Hello wonderful readers! Have I told you how amazing you all are to still be here? I seriously love you.
So I haven't seen HTTYD2 yet. Is it good? No spoilers please!
Chapter 13: Laugh, I Nearly Died
"The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry."
-Robert Burns
The storm arrived at the same time as the Beserkers. The dark clouds that had been looming all night were suddenly split open with white lightning that illuminated the Beserker army as it rushed onto the village like a tidal wave. A deep, crackling peal of thunder followed seconds later, though not loud enough to drown out the war cries.
It was quite a cinematic coincidence, and Jack marveled for a moment at the fact that such things really did happen. Although, according to the yells of the Vikings below, it was hardly a coincidence- they seemed to think their thunder god, Thor, was behind it. Jack privately thought that if such a being did indeed exist to orchestrate it, he could afford to be a tad bit less cliché.
Then he inwardly chastised himself for psychoanalyzing a bolt of lightning and roll of thunder when there were more important things to be done and lives to be saved.
The Beserkers went after the children; that was their first big mistake. Most of the warriors made for the battlefield, but a sizable amount ransacked the village, looting the houses and capturing the women and children- presumably to become hostages or prisoners of war or even slaves. The frightened cries of the children were what incensed Jack more than anything; after all, it was just common sense- if you valued your personal well-being, you did not harm children in the presence of a Guardian of Childhood.
There was a small knot of kids, probably the oldest no more than eight, that was fleeing a group of five big Beserkers. Jack noticed them from above, and saw as they ran down an alley between two houses only to find it a dead end. They turned to face their pursuers, who grinned nastily as they slowly approached their prey. The tallest, oldest boy stepped forward with a length of metal in his shaking hands, obviously intending to defend himself and the others despite his own fear. Jack felt a surge of pride for this small boy whom he had never before met, admiring his courage, even as he swooped down onto the roof and into the alley to protect him.
He placed himself in a defensive position between the children and the Beserkers, staff raised threateningly. "Leave them alone," he warned, his voice low and dangerous.
They laughed; second big mistake. "What are you going to do?" The lead brute asked. "Poke us with a stick?"
Jack smirked. "Something like that, yeah."
They laughed again, and then drew their swords and advanced on him, and the kids behind him. Third big mistake.
Three strikes, you're out.
He was on them in a blur of blue and brown, nimbly avoiding the slashes of their swords. Within moments, he had them on the ground, knocked out cold- literally. With various body parts frozen in solid blocks of ice, Jack doubted they would be going anywhere anytime soon.
He turned to face the children, the trembling eight year old still clutching his piece of metal. "It's alright," he soothed. "You're alright."
The boy blinked, then dropped the metal with a gasp. "Thank you, mister," he breathed.
Jack grinned. He was loving this Jokul Frosti, be seen by everyone perk. "No problem, kiddo. Now let's go find your guys' parents, okay?"
Jack picked up a couple of the smaller kids, then made sure the older ones were following. Quickly and silently he led them to an empty barn on the edge of the village and slipped inside, putting down the kids on the soft hay.
"Stay here," he told the children urgently. "I'm going to go find all the other kids and whoever else was being chased, alright? I'll be back, promise."
They nodded, and Jack left the barn and headed back towards the center of the village where the Beserkers were rounding up the women, children, and elderly who had been captured. He started planning how he was going to defeat all the Beserkers and get all the hostages away to the barn. It was a big undertaking, even for him, but everyone else had their hands full in the battle as it was. Besides he had the wind and ice on his side, so that was an advantage, if a slight one.
The odds weren't exactly in his favor, but hey. He'd done crazier things.
Duck, roll, fly, fire, dive, up, down, dodge.
In the midst of a dragon flight hundreds of feet above the earth, Hiccup's higher reasoning skills blanked out and gave way to the most basic of commands. It was a good thing he and the dragon riders had had all those training sessions, because now- when it really mattered- they moved in tandem, shouting out commands and warnings without conscious thoughts. The small part of Hiccup's mind that wasn't focused on surviving the battle took note of this and was immensely pleased; he enjoyed this effortless unity he still had yet to achieve with his fellow dimensional warriors.
Even Ruff and Tuff had seemed to be able to finally work together, both heads of their dragon coordinating for once.
Over and under, around and around they went, turning the enemy Outcasts and their own dragons so they barely even knew which way was up anymore. They were clearly amateurs at dragon-riding, inexperienced and green. Hiccup's flawless fighting force beat them back easily, and pride swelled up in his chest.
The rain pelting down and the occasional flashes of lightning were a bit distracting, but part of Hiccup reveled in the chaos of it, awash in adrenaline-fueled battle lust.
It didn't take very long for the airborne Outcasts to make the wise decision to retreat (at least temporarily), and Hiccup signaled to the others to land and recover. They did this on an empty, grassy cliff, able to look down at the fighting. Hiccup scanned the carnage, his mind immediately jumping to strategy mode as he began thinking up scenarios that could swing the battle in their favor.
"Is everyone alright?" Astrid inquired from behind him.
Hiccup nodded his head automatically, and he heard murmured reassurances from the others. He turned to see for himself, and saw that although they were a bit banged up, there was nothing beyond some blood, bruises, and minor burns. Nothing the high of adrenaline couldn't power through. He nodded in approval.
"You guys are doing amazing. They didn't stand a chance," he praised them.
The twins grinned in agreement and Astrid smiled at him, their eyes meeting and lingering for a moment. Hiccup turned to Toothless, giving him a quick once-over and finding no serious injuries. He patted him on the side of the head.
"Good job, bud."
Toothless snorted softly in thanks and gently butted his forehead against Hiccup's.
Astrid walked up to the edge of the cliff, looking out at the battlefield, and Hiccup joined her.
"We're outnumbered," Astrid noted grimly. "And fighting on two fronts. Those aren't very good odds."
Hiccup nodded, observing how, even as the Outcasts were pushed back, the Beserkers closed in. The battle had been going on for hours now, and their own fighters had to be growing weary.
"We need to think of something…" Hiccup said, more to himself than anyone else.
"Probably some drastic and crazy plan," Astrid replied anyway. "Those are your specialty, right, Hiccup?"
Hiccup laughed. "So long as they work, I don't see anyone complaining."
"So…" Snotlout sidled up on his other side. "What are we going to do, then?"
Hiccup sighed and ran a hand through his dripping hair. Thankfully, the rain had slowed to a steady drizzle, though the thunder and lightning were still going strong. Dangerous conditions to be flying in, but they had no other choice.
They needed a quick way to end this battle; they needed to force a retreat. But how to do this when they lacked the advantage? Hiccup's mind raced, noticing formations in the armies below and taking note of weak spots. Slowly, some semblance of a plan formed.
"How many people in the village have Zipplebacks?" he asked, turning to Ruff and Tuff.
They shrugged in unison. "I dunno," Tuff said. "Twenty, maybe?"
"Okay, okay," Hiccup muttered. He bent down and picked up a stick, drawing in the mud. "So this is the battlefield, right? The Outcasts have their back to the sea, and the Beserkers are coming from inland. That means we're stuck in between. But there's also this bay to the west, which is full of our empty, unused ships."
He drew a few lines as he continued to indicate his points. "We need to get all the Zipplebacks we can, and have them set up a line of gas directly behind the Beserker forces, in the south. We'll ignite it and force them forward, and then keep pushing the line of fire forward so they're forced to head towards the sea- and the Outcasts."
Another line here, and there. "Meanwhile, our people will flood west and get on the ships in the bay, safe from the fire, and the whole Beserker army will be forced to share the Outcast ships. We'll send a group to the other side of the island to burn the Beserker ships. They won't be able to form any sort of productive attack like that, and our forces can wait out the flames on our ships while they have to retreat."
Astrid hitched an eyebrow. "So basically… your plan is to burn the village and the battlefield down?"
"We've rebuilt a burnt village plenty of times before," Hiccup reasoned. "We can do it again."
"But…" Fishlegs said, "There are people in the village. Kids. Elderly. And the hurt ones are holed up in the Mead Hall."
Hiccup looked up, out over the war torn landscape again. He hadn't thought of that.
"Okay," he said, looking back down at his muddy diagram and scribbling some more. "Then we'll move everyone who isn't fighting to the Hall and set up a defensive circle armed with water around it to keep it from catching fire."
"This plan is insane," Astrid declared.
"And yet you're not surprised," Hiccup answered with a grin, standing up. "Let's get on it then. Snotlout, you get some people to go burn the Beserker ships. Fishlegs, gather a group for protecting the Hall. Astrid, get down to the battlefield and get people aware of the plan. Ruff, Tuff, get your fellow Zipplebacks and go start a massive fire. I'll round up everyone in the village and get them to the Hall."
Given their assignments, Snotlout, Fishlegs, and Ruff and Tuff mounted their dragons and took off, the latter cackling with glee at the prospect of destruction. Astrid hung back.
"Your dad isn't going to be happy with this," she pointed out.
"My dad is rarely happy with anything we do," Hiccup reminded her. "And if this helps us win, I'm sure he'll get over it."
Astrid laughed. "Yeah. Okay, well, be careful, alright?"
"You too."
Astrid gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before hopping on Stormfly and soaring off.
Hiccup swung himself onto his own dragon's back. "Alright, Toothless," he said cheerily. "Let's go burn down the village. Just like old times for you, huh?"
Toothless roared his approval and they took off. They hovered once they reached the village, searching for civilians out in the open. There was a surprising lack of them, until Hiccup spotted Jack hurrying down a path with two kids in his arms, one on his back with her arms wrapped around his neck, and two trailing close behind with their hands linked. His staff was tucked under one arm.
"Jack!" he called out, going down to land.
Jack's attention flicked to him and he continued, "How do you feel about fire?"
Jack gave him a weird look. "Uh, I'm not really a fan. Winter spirit and all. Why?"
Hiccup quickly relayed the plan as they continued down the pathway towards a big barn. Jack looked both doubtful of and impressed by the idea. "So what do you want me to do?" the Guardian asked when he had finished.
By this time, they were just arriving at the closed barn doors. "Well, I was thinking you could help me round up everyone in the village."
Jack smiled. "Funnily enough, I've already done that." He nudged open one of the doors with his hip and set down the kids in his arms, who then ran into the barn. Hiccup peered inside and saw it was filled with people. The girl on Jack's back and the two behind him also went inside, running to their mother.
"Well that's helpful. Now all we have to do is move them up to the Mead Hall."
This proved easier than the two of them had hoped; since the Beserkers that had previously been ransacking the village had quickly grown bored with the lack of victims and moved on to sate their thirst for violence on the battlefield.
The Mead Hall was warm and dry as they opened the big doors and let the villagers file in. Though it smelled a bit like blood and vomit inside, at least it was safe. Hiccup stepped forward and tripped over something, and looking down he saw thick tresses of golden hair.
"Looks like Rapunzel's here," he told Jack, following the hair's path across the room where the blonde healer was sitting next to a sleeping woman.
She looked up at the commotion of the new arrivals, and her face lit up at the sight of them. "Jack! Hiccup!" she called, running on light feet over to them. She grabbed in a hug first Jack, and then Hiccup. "Are you two alright?" she asked, gripping Hiccup's chin in a bossy sort of way and inspecting a cut on his face.
"I'm fine, Rapunzel," he assured her.
She turned to Jack, eyes widening at his bloody shirt. "You're bleeding!" she exclaimed, going to roll up his shirt so as to better see the wound.
Jack caught her hands and pulled her away. "No, I'm not. It's healed. Perks of being a spirit. Don't worry."
He let go and she pulled her hands back, blushing slightly before looking around. "Where's Merida? Is she with you?"
"She's still out there," Hiccup said. "She's fine, I'm sure." I hope. Hiccup was struck suddenly by the realization that he had no idea how Merida was, or if she was even alive. Worry gnawed at his insides, but he forced himself to focus. "We're hoping to end this battle soon," he told Rapunzel, and proceeded to explain the plan.
She tilted her head. "Will that really work?"
Hiccup looked outside the Hall, and saw the green clouds of gas rolling over the hills, only a spark away from turning into an inferno. Fishlegs descended from the sky with a group of other dragon riders, all of them with big buckets of water in tow. Everything was set up and ready for the final stand.
He turned back to Rapunzel. "I hope so."
Then someone out there lit a spark, and fire came roaring down the hills like an army of its own.
Like most of Hiccup's Fiendishly Clever But Desperate Plans, it worked.
Somehow.
The Beserkers, predictably, ran from the fire as if it were Hel herself on their heels, heading straight toward their Outcast allies and the choppy waters of the ocean. Astrid must have done her job, because as soon as the gas ignited the warriors of Berk sprinted full force towards the boats that waited in the bay. Dragons hovered over the fire, urging it forward with more flame and fanning it with their wings. A few of Berk's aerial forces encouraged the enemies to flee by chasing after them even after they had climbed into their boats. Burning and overburdened, the enemy ships retreated back to the sea.
And Hiccup stood on the hill outside the Mead Hall and watched his world burn.
The drizzling water from the clouds above continued long after the thunderous lightning ceased, until the gray light of dawn touched the cloudy horizon. It sometimes sporadically intensified into a brief downpour, and eventually the flaming heather hissed out into smoke, and scorched, blackened buildings in the village collapsed under the weight of the rain. Everything smelled like smoke. It was a depressing sight to say the least; not what one would expect from a victory.
The warriors on the boats sailed to the main port and trudged their way up the hill, bloody and dirty and wet but singing praises of victory anyway. A solemn procession trailed some ways behind the rejoicing, people carrying their cargo wrapped in whatever cloth could be found on the ships; the bodies of the dead.
Funeral ships were already being prepared; Vikings did not wait long after death to give their loved ones a send-off to Valhalla. Hiccup knew there would be many more flames lighting up the sky later.
Hiccup watched as most headed straight for the Mead Hall, while some decided to see if anything could be salvaged from the village and the procession of the dead made way for the Academy (which had also remained mostly untouched by the fire), where they would be able to make funeral preparations in peace.
A red-headed figure detached from the main group, and Merida walked over to Hiccup. He smiled in relief at seeing her among the living, and she returned the gesture.
"Good to see you alive, Hiccup," she said cheerily. "I heard that fire was your idea. Got a flair for dramatics, hm?"
Hiccup grimaced. "You gotta do what you gotta do, I guess." He paused, taking note of the gashes and bruises along her arms and face. "Rapunzel and Jack are inside. You should go join them, get some food and rest up."
She nodded, but didn't leave. "Aren't you coming?"
Hiccup hesitated, glancing at the blackened battlefield again. There were probably bodies down there, he thought morbidly. Outcasts, Beserkers, maybe even some missing Berkians. Maybe the fire had already taken care of them, but if not then someone would have to go find them and take care of them properly. Hiccup didn't envy whoever had that job. There were still some of their own warriors unaccounted for; come to think of it, Hiccup hadn't yet seen his father, or Gobber, or the other Riders since the fire had started. Maybe he should go out and look for them, or maybe they were already in the Hall, or maybe he should just stay here and wait…
Merida nudged his shoulder. "You look dead on your feet, Hic. Come inside and relax. You deserve it."
Hiccup sighed but acquiesced. "Okay."
After that there was food and singing, celebration and mead (which maybe Hiccup shouldn't have had much of but he was sixteen for Odin's sake and he'd just won them a battle so he figured he deserved it), and speeches given about the favor of the gods, the noble sacrifice of the fallen, and the cowardly enemy that had run away.
Many people came up to him with thanks and compliments and offers to sit with them, but Hiccup liked sticking to celebrating with his friends, both old and new. His father included him and his friends in a toast and came over to express his pride personally, which made Hiccup feel even better.
The mead and the fading vestiges of adrenaline made him tired, and mid-afternoon he fell asleep right there at the table.
When he awoke, the Hall was much quieter, the atmosphere more sober. People were filing out the open doors, through which Hiccup could see the stars twinkling in the black sky. He got up and joined them, walking into the crisp night air and following the procession down to the shore of the sea.
Small boats lined the edge of the shore, half in the water and half stuck in the sand. Each held a single figure wrapped in a shroud. Some also had weapons or other personal items, tucked in place with care. Hiccup spotted his friends in the solemn lineup of people, and went over to join them. He slipped in between Jack and Astrid, nodding to acknowledge them before turning to face the water.
Stoick stepped forward, a torch held in hand and a scroll of paper in the other, and any whispers among the crowd hushed. Then he began to speak, voice loud and deep and full; the voice of a chief.
"Yesterday, a great battle was fought. It was a battle against those we now call our enemies, but once upon a time were friends. Thanks to our brave warriors, we won that battle; but the victory did not come without sacrifices. Tonight, we honor those that gave their lives so that we may continue their noble battle; tonight, they will feast in Valhalla!"
He raised his torch for emphasis, and a great roar of approval swept through the crowd.
Stoick then unrolled the scroll and began to read the list of those among the dead. When he had finished, he brought the torch to the parchment and set it alight before placing it in one of the boats; presumably the one holding the eldest man that had died. He pushed the boat into the water, and the wind caught in its sails and pushed it farther out to sea. Moments later, a line of people simultaneously pushed the rest of the boats out to follow. Up on the cliffs, archers loosed a line of flaming arrows to set the boats alight.
Just as they caught fire, the dragons let out a long, mournful call in unison. The Vikings looked on in silence, but as the ships sailed like stars to be swallowed by the horizon some began to sing.
For a long time they stood there, singing and watching, until the last flickers of light faded. Then they turned to go back to the Mead Hall, presumably for more drinking and celebrations of the lives of those they'd lost.
Hiccup was bone-weary, however, and feeling drained. He went instead towards the shelters that some Vikings had set up for sleeping until the village could be rebuilt. By some unspoken consensus, Jack, Rapunzel, and Merida joined him.
The shelter wasn't much; basically just a roof and three walls. But there were blankets and it was warmer than being outside, so Hiccup curled up on the ground, pulled a blanket around him, and closed his eyes. Toothless' breath brushed over his face as the dragon curled up around him, his side solid and warm. Hiccup listened to the dragon's heartbeat as he drifted into sleep.
Merida dreamed about blood.
She saw swords flashing in the light, their edges darkened by it. She saw wine goblets overflowing with it. She saw her hands darkly stained by it.
She saw herself plunge her blade deep into a man's stomach, and it flowed from him in rivers until she was drowning in it.
There was just… so much blood.
She woke up just as her head slipped under the river of thick, dark red. She was sweating slightly, and the smell of copper stayed sharp in her nostrils for a moment before the familiar smoky scent of the battle-ravaged Berk filtered back in. She didn't have time to ponder the dream, however, as she became aware of hushed whispers.
"Wake up. Hey. Jack. Rapunzel. Merida. Hiccup. Wake up now. Hey."
The voice rose in volume on the final word, and the others startled awake. Merida sat up, and squinted through the gloom to make out the figure stooped at the entrance of the shelter.
"Gobber?" Hiccup's voice was bleary and slightly irritated. "What's going on?"
"You need to go," the large man said. "Come on now."
"Go where?" Jack asked. Out of all of them, he seemed to be the most aware.
"Dunbroch. We just received a distress call."
Merida's mind and senses instantly sharpened. "Why? What happened?"
"We don't really know. The signal wasn't clear."
Merida stood up, heart racing. "Let's go. Let's go now."
"Merida, just calm down for a minute," Rapunzel said softly.
"No, we have to go. My family's there." Her mother's face came into clear focus in her mind, her father's laugh, and the triplets' devilish smiles. "They could be hurt, we have to go."
"And we will," Rapunzel assured her. "Just give us a few minutes to get ourselves together. Alright?"
Merida took a breath and nodded. "Yes. Okay."
Gobber moved aside from the entrance to the shelter, and Merida stepped outside. The first sun rays were just beginning to creep over the horizon, and the smell of smoke had greatly diminished. Jack followed her out, then Rapunzel, her hair gathered in her arms. Hiccup came last, Toothless right behind him. He stretched his arms above him, jaw wide open in a yawn.
"Man, I'm tired," he said through the yawn." I need some cold water in the face or some-"
He was cut off by a faceful of fresh, icy snow. He jerked back, blinking in shock before turning a glare on Jack. Jack looked back innocently.
"Better?" he asked sweetly.
Merida didn't have the patience to let the banter continue, and tugged on Jack's arm. "Come on."
The others were weary, she could see that. If not for the hot worry spiking through her veins, she would be able to realize how sore and tired she was herself. They had had but a single day to recover from their last battle and were now rushing into another, which was probably ill-advised and dangerous, but Merida didn't care. Her home was in trouble. Her people were in trouble.
Jack seemed to recognize the barely concealed panic on her face, and didn't protest as she dragged him over to where Gobber waited, the other two following.
"Like I said, the signal wasn't very clear," Gobber said, pulling out a snow globe. "It was your mother's voice, Merida, but there was no visual and all we could really hear were the words 'help', 'attack', and 'stone circle'."
Merida's hands clenched into fists. If someone was attacking her mother, they were going to regret it.
"She must be at the Stone Circle in the woods," she said. "That's where we need to go."
Gobber nodded and handed her the snow globe. Destination in mind, she smashed the globe on the ground, opened the portal, and stepped through.
The first thing she registered was the sweet, wet smell of Dunbroch's grass after rain. The second thing she noticed was that she had suddenly gone from the soft orange of Berk's dawn to Dunbroch's purple twilight.
The third thing she noticed was that the Stone Circle was empty and still.
The others came through and the portal closed, leaving them in strange silence. A moment passed without movement of any sort. Then Jack stepped forward, shifting in confusion.
"Where is everyone?" he asked, and although his voice was instinctively hushed, it sounded achingly loud in the quiet. The strangely oppressive quiet.
"Are you sure this is the right place?" Rapunzel questioned her.
"I'm sure," she said. "This is the Stone Circle."
There weren't even any nature sounds, no wind in the leaves, no hooting owl, no animals prowling through the underbrush. Her nerves prickled, and she suddenly realized she'd left her sword in Berk. She reached for her bow instead. "Something's wrong."
"Indeed." The new voice was deep and echoic, and they all jumped at the sound. A man had seemingly appeared from nowhere, standing at the edge of the Circle between two rocks. The figure was instantly familiar to Merida, though she had only seen him- at least as a human- once.
"Mor'du," she breathed.
"Children," he replied, inclining his head but not making any advance. "I've heard much about your alliance."
"You've been busy, too, I see." This time it was a woman's voice from the opposite side of the circle, and though Merida was loath to turn her back on Mor'du, Rapunzel's strangled sound of surprise made her turn. The blonde was staring at the dark haired woman in horror.
"Hello, flower," the woman- Gothel, it had to be- greeted as she leaned casually against a stone. "All grown up and gone to war, I see. Killing me not enough? Now you take down whole armies, too?"
Rapunzel opened and closed her mouth, no words escaping in her shock.
"I still don't know how you all managed to do that," a third foreign voice groused, this time gruff and masculine. A large bearded man stepped out from a rock on their right.
Merida could barely hear Hiccup's soft whisper of "Alvin" over Toothless' deep-throated growl, but she didn't need to in order to know they were in deep trouble.
"A trap," Jack declared, staff raised and eyes narrowed. "It's a trap."
"You seem to be very good at walking into those, hm, Jack?" The smoothly accented voice on the left completed the villainous circle, and Merida watched as Jack glared at the tall shadowed man.
"Pitch," Jack acknowledged, voice low. "Long time no see."
Pitch raised an eyebrow. "For you, perhaps. Who's to say I haven't been watching you?"
Jack blinked, as Rapunzel found her voice. "What do you want?" Her eyes were still fixed on Gothel.
"At the moment?" the older woman shrugged and straightened. "Dark chocolate, a bottle of aged red wine… and you."
"All four of you, really," Alvin added. "So your choices are: surrender and come easily, or fight and still come with us."
"I suggest you take the first option," Mor'du said.
"Especially," smirked Pitch, "As you are vastly outnumbered."
Even as he spoke, yellow eyes formed in the lengthening shadows and dark horses of sand stepped into view: nightmares. At least twenty of them.
Instinctively, the four of them stepped back, their backs pressed together.
"How did you send that distress signal?" Merida asked, heart racing, stalling for more time. "Where's my mum?"
"She's fine, I assume," Gothel answered. Then her voice changed to that of Merida's mother, sending chills up her spine. "I just used a simple vocal manipulation charm. Beginner magic, really."
"But stop trying to avoid the question," Alvin snarled. "What's it gonna be? Are you going to come quietly?"
The four of them gave each other quick glances, before speaking at the same time.
"I don't think so."
"Nope."
"Not gonna happen."
"Door number two, please."
There was a moment of silence.
"An unwise decision," Pitch finally said. "But not unexpected." He then snapped his fingers, and the nightmares rushed upon them.
In hindsight, they never really had much of a chance.
Merida was armed only with her bow and arrows, which weren't well-suited to close range battling. She shot every nightmare she aimed at, but for every horse destroyed two more took its place from the shadows. Rapunzel used her frying pan with a vengeance, but her hair was still down and got stepped on and pulled and tangled up in hooves, and she cried out in pain. Hiccup used his sword like the best of swordsmen, but sheer numbers were overwhelming him. Toothless couldn't fly away without Hiccup, and didn't seem to be willing to risk hitting anything that wasn't a nightmare with his plasma blasts. The area around Jack was quickly turning into a blizzard, with ice and snow and biting wind going every which way, but everyone time he tried to fly he was tackled back to the ground by at least four nightmares.
Merida saw Mor'du in the fray, morphing into his bear form. Gothel darted here and there, dagger flashing in her hand. Alvin was far from subtle, huge axe swinging. But Pitch, where was Pitch? She backed up against one of the rocks, searching-
And suddenly, something slammed into her midsection, blunt force pushing her back against the stone and stealing the breath from her lungs.
Everything seemed to freeze in place, and Merida saw her friends staring at her in horror. Idly wondering what they were gawking at, Merida looked down, and blinked in surprise at the spear protruding from her chest.
"Oh," she gasped.
"Merida!" That was Hiccup's voice, she knew that, but she couldn't really think beyond the intrusion in her body.
Strangely, it didn't hurt so badly at first. But as she watched and the wound began to bleed, her brain suddenly seemed to realize that it was supposed to hurt. A dull throb started at the center of the wound, but the pain quickly grew in intensity like a sharp, blazing fire kindling in her chest, and she fell to her knees with a delayed cry.
And there was Pitch, he was standing right in front of her, and he was reaching down, and he pulled the spear out of her chest with a quick tug, and that felt like her muscles were being ripped out, and a scream tore from her lips, and there were others screaming too, screaming her name, but somehow she couldn't hear them past the rushing in her ears.
The blood was pouring out faster now, and it was getting all over her clothes, and her hands, and she suddenly remembered the dream she'd had, and she remembered the blood, and she remembered drowning in it. And she looked up at Pitch, who was watching her with no expression and cold yellow eyes, and for some reason she sharply recalled being a wee lass and the monster-shaped shadows on the floor at night, and remembered the strange sounds the woods made when she was exploring alone as a girl, and she remembered thinking she'd lost her mother forever, and she just wanted to curl up in a ball and hide, but she couldn't because it hurt, it hurt, and she couldn't breathe because she was drowning in blood…
Then, mercifully, Pitch was gone and she didn't have to look in those eyes anymore. But somehow this was worse, because now she could see Toothless roaring and trapped under a net, and Hiccup struggling to escape Alvin's grasp, and Rapunzel screaming as Gothel pulled her away by the hair, and Jack yelling for release as ropes of black sand wrapped around his limbs and dragged him into the shadows, and Mor'du just watching it all.
She had to get up, she had to help her friends, she couldn't let them be taken…
But the creeping darkness on the edges of her vision didn't give her much of a choice, gently shushing her screams as it wrapped her up and took her away into its warm oblivion.
MWAHAHA CLIFFHANGER!
I don't write cliffhangers all that often, so rage at me in the reviews all you like but don't deny me this pleasure. Especially since I've been waiting all story to get here. ALL. STORY.
My knowledge of Viking funerals is limited, so please excuse any historical errors there. I took some liberties.
Now! Review reply time!
Ali: You're welcome. And there's little romance because I think everyone else has got that base covered in regards to ROTBTD fics, don't you?
KrazyCat6167: Ohhh, I am fully aware of who Octavian is. Ugh. He deserves all that and more. I didn't like him from the moment he killed Percy's panda.
PumpkinSpice: Thank you for your awesomeness, my friend!
LovePJ: Has it really? Wow. And we're not even really almost done.
FaitheFenyx: Thank you :)
Guest 1: I was going for a different feel, yeah. You know what they say. If you want things done right...
Guest 2: Indeed.
Guest 3: Slowly but surely!
Smaug Fan1: You have no idea how glad I am to hear that :D
Guest 4: You can never get enough battle scenes if you ask me. They're a pain to write but so fun to read!