As always, thank you EchoMoonstone for beta-ing!
Tony had done dozens of weapon demonstrations. This one shouldn't have gone the way it did.
Tony had been working on an engine for a car he'd probably never drive. He rarely drove anywhere, usually flying Toothless. If it was far enough away that flying Toothless became ineffective, they took a plane. But he liked working on the cars, and Happy and Rhodey both liked to drool over them.
He'd been blasting music - through headphones, in respect to Toothless's delicate hearing - when Pepper yanked out his earbuds to tear into him because he was late. He was always late. He didn't care. His weapons were the best of the best. If they wanted them - and they did - they'd damn well wait. But he let Pepper hurry him out of his shop, and Happy raced Tony and Toothless to the airport. Tony and Toothless followed the roads, just to make it a little fair, and still won with ease. Rhodey gave him his usual scolding, then elected to ignore him in favor of reuniting with Toothless.
When they got there, Tony left Toothless on the plane, as usual. He didn't like leaving Toothless alone, but the loud explosions bothered Toothless's hearing. At least, that's what he told the public. In reality, Tony didn't want the generals laying their greedy eyes on Toothless. He already knew they wanted a dragon-flying unit. He and Obie had had a huge, blowout fight over it. Obie insisted it would change the tide of the war, that it would save lives, not to mention rake in millions, possibly billions of dollars. They could ask virtually any price for a trained dragon and the military would pay. Tony knew they would, Obie knew they would, the board knew they would. But the dragons weren't weapons. Obie couldn't see why Tony was okay with the Vikings fighting with dragons, but why he wasn't going to allow Southerners to do the same. But he didn't understand. The Vikings didn't see the dragons as weapons. The dragons were part of the tribe, family. And the dragons weren't forced to fight. Tony knew that with Southerners, the dragons would be caged, bound in chains until they were expected to fight. They would never feel the bond that should exist between a dragon and its rider. And that was why Tony would never teach a Southerner how to train dragons.
So Tony did the weapons demonstration and hitched a ride back to the plane, impatient to get back to Toothless.
He never arrived.
Jim had always felt responsible for Tony. Tony pretended otherwise, but Jim knew he had trouble letting people in close. He also knew why. Or at least part of the reason.
So when Tony was taken, right out from under his nose, Jim couldn't help but feel like he was responsible. And he was forced to return to Tony's plane, alone.
Toothless immediately perked up, ear plates standing up and nose twitching as he looked for Tony. Once Toothless realized Tony wasn't with him, he looked at Jim, head cocked.
"I'm sorry," Jim whispered, gut twisting. "They took him. I couldn't stop them. I'm sorry."
Toothless stared at him, then snarled. Jim couldn't help but take a small step back. He wasn't afraid of Toothless. But he thought that anyone, other than Tony, would be afraid of being faced with the anger of a Night Fury. Tony didn't always seem to remember that Toothless was dangerous.
Toothless took off at a gallop towards the endless sand, away from the base. Horror ripped into Jim, because he'd already let Tony slip through his fingers, and if - when - he found Tony, his best friend would never forgive Jim if he let Toothless get hurt.
"Toothless, wait!" Jim called, stumbling through the sand after the dragon. Toothless stopped and whipped around, firing a blast at Jim that hit about six feet in front of him and sending sand hurtling into the air. Jim's feet slid out from under him and he tumbled down, instinctively covering his face with his arms while his heart tried to climb out his throat. He peeked out to find Toothless glowering at him, teeth bared and wings spread out threateningly. This is your fault, the dragon was telling him. I trusted you with him, and you let him get hurt. Jim stared at him, heart pounding, a sense of helplessness he hadn't felt since he'd sat at his dying mother's bedside consuming him, as Toothless turned and galloped off into the desert, his red and gold tailfin the last Jim saw of him.
The first thing Tony knew was pain.
The next thing was his own screaming.
Then came the smell of blood.
The whirl of a saw.
Shouting.
Unfamiliar faces.
A rag pressed to his face.
When Tony woke, it was to a deep, horrifyingly familiar pain. The kind of pain that encompassed the whole body. The kind of pain that meant a wound severe enough that bone was gone.
His hand went to his chest, where he found it covered in bandages. After ripping them off, his first terrifying thought was oh my god, they put a bomb in me. His hands followed the wires leading from his chest to a box next to the cot he was on and he pulled weakly on them, his only thought being to defuse the bomb.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," a male voice said, sounding unconcerned. For the first time, Tony noticed the man shaving in a dirty mirror a few feet away.
"Toothless," he croaked, his throat dry and sticky. One more source of pain among the rest. "Did you take Toothless?"
The man paused and turned, studying Tony. For the first time, a hint of sympathy was shown in the man's eyes.
"No," he finally said. "As far as I know, they only took you."
Tony closed his eyes, relief making his head spin. Suddenly, the thing on his chest didn't feel quite as heavy. "They?" he wheezed. He had assumed the man was his captor.
The man set his razor down and walked over to a pitcher of water next to Tony's bed. He poured a cup, pressed it to Tony's hand. Tony drank messily, grateful. The water was dirty and tasted awful, but ever since the raft Tony had never taken fresh water for granted. He tried to take a deep breath, but something caught low in his chest, forcing him to cough. The coughs were agonizing, making him to curl in on himself and clutch at his chest which just made the pain worse. A hand landed on his shoulder.
"Slow breaths," the man said, voice low and calming. "You can't breathe as deeply with the magnet in place. Unfortunately you have a rather thin build, so the magnet sits deeper than I'd like. But it is better than the alternative."
Tony finally managed a breath that didn't get stuck somewhere in his chest. Once again, being skinny has come around to bite him in the ass. He knew he wasn't skinny so to say. He was built to ride a dragon, and he would slow Toothless down too much if he were some beefcake.
Wait, magnet?
"I think," he said in a breathless voice, "that you should tell me where we are and what's wrong with me."
Turned out, the man's name was Ho Yinson, and he was a captive as well. Tony had shrapnel in his chest, and a magnet hooked to a car battery slowing that shrapnel down.
It was the news that he only had a week to live that turned his world upside down. "No," he said. "I can't die. I can't. Toothless would be alone. He came here for me. For me. I can't leave him."
Yinson sighed. "There is nothing else I can do, Stark. It amazing you are even alive now. I did not think you would make it through surgery."
Tony shuddered at the memory. He was lucky enough not to remember much from losing his leg, but he knew the memory of them sawing into his chest would never leave him. He gingerly pressed his fingers to the magnet. A deep pain spread from the surface of his skin through the mangled bones.
Another set of scars to add to the collection. Tony was thinking that by the time his body was dumped at a military base or something like it that he'd have no unmarked skin left.
"I'm not training dragons for them," Tony muttered.
Yinson stared at him. "They do not want dragons from you Stark. They want so much more."
Tony thought he'd be better prepared for meeting his captives. After all, he'd been kidnapped by Alvin and Dagur plenty of times. The difference was, Alvin and Dagur were Vikings. They were upfront and honest about their intentions.
Another difference between his Viking captors and these ones. Alvin and Dagur never tortured him.
Later, shivering, lungs and throat burning from inhaling the water, Tony sat on the ground wrapped in a lice-infested blanket. Staring at nothing. Trying to remind himself that at least this time it wasn't someone he loved torturing him.
Seeing his weapons, the things he created, piled up around the outside of the cave was sickening. He had trusted that no one in his company would betray him, betray the whole country, commit federal treason. He was running his company like a Chief, trusting his tribe. And once again, Southerners showed him why they couldn't be trusted.
Worse, he had an idea. An idea for a way to stay alive. Or at least, ensure that they sharpel in his chest didn't kill him. And if the created it, created this amazing thing, there was a fair to good chance these people - the Ten Rings, Yinson called them - would take it. Then he would only be giving them another thing to use to hurt innocent people.
Toothless was terrified. And furious. Once again, Hiccup had been snatched out from under his nose, gone before Toothless even knew to pounce. He had trusted the not-Viking that liked Hiccup, that gave them almost a sense of flock, would keep him safe. But Toothless should have known better than to believe that humans could, would, protect his little Viking. Because they never did. Never.
So Toothless had to find him. Hiccup needed him, so Toothless would find him. That's all there was to it.
But this land was terrible. Toothless didn't know how Hiccup could survive in it. Toothless was worried he wouldn't be able to. There were few plants, even less animals to hunt. And the animals that were there were small and didn't have much meat on them. There were the snakes that had tails that hissed as well as their heads, and every hatchling knew better than to eat those. But there was nothing else to eat, and Toothless needed his energy to find Hiccup. So he pounced and killed them before they knew he was there and could find a vulnerable spot in his scales to bite him and make him sick. He had to dig deep into the dry ground to find water, and when he did it was dirty and not meant for drinking. But Toothless remembered how it was when he was a hatchling, how it was to eat whatever he could and be grateful there was something pickier than him that had left it.
There were humans around. Sometimes Toothless found a nest, but these nests smelled of blood and terror and not-Hiccup so he avoided them. Sometimes he heard the giant flying thing that shouldn't be able to fly but could and knew the not-Vikings were looking for him and Hiccup. He also knew they thought they could find Hiccup better than Toothless, and would try to stop him from looking. But they knew nothing, so he avoid the sounds of the thing that should not fly but did.
He didn't know how long he had been in the awful place. His saddle and false-fin were rotting, and the metal around his shoulders rubbed agonizingly deep, pushing the scales aside and digging into his flesh underneath. He'd never worn it this long without Hiccup there to take it off and scratch the places he couldn't reach with it on and rub mammal fat into the skins until it was soft again. But even though it was painful, Toothless didn't tear it off. Because he would find Hiccup, and he would need to be able to fly Hiccup away from this place. Back to somewhere where the sun didn't hurt Toothless's eyes and there weren't snakes with hissing tails and there was water and fish and other dragons.
Toothless only realized how bad it was when he realized his bones were beginning to look like his sire's had before he died. And it was scary, but Toothless had to find Hiccup. His little Viking would be scared and pretending not to be and Toothless had to find him and protect him because that was what he was meant for.
So no matter how tired he was, no matter how hungry and thirsty and weak, no matter how much his wings trembled with the effort of holding them up and his legs tried to fall out from under him, Toothless trudged on.
And one day, when he heard the sound of explosions and fire and screams, Toothless gathered his strength and ran towards it. Because where there was chaos, there was Hiccup. His little Viking was too foolishly brave to stay cowed and hidden forever.
Tony was terrified that these people might get their hands on the Miniaturized Arc Reactor, but he'd have to take that chance. Because he couldn't leave his weapons in the hands of the Ten Rings without at least trying to get them back. And more importantly, he couldn't leave Toothless alone.
Yinson was a good helper. He was different from Gobber of course. He didn't talk as much, he was more serious, and naturally he understood the scientific side of what they were doing. Still, having a human working with him brought back pleasant memories.
Which were shattered everytime their captors burst in.
The Miniaturized Arc Reactor was beautiful. Tony was laid out on a table, trying desperately not to squirm. It was the first time since Javis he had let someone see his scars. But it wasn't like he had a choice. And Yinson definitely saw them when he first put the magnet in.
That didn't stop him from snatching his shirt and yanking it on the second the Reactor clicked into place. Then he pulled his collar out so he could peek. The blue light shone against the faded and stained shirt. It was beautiful.
He looked up, and saw Yinson open his mouth like he was going to say something. This he snapped it shut and shook his head.
They dealt with the questions from their captors, and went to bed.
That night, curled up on their cots, under the cover of dark, Tony whispered, "My tribe branded me a traitor. Whipped me bloody."
Yinson didn't say anything, but Tony heard his breathing change and knew he had heard.
Tony swallowed hard, an audible clicking noise in the dark. "It was completely out of nowhere. Southerners came. Americans. Killed dozens. My tribe blamed me. Thought I told them to do it. It didn't matter that I risked my life to save Berk. That I lost of foot protecting the tribe."
Tony wasn't sure why he was saying this to Yinson. It wasn't like he'd known him long. But he was his fellow captive. And even though he was technically a Southerner, he was hardly spoiled. And he'd already seen the scars. Tony couldn't imagine what Yinson thought of them.
Finally, Yinson murmured, "I've seen torture many times in my life. Seen my friends, neighbors dragged off. Shot, drowned, beaten, whipped. And more. We feared everytime we saw the trucks coming. For us, it is never a surprise. But I know. I know that fear well, Stark."
Tony exhaled and squeezed his eyes shut as tears leaked down his cheeks. "You know," he murmured, smile tugging even as he struggled to keep from sobbing, "my friends call me Hiccup."
They never brought the subject up again. And Yinson didn't call him Hiccup - which Tony was thankful for. Despite his words the night before, he wasn't sure he could handle ever hearing that name again - although he did start calling him Tony. Which was at least a step up from Stark.
Before, Tony's only thought was to get himself out and back to Toothless. Now, he knew he had to take Yinson with him. He wanted him to meet his dragon. He thought Toothless and Yinson would get along well. So he started planning. The Arc Reactor was powerful. Ironically, this whole nightmare gave him the small power source he'd longing for for years. But for now, it wasn't going to be used for dragon training.
The suit was amazing. With the materials he had and having to keep it secret, he felt like he was back on Berk creating things in his room with poor materials and not testing them then just shooting them at dragons. Honestly, it was amazing he'd never seriously hurt anyone but Toothless with that reckless habit. But the suit would work. He knew it would.
It took months. And when they finally were ready, they didn't hesitate.
Yinson sacrificed himself. With all his talk of his family, Tony had never dreamed he would do that.
Although finding out they had been dead all along answered that questions.
Leaving his body behind felt wrong. If there was ever anyone who deserved a gleaming ship loaded with riches and a flaming arrow, it was Yinson. But he told Tony not to waste his life. To get back to Toothless, and fix what he had created.
The suit fell apart mid air. Tony fell, and falling was something he was used to. But this time, Toothless wasn't there to catch him.
The desert sucked. Tony was once again learning the horrors of dehydration, although at least this time there was genuinely no water. Seeing all that water around him on the raft and knowing he couldn't drink it was hell.
All he could do was keeping stumbling forward. If he stayed still too long the shifting sand under his feet started to feel like waves and would make him dry-heave since there was nothing in his stomach to throw up.
When he first saw the dark dot moving towards him, he assumed it was just his vision spotting. But this dot didn't go away, and although it was steadily getting larger it was staying steady.
When he realized what the dot was, he assumed he was hallucinating. That did not stop him from stumbling towards the dot as quickly as his shaky legs could carry him.
When he reached Toothless, he knew he wasn't hallucinating. Because he never would have imagined him like this.
Toothless was emaciated. Tony had never seen a dragon that thin, let alone his precious Night Fury. He had been skinny when Tony had first started feeding him in the cove on Berk, but nothing like this. His wings were sunk below his spine, and Tony could see his ribs through his scales. Scales that were so dull and unhealthy they were almost grey. And he was still wearing his flight rig, but it was rotted and rubbing at Toothless's weakened scales to the point where the scales were just flaking off.
Tony threw his arms around his dragon's neck with a wild, unrestrained sob. Toothless whimpered desperately, curling his wings around them and tucking his chin against Tony's back. Tony could feel him shaking, and knew he was trembling just as bad.
"Toothless Toothless Toothless Toothless," he sobbed. "What the hell are you doing here, oh god, you're a mess buddy. Jesus, fuck Toothless I missed you." Toothless whimpered again and his wings tightened around Tony.
Toothless was reluctant to let Tony back up enough to look at Toothless's wounds, and Tony wanted to stay as close as possible too but he had to try to do something to help his poor Night Fury. Still, he couldn't bring himself to take physical contact away, and always kept a hand on him.
When he peeled the shoulder stirrups away, dead scales and skin came off with it. The smell that wafted out of the wounds almost made Tony gag. His injuries were so infected the wounds weren't even bleeding. Pus oozed down Toothless's shoulders. There was nothing else Tony could do, so he just tried to get Toothless to lick his injuries since his saliva was practically magical. But he was too busy nosing at Tony's chest and snorting suspiciously.
"Oh yeah," he murmured, looking down at the reactor. "I got hurt when they first took me. I almost died. This keeps me alive now." Toothless's eyes widened and he jerked back so his nose was no longer poking the reactor. Tony laughed a little. "It okay Toothless, it's tougher than that. My chest will break before the reactor does."
Toothless huffed a little and - more gently this time - nosed at the reactor again. Tony worked on getting the rest of his rotted gear off, but Toothless kept circling to keep Tony in his sight. Tony sympathized, but that gear had to go.
Toothless's shoulders were large open wounds, and the band around his tail where the tailfin was strapped into place was raw and as infected as his shoulders. Toothless kept nudging Tony to walk instead of licking his wounds, which was frustrating but if they didn't find water and shelter soon exposure would kill them before Toothless's wounds did. Besides, as bad as they were Tony was confident they weren't life threatening.
Toothless heard the helicopter before Tony did. His head whipped up and he barked gleefully, then shot three blasts into the air, startling Tony. But not even half a minute later, there was a helicopter hurtling by, then Tony was shouting and laughing and waving and Toothless was roaring and they were both stumbling forward, Tony weak enough that it was almost impossible to drag his prosthetic through the sand. But there was Rhodey, and he had never looked so gorgeous.
He grabbed Tony and hugged him so tight that it hurt, but it was a good hurt and his other arm was around Toothless, and the three of them were just a sappy triangle of tears and relief.
Most people would think it was finally over, but Tony knew the next chapter of his life was just beginning.
So, the way the vote went led this part of the story to follow at lot closer to the way it in in the movie than I had originally planned since Tony still had to make the suit. Hopefully it came out okay. I also wrote most of this in the early hours of the morning so I'm not sure about it, but I didn't want to just sit on this chapter and overthink it, so I just threw it out to you guys and hope for the best!