Hiccup ran after Heather as they made their way back to the center of the Northern Markets. Hiccup did expect there to be a battle... He did not expect it to be chaotic.
The two of them stopped dead in their tracks as they crossed under one of the many archways contouring the plaza. They stood dazed, panting at the sight of fighting Vikings. Fire was eating at everything flammable like a predator feasting on meat. People threw themselves at each other with their weapons raised over their heads. Swords, axes, bludgeons, and maces clashed against one another. Most of the Vikings from the Markets didn't even own a weapon and threw fists instead. Hiccup could see that the Berserkers had been trying to secure the perimeter by stationing themselves on the outskirts of the town. But trying to control rogue Vikings was like trying to control wild baby Whispering Deaths. Their formations had already been broken a while ago for they no longer tried maintaining their positions and had engaged in the fight, swinging their blades at every non-complying individual.
It was chaotic, and for a brief moment, Hiccup thought he was back in his 19-year-old body, battling another battle in this never-ending war.
Expect this time it was hard to divide the good and the bad.
Heather didn't skip a beat pondering and swung her folded double-headed battle-axe open before rushing in to fight alongside her people. Hiccup called after her in a desperate attempt to stop her, but he knew she wouldn't hear it, all too rogue and one-track-minded. So Hiccup ran after her, mixing in with the crowd. He ducked stray blows and swings chasing after her. He tried to keep up but was rapidly body-slammed by a duo fighting bare fists and was left disoriented on the dusty ground. Hiccup shook his head, regaining his senses before taking off again, desperately trying to get a visual.
He looked up above the violent sea of angry and bloody Vikings and spotted Heather fighting off an ex-Hunter. She swung her axe and kicked him in the stomach, defeating him easily before coming up to her next challenger. He felt his heart drop to the pit of his stomach when he caught a glimpse of Maeve running up to her with her double-headed axe at her side. A dark look shaded her face as she approached the Berserker Chieftess.
"Heather, watch out!" shouted Hiccup, too far away to interfere.
Heather snapped her head his way but quickly sensed the presence and swirled around to block the blow before it met her flesh. Maeve pressed down on her weapon with all her might, but Heather held on, baring her teeth.
"You should've left well enough alone when you had the chance, Chieftess!" snarled Maeve before kicking her hard in the stomach. Heather coughed and grunted while she backed off, holding her ground on the defensive. Maeve approached, swinging her axe at her side mercilessly. "You never should've stepped on my island in the first place!"
"You can play pretend for as long as you like," panted Heather. "But you and I both know you'll never be a true ruler..."
Maeve snarled angrily and swung her blade, ready to bring it down on the Berserker Chieftess. But Maeve only had a second to catch a glimpse of her new attacker as Viggo body-slammed her, automatically making her lose her grip on the handle of her axe. The blade dropped to the ground with a loud clink at the same time as Maeve met the hard surface. She shook her head frustratingly and looked up at Viggo Grimborn towering above her, daring her to try and get up.
"Viggo..." said Heather, standing battle-ready behind him while he kept glaring down at the pretender. But Viggo only gave her a side-way glance. Heather met his gaze and nodded slowly, silently coming to terms that he wasn't the enemy.
Maeve didn't overthink it and took advantage of the second-long distraction to hop back on her feet and strike a blow in his guts, knocking the wind out of him and leaving him disoriented long enough for Maeve to invert their roles.
Heather bared her teeth and swung her blade, engaging the other woman once more while the ex-Hunter recovered.
Hiccup ran up to them and slid under Viggo's arm, encouraging him to stand. They couldn't allow becoming sitting ducks out here.
"Hiccup," said Viggo with a hoarse voice, coughing a few fits while he regained his balance. "Is Zephyr alright?"
"She's fine for now," he said hurriedly as he watched Heather duel against Maeve. They needed to help her out. He turned to Viggo as he regained his posture. "Can you stand?"
"I'll live," replied Viggo before pulling out his dagger from its sheath, eyes fixated on Maeve.
Hiccup grabbed onto Inferno strapped to his tight, pushing the last barrels of Kerosene gel in place. He pressed the trigger, sending the three sections sliding out. They clicked into place and the Monstrous Nightmare gel lit up like a forest in the dry season.
They each took a side and circled around Maeve and Heather. The Berserker Chieftess threw her off just long enough to back off a few steps, leaving Maeve surrounded by all three allies. Maeve took a moment to acknowledge it, casting a long look on her left and right to see that she was indeed surrounded. She panted, firmly holding her weapon before her.
"Don't even try it, Maeve," warned Hiccup, scowling as he studied her body language and saw the fire still burning bright in her. "Just give up. It's pointless."
But Maeve refused to back down.
"I can't!" she shouted angrily. "I won't! You're all liars and traitors!"
"We're trying to help you!" replied Hiccup, replying with the same angry tone of voice.
"How?! You're turning your back on your own kind to protect your pets!" spat Maeve. "People are suffering because of you!" She held her weapon up at him and Hiccup held his chin high, a displeased expression featuring on his face.
"No," he said dryly. "They're suffering because of you."
Maeve gritted her teeth heatedly and quickly reevaluated her situation before lunging herself at Viggo considering his weapon's size and vulnerability. Hiccup knew Viggo would not stand a chance against Maeve's fiery spirit and determination, not to mention her battle-axe. He didn't wait a moment and interfaced with her before she could swing her weapon, body-slamming her away from her targeted victim. But Maeve wasn't all that caught off guard and managed to throw him off by swinging him overhead with her feet to his stomach. Hiccup landed hard on his back right in front of one of the supply barns and groaned from his aching body. Inferno was knocked out of his grip and rolled away by a few barrels sitting at the building's entrance, its blade still aflame. It didn't take long for the barrel's wooden exterior to catch on fire, and soon enough, they were flaming, taking the whole barn along with it.
Maeve shook her head sideways and looked up as the flames started eating away at the barn. She stood, looking down at the Berkian Chief as he tried to get back up. Maeve would've ended the job right here and now... But the alarming sizzling sound coming from the barn made her heart drop and she didn't waste another second to turn tails and run.
Hiccup recovered in time to see the look of terror paint on Maeve's face. But he didn't have time to react to it.
Everything happened too fast.
The sharp sizzling noise grew more piercing and by the time Hiccup finally understood what was going on, the blinding flash and deafening boom were all he knew.
...
Viggo had been caught by surprise when Maeve launched herself at him. But Hiccup had broken the axe's blood-thirsty blade's pattern, dragging Maeve along with him. Viggo and Heather had reacted late, unknowing what to do as they chased after them while they fought clumsily. Viggo saw Inferno get knocked out of Hiccup's hand and roll away till it met one of the sets of barrels sitting by the barn's entrance. It hadn't taken too long for the wood all around to become victim to the hungry flames. They licked the planks like savage brutes. Hiccup and Maeve hadn't seemed to notice or care too much about the detail until the alarming whistle originating from the building set Maeve on alert. It hadn't been hard for the ex-Hunter to comprehend her body language to know something bad was about to happen.
She turned around in a heartbeat and ran in the opposite direction, back to him and Heather while they'd been keeping close to the duel to assist their friend should he need a hand. But their help would be useless now.
Viggo knew what that barn contained the moment he heard the sizzling.
Explosives.
He wanted to warn Hiccup.
He wanted to get to him before the whole thing blew up.
But he was too late.
He, Heather, and Maeve were knocked back a good couple of meters before landing back hard on the ground. The deafening roar of the explosion set his ears ringing. The bright flash as the whole thing went off left him blinded. Sparks danced before his vision; his heartbeat echoed loudly in his ears. The sensation of the ground and gravity all together didn't seem right. He couldn't think straight. His senses were all turned around.
He blinked his eyes at the darkened sky. His vision was blurry. He could see blurry spots of bright light as sparks floated over him. The smell of burning and ashes filled his nostrils while the heavy smoke filled his lungs. He could hear the absorbed-sounding shouts of panic and calls for help.
Viggo fought the sensation of destabilization and sat up, cursing the ache in his body as he forced himself off the ground. He gazed straight ahead at the burning building and everything that surrounded it. Disbelief and denial settled in his core as he stared at the roaring flames lighting up the night. Orders rang all around him and he watched Vikings run towards the fire with buckets of water to stop the flames from spreading.
He finally regained his footing but stood in defeat facing the chaos.
"Viggo!" called Heather, an edge of distress to her voice. She approached him, slightly limping, her face buried in the curve of her elbow while she coughed. "Viggo, we have to help Hiccup!"
"We both saw what happened," said Viggo, his voice hoarser than ever as he leaned closer to her, the shouts and crackling flames filling the background. "He's gone..."
"I refuse to believe that!" screamed Heather, her eyes watering fast while she punched him violently in the chest.
Viggo staggered back, taken aback. He blinked, watching her as she turned her back on him, holding her head in denial and distress. He sighed a shaky breath, trying to think of something. Viggo lowered his head and joined her side while they faced the flames, its heat spreading wide. The Berserker Chieftess crossed her arms over her chest, streams of tears sliding down her cheeks while she stared blankly ahead. Viggo didn't say anything and stood still, silently sharing her grief instead.
It felt like an eternity.
Standing there.
Useless.
The flames were slowly dying out, having eaten away everything flammable. The bones of the barn had crumbled into a pile of embers.
Everything was gone.
Burned to the ground.
Until nothing remained.
It was only then that Viggo and Heather searched the crime scene for evidence. The remaining pieces of wood burned until their life had gone. Embers kept the piles of ashes as warm as a swarm of Fireworms.
The sky was starting to lighten at the coming of dawn. The battle had ended. Vikings, scared off by the explosion that had killed the Berkian Chief.
But all they found was Inferno, covered in ashes. Viggo couldn't describe the sensation in his chest when he picked it off the ground and dusted it off. He couldn't remember feeling this way ever. Not even for his own brother's death. Not even for the fall of his empire. Not even for his own near-death experience. He felt more heavy and lost than ever. And for a while, he wondered whether between hoping and accepting, which would hurt less.
He was almost ready to give up - to turn his back on it all and never look back. He wanted to run – run as far away as he could and forget everything. But Heather stopped him when he heard her call a short distance away.
"Viggo! I found something!"
Viggo didn't stall and ran over to her side where she sat and saw the body of Hiccup lying in her arms, his face and clothes covered in ashes and giving him a ghostly appearance.
Heather couldn't hold back the tears as she looked back up at Viggo who could barely stand.
"He's alive," she said, tearing up. "He's alive."
Guess who has covid ( ﾟヮﾟ)