Dooot deee doooo...chapter 12! Haha! :D Hope you enjoy it as much as you've all seemed to enjoyed the previous chapters. :)
"OH...UGH...TOOOOOTTTTHHHHLLLLLEEEESSS!" Hiccup shouted as the Stormbringer yanked him into the air. His hands slipped after a few moments, and he fell, Toothless catching him pronely afterwards.
Hiccup looked at his hands. "Stupid rope burn," he muttered. The Stormbringer reared back around, an ear-piercing roar emanating from its throat.
"Oh, well that's productive," Hiccup said. "Toothless…" Hiccup spun around, just to see Toothless swaying on his feet, his eyes unfocused. "Toothless!" Hiccup shouted. "What's…" He didn't even have to ask what was wrong before he had it figured out. "Oh, so dragons can get infected," he mused out loud. "They just need to come in direct contact with…"
The Stormbringer's roar cut him off. The dragon soared and landed directly in front of them. Its claws scraped the ground.
"Okay, new plan," Hiccup said. "We need a new plan. Toothless, buddy, do you think you can try and distract this thing for just a few more minutes?"
Toothless, dazed as he was, managed to nod in confirmation. Then, Hiccup turned, and nodded in the direction of the dragon. Toothless crouched low to the ground, and pounced. The Stormbringer shrieked with a throat shredding roar, but Toothless didn't care back down. He tackled the poisonous dragon, snarling with anger, pinning it beneath his body.
"That's it, Toothless!" Hiccup encouraged, running forward, the bowl in hand. He shoved it beneath the Stormbringer's long fangs, and caught some of the venom dripping off it.
It took nearly ten minutes which involved Hiccup running back and forth like a madman as he filled an entire jar of the venom. Then, certain he had got enough, he turned back to Toothless.
He didn't look like he was going to be able to hold out for much longer.
"Okay, Toothless, we did it!" Hiccup shouted triumphantly. "Let's hope this works." Toothless bounded off the Stormbringer without a second thought, but Hiccup could see that the dragon was dizzying at an alarming rate.
"Hang on, bud," Hiccup said as he put the jar of precious contents into Toothless' saddlebag. "We just have to get back to Berk, and then - AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" He screamed in pain, cutting himself off as the Stormbringer sank its teeth into Hiccup's forearm. It had gotten up after Toothless, keeping itself silent long enough to attack.
Toothless roared in fury, firing a single plasma blast at the dragon. It hit its chest, sending it flying backwards until it hit the wall of the cave. It laid on the ground, lifeless and breathless.
Hiccup stared at it in shock, but got over it quickly when his arm pulsed with pain. Blood dripped from the limb and pooled on the ground beside him. Hiccup felt his breath quicken. If there was one thing he couldn't handle, it was the sight of blood.
It wasn't just that, though. The Stormbringer had bit him. He felt its venom running through his veins, making him feel sick and dizzy. His headache was back, worse than it had been the first time. After a few moments, he dropped to the ground, emptying his stomach contents while gripping his bleeding arm.
Toothless nudged him worriedly as his heaving fit came to an end. Hiccup looked at the dragon. They didn't have much time left, and it was obvious to the both of them. Shaking and shivering, Hiccup managed to get to his feet and pull himself onto Toothless' back sluggishly. He pushed his prosthetic into the foot pedal, and with that, Toothless was airborne.
Hiccup slumped against his dragon's neck and panted. After tearing off the hem of his shirt, he pressed the fabric to his wound. He hissed through his teeth and then bit his tongue to keep himself from screaming.
"You can do it, Toothless," Hiccup encouraged weakly as he shut his eyes and rested his head against Toothless' neck. "You can...doit…" His words slurred, and he closed his eyes for just a moment.
When he opened them again, Toothless was roaring. They were spinning out of control, towards the ocean.
That gave Hiccup a bit of a wake-up call. He slammed his metal leg back into the pedal, and Toothless shot back into the sky. He was getting weaker; both of them were, second by second.
"Come on, bud," Hiccup said, "just hang on...hang on just a little longer...hold...on…" He didn't know who he was talking to more; him or Toothless. When Berk finally reached the horizon, he could have cried with relief. Tears of pain were already streaming down his face.
"Home…" he breathed. His eyes were half-lidded and glazed over. His eyelids were fluttering alarmingly. "We're...Toothless...you did it...bud…"
An instant later, as Toothless landed in the plaza, the shouts and cries of villagers met their ears. The one that stood out the most was a voice Hiccup knew all too well.
"HICCUP!"
Yep, that was his father, no doubt about it. Hiccup dismounted Toothless shakily, wrapping his arm around his dragon's neck to keep himself standing. As Stoick ran towards his injured son, Hiccup pulled the bottle of venom out of his dragon's saddlebag.
"Cure…" he mumbled.
"Hiccup," Stoick said, grabbing Hiccup before he collapsed. Hiccup shook his head.
"Get...healers…" Hiccup said weakly, swaying uneasily, even in his father's protective grasp. "Cure...infected...please…"
"Alright, alright, son," Stoick said. Hiccup was barely aware of a healer taking the jar from him, and then running off to get more healers to help Hiccup. "Come on, let's get you inside."
"Toothl...lesssss…" Hiccup slurred.
"Yes, Toothless is coming too," Stoick said. Hiccup could hear the hidden panic in his voice. He was probably wondering what had happened, but Hiccup didn't have the strength to tell him, try as he might have. "Don't worry, son. Come on, Hiccup."
"Dad," Hiccup moaned, just before going limp. Stoick caught him underneath Hiccup's arms, the boy's back supported against Stoick's chest.
"Hiccup," the father said, shaking his son gently, hoping to garner a reaction. Hiccup remained limp, unconscious, and unresponsive. "HICCUP!"