A/N: Hey guys, been a while eh? I was super busy at school this and last week. Had a ton of assignments due, tests and not to mention exams are next week for me. So I got to make the most of it. But I managed to squeeze this chapter out, and I hope you guys enjoy it.
Hiccup's POV
"So would you prefer we fight here? I'll have my men usher the villagers into a circle and have them watch the spectacle...or do you prefer we fight in your Dragon Academy?" he asked. I looked around, seeing everyone's eyes on me. If we fought here that would mean less obstacles for Ripper and the dragons to get through, and there's no chained roof.
"We'll fight here Drago" I replied and he smiled.
"Wonderful...let me prepare myself, you might want to do the same thing" he said as he turned around and met up with his men. It looked like he was getting ready with his armour and weapon; I should do the same.
"Hiccup?" I heard someone ask and I turned around to see the Twins, Snotlout and Fishlegs standing behind me.
"I have nothing to say to any of you" I said coldly and turned to walk to Toothless who was on edge with many of the guards holding their weapons and looking at him.
"Then don't say anything Hiccup, but just hear us out" Fishlegs spoke. I guess they would pester me until I let them speak their minds, and since I was probably going to die in less than half an hour, I might as well hear what they have to say.
"Hiccup...I'm sorry...we're sorry for what we did...even though I had no part in it" he said quickly. I was not looking at them, so they didn't see a smirk form across my face.
"I know you're sorry Fishlegs...what about you three?" I asked the Twins and Snotlout. "Are you sorry for doing this to me?" I asked pointing to the burned skin on the left side of my face. They didn't look me in the eye, their attention was towards the ground, trying to avoid my gaze. "I see that you all think I'm ugly now...well congratulations Snotlout...you're the better looking one now. Is that what you wanted?" I ask again. Still no reply.
"I don't even know why I'm wasting my breath with you three...since you did this to me" I spoke pointing to my wound and turning to inspect my sword. It by far the best sword I had forged, using what was left of the Gronckle Iron. It wasn't wide and big as the other swords, but a thin blade that was meant to cut, slash and make an absolute clean cut. It was one my best works and I called it Stinger.
"Cuz, I'm sorry ok" I heard Snotlout say behind me. That was something I never expected him to say to me.
"Excuse me?" I asked turning around.
"I'm sorry...it was only meant to be a small prank...just to scare you, but I didn't think it through...and I'm sorry for what I did" he said. His face didn't look apologetic but I knew it wasn't everyday that Snotlout Jorgenson apologized to you...and it was nearly a first for him.
"Hiccup, are you ready?" Drago asked walking to the middle of the crowd, who had now dispersed back to give us enough fighting room. All the seats had been removed, the people standing probably forty feet away from Drago, all around.
"Yes" I replied and walked to the centre of that fighting ring. When I crossed a certain point, a few of his soldiers blocked off the path I came through, effectively cutting off any means of escape. I didn't plan to run away, but now if it did get tough, there was no way out.
Drago had a smug smile on his face. He had removed his cloak, and was wearing leather armour, black at that, arm braces, what looked like armed boots, most likely from the military and I saw him leaning on his sword, the tip of the blade on the ground and he was holding the handle. I looked see what was behind him, and saw the alter, with Astrid being held by his second command, in case she had any ideas of interrupting the match. She had a look of terror and fear for me. I could tell she was asking me why I chose to do this, but answers will come after this fight...I hope.
"Wouldn't want your friends interrupting, so..." he clapped his hands and soon I heard grunts and yells from the teens as they were pushed to where Astrid was, with guards behind them. My father was next to Astrid's family, all of them staring in fear and worry.
"Are you sure you want to do this Hiccup? The offer is still open" he said, gesturing his arms out in a friendly manner.
"This is how it's going to go down Drago...I'm not backing out now" I said as I unsheathed Stinger.
"Very well, but your dragon better not interfere" he said, pointing at Toothless at the back with his sword. "Because it would be a waste to kill such a beautiful weapon" he finished. I couldn't believe the nerve of this man...he clearly had no regard for any life, dragons, animals...I'm guessing not even people.
"You've got this son" my dad yelled from the crowd. Soon the villagers began cheering me on, even my friends from behind Drago were starting to yell on encouragements for me.
"Ready?" he asked, unsheathing his sword and getting in a fighting position.
"Ready" I replied and made the first charge, and in the second you heard the sound of steel against Gronckle Iron clashing. From the first strike I was nearly knocked onto my back. I underestimated his strength, and nearly paid for it. I managed to push his sword away (with my sword of course) and moved back to regain to my stance.
"It's never smart to attack first Hiccup" he commented as he twirled his wrist hand that was holding the sword. "Been a while since I've engaged someone in a duel" he continued.
"Cause people were afraid to fight against you?" I asked.
"Because people weren't stupid to fight against me" he replied, and there were a few laughs from his men, the Outcasts and Berserkers. Yeah, I kind of walked into that.
Then he swung at my abdomen but I ducked and rolled to the side. He made another attack at my chest, but I brought my sword up just in time, and just managed to push him back. "I'm impressed Hiccup...those men at Atlaka truly knew what they were teaching you" he said with a smile.
"They had their doubts about me...but I proved them wrong" I replied, holding the sword with both hands, and in a position ready for his attack.
"You also proved me wrong" he said, and I saw a sadistic smile forming on his lips.
"What are you talking about?" I asked, as I lowered my guard, but not by much.
"You all..." he spoke aloud for everyone to hear "...do not know what this man is capable of...not only has he proved his loyalty and honour, but is also a true Viking" he emphasized the last two words.
"I've always been a Viking Drago" I relied, not knowing where he was going with that statement. Was he trying to convince me to join him, or show how wrong the village was in their judgement of me?
"I'm talking about what defined a 'True Viking' before the events of the Red Death...before you shot down Toothless" he said, not breaking eye contact with me. "No, he couldn't know about that! He COULDN'T"
"Killing a dragon defined you as one, but what does that have to do with this?" my father asked from the crowd.
"Tell me Hiccup...how did it feel?" Drago asked. I felt my heart racing, my hands began to shake, and people saw that by the uncharacteristic way the sword was shaking. I glanced to the crowd, and they all began to have that same facial expression of shock and surprise, and back to Drago who was loving every moment of this.
"How did it feel to take a life...a Dragon's life?" he yelled, causing everyone to gasp as their fears were confirmed. I lowered my head and sword, not wanting to make eye contact with anyone, but I could feel all their gazes. I could feel them carving their way to my very soul, and I could feel Astrid's gaze...I didn't dare look up because I still wasn't ready to confront her.
"But I suppose it was necessary, otherwise you wouldn't be here with us today. It was either kill, or be killed" Drago continued. But how? How did he know about that. I never told anyone about that, except Astrid and her mother, and I know that they would never tell anyone about that, unless I gave them permission to.
"H-h-How d-do you k-know about t-that?" I stuttered. I began feeling light headed. I had to get my heart rate down, otherwise I would collapse then and there. I managed to get a grip on my hands, but the uncertainty was still there.
"I saw the whole thing Hiccup...why do you think that dragon didn't respond to your methods...why do you think it didn't form a bond with you when you raised your hand out to it...it was not its self" he said in a dark tone and a smile that clearly said he knew more.
"You...you had something to do with it" I said. I was still recovering from my shock at the realization.
"Guilty as charged" he said, raising his hands in mock defense.
"WHY!?" I yelled in complete anger, which caused everyone in the crowd to take a step back, but Drago was unfazed by my outburst.
"Isn't it obvious? I wanted to test you. I wanted to see how far you'd go to protect yourself. So I put you in a position where I knew you had to decide who's life it was going to be...yours or the dragon's" he answered.
Words cannot describe the rage that was building inside me at that moment.
"I heard about the Red Death being defeated, by someone from this tribe...so I followed up the leads, and I had a few of my men perform recon flights during the night, and sneak into your village to gather whatever information they could. Then they told me about you, and brought me the plans of your trip. I followed you in the shadows for those two years, I watched you progress in your skills, but I was still unsure. So when you had to perform the survival test of surviving in the wild for one week, while being hunted by Ripper, I controlled that dragon...I gave it orders to kill you, and to not form a bond with you...that you were a target to kill...and that left you with two options...kill or be killed...I guess you chose the first option" he explained, his smile not faltering for one minute.
He took pride in seeing me in this state. My grip had tightened on Stinger, and I wanted to charge him and cut him down where he stood. But he wanted me to lose my composure and fall for his trap. I wasn't going to let that happen.
"But my tests didn't stop there. I gave Alvin a test, to see how far he would go and how far you would protect your village. I gave Dagur a test to kidnap Astrid, to see how you would react and to see your emotional reaction and how far you would go to protect them. I wanted to see how you would handle yourself, and you did generally well...but then was the test where I got in your head" he began.
He was trying to do it again. He was going to make me feel bad, which I do, for what I did to the people I care about.
"I still wonder if you knew all those horrible things weren't true, why did you get angry? And why did you take all your anger out on Astrid? The person who was going to tell you everything, the girl who wanted to be there when you woke up? Why Hiccup?" he asked with a smile.
"I was a fool for letting my anger control me...I guess you could say because it was my friends who pulled the prank on me, which resulted in bodily harm...I was angry and I deserved to be angry...but what I didn't deserve was to take out all that anger out on her...she never deserved it, after all she's done for me"I answered. I could see his smile falter because he was expecting me to lose my composure and charge him. But I wasn't done.
"I had to kill that dragon, and it's been on my conscience ever since. If there was any way I could have let it live I would not hesitate to go back and do it. But now I know that you were behind it, my mind is at ease, because in truth...I did put that dragon out of its misery from being controlled by you" I spoke.
"Well, you truly are a remarkable man Hiccup, but you still have a lot to learn" he said before charging me. I had no time to react and before I knew it, I was on the ground with the tip of his blade at my neck. That's when we heard a loud roar and a few Vikings flying out of the way, before Toothless ran up and tackled Drago off of me.
"Toothless down!" I yelled getting back up, not liking what he was doing. But what I really found strange was Drago laughing among his growls.
"It's alright Hiccup...I was hoping this would happen" he said, and in that instant a huge black shadow tackled Toothless off Drago and the crowd dispersed, not to be hit by the two dragons coming their way. I ran to see through the opening and saw...and I couldn't believe my eyes...another Night Fury, except this one was bigger than Toothless. It had more muscle, even a few larger scales that I guess come with age on its head, back and tail. It was holding Toothless to the ground and snarling menacingly at him, but what was really weird...Toothless didn't fight back. I saw something in his eyes, that I rarely saw.
Fear
That's when the larger Night Fury moved off of him and gave a soul-shattering roar at Toothless who tried to sink further to the ground. "Good dragon Deathwing" I heard Drago say, who was now up on his feet and dusting himself off. He wasn't the slightest bit fazed like a normal person would be when they were tackled by a mad Night Fury.
"Odd...I didn't expect your Night Fury to surrender so easily to Deathwing" he said, curiosity plastered on his face as he watched Deathwing walk around Toothless who was still on the ground quivering.
"Toothless what's wrong?!" I yell at him, truly worried about him. I've never seen him act like this.
"It can't be" I heard Drago mutter and I looked to him. His face was in a momentary shock, but a smile was creeping on his face. "Is this where you've been all this time? No wonder why we couldn't find you" he said, and when I followed his gaze, he was looking at Toothless.
"What are you talking about? What do you know about Toothless!?" I ask him, getting ready in an attack stance.
"Huh, I know now that Deathwing is Toothless' older brother" he said, glancing at me then back at the two dragons.
"What? That's impossible. I found Toothless alone, dragons would never leave their family behind" I said. Based on what research we've collected over the years, dragons are social creatures.
"They would never leave them yes...but you should know when they would leave them" he said turning back to me.
That's when I realized, dragons only leave members of their family or herd behind when they are sick, frail, and the runts.
"You and Toothless are a lot more alike than you and the village realize...you were both the runts of your family!" he remarked. "I remember Toothless now. He was laid and hatched 7 years after Deathwing hatched, and right from his first moment, we saw that he was smaller than most baby Night Furies. We never thought he would survive...but it was only thanks to his mother and, somewhat his father that he survived...but his brother and the other Night Furies in his family never gave him a second thought. They always ignored him and left him on his own. Deathwing made sure to show him who's boss, and I guess Toothless hasn't forgotten that" he said looking back at the two dragons. Toothless made no move to get up, clearly afraid by Deathwing.
"Now where were we" I heard and I just managed to get my sword up when he charged me. I was pushed back a few feet, but still on my feet, well foot. He unleashed another strike and I brought my sword across to block his strike and held it there. I was holding the handle and part of the tip of the blade above my face as he was pressing against my blade with his, and if I gave way, I would be cut in half.
"You are weak Hiccup. You aren't strong physically or mentally...It was a brave attempt to stall for your friend but rest assured he won't be able to make it" he said before pulling back and releasing another strike. I again blocked it and we brought our swords side by side this time, that our faces were mere inches apart.
"Maybe I won't kill you when I beat you" he said in a sadistic tone. That's when he brought his mouth near my ear, "I'll have my men tie you up and drag you to my house, and make you witness me rape your girlfriend on my wedding bed" he whispered so that I could only hear it. My eyes went wide when he said that and all that rage I was keeping under the lid was nearly ready to explode.
"I can already imagine it...you watching helplessly with your mouth gagged while you hear Astrid's screams, pleading you to do something...but you know you can only sit there and watch while her world comes crashing down around her" he said in a dark whisper.
That. Was. It.
"AHHH!" I yelled as I pushed him back and watched him falter.
"That's it Hiccup! Get angry!" he yelled with a smile. How dare he say that about her! I'll make him pay! I charged him again and brought my blade down with as much force as I could. He blocked it.
"Feel that anger coursing through your veins! The power it gives you" he spoke as he moved back because of my constant strikes. Oh Thor I could feel it, and I will have him experience every bit of it!
"You feel stronger...faster...you have no objective but you cut down the target in front of you!" he continued on with that smile of his.
"Hiccup stop!" Astrid yelled.
"Son...calm down!" my dad yelled.
Everyone was yelling at me to calm down, but I couldn't. Not after what he said.
I charged him one more time, and with all my strength brought Stinger down, but to my shock he blocked it, and when I looked up to his face, it was one of amusement and disappointment.
"But anger also has its weaknesses" he said, before he punched my with his left arm. I stumbled back a bit, but brought Stinger in for another strike as he was walking to me now. He blocked it with his sword and used to it guide my strike away from his body.
"You become reckless" he said as he grabbed my leather armour and brought me close to him and punched me back with the knuckles of his right hand.
I stumbled back, holding left cheek, the burnt area and where he punched.
"You become blinded by it to see the true attacks" he said and kicked the dirt into my eyes. I stumbled back even further, rubbing my eyes vigorously to get the dust out of them.
"You become overpowered" he said and gave me one hard kick to the face. I went flying back about ten feet, back to the centre of the makeshift fighting ring we were in. I coughed onto the ground, and quickly got back and turned around.
"And..." he said before he raised his sword and brought it down. I brought my sword to try and block it but all I heard was a sound I never dreamt of hearing. It was a shattering tear and as if in slow motion, I saw Stinger break in half, the top half flying in a random direction, and looked down at the remaining half, and all I saw was a sharp tear from where it broke.
"...It's the last mistake you'll ever make" he said before it happened.
"HICCUP!" Astrid screamed.
"SON!" my dad yelled.
But the funny thing is, I barely heard them. My breathing had slowed down and I felt different, as if something had filled me. I looked around and saw everything in slow motion. I looked to my sides and saw the villagers with their mouths open. Some of the women were beginning to cry and the men were trying to move forward but the guards stopped them.
I saw my dad on the ground with about six men trying to hold him down. I even saw Aaron trying to help him, but he was also tackled to the ground, and Ingrid had covered Riptide's eyes and there was a look of pure horror on her face. When I looked to the front, at the alter where my friends were, I could see their stunned faces and they were being forced onto their knees as they were trying to break into a run for me.
But then my eyes met Astrid's.
She had tears in her eyes, and was desperately trying to break free of Drago's second in command but he held her back. She tried kicking him, and hitting him but he was too strong for her. He forced her onto her knees like my friends.
She looked up to me...those once caring, emerald blue eyes now were filled with fear, heartbreak, terror and sadness, and I could see the tears starting to stream down her beautiful face, and when I looked down to the ground...that's when I noticed it.
I saw twelve inches of a silver blade, stained with fresh blood, dripping off its bottom edge...sticking out of my abdomen.
A/N: Talk about a cliffhanger huh? ;)