******* Hi everyone, so here is Chapter two. I will try to get the story moving along after this point. It might take a few more chapters to set up the premise but, I will try to make it interesting and not boring exposition. With this Chapter, I plan to deviate heavily from HTTYD 2 and introduce the overarching plot and characters. Hope you enjoy!****************
All rights for HTTYD belong to Dreamworks Animation Studio
Chapter 2: Time to Say Goodbye ... or not
Gobber knew this was hard for the lad. Hiccup needed the support and Gobber was ready to be with him all the way. The sadness had also affected Gobber. Stoick was his closet friend and he knew him for most of his life. Theyhad fought, bled, and survived the harsh challenges of being a viking, together. Gobber never expected that Hiccup would lose Stoick so early. They had just reunited as a family for gods sake. Were the gods so cruel totake away Stoick as Hiccup had found his mother. If Gobber knew what Hiccup deserved more than anything elsewas a family ... a family that loved him as he is.
Gobber knew the truth was that Stoick wasn't the best father to Hiccup but, ever since the peace with the dragons, Stoick and Hiccup had come to be closer and more understanding of each other. Stoick wasn't dissapointed at Hiccup anymore. It was so nice to see Stoick treating Hiccup like a son again. Hiccup had always said to Gobber that he felt like father more than Stoick. He had brought this up to Stoick who at first babbled on in seemingly negative ways about how Hiccup was a disappointment.
Gobber perhaps was glad that Stoick was able to accept his son before his passing. The preparations for the funeral pyre began. The wood was gathered from the wrecked ships and Stoick was moved onto a salvage ship. It was a very mellow and down moment for everyone.
Hiccup stayed close to his mother as they were walking towards the funeral pyre. Valka was comforting Hiccup only like a mother could.
Valka was in disbelief that Stoick was gone. For gods sake, they had just been back together, back with Hiccup. Valka just wanted to be back together as a family again, happy. Now that was all gone. What was even worse was that Hiccup's dragon Toothless was turned against him. She was worried for Hiccup, she would be worried about how he would feel about Toothless. What she feared most now that Drago had taken all the dragons was that Hiccup would have to face Toothless again. She knew that would utterly destroy Hiccup.
"Mom, do the gods hate me?", Hiccup said softly.
Valka turned to look at her son.
"Hiccup, ... I can't say what the gods are doing but they are not against you." Valka replied.
Hiccup then had a sudden flame spark inside him. It was a spark of anger. "Mom, I'm tired. I'm so tired." Hiccup muttered.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHH." Hiccup scream in anger.
"Why did this have to happen to me?" Hiccup was yelling to the sky.
"For once I had my life together. I had my mother, my father, my friends, the dragons, my buddy Toothless." Hiccup was tearing up. He threw his hands in the air in confusion, sadness, anger.
"Now my father is dead and my dragon, Toothless is under the control of Drago Buldvist. The gods must hate me so much right... DO YOU HEAR ME THOR, BALDER, TYR, BRAGI, HEIMDALL, ULL, VIDAR, HERMOD, VALI!"
Hiccup continue to yell out all the names of the Norse deities. He was clearly angry at the moment. Valka came up to him and put her hands on his cheeks. Her son, the boy she met that was happy and full of determination and life was now so broken and lost.
"Hiccup, its okay." Valka stroked Hiccup's wet cheek and wiped away some stream of tears on his face.
"Its just not fair mom. I just ... wanted to be happy."
Hiccup embraced his mother.
"I'm afraid that I might lose you too."
Valka firmly held Hiccup close. It was a hard day for everyone and Valka needed to make sense of all that had happened. She brought her gaze out into the horizon, just beyond the shoreline of the island. She saw something…. no someone standing over the water. A flood of emotions of confusion and fear came over him. It looked too much like Stoick standing there.
/
The next morning, it became time to sail Stoick's ship to Valhalla. Everyone had gathered to see off Stoick's ship.
"May the Valkyries welcome you and lead you through Odin's great battlefield."
The ship was out in the water, slowly drifting towards the foggy horizon.
"May they sing your name with love and fury, so that we might hear it rise from the depths of Valhalla and know that you've taken your rightful place at the table of kings."
Hiccup was staring at the drifting ship, finally ready to say goodbye. Gobber handed him the bow and arrow in preparation to light the funeral pyre.
"Well Dad, I'm sorry that was not the son you were hoping I would be, but I tried." Hiccup spoke softly.
"For a great man has fallen: A warrior. A chieftain. A father. A friend."
As Gobber finished the final rites, Hiccup went to light the arrow. He took the arrow and slowly put it in the ambers and waited for the tip to flame. He took a deep breath trying to calm his trembling hands.
"I guess this is really goodbye Dad."
"Hiccup, stop." a voice boomed.
The ground shook a bit, almost making Hiccup lose his footing. After regaining his composure, Hiccup slowly turned around to see who had called to him.
When he saw who was behind him, he ... he was at a lost of words. That voice was so familiar, so real that Hiccup should have noticed. Standing there was Stoick the Vast, his father alive and well.
"Dad." Hiccup cried in joy as he ran into his father's arms, dropping the bow and arrow in a heartbeat.
The feeling made Hiccup so, happy. So overjoyed to the point where Hiccup thought that he was dreaming.
His father chuckled.
"Hiccup, what I'm about to tell you is not what you want to hear."
Just with that line, Hiccup drew back from the figure and had a sudden face of worry.
"I guess it was too good to be true. I'm guessing that you are a ghost or spirit. Oh I know, you're just a projection and I'm just losing my mind."
Hiccup rubbed his head in confusion.
The figure that looked like his father came closer to Hiccup and reached out a hand, offering Hiccup to take it.
"Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, I will explain what is happening if you choose."
Hiccup looked apprehensively at the figure.
"Just please tell me if you are really my father. Just tell me that this is a bad dream and that I am going to wake up."
Hiccup stood there waiting for a reply.
The figure definitely sounded like his father, but something was very off.
"Hiccup I don't have much time left here so I need you to trust me."
Hiccup had a million questions racing through his mind right now. He wanted answers but, something deep inside him, his yearning to be with his father made him reach out his hand and then grasped onto the figure's hand.
"Very well then." said the figure. However the voice morphed from the voice of Stoick to one that was stranger, more pronounced.
Hiccup then felt a sharp pain in his head and everything turned to darkness.
Loki bore a look of triumph on his face as he materialized. He had plans for the boy; big plans.
****** So that wraps up Chapter 2. Left off with the cliffhanger and now Loki is in the picture. The next few chapters will show more of what he is doing in the story. I'm open to critiques about the writing or comments about the story. Currently working on getting third chapter revised. I might be thinking about changing format and double spacing the lines to make reading easier.*************
