A/N: This chapter is rated M for gore and horror. If you wish to skip this first section, which is where a lot of the rating comes from, that's fine. Just remember that Hiccup was given a strong hallucinogen in the last chapter that will make his worst fears come to life. Our worst fears tend to stem from our greatest loves. Hiccup's greatest loves are his people and his dragons. You can probably guess where I went with it from there.
There is also some gruesome imagery later in the chapter during a battle scene.
P.S. Thank you for all the reviews, follows, and favorites. You know how to make a writer feel loved.
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Hiccup could feel his back puckering and blistering from the heat behind him. His false foot had been bent beyond use and his shoulder broken in the fall. He could only hobble along with the aid of a long board he had found in the rubble of a burnt down hut further down the row. He could see his dad, Gobber, the other Riders, and small group of villagers at the base of the steps to the Great Hall. The dragons had the group cornered. All around him flames swallowed entire homes and buildings. The smell of burning flesh and the sound of pained screams rent the air. The destruction was catastrophic. If he didn't get to the fight in the plaza, there would be no survivors.
The whole village had been caught off guard. They had lived in peace with the dragons for five years, and then out of nowhere, Toothless – of all the dragons – had violently thrown Hiccup off his back during their twilight flight and rallied the other dragons to attack the same village that had taken them in and loved them. The Berkians, so out of practice at fighting against the huge, fire-breathing reptiles, were massacred. Hiccup had tried to calm every dragon he came across as he struggled to make his way to the center of the fight where Toothless was, but he was unsuccessful every time. Thus far, he had killed three dragons himself. That was enough to make him want to plunge his flaming sword into his own chest. He knew, though, if he could just get to Toothless, he could reason with the night fury. He could find out what had gone wrong. He could put a stop to the slaughter of his people.
At last he made it to the square. The remnant population of Berk, only a handful of souls, compared to the hundreds from just hours ago, stood in a ring fighting against the very dragons they had tamed, trained, and trusted. "TOOTHLESS! NO!" Hiccup yelled as he struggled to cross the square to get to his best friend. "Don't hurt them! We're your friends, bud! Don't do this!"
Toothless turned on his Rider. His mouth was open wide and starting to glow. His pupils were narrowed into slits. There was no affection in those eyes, nothing except anger and hatred. Hiccup's eyes burned with tears. "Please, Toothless," he begged as he stumbled towards the dragons.
Toothless swung his tail around and swatted Hiccup away. Hiccup slammed against the ground, his already tender head banging against the hard-packed dirt. His vision darkened, and the world spun. He pushed himself up onto his elbows just in time to see Toothless aim for Stoick. "DAD!"
Hiccup yelled, reaching out towards his father as he tried to get his good leg under him.
Stoick locked angry, unyielding eyes on his son. "This is all your fault, Hiccup! You're not my son!"
The tale-tell screech of a night fury attack reached a crescendo, and Toothless fired his plasma blast at Stoick's chest from point blank range. The air left Hiccup's lungs in one rush. "NO! NO, NO, NO! TOOTHLESS NO! STOP!" Hiccup was finally back on his foot and crutch. He worked to get to the fight. Stormfly cut her eyes his way and shot a handful of spines at him. One of them grazed his side, and he hit his knees. He looked down at the wound. Blood was flowing from it, dripping down his bare torso. He clutched it with his hand and looked towards Astrid.
Her hair was flying all around her face and shoulders, having long since come out of her braid. It was shorter than it had been the night before when he had loosened it while they were kissing in a storage room of the Great Hall. The blackened ends told him it had been caught in flames. Blood stained her blue tunic and spiked skirt, but from the way she was swinging that axe, he knew it wasn't her blood. He was sure he didn't want to know whose blood it was. "Astrid, don-″ he weakly called, but the warning was too late. Her axe came down, taking off Barf's head. Belch roared as the dragon's body fell. In a final attempt at revenge, Belch snapped his jaws at Astrid, taking off her right arm.
Astrid screamed in pain and fell, grasping the bloody stump with her left hand. She glared at Hiccup as her head lolled. "I hate you, Haddock," she yelled hoarsely and then slumped on the ground unconscious.
The other villagers all continued the futile fight for their lives. The pain from the burns on his back, the slice on his side, the concussion, the fractured shoulder, and the broken heart left Hiccup with no more strength to try to stop the fight. The dragons shot fire at the people. They tore at the villagers with their claws. They bit their humans into pieces with their teeth. It was by far the goriest of all battles ever fought on Berk. The worst was that turn by turn each of the men and women in the square had sent their ferocious glares at Hiccup and told him that this, the annihilation of his village, was on his hands for bringing the dragons into their village and allowing the treacherous beasts to roam freely among the people and in the streets. Spitelout, Ack, Silent Sven, Phlegma, Bucket, Mulch, Mildew, Gobber, Gothi, Gustav, Fishlegs, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Snotlout. They all expressed their hatred. They all were murdered.
Hiccup could do nothing. Tears coursed down his face. His chest heaved. The pain of knowing that he had brought this on his village, his people was all-consuming. His lungs felt like they would collapse. He wanted to die. He would go to Hel for bringing this on the people he was charged to protect and care for, but he didn't care. He deserved Hel. He deserved worse than that. It was with a sense of relief that he instinctively looked towards the sound of a building plasma blast just in time to see it hit his own chest.
Hiccup was gone before his charred body hit the blood-soaked ground.
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"Get him off the grate before he burns to death," Viggo commanded the low-ranking hunter behind him. He crossed his arms and turned to Johann. "I told you, did I not, that you gave him too much of that potion. He was too drugged to even hear our questions."
The hunter grunted and pushed a wheelbarrow over to one side of where Hiccup was passed out on the hot bars of the grate. He deftly unlocked Hiccup's right wrist and legs and flipped him off the grate like a sack of potatoes before proceeding to lift the grate up against the wall and scoop out the hot coals in the pit beneath. He glanced at the bright red horizonal blisters across Hiccup's slim back and grimaced, glad it wasn't his back. The heat had been intense enough to even staunch the flow of blood from the cut that Krogan had applied with his spear when Hiccup failed to acknowledge a question he had been asked. The hunter said nothing as he went about his duties, but the boy's screams as his drugged brain brought his worst fears to life would haunt the man forever. He scooped out the last of the coals, dropped the grate back over the pit, and silently prayed that he would never be subjected to the potion himself. He cast a final pitying glance at the kid and left the cell.
Johann gestured the unconscious young man on the ground. "That's the point, Viggo. When the drug starts to wear off, we question him again. He'll be aware enough to know his mind played a sadistic trick on him, yet still influenced enough by the drug to keep his tongue loose from the fear it forces a person to feel. He will talk to avoid a second dose."
"You've spent twelve years getting to know him, yet you still underestimate him, Johann. Knowing the visions were the result of a drug will only give him more incentive to keep his secrets. Unless we bring actual harm to someone he cares about, we'll get nowhere with him. That goes for your barbarian methods, too, Krogan," Viggo threw to the third man. "Even Dagur the Deranged knew that much."
Krogan raised his bloody spear. "People always break their silence if enough pain is applied, Viggo. It's just about knowing where and how much of it use. Trust me, the burns and his other injuries will be even more painful later and easy to manipulate. He'll tell us everything he knows about the bewilderbeast and the vigilante rider in Drago's territory."
"Drago wants Stoick the Vast and Berk brought to their knees. We also must learn the secret to their defeat. They are the strongest threat to our operation in the Archipelago," Viggo reminded the men.
"The most expedient way to take down the Hooligans is to take down this boy," Johann stated, pointing, again, to Hiccup. "They've gone soft since he engineered peace between his tribe and the dragons. We need only to throw the body at them after we've finished with him, and the island and its inhabitants – human and dragon – will be Drago's."
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The Dragon Riders hovered in the air looking over Berk. Astrid felt like she could vomit. How could she come to Stoick with this news? She clearly remembered the rage the man had when Hiccup had been captured by bounty hunters a few months before, and she was not eager for a repeat performance.
A further search of the island had turned up evidence that a group of hunters had laid in wait behind the trees. They had found no sign that Toothless or Hiccup had even set foot on the beach, but Fishlegs insisted that a ship the size of Johann's had been in the harbor recently. Something was afoot. Astrid felt like she had all the pieces of one of Hiccup's inventions before her, but she couldn't work out how to fit them together. She wished she had something more definitive to bring to Stoick. As it was, what she had would have to do.
"Alright, guys. I'll talk to Stoick. You just…have a bag of provisions packed and ready. He'll leave the moment he has a plan in place," she instructed.
Snotlout flew Hookfang closer to her. "Are you sure you don't want us to come with you?"
She gave him a small smile. "I'm sure. He's Hiccup's dad. I should be the one to tell him. Go on. I'll find you when there's a plan."
The Riders broke formation, each flying in the direction of their homes, except Astrid who flew over the village until she spotted Stoick near Silent Sven's sheep farm. She landed Stormfly. "Go the stables, girl. I'll come by soon and check on you." Stormfly squawked and flew off in the direction of the new dragon hangar and stables that Hiccup had finished designing just before the Riders discovered the Dragon Eye. The Berkians had finally finished constructing the stables a couple of months ago. Astrid clutched the satchel in her hands tighter. The false foot, scrap of a tailfin, and Johann's note were all it contained, but it weighed as much as a millstone. She swallowed against the tears that threatened to form and took a deep breath through her nose. Now was not the time for her to get worked up. She had a task to perform, and getting distraught about the situation wouldn't help her, Stoick, nor certainly Hiccup. She steeled her nerves. She was a warrior, a Dragon Rider, and the future wife of the future chief. She could do this.
"Astrid! Quite a surprise!" boomed Stoick's voice. Astrid turned to see him searching the skies with that proud smile on his face, and her resolve nearly broke. "Has Hiccup headed back into the 'Great Beyond' already?" the chief joked as he patted her shoulder.
Astrid took a breath. "Chief-"
"Ah, none of that now, lass! We're family in all but name now, you and I. Just call me Stoick." His cheerfulness made her stomach clench, and she suddenly thought she knew some of the reason why Hiccup had been so adamant about not letting his dad know about the bounty a few months ago. Disappointing this man would break a person's very spirit. Knowing all that she knew about the past, her respect for Hiccup's inner strength and sense of duty rose even higher.
"Uh, Stoick…I-I'm afraid I have some news…" And just like that, the whole atmosphere changed. "It would be best if we talked inside, sir," she added as she gently tugged him towards his hut.
As they rounded the corner, Astrid sighed in relief to see Gobber entering the Haddock hut. Stoick had come out of his initial shock by that time and marched towards his home as if nothing were amiss, and Astrid followed, allowing the bag to hang casually off her shoulder. Just a Rider bringing information to Stoick from Dragon's Edge.
Gobber was already filling mugs of mead when Astrid and Stoick walked through the door. "Astrid," he greeted. "I saw Fishlegs a bit ago. He asked me to come here. Said yeh have some news."
"Hi, Gobber," she returned placing the satchel on the table. "News is one way to put it," she answered as Gobber sat at the table.
Stoick sat down with a weary sigh and took a long pull from the mug. "No need to be anxious, lass. Sit and tell me what's goin' on."
Astrid sat as bid and took a breath. "First, sir, did you send a package to Hiccup by way of trader Johann recently?"
"Johann!" Gobber shouted. "We've seen nary hide nor hair of Johann this whole season! He's done missed his trading days twice, an' he owes me a pile o' scrap metal!"
Alarm filled Astrid's mind. "What?!" She looked from Gobber to Stoick twice.
"Aye," Stoick confirmed. "He's been a no-show. In fact, I was just about to send a message to Hiccup about it, find out if he's been out your way."
Astrid nodded and started digging in the bag in search of Johann's missive to Hiccup. "We've been in contact with him several times over the past few months – more than usual, in fact. Actually, we received this message a couple of days ago, and that's what we're here about."
She handed the note to Stoick. He squinted at the parchment and held it before his eyes as far as his arm could reach. "Ack! Can't the man write with fewer loops. Been havin' Hiccup settle accounts with him for years because readin' his pompous writin' is nigh impossible," he grumbled.
"Would ya like for me to hold it for yeh?" joked Gobber, turning up his mug hand.
"Nevermind!" Astrid impatiently cried, pulling the page from Stoick's hand. "It says, 'Master Hiccup, I am writing to inform you that I have a package from your father on board my ship. At my last stop to Berk only two weeks ago, he bartered a favor from me: a tariff-free stop on my next round for a safe delivery of the package to you. He says that while it wasn't urgent enough to warrant a special trip by dragon, since I would be in the general area of Dragon's Edge, he would have preferred that you get it sooner rather than later. I, of course, readily accepted, as I am always willing to help Stoick the Vast and the ever-accommodating village of Berk – and, of course, you, Master Hiccup.
'It would seem, however, that the gods are against my goodwill, for I ran into a brutal storm last night and have had to weigh anchor at the uninhabited island known as Sparrow Haven. I believe it is a rather short distance by dragon from your base. I will have to make immediate repairs to my ship before setting on my route, again, but due to this and a few other unexpected delays this season, I will not be able to afford to squeeze in a stop at Dragon's Edge, as I will need every one of my regular stops on my route for my books to break even.
'I know that it is most unusual and quite presumptuous for me to ask, but if you do have the time to spare, I would appreciate it most ardently if you could come to this isle and gather the package yourself. I would hate to not get the package to you, as your father seemed adamant that you receive it in a timely manner.
'In your debt, Trader Johann'"
Astrid handed the message back to Stoick who took it in silence. Gobber's eyes were wide, while Stoick's were quickly narrowing. Astrid gulped. "Hiccup insisted that the note was in Johann's hand, and left only minutes after receiving it. I told him that something didn't seem right, but he said that everything would be fine. He promised to be back before nightfall, or sunrise at the latest, but he never returned."
"Did yeh go teh this Sparrow Haven?" Gobber asked. Stoick was uncannily still and quiet, something that Astrid was sure did not bode well.
She nodded her head. "Yes, we left first thing the next morning and searched the island." She blinked hard and took a shaky breath as she reached into the bag again and pulled out the foot and scrap of red cloth. She left them in the middle of the table. "We found the – the foot in the ocean's edge, and further into the middle of the island, we found the…the remains of a bonfire. Toothless's saddle and rigging – well, what was left of it – were all there, burnt and destroyed. Fishlegs said that a ship had recently been anchored there. We found evidence of hunters having hidden in the tree line. But that's all we have. No signs of a struggle or even that Hiccup and Toothless landed on the island at all."
"But yeh said yeh found these on the island?" Gobber asked, pointing to the items before them.
"We think…We think they may have landed on the deck of the ship and never got off."
"Was it Johann's ship?" Stoick asked.
Astrid shrugged. "We don't know, sir. Fishlegs said that based on the length and width of the scrapes along the rocky natural harbor of the island, that it would have been the same size as Johann's ship, but that's all we know."
"And Dragon's Edge has been in contact with Johann over the past season?" he asked, again.
Astrid nodded. "Yes. He's been around a lot, surprisingly. I haven't thought much of it until now, though." She looked at her future father-in-law and was shocked to realize she knew his expression. She knew it because she had seen it time and time, again, ever since she was fifteen years old and Hiccup stood at the edge of a cliff and told her that he was going to do something crazy. She was struck by the similarity that she had never noticed before, and without thinking first, she asked, "What are you thinking?"
"I'm thinking that either someone has coerced Johann into being a part of a foul Loki trick to kidnap my son, or that Johann has betrayed us and taken Hiccup himself. Either way, he was part of it, and we are going to get Hiccup back." The firm look in his eye was another one Astrid recognized. He had a plan. He turned to his friend. "Gobber, get me the big map and round up the A-Team. Astrid, gather the Riders. We'll all meet in the Great Hall in an hour."
Gobber grunted and stood. "Aye, chief," he answered as he lumbered out the door.
"Okay, sir," Astrid said.
A heavy hand landed on her shoulder. "Astrid?"
She looked up. "Sir?"
"We'll get him back. And the name's Stoick." He smiled at her through his mighty beard, and Astrid didn't even try to stop herself from giving him a hug.
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Hiccup squeezed his eyes tight and groaned. He had long since stopped trying to keep track of what all hurt. Mostly because it hurt to think but also because he figured it would just be easier to list "whole body" and call it done. Viggo, Krogan, and Johann made sure to keep some of that awful potion in his system, so he constantly felt on the verge of panic and terror. In his more lucid moments he was sure that his state of mind was doing no favors for his state of body.
He wasn't sure how long he had been a prisoner, but it was long enough for him to have decided that if a rescue wasn't possible, then he just wanted to die. He had no idea what state Toothless was in or even where the dragon was. Thor, he didn't even know where he was. They could have carted him off to Rome, and he wouldn't have known it.
Hiccup lolled his head and listlessly tugged at the restraints on his left wrist. "Gods, just let me die," he groaned.
"All in good time, my dear Hiccup," came Viggo's voice from above him. "We're preparing the ships as we speak. The good news is that you'll get to die looking at your precious Berk. The bad news is that while your village is reeling from witnessing your death, we'll move in and destroy them. Without Berk and their meddling Dragon Riders to stand in our way, the Archipelago will be easy bend to our will. None of the other tribes care to acknowledge it, but Berk is the strongest force around."
"And the biggest threat to our boss's goals," added Krogan.
"And you are their greatest weakness," finished Johann. "Since we can't get any information out of you, your only usefulness to us is your death. Don't worry, Hiccup. Your demise shall be a tale I regale my customers with for years to come."
Hiccup cracked his eyes open and gave the best glare he could manage, given his current state. "Y-You'd think…after twelve years that you'd know Berk better…than that. You won't win…Stoick will slaughter you where you stand."
Krogan swung the tip of his blade across the bottom of Hiccup's stump. Hiccup couldn't stop the hoarse cry from leaving his mouth. "You never learn to shut that smart mouth," Krogan growled.
Hiccup coughed weakly. "Well, you know…I see a jerk…and I just have to…sass him…It's who I am."
Krogan roared and swiped Hiccup's stump again. Hiccup cried out and coughed. As the pain faded from agonizing to a sharp pulse, Hiccup closed his eyes, out of breath, and desperately hoping for unconsciousness to take him – or death. He wasn't picky at this point.
"Ignore him, Krogan. Sarcastic smart aleck is his default," Viggo admonished. "He either knows nothing or will reveal nothing. Johann send him back to his nightmares. We have preparations to make. We leave first thing in the morning."
Hiccup didn't have the energy to even fight when Johann poured a few drops of the bitter potion in his mouth. He distantly heard the cell door slamming shut. In the silence that followed, he allowed himself a moment to imagine the feel of a strong yet gentle hand carding through his hair and making two tiny braids behind his ear. As his mind began to give way to the effects of the potion, he could almost hear Astrid's voice say, "Hang on, Hiccup. Just a little longer. For me."
"For you," he whispered.
Then, Hiccup was in the forest, covered in blood and black scales, holding a blood and tissue covered knife in one hand and a dragon heart in the other, and Toothless lay dead before him with his chest carved open and his blood pooled around his bound body.
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"Snotlout! Fishlegs! Go find Toothless! Ruff! Tuff! Give them some cover fire!" Astrid directed as the Riders, A-Team, and Berserkers fly over Viggo's old base. Snotlout nodded once, and the grim-faced group flew off in the direction of the dragon cages.
"Gustav, Gobber, take the A-Team and sink those ships," Stoick ordered.
Gustav saluted the chief and signaled his team to follow him to the docks.
"What about us, Stoick?" asked Dagur.
"The four of us will be getting my son back," the man answered.
"You got it," Dagur called as he turned his triple strike towards the center of the base.
"Oh, and Dagur," called Stoick. Dagur and Heather turned to look at him. "No mercy. This is the last time these hunters try to hurt my people."
Dagur smiled maniacally. "Oooh yeah! This way!" With the blood-chilling Berserker battle cry ringing in the air, Astrid followed her chief and her friends into the heart of the base.
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Explosions were going off all over the compound. Astrid could hear the screams and yells of battle. Dragons roared and snapped their jaws. Weapons clanged. Astrid was soaked in sweat and spattered with blood and only the gods knew what else. They had been fighting hard for nearly an hour. The base was crawling with hunters. No doubt an attack on Berk had been planned. Her group had gone separate ways to cover more ground. She had Stormfly, but now that she had finally made her way to the entrance to the cells, her dragon was going to have to stay behind and guard the door since she was too big to fit inside. Astrid tugged on the door that was left completely unlocked and unguarded. "Arrogant bas-″
"Astrid!" yelled Snotlout.
She turned just as he had Hookfang drop Toothless on the ground. Then Hookfang landed and Snolout jumped off. Astrid ran to the night fury, and he greeted her with a gummy smile and swooshing tail. "Toothless! You're okay!" she exclaimed as she checked over the dragon, but aside from having no riding gear, there wasn't a scale out of place.
"Yeah, he is. They had him in an extra-large cage with a big pile of fish and plenty of water," Snotlout explained.
"It sounds like someone is paying well for a healthy night fury," she spat. She ran her hands along his front flank and down his side and frowned. "But he's lost weight," she pointed out.
Snotlout frowned. "I didn't notice," he admitted, "but he was curled up in the far corner of the cell. If he's not been eating, it's been by choice."
Astrid stroked the dragon's jaw, and he rumbled affectionately. "He needs Hiccup."
Snotlout pulled his axe from his back. "Speaking of…"
"I was just about to go inside. These are the cells," she answered as she hefted her axe from the ground.
A thud to the side had them both raising their weapons ready to attack. "Have you found him?" yelled Stoick as he jumped off Skullcrusher.
The pair exhaled in relief. "We're going inside now, chief," answered Snotlout.
Gobber landed Grump beside Skullcrusher at that moment, and Astrid almost growled in annoyance. "All the ships but one are sunk," he announced as he climbed off his dragon. "I thought we migh' need it. I've got the others razing the camp. Some old-fashioned Viking raiding. Now, where's Hiccup?"
"He's in here!" Astrid yelled. "Toothless, you and the dragons guard the door. We'll get Hiccup back," she ordered as she yanked the door open and led the way into the dimly lit hallway.
The smell was like a slap to the face. A vile mix of human excrement, vomit, blood, sweat, and stagnant damp. She coughed into her arm, her stomach churning. The only time she had ever smelt worse was when she investigated the fishing boat full of victims of the Scourge of Odin.
"Gods! That smell!" exclaimed Snotlout, gagging from the back of the line.
"Aye, it is ripe," agreed Stoick in a grim voice.
"Spitelout found Johann's ship in the docks. It was outfitted for dragon hunting, so we destroyed it. Any sign of him or Viggo?" asked Gobber as they cautiously made their way down the hallway.
Stoick grunted. "I ran into to Krogan. He won't be capturing anyone again."
Astrid eyed the bloody hammer in the man's hand. "Stormfly and I took out several guards, but no sign of Viggo or Johann yet."
"That would be because we are in here, guarding our most important asset," responded an arrogant voice they knew all too well.
"Viggo Grimborn." Astrid marveled at Stoick's ability to make the hunter's name sound like the worst of curses.
"Stoick the Vast," returned Viggo as he stepped into the light of a burning torch, revealing his heavily scarred face and blind eye. "I had decided that you weren't going to come. I think I can safely say that your precious son had come to the same conclusion."
Just then a scream rent through the air. "NO! Odin, let me die!" A wet, hacking cough disrupted the sobs that choked the plea.
"HICCUP!" cried Astrid. There was the slam of a cell door followed by the sound of someone running further down the corridor, and Astrid readied her axe for battle.
Viggo smiled as he produced a sword. "I saw the hickey, Astrid," he taunted. "Most inappropriate behavior for an unmarried couple of your status, don't you think?"
Astrid yelled and charged the man. "I will kill you!" she promised, snarling, and brought her axe down. Viggo blocked her attack, but Gobber had come on the other side of him and delivered a crushing blow to the man's left arm. Viggo roared in pain and swung his sword wildly. Astrid and Gobber pressed the man hard. Viggo fought with his brain, though, instead of his instincts, which was something Astrid had spent years training out of Hiccup. In the end, Viggo's tactic to think through every move proved to be his downfall, and the battle only lasted a minute or so. Gobber backed him into a wall. Astrid looked him square in the eye and buried her axe in his chest. "To the clutches of Hel with you," she whispered as the light left his eyes.
Stoick and Snotlout had already headed in the direction of Hiccup's scream. Astrid pulled her blade from its victim and jogged to catch up. Gobber limped in behind her. Moments later, they found him. One lantern burned low in the far corner of the cell. It was the only one lit in the entire place. At first, no one saw him, then Hiccup moaned, and four sets of eyes were drawn to lump along the center of the back wall. Astrid gasped at the sight of him. "Hiccup…Oh gods…What did they do to you?" She jerked on the door of the cell, but it was locked. She yanked again, desperate tears welling in her eyes. "No! No! No! It's locked! I can't open it!"
Strong hands grasped her shoulders and pulled her away from the door, and Stoick stepped up to it. Astrid twisted and jerked to escape "Let him," Snotlout spoke quietly from just behind her. His uncharacteristic gentleness broke through her panic, and she quit fighting his grip.
She nodded and wiped her eyes with a sniff. She watched as Stoick sheathed his hammer, grasped the door above and below the lock, planted his feet, and with a tug that Astrid swore she could feel, he broke the locking mechanism entirely and opened the door. The group rushed inside. The smell was so strong and the sight so gruesome that Snotlout made a mad dash right back to the hallway where he lost his lunch.
Hiccup was lying on a metal grate. He had no shirt on. A festering wound on his side was caked in dry blood and dirt. His arms were stretched above his head chained to the wall behind him. His wrists were raw and bloody from him tugging at them. His right shoulder was clearly broken if the bruise and odd shape were anything to go by. His legs were shackled to the ground. He still had his pants, but the legs had been ripped off at the knees. His stump was a matted mess of blood and dirt. He moaned and tossed his head weakly. A dark bruise was spread across his cheek. His lips were colorless and cracked. His sallow complexion only accentuated the weight he had lost. The stains on his pants were proof that he had not been allowed to use a chamber pot. Astrid shook with horror and rage. She almost wanted to bring Viggo back to life just so she could kill him again - slower.
Stoick brushed Hiccup's hair back from his face. "Gobber, can you get the chains off him?" he asked in a thick voice.
"Aye, chief," he answered gruffly. He bit his tongue between his teeth and squinted at his hammer hand, then slowly, he pulled a pin from where the head was fastened to the handle. Once he had done that, he made quick work of picking the locks. Once they had Hiccup free from the shackles, they eased him off the grate. Hiccup cried out when they touched his back, and a further inspection revealed blistered and weeping burns. Astrid looked down to get her bearings, only for her gaze to fall into a shallow pit that was under the grate. Ashes littered the inside of the pit.
"Snotlout! Get back in here! We need your help," called the chief. Then he turned to her. "Astrid, you need to go back outside to check the dragons-″
"But-″
"No buts," he instructed firmly. Then, his gaze softened, and he sighed and lowered his voice. "He's in a bad way, lass. We must clean him up some. We'll be out soon. If Gothi, Fishlegs, Dagur, or Tuffnut is out there, send them in with any medical supplies we have with us, but give them warning. Otherwise, yell for Snotlout."
Astrid knew Stoick was right. She shouldn't be in there while they completely disrobed Hiccup and cleaned him of his own filth, but she also didn't want to leave him. She looked at his face grimacing from pain and nightmares, swallowed her protests, kissed his forehead, and ran back out of the prison.