I'm finally back from being out of town for the last four days! It's midnight here right now and I just got back two hours ago, but I figured I'd better post this before I fell asleep, haha. At least being in the car for the last twelve hours gave me enough time to write this, as well as watching Supernatural, so there's that! :D
Hmm hmm, so this story got a lot longer than I first thought it would, but I think next chapter will be the last. :) Enjoy, and please tell me what you think!
Chapter Four: Red Kill
If Hiccup had known he was going to wake up that day and sooner or later have a knife at his throat, he would've happily chosen to stay in bed.
But right now, that wasn't an option. He couldn't reverse time and slip out of this mess. He couldn't call to his friends for help, and he couldn't escape the knife at his throat. He was stuck in this execrable situation… alone.
"Johann," he whispered, eyeing the blade at his neck nervously. "But how-"
"You of all people should know, Hiccup, that when you think someone is dead, make sure they are," Johann hissed.
Hiccup narrowed his eyes. "So, you weren't completely frozen, I guess… you escaped from the ice, left Krogan for dead, and then what? You… you just waited around here, hoping I would come back? How did you know that I even would? Why didn't you just leave?"
"Mind your tone, Hiccup," Johann growled, and the knife dug deeper into Hiccup's skin where it drew the first traces of blood. Hiccup cringed and bit his tongue to hold back a grunt. Johann continued. "Yes, I knew that you'd come back. Because I have something of yours… something that I knew you'd want back."
The chill that ran down Hiccup's spine was not because of the cold. "The king of dragon's egg. But how did—"
"Did you really think I wouldn't take the opportunity when it came along? That I would let you and your riders find the egg first unless I wanted you to?" Johann laughed. "I might have been frozen, but I saw everything. While you were busy flying away with your Night Fury, you forgot to do one important thing: close your bag all the way. The egg tumbled right out when you took off and practically fell into my hands."
Hiccup gritted his teeth. "So that's your plan? Take the egg, control the Alpha, and then destroy the archipelago? Because it's not going to work. We already won this war."
"Do you really think I care about any of that anymore?" Johann yelled, and Hiccup had to hold his breath to avoid the blade cutting any deeper into his skin. He was angering Johann, he realized, and that wasn't a good idea on his behalf.
"Then what do you care about?" he asked hoarsely. It didn't make any sense. He first thought all of this was part of Johann's grand "master plan." He thought Johann was only set on conquering the entire archipelago and all the dragons in it. So, why was he turning away from that now? Why leave it all when he could take it?
"Because now I care about getting my revenge," whispered Johann, and for a moment it felt like his words were colder than the ice around them. "…on you."
Astrid had just dropped down on Stormfly to where Hiccup had been seen last, but groaned when she realized he was gone. Typical Hiccup. The moment he was left alone, he would go off and try to save the day, even if he was seriously injured.
"Hiccup!" she called irritably, looking around. "Hey, we found it, Hiccup! We found the egg! It must've rolled away when you and Toothless weren't looking." At no response, she paused. "Hiccup?"
Nothing
Getting slightly worried, she scanned the area again, but there was no sign of Hiccup. There were too many footprints to make out which were his or to give a clue of where'd he gone. She was about to climb back up on Stormfly and do an air-search when suddenly there was a muffled cry from behind her. Spinning around in horror, she saw a familiar-looking man holding Hiccup in a choke-hold, as well as putting a knife to his throat.
Johann.
But how? Hiccup had told her he'd been frozen in mid-stride. It didn't make any sense.
Her thoughts cleared when she saw Johann tighten his grip around Hiccup's neck, shifting the knife in his hands. At Hiccup's struggled breathing, she realized Johann was slowly cutting off his air supply.
He was trying to say something to her, she saw, maybe trying to warn her, but it seemed he couldn't get out any words. Silently, Astrid swore to kill Johan for what he'd done to Hiccup once this was over with.
The other riders had already landed beside her but they looked completely shocked at the sight of Johann and Hiccup in front of them.
"But-but he's supposed to be dead!" she heard Tuffnut say. "Why do all the people we think are dead keep coming back and proving that they're not dead? First Mildew, Dagur, and then Viggo... now Johann. It's getting too confusing!"
"Be quiet," Johann snapped, before he smiled calmly. "Let's all be civil about this, shall we?" He jabbed the knife further into Hiccup's throat. "All I need is everyone to settle down."
"Let him go!" Astrid yelled. "Let him go now, or I'll kill you! I swear to Thor, if you touch one hair on his head, no matter where you go or what you do, I will never stop until I track you down and kill you!"
"Tsk, tsk, such a temper. There's no need to be rude, Astrid." Johann raised his brow. "You see, if you try and make a move to attack me, Hiccup, here, will be dead long before you reach me." For effect, he brushed the knife across Hiccup's throat, and a line of blood trickled down his neck. Hiccup's stoic expression wavered.
"Stop it!" Astrid shouted, starting to panic. "You'll kill him!"
"Isn't that the point, Astrid?"
"What do you want with him, Johann?" she growled. "We've all hurt you equally. You've suffered these past years because of us, so take it out on all of us! Leave Hiccup alone!"
"It doesn't look like you're in the position to be asking favors, Astrid," Johann said, then eyed Hiccup before he loosened his grip on his throat. The young man coughed violently, breathing deeply to inhale all the air he'd been deprived of. Johann scowled. "Hiccup's done more than any of you, Astrid. Who led you into your battles? Created those plans to attack my base? Shot at my Flyers and downed nearly a third of them in battle? Who left me for dead in here?"
Astrid gritted her teeth, too angry to respond.
"Don't listen to him," Hiccup rasped, coughing. "He just wants revenge… he's… angry that we won…"
Johann's eyes flashed with annoyance and he pressed the knife more against his neck. "We don't use tones like that around here, now do we, Hiccup?"
In return, Hiccup spat in Johann's face.
Johann's expression darkened, and without a word, he tightened the choke hold around Hiccup's neck. "I tried to be nice, Hiccup, for all those years of friendship's sake. I tried to go easy on you, but you're making it very difficult, and the knife right here might just slip…"
"Johann, stop it!" Astrid demanded, lines wrinkling her forehead with worry. "Don't hurt him… just… please."
Johann hesitated for a moment, and then he looked back up at the other riders. His eyes told that he was no longer playing around. "Listen very closely to me, and I might just let Hiccup live. Though, it's not likely he'll be unscathed. I want the egg, the king of dragons, and safe passage out of here, as well as future safety in the archipelago. If there's any bounty on my head, I want it released."
Astrid scoffed. "You know we would never agree to that, Johann. How do we even know you're not lying, or going to go back on your word? Here's an idea: why don't you let Hiccup go right now and then we can talk something out?"
"Well, let's call it… insurance." Johann smiled, and nodded to the struggling Hiccup. "If I didn't have him, I'd have no leverage over you. You'd lock me up for life or kill me – neither of which I'm too eager to experience. But if you agree to my terms, we could end all this right here, right now."
Hiccup looked up at Astrid and met her eyes. He silently shook his head.
Astrid bit her lip. There was no way she wanted to give over the king of dragons or the egg to Johann, but what other choice did she have? This was Hiccup they were talking about. She couldn't lose him… she wouldn't.
Johann smiled. "Tell me, Astrid, though I believe I already know the answer. Are you more afraid of losing the war..."
The knife dug more into Hiccup's flesh.
"Or losing Hiccup?"
Astrid's mind raced. Her whole life, she'd been protecting the archipelago from dragons, Hunters, invaders, Alvin, Dagur, Viggo, Krogan, even Johan… and now she was going to be forced to hand it all over to one man who'd destroy it all without a second thought? No, she couldn't do that. But… but what about…
"Hey, Astrid," Hiccup suddenly called over, despite Johann's choke-hold. She looked up at him, and he winked, nodding. "It's alright. I have a plan."
Johann smirked. "And what would that be, Master Hiccup?"
"I don't think I recall talking to you."
Johann's grip on the knife loosened as he leaned forward to talk to Hiccup. "Now, you listen to me for just a minute—"
That was all the time Hiccup needed. Stomping down on Johann's foot with all his might, the older man yelped and jumped back, giving Hiccup the chance to escape. He ducked away from the knife as it came swooshing towards him, backing away towards the cliff instead.
"That," he panted, "was the plan."
Johann quickly regained his footing and, furious, he spun towards Hiccup with a dangerous gleam in his eyes. "You shouldn't have done that, boy."
Swallowing, Hiccup wondered if his plan had been such a great idea after all. "Then what should I have done, Johann? Let you kill me? No, you couldn't get rid of me in these past five years, so what makes you think you could get rid of me now?"
Growling, Johann jumped towards Hiccup, knife flashing, and the two began to circle each other. "You took away everything from me!" Johann yelled. "My men, my supplies, my ships, my dignity! And for what? To be defeated by an insignificant little fool like yourself? No, I don't think so. I have something much better planned for you." His eyes flickered. "Because even if I die, Hiccup, I'll still be able to take you down with me. You can count on that!"
Raising his knife behind his back, he prepared to strike.
The other riders began to race forward, slowly starting to realize what was happening. Astrid gasped. "Hiccup, look out!" she called out in warning.
Hiccup only saw Johann coming his way by the time it was too late. Still slow and weak from his stab wound, there was no way he was going to be able to get out of the way in time. So, as Johann ran towards him and Hiccup braced himself for the final strike, a very bad idea entered his mind. A very bad idea, yet… one that was the best out of all his options.
Just as Johann started to plunge the knife towards him, Hiccup grabbed his arm and pulled them both back. Struggling, Hiccup and Johann wrestled for the knife all the while getting closer to the cliff's edge. The more Johann pulled back, the more Hiccup pulled the other way.
They teetered over the edge.
"Hiccup, don't!" Astrid yelled, just as his footing slipped and the ice started to break beneath both his and Johann's feet, for they were too heavy for the edge to support them any longer. With a startled cry from Hiccup, the ground gave way beneath their feet and both men quickly disappeared over the cliff's edge.
The last thing Hiccup could think of as he fell was that Johann had gotten his revenge after all.
"HICCUP!"
"Is he dead?"
"He-he just went right over that edge! He wanted to go over!"
"HICCUP, CAN YOU HEAR ME?"
"He's dead. Oh, gods, he's really dead."
"He's not dead – he can't be…"
The riders and their dragons stood in a heavy silence around the cliff's edge, still in shock over what had just happened. Astrid bent over to look over the edge for Hiccup, unable to believe that he was really gone. Toothless was panicking, whining for his rider and trying to make his way down the cliff but backing away before he could fall.
Astrid couldn't believe it; she was in shock. Hiccup was… gone. For good, this time. There was almost no possibility that he'd survived the fall. He'd sacrificed himself for his friends and the entire archipelago, all because of that… that traitor.
"Hiccup," she tried again, in one last desperate attempt to see if he was still alive. The echo of her words ringing through the cave back at her was the only response she received. Her breath hitched. "No. Oh, gods, Hiccup. Hiccup, gods, no…" She looked at the place where he'd fallen last, shaking her head in disbelief. "Hiccup. No. You can't… please. Gods, no. No… no…"
The icy cavern around her remained silent, there no longer a voice left to answer her pleas.
"He's not dead. He can't be," Snotlout finally said, blinking slowly. "Some way or another, he always manages to pull through. It's Hiccup. He's never really… gone."
"Yeah," Tuffnut said softly. "He always comes back. Always."
The silence returned, dragging down their hearts and hopes with it.
As Astrid later reflected, one time or another, everyone finds out that they, a friend or family, is not invincible. No one can live forever, and no one can predict when they'll go. Even as eternal someone seems to be, they won't last forever. Someday they'll be gone for good. And when that day comes, the only problem is that no one expects it to come so soon.
For Astrid, it was the worst feeling in the world.
After ten long minutes of standing silently along the cliff's edge, Snotlout finally cleared his throat. "Don't you think we maybe should… you know…"
"No!" Astrid snapped. "We're not leaving him. He's still in there, I-I know it… we just have to keep waiting. We keep waiting, and he'll show up."
"Astrid, you saw them go over, and you know how high that fall was," Fishlegs said gently. "There's… there's just no way he survived…"
Suddenly, Toothless snorted, standing up from the snow with his ears perking up in alert. He looked urgently over the cliff's edge, sniffing the air around him and near the place where Hiccup had fallen. Astrid's heart jumped into her throat and she slowly moved over to the dragon, wide-eyed. "What is it, Toothless? Is it Hiccup? Is he…" She could hardly dare to share her hopes. "Is he…"
Toothless ignored her, continuing to sniff the air. A few seconds later, he froze. Without warning, he took a step back from the icy edge before he leaped off, hurdling downwards through the air, spinning out of control with no one left to fly him.
"Toothless!" Astrid shouted, horrified at what had just happened. She had just lost Hiccup – now she was going to lose his dragon, too?
She rushed over to the side of the cliff, looking down while preparing herself to see the worst.
Instead, she saw something entirely different.
Shoutouts to amazing reviewers: katurdi, Grizzly98, Snowflake (Guest), AnaWinchester-Universe67, The Wizard Rider, Darklightningstorm, harrypanther, Kas3y, Roxy190, BLaiZeRSToRM, Astrid E Lokison, DaisytheDoodleDog, animalsarepeopletoo, RainDragon28, Guest, flylikeanadder, Scribblefoxx, Stella (Guest), KriliraFrostDragon'68, and The Dreaming Dragon.