Unintentional Hero

Author: Nightstar Fury of Nightstar Productions

Rated: M for a variety of things that will happen

Pairing: Hiccup/Astrid

Disclaimer: I do not own HTTYD

11; Another Fight

The Dragonfire platoon had been officially back in Hell for a month, it was now November 2016 with Hayden still leading the platoon while Anderson was off duty because of his injuries. Hayden didn't mind, at least Anderson was alive and well and thankfully returning later today. With Vazquez and Frankford both dead, Anderson was being promoted to Lieutenant Harry Anderson; leader of the Dragonfire platoon while Hayden would remain Sergeant but with a slight promotion of Alpha Fire squadron leader and he of course still lead the unit of Strike-One. Two other people had been brought in, a Sergeant to run the Delta Fire squadron and another private to even out the four, six man teams to each squadron. Hayden hadn't spoke to hardly anyone since the morning he returned to Afghanistan, he called to let Camille know he was back safely and already settled in back to routine missions and patrols but also acting Lieutenant of the platoon since Vazquez and Frankford were gone, and Anderson was recovering. That had been the second day back, but hadn't talked to them since.

Hayden was still furious with his father for their argument before he left, he couldn't believe his own father didn't see all the good he was doing. How could he stand there and tell Hayden that what he was doing was wrong and didn't belong in the military? Hayden wouldn't talk to him, not right now at least. He wanted his father to sit with what Hayden had said before he left the house to sleep against Toothless that night. Hayden was doing the right thing, he knew he was and he wouldn't let his father tell him otherwise. Hayden's friends that he shared the barrack with were worried about him, they could tell he was a little more on edge and looked angry all the time since returning to Afghanistan. They tried to ask him what was up but he said he was fine or that it didn't matter. What worried Holgerson, Matthews, Ritka, Tarelto, and Lennox specifically the most was that Hayden was very quiet and refused to talk about what earned him the Dragon Heart medal while they were in Berk minus Ritka and Tarelto, who had been on Visithug Isle when Hayden was awarded but Lennox, Holgerson, and Matthews told them about it.

They were all there the day of the ambush and for the most part knew what happened but they could tell Hayden knew something else happened and he was holding back on talking about it. He just answered with, everyone got out safe. It doesn't matter and for them to drop the subject. Hayden even went as far as to say it was a direct order to stop talking about it. Currently Hayden and his unit were patrolling an area that had been reported to have activity, the area was a few miles away from the base which is why it became imperative to check it out. Hayden was with Strike One obviously and there were also three other six man teams out. These teams were the other ones that made up the entire Alpha Fire squadron: Strike-Two, Strike- Three, and Strike-Four. The rest were either on base resting up from earlier patrols that day or they were on other missions in the base such as moving cargo.

"Strike One to Strike Two, Three, and Four. Check in with update. Over." Hayden said into his ear piece.

"Strike Three here. Sections one and three are secured. Moving to four now. Over." Said Marx, the leader of the Strike Three unit.

"Good work boys. When you've cleared it, report it then move to the meet up location and await further orders. Over." Hayden said.

"Yes, Sergeant. Strike Three over and out." Marx replied. Hayden sighed as he placed check marks on sections one, and three. This was an area broken up into sixteen sections to check, hence why all four teams of Alpha Fire were on it. Each team had four sections to check. Hayden's team was responsible for sections eight through twelve, they'd already cleared two of them.

"Strike Two and Four, this is Strike one. Do you copy? Over." Hayden said again, neither of them had checked in since the first one two hours ago when they arrived to their first sections to check so he was a little concerned about them now.

"Something up, Sergeant?" Ritka asked.

"Strike Two and Four haven't answered since the first section check in." Hayden replied. No sooner than he'd said that they heard gunfire coming from the West which is where he'd sent Strike Two to check areas four through eight. The shots were rapid fire it seemed as

"Strike Two to Strike One! We need back up. At least thirty armed enemy soldiers, and hardly any places to take cover. Over!" Hayden's eyes widened, that was Nichols who was leader of Strike Two.

"What sector are you in, Nichols! Over." Hayden ordered.

"Sector Five! Over." Nichols replied quickly.

"We're on our way, Strike Two. Hang in there! Has anyone been hurt? Over." Hayden said motioning for his men to follow as they began heading towards sector five of the area.

"No sir but we can't handle this many on our own! Over." Nichols responded.

"You won't have to, Nichols. We're coming now, ETA is fifteen minutes!" Hayden said quickly, "Strike Three, get to five and help them out now!" Hayden added knowing that Strike Three was closer since they'd been heading to section four themselves. Hayden and his team were only in section eleven, but he was worried for Strike Four, since they were doing sections twelve through sixteen and hadn't answered yet also...they were the farthest away from Strike Two.

"On the way now! ETA four minutes! Over." Marx replied to him while panting, clear that that team was running as well.

"Damn it!" Hayden cursed while running, Strike Two was under fire with Strike Three heading to join in but Strike Four hadn't answered in an hour.

"Sergeant! Parkins is down!" Hayden just about froze hearing that in his ear, the rest of his team stopped and looked at him.

"Down as in hurt or dead, Nichols?!" Hayden asked quickly, silence now.

"He's dead, sir...Bullet to the heart." Nichols replied slowly. Hayden's eyes narrowed as he took off running again, they were nearing the fight as they'd already been running about ten minutes.

"Is his body with you?" Hayden asked.

"Yes, Sergeant. No man left behind..." Slight pause and then, "RICHARDS!" It was in that moment that Hayden and the rest of Strike one arrived to see Private Richards get stabbed in the throat, blood squirting from his throat and he fell to the ground, dead. Hayden's eyes widened at the sight then then without warning her grabbed his automatic rifle and aimed for the enemy soldier who killed Richards, and shot him in the neck from a distance of twenty feet away, killing him instantly. From that point, Strike One, Two, Three, and Four- who arrived ahead of Strike One because they'd heard the shots and rushed to help before checking in, were working on pushing back the enemy but it wasn't without difficulty.

(Berk)

Camille was having a sleep over with Avery and Rachel. Seth, Felix, and TJ were there too but only until 8pm. They were watching TV and TJ was channel surfing while the rest were talking, finally he stopped on the news after seeing the headline: Twenty-Four soldiers unaccounted for in routine patrol. TJ turned up the TV now and leaned forward.

"We take you live to Afghanistan with our reporter Jack Goines to find out more on the situation."

"Hey guys, something big is going on in Afghanistan. An entire squad is unaccounted for after a routine area check." TJ called them over, Avery and Camille were first up and on the couch to watch as the screen changed to show a male reporter standing with some others who were running around and getting a chopper ready to take off.

"And we're live in Afghanistan at the Fury Fighters Military Base. I'm here with Lieutenant Harry Anderson who is trying to locate Alpha Fire squadron to find out more." The reporter said.

"Oh my Gods...Hayden is leader of the Alpha Fire Squadron..." Avery said covering her mouth quickly.

"DAD! Get in here!" Camille yelled, Gerald rushed in watching the TV too.

"Lieutenant Anderson, can ya give us a little insight as to what happened?" The reporter asked.

"It was a routine area check and they haven't checked in for over an hour. The squadron was sent out to see if the area was active at all since there had been reports of it being active and this area is close to base so we wanted to secure it. Sergeant Hayden Haddock is leading the squadron and his own team through sixteen sectors. Four units, four sections each. I'm still waiting to find out what is going on." Anderson said, he lifted the walkie but then there was static and a lot of gunfire.

"Alpha Fire to Base! Alpha Fire to Base, do you copy! Over." Hayden's voice yelled.

"Base to Alpha Fire, this is Lieutenant Anderson. What the hell is going on over there!? Over." Anderson said quickly.

"Anderson!? Shit, its fuckin good to hear that voice again, sir. Routine patrol went bad, Strike Two got engaged with enemies. Strike Three, and Strike Four rushed as back up, Strike One joined up last. Don't really have time to exp-..." Hayden was cut off as they heard another distant voice yell, "RPG!" And then Hayden yelling, "EVERYONE GET DOWN!" Hayden panted hard after the explosion occurred. "Anderson, I need an extraction team out here on the double, the whole squadron is under fire by the enemy. I got two KIA's and now with Nichols shot in the arm, three wounded. We're in sector five of area thirty-two and no...We can't move at all, pinned down by enemies who are getting closer. Over." Hayden said quickly.

"Sending a bird now, Haddock. Chopper will be there soon, ETA twenty minutes." Anderson replied.

"Anderson, I don't have twenty minutes, we've been under heavy fire for about twenty already! Richards and Parkins are dead. Nichols, Valesti, and Shaw are injured! We have hardly any cover to stay behind, we need back up or an escape now!" Hayden shouted over another explosion. "GOD DAMN IT!"

"I'm doing the best I can, Haddock. Hang in there, chopper will get there as fast as it can!"Anderson replied quickly.

"Hayden..." Camille whimpered with worry.

"LENNOX, Watch out!" Hayden yelled out loudly. Avery and Camille both had tears in their eyes, Hayden was in serious trouble. "Marx is down, Sergeant! Lost him in the explosion." Another voice came now. A little silence other than the gunfire. "Make that...three KIA. Marx is gone." Hayden's voice was lower now.

"Can you recover the body, Sergeant?" Anderson asked with his head down.

"I don't know, there's too much fire and smoke for me to see anything right now. Holgerson! Where was Marx when the explosion went off?" Hayden called out.

"Standing four feet next to the building that blew up, sir." Theo answered then a pause as the helicopter was was heard now. "HADDOCK, extraction chopper is here!"

"Good, get moving then! I'll find Marx's body...THAT WAS AN ORDER! MOVE OUT!" Hayden yelled. The group watched as Anderson tried to get him again but it was only static.

"Base to Alpha Fire, does anyone read me? Over." Anderson tried again.

"Corporal Lennox here, I read you. Over."

"Status update, immediately. Over." Anderson stated.

"We're all on the chopper, Haddock disappeared behind the smoke. Enemies still firing. Over." Lennox replied. Anderson sighed, it'd been over ten minutes since the chopper arrived and no sign of Hayden returning with the fallen soldiers body.

"Return to base, Extraction One." Anderson ordered. Camille just about screamed falling to her knees on the floor.

"But...Haddock and Marx sir...We can't leave them, no man left behind! Haddock will make it, he always does!" Theo said quickly.

"I have to pull you out boys, I'm sorry but we can't wait. If he's not back by now then...He's not coming back. Sergeant Haddock...just became a POW and so did Marx. Extraction One, return to base immediately. That's an order." Anderson had his eyes closed with his head down. The area around Anderson went a little quiet at the sound of a POW, it stood for Prisoner Of War. Meaning a soldier was taken or killed by enemies with no body recovered. Camille broke down as Gerald hit his knees in grief.

"Lieutenant Anderson, did I just hear you correctly? We have...a POW?" Came another officers voice. Anderson turned to see Major White and Lieutenant Colonel Grayson standing there.

"Sergeant Hayden Haddock rushed off away from extraction to locate Dean Marx's body after an explosion and though waiting ten minutes...Haddock never returned and the squadron can't see him either." Anderson said softly. The news report hadn't stopped and after twenty minutes and the chopper returned letting the soldiers of the squadron off, all of them with their heads down and even some of them crying. Two bodies were laid down and covered, three men were rushed off to medical. Toothless rushed forward looking for Hayden but didn't see him and screeched with worry.

"Sorry Toothless...Hayden isn't with us..." Ritka said, the dragon's growled and looked to where the chopper had come from before the dragon took off into the sky at top speed with a loud roar. "TOOTHLESS!" Anderson yelled out but the dragon didn't return.

"Sergeant Haddock...He was a young soldier, wasn't he?" The reporter asked softly.

"Haddock was a young but amazing soldier. Brave, loyal, funny, excellent shooter, dragon trainer, and leader...He had just received the Dragon Heart and Distinguished Service Cross a month ago for saving his entire unit while taking a bullet in the arm..." Major White stated.

"Hayden...no. No no no no!" Camille cried out in her father's arms.

"Let us have a moment of silence for our fallen soldiers of tonight's battle..." Lt. Col. Grayson said calmer, the area was quiet for about ten minutes, heads were down, tears being shed but all of them banding together by linking arms over the one another's shoulders.

"There you have it, Sean. I think it's time to take it back to the sta-" The reporter was cut off by a loud roar as they all looked up and lit the spotlights while Toothless flew in to the clearing of soldiers and landed and on his back was Hayden with Marx behind him. Both of them were alive! And awake but weak and clearly wounded seeing them leaning a bit and panting. Hayden rubbed Toothless's head slowly.

"You saved my life, Toothless..." Hayden got off his back and pressed his forehead to Toothless's, their eyes were closed. "Thank you my friend." Toothless crooned slowly and licked the side of his face.

"Haddock?...What the hell happened out there?" Anderson asked.

"After I ran off to find Marx's body we got caught in an explosion, Marx had broken his ankle. I carried him back to where the chopper was and found it gone. I...grabbed my gun and took out ten enemy soldiers, fought hand to hand with four then they retreated. I carried Marx about a mile then Toothless found us and we rode back here. Toothless took out two enemies who were getting ready to snipe Marx and I...He saved my life, and Marx's..." Hayden said calmly. Without warning Anderson just pulled him forward and hugged him.

"I'm glad you're alright, Hayden. And good work, once again...You saved your team, and got everyone out safely...Including yourself." Anderson let go of Hayden when he cringed, and saw Hayden's shoulder and side bleeding.

"Might of gotten shot at once, it grazed me..." Hayden stated.

"And this?" Anderson motioned to his side.

"Okay, I got shot twice...I'm fine. Really." Hayden said to Anderson.

"You're one lucky kid, Haddock...Let's get you both to medical for treatment." Grayson patted his back. Hayden nodded as he stepped forward slowly while Holgerson and Lennox helped him. Ritka and Tarelto got Marx and both were out of sight. The reported looked at the camera with a sigh almost.

"There you have it. Sergeant Haddock saved his squadron and lived by the motto of 'No Man Left Behind', he risked his life but he made it back to base with help from his dragon who flew off to find his friend after being told Sergeant Haddock wasn't coming back. And I think its as good a time as any to send it back to you, Sean. This is Jack Goines reporting live from the Fury Fighters Base in Afghanistan." The reported offered a smile before normal news continued.

TJ turned off the TV as they all just sat there in silence. "I want him home...I want him home, Daddy!" Camille cried hard.

"We all do...But you know he's going to stay there and keep fighting, keep risking his life and there isn't anything we can do to make him stop." Avery whimpered, it had scared her when Hayden was announced as a Prisoner Of War. They all thought he was dead, but Toothless saved him. And they were all grateful for that. But nothing erased the absolute fear they felt knowing that tonight could have been Hayden's last if it weren't for Toothless.

(Afghanistan)

Hayden laid in the medical bed, his shoulder and side had been treated as he'd said they were wounds from a fun shot but he was only graze at best. The rest were some burns, scrapes, and bruises. Marx was laying beside him after his ankle had been wrapped but he'd be air-lifted to a hospital soon to have it put in a cast then he'd be recovering a while. "Sergeant Haddock?" Marx said calmly, Hayden looked over at him."Thanks for coming back to get me...I was sure that after the explosion separated me from the squad that I'd get left behind and die out there."

"No man left behind, Marx. I was shocked to find you alive, when it was reported they said you were dead from it and I went to find your body to bring back. I'm glad you're still here. We'd both be dead if it weren't for Toothless..." Hayden offered a smile. The two fist-bumped and relaxed as Anderson and Major White came in to check on them.

"How are you doing, Sergeant Haddock?" Major White asked.

"I'm alive, and good to go." Hayden replied.

"Take it easy lad. Ya did good tonight, you should probably call home though. That whole thing was televised." Anderson remarked, Hayden sat up quickly.

"WHAT!?"

"During the radio calls you and I had, the camera was rolling and the news was aired around the whole of the Archipelago..." Anderson stated handing him his cell phone, Hayden sighed nodded as he pressed Cami's Skype name and waited for an answer which didn't take long at all for her tear stricken, worried face to appear on screen.

"HAYDEN! Oh my Gods, are you alright!" She yelled quickly.

"Yes...I'm fine, Cami...Stop yellin, I have a major headache right now and my ears are ringing from explosions..." Hayden remarked.

"We know, we heard everything on TV!" Cami replied.

"Figures...Don't you have anything better to do at night than watch the news and make yourselves worry about me?" Hayden asked.

"Hayden, this isn't a time to be sarcastic. You were almost killed!" Gerald said now.

"I called so you'd know I was alright after all that. I'm tired, I'm sore and I'm going to bed as soon as I'm cleared to go back to my barrack. I know it's only 7pm there but it's 11:30pm here and after the last few hours I've had...I'm ready to take a load off. I'll talk to you guys soon." Hayden said, he just wanted off the call.

"Hayden...I almost lost you tonight...Please, come home? I can't...take this anymore. Worrying every single day if you're alright or if we're going to be getting news your body is coming home in a flag draped box..." Camille said now. Hayden saw his unit, then Anderson, Major White, and Col. Jacobson standing there. Obviously coming to check on him, he expected as much.

"I can't just come home because you want me to sis, it doesn't work that way." Hayden replied to her.

"Yes it does, quit and come home, Hayden. I'm not asking anymore." Gerald said.

"You're a real damn hypocrite, ya know that? Telling me I should quit my job because you don't like it when all you've ever told me to never quit anything I do because Haddock's aren't quitters. Get the hell out of here with your bullshit. Did anything I say to you last month even get through the thick skull of yours!? You're impossible and I'm sick and tired of calling what it supposed to be my home, to argue with you!" Hayden remarked coldly.

"Hayden you could have been killed tonight! Do you understand that?! I'm still your father and I say come home!" Gerald yelled.

"I don't care if your president of the Archipelago! Nothing gives you the right to tell me to come home, and nothing you ever say is going to make me quit to appease you! I don't do this job because for you, I do it for everyone. You can bet I stand ready every time that horn blows because I'm solid, steady, and true down to the core. I will always do my duty no matter what the price. I've counted up the cost and I know the sacrifice. I don't want to die for any of you but if dying is asked of me...I'll bare that cross with honor because freedom don't come free." Hayden said firmly.

"Hayden it isn't right for you to risk your life every single day making your sister and I worry all the time! She screamed so loud the neighbors thought we were in trouble!" Gerald huffed.

"This is why I don't call home for months at a time! I swear to Odin if you don't knock off your shit then you won't hear from until the next time I take leave! This is what I want to do and I don't care how much you don't like it or want it. I'm going to do it anyways! Allow me to reiterate for you what I said the night before I left and just maybe it'll get through this time...Nothing in this life comes easy or free, Dad. All you have...is because of what the soldiers of the Barbaric Archipelago Army do every day. Risk our lives. Your freedom comes with a price and I fight for you to have that freedom. I swear to the Gods if we ever have this discussion again than the only time you'll be hearing about me is on the news like tonight! I'm sick of fighting, I do enough of it here with the enemies...I don't need it from my family too! And once more, don't you fucking dare tell me that me standing up for what is right, that what I'm doing every day here is wrong!" Hayden didn't wait for a response, he ended the call and got up.

"Ha-Hayden?" Theo asked.

"Don't ask." Hayden replied as he saw the medic, "Am I cleared or not?"

"You are, Sergeant." She said. Hayden left the tent and walked off.

"Is he going to be okay?" Col. Jacobson asked looking to Theo and Matthews.

"It's his dad. He thinks Hayden doesn't belong in the military because he'll get killed like Hayden's mom did and his father thinks that what Hayden is doing is wrong, putting his life on the line every day like the rest of us...Hayden and his father have been at each others throats since Basic...I'd just leave him alone for right now." Matthew frowned.

"Never seen him get like that before." Lt. Anderson sighed, "He's like a little brother to me, I don't like seeing him like this." Hayden made it to his barrack ignoring everyone as he climbed into bed and laid there staring at the ceiling. Finally he sighed and closed his eyes letting sleep take him.