I guess we've sat on that Hiccup cliffhanger long enough. How's he been doing since that disastrous storm? Is he even still alive? What became of Toothless? Fear not! All shall be answered in this chapter…well, maybe not all, but most of your burning questions, I'm sure.

Review Replies:

kitty.0: Yep, time to find out what happened to Hiccup. Also, yeah, Berk is going to be waiting awhile before they learn of Hiccup's fate and…by then…

aaquater: That is one reason for the time skips, yeah. They will also be there to progress time and keep readers interested. Oh, that means nothing! I'm looking forward to seeing Astrid's worrying too! Also, the idea is to surprise everyone about the rescuers, but I seem to not be very suspenseful lately, so…

Guest (anonymous): All good guesses! The possibilities really are endless. I'm looking forward to more of this worried Astrid too. I guess it really wasn't all that soon, but here's the next update.

Next chapter starts…now!


Chapter 9: Deserted Island

Silence. That was what Hiccup heard at first, but as he slowly began to come to, he heard the soft lapping of water along a beach. As he became more and more aware, he could feel water embracing his already wet clothing. It was rhythmic, the water coming in and receding back out to its origin. Slowly, Hiccup opened his heavy eyes and found himself staring up at a calm blue sky. Some fluffy white clouds drifted lazily by overhead. All remnants of the storm had disappeared, leaving, in their place, a pleasant day.

Picking himself up slowly, one of Hiccup's hands immediately shot up to his pained forehead. He was not sure if the headache still stemmed from all the blood draining there while he was hanging suspended by his metal leg in the stirrup on Toothless's saddle or if the pain had something to do with when he'd finally made contact with the ground. Overwhelmed, Hiccup let himself fall back down and allowed the water to wash up around him again. He tried to look around and get a feeling for the surrounding in which he now found himself, but each time Hiccup tried to move his head, the pain of his forehead would sting again, bringing tears to his eyes. Hopefully that would go away soon because he really needed to get up and find Toothless. The dragon had to be nearby…right?

As he waited for the pain to subside, Hiccup tried to piece together the missing parts in his memory. He recalled the storm and he remembered staring down at the raging ocean, the only thing stopping his descent being his connected prosthetic leg in the stirrup of Toothless's saddle. There was no way Hiccup could forget that; he had never been more scared in his life…well, maybe whenever he'd set Toothless free that first time and he was certain the Night Fury was going to eat him or set him ablaze. Returning to piecing back his memory, Hiccup remembered that he should check for broken bones. Moving his arms and legs, he concluded that they were sore but, otherwise, perfectly fine. Even his prosthetic leg had escaped the fall unscathed.

Hiccup knew that he had to get up soon and find shelter. If he stayed here, the water would begin to get colder as the sun dropped and he would quickly freeze to his death. He also had to find Toothless.

The unanswered questions continued to pile up in the back of Hiccup's mind as he tried again to sit up. How did he get there? Had he fallen into the waters and been washed ashore like a piece of driftwood? Where was Toothless? Was Toothless okay? Was this island (because Hiccup had most definitely concluded that he was on an island somewhere) on the map his father had given to him? Would this be a set-back to his plan of flying to the secluded village and training their dragons as quick as possible?

This time, Hiccup was able to sit up without feeling dizzy or sickened by a pounding headache. Taking this as a good sign, he slowly brought himself up to his feet. At first, he was a little unsteady and it reminded him of his first days learning to walk with the new prosthetic. When he felt confident on his feet, he walked a little faster, the urgency to find Toothless propelling him forward.

As Hiccup walked along the beach, he quickly learned that this island was deserted. There were no villages or people around. He did not even encounter any wildlife, such as dragons. I'm truly alone…well, me and Toothless…if I can just find him…

Up ahead, a black mass lay on the beach and Hiccup did not have to think twice; he knew what it was. "Toothless!" he yelled, but received no response from his dragon. Running as quickly as his shaky legs would allow, Hiccup made it to his friend's side. "Toothless!" he yelled again, but softer as his throat was dry and dehydrated. Still his friend remained motionless and silent. No…no, this can't be… "T-Toothless?" his voice cracked, but, this time, it was not because his throat was too dry.

Placing a shaking hand to the Night Fury's scales, Hiccup felt that they were still warm. It hasn't been too long, then. Hiccup's heart felt as though it was slowly shattering into many small pieces. How could this have happened? I should've been there… He squeezed his eyes shut tight. Now is a bad time to cry…but…

A rumbling startled Hiccup. The sound had come from nearby. Starting, Hiccup looked to Toothless's face and found that the dragon's eyes were now open. "Toothless! Oh, thank Thor!" He could not contain his excitement as he hugged the dragon's neck. His arms did not fully encircle the Night Fury's neck, but that was normal. "Oh, Gods, I thought…" but he was cut off as Toothless's rough tongue ran the entire length of his face, drenching it and his hair in dragon saliva. The gesture, Hiccup knew, was Toothless's way of telling his rider to stop worrying because he was fine. Normally, Hiccup would groan and wipe the spit from his face, but this time he didn't; he was satisfied enough just knowing that his friend was okay.

Hiccup checked the saddle and found that all their supplies were still intact, drenched from the ocean water, but safely secured. "Well, that's a relief," Hiccup told Toothless who made a soft noise in agreement. Feeling better, Hiccup was ready to again set out on their mission. "We should get back on our way. The sooner we get there, the sooner we can get back home to Berk. Can you fly, Toothless?"

The dragon made another soft noise and Hiccup caught the small shake of Toothless's head. "No?" he questioned, confused. "Are you hurt? I did pack some materials that I could use to…" Toothless interrupted again as he moved his tail so that Hiccup could see it. Either sometime during the storm or in the impact with the water or the sand, Toothless prosthetic tailfin had been shredded. Just by looking at it, Hiccup knew there was nothing he could do; he had not brought any extra materials with him, something that he was now highly regretting. "I see. Guess we'll be staying here on this island longer than we'd hoped, huh, Bud?"


So, I just watched the new Dragons ep before posting this. Gods, that was so sad… All the feels. Anyway…hope you liked this chapter even though it was super late. I haven't had much time lately because I've been working a lot of hours at my jobs. Yes, jobs. Plural.

Next chapter: I'm probably going to aim for next Wednesday after 10 PM US East Coast time. I know that's a whole week away, but maybe if I overshoot my predictions, I'll have a better chance at keeping them.

As always thank you all for reading and supporting Wheel in the Sky.

Posted: February 20, 2014