Hey guys!

Many thanks for all your amazing feedback for Return of the Nightfuries written with my good friend Zyonzillia

It's been great to read your comments and I thank you all for taking the time to leave something after reading the story.

Warning: this chapter contains a swear word. it also contains three quotations from 3 popular movies (yes my quotations game is alive and well in this fanfic too! ha!) so bonus repsect points to those who can identify them.

Enjoy


Last time Astrid's closeness got a very 'provocative' reaction from Hiccup which she responded to with the usual Hofferson aggression, stamping harshly on Hiccup's soul and his declaration of love for her.

This was further cast aside as Astrid basically told him that she along with everyone else on Berk wished Hiccup hadn't even been born.

Stunned, Hiccup was heart-broken and even Toothless could see his boy had been forever scarred.

But what will Hiccup and Toothless do now?

Read on and see!


Part 9 - Begging Part 3:

The Humbling River

GENERAL POV

"Now tell me what you know about the dragons!" Astrid demanded, her voice confident, like the victor of a great duel.

At first Hiccup said nothing so Astrid took a loud threatening step forward. She would spin him round and start the whole cycle over again if that's what it took. But a voice a stopped her. It was little more than a strained whisper but its power was undeniable.

"WHY?" Hiccup rasped.

"What do you mean why?" Astrid asked in exasperation, "Have you even been listening? Tell me what I want to know!"

"What's it to you Astrid?!" Hiccup spoke louder, finally turning to face her, his green eyes afire with a rage and hatred that gave the shield-maiden pause. "Since when did you even start caring about Hiccup the useless and what he knows?" he questioned her, daring her to speak. When Astrid didn't immediately respond, it was Hiccup's turn to take a step and he just managed to lurch one uneven pace toward her, his body protesting painfully as he did so.

"You've always had to do everything by yourself, oooooh great!…..oooooh strong….oooooh beautiful Astrid! You're so damn smart? YOU FIGURE IT OUT!" He yelled, his voice thick with condescension and sarcastic mockery. "In fact! Let's all bow down before the Odin blessed wisdom of the almighty, fearless Astrid Hofferson! Oooooooh may the nine realms tremble before her all-powerful skill with the axe and her pure, unassailable virginity!"

"Watch your tongue Hiccup!" Astrid retorted, twirling her axe by her side, "you may the son of the chief, but that doesn't mean you have to be in one piece when you become chief!"

"And whoever said I wanted to become chief?!" Hiccup hissed darkly.

"Excuse me?" Astrid asked, truly taken aback by his words.

"You heard me!" Hiccup groaned as he lurched forward another step wincing as he did so, yet unflinching in his anger, "Whoever said I wanted to become chief of a tribe of thick-headed, ugly, stinking, illiterate, brutish, yak-brained, stubborn, uncaring, heartless, savage, dung-eaters who would rather kill the whole world than try and actually live in it?!"

Again stunned silence was the only thing Astrid had to offer in response besides the scornful, disdainful look on her face as Hiccup continued.

"You've already told me how little I matter!" Hiccup smiled a cruel parody of his lop sided grin, "No-body gives a damn about what I want, so why should give a damn what you want? YOU HEARTLESS, CRUEL, UGLY, LITTLE, BITCH!"

Now shaken from her shock by her trademark anger Astrid snarled back at Hiccup's insult "you call me an UGLY BITCH? How dare you?!"

"I'm STILL not finished!" Hiccup yelled. "I've finally done something right with my life and you're trying to ruin it!...But I won't let you!...I won't let you take this away from me the way you've taken everything else away from me. …...I've one last thing to say to you Astrid oooooh 'Divine Beauty!'…Yes!...I am training with someone…but that someone is not human!"

Astrid scoffed derisively at Hiccup's cryptic words shaking her head "Finally gone mad I see! Looks like you're gonna be a one legged son a chief! Yaaaaaahhhhhhh!"

As soon as Astrid unleashed her war-cry, she charged at Hiccup raising her axe above her head. She wasn't going to kill him. Maybe take out an eye at best, take off a limb at worst. Either way to her, he would always be the same old useless hiccup with no-one in the world to help or defend him.

But as Astrid charged Hiccup finally gave up all of his hope and compassion for his long time crush and his tribe by unleashing his own war-cry and it was answered instantaneously.

Hiccup screamed a name.

"TOOTHLESS!'

TOOTHLESS' POV

'There it was!'

Toothless never thought it would happen this way. But it had happened and right in front of him no less!

The last real tie this cruel place had on his boy had finally, albeit brutally, been severed. No longer would this wretched hive of scum and villainy be the bane of Hiccup's existence.

Hiccup had made his choice now.

Hiccup had chosen the dragons, Hiccup had chosen him and now Toothless was going show his beloved boy what the true meaning of loyalty, sacrifice and love really was. Leaping forward he would show just what it meant to be the best friend of the unholy offspring of Lightening and Death it-self!

NORMAL POV

Astrid was only a few feet away from Hiccup when a huge shadow exploded up behind him. Skidding to a halt, the irate shield-maiden stared wide-eyed in fear as the shadow unfurled huge bat-like wings, bared vicious razor sharp teeth that shimmered like silver, regarded her with eyes that glowed green like St. Arvendales fire and made her legs shiver as it let out a deep blood curdling roar.

Stepping back slowly, axe raised in defence, her mouth agape at the sight, Astrid finally gave a name to the shadow that haunted the dreams of her and every other Viking alive.

"N-n-n-n-Nightfury!"

"Astrid – Toothless – Toothless – Astrid" Hiccup drawled sarcastically gesturing with his hands to each of them in introduction.

Astrid saw the grin across her former victim's face and with remarkable speed - for a Viking - she felt the pieces of the puzzle fit awkwardly into place.

'The suspicious behaviour, disappearing for hours on end every afternoon, an understanding of dragons that surpassed even Gobber himself, coupled with the fact that the dragon wasn't ripping Hiccup apart along with the saddle it wore could only mean one thing!'

Somehow, Hiccup...Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third...Hiccup the useless...had trained a dragon!

Quickly Astrid glanced over her shoulder and cursed inwardly at how faraway she was to the cove's entrance. If she moved fast enough she figured she might be able to make a break for it.

However Hiccup spotted her look and with a voice oozing with bitterness he spoke softly.

"Toothless. Why don't you introduce yourself properly?"

TOOTHLESS' POV

'But of course.' the Nightfury crooned to itself.

Toothless snarled with wicked glee and before this nasty little human called 'Astrid' moved another inch, he lunged forward and pinned her down by the shoulders, glaring at her with all the rage and hate his dragon-heart could muster.

The ebony dragon didn't feel the young warrior struggling under his considerable weight. He barely contained a deep rumbling draconic laugh as the girl snarled and groaned, her every attempt to get free proving to be completely ineffective.

His armoured hide didn't even register her pitiful attempts to wriggle, punch or kick her way free.

Not to mention the best thing about being a dragon was that, unlike humans, it didn't hurt if anyone tried to kick him between the legs!

"How does it feel to be the 'useless' one now human?!" the Nightfury warbled humorously, licking his lips and ensuring his teeth hovered as closely as possible to Astrid's angry yet uncertain eyes.

GENERAL POV

Hiccup stalked up to the pinned shield-maiden and wrenched Astrid's axe from her hand. It had once been too heavy for him to wield, but after years of work in the forge since crafting it he held the weapon with surprising ease. Running his hands along the flat of the blade Hiccup took in his bloody, bruised face as it reflected back at him in the flawlessly polished steel.

"This was my favourite creation!" he declared mournfully "I spent so many sleepless nights working on it knowing it was for you...I thought it would finally show that I could be worth something...that I was more than just all….this!"

Astrid continued to squirm as she watched Hiccup stare and gesture at himself. The pressure on her shoulders was becoming unbearable despite her shoulder guards taking most of the black dragon's mass.

"Now I see…..it was not me that was unworthy….it was you!" Hiccups eyes narrowed and his voice became harder and colder than anything Astrid had ever heard, "It was all of you! My father, my clan, my tribe, my entire home. None of you are worthy of what I can do! The only one who ever made me feel any kind of worth was a dragon and a Nightfury of all things! The only creature that truly knows and cares for me is the unholy offspring of Lightening and Death itself!"

"HICCUP! you traitor!" Astrid screamed, her rage giving her extra energy for her desperate yet futile struggling, "you've sided with these beasts?! You're a traitor! To your own people….arugh!...Let me go!"

"I'm the traitor?! Hiccup shouted incredulously, "I've been betrayed by everyone here since the day I was born…..and you have the nerve to call me traitor? One day they will be sorry, they will ALL be so sorry!"

"Oooooooh wadda you gonna do hic-hic-hiccup?! Talk them all into submission?!" Astrid mocked defiantly, "Like that will ever happen! NOW. LET. ME. UP!"

"YOU DON'T GET TO JOKE! NOT TODAY!" Hiccup shouted with equal ferocity looming over her pinned body making Astrid wince slightly, "and you're not the one to be making demands Astrid! Dragons are not the mindless killers….humans are!"

Toothless snarled loudly bringing his jaws closer to Astrid's face. She could feel the hot, fish tainted air hissing through his teeth, making her nose wrinkle and her stomach churn in fear and disgust. Yet she would not admit defeat. Not here. Not to the weak Hiccup the useless!

Astrid's face twisted in a sneer as she spat her words out "well come on then Haddock! Prove it! Kill me! Come on!...Do it, kill me!...I'm right here!...Come on!...Kill me!"

Hiccup, stunned by Astrid's defiance, stepped back turning his head away as she yelled her challenge.

A grin spread across Astrid's face as she saw Hiccup's hesitation and once again her deep mocking laugh echoed around the natural amphitheatre that was the cove.

"Ha ha ha ha!...Just as I thought! You don't have the stomach to make the hard choices! Here in the wilds you have me with a mighty dragon at your call and still you haven't the guts to do what's necessary. You're so weak!"

A deafening silence descended over the cove. It seemed the even air itself had lost the will to move, so afraid was it of the three breathing patterns that dominated the tense atmosphere. The rasping breaths of a boy a wrestling with a lifetimes worth of abuse and torment, being challenged by the deep inhales of his tormentor, pinned under the angry huffs of a dragon that was poised and ready to do Thor-knows-what to his intended prey.

The stand-off lasted only a minute or so but to those involved it felt like an eternity. Slowly Hiccup brought Astrid's axe down to his side as his mind came back to the here and now, ready to respond to Astrid's taunting.

"You think I'm weak because I value another person's life!" Hiccup muttered his voice trembling with desire that Astrid might understand, yet unable to meet her gaze, "Valuing life is not a weakness and disregarding it is not strength! It's because I value life that Toothless is my friend. I could have killed him but I wouldn't. I looked in to his eyes and I saw myself. I saw that he was just a scared as I was!"

"And scared is all you'll ever be, unless you let me go right now!" Astrid spat back derisively "And if you are leaving, you better take your dragon and race off to the edge of the world, because if you kill me, Stoick and the others won't rest until they've killed you and your big black salamander here!"

Hiccup kept his head bowed still not looking Astrid. For a moment all that could be heard was the faint tweeting of birds from the forest.

"You're right Astrid" Hiccup whispered finally, "I'm not going to kill you. You're going back to the village!"

TOOTHLESS' POV

'What?' Toothless warbled, shocked at the decision his rider was making.

Here was the perfect chance to exact his revenge. The female had revealed her true colours. Her dark aura was indeed one of possession but also of oppression and bore a striking resemblance to the one that surrounded the great queen in the nearby dragon nest. As a dragon who detested tyranny in all its forms he could not understand why Hiccup was deciding to be lenient now things had gone so far.

'Sometimes the boy was too compassionate!' the dragon thought.

Surely they had no choice now but to kill the female in order to protect their secret. With any luck the half-wit Vikings on this island would just assume Hiccup was killed also and not bother to look for them or alternatively after finishing the girl off, they would fly in and decimate the town making everyone who had wronged Hiccup suffer, leaving this place a barren, scorched wasteland.

He looked at his boy with wide curious eyes, desperate to understand him. Hiccup lifted his eyes and stared back at him, his freckled face awash with emotions that shouldn't grace the visage of one so young.

GENERAL POV

"Toothless, let her up." Hiccup said evenly

The Nightfury growled in protest, while Astrid, despite her pain, wore a deeply smug grin on her face.

"TOOTHLESS! Let her up!" Hiccup said again. Toothless saw the conflicted look of pain and fatigue in his young rider's face and begrudgingly obliged.

"About time!" Astrid grumbled as she dusted herself off while Toothless backed up a few steps, his bitter gaze still locked on her, "I knew you wouldn't have the balls to kill me Haddock! I suggest you start running before the rest of the tribe get here and I end up wearing your dragon's skull for helmet!"

"No Astrid,…..you're the one who should be running." Hiccup replied coldly.

"Excuse me?" Astrid replied, a little puzzled.

"I said I would not kill you Astrid." Hiccup elaborated his voice and eyes now colder than ice as he stared at her, "But I didn't say I would not hurt you!"

"What?...Wha..what do you mean?" Astrid didn't know why her voice was so shaky

"Toothless, you know what to do bud", the emotionless Viking stated, "hurt….not….kill!"

Toothless shared a knowing look with the boy and nodded. The Nightfury's eyes once round and wide with understanding now narrowed in pure feral aggression, a sure fire sign that something very bad was about to happen.

"Hiccup…what are you doing? You….you….you….you keep that dragon….away from me!" Astrid tried to keep her voice firm while thoughts of such pain undermined any authority she tried to muster.

But the cold look on Hiccup's face struck Astrid with a new more paralysing fear. If being caught under the Nightfury was scary then being caught in the heir of Berk's blazing green eyes was utterly horrifying.

"Run Astrid!" Hiccup whispered maliciously,

"Run!"


"Hold on!...Don't let go!...Hold on!...it's...it's...a CLIFFHANGER!"

Sorry for another Stalone ending but I couldn't help myself.

Now things have gotten really interesting!

What will happen to Astrid? Well if you've read this far you already know. but next time you will see all the gory details blow-for-blow!

I hope you enjoy it.

Once again thank you for following this story and for taking the time to leave a review. it's always great to read your comments and respond if possible.

next time we get to have some real fun in the epic conclusion of the 'Begging' arc!

Til next time,

Take care of yourselves and each other!