hiccup's neck and he immediately saw his chance.
Shoving Hela with his elbow, he disrupted her aim once more. Then he dropped and rolled, grabbing Inferno from where it lay on the ground, ignited it, and lunged at Hela without a second's hesitation. She raised her arm to block, and there was a shock that travelled up Hiccup's arm as he connected, the smell of burning hair and blood on the wind as the fiery edge sizzled with his mother's blood.
There was a sudden draconic roar, and Hela bellowed in response. Cloudjumper, his eyes clear, flamed the area where Hela was standing, Hiccup's attack on her having apparently broken her control.
But she strolled out of the fire, scowling. "I've been on Midgard too long. My strength is diminished, but once I return..." she shook out her arm. "No wound will be able to break my control."
With a shuddering thud, Cloudjumper landed, clearly intending to tear Hela limb from limb with his claws. He swiped at her, clawing her side open with his razor-sharp talons.
"No! I am your master! Kneel!" Hela commanded. But Cloudjumper continued lunging for her in his fury, completely ignoring her commands. She was no longer in control of him-but before Hiccup could pull Cloudjumper off his mother, she grabbed one of his claws by the wrist and held it back long enough for her to roll out of the way...
And towards the bullhook she'd used back when she'd been Valka. A swing of the hook clouted Cloudjumper on the side of the head, and he slumped, either unconscious or dead.
Hiccup roared in denial-only to see Cloudjumper twitch underneath Hela as she wound up for the killing blow.
"No!" Hiccup bellowed. "Don't kill him! You wanted me, remember!" But he still backed away from Hela. Having seen Cloudjumper dropped with a single strike of her bullhook, Hiccup knew he was in trouble. Hela was not like any other bully that wanted to take his best friend away from him. He was facing off with a god!
And she was proving to be a very difficult opponent.
"Enough!" Hela thundered and pointed the bullhook at him.
"You are coming with me, Hiccup Haddock. Either of your own volition, or by the spilled blood of your friends," Hela looked up and her lips curled back into a sneer. "And I promise you, this time I won't miss."
"We survived Drago! To us she's just a stroll in the woods!" Eret swore as they approached the sea-stack once more.
Hiccup looked up to see his friends had regrouped and fear set in. "No, guys, you can't defeat Death herself," he put his hands up, trying to get them to stand down.
"What are you talking about, Hiccup?" Fishlegs asked, his nose scrunched up in confusion.
Hiccup swallowed audibly. "I'm saying...that she's Hela, goddess of death," Hiccup admitted, even finding his own words absurd and hard to swallow and accept.
"Where's Valka!?" Astrid snarled and glared at Hela.
"Perhaps you should tell them, son," Hela suggested. An amused smile parted her lips to hear his boon gasp in shock.
"You mean, you," Ruffnut pointed to Hela, then her finger swept over to Hiccup. "And you, are…" she trailed off.
"You're smarter than you look," Hela praised. "That's right. Your chief is a god," Hela announced.
"I always thought Hiccup was a wizard, but now... it all makes sense!" Tuffnut shouted excitedly in his saddle.
"Valka was Hela this whole time? Then that means..." Fishlegs gasped and looked over at Hiccup.
"So if Valka is Hela, do we call her Vela?" Ruffnut asked, she looked over to her brother.
"No, no. She'd be Helka!" Tuffnut proposed.
"Catchy!" Ruffnut snickered at his suggestion.
Hela drew her lips into a thin line, her patience with Hiccup's friends was apparently growing thin. "Well, Hiccup. What will it be?" Hela asked.
Hiccup looked between Hela and his friends. He knew in his heart the answer. But he was skeptical. Panic began to set in as his chest rose and fell in succession. If he went with her, he'd lose everything he stood for. But if he didn't, he would be left with a slaughter on his conscience.
Hiccup backed away from Hela and closed his eyes. He had to choose, but no matter what his choice would be, he would lose. He found himself doing something he'd never done before. He began to pray to the gods for an answer.
"Gods, please. Hear me. What do I do?" Hiccup uttered a prayer, begging the gods for a choice. "What should I do?"
'You have the answer all along,' a voice called out to him.
Hiccup gasped sharply and opened his eyes, not having expected to be heard. He found himself in a large golden domed room, the walls etched with intricate decorations and runes. He turned around, his eyes darted wildly in panic as he looked around.
"I can lend some assistance, but I can only do so much without breaking my sworn oath."
Hiccup turned sharply; to his surprise he was standing face-to-face with a man with darker skin than he'd ever seen before, standing far taller than him and who wore plated, articulated armor apparently made from gold and burnished until Hiccup couldn't see any hammer marks in the metal. Oh, and he was carrying a greatsword that looked deadly sharp. He looked at the sword the man held before he looked at his surroundings again.
"Where am I?"
"Asgard. At the gate to the Bifrost," the man said simply.
Hiccup backed up, his head jerking in panic. "N-no, this can't be real… I'm, I'm on-"
The golden man chuckled. "You are on Asgard. And this is very much real. I have been expecting Hela to return since your birth and I have already warned Odin about her intentions." The man approached him. "However I have not told him about your involvement."
"Wait- why? I need help!" Hiccup swallowed his fears and ran up to him. He put his hands out before him to try and stop him from approaching. "Are you even listening to me!?" Hiccup demanded. He half-expected to stop the man so that he would listen to his pleas, but he had not expected the man to step through him as though he were a spirit!
Hiccup exclaimed in shock and he looked down at his trembling hands in panic before looking behind him at the god who continued to approach the altar.
"I can only lend you my assistance, young Asgardian. You will have to accomplish this task of protecting your people on your own," Heimdall-for the man could be no-one else-spoke, focused on his task.
Heimdall's words finally sunk in and Hiccup quickly approached the altar. "Heimdall, wait! How do I do that?"
Hiccup watched in awe as Heimdall placed the sword into the altar and watched it sink in place. Once it clicked into position, the room itself trembled and hummed to life as lightning stretched out like fingers and spread across the domed room. Hiccup braced himself, held his arm up in front of his face and squinted, blocking the bright light from his view as he focussed on the gatekeeper. "You have had the power within you all along, young Hiccup Haddock. Combining our strengths, you can protect your people from Hela. But I must warn you. You will have only one chance. Miss this opportunity and you must live with the consequences," Heimdall warned.
Then Hiccup felt like he was shoved back into his body by an invisible force. He gasped and stumbled back, his arms flailed about in his attempts to steady himself. Failing, he fell to his knees. The strange vision left him gasping, short of breath, and blinking around in confusion. He looked at his friends surrounding him as if not even a second had past, and then at Hela who watched him with her thin lips pulled back into a sneer.
She recognized what had just happened and witnessed Hiccup's eyes a bright golden orange for a split second before they faded to their natural emerald color when he had opened them. "I have people to slaughter and a throne to conquer. And your time is up!" she snarled.
Toothless stirred and shook himself. Seeing Hela aiming the bullhook at Hiccup and Cloudjumper knocked for a loop on the ground, Toothless snarled and began to charge.
"No, Toothless, stand down," Hiccup said firmly, holding his hand out to his friend. Toothless skidded to a halt, confused by his friend's command. Hiccup looked over to Toothless and the two shared a look.
Standing up again, Hiccup ejected his spent Nightmare gel cartridge and replaced it with a new one-although he had two left, he had only one chance. He had to make this work.
"My answer," Hiccup glanced up and saw a radiant rainbow light hurtling towards him above, "is still no!"
Hiccup threw a canister at Hela and a blast from Toothless struck it on cue. It burst in a cloud of flame, forming cover from Hela. Distracted by the explosion, she pulled back and covered her face from the noxious fumes. Cloudjumper stirred, glared at her and hissed before he retreated for Berk.
Hela shouted in anger as she tried to see where Hiccup had gone. But the smokescreen blocked her vision from both him and his friends.
"Let's see if this Belt works," Hiccup told himself and he knelt down. Looking up at the incoming light, Heimdall's warning echoed in his memory. You have only one chance.
Nodding, Hiccup pushed himself off in a running leap. He focussed on the incoming light and stretched out Inferno towards the sky. He felt the wind whip through his hair and smack his face as he closed the gap. He had ridden Toothless for years but this feeling he felt was nothing compared to riding on the back of a dragon. This was true freedom.
As Hiccup neared the incoming Bifrost, his eyes squinted in pain from the pure light. He could feel the power of the Bifrost slam into the blade of Inferno and his sword threatened to be expelled from his hand by its sheer force. Hiccup grabbed onto the hilt with both of his hands to keep a grip on it as he felt the power of the Bifrost reverberate through his body. He looked out to the horizon and saw Berk. He closed his eyes and focused on everyone that called the island home. His thoughts drifted to Berserk, the Wingmaidens, the Defenders of the Wing that called Caldera Cay home, and everyone within the archipelago that he had encountered either friend or foe as he grew up. He looked below him as his friends looked on in shock and awe. He was not going to let Hela slaughter them all. His father's words crossed his mind. A chief protects his own. But Hiccup saw the Archipelago as his extended tribe. He was not going to let them suffer at Hela's wrath either. Hiccup could feel gravity beginning to take hold as he began to descend. Tears appeared in the corner of his eyes as he opened them. It was now or never.
With a shout, Hiccup pivoted and with his newfound strength, he drove Inferno's blade into the air as if he were stabbing flesh or leather. The blade began to slow down his descent as though he were slicing a sail canvas. Lightning emitted from his blade as he tore through the sky, a trail of light followed his descent as the friction from slicing into the sky emitted lightning that formed a protective barrier around him and his friends. Hiccup soon landed with a thud as he touched down.
Hela rushed at the gas smokescreen and manifested two blades, one in each hand. But as Hiccup touched down, lightning sparked the gas cloud and exploded with force that sent her flying back.
His friends gasped as Hiccup rose before them. To them, he looked the same as before, and yet something was very different about him. They weren't sure what it was.
"You always had a flair for the dramatic," Astrid was the first to speak and break the silent reverie that had them under a spell.
Fishlegs looked over to the horizon, his eyes round in shock. "Guys… Look!" Fishlegs gasped and pointed to Berk in the distance. Its silhouette was fading, and in its wake, the horizon was empty-but it was also clearly vanishing as, all around them, the sound echoing for miles, the sea foamed, waves rushing in towards their home... or where their home had once been..
"What's happening? Where's it going!?" Snotlout panicked.
"We are no longer safe here," Hiccup said as he looked his friends over. "We all need to disappear from the map! To protect them," Hiccup nodded towards their dragons then looked over at Hela who fought to get through the lightning barrier in a fit of rage. "From her!"
"You must go," he urged with a nod of his head to the glittering opening he had created.
"What is it? What's on the other side?" Fishlegs asked anxiously.
"It's the Bifrost, it will take you to a safe place," Hiccup explained.
"But what about you?" Astrid asked as she dismounted and approached Hiccup. She eyed the rainbow light warily.
"I'll be fine." Hiccup promised as he looked over at her with a smile.
"Nuh-uh, no way! We're staying and helping!" Snotlout protested as the rest of the group landed.
"That goes double for us!" Tuffnut agreed.
"After all we've been through, you think we're just gonna abandon you?" Ruffnut asked.
"No! You are my friends, my family. I, I've already lost too much. I can't afford to lose any one of you too. Please, just do this one thing for me." Hiccup pleaded.
Toothless looked up at Hiccup and gurgled in protest. Hiccup looked down at Toothless with a smile. "It'll be okay, bud. You'll be safer in there with them. I promise. Go with Astrid," Hiccup urged with a nod to Astrid.
"You think this shield will protect you!" Hela thundered as she tried to find a weak point in the barrier.
Toothless glared back up at Hela and hissed. "No, I'll deal with her, go. Go!" Hiccup urged and began to push him away as Astrid climbed into his saddle. Toothless looked up at Hiccup and cooed, confused as to why he was being pushed away.
Hiccup looked to Astrid. "If I had known what kind of day we would be having, I would have slept in with you."
"Hiccup Haddock? Sleeping in past sunrise?" Astrid scoffed and laughed in mock at the very idea.
"After this is over, I swear, you and me. We will have some time to ourselves," Hiccup promised, his hand rested on her thigh and he rubbed it affectionately.
"Just don't go do something stupid like you always do," Astrid leaned down and pulled Hiccup into a kiss. Toothless warbled and bucked in discontent, breaking up their kiss.
Astrid pulled away from Hiccup and looked down at Toothless with a gentle smile. "I know you don't want to leave him behind, but we've got to go," Astrid patted Toothless reassuringly. "Stormfly! With me!" Astrid turned to the Nadder and ushered a reluctant Toothless in through the Bifrost opening. Stormfly gave an indignant squawk before following Astrid through.
"We'll be waiting for ya, H." Tuff saluted Hiccup.
"Better not screw this up!" Ruff warned him as they followed Astrid through on Barf and Belch.
"I'm not good at goodbyes…" Fishlegs admitted tearfully.
Hiccup smiled. "Don't think of this as Goodbye. More of an 'I'll catch up with ya later'," Hiccup promised. Fishlegs nodded and soon followed through on Meatlug.
Hiccup looked at Snotlout who approached Hookfang. "Don't even say it!" Snotlout shouted at him, failing at masking his tears. A sob rushed up and Snotlout strained to keep it hidden.
"Snotlout," Hiccup reached out to his cousin and Snotlout turned away, trying to discreetly wipe his eyes. "They're going to need a strong chief to look after them. Until I get back," Hiccup said. "I can't think of anyone stronger and more suited than my favorite cousin."
Snotlout flinched hearing Hiccup's words and turned to him. "You do realize I'm going to hold that against you," Snotlout pointed out and hopped into his saddle.
Hiccup smiled and nodded, and watched as Snotlout followed in, but not before showing his gratitude by lifting his middle finger at him. Hiccup chuckled as his cousin disappeared into the light.
Eret approached Hiccup hesitantly, "I've, only known you for a few hours…" Eret said as he looked at Hiccup.
"And it's been one hel of a ride," Hiccup confirmed with a nod.
Eret nodded and mounted Skullcrusher. "Eret," Hiccup called out to him. Eret stopped and looked back. "Can I trust you to look after them? They're going to need a strong head to keep them calm after all of this," Hiccup asked.
"What makes you sure I'm not freaking out as well?" Eret asked.
Hiccup glanced back to see Hela trying to find a way through the barrier as she struck at it with her blades, only to have the lightning deflect her sword. "You don't think I'm struggling with this either? This morning, I woke up beside the love of my life, happy, sort of. And now I learn I'm, I'm a god? It's… It's a lot to process. I don't think I will ever come to terms with it. With… her." Hiccup admitted.
"You act as though you're on your deathbed, chief," Eret looked at Hiccup and could see the emotional strain in his eyes. "You have my word." he then nodded.
Hiccup watched with a heavy heart as Eret disappeared through the portal on Skullcrusher. He was finally alone with the goddess of death. No one was left for her to hurt.
"No!" Hela shrieked as Hiccup pulled the Inferno free and the opening sealed off as though it had never happened.
"Now you can't have my dragons, or hurt my friends." Hiccup stood resolute before her and stared at her defiantly. He could see in the distance that the seabed was bare, with miles upon miles of rushing water flowing inwards to fill the hole in the ocean. The sound was... indescribably loud.
Hela shrieked at him even louder and thrust her hand at him. A sword appeared from nowhere and Hiccup lifted Inferno up to try and deflect the attack. Hiccup barely had time to cry out as the force of the sword strike penetrated his wrist and sent him flying. The sword collided with a large nearby ash tree. Hiccup cried in pain as he dangled from the tree and struggled to reach up, to grab the sword and pull himself free.
"You have been a very naughty boy," Hela said as she approached the tree. Seeing Hiccup struggle, she flung another sword at him. "It's time you were put in time out!"
Hiccup cried out as it pierced his freed wrist. He was now bound to the tree by blades. His chest burned as he dangled from his wrists. It felt like his rib cage was strangling the life out of him from his position. It was difficult to breathe. Hiccup struggled and tried to push his body up in order to get air into his lungs. A sob rushed to the surface, making it even more difficult to breathe, and came out strangled.
"You like it?" Hela acknowledged his sob as though it were a compliment. "It's a little crude, but effective. I invented it as a way to torture my many conquests, the Romans took notice and decided to take the idea from me." Hela purred. A twisted grin appeared for a brief moment before it disappeared.
"Your father was right to name you Hiccup," Hela hurled a third sword at Hiccup. This one dug into Hiccup's ankle as he tried to push himself up on the tree.
Hiccup shrieked as the sword penetrated his flesh and bone all the way through and into the tree behind him.
"Luckily Daddy wanted to keep you when we both knew you wouldn't survive past your first winter. Otherwise, I would have gladly offered you to Cloudjumper that night he broke into our house. You were weak when you were born, and you haven't changed," she watched as Hiccup struggled to breath. His mouth opening desperately for air like a fish out of water.
"I will conquer Asgard with or without you. But those dragons, they were my key to victory!" Hela shouted at him.
"So…" Hiccup strained to talk, putting more force on his chest. "So a-all that bonding w-we had was a... a lie?" Hiccup stammered.
"Oh, no. That was genuine. At least, from Valka it was," Hela said. "You could have had it all. Wealth, recognition, power. But you squandered it for these... mortals," Hela growled in disgust as she looked out to the vacant ocean horizon where the sea was still roaring, filling in the gap where an island and several miles of ocean had once stood. "And now, you have nothing. No friends, no dragons, no way out…" Hela began to turn and abandon Hiccup as he was bound to the tree.
"Y-you're going to l-let me die? Your own f-flesh and blood!?" His voice was cracking from lack of air and the pressure on his chest as his desperation began to increase. "Answer me!" he shouted at her with a force that he hadn't thought he'd be capable of in his position.
Hela stopped in her tracks, turned and flashed Hiccup a cruel grin. "Now you remind me of your grandfather. Be sure to use your spare time to obtain some wisdom while you're up there," Hela then looked to the horizon. She could see Hiccup had a perfect view of what he had done. But it also reminded her that she was missing an army that she had spent twenty years whispering into Valka's subconscious to gain. "Well, I suppose I could still try to take over Asgard. What could go wrong?"
Hiccup watched as Hela lifted her hands up and vanished in the blink of an eye, leaving the empty horizon where Berk once stood to his viewing pleasure. He lowered his head as tears fell over the brim. They were safe from Hela, but he had sacrificed everything for them. And she was right. He could not hear any dragons as the ocean's churning settled. It was a sound he had become so accustomed to, he had never thought it was possible to live without it. All he heard were the sounds of seabirds and the crashing of the waves against the sea stacks. A painful reminder of what he had done.
Hiccup spent the first day trying to push himself up to breathe. The way his arms were angled made it difficult. His left leg dangled freely, and he used his prosthetic to painfully push himself up by getting a foothold on the sword lodged into his ankle.
On the second day, Hiccup tried to pull himself free. He had all but grown used to the pain in his wrists and ankle, and he struggled to find a way down until the pain became too excruciating, until he had no strength left in him. The swords had him perfectly pinned to the tree, making escape impossible on his own. Hela's words bounced around his skull. Be sure to use your spare time to obtain some wisdom while you're up there. He took her advice to heart when he found he no longer possessed the strength to hold himself up. He could feel the energy weakly coursing through him as he closed his eyes and cleared his mind, focussing only on the Belt and its magical properties. He hoped that it might give him strength to endure his torture, at least until he could figure out how to get himself down. Hoping to get rescued was an illusion, it seemed. The archipelago was gone, and there was no one for miles. Apparently, his destiny was to die pinned to this tree. But if he could tap into the Belt, if he could access its power, he might be able to rescue himself.
For the next seven days he focussed on the Belt and struggled with trying to find a way out of his situation. On the third day, he felt around the sense of energy entering into him from it... and on the fifth day, he figured out how to manipulate it... somewhat. Enough to give more strength into his limbs and keep his lungs working and heart beating.
By the time the eighth day dawned, Hiccup knew that he couldn't hold out much longer, despite what he was drawing on from the Belt. Anyone suffering this kind of torture would have passed when breathing was this difficult. Dehydration alone would soon claim him, despite his best efforts. Rain gently pelted his face and he lifted his head. He opened his mouth to catch what little water he could to quench his parched throat. Growing bleak and weary, Hiccup looked up at the sky in desperation.
"I... I c-can't do this any longer. I'm... I'm dying," Hiccup admitted through thickened lips, hoping that his prayer would be answered a second time. He lowered his head and his gaze fell upon the empty horizon. "I did ev-everything I cou-could to protect them." Hiccup broke into a cough, his breathing was rasp and made it difficult to speak. "Please Allfather, I've suffered en-enough. Let me be with my father in Vallhalla," Hiccup pleaded. Intently, he stared up at the sky, looking, listening, searching for any sign that the gods had heard him like before. But seconds of anxious waiting turned into minutes, and all that answered Hiccup was the wind. A sob crept up his throat. The gods had abandoned him as had his mother. He felt like a fool to waste his voice on deaf ears.
Hiccup awoke to the sound of a hellish thunderclap, on the ninth day, but did not stir. His strength and energy had been spent. He had never expected death to take so long and he longed to see his father again. He knew that at least in death, he would still have one parent. But now as he felt his breath growing more and more difficult to draw, he realized that he had lost both of them in less than a day. One parent died protecting him out of love, and the other had left him to die for protecting what he loved. If he wasn't exhausted, he might have found it amusing that he would die like his father by the hands of a warlord, which as it turned out his mother was one.
A sudden pain coursed through his body and Hiccup would have screamed had he any breath left in his lungs. It felt as though the blades had re-entered his body but in reverse. Had Hela returned to finish what she'd started? Hiccup tried to open his eyes but all he saw was a blur of colors. The colors moved and swirled, telling him that someone was there. Maybe it was the light of the sun rising behind the figure, but he felt an odd sense of benevolence from this figure. Then the second sword was removed from his wrist. His eyes clenched tightly shut as he tried to hold in the scream, his throat too hoarse to make a sound.
He must have passed out for a brief moment. The bark of the tree suddenly felt like grass against his cheek, and he sucked in a greedy breath now that his body was in a relaxed position. Then he became aware of his surroundings. The grass against his skin was a texture his body had ached longingly to feel for days, but had been just out of his reach, taunting him. Hiccup wondered if he was hallucinating. People said that one hallucinated when on the threshold of death. It took effort to crack his eyes open, but he found the energy to do so, and the world swam into view. It was a swirl of colors... but despite the surrealness of it, it was very clear that he was not hallucinating. He was on his back, lying in the soft grass, still moist from the morning dew. Hiccup had never imagined he would feel this texture against his skin again before his death. He wanted to run his fingers through the soft prickly spines and nuzzle against them but he could barely lift a finger.
Then he felt something. A warmth that spread throughout his body, comforting him and making him drowsy. He tried to lift his head or shift it but it was dead weight. What he could see out of the corner of his eyes was the same divine figure as before. He was closer to Hiccup and could almost make out some details. Crimson red fluttered behind this figure that wore what looked like dark armor and Hiccup instantly knew that it was a cape. Beneath the dark helmet, Hiccup could almost make out a grey beard. The figure was too far for him to be able to make eye contact before they too blurred into obscurity with the rest of the world.
"You... You heard me?" Hiccup's voice was weak, barely audible. A trembling smile crept along his lips as he felt relief wash over him.
"I did." The voice was powerful, commanding, but spoke with a softness that reminded him so much of his father. The voice was soothing but his heart ached for his father.
Hiccup gazed out to the ocean where an empty void greeted him. They were gone, and yet he was still there. Suffering for his choice. He strained to look up at the figure by his side.
"Was, was it worth i-it?" Hiccup asked. He gazed back out to the horizon. Though he couldn't make out any details, he knew Berk was still gone.
"That depends." the man said. "Whether it was worth it is for you to decide. You had the chance to turn your back on those who made growing up a hardship, but you didn't. Instead, you put yourself in harms way to save them. You're a selfless man, Hiccup Haddock, traded in your life for those you love. If only my own son would learn from watching you."
Hiccup glanced back at the man before looking down as he absorbed all that he said. The gods had been watching him from the day of his birth. That meant that they must have seen him rise from a fishbone to a proud Viking chief. Then it dawned on him, this man had to be the Allfather, Odin. Memories of joking about Thor favoring Hiccup while growing up flickered to life between the growing haze. They were a joke back then, but after all that had happened the concept wasn't as absurd as it sounded. He hadn't noticed his eyelids were getting heavier with each passing second as the warmth noticeably grew.
"Why-" Hiccup began to ask. He had so many questions he wanted answered but his eyes finally slid shut and unconsciousness swept him away like a dark tide.
"Rest. When you awaken, all your questions will be answered, my grandson," Odin promised and reached out to brush hair out of Hiccup's face; Hiccup only distantly heard his words. "If only I had gotten to your mother sooner you wouldn't have suffered for my foolish choices. But, in the meantime, let's get you someplace safe for you to recuperate..."
AN: Please don't kill me. Hiccup is not dead. You'll have to wait and find out what happens once the rest of the chapters are gone through a revision. If you'd like to continue reading, you can find it on Archive of our own under my username PrimedOverlord. Do not worry, for those don't use A03, I will be posting a new chapter here every Friday until I am caught up with A03's chapter releases.
I'd also like to give a big shout out to my beta-readers Athingofvikings and Shipmistress for being a huge help on this fic. Please be sure and check their fics out as well.