Author's Note: Hi, guys and welcome back to another chapter of "Sticks and Stones!" =D Here's part two for "A Mission Gone Wrong." I hope you all enjoy it! =)

Summary: Upon discovering a cave with a tunnel that may possibly lead to an exit, Hiccup and Toothless venture down it, hoping to find a sneakier way past the Outcast's detection. Meanwhile, on a sea stack with the Dragon Riders, Astrid is trying to come up with a plan to save Hiccup. (ROB.)

A Mission Gone Wrong, Part Two

Hiccup rushed over to Toothless' leg; he hissed at the sight of the large, sharp arrow lodged into the side of his scaly, black paw. Hiccup had no idea how Toothless was able to run the distance he had with an injury that bad, but the young viking knew that his dragon was just as stubborn as him. Toothless was willing to do anything to get him out of danger.

The auburn-haired teen rubbed his fingers lightly near the arrow wound. It was beginning to swell, and Hiccup knew that if he didn't remove the arrow in time, the injury would eventually get infected. Hiccup sighed and patted Toothless' head.

"I'm sorry that you got hit, Bud," said Hiccup. "But don't worry, I'll get you fixed up in no time."

Toothless crooned weakly, and Hiccup's worry only increased. His dragon was in no shape to fly in the state he was in, and Toothless' arrow wound wasn't the only thing he was worrying about. The Outcasts were still out there searching for them, and Hiccup hoped that they wouldn't find them while they were in such a poor condition. Hiccup knew that if the Outcasts found him and Toothless, they wouldn't hesitate to capture them. And knowing Alvin, he would probably try to get him to train his dragons, which was something that Hiccup would never do, even if his life depended on it.

Hiccup leaned against the hard, rocky wall behind him and drew in a shuddering breath. All of a sudden, he felt extremely dizzy. Vertigo squeezed him tightly, and the cave began to spin. Hiccup's breathing quickened and there was a ringing in his ears that was both annoying and painful at the same time. He felt like he was going to pass out. The leg which had been shot with a dart pounded with an unbearable amount of pain, and Hiccup squeezed his eyes shut, praying that it would all stop.

A worried croon from Toothless made Hiccup open his eyes. Every symptom of pain—the ringing, shortness of breath, dizziness, and leg pain—had stopped as if it hadn't existed at all. They all vanished, just like that. Hiccup brought a hand to his forehead and blinked a few times, trying to get himself out of his daze. Toothless was still staring at his rider in concern, and he warbled once again to get Hiccup's attention.

"I-It's okay, Toothless. I'm fine…" Hiccup reassured his dragon. Although he didn't think he was fine. Something was wrong, Hiccup could tell, but he was too busy worrying about the Outcasts and his dragon to think about the strange episode that had just occurred. He stood up and walked back over to Toothless and kneeled down, his hands hovered over the arrow, then they gripped it tightly. Toothless winced.

"Okay, Bud. I'm gonna pull the arrow out on the count of three," said Hiccup. He looked at his dragon. "Try not to scream." Toothless nodded and braced himself.

"One…two…three!" Hiccup yanked the arrow with all the strength he could muster out of Toothless' leg, but the Night Fury couldn't help but let out a roar of pain. Hiccup did his best to comfort his dragon; Toothless' roar echoed through the caves and outside. Hiccup winced and continued to rub his dragon's head and whisper comforting words to him. How the young viking wished he could get back at the Outcasts for hurting his dragon.

After a few moments, Toothless eventually calmed down, and while the Night Fury was recollecting himself, Hiccup took a look around the cave that they were currently hiding in. The ceiling was high and lifted, barely even visible. All Hiccup saw was darkness and the sharp, pointy tips of stalactites above him. The yawning cave entrance also had several of these stalactites above it, making it look like it had teeth. The auburn-haired teen shivered a little at the comparison, and he turned to face the back of the cave, which extended into a dark, deep tunnel. Hiccup could hear faint—very faint sounds—down the extended cavern. It had less stalactites as it went further down, Hiccup noticed, and the young viking wondered why that was so.

Maybe it leads to an exit, Hiccup thought hopefully. The sounds could be the wind from outside. Or maybe his friends had found a way to get to him on the other side. This hope fueled Hiccup, and he began to form a plan in his head. If he and Toothless were able to find a backdoor—a second exit!—at the end of that tunnel, they would be able to escape even easier from the Outcasts. They wouldn't even notice they had gone. All they had to do was follow the dark, musty tunnel to wherever it led, hoping that it would lead to an exit. And Hiccup profoundly hoped that it did.

The young viking peered outside of the cave. "It won't be long until the Outcasts will find us if we stay here," he said. "We're too vulnerable and exposed."

Hiccup looked down the dark tunnel that possibly led to an exit. It had to lead to an exit. The young viking knew that the Outcasts had heard Toothless' pained roar; it was impossible to miss. They needed to get off of the island before they were discovered. And fast.

Using his vest as a replacement for gauze, Hiccup wrapped it around Toothless' leg to stop the flow of blood. It wasn't much, but it was better than having the Night Fury's injury exposed. The vest was a little uncomfortable, but Toothless didn't complain. It was the only thing stopping his wound from bleeding, so he stood up and flexed his wrapped leg, glad to find that it wasn't as painful as it had been before. Hiccup was grateful that the arrow wasn't poisoned; he and Toothless would have been in an entirely different situation if it was.

Hiccup examined his bandaging job and nodded. "It'll have to do for now," he said. Hiccup turned back toward the tunnel behind him where nothing but darkness was waiting, and he picked up a fallen stick and asked Toothless to light it. The Night Fury complied instantly, and a makeshift torch was created. Orange fire danced across the damp, rocky walls, and Hiccup was comforted by the sight of fire and the feeling of warmth.

"We're going to find a way out," Hiccup explained to his dragon. "Then we'll be able to avoid the Outcasts and get off of this island."

Toothless grunted in agreement and he walked up to Hiccup's side. With the bright torch lighting the way and nothing but pure instinct acting as their guides, Hiccup and Toothless ventured into the dark cavern.

If only they knew that there was something waiting for them inside.

…

Meanwhile, on a sea stack with the Dragon Riders, Astrid was pacing worriedly. She was trying to come up with a plan, a scheme, anything to try and save Hiccup from the Outcasts, but that was difficult to do with the other Dragon Riders talking over her thoughts.

All of them were worried about Hiccup. He was their friend, their leader. The Dragon Riders wanted to save Hiccup, they needed to save Hiccup, but the worry and anxiousness had taken them over, and Astrid seemed to be the only one who had managed to keep her worry under control long enough to try and concoct a plan. But the other Dragon Riders? They were extremely worried. And when there's worry, there's babbling.

"Ohhhh, what are we gonna do? What are we gonna do?!" cried Fishlegs. "Hiccup is alone with Toothless, possibly injured, and he's on an island swarming with Outcasts! What are we gonna do? How are we going to save him?!"

"Those Outcasts had crazy eyes," said Tuffnut.

"You could probably see the craziness in their eyes from afar," Ruffnut added. "Like a diamond in the sunlight."

Snotlout scoffed. "I don't care about diamonds or the fact that the Outcasts are insane. What we need to do is go and save my cousin—I mean Hiccup."

Astrid shook her head. She knew her friends were just as worried about Hiccup as she was, but their incessant talking wasn't helping her thinking. "Can you guys please be quiet?" she said, trying her hardest not to snap at them. "I'm trying to come up with a plan!"

"Oh, sorry, Astrid," apologized Tuffnut. "We couldn't tell that you were thinking."

"Uh, she was pacing. That literally signals thinking," Ruffnut told her brother.

"But pacing could mean other things," said Tuffnut. "Like—"

"SH!" shushed Astrid. The Riders quieted immediately. Once Astrid was sure that her friends were going to talk anymore, she continued to think. The Hofferson girl paced and paced but found that her thoughts weren't getting her anywhere. A plan wasn't coming to her. What did, though, was worry. As much as she had tried to bottle it up and stash it away where she wouldn't feel it, she couldn't help but let just a little of it seep in. Astrid stopped her pacing and sighed. She was worried for Hiccup. More worried than she would have liked to be. Astrid had never found herself so deeply concerned for someone, but Hiccup was impetuous. He was crazy at times, and this act that he had pulled had definitely gone beyond crazy. The Hofferson girl knew that Hiccup could take care of himself, and his often crazy ideas usually got him and the others out of precarious situations, but Astrid didn't know if this idea of waiting for him until he found them was a good plan.

If Astrid and the others were to go and save their Dragon Boy, they would need a proper, potent plan to do so. Astrid knew that it would be ridiculous to fly back into the camp of the Outcasts. They already knew that they were somewhere in the area, so she and the other Riders had to be stealthy. The Outcasts had clearly been waiting for them; they knew that they would come, Astrid could tell. They needed a plan that wouldn't get them detected. A plan that would allow them to save Hiccup without hindrance. Something swift, something easy, and something unexpected. So, she came up with a plan, one that possibly wouldn't work, but she knew that it had to be done to save Hiccup.

Astrid looked out toward the direction of the island that Hiccup was stranded on. Her brow furrowed and her face was one of pure determination, but on the inside, her worry was only increasing.

"Don't worry, Hiccup," Astrid whispered. "We'll save you. I promise."

Author's Note: Yessss, go and save Hiccup! =D

I hope you guys enjoyed this second part of "A Mission Gone Wrong," and I'll see you in the next one! =D

Until the next chapter!

-BeyondTheMoon1203