A/N: Once again, thank you all for all the favorites, follows, and reviews! I can't tell you how much I appreciate them!
To the guest who suggested I do the continuation: I hope you enjoy what I have planned for this story. Thanks for suggesting I do this in the first place. :)
To guest reviewer Sassy: The problem with doing Ruffcup is that Ruffnut also had a hand in hurting Hiccup, albeit not nearly as much as Astrid. But I don't think Hiccup would ever have any romantic interest in her, particularly not after what's happened to him. Don't worry, I already know who Hiccup's later love interest will be. However, I should warn you that I am a firm supporter of Hiccup-Astrid romance, so I would never actually pair him with anyone else, at least not permanently or seriously. Hopefully this will all become clearer as the story continues.
To Guest: Valka will not be making an appearance in this story. I'm trying to sorta-kinda-maybe fit this in with the HTTYD film canon (as best I can, anyway), so I won't do anything to disrupt the continuity of the films. (Apart from, you know, the whole Hiccup-attempting-suicide thing…)
To guest reviewer Btree.940: I have said before that I am not going to do a HTTYD-Jungle Book crossover. I've never read the book and the only adaptation I've seen is the Disney film, and even that was a long time ago and I don't remember much about it. I appreciate your enthusiasm, but I'm not going to do it.
All right. Here's the last chapter of the original story. Which means…next chapter will be totally original material! :D
Chapter Seven
Hiccup's Decision
Of course Stoick's first reaction upon finding his son's room empty that evening was to panic.
"Find him!" he bellowed to the Vikings congregated in front of his house. "Search everywhere! Bring my son home!"
The others nodded and dispersed. Stoick looked up at the sky. The sun was setting, and it would be dark soon. How in Thor's name would they find him then? He hoped and prayed to every god he knew of that Toothless was with Hiccup. He at least had a better chance of surviving the night if the dragon was by his side.
"Chief!"
Stoick looked around to see Astrid running toward him. "What is it?" he asked.
She came to a stop in front of him. "I think I know where he might be."
The moment she said it, he knew too. Of course. The place Hiccup had always gone when he needed to be alone or think something over. The place where he'd first met and befriended Toothless.
The cove.
"Let's go!" he said, and they took off into the forest without another word, pausing just long enough for Stoick to motion to Gobber, silently ordering him to follow. The blacksmith obeyed without question and fell in behind the chief and the young Viking girl.
Darkness had all but descended by the time they reached the cove, but it was still light enough for Stoick to see the outlines of a boy and a dragon resting on the ledge that overlooked the beautiful little grotto. The chief breathed a huge sigh of relief before holding up a hand, requesting a moment alone with his son. Gobber and Astrid nodded and stood back as Stoick took a few cautious steps forward.
Toothless was the first to hear his approach and looked around. His green eyes, luminous in the near-darkness, narrowed warningly but he made no move to protect the human at his side. Stoick stepped closer and opened his mouth to speak, but Hiccup, not even glancing over his shoulder, beat him to the punch. "I have to admit, I'm impressed," he said lightly. "I figured it would be a while longer before you found me."
"Hiccup," Stoick sighed, stepping forward to sit beside his son, his hefty frame thudding rather heavily onto the ground. "Why did you—"
"I wasn't running away, and I wasn't planning on trying to kill myself again, if that's what you're worried about," Hiccup replied. "I just needed to be alone for a little while. This place is great for clearing my head, allowing me to think about everything that's happened over the past couple of months."
Stoick blinked. "Oh?" he said, his voice quavering slightly. "And…have you come to any conclusions?" He held his breath.
"I have, actually," Hiccup answered, nodding. He still hadn't looked over at his father, choosing instead to gaze down into the darkness of the cove below.
When he didn't elaborate, Stoick gently prodded, "And…?"
Hiccup sighed. "Well, I hope you understand that what you did, what all of you did, was really, really stupid," he said. His voice was calm and matter-of-fact, not a trace of anger coloring its tone. "You should have known better than to try that particular plan."
"Aye," Stoick agreed with a sigh. "You're right. It was stupid."
"Yes, it was," Hiccup said, nodding. There was a pause, and Stoick sensed he was gathering his thoughts. He stayed silent, waiting to hear what his son had decided.
Finally, he said, "I'm not the type to hold a grudge. I tend to prefer forgiving people, moving on and putting wrongs in the past. But this time…Dad, I don't think you fully understand what you did to me, even now."
"Of course I do, son," Stoick insisted.
"You hurt me," Hiccup continued, not acknowledging his father's words. "You tore me down and caused me more pain than I even thought was possible. You pushed me to the point that I thought suicide was my only option. This isn't something I can just put behind me and pretend it never happened. I will always remember…" He hesitated, subconsciously gripping his bandaged wrist with his left hand. "I will always remember what you've done to me, what you are capable of, what you drove me to do. As much as I'd love to I simply can't move on…
"Now I've done a lot of thinking about forgiveness. What it means to forgive. Simply put, to forgive means to stop feeling anger or resentment towards someone over a wrong. Sounds simple enough, but…it's easier said than done. But to forgive someone doesn't necessarily mean to forget it, to pretend it never happened. So…" He finally turned to look his father in the eye. "I've decided to forgive you, Dad. You and the village."
Stoick didn't know if he should jump for joy or dissolve into tears of remorse and relief, or maybe both. So he did neither. Instead, he reached out and hugged Hiccup. "Thank you, son. Thank you so much."
"Don't thank me yet," Hiccup cautioned. "I haven't finished."
Stoick drew back, worried again.
"I forgive you, Dad. But I'm not going to forget what's happened. Even if I wanted to, I don't think I ever will. And now that I know you're capable of causing me so much pain, I don't know if I'll ever be able to trust you again. You or anyone else on Berk. I'm sorry, but—"
"Don't apologize," Stoick interrupted, squeezing Hiccup's shoulders. "I understand, son. I know it's going to take some time for things to return to normal. And I promise I will do everything in my power to win your trust back. I swear it on my life."
And for the first time in two months, Stoick saw Hiccup smile.
"Thanks, Dad."
Stoick pulled him into another hug. "I love you, Hiccup."
Hiccup reached up and returned the embrace. "I love you too, Dad," he murmured. "Please…please never hurt me like that again…"
"Never," Stoick swore. "Never again. I promise."
Toothless, who had observed all this in silence, looked around at the sound of more footsteps. Astrid and Gobber, apparently deciding to reveal themselves, came forward, both grinning in relief. Hiccup pulled back from Stoick in surprise. He didn't have to ask whether they'd heard his words: their expressions said it all.
"I promise too, Hiccup," Astrid said, kneeling down and taking his hand in hers.
"Aye, me too, lad," Gobber added.
Hiccup didn't speak. Indeed, he suddenly found himself incapable of articulating any sound at all. He merely grinned and nodded.
"You were right," Astrid said after a moment. "You were right about me. I was a coward. I didn't help you because I was afraid to. And I am so, so sorry, Hiccup." She hugged him.
"What, no punch for calling you a coward?" Hiccup asked weakly.
"Don't push your luck," Astrid replied, and Hiccup chuckled.
Stoick stood up. "Come on, son. Let's get you home. The others will be relieved to know you're safe, and I daresay they all want to know they're forgiven."
An hour later Hiccup found himself in the Great Hall, surrounded by Vikings with identical expressions of relief on their faces. He repeated what he'd said to Stoick, and everyone seemed grateful to be let off the hook so easily. Even when he warned them that he couldn't trust them, that they'd have to earn his trust back, their relief didn't diminish. Fishlegs, Snotlout, Ruffnut, and Tuffnut all came forward and stood beside him, and they took turns apologizing to him, promising they would work hard for his faith in them to be restored. (Well, Fishlegs and Snotlout promised. Ruff and Tuff started bickering about who had apologized first and never got around to saying anything more, but Hiccup appreciated it all the same.)
"That does leave a small problem, though," someone spoke up from the back of the hall. "Mogadon the Meathead will be here in a couple of days. What are we going to tell him? I assume we aren't going to pretend Snotlout is the hero anymore, right?"
There was a moment's silence as everyone considered the dilemma. Then Hiccup turned to Stoick and said, "May I make a suggestion, Dad?"
"By all means," Stoick replied, nodding.
"I say we tell Mogadon the truth," Hiccup replied, and then quickly went on when he saw his father was about to refuse, "Look, lying has never helped us before. I kept Toothless a secret from you and it backfired badly. We tried to keep Dagur from finding out about the dragons and when he learned we'd lied he became our fiercest enemy. I don't think lying or pretending is the answer, Dad. And besides…" He hesitated before admitting, "I can't go back to being Hiccup the Useless again. I just can't."
Stoick considered for a moment. "Hiccup, Thor knows I don't want to cause you any more pain. But…are you sure about this? You heard what I said about Mogadon. I want you to be safe."
"And I will be, Dad," Hiccup insisted. "Listen, I propose that we tell Mogadon the truth, every bit of it. I'm not the Dragon Conqueror, I'm a dragon trainer, one of several. If he knows that I'm not the only one who can do it, my novelty value decreases, doesn't it? And if he wants to, I can show him how to train dragons himself so that he won't have any use for me at all."
"Mogadon training dragons?" Stoick looked aghast. "Son…"
"Dad, half the Archipelago knows about the trained dragons by now," Hiccup pointed out. "Alvin and Dagur and Johann would have told others, I'm sure of it. And if Mogadon is going to learn how to train them, I'd rather he learn it our way instead of trying to beat them into submission like Alvin. Don't you see?" he added when Stoick still didn't look convinced. "It's the only solution, Dad. We show him that I'm not a unique, one-of-a-kind item and his interest in adding me to his collection will go away. We teach him to train dragons with kindness and trust and he'll have no use of the fabled Dragon Conqueror, plus he will hopefully treat dragons with the respect they deserve. Besides…" He reached over to scratch Toothless' chin. The dragon crooned happily. "…as long as Toothless is with me, I can defend myself in case something goes wrong."
"Toothless won't be the only one defending you," Astrid spoke up, stepping forward. "If Mogadon wants to get to you, he will have to get through me."
"Me too!" Snotlout roared.
"Us too!" the twins chorused (and then promptly began arguing about who had spoken first. Everyone ignored their little scuffle.)
"And me," Fishlegs intoned.
The other villagers all started shouting too until the whole hall echoed with the sound of it. Stoick had a hard time regaining order, and when silence fell once more he sighed. "Well…I can't say I like this plan. But I trust you, Hiccup. Do what you can to placate Mogadon. And if he still wants you…" His eyes swept the room and remained a second or two on the portrait of him and his son hanging on the wall. He had put the painting that Hiccup liked back in its proper place immediately upon entering the hall that night and his son's face had lit up on seeing it again, but it did make the boy's small stature quite noticeable.
Stoick sighed again. Perhaps it was time to let his son make his own decisions.
"…he'll be in for the fight of his life."
Hiccup beamed up at him.
…
Hiccup was afraid.
He was standing in the middle of the village square, surrounded on all sides by angry Vikings. He couldn't see a single smile in the midst of the crowd.
He looked around and suddenly became aware that Toothless wasn't beside him. He called for his dragon but got no response.
"You!" one of the Vikings barked at him, and he whirled around. "Get outta here, pest! Go somewhere you're wanted!"
Stung, Hiccup staggered backward, colliding with another Viking, who promptly shoved him aside. "Why are you always getting in the way?!"
"I…I…" He didn't know how to respond.
He saw Astrid in the crowd and reached for her, but her face was cold. "Why would I want to help you, Hiccup?" she asked scathingly. "You're useless to me. You're not a Viking. You're just a screw-up."
Hiccup felt his eyes watering and looked away, ashamed. He saw Snotlout, who was looking more pleased with himself than usual. "I am the Dragon Conqueror!" he shouted. "I am the Hero of Berk! And you? You are just a waste of space!"
"Why would anyone want you?" Hiccup spun around and saw Fishlegs staring at him, arms crossed. "You don't have anything to offer this village. Your existence is pointless."
"Leave here!" It was Ruffnut. "We don't want you."
"Why couldn't you have died?" Tuffnut demanded. "It would have been better for everyone."
"I…I tried," Hiccup stammered, his voice shaking. "I tried to…"
"Ha! The boy can't even kill himself properly!" Gobber laughed. "Hiccup the Useless, the only Viking who couldn't kill anything, not even himself!"
There were gales of laughter following this, and Hiccup looked at the ground, feeling his cheeks redden, tears threatening to spill from his eyes.
"Finish it."
A dagger landed at his feet, and he looked up. Stoick was standing before him, his expression dark, hands on his hips. "End it. Put us all out of our misery."
Hiccup stared up at him and tried to repress a sob. Slowly, he reached down and picked up the knife, pressing the blade to his wrist. He slashed and blood spurted upward, but a second later the wound resealed itself. Confused and panicking at the agitated mutterings of the people around him, he cut again, but the same thing happened. It bled for two seconds and then stopped as the skin healed.
"Can't even slash your own wrist," Stoick growled. "You really are useless."
"I'm trying!" Hiccup cried, his voice breaking. "I'm trying! I've always tried to please you! Always! I'm trying!"
"Take him!" Stoick roared, and Hiccup was suddenly lifted bodily into the air, held in the arms of four powerful Vikings. He squirmed and kicked but couldn't get free. "No! Please!" he yelled. "Let me go!"
"Take him to the cliffs!" Stoick bellowed. "We will rid ourselves of this nuisance once and for all!"
Hiccup was carried to the cliffs, the whole village following behind. All his attempts to free himself were futile. "Please, don't do this!" he cried as his captors came to a stop. "Please! I'll do anything!"
"Vikings don't beg," Stoick scolded, his face mere inches from Hiccup's. "Vikings don't act the way you do. You're not a Viking. You're not my son."
Hiccup felt his heart break but couldn't focus on that. He was far more concerned about the ocean churning a hundred feet below. He was raised into the air…
"TOOTHLESS!" he screamed.
…and hurled into empty space, plunging down, down, down…
"No! No please, please, NOOOO!"
"Hiccup! Hiccup wake up! Wake up! HICCUP!"
Two strong hands were holding his arms and he fought against them. "Let me go! Let me go! Don't…no…please…!"
"Hiccup!" Stoick's face swam into view, his eyes wide and frightened, not cold or angry. "Come back to me, son! I'm here! It was just a dream! You're safe!"
Hiccup stopped fighting and looked around wildly, taking deep, shuddering breaths. He was sitting up in bed, safe and sound in his bedroom. His father was crouching beside him, and on his opposite side Toothless warbled in fear.
Hiccup relaxed and slumped forward, seizing his father's tunic in his fists and clutching it close, burying his face in Stoick's beard. He started crying, hating himself for it but unable to stop, his shoulders shaking and heaving with heavy sobs. Stoick pulled him close and held him, rocking gently back and forth and shushing him quietly. "You're all right, son. You're safe. I'm here, and so is Toothless. Nothing bad can happen to you. It was just a dream. It wasn't real."
Hiccup gulped and glanced down at his wrist. "Real enough," he mumbled.
Stoick might have understood what he meant, for he sighed and held Hiccup tighter. "I know. I know." He pulled away. "I'll be right back, okay?" Hiccup nodded, and he stood up and left.
Toothless crooned, and Hiccup looked over at his friend. "I'm fine, bud," he said, but his shaky voice did nothing to convince the dragon. Hel, he couldn't even convince himself.
Stoick returned a few minutes later, carrying a mug. Handing it to Hiccup, he said, "Here, drink this. It will help."
Hiccup took a sip and nearly choked. It was mead mixed with honey. The sweetness was almost overpowering, but he drank it all. Giving the mug back to Stoick, he felt drowsiness cloud his brain. "Better?" his father asked, his voice rather fuzzy.
Hiccup nodded, not trusting himself to speak, and slumped back onto his bed. Smiling slightly, Stoick rested his hand on his son's forehead for a moment. "Rest easy, my boy," he murmured, and then he turned and left, closing the door softly behind him.
Toothless rumbled, and Hiccup opened his eyes blearily. "Bud…stay with me?" he asked thickly. In answer, the dragon rested his head on his human's stomach. Hiccup smiled and closed his eyes again. "Thanks," he sighed before sleep scooped him away again. He didn't dream again for the rest of the night.
…
Mogadon the Meathead arrived two days later, and his visit went exactly as Hiccup predicted it would. Though initially baffled by the skinniness of the so-called Dragon Conqueror, he listened with rapt attention as Hiccup explained his story, and he was eager to learn when the boy and his friends offered to teach him to train dragons himself. The Meathead chief was a quick study. He picked up on the concept of trusting dragons much faster than Stoick had, and by the third day of his visit he was riding a Monstrous Nightmare, whooping in glee the whole time.
He stayed a week and departed after renewing the peace treaty his clan shared with Berk. He thanked Hiccup fervently for his training and promised to share his knowledge and methods with his tribe. He made no move to kidnap or threaten the boy in any way, and Hiccup was actually a little sorry to see him go.
There was a celebration in the Great Hall that evening, and Hiccup found himself once again the center of attention. He smiled when his father told him how proud he was of him and laughed and joked with the others, but before long he found himself wishing it would all be over so that he could be alone with Toothless. He hadn't had much time to spend with his dragon during Mogadon's visit and really missed his friend's company.
As the sun was sinking into the sea, he managed to slip away from the hall. With Toothless by his side, he returned home and pulled out his flying gear from the shed next to his house. He saddled the dragon in record time and was just about to jump onto his back when a voice made him look around.
"I believe you owe me a night flight," Astrid said lightly, leaning casually against the shed wall, grinning.
Hiccup blinked once in confusion. Then he remembered the ruined date he had planned before everything suddenly changed. He grinned. "I believe you're right." He climbed into the saddle and held out his hand. Astrid took it and settled behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist. "Let's go, bud," Hiccup said to Toothless.
The dragon needed no further persuasion and launched himself into the air. For a few minutes, Hiccup amused them all by asking Toothless to perform all manner of aerial stunts: dives, upward spirals, barrel rolls, and loops. The delighted grin never left his face, and by her cries of laughter he could tell Astrid was enjoying herself too.
He finally had Toothless level off, and they soared over the village in companionable silence.
At least until Astrid sighed and tightened her hold on his waist, resting her head on his shoulder in an unmistakably romantic move. Hiccup felt his heart clench. "Uh, Astrid…I…I don't…"
"What is it?" Astrid asked, raising her head. She could sense some kind of battle going on between Hiccup's head and heart and was both confused and concerned.
Hiccup hesitated. "I…don't think I'm ready to go back to being…you know…a couple. Not yet. I'm still wounded and need some time to recover before we can go back to being as we were before…all that…"
Astrid didn't say anything. The sudden ache in her chest prevented her from speaking a single word.
"We can still be friends," Hiccup continued hopefully. "And maybe someday we'll be able to pick up where we left off. But for now I think it's best we just be friends. For the time being."
Astrid swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded. "I understand, Hiccup," she said softly, and he could tell she wasn't angry or hurt, just resigned and accepting. She knew she'd caused this. She had no one to blame but herself. Then she grinned. "But I'm going to fight to win you back. Just so you know."
Hiccup smiled. "I wouldn't have it any other way."
A/N: Wait! Before you review and tell me that I shouldn't have had Hiccup let them off so easily, let me explain something! This is not, repeat NOT the end of the story! If anything, this is merely the end of Act 1. So to all of you who wanted Hiccup to make Berk suffer, don't worry, there's still plenty of chance for that. For those who wanted Hiccup to leave Berk altogether, there's still a chance for that to happen. For those who wanted to see the villagers fight to win Hiccup's trust back, they will. Will they succeed? I cannot say. You'll have to wait and find out.
No really…you'll have to wait. This is as far as I've gotten. Apparently my attempts to buy myself time by spacing out these chapters didn't exactly work. I haven't gotten any farther in this story and am currently dealing with a touch of writer's block. So…I really don't know how long it will be before the next chapter shows up. But rest assured, the story will continue! …eventually…
If you're interested, I do have some other HTTYD stories here on this site to help pass the time between chapters. There's the collection of one-shots that this story originated from. I also have two crossovers. The first, Titanic, puts the HTTYD characters into James Cameron's Titanic. The second, Out of the Sea, is Disney's The Little Mermaid with the Dragon characters. There's also a spin-off series of one-shots for this latter story called Hiccup's Undersea Adventures.
Yes, I'm officially self-advertising now. I have no shame. XD
Again, thank you all so much for all the favorites, follows, and reviews! I hope Hiccup the Useless continues to entertain you all.
