AN: Hello everyone! Welcome to another chapter! Hope this one is exciting for all of you! There are definitely some spicy moments in here! Anyways~, I recently realized that August 30th will mark the Five Year Anniversary of Rise of Wizardry! That very start of this series! I thought that since it's kind of a mile stone and I've spent half a decade of my life working on this series, maybe we should do something special? I had a few ideas: An extra chapter on the 30th, A Q&A session on Tumblr, or maybe a sneak peek of the seventh book? I'm not sure what I should do, but I'd really love to hear some feedback from you guys! And if you have other ideas as well, I'd be more than happy to hear them, so please don't be shy! This celebration is for y'all, so tell me what you'd like to see! :)
REVIEWERS!:
Acecove: Yeah, the voltron characters just happened to fit pretty well within this arc since I wanted to have multiple prisoners in Azkaban, and hopefully I can expand on their existence within this universe a bit more, but they're not going to be a focus. Excellent! Those children should be absolutely terrifying, and the Prime Minister is just a bad dude, all around. I love the idea of a wit competition! I'm not sure it will fit within the series just because there's so much to get through still, but I will try! And if not, perhaps a one-shot/wip? Anyways, I did add in a little sass with this chapter, so hopefully there can be more in the future!
Eris: Yep! Emma's mind is a very scary place! The Prime Minister doesn't so much lure them away, it's more that if they get too close to the truth, he makes them disappear. It's a conspiracy. :)
Adaminaart: Aww! Thank you so much! I'm always a bit skeptical about how characters like Emma and Talia (who are more like OCs, and aren't one of the big four) will be perceived, because, yeah, my big four story doesn't have an immense amount of the Big Four, ya know? So it's nice to hear when people like them! There will definitely be a lot more of Emma and the Trollhunters to come! And thanks! I often question that decision to keep them apart, but it's part of the overall story and the themes, so I had to stick true to what I wanted to write! Oh goodness, my Hogwarts house? Alright, this might make me seem kinda biased, but who isn't? I'm a Ravenclaw, though I do have some Gryffindor tendencies. Not a smart Ravenclaw, an artsy one. :)
Music: "Broken" by Anson Seabra
NOTES!: "Monsters are Real, and Ghosts are Real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they Win."
Chapter 28: Broken
Hiccup had lost count of how many needles had pricked his arm in the last hour, and he had no idea whether they were injecting more of their experimental substances into his body, or if they were taking his blood for their own personal use.
That is what life in Azkaban was like; constant experiments that he was dragged out of his cell for nearly every single day. Frollo's compound housed several Dark Druids that would conduct whatever experiments they pleased on every prisoner on the island in order to produce results. What they considered "results" varied quite a lot, but the common factor seemed to be that, whatever it was, it was useful to Frollo.
Because of their "scientific studies", It didn't take Hiccup too long to figure out the purpose of the tattooed collar around his neck. Within the first few days of his consciousness, he discovered that the collar was a magical chokehold of sorts. If he used any sort of magic, the runes would glow and redirect his magic inward, causing him pain. If the Prime Minister or one of his scientists didn't like something he did or just wanted to test his tolerance for pain, they could activate the runes and they would drain his magic to inflict pain.
It was also difficult to get them to stop glowing entirely because Hiccup had learned quite some time ago that his magic was always active. Always flowing through him. Always trying to get out. So the marks always had at least a very faint glow. The only saving grace was that it didn't hurt enough for Hiccup to take much notice, especially after spending a good part of his adolescence with frequent migraines.
"I have enough blood samples for today. Take it to Haggar. She has a very important test to run on it today." The druid told the guards.
Hiccup's restraints were yanked off, but just as his limbs were free, rough hands grabbed hold of them. The guards pulled his arms behind his back and dragged him to his feet, securing his wrists and ankles with shackles before the led him back into the halls. Hiccup felt dizzy and a little nauseous, but he supposed he was doing pretty well considering the past few weeks.
But he knew that was about to change.
He knew the name Haggar. He'd learned it very early on, especially with Percy and the other kidnapped soldiers warning him. She was the head of the Druids at Azkaban, and she used to be the right-hand advisor of Emporer Zarkon, who had initiated the civil war in Altea. She now worked closely with Frollo, apparently, as she was in charge of all the happenings on the island. And Hiccup had learned quickly that Haggar was the last person he wanted to see at any given time. Her experiments were especially gruesome, and her cruelty was legendary.
Haggar's lab was located inside of the tower on the very top floor. It was isolated and heavily guarded on the floor below. Passed the stairwell, there was no one on the top floor except for Haggar and whoever had caught her attention.
The guards dragged Hiccup up the stairwell to the top floor of the tall, tall tower. Upon arrival, they knocked on the door once and waited silently for nearly fifteen minutes before the door finally opened to reveal the hooded figure of Haggar. Her glowing eyes flashed with interest when they landed on Hiccup, and he felt a shiver racing down his spine.
"Bring him inside. I'll require your assistance for this test." She ordered, opening the door wider, and the guards immediately obeyed.
Hiccup was shoved into the room and pushed to his knees in the center of it. The guards stood on either side of him as Haggar circled him and then turned to her table of medical instruments. Hiccup watched as she inspected a few of the sharper pieces by holding them up to the light, but overall couldn't see much of what she was doing as her back was to him, blocking his view.
"I am told that you were a Gladiator for the Romans for a short time," Haggar began in an almost conversational way, but her voice was so sharp and so cold, Hiccup couldn't imagine holding normal conversation with this woman. "So you must have some knowledge of Roman War Powder."
It was a statement, not a question, but Hiccup refused to respond. He stayed silent and glared at her, his lip curling back as memories of the Gladiator ring came rushing back... The drug that drove the fights...
"Your silence is answer enough." Haggar told him, ignoring his show of defiance. "The properties of this particular substance are quite interesting. Remarkably similar to Gravesand used by the Changlings, and yet, when unrefined, War Powder becomes almost a hallucinogen," She spoke as her arms moved, working on something, and then she turned to Hiccup, holding a bowl. Hiccup's felt his muscles tense as his eyes locked on that bowl, his heart pounding. "Some say this drug allows Gladiators and Warriors of the Roman Empire to accelerate their healing capabilities, allowing them to fight for longer. I've also been told that when subjected to an unrefined dosage, these mindless killers become easier to control. I wonder what affects it will have on you..."
"I won't," Hiccup growled, scowling up at her as she stood over him. She frowned and knelt down in front of him.
"You don't have a choice." She hissed. She lifted the bowl and blew, her breath puffing the dust into Hiccup's face. He tried to yank himself back and away, but it was useless. The dust infiltrated his nose, making itch as he sniffed and snorted, trying to get it out.
He shook his head back and forth, blinking his eyes, and trying to pull away, but one of the guards put their hand on the back of his neck, forcing him to stay right where he was and breathe in the powder. He choked and gagged, tears streaming from his eyes as the powder made them burn. His heartbeat was getting harder, faster. He could feel his blood rushing through his veins alongside magic. More and more magic. Wild and searching for a way out. His senses all screamed Danger! and Fight!
He felt his fingernails sharpening and digging into his palms, his teeth ached as they stretched to points, and his runes around his neck glowed so bright he could see the purple light in the corners of his eyes.
The only thing that he could fully register was the Pain. It was all consuming. Crushing him and pulling him apart all at once.
Someone was screaming, it might've been him, but he couldn't be sure. He was burning alive and freezing to death at the same time. His vision warped and twisted, the edges becoming fuzzy.
His senses shrieked Danger! and Fear! and Fly! and Fight! but he couldn't move the pain was so bad. All he could do was curl inward on himself as he willed it all to stop. The instincts were so overwhelming. His magic wanted out, but it was just redirected back at him by the collar. Hiccup tried to force his magic to stop, but that hurt even worse.
A leg slammed into his side, and Hiccup went sprawling across the floor, rolling twice before catching himself on his hands and knees. His head snapped towards the guard who had kicked him and Hiccup snarled, but immediately groaned in pain afterwards.
"Get up and fight." Haggar commanded, glaring down her nose at him from the side as the two guards grinned and brandished their fists.
"I... Won't..." Hiccup bit out through clenched teeth, squeezing his eyes shut to ignore the black spots in his vision.
"You Will." Haggar said. But this time her voice didn't come from her body. It echoed on one side of his head, shoving his instincts aside to make space.
Hiccup grabbed his hair and screamed as a piercing feeling drove into his temple. Two powers struggled in his mind; one overwhelming, the other over-bearing. He could feel his consciousness slipping as both bubbles, both presence, grew stronger. It felt like a wrestling match in his head as both sides struggled to gain complete control, going back and forth as Hiccup lost himself in the Pain.
"You Will Obey." Haggar's voice sliced through his mind, the over-bearing side surging forward, but it only made the overwhelming power, Hiccup's own magic and instincts, more agitated. Hiccup growled as his power forced itself forward, pushing Haggar nearly completely out of his mind.
Haggar scowled and pushed against it, clashing with the wave of Hiccup's magic, and the resulting pain made Hiccup's vision flash white as he screamed. The collar around his neck was letting off wisps of smoke, it was burning so much, and it felt as if liquid electricity was rushing through his veins. But his magic lashed out; snarling, biting, fire, and Haggar shrieked, falling backwards as she was forced entirely out of Hiccup's mind.
With Haggar's expulsion, the pain lessened significantly, but he couldn't catch his breath and his heart was pounding. He didn't know how long the whole exchange had taken, maybe a few minutes? A few hours? Whatever the case, the drug was still in his system, and his magic was reacting violently to it. His whole body twitched and flinched as he gasped for breath, sweat dripping off of his forehead.
Still, he lifted his eyes to where the guards were helping Haggar back to her feet. Their eyes locked and Haggar frowned at him, her brow furrowing deep.
"You... Will Not... Break... Me." Hiccup told her, clenching his fists against the floor where he still lay, half-curled into himself.
"We'll see about that," Haggar said, but before she'd even finished speaking, the door opened. Haggar and the guards turned towards the noise, but Hiccup let his head drop down again, using the moment to try and steady himself against the slowly fading affects of the drug.
"Have you made any progress with your experiments, Haggar?" Frollo's voice made Hiccup's skin crawl as he glanced up to watched Haggar greet the Prime Minister.
"We've only reached the preliminary stages of this particular test, but I believe continuing with this theory may prove fruitful. His mind is weakened by the drug and with more time I will find a way to offer you complete control over the Dragonling." Haggar told him firmly, her voice leaving no room for questioning.
"Perhaps." Frollo hummed, stepping to her side and peering down his nose at Hiccup, who glared up at him. "But then again, I may have discovered a simpler way of acquiring the power of a dragon."
"What are you talking about?" Haggar asked, but Frollo wasn't looking at her.
Hiccup and Frollo stared at each other as the old man stepped closer, his long robes brushing along the smooth and polished floor. He folded his hands neatly in front of him and regarded Hiccup with a chilling look. Hiccup responded by forcing himself up into a sitting position on shaking arms, glaring at the man.
"What do you want?" Hiccup growled.
"I simply want what all good leaders want: the power to achieve my sacred duty of guarding the people of the Ministry." Claude Frollo said, using his arm and hands to accentuate his speech.
"You mean anyone who follows you. Everyone else needs to be silenced or destroyed." Hiccup retorted, still unable to catch his breath.
"Anyone who does not align themselves with the Ministry of Magic is a traitor to the Allied Kingdoms and all of civilized society." The Prime Minister informed him with a sharp glare. "In any case, you hold a power unknown to the world. You live with and control dragons. Your magic is truly extraordinary and mysterious. But if you are not willing to fight for the Ministry on your own accord, Haggar's experiments will eventually find a way of forcing your mind into submission under your authority."
"You can't force me to do your bidding! I'll never stop fighting you!" Hiccup spat, baring his teeth at the old man as he walked off to inspect some medical tools, casually continuing the conversation as if it were of little consequence.
"You don't have the choice. Your power is meant to be used by those strong enough to wield it properly, and you have proven that you are incapable of using it for the benefit of your society." Frollo turned back to Hiccup, his gaze wide and intense. "I will use your power to uphold the Authority of the Ministry and to defend the Allied Kingdoms from the forces of War Lords. I will control dragons!"
"I don't control them!" Hiccup said, shaking his head. "They are intelligent, beautiful creatures and I fly with them because I have bonded with them! I earned their trust!"
"Trust," Frollo laughed and scoffed. "The only recognizable power in this life is the Absolute. One's will over all others. And if you will not obey, I will have my druids continue their experiments until you've no choice. I already know the first beast I will take control of." Frollo's mouth twisted into a grin and Hiccup shrank back, his lip curling up again.
"What poor creature suffered such an awful fate as to catch your attention?" Hiccup asked, not entirely sure he wanted to know, but also needing to.
"A beast of legend that I stumbled upon almost in a dream." Frollo responded after a moments thought. "It was a few weeks after having the same dream that Haggar brought an ancient manuscript to my attention depicting a beast of great power." Frollo reached into his sleeve and withdrew a scroll, unraveling it first to himself and then turning it to show Hiccup.
The old, slightly smudged, drawing made Hiccup freeze and his breath catch in his lungs. His heart pounded in his ears as his mind raced to process what he was seeing.
"The Jabberwocky," He whispered, unable to believe what was right before his eyes.
"Ah, so you know of this beast?" Frollo's interests were peaked as he once again looked at the drawing. "Very little is known of it, but I have managed to discover an old rhyme about how to summon it into this world."
"You are obsessed with power! You want Magics that you have no business tampering with! You'll kill us all!" Hiccup exclaimed, fixing his eyes on the Prime Minister's face, trying desperately to find any sort of humanity there. "You have to understand, the Jabberwocky is a monster, born of pure evil and hatred. He won't listen to you, and if you release him into the world, he will destroy everything in his path!"
"A promising threat. But you underestimate our abilities." Frollo smiled as he gestured to Haggar as well as himself. "I've nearly completed the potion to summon the beast. The only item left on the list is the 'blood of a Warrior Maiden who wields the Vorpal Blade'." Frollo paused and cut a glance to Hiccup. "It took me quite some time to come up with an answer to that part of the poem, but what a surprise I found when one little girl stood out among all the rest at Hogwarts; and all because she was carrying the file enclosed with documents about the investigation of your death."
"Don't." Hiccup told him with a shaking voice. "You don't know what you're doing, you'll only end up hurting people!"
"No, I will be doing what is necessary to protect the people. You have brought pain upon Emma Frost by teaching her your insubordinate ways." Frollo accused.
"She doesn't even know that I'm alive! She's just a kid, please!" Hiccup lied as he begged. "Do what you want with me! You can break my soul, take my life away, beat me, hurt me, kill me. But for the love of the gods: Don't. Touch. Her."
Frollo remained silent, but his mouth twisted up into a wicked smile as he slowly rolled the scroll. "And now you've confirmed my suspicions of the girl being the Warrior Maiden after all."
Hiccup's eyes went wide, then narrowed into a glare and he heard himself snarling as he realized he'd been tricked. "You didn't actually know."
"Of course not. But after several encounters with the child, I began to grow suspicious of her secrets. It's no matter, though. I've already placed a curse on the girl that will slowly erase her memory and weaken her mind. Soon enough I'll be able to extract everything I need from her." Frollo tucked the scroll back into his sleeve and folded his hands in front of him neatly, that damned smile still on his face.
Hiccup squeezed his eyes shut, feeling his face twist with all of the rage that boiled up inside him. Suddenly his feet were braced on the floor, launching him forward as he lunged at the Prime Minister, roaring as he wound up his left arm to swipe across the man's throat. He was stopped mid-way though as both guards jumped on him, grabbing him by his arms and shoulders and forcing him back. Hiccup snarled and spat, glaring at the Prime Minister who remained the picture of calm and satisfied.
"You're a monster!" Hiccup shouted at him.
Hiccup wanted nothing else in that moment, but to slit that man's throat. To feel his blood spill out.
"No, I am a Man, entrusted with the holy duty of managing heathens like you for the betterment of our civilization." Frollo explained.
"It isn't Ours. It's yours, and I want no part in it." Hiccup growled through his teeth.
"You don't have the choice." Frollo told him. "Take him back to his cell, I've grown weary of this prattle. I must speak with Haggar privately."
The guards immediately obeyed, pulling Hiccup's arms behind him and shackling them again as they dragged him towards the door. Hiccup just continued to glare at the Prime Minister, and he wasn't frightened or ashamed when he started imagining his claws slitting that man's throat.
"Well, someone was gone for quite a while. You have fun with old Haggy? Heard the guards say you were paying her a visit." Lance smirked after the guards had left, leaving Hiccup back in his cell.
Initially, Hiccup had been surprised to find out that all of the surrounding cells contained the missing soldiers he'd met his first day, but it was something he quickly became thankful for. Being able to talk with them kept him sane, kept him from falling deep into the part of the monster everyone called him. They had accepted him fairly quickly, too, their most suspicious companions - Keith and Pidge mostly - seemed to be fine with his presence after a few days. Whether the friendship was out of pity or out of kindness, Hiccup didn't really mind either way. He was just grateful they saw more than just a freakish monster in him. They even shared with him that they were working on an escape plan together, but they were being cautious as they probably only had one shot at it. If they tried and were captured again, Frollo and Haggar would increase their security. Possibly lock them in solitary confinement.
"Oh, yeah! You know how authority figures just love my company." Hiccup replied dryly, but in all honesty, it wasn't often anyone came back from Haggar still conscious, so he supposed he should count himself lucky.
"Probably as much as they love your insubordination." Pidge remarked.
"Yeah, wow, you're right! It's almost like I'm a pirate or something!" Hiccup said, jabbing a thumb towards his back and the dragon tattoo they'd all seen multiple times by now. Pidge just cackled a little bit in response.
Hiccup smirked, but quickly felt a weight on his shoulders, pushing them down with guilt, as he remembered all he learned during his time with Haggar and then the Prime Minister. As he remember Frollo's discovery of Wonderland and Emma's connection to it.
Hiccup dragged himself over to the corner of his cage and sat down, feeling exhausted and worn. His back was pressed against the bars separating his cage from Percy's, and he felt it when the man moved to kneel down behind him. A frost-covered hand rested on his shoulder where one of his more prominent bruises were, and Hiccup glanced back at the man, offering some wordless gratitude as the older man simply smiled back. Hiccup eventually pulled off his shirt and allowed Percy to ice the lashings, cuts, and bruises that littered his back. It took a long time, but eventually the Winter Sprite had done everything he could and turned to sit down, resting back-to-back with the boy. Hiccup shoved his limbs back into the tattered shirt and then let himself lean back against the bars, his gaze moving from the floor to the ceiling.
It was late and everyone else had already gone to sleep, or were at least pretending to be in the hopes of finding some rest at some point.
"You know," Percy began softly, causing Hiccup's eyes to flick to one side, towards the man. "I've been in here a very long time. I've seen so many come and go. So many lives lost to Haggar and her experiments. But I think the absolute worst thing to witness, is someone who has lost Hope."
"Is this going to turn into some lecture about 'Keeping Hope Alive'?" Hiccup rolled his eyes as Percy chuckled.
"No, I suppose you're too old to believe in such fairy tales." Percy sighed.
"I believe in them." Hiccup said, nearly interrupting Percy and glaring at the floor as he leaned forward, burying half his face into his arms that were propped on top of his knees. "They just let me down. And every time I've tried to get back up on my own, to find something Good... Well, this last attempt got me here... And now Frollo is going to hurt someone I promised to always look after and protect."
His throat felt tight, and his eyes felt hot and swollen. His mind kept flashing back to a night when he'd met Jack's eyes from across the Great Hall. His best friend had complete faith in him to look after Emma and keep her safe, but now it was because of him that her life was in danger.
"I -I just keep thinking about... About what could have been. O-or how things would've turned out if I had just been a little stronger. A little more in control... A little braver." Hiccup admitted, ignoring the wet feeling on his cheeks.
"You aren't alone in that, Cat." Percy said, and Hiccup tilted his head towards him slightly. "I know this is probably the part where you expect me to offer comfort and try to convince to not give up Hope, but this place... Well, it's awful. And everyone here has regrets keeping us up at night. Things we wished we'd said or done..." Percy sighed, and Hiccup may have imagined it, but he thought he heard a waver in his breath. "I just wish I could see my children again. Know that they're alright and doing well. Know that Matilda and them are safe."
Hiccup lifted his, an urge to say something, anything, rushing up in his chest, but when he opened his mouth, no words came out. There was no way to tell him without exposing himself, not that it mattered much at that point, he guessed. Overall, though, nothing he said would mean much. Percy had been in Azkaban for eleven years. Nothing would ever give him that time back.
"...I just wish I could tell them all that I'm sorry." Hiccup whispered after a long moment of silence.
And they sat there, back-to-back, in the darkness and the quiet.
"Are ye mad?!" Alvin shouted, pounding his fist on the small, makeshift table. "We got our bloody asses kicked the last time we went against the Ministry, and now ye want us to go do it again?!"
"Cat would do the same for any one of us!" Talia retorted.
"Well, yeah! It's a bit easier when you've got a herd of giant, flying, fire-breathing lizards under your command!" Sinbad muttered, but quickly fell quiet after a sharp look from Eret.
"We have the dragons with us, and they'll be itching to tear apart anything standing between them and Cat! Besides, the Prime Minister may have given up for the time being, but how long before the whole thing starts again? You really think he'll stop at Cat?" Eret demanded.
"All the more reason to pull back and gather our forces. Run and fortify ourselves before they start coming after us again!" Hook put in, jabbing his finger against the tabletop.
"They aren't wrong, lad." Silver rumbled from his reclined position, slightly raising his tankard to draw attention. "And there is the Code to be considered here."
"The Code?!" Talia sneered incredulously. "You're bloody Pirates! Hang the Code, and Hang the Rules! They're more like guidelines anyways!"
"I agree." Esmeralda announced.
"Oh, of course you do." Sinbad muttered, only to get slapped on the back of the head by Esmeralda herself.
"As I was saying," She said, turning back to the gathered Captains. "We have the element of surprise. This attack could easily shift the tide of this ongoing battle with the Ministry. Just this year they've taken at least five different Sanctuaries. Running and hiding has done nothing to help us."
Captain Zarina chimed in agreement from across the table, her first-mate nodding confirmation of the agreement.
"They do have a fair many points there." Silver nodded thoughtfully. "At the end of it all, my crew is at your disposal, yer Majesty. I'm curious to see what you'll do." He chuckled heartily.
"Alright, fine, say we all agree to this crazy suicide mission, which is exactly what this is! Even more so than the last one! Are you sure your intel is good?" Sinbad wanted to know.
"Double checked it myself." Eret replied evenly and without hesitation. "Even went to check out the route. It's sealed up pretty tight, but our window of opportunity will open up in just a few days."
"And I suppose we'll need to be waiting there, ready for it when it happens." Hook said, and Talia nodded.
"Prepare your ships and men for battle. We set sail in three days." Talia ordered, turning and looking out the window. Outside the small and shabby structure they used for their meeting, Toothless laid on the dock, staring up at the moon.