AN: Ok, so I know I owe each of you an apology for the absolutely ridiculous delay on this chapter, but that should be already known. I am sorry for making you all wait and that I promise not to make you wait that long ever again. One of the main reasons for the delay has been the fact that I wasn't ready to release this section of the story. I kept pushing it and pushing it, but it eventually, it just forced itself out of me. This isn't my favorite chapter, but it will help to move this story along.
So, I regret my procrastination, and I give you:
Truth and Reconciliation
Regret
The cool breeze coming off of the ocean was chilling Hiccup terribly. He suddenly came awoke to look around and see why he was so cold. He threw his head around, but to his dismay, he was alone. Off in the distance he could see Toothless still curled into a ball next to the dying fire. The dragon was giving off a few shaky breaths, showing how miserable he truly was.
Hiccup let out a sigh and rolled his eyes. He was still frustrated with the Night Fury and he wanted the dragon to know it. He didn't want to live a life in the shadow of the dragon and be constantly smothered by the beast. He wanted to live a life that was memorable for the things that he did, not what he helped this dragon accomplish.
He turned his head away from the miserable Night Fury and back to the sea. He was scanning the horizon when he saw an incredible amount of smoke leading up to the sky. "What could be causing that?" He thought back to what island may have been off in that direction, but the only plausible place that came to mind was Hidra. Worry began to set in as he questioned what could be burning to create that much smoke.
He quickly raised himself up and ran over to the motionless reptile. "Toothless, we need to go bud. I think something is wrong at Hidra."
The Night Fury slowly turned towards him giving a sorrowful face. || Hiccup, I'm sorry for- ||
"Toothless, There's no time for this! We need to get over to Hidra. What if they're in trouble?"
The dragon turned his head in the direction of said island to see what Hiccup was getting all worked up about. His eyes immediately slit when he saw the ridiculous amount of smoke pouring out of the horizon. He turned back to Hiccup and nodded firmly. || Let's go. ||
Hiccup quickly nodded in response and ran over to gather his belongings. He took a moment to look at his sword, as it instantly flamed up when he grabbed it. He decided that it would be better to leave the sword behind to avoid any issues with the public. He found a small pile of brush and stashed it away so that he could retrieve it later. Toothless eagerly ran up beside him and looked up at him expectantly. "I just don't think we should bring White Hilt along this time. We'll get it back later."
Toothless remained still but let out a small groan. Hiccup sighed once more and quickly climbed on top of Toothless. "Let's go."
The two leaped into the air and immediately started flying at breakneck speeds to get to the island as quick as possible. The only sounds were the constant flapping of Toothless' wings and Hiccup adjusting the tailfin for precise maneuvers.
Toothless was focusing on the task at hand, but he couldn't stop thinking about the night before. He didn't want to leave the island in such a sour memory. || Hiccup, I really want you to know that I didn't mean- ||
"Stop Toothless! We need to get to Hidra. What if they're in danger? We need to get there as soon as possible."
Toothless was let down slightly by Hiccup not letting him apologize for his behavior, but he knew that Hiccup was right. They needed to keep flying as fast as possible in case something was wrong with the tribe.
Eventually their efforts paid off as the island came into view, but what they saw wasn't comforting in the least. The island was engulfed in flames and there was no sign of any Vikings. Hiccup gasped as soon as he saw the destruction that was taking place.
Toothless flew as close as he could get without getting close to the flames, but nearly the entire island was being burnt. "Toothless, what do we do? What happened to all of them?"
Toothless started circling the island to try and find any sign of survivors. || I'm not sure where they are all at, but this fire couldn't have been by accident. It's just too big and spread around the entire island. Someone set this fire. ||
It didn't take them to long to find the culprit that started the fire, either. As they rounded the side of the island, they witnessed a lone ship heading away. Toothless immediately started for the boat, but Hiccup quickly halted him with a click to his foot petal. || What are you doing Hiccup? They could have started the fire. ||
Hiccup eyed the boat for a moment longer before shifting his foot so they could ascend. "I don't recognize the sails on that ship. They can't be from around here. They could be a threat if we don't approach carefully."
The two flew high overhead of the ship and tried to figure out where it was heading. Hiccup was thinking intently about the possibilities for a destination. "The only island that far out is Outcast Island, but those defiantly weren't Outcast ships; they were far too advanced to be from anywhere around here."
|| Why would they be going to Outcast Island? ||
Eventually the answer was shown to them as another smoke cloud was coming from the horizon. "Oh no. They're burning Outcast Island as well. If they keep following the same route, Berk will be nothing but a pile of ashes in no time."
|| But if Hidra still had the dragons on their side, how did they manage to get overrun? ||
Hiccup simply shook his head, having no idea what tribe could have wreaked such destruction. Hiccup pointed forward to Outcast Island so they could inspect it for themselves.
As soon as they reached the island, they found out why the local villages had been overrun. There were ships as far as the eye could see, all bearing the same sails as the one leaving Hidra. They slowly descended into the higher forest on Outcast Island so they could get a better view before the entire Island was burnt to the ground.
They landed silently atop the infamous Outcast Hall and peered over the edge to see what was going on. They witnessed several of the Outcast men being shackled and thrown onto the ships waiting at the port. There was one man at the edge of the docks that was seemingly in charge at the moment as he instructed several other guards to load the Outcasts onto the ships.
Suddenly Toothless let out a loud wail as he was struck by a bola from the rear. Hiccup whipped his head around and saw several men running up to capture the Night Fury. "Toothless, no!"
As soon as the obsidian dragon came to rest he started thrashing around to free himself from the dreaded rope trap. He let out several blasts that managed to stop the Vikings in their tracks so they could find cover. Hiccup ran over to free his dragon so they could get off the awful island.
Hiccup took his dagger and started cutting the ropes piece by piece while Toothless continued to fire at the approaching Vikings. Finally after what seemed like ages Hiccup managed to get Toothless free and he climbed onto his back. "Come Toothless; let's get the heck out of here."
|| With pleasure. ||
Toothless shot into the air and away from the mountain that was now flooded with Vikings. Just as they were going to get out of range Hiccup spotted Vilhehn waiting to board one of the ships. He was being held down by several of the soldiers and was shackled from head to toe. "Toothless wait! We need to go back. We have to save Vilhehn and the others."
Toothless continued flying away with no intention of flying back. || Hiccup we can't go back there. I'm not risking losing you again. I almost lost you just a minute ago! ||
Hiccup shifted the tail to change his course, but Toothless settled in a glide that Hiccup had no control over. "Toothless, we have to help them! What if they get killed?"
The Night Fury didn't budge. || I'm sorry Hiccup. I'm not going back. ||
Hiccup threw his hands up in anger and screamed at the stubborn dragon. "Fine, if you're not going back then I will!"
Without waiting a moment longer Hiccup slipped off the dragon's side and down into the sea that was just below.
|| Hiccup! || Toothless quickly readjusted his wings and fell into the sea as well.
Hiccup was swimming as fast as he could for the docks that were only a few hundred yards away. Toothless was struggling to stay with Hiccup as his massive wings were slowing him down. || Hiccup! Stop, you're going to get yourself captured! ||
The young boy continued to swim as fast as he could so he could potentially save his friends from Hidra. He quickly came to a halt though when a ship was advancing on his position. He took in the biggest breath he could and dove under to try and get to the edge of the island.
He kept swimming until he couldn't take it anymore; he had to come up for air, but as soon as he hit the surface and gasped for air, he felt a net surround him and he was pulled towards the ship. He struggled to break free, but to no avail. He slid up and over the edge of the boat and onto the deck.
He was coughing up the water that was nearly forced down his throat while he was being captured. While looking down at the deck from inside of the net he witnessed a shadow overhead. He raised his head to see a burly man standing over him in frustration. "You have to let me go! We didn't do anything! We-"
Hiccup was cut off by the sound of Toothless' wails as he as well was being dragged over the edge of another vessel and was attacked from all angles. "No! You have to stop!-"
The large man standing over him shook his head in disgrace. "We don't have to do anything." He took his axe and harshly hit Hiccup over the head with the hilt; effectively knocking him unconscious.
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Hiccup slowly opened his eyes to see nothing but darkness. He raised his hand to rub the lump that had formed on the top of his head. He kept trying to see what was around his, but the room was so dark and was still feeling out of it from whatever had hit him. "Where am I? Toothless? Hello?"
He kept opening and closing his eyes to try and slowly adjust them, and finally, his vision began to clear up. He could see bars surrounding him as if he were in a brig of some sort. He was next to a wooden wall that had a slight curve to it. He rubbed his hands across the wall, noticing how it was closer in at the bottom rather than the top. A loud splash suddenly hit the opposite side of the wall, bringing back the memories of how he got to his current situation. "Oh no. Toothless, ohhh, this is all my fault. What have I done?"
He slammed his fists onto the floor of his cell in frustration. He lied back against the outside wall of the ship and put his head in between his knees. "I can't believe I did this. I can't believe I did this to Toothless."
Tears started flowing freely as he thought about where they would have taken Toothless. He kept thinking back to how the Night Fury just wanted to help him by getting off the island. But why doesn't he ever just try and listen to me? Why does he always have to be so firm on his decisions? We couldn't just simply fly away and let these people take the entire tribe of Hidra without a fight. The more he thought about the situation, the more he figured that he wasn't much of a fighter.
He sat completely still and remained silent, feeling the ship's movements. He had no idea where they were heading, or why the unknown tribe was even starting a war with the north. He sat in silence for a few hours, just hoping that he would wake up next to Toothless' side instead of the cold dark cell in which he currently resided.
After what seemed like ages of nothing but the bucking and rolling motions of the ship, a voice came into the room from a far side. Hiccup couldn't figure out what the being had said, but he quickly stood and rushed to the side of his cell. "What did you say?"
The voice came back strained and tired. "Where's your dragon Hiccup?"
He couldn't figure out who the person was because of the severe strain on their voice and lack of volume. "I'm sorry, but who are you?"
The man on the opposite side of the room slowly moved around in his cell and over to a visible spot for Hiccup. "Vilhehn! You're alive! What- what happened?"
The man slowly sat down in the closest corner of his cell so he could remain in view of Hiccup. "Their army attacked us Hiccup. They- they took everything, then- then they destroyed everything that we held dear."
Hiccup closed his eyes, remembering the flames that had engulfed the island by the time he and Toothless had reached it. "I saw Hidra, it was awful."
Vilhehn slowly looked up to Hiccup to look him in the eye. "We couldn't believe what they were doing. They would just run through our homes and start bringing out the villagers. They would break down the doors and force every man, woman and child to go down to the docks where they boarded us into these cells…. Even if we do manage to get out of here, I don't know how long it will take our small village to fix all of the buildings. The soldiers would break everything in their path like the buildings were never going to serve a purpose again. They don't realize, that is where people live, it's where we grew up as families and as a tribe. We never did anything to any other tribes; why is it that we should be the ones to suffer and have our homes nearly dismantled? It was even worse on Outcast Island when they started lighting the forests on fire."
Hiccup looked over at the man in sorrow. "I couldn't believe how much smoke that there was. It's what grabbed our attention to fly over to Hidra and see what was going on. We tried to find any of you guys, but everyone must have left by the time we got there."
The large man in the corner of his cell had a shocked and questioning face. "What smoke? Was something on fire when you went by Hidra Hiccup? Please tell me that you put it out before it reached the town."
Hiccup's heart nearly stopped when he knew that Vilhehn didn't know about the fire. He buried his face into his hands as he knew that he was going to have to tell them. "Vilhehn, the entire island was in flames. There was nothing that we could do. Everything in sight was burnt; the village was no longer there when we arrived."
Vilhehn dropped his head to the side of his cell in shock. The destruction of most of their homes was bad enough, but burning the entire island? There would literally be nothing to go back to. He sat in silence as a few stray tears fell from his cheeks.
Hiccup sat back down and leaned against the wall as he mourned for the man who had lost so much. His mind quickly drew back to the Night Fury that was missing by his side. He noticed a small knot-hole further up on the wall in which he could peer out of to get a sense of direction.
He quickly got up from the ground and looked through the small hole to see if there were and recognizable landmarks. To his dismay, the only other things he could see were a few boats that were sailing alongside them. The boat beside them looked to be of a wealthy village, with its well built exterior and outfit of weapons on board. Unfortunately, nothing that could lead him to home or towards his dragon came into view.
After a few hours of waiting in the cell and continuously looking over to see if Vilhehn was still there Hiccup dozed off.
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Mist slowly walked across the open deck of her ship as she waited for her island to appear on the horizon. She watched as the men were busy manning the several positions that were required to navigate the massive ship. She let out a long sigh as Virion made his way up to her with a questioning face. Not this again. Don't I have enough peasants to deal with right now? "What is it now my dear Virion?
The burly man gave a quick sigh before he looked her Mist in the eye. "What is it you want done with the boy and his dragon?"
She rolled her eyes and shook her head. "I don't know Virion, what do you think I want done with the boy who killed my father and his wretched Night Fury?"
A deep growl came through the grates below them. The two looked down to see a furious looking Night Fury that desperately wanted to strike. Mist narrowed her eyes at the obsidian dragon and clenched her teeth together in anger. "What do you want, you worthless dragon? If you think that you can get out of there then you have another thing coming. Your pathetic body isn't so ferocious now that it's chained down to the floor of a ship, now is it?"
Toothless thrashed his body around trying to break free of the chains and ropes that held him down. He tried with all of his might to break open the harness around his snout, but the metal muzzle wouldn't budge.
Mist shook her head once more and looked back up to Virion expectantly. The man quickly tried to regain his thoughts as he slowly took a few steps back. "Well, umm- Would you like me to have them executed?"
Mist looked at Virion with a stare that could kill. She walked up to him and pushed him slightly. "No, you idiot! Do you really think that was the whole reason why we captured them? If that were the case then I would have just shot them out of the sky as they were attempting to fly away. No, I want that boy to suffer. I want that boy to feel the devastation in his heart of a thousand losses. I will convince him to kill that black beast that he so calls his friend. I will make sure that he is to blame for every loss that taken place in the northern islands. I will make sure of it!"
She rolled her eyes once more at the shocked looking man then turned to face Toothless once more. The Night Fury narrowed his eyes at her and let out a deep growl to show his aggression. She huffed at the dragon and knelt down to speak directly to him. "The slaves from Outcast Island say that you were so frightening that not one of them was willing to look after you. They said that you had the ability to scare even the strongest and most well built of their men."
Toothless continued to stare at her with slitted eyes, thin as a thread of hair. He waited patiently while Mist was glaring down at him in thought. "You know, the Outcasts even went as far as saying that you could understand humans and that you could practically talk to that idiot boy."
Toothless thrashed once more against his restraints and started growling viciously at the girl above him. || You will regret that once I get out of here. ||
Mist casually peered through the metal grates at the Night Fury below while she gazed over his body. "Maybe they were right; they do say that you are the most intelligent of the dragon species. But if you were so intelligent, then why would you let yourself get captured so easily? Why would you have risked everything to go after one puny little human boy? I can't believe that you would let your human and yourself get captured. I know very well that you could have flown away with that boy on your back, though for some reason, you didn't."
She simply shook her head as she looked down upon the dragon. Toothless remained perfectly still as he thought about the words that she had just spoken. Mist got back up off the grate and shrugged her shoulders to Toothless. "Anyway, whatever the reason, it's your fault you got captured." Mist turned away and started walking towards the front of the ship.
Toothless looked down at the ropes and chains that were binding him. Was it really my fault that we got captured? But Hiccup was the one who jumped off and started swimming for the docks. Could I have prevented him from jumping?
Toothless gave in to fighting the chains and lay across the floor of his cell. Why would Hiccup be willing to risk everything to save one person? We could have saved him at a different time, we could have come back. Why didn't I stop him from jumping off? I knew that Hiccup was going to get captured. I knew that he wouldn't be able to save them alone. Why didn't I just try and stop him? Why did I let him go? She was right…. It was my fault that we got captured.
Toothless rest his head on his paws the best he could with the restrains binding him. He just kept hoping that he would be able to get to his Hiccup and that he was alright. He couldn't help but feel regret for the actions that brought him to his current predicament. He couldn't help but feel regret for the Vikings that had lost their homes at Hidra. He couldn't help but feel regret for the human he desperately wanted to be at his side, and under his protection.
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The ship traveled through the night and into the next day with smooth sailing. The ride was easy going; no one came to check on the prisoners or offer them any food or water. They simply traveled with no idea of where they were going.
Hiccup finally came to after sleeping through the night. He gradually stretched from sleeping on the uncomfortable floor of his cell and looked over to the cell in which Vilhehn still sat. Hiccup let out a long yawn and moved over to the edge of his cell. "Is everything okay Vilhehn?"
The man slowly heaved a deep sigh as he looked back up from the floor below him. "You never answered my question….. What happened to Toothless?"
Hiccup felt his heart pang from having no knowledge of where his best friend was. He couldn't help but feel guilty for getting the two of them into this mess. "I'm not sure what they did with him. The last that I saw of him was when we had just been captured. They were pulling him up onto the deck of the boat and he was fighting to get out."
Vilhehn looked over at Hiccup with a quizzical face. "How did you guys end up in the water in the first place?"
Hiccup let out a long sigh as he knew that if he wouldn't have jumped off of Toothless then they wouldn't be separated or in danger. "I saw you on the dock, they were getting ready to push you down into the brig and I wanted to try and help. Toothless insisted on leaving, but I jumped off down into the water so try and save you and Gunnar."
Vilhehn shook his head threw his palm at his face. "Why would you go and do something like that Hiccup?! You know good and well that you couldn't have gotten me out of there even with Toothless."
Hiccup looked down in shame and frustration. "I just wanted to help you and Gunnar, I wanted to make-"
"Gunnar isn't here, Hiccup!" Vilhehn nearly shouted out of aggravation.
Hiccup was awestruck to point of being completely still. "But then where did he go?"
Vilhehn was practically shaking from anger. He threw his arm against the side of his cell and nearly screamed in fury. "He went after you Hiccup! He left as soon as this tribe showed up along with a few others to try and find you. They said that they needed your help if we were going to be able to win…. But then I saw them drag you down and throw you in that cell. I couldn't do anything about it. I can't do anything! All I can do is sit here and watch while this tribe takes everything I know and burns it to the ground!"
Tears were starting to flow once again from Vilhehn's face. Hiccup couldn't believe that Gunnar would have tried to go after him. He couldn't believe that he had just unintentionally gotten Toothless as well as himself captured. He couldn't believe what was happening.
The two sat in silence for the next several hours until the boats finally came to rest at a port. Hiccup jumped up to peer out of the hole that he had found before to see Vikings carrying loads of supplies and weapons from the ship next to them. He watched as several Vikings went below deck on the next ship only to all come up with chains in their hands that were attached to something.
After a few more moment an obsidian dragon slowly came walking out of the center of the ship. Hiccup nearly shrieked in excitement when he saw that Toothless was ok, but then he started to wonder why the Night Fury wasn't putting up a fight. He watched as Toothless simply walked along with the Vikings as they led him towards a large building on the island.
Hiccup couldn't believe that Toothless would have given up on fighting unless something was seriously wrong with him. Hiccup continued to watch until the Night Fury was out of sight. He turned away from the hole and slid down against the outside wall of the ship.
Vilhehn watched as Hiccup brought his head in between his knees to shield his tears. "What's wrong Hiccup? What did you see?"
Hiccup slowly looked up as tears were flowing freely. "They have Toothless, but….. he wasn't putting up a fight. He wasn't pulling against the chains or ropes. He just simply walked along with them and let them shackle him."
Hiccup paused for a moment as he struggled to catch his breath. "Toothless would never do something like that. He would fight until the end no matter what… They must have done something to him. They must have said something that caused him to lose all hope and care. They had to have done something to him!"
Vilhehn sat patiently while Hiccup let out his anger. "Maybe he figured that it would only do more harm than good to put up a fight."
Hiccup wiped away some of his tears and shook his head violently. "No, Toothless would never just give up. He is too proud to give up. I'd never seen him act so let down or depressed. He was just walking along and watching the ground as it passed by. Toothless always keeps his head held high. He is always the one to look out for any danger. He would fight until the end if he had to. The only time he said that he wouldn't be able to is if I-"
Hiccup dropped his arms to the ground beside him and fell to the side. -If I died. Hiccup couldn't stop wondering what the Vikings must have told Toothless in order for him to fall in to such a state of depression. He couldn't help but feel regret for the dragon that wanted nothing more than for him to be safe.
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AN: So obviously wasn't worth the wait, but at least were moving again, and towards something big. We are over halfway done with this story and I plan on a good finish. I really hope that you still enjoy this story just like I do.
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An please take a look at A Fury's Tribulation. I think many of you will like it if you give it a try.
Thank you,
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