When things seemed to have calmed down, Alvin forced Viggo and Ryker to lead them through the fort to the underground lake where their ships were moored. Quite a few were already gone as the Hunters fled for their lives, but the grand flagship was still waiting and will with half a crew already on deck and ready to go. They immediately drew they weapons when they saw their leaders captured but Ryker took charge and ordered them to cast off, careless of his situation and wanting to save those he could and get Hiccup to safety.
"Are we meeting up with Lars?" Hiccup asked, pulling away from Dagur to be with his lovers. He was a little shocked when he was pulled back and almost onto Dagur's lap. "I'm fine," he insisted on to be pet by Alvin in a soothing manner.
"You will be once we get you to your father," the Outcast chief soothed. This time it was Alvin doing a thorough inspection of Hiccup's body as the man grumbled and complained about the number of piercings and tattoos and how Stoick was going to be furious when he saw what has happened to his little boy. It was all a little surreal to Hiccup as he was prodded and probed but thankfully Alvin didn't g any further than his back. The worse was when he finally noticed Hiccup was blind. The sudden anguish was almost enough to bring Hiccup to tears when the man cupped his cheeks and tried to be fatherly. It ended in a bone crushing hug.
Sunlight came as they exited the large cavern and sailed out to sea. Hiccup only knew this by the sudden warmth against his bare skin, something he hadn't felt in months. It warmed his face and arms and sent away the chill he was used to dealing with in the fort.
"Hiccup, we need to put your arm back in place," Dagur said in a surprisingly gently voice. "It's going to hurt." The Berserker went to Hiccup's left side to hold him steady while Alvin grabbed his right arm and wrenched it back into place.
It hurt, gods did it ever hurt, but Hiccup bit back the pain and kept his composure. Once it was done, he flexed his arm, happy there was no serious damage. "Where's Ryker and Viggo?" he demanded, pushing away from Alvin and Dagur to find his masters. If they were hurt, or one was killed, he didn't know what he would do with himself. He couldn't bare the thought of anything bad happening to either of them.
"We're alright, my dear," Viggo assured. He didn't sound alright. Hiccup could hear the wheeze of pain in his voice. He turned toward it and carefully made his way to the Hunter chief while shaking away hands that moved to stop him. He continued forward until he found the man sitting on a crate, his arm in as sling.
"Hiccup, he's our enemy," Dagur said firmly behind him, but knew better than to stop his brother. He gave a sigh and shook his head. "What the he'll did you do to him?" he demanded of Ryker, but the elder brother was staring at Hiccup longingly.
"I'm alright," Viggo insisted as Hiccup felt around his torn shirt and scaled armor until he found the wound. He gave sharp hiss.
"Did you pull it out yourself?" the youth reprimanded, feeling the torn skin. "This needs stitches."
Viggo gave a small chuckle. "And who exactly is going to do that?"
"I can, if you don't mind the not so straight line."
Viggo gave a low chuckled and shook his head before realizing Hiccup couldn't see it. He cupped Hiccup's cheek and pressed his lips to the youth's forehead. "I'll be fine. Let's focus on getting someplace safe first." He shushed the boy when he went to protest. "I'll be alright."
"You're as stubborn as a Buffalord," Hiccup reprimanded before standing and checking on Ryker. Even though he couldn't see them, he felt it was his duty to make sure everyone, including the crew was alright, just as he would his riders. He took charge, treating the men as I'd they were is own. In a way they were; he had had sex with most if not all of them. Sure many had paid for sex but that didn't change the fact that over the ten months since his capture he had formed a bond with some of them. Some had spent their hour with him simply expressing their feelings and loneliness or desire to go home. It didn't excuse the number of times Hiccup had been raped but in Hiccup's mind, which had slowly been conditioned to accept sex from just about anyone, they now belonged to him as much as he belonged to Viggo and Ryker.
Dagur was appalled by this, not understanding how or why Hiccup had changed so much. He was going to pull the youth away and demand what was going on but decided against it. It would only trigger his anger and the last thing he wanted was to go back to how he used to be.
The strait they were sailing through was picturesque and calm. It was almost easy to forget the horrors that happened at the auction. Hiccup seemed almost normal, despite his eyes, at least once he was covered up. It was hard for Dagur not to stare at the tattoo or piercings. They both fit and didn't fit with Hiccup's personality. The tattoo fit, it was a Nightfury so Yeah, it totally screamed "Hiccup!" but the piercings? Whoever did that was an ass. Or knew something Dagur didn't. Even the clothing Hiccup wore was him but not him. The loose trousers, bare foot, and hooded duster vest that now hid the majority of the tattoos and piercings, were but weren't his style. It was an odd combination that Dagur couldn't quite wrap his mind around. He was still having trouble wrapping his mind around the fact Hiccup was still alive.
The smooth sailing took a decidedly bad turn when the ships in front of them were suddenly lifted out of the water and thrown in every direction as a dragon of leviathan proportions rose out of the sea. The wave it cause knocked everyone on the ship to the deck. It didn't roar or make a sound as it attacked the boats with its large tusks.
"What is that thing?" Dagur yelled as he gripped the edge of the boat.
Viggo's face was ashen as he stared at the creature with wide, frightened eyes. "A Bewilderbeast," he breathed.
"Hard to port!" Ryker yelled, grabbing the rudder control and turning it as fast and hard as he could. "We need to reach land before it freezes the water!"
Men were rushing to do as they were ordered but through it all Hiccup stood still and listened. He could hear the shifting water as the beast moved, felt the way the ship rocked with it. He could hear the deep rumble of a growl in its throat and harsh breathing, as if it had become so accustomed to being underwater that air bothered it. Over that he could hear Drago yelling out orders and the whistle of his bullstaff as the man waved it in the air. The crunching of wood sound filled his ears as the dragon tore into one of the lead ships, sending splinters of wood like arrows through the sky. "Get down!" was the only warning Hiccup had a chance to give. One splinter slashed through his arm moments before he took his own advice. There were cries from other men around him, some thumping to the hard deck not to duck from the onslaught but run through by stray shrapnel.
"Hiccup!" he heard Dagur yell but it was Ryker who draped himself over Hiccup, shielding him as more ships were torn apart. Hiccup could hear his sharp intake of breath as the man was pelted by debris.
The ship listed dangerously portside as the Bewilderbeast moved on to the next ship. Men were crying out in terror while others loaded their weapons, but it was no good. The next attack capsized the ship, throwing everyone overboard.
The water was warm, which was a surprising first thought for Hiccup. He had never been the best swimmer and he hated cold water, but this, given a better situation, was nice. Of course, without his sight, he couldn't tell up from down and the water was churning in the wake of the Bewilderbeast as it trudged forward to destroy more ships. Hiccup kicked his legs, aiming toward warmer water, hoping that it led to land. His lungs burned without oxygen but he fought to keep moving. He had no idea where he was or if anyone was near him so he couldn't rely on someone finding and saving him. He kicked until his legs were sore and chest felt as if it might explode until he could kick no more. Then the breath he was holding escaped his lungs and he floated in darkness.
"Hiccup!" Dagur yelled, shaking him awake some time later on the shore. "Come on…wake up. We can really use a Dragon Master right about now."
Hiccup coughed up the water in his lungs then gave a pitiful moan as Dagur patted his back. "I'm Hiccup," he murmured before wakefulness took hold.
"Yeah, I know, and that is the biggest fucking dragon I ever saw so if you can talk to it maybe make it go away before everyone is killed," Dagur said hurried as the ground shook under them.
There were screams all around them and the smell of fresh ice and snow as a blast of cold shot past them. The summer heat turned frigid.
"Stop!" Hiccup yelled in Dragonese, but he might as well as said nothing. It came as a wheeze as he struggled to his feet. "STOP!" he screamed as loud as he could.
Dagur kept one arm wrapped under Hiccup's, not willing to let him go and get lost in the chaos. "We got to go. We got to get out of here. That madman just summoned even more dragons. What the hell did you do to loss him off?" He began hauling Hiccup towards the woods, hoping to find a place to hide. But dragons weren't like humans. It would be long before they tracked down the boys' scents. There were men dying all around them, dragons tearing into them without remorse. Dagur had never seen such a thing before. The beach was drenched in blood. The screams echoed throughout the strait. Somewhere amongst the carnage, Alvin, Ryker and Viggo still battled but Dagur could no longer see them in the flurry of armored dragons. What he did see made his blood run cold.
Dagur prided himself as a warrior. He had fought and killed many times, but the dark skin man approaching them, walking through the battle with a smug grin and long black dreadlocks, sent a chill down his spine. A part of him, the old Dagur, wanted to take on this man or demon, whatever it was that the pits of Nilfiem had thrown up, but the new him, the protective big brother, knew that if he left Hiccup, even for a moment, he would be lost to them forever. He pushed ahead, Hiccup tucked against his side, and ignored to dark laughter behind him. He should have brought Shattermaster, but the Gronkle would never have been able to defend them from all these dragons. They had to find a safe place, a cave or something they could block off and hide in. "Come on, Hiccup. I know you can't see but I need you to move faster."
Drago was closer now. Dagur could hear every crunch of his footsteps.
"Take him down," Drago ordered in a surprisingly calm voice.
Dagur didn't dare look back. He was almost carrying Hiccup as they pushed forward. For his part, Hiccup was trying to run but with only a wooden piglet instead of his regular prosthetic he was sinking in the sand and soft soil. Nonetheless he fought to keep up and not drag Dagur down. That is until a scream tore through the older boy and they were both tumbling forward.
An arrow cut through Dagur's knee, tearing ligaments and piercing bone. The pain was so severe it was like being by lightning once more but more generalized to that one location. He collapsed, dragging Hiccup down with him without realizing it. Twisting around, he went to yank the arrow out only to discover the head's edges were serrated and to yank it out would only do more damage. All he could do was snap the shaft in half and try to keep running, but even that became impossible as Drago trudged ever closer. Dagur stuttered back as best he could, hoping to get back on his feet or find a weapon, even a rock, to defend himself with.
"Hiccup, run!" he ordered, stumbling to his feet only for his injured leg to give out.
"There's nowhere to run," Drago purred, looming over Dagur.
The Berserker glared up at him, his green eyes narrow and defiant despite his pain. "Go ahead, do your worse. There's nothing you can do to me that I haven't already endured."
A sick twisted grim adorned the man's face. "If you insist. He brought his heavy foot down on Dagur's injured knee swiftly and with such force the arrow went through the bone, breaking it. Dagur howled in agony only for it to be repeated again and again.
Hiccup couldn't move. He stood only a few feet away, listening in horror as his savior was tortured. "No…Stop! Please Stop! I'll go with you. Just Stop!" he sobbed, barely noticing the arms that wrapped around. All he knew were screams of agony, of men dying all around him. Dying to protect him…again. Dagur was dying again and it was all his fault.