A/N: Hi! I'm back, I know it's been forever. Life got crazy. So I recently got dragged kicking and screaming into the Merlin fandom. I will be posting a AU Merlin fanfiction eventually, so please be on the lookout for that guys. But for now, here's a new chapter for the beloved HTTYD.
As always, thank you guys so much for the reviews, please keep them coming! Hope you enjoy.
"Dragon attack!" a shout rang out from the town square. "Get to your posts!" Screams filled the air while the smell of burning wood grew stronger and stronger. Hiccup leaped up, eyes wide. He ran down the stairs, darting out the door. Three Monstrous Nightmares circled the village square, taking pot shots at the villages cowering behind shields below. Hiccup swallowed before running towards the forge. He had almost made it when several Deadly Nadder spikes landed dangerously close to his side. He cried out, falling back. He cringed, waiting for a blast of flame or a spike, but it never came. He glanced up. A shield covered him, and a large burly Viking was swinging at the Nadder with a large hammer. The Nadder, seeing it's easy prey was now defended, flew away towards the sheep fields.
"Get up, boy!" the Viking snarled. He hauled Hiccup to his feet. "This is no place for the likes of ye!"
"I...I have to get...to the forge, Gobber…," Hiccup stammered.
"Then go, boy! A dragon attack is no place for cowering babes!" the Viking shoved him toward the forge. Hiccup opened his mouth to retort indignantly, but decided better of it. He raced into the shelter of the forge, panting.
"Eh, not roasted yet, Hiccup?" Gobber asked, rapidly switching his prosthetic hand from a hammer to a pair of tongs.
"Not quite," Hiccup breathed. "What can I do?"
"Axe, sharpened, now," Gobber dropped the massive weapon into his arms. Hiccup staggered under the weight, careful not to touch the blade. He made his way to the whetstone.
"The beasts sure picked a good time to attack," Gobber said ruefully, tossing a sword across the forge counter to waiting Viking. He took the Viking's broken sword and slung it into the scrap metal pile, "what with yer father away at the treaty signing with the Beserkers." Hiccup nodded, even though he knew Gobber couldn't see him. His father always led the defense against the dragons. Hiccup didn't like to admit it, but it made him nervous that his father wasn't here to defend the village. Spitelout, as the chief's right hand, would lead the defense. But he was no Stoick the Vast.
"Zipplebacks! They found the yaks!" a shout rang out through the square. Hiccup's heart dropped to his stomach. "The western side!" Hiccup dragged the sharpened axe back to the counter and shoved it over it to a Viking.
"Stay 'ere, and keep fresh weapons comin'," Gobber instructed, a grim look on his face. He switched his prosthetic to an axe.
"What about the yaks? If the dragons…," Hiccup began. Gobber turned around and grabbed Hiccup's shoulders.
"I'll send the devils packin'," Gobber assured him, smiling a little. Hiccup frowned.
"Stay, and do yer job," Gobber told him firmly. He ran out of the forge with a battle cry. Hiccup swallowed. If the dragons took the yaks, the village wouldn't have enough food for winter. Everyone knew that. The raids made surviving hard enough without the dragons finding the yak herd. Hiccup ran a hand through his hair. Where was his dad when he needed him?
"Boy! Sword, now!" a shieldmaiden shouted at him. Hiccup scrambled to grab a fresh weapon and shoved it at her. No one else came to the forge; they were all on the western side of the village. Hiccup heard screams. Gobber... Hiccup frowned. One day he would be chief. One day these would be his people. If his father wasn't here to defend the village, he had to at least do something. He glanced around the forge hurriedly. He caught up the smallest sword he could find and holding it with both hands ran out of the forge towards the western side.
He stopped in shock when he saw the carnage caused by the dragons. Vikings were clutching burns and scratches while only two dragons had been felled. Several Zipplebacks, two Nadders, and a Nightmare remained. The yaks were running in terror and a few were on fire. Hiccup felt fear grip him. He couldn't move. There was nothing he could do. What could anyone do against…
"Hiccup!" a voice that sounded like Gobber shouted. Hiccup forced himself to turn and look in the direction the voice had come. Gobber was waving his arms frantically, running towards him.
"Hiccup! Behind you!" Hiccup managed to turn just in time to see the Deadly Nadder land in front of him. Hiccup gasped, raising his sword. The Nadder narrowed its eyes at him and opened its mouth.
"Night Fury! Get down!" a shout rang out. Years of hearing that cry spurred his muscles into action and Hiccup curled into a ball. A whistle screamed through the air and something exploded behind Hiccup. Something hard hit the back of his head and everything went black.
Hiccup woke up with a groan. He was in his room in the loft. He sat up hurriedly when a hand landed on his shoulder.
"Take it easy, boy," Gobber told him gruffly. "Ye took a hard hit to the head."
"What happened?" Hiccup asked softly. Gobber frowned at him.
"Ye left the forge and charged into battle with a too heavy sword and no shield," Gobber told him, raising an eyebrow. Hiccup glanced down at the blanket covering his legs.
"And my head?" he asked.
"The Night Fury destroyed a building behind ye. Bit of wood flew out and clonked ye on the head. Saved yer life from that Nadder though."
"What about the yaks?"
"Half gone. And a third of the sheep." Hiccup's head shot up.
"I didn't know they found the sheep."
"Aye, they did. And with no one at the forge when they did," Gobber gave him a look. Hiccup's heart dropped.
"It was my fault," he murmured. Gobber didn't say anything.
"Just...just get some sleep, lad," he told him softly. "Yer father should be home today." Hiccup winced. He didn't want to think about what his father would say.
Stoick's ship arrived home late that night. To say the chief had not been pleased would be an understatement. Hiccup's ears were ringing from the loud expression of his displeasure.
"How did I possibly have a son so utterly stupid!" Stoick roared finally, his tirade at an end. Hiccup stared at the ground. Stoick growled and stormed out of the house. Hiccup fought back the tears in his eyes. If his father saw him crying...What does it matter? He already hates me. He wishes he had a different son. He wishes he wasn't my father. With that last thought, Hiccup let the tears fall. He climbed up the stairs to his room and crawled into bed, crying himself to sleep.
Meanwhile, Stoick drowned his sorrows in a mug in the Great Hall. Gobber cautiously sat next to him.
"Talked to the boy?" he asked. Stoick scoffed.
"Won't make a difference," Stoick growled. He sighed. "He could have been killed, Gobber. A Night Fury…why would he do something like this?"
"Probably to impress ye. Earn his place in the tribe," Gobber explained. Stoick grunted.
"He's a thirteen year old boy," he protested.
"How old were ye when ye felled yer first dragon?" Gobber pointed out.
"I had training," Stoick refuted. "The boy is not good at anything. He's going to get himself killed."
"'E's a fair hand at the forge," Gobber argued.
"Now. Only took him three years." Stoick shook his head. "Hiccup is never going to be a dragon killer. The boy can barely heft a sword, let alone wield one." Gobber fell silent.
"Make sure, the next raid, he stays in the forge. Or better yet the house. I can't have him making things any worse than they already are," Stoick ordered with a sigh. And I can't have him getting himself killed.
"Aye, chief," Gobber nodded solemnly.
The next few days were the worst of Hiccup's life. His father barely acknowledged him. Snotlout and the twins grew more bold in their taunts and torture. Worse, they didn't try to hide their bullying. No one in the village would step in to protect him, and many encouraged them.
"Teach 'im a lesson!" someone called as Snotlout's fist connected with Hiccup's ribs.
"That'll show the useless runt!" someone else jeered as Tuffnut kicked him in the knee.
"Knock some sense in the coward!" When Hiccup finally managed to escape, the villagers were still mocking and scorning him. He fled to the forge, knowing Gobber would at least protect him from the bullies, if not the words of the townsfolk. His master took one look at him and sighed.
"Don't let 'im get to ye, lad," he murmured. "Stay strong, fight back. If not with yer fists, with yer smarts. Don't show 'im they got to ye." He turned back to his work. Hiccup set his jaw. He wouldn't let them get to him. And he wouldn't stop until he proved he could be a Viking, a dragon killer, and not a coward. He dragged a sword to the whetstone and began sharpening it. He frowned over the weapon. One day, he'd show them. He'd show them all.
A/N: That's a rap! Okay, NOW, we should be getting into the first movie. *crosses fingers*.