Sorry for the wait! It's been so busy lately because of New Year stuff...I was even out of town for a week, so I didn't have a lot of time to write. Then there's writer's block...don't even let me get started on that.
Anyway, enjoy chapter 14!
Chapter Fourteen: Still Not the End
Normally, when a three hundred pound man charges at you ready to stab your heart out, a typical person would panic and scream like a little girl. Fortunately for us, Hiccup isn't a typical person. On instinct, Hiccup shifted himself into a solid stance. As Norbert ran towards him, Hiccup was ready to draw his blade at any moment.
In the split second before Norbert made contact, Thuggory slipped in between Hiccup and the Hysteric Chief, unsheathing his own blade. The Great Hall fell silent as the sound of Thuggory's and Norbert's swords collided.
"Thuggory!" Astrid and Hiccup exclaimed in unison.
"What are you doing?" Hiccup hissed, his hand still on his hilt. Having fought Norbert before, Hiccup knew what the chief could do. He barely made it out alive the last time, but he was willing to fight Norbert again, if it means that his friends would be spared.
"Who are you, boy?" Norbert growled. "I'm here to chop the Hiccup boy's head off!" It was natural that Hiccup gulped at this comment.
"Who am I?" Thuggory repeated, his sword still pressing against Norbert's. Thuggory pushed the Hysteric's blade backwards. Thuggory then held a hand in front of Hiccup, instructing him to stay back. "Someone you don't need to know, because Hiccup doesn't have to fight you." He whipped his head to the two viking teens standing behind him. "Astrid!" he called.
Astrid quickly rushed to Thuggory's side. She adjusted her grip on her axe for a moment before scoffing. "Teaming up with you?"
"What of it?" Thuggory asked in return.
Smirking, Astrid shot forward. Norbert wasn't caught by surprise and easily blocked Astrid's swing with his sword. "Ha!" Norbert guffawed. "When I fought you back on my island I could have sworn you were better." Astrid simply grinned as Thuggory got behind Norbert, letting out a battle cry as he leaped into the air, swinging his sword downward.
Norbert growled as he pushed Astrid away and turned around to block Thuggory's attack. Astrid managed to dig her feet into the ground and got back into a solid stance. Thuggory's blade pressed against Norbert's and the young Meathead's arms slowly began to ache.
"Thuggory!" yelled Hiccup. His left hand secured around the hilt. "Hold on, I'm coming!"
A loud laugh suddenly came from Thuggory as he used his own blade to push Norbert's to the side. "I'd never thought you were going to forget your own plan," Thuggory told Hiccup smugly, turning to face latter, but soon realized his mistake when Norbert slammed a clenched fist hard into his stomach. The blow caused Thuggory to wince and clutch his torso. Astrid used her axe's handle and gave Norbert a large hit the head, earning her the Hysteric Chief's attention.
Steadily, Thuggory got back to his feet. "Don't worry about us. We've got him. Do what you need to do."
Seeing the assured look on Thuggory's face, Hiccup gave him a stern nod before forcing himself to turn his back on Norbert. Toothless however, had his eyes glued on the battle.
Quickly, Hiccup's eyes scanned the entire Great Hall. The tables, the fire, the ceiling. The young viking narrowed his eyebrows as he walked towards one of the nearby tables. He peeked behind the statues and fire posts, checking each and every one of them thoroughly. With each passing moment, Hiccup's heart pounded harder, like it was trying to bust his chest right open. The anxiety was starting to make him feel sick. But when he was sure that no one else was in the Great Hall, that anxiety slowly converted into rage.
Whipping his head back to the center of the Great Hall, Hiccup saw Thuggory and Astrid both swinging for Norbert at once who brought up his blade in front of him to block both Thuggory's sword and Astrid's axe. Feeling the anger still grow, Hiccup made his way over to the battle.
"Hey Norbert!" Hiccup shouted, earning Norbert's attention. Swiftly, Hiccup shot forward with the tip of his blade in front of him. With the speed he moved, Hiccup managed to catch Norbert by the surprise, making the chief's eyes widen when he saw that Hiccup's blade succeeded in creating a cut on his left abdomen. As quickly as it shot forward, Hiccup pulled his sword back.
"Whoa," Astrid breathed in astonishment. She almost let the grip on her axe slacken.
"Hey, Haddock!" Thuggory exclaimed, slightly irritated. "Don't go hogging all the fun even though that was a great move!"
"Not now, Thuggory," Hiccup answered almost emotionless. Norbert shot Hiccup an angry glare. The angry chief raised his sword high into the air. Hiccup refused to back down and nimbly stepped to the left before revealing a Night Fury that was preparing to blast. Norbert's eyes widened when he realized that he had fallen for a simple trick.
Toothless let out a blast of fire, pushing Norbert backwards. While the chief was disoriented, Hiccup stepped forth and neatly flicked his rest, forcing Norbert's sword to fly right out of his hands. Norbert watched in shock as Hiccup pointed the tip of his blade at Norbert's chest.
Astrid and Thuggory stood around Norbert, pointing their weapons at him as well. Slowly, the Hysteric Chief stepped back. Eventually, Norbert's back made contact with the stone walls of the Great Hall. He sighed. "Being defeated by a bunch of kids. It's pathetic."
"I can't believe you jumped in the middle of the battle," scoffed Thuggory. "I told you we had it covered."
For a moment, Hiccup didn't say anything. The atmosphere became heavy with tension. Hiccup's sword however, stayed pointed. It didn't move. Norbert could've struck back anytime he wanted to, but seeing Hiccup with such a serious expression on his face made him thought that this might become amusing for him.
Toothless purred softly while Astrid remained quiet. But like Hiccup, she refused to bring down her weapon.
"Where is he?" Hiccup finally asked, softly. Norbert raised an eyebrow in confusion. Hiccup stared into Norbert's eyes before taking a small step forward, the tip of his blade mere centimeters from Norbert's chest.
"Where is Alvin?" Hiccup demanded fiercely. "And more importantly, where's my father. They're not in the Great Hall, so where are they?!" Astrid looked at Hiccup with worry. She had rarely seen him this serious. Hiccup was always more of the make-sarcastic-jokes along the way type. To see him demand something so aggressively told her that he was desperate. Very desperate. And most importantly, angry.
Slowly, Norbert began to chuckle. Gradually, the chuckle turned into a loud boisterous laugh. "To see Stoick's little embarrassment interrogate me so intensely. I'd never thought I'd see the day."
"Just answer my questions," said Hiccup in just as much of an aggressive tone. Thuggory was still focused while Astrid swallowed the large lump on her throat. Hiccup acting like this seemed so barbaric. Like it was another side of him. Another side that he'd kept at bay for as long as she knew him. And another side that would only come out if he was truly angered. Astrid found it hard to believe that this was the same non-violent dragon training master Hiccup she knew.
And it seem that Norbert had the same thing going through his mind. "You acting like this," Norbert purred. "You're beginning to remind me of Alvin. You two wouldn't be related by any chance would you?"
At this point, it seemed that Hiccup snapped. "I'm not like Alvin!" he roared before clenching his teeth. As he said this, Hiccup brought his blade down slightly. Seeing his chance, Norbert dove forward and grabbed Hiccup's neck as he pushed the young viking heir onto the floor.
"Hiccup!" Thuggory and Astrid exclaimed simultaneously. Both of them adjusted their weapon aims, making sure they were locked on Norbert. Hiccup was slammed on the ground so hard that a good deal of oxygen was knocked right out of his lungs. With Norbert's hand around his neck, Hiccup was sure that the Hysteric Chief would begin to choke him any second. During his fall, Hiccup's sword skidded out of his reach. He himself was pretty much defenseless.
Norbert leaned in towards Hiccup face, the latter being able to sense the smell of beer. "Alvin took your father in as his personal servant," Norbert whispered into Hiccup's ear. The eyes of Berk's young heir widened.
"What?" murmured Hiccup in utter bewilderment.
"It's true," Norbert continued. "The moment your father thought you really were dead, he dropped to his knees. You should have seen the look on his face. It was priceless. At the moment, he's probably being held by Alvin on Outcast Island. The King does need some time to rest before his coronation in a few days."
"Then we'll defeat him before the coronation," replied a stern Hiccup. "We're not giving up. We're never going to."
"Good luck going against his Skrill!" said Norbert with a hint of crazy in his voice. But that statement caught Hiccup by surprise. "Skrill?" he repeated.
"Yes, the Skrill. When reading your Book of Dragons didn't work, Alvin started beating up the dragon until it followed his orders. Not bad of a method don't you think?" Slowly, Norbert's grip began to tighten.
"But that's inducing fear!" Hiccup managed to choke out. "A bond like that with the dragon won't make it loyal!" Using his own hands, Hiccup grabbed Norbert's in an attempt to force the chief to let go.
"Then why don't you go there and tell Alvin that yourself, Dragon Conquerer?" Norbert suggested. At this point, Astrid turned to face Thuggory with a curious look on her face. The young Meathead simply shrugged in reply.
A smirk curled up Hiccup's face. "You know what, maybe I will." Hiccup paused for a moment. "Toothless!" On command, a black tail with a red tail fin swung at Norbert, flinging him right off Hiccup's body and slamming hard into one of the walls of the Great Hall. Toothless quickly fired a fire blast at Norbert and the chief fell onto the floor.
"That did it?" asked Thuggory.
"I think so," Hiccup panted, picking up his sword and sheathing it. Slowly, the boy stood up. Looking at his friends, Hiccup could tell that they were still surprised by what just happened. Hiccup muttered an apology. "Guess I was just that angry. And or desperate."
Astrid heaved a small sigh of relief. "Don't worry, Hiccup. You and Alvin may be related, but that doesn't mean you're like him. You are fighting to help save the archipelago, while he's doing it for his own personal gain, after all."
Hiccup couldn't help but smile, realizing that Astrid was right. But he really should be careful when he's furious. He could end up hurting someone unintentionally.
Thuggory averted his gaze to Norbert, who was still unmoving. "What are you going to do about him?"
"I guess we'll throw him in jail," Hiccup answered in a much lighter tone.
"Um, you do realize that even Heather was able to break out of there, right?" Astrid reminded him.
"I know," Hiccup replied. "I was thinking maybe we'd put him on a boat and ship him off to Hysteria, or maybe he'll fall off the edge of the world."
"If he can find it," Astrid muttered under her breath. As the Great Hall fell silent once again, the noises outside became much clearer. But all the sounds slowly died down. The viking teens inside the Great Hall exchanged worried glances before darting towards the Great Hall's doors. Suddenly, Fishlegs stepped in, making Hiccup exclaim in surprise.
Slowly, the young and chubby viking smiled. "Norbert's army's down. We've won this battle. Everyone's fine. It's over."
Thuggory and Astrid breathed a large sigh of relief. But Hiccup shook his head. "No. This is still not the end."
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
The battle for Berk that night would be part of the legendary story of how a band of young viking warriors took a large step in the fight against the self proclaimed King of the Wilderwest: Alvin the Treacherous.
It's the afternoon following Norbert's defeat and the sun spent a lot of time shining on Berk that day. The hopes of the people were rekindled, believing that someone will be able to stop Alvin's rule. And slowly on Berk, the people began to rebuild.
The following night, the villagers celebrated. They sang songs, ate a large meal and forgot all their worries. The heroes were given special treatment of course, and so did their dragons.
But one of them stepped away from the bustling crowd. Hiccup walked outside the Great Hall where everyone else was having a great time. Norbert was at the prison under heavy security, so Hiccup didn't have to worry about the Hysteric chief attacking him. Toothless followed his rider as Hiccup walked to Gobber's workshop. Standing in front of a whole set of equipment, Hiccup picked up an arm guard and slid it onto his arm.
"What are you doing here?" a voice suddenly asked behind him. Hiccup turned around to see Camicazi, Astrid, Heather, Thuggory, Fishlegs, Snotlout, the twins, Gobber and their dragons behind him.
"You should be in the Great Hall celebrating with the villagers," Fishlegs told him.
"Yeah, it's not every day the people get to see these babies," said Snotlout smugly before bringing up his arms and posing. Hiccup sighed as he slipped another arm guard on. "This is not the time to be celebrating. We've won the battle, but the war is not over. This is still not the end. And it's not going to end here."
"Then where is it going to end?" Heather asked him, curious. Somewhere inside Astrid, she felt as if she already knew the answer. As if knowing this, Hiccup grinned from ear to ear.
"Outcast Island," he answered. "I'm going to go rescue my dad."
"Oh no, you're not," Gobber hastily hissed.
"You can't stop me, Gobber," said Hiccup. "And by 'me', I mean 'us'." Hiccup gestured to his friends. They smiled at him in return. The twins exchanged a knuckle bump. Thuggory, Heather and Camicazi simply stood there grinning. Astrid and Fishlegs patted their dragons. At this point, Gobber knew that he wasn't going to convince Hiccup to not go to Outcast Island any time soon. The blacksmith gave up. "You kids had better come back safe. Or the chief would kill me. That is, if he gets back."
"He will get back," Hiccup assured Gobber. He then turned to face his team. Heather and Astrid gave him a thumbs up. Fishlegs and Snotlout had determined looks on their faces. The twins looked all pumped up. Camicazi and Thuggory gave him stern nods.
"Alright guys," began Hiccup, confidently as he placed a hand on his own dragon. "Saddle up."
Current Date: February 28th
––––––––––––––––
Sorry if you're disappointed by how the fight scene turned out. I had to save Hiccup's strength. :3 Also, I never thought of writing Hiccup that OOC-ish. But I thought it'd be nice to see his scary side. He is related to Alvin if you remember the history of Grimbeard's three sons, so it's obvious Hiccup has an evil side. I thought it'd be nice if I let it out a bit during this scene. I'm not sure am I going to have more of it though. But that side of Hiccup scares me.
In case if there was confusion about the date, the whole fight with Norbert happened during the night of the 27th. The people partied on the 28th and that night was when the gang departed for Outcast Island. Hope this helps clear things up.