Chapter Fourteen
A/N: WEIRD CHAPTER ALERT! XD
In response to...
TheGallopingCupcake: Lol, I'm glad you found it funny, it was meant to be. XD
xInsertCreativeUsernamex: Lol, my sister had her wisdom teeth taken out and it was HILARIOUS to watch. XD
InfinitiumAce: Yup, Hiccup is acting rather drunk. XD And you'll see what happens with the hatchling & drunk-Hiccup.
oceanzap: You'll see~
tannerleah97: Maybe, it all depends on how this story ends... :)
NightFury999: Sorry... But I'm glad you liked the chapter and you'll see what happens with Hiccup. XD
Breyannia: Oh god, if this were a silly fluff fic or something slightly more light-hearted, I might make the twins 'take advantage of it' XDD (Could you imagine the sort of mayhem that would cause? X'D) And you'll see!
Guest: Your qustions will be answered soon enough :)
Snowflake: ...or does she? (DUN DUN DUN)
Krazikidz: Lol, he is acting mighty drunk. XD
NightFury101: Thanks, I like to occasionally throw in random funny moments just to lighten the mood or break up long action sequences... Or in this case, I couldn't resist drunk Hiccup... LOL!
Ashling Alroy: Lol, THANKS! :D I'm glad you like it!
RazzPazzleDootDot: Lol, how did I know you would enjoy that? XD
Vampire-Queen-Kazumi: Depending on how much is inhaled, it ranges from hallucinations to unconsciousness.
Stoick's eyes never leave the Siren's as he slowly, cautiously lowers its hatchling to the ground. It slides off his shoulder, landing with a muted thump in the sand, and then he takes a careful step backwards, tensing as the queen tilts its head and shifts forward.
Come on. The Chief urges. Take your hatchling and leave! He glances over his shoulder at the two teenagers he made stay behind. Astrid appears to be trying to talk to Hiccup and her hand is pressed to his cheek as he sways dangerously back and forth. But Hiccup seems to reply with only nonsense because her expression is one of bewildered confusion and she keeps shaking her head in disbelief. Yeah, that mist definitely did something to him.
I don't have time for this! Stoick decides with a growl as he turns back to the queen, who is tentatively sniffing the younger Siren. He braces as the massive creature shifts its gaze back to him and slowly lifts one of its feet, claws extending toward the hatchling.
With a quick flick of its talons, the ropes are severed and the captive Siren leaps to its feet -broken wing and all- and bolts toward the water, slipping below the surface in a matter of seconds.
The queen watches it flee with tense, black eyes.
Stoick holds his breath, silently praying the hatchling's return will be enough to satisfy the queen. However, the enormous dragon turns its gaze back to Stoick and its snout curls up, a growl rumbling in its throat as it bares its fangs.
He doesn't even see the tentacle coming...
The other teens have just arrived by Hiccup and Astrid's side. And while most of them are watching the tense exchange between Stoick and the queen, Ruffnut briefly glances down and her eyebrow arcs in both intruige...and amusement. "Uh...is he okay?" She chuckles, nodding her head at Hiccup.
Astrid glares at her for drawing attention to their oddly-behaved friend. As of now, Hiccup is laying on his back and staring up at the sky. His eyes are half-lidded and his pupils have dilated. Toothless is staring at his Rider with a mixture of concern and disbelief as the boy alternates between mumbling under his breath and giggling uncontrollably. "He's fine." She tells them quickly. "Stoick said he inhaled some of the Siren's mist but...I'm sure he's fine."
"Um, are you sure?" Fishlegs asks in a slightly nervous voice. "His eyes look funny."
"Yeah they do!" Tuffnut laughs, earning a grumpy scowl from Astrid.
"You know what, guys? I actually think this is an improvement!" Snotlout snickers. "I'm pretty sure this is the longest Hiccup has ever gone without bossing us around!"
The twins laugh but Astrid only shakes her head. "Can we please focus!" She barks. "Hiccup is okay, I'm keeping an eye on him! But you four need to get in there and help Stoick before something bad happens!"
"Huh?" Snotlout raises his eyebrows. "I thought you said releasing that hatchling was your 'secret weapon' or something!"
"It is...but just in case, I'd feel better if you guys were nearby to help if something goes wrong." She explains, motioning to the way the queen is sniffing the captive Siren and seems to be about to free it. "Just be ready to move if-" However, she cuts off as soon as the queen's talon slices through the ropes and the hatchling escapes into the water.
And they all suck in a collective gasp as their Chief is suddenly blindsided by the queen's tentacle and sent flying across the beach!
Astrid opens her mouth to tell them to go, but they're gone before she even forms the first word, the wind of their dragon's wings so powerful it sends her tumbling backwards. Astrid scrambles back onto her hands and knees, flinching at the throbbing pain of her bandaged ankle. Fire explodes across the Siren's body and it shrieks, clawing at them as they attack.
"Astrid...?" Hiccup mumbles deliriously, but she ignores him, too focused on trying to decide if Stoick is alright. He was thrown pretty far...and he isn't moving. "Astrid...!" The drugged boy repeats, sounding annoyed.
"Not now!" She snaps, waving him off. It only vaguely registers to her ears when he starts moaning as if he were in pain. And then Toothless starts whimpering and nudging his human to comfort him. But then-
"AHHHH!" Hiccup screams and jolts upright, inciting a shocked yelp from Astrid -who spins to gape at him with wide, horrified eyes- and Toothless to leap straight off the ground before backpedaling several feet.
Hiccup's hand is outstretched, as if reaching for someone and his expression looks like he's just seen a ghost. Now, his pupils are mere pinpricks, almost indistinguishable within his green iris.
Astrid's brow furrows in concern and she hurries over to him, all worry for Stoick and the Riders suddenly forgotten as she kneels in front of him. "Hiccup?" She asks in an urgent voice. "Hiccup? Are you okay?"
She watches as his pupils expand a little and then recede, and then expand and recede, again and again as if he were trying to adjust to strange lighting. His hand is trembling when she reaches out to grab it, but the moment her hand touches his, he blinks several times and lowers his head.
"A...Ast...Astrid?" He mumbles, squinting to see her through blurry, flashing vision. "You're...you...you're...okay...?"
"Huh?" She asks, leaning in a little closer to touch his cheek. "Hiccup, you're the one who inhaled mist, not me."
He's swaying dangerously and shaking his head. "No...no...you...you were...it was the...queen..." He mumbles. "I thought...thought you were...gonna..."
Her eyes widen in realization. A hallucination? "No, I'm fine." She assures him gently. "Are you?"
His head nods forward and leans against her shoulder, causing Astrid to go rigid for a moment. And his next words are spoken in a soft, coherent voice that almost sounds normal. So much so that it makes her face go bright red. "I love you..." He whispers into her shoulder...only moments before giggling deliriously and flopping onto his back again.
But Astrid remains frozen in place, her throat so tight she can hardly speak. "W-wow..." She grumbles as she clumsily gets up and dusts herself off. "You're...really out of it, aren't you?"
Her only response is a bubbly laugh from her mixed-up friend and a bewildered stare from Toothless, who seems convinced that his little human has lost his mind.
Back on the sane side of the battle-field, Stoick has finally managed to climb back to his feet. He winces at the pain in his side, where the tentacle hit him. He's sure there must be a monstrous bruise there but does his best to ignore it.
Instinctively, he reaches for his sword, only to remember it's lodged in the queen's foot. So with a growl, he turns to face his son. The Riders aren't doing so well on their own, they need back up! However, his hopes are shot at the sight of Hiccup, now laying on his back in the sand beside Astrid, who seems flustered and is quite red in the face.
So neither of them are capable of fighting... And without dragons that are trained for fighting, he doesn't dare ask help from the other villagers. They would only get injured...or killed.
But then, what can they do? Their only hope had been that the queen wanted its hatchling...but now it has it back and it's still attacking! What can they do? There has to be something...!
Stoick watches intensely as the Riders fire blast after blast at the queen. They must be nearing their shot limit by now. And once that happens...
"AHHH!" The twins scream as they plummet toward the ground, having been swatted out of the air by the Siren. Barf and Belch land heavily on their stomachs, too exhausted from the fight to even break their own fall. "Come on, guys!" Ruff encourages. "We've gotta get back in there!"
But the Zippleback doesn't move, other than to puff out a tiny cloud of green smoke. They've reached their limit...
Soon, Meatlug is spinning toward the earth as well, with Fishlegs clinging to her back for dear life. And not long after, Hookfang tries to fire, only to cough up a pathetic spark and flash a sheepish look to Snotlout, who groans in annoyance.
The Siren queen roars almost triumphantly when the Monstrous Nightmare is forced to flee the battlefield, or risk getting knocked out of the air as well.
As soon as the last of its opponents are gone, it turns a narrow-eyed gaze toward Stoick, who puffs out his chest and stands his ground, refusing to back down. This is his island. And it'll be over his dead body before some overgrown fish destroys it!
No matter how likely that outcome is beginning to look...
The first thing he coherently registers is a fearsome roar that shakes the ground below him. His head rings long after it has ended and it takes a tremendous amount of effort to pull himself up into a sitting position. But once he does, Hiccup is faced with a sight that makes his throat clench tightly shut and his pulse race.
"D...Dad?" He whispers.
A/N: So...cliffhanger, a terrible sense of humor, a short chapter, and potential possibility for feels that come much too soon... Why do you guys read my stories, again? I'm pretty much the worst.
Also, if you're interested, there are two alternative "I love you scenes" posted under my fic called Lost Files (it will be chapter five) XD