Author's Note: Yay! The very first part of the first arc in my first one-shot collection! =D

Too many firsts? I'm sorry. XD

Hello, hey, hi, hello and welcome back to "Sticks and Stones!" =D As I mentioned before, this is the very first part of the first arc in this one-shot collection (okay, I really need to stop saying first now XD). I had a lot of fun writing this arc due to the Hiccup!whump (gotta love the Hiccup!whump =D), and simply because I love hurt/comfort and friendship and such. =)

So, I know the Dragon Hunters probably may already know the location of Dragon's Edge thanks to Dagur, but let's just say that they don't yet. =P I hope you guys enjoy part one of "Beaten and Bruised!" =D

Summary: After Snotlout makes a touchy comment during a small argument, Hiccup decides to go and prove himself to the others by investigating a Dragon Hunter infested island by himself, realizing too soon that he should not have acted so impetuously.

Beaten and Bruised, Part One

He should've known better. He should've known…

Pain. That was all Hiccup could feel. The young viking groaned as another wave of pain washed over him. It fogged out all of his senses and all Hiccup could feel and focus on was the uncomfortable, insufferable amount of pain that he was enduring. If he had been smarter, he wouldn't be lying in the middle of a grassy clearing with raindrops pelting at his skin, slipping down his shivering form. They dripped into his eyes, blurring Hiccup's vision momentarily, although his sight had already been blurred out by the spasms of pain that washed over him.

Hiccup weakly lifted his head, his green eyes dull and feeble. He watched as a group of malicious Dragon Hunters prepared a net to toss over his dragon, Toothless. The Night Fury was knocked out cold and was so still that Hiccup thought he wasn't alive. But once he saw the steady rise and fall of Toothless' chest, he was reassured and relieved that his dragon was alive, albeit he didn't look okay.

Hiccup wanted to call out Toothless' name. His dragon looked so weak and in so much pain. He wanted to see if he was okay. Hiccup opened his mouth to speak, but he couldn't find his voice. He was hurting too much. Pain tormented him, and Hiccup let his head fall back down to the wet, soaked, grassy ground. Mud splashed onto his face, but Hiccup didn't care. He was in so much pain. It hurt so, so much…

The rainfall grew heavier, and more raindrops slapped against Hiccup. His clothes were completely drenched. The downpour wasn't helping at all; it only made Hiccup wish that he had listened to Astrid and waited for his friends. He should've waited. He shouldn't have gone out by himself, but he did. He set out alone, by himself, to investigate this island. Why was he so stubborn? Why hadn't he just waited? Well, maybe it was because Snotlout made fun of him, which made Hiccup decide that he should set out on his own to prove himself to his friends. To prove that he wasn't weak or useless.

You look pretty useless now, thought Hiccup. He squeezed his eyes shut and drew a shuddering breath. Stupid…stupid…I'm so, so stupid… He should have waited. He should've known better than to fly out on his own, thinking that he could handle whatever came his way by himself without a team. Hiccup felt like a hypocrite. He was the one who always reminded the other Dragon Riders how important it was to be a team. How important it was to have backup, even if it's for something small like patrolling or investigating an island. Hiccup swallowed thickly, wondering if he would be able to make it out of this alive or not.

The young viking was pulled out of his thoughts when a dark figure loomed over him. Hiccup shifted and forced himself to gear his bright green eyes toward the Dragon Hunter that was standing over him. He had an eyepatch, and the look on his face told Hiccup that he wasn't going to be escaping anytime soon. And, who knew? He might not even escape alive.

Well, aren't you just a little ray of sunshine? Hiccup thought to himself. He mustered up all of the strength he could to make it look like he wasn't afraid, and his gaze was steely as he looked up at the Dragon Hunter who had managed to attack him and Toothless and defeat them. The man chuckled evilly and pressed his boot against Hiccup's chest, making him gasp for air.

"Now, I only want one thing from you, boy. And you and your dragon will get to leave," he said. He leaned in, pressing his boot even harder to Hiccup's chest, which made breathing extremely difficult for the auburn-haired viking. "Where is Dragon's Edge?"

Hiccup gritted his teeth and replied weakly, but emphatically. "I'm not revealing Dragon's Edge's location to you. You'll never find it."

The Dragon Hunter wasn't at all satisfied with this response. He lifted his boot and kicked Hiccup with so much force that the young viking rolled in the grass and banged his head against a rock. A cry escaped Hiccup's lips, and at this point, he was desperately gasping for air. His vision swam, and he could barely move. Pain was taking over his senses, and he was barely hanging onto consciousness. Hiccup's breaths were quick and erratic. Thunder rumbled overhead, and the rain kept on descending from the sky, and Hiccup wished that he had something to shield himself from the falling water.

The eye-patched Dragon Hunter walked over to him, and once again pressed his boot to Hiccup's chest and sneered, "Maybe I should just end you here and now. What's a foolish boy like you doing out here anyway?"

Good question, thought Hiccup. So good, in fact, that Hiccup decided to answer it. Not out loud, of course, but silently to himself to remember how senseless he was to think that he could fly out on his own and remember everything that led up to where he was now. Hiccup forced himself to think back to that morning. Back when he thought that the day couldn't possibly go wrong and everything seemed right as rain…

…

Hiccup woke up to a wonderful sunrise, instantly deeming that it was going to be a great day the moment he spotted the sun's rays flowing from his window. He smiled and strapped on his prosthetic. By the time he was done tying it on, Toothless was up and ready to go on a flight. He greeted Hiccup with a friendly croon, and soon, the two were soaring in the sky. Hiccup closed his eyes and breathed in the pleasant air, and he felt the usual exhilarating, blissful feeling that came from flying. A feeling that he would never tire of.

Things at Dragon's Edge had been quite calm, but Hiccup and his friends still kept their guards up for any sign of the Dragon Hunters. Hiccup knew that they could come and attack at any moment, and that it wouldn't be long until they discovered the Edge's location even though Hiccup profoundly hoped that they wouldn't. But they were relentless, meaning that they would do anything to try and discover the Edge, and would eventually discover it sooner or later.

Despite this, Hiccup decided that the Dragon Riders should have a free day and spend some time with each other. It had been a while since the Riders had spent time with each other due to making sure the Edge was safe and guarded and the rescue missions that they'd pull for dragons. Patrolling the area and neighboring islands also made it a little difficult to find some free time. But now that things had settled down, Hiccup thought that he and his friends would be able to have some fun together.

"What do you think we should do today, Bud?" asked Hiccup. "How about a Dragon Race around the island? It's been a while since we've had one."

Toothless perked up happily at the idea of a dragon race. The Night Fury was pretty competitive when it came to these dragon races, even though he was the fastest out of all of the Dragon Riders' dragons and always won. Toothless then seemed to remember something, and he grumbled in a way that seemed to remind Hiccup of something. Suddenly, Hiccup remembered the discussion he and the other Dragon Riders had the night before about an island some ways away from the Edge and a patrol mission. Hiccup had completely forgotten about it, and he silently chastised himself for letting something so important slip his mind.

Hiccup patted Toothless' head and smiled. "Thanks, Bud. I completely forgot about the meeting we were having about that island."

Toothless warbled a "You're welcome," and Hiccup steered the two of them back toward the Edge. The two made it just in time as the other Riders were already making their way into the heart of Dragon's Edge. Astrid looked like she had just come back from training with her axe down in the dome, Fishlegs was carrying bundles of maps and books, and the twins were conspiring a new Loki prank (Hiccup could tell by the looks on their faces and because they were really, really loud whisperers).

The young viking landed Toothless in front of the entrance and walked inside, greeting everyone with a smile. "Hey, everyone! How are you all doing this morning?"

"Hi, Hiccup!" Astrid said cheerfully. "I'm doing pretty well. I just managed an axe move that I've been working on for a while."

"Ooh, I wanna learn it," said Ruffnut. She looked at Tuffnut impishly. "I could use it on my brother sometime if he does something annoying."

"Uh, how about no?" said Tuffnut with a frown.

Snotlout glared at Hiccup. "You're late."

Hiccup shrugged, knowing that his cousin was only just trying to irritate him. "The skies were great this morning. Toothless and I didn't want to miss the sunrise."

Toothless warbled in agreement.

"Okay, guys, I found a map that leads to the island that we were talking about the other night," announced Fishlegs at the Dragon Riders and their dragons walked over and looked over the map that Fishlegs had rolled out. There was a red x marked over the island, and Fishlegs began to explain what he had discovered.

"So, after sailing past this island a couple of times, Johann said that he had seen some strange things going on over there," said Fishlegs. "I can't believe he was brave enough to actually explore a little, and he found the remains of what looked like a camp somewhere near the beach. He spotted a couple of armored soldiers wandering around too."

Astrid nodded. "I'm betting anything that it's the Dragon Hunters. They're probably looking for new dragons."

"Or," said Tuffnut. "They're spying on the Edge."

Everyone turned to face the dreadlocked Thorston, who shrugged as if what he said was completely obvious.

"Uh, I mean, come on," said Tuffnut. He pointed to the island and then traced his finger all the way to the miniature drawing of Dragon's Edge. "You cannot tell me that this island isn't close enough to land a surprise attack here," he blinked. "Well, I guess it's not a surprise anymore since we know what they might be planning."

Ruffnut shook her head. "Amateurs."

"It is far," said Fishlegs. "But, like Tuffnut said, it is close enough to land an attack on the Edge."

Hiccup nodded. "Okay then. Let's go and investigate. If we can find a way to make the Hunters leave without revealing the location of Dragon's Edge—"

"Whoa, whoa," interrupted Snotlout as he crossed his arms. "Didn't you say the island is far away? If it's far, I'm sure there's nothing to worry about. It's not like we have to check the island anyway. Who knows? The Dragon Hunters have probably been there all this time and hadn't even taken notice of Dragon's Edge. Besides, it could just be a bunch of dragons, and we haven't seen any sign of them for days. I say we just let this go and stay here and relax."

"Uh, how does a dragon set up a dragon trap, Snotlout?" asked Astrid.

"I…Whatever," said Snotlout, realizing his mistake. He shook his head and said, "What I'm trying to say is, do we really have to go and check this place out? I'm sure it's nothing."

Hiccup couldn't believe what Snotlout was saying. If there was something strange happening on a neighboring island, it was their job as Dragon Riders to check it out.

"Snotlout, we have to investigate," said Hiccup. "Even though we haven't seen any sign of the Dragon Hunters for a while, we still have to make sure that they aren't on to us. We need to make sure that they don't attack Dragon's Edge."

"I still think we should stay," said Snotlout profoundly.

Astrid rolled her eyes. "Don't be a muttonhead, Snotlout. We have to go and check this place out. If we don't, we're leaving the entire Edge exposed. We need to find a way to draw the Hunters away from the Edge before they do something that we don't want them to do."

Hiccup nodded. "I agree with Astrid."

Snotlout scoffed. "You agree with Astrid on everything!" he exclaimed.

Hiccup reddened. "No, I don't," the young viking sighed. "Come on, we need to get going—"

"Oh, sure, Hiccup," drawled Snotlout. "You expect us to just willingly follow you everywhere you go. With every little, tiny, itty-bitty situation, you have to drag us into it!"

"I'm not dragging you guys with me," said Hiccup with a frown. "Don't we all agree that we need to go and patrol this place?"

Astrid and Fishlegs nodded while the twins and Snotlout shook their heads.

"I'm honestly kind of agreeing with Snotlout," said Tuffnut. "It's been ages since we've gotten to, y'know, actually chill out."

Ruffnut nodded. "I vote we stay."

Hiccup laughed incredulously. "You guys aren't serious, right?"

"Don't be a baby, Hiccup," Snotlout said. "Why don't you go and just check the island yourself. If you can handle fighting the Red Death, I don't see why this should be a problem for you."

Astrid punched Snotlout's arm and the Jorgeson glared at her. "Hey! What was that for?!"

"For that extremely rude comment you made!" snapped Astrid. She turned to Hiccup; her blue eyes filled with concern. "Hiccup?"

But the young viking wasn't listening. What Snotlout had said had really gotten to him. He didn't like talking about the Red Death, and the fact that Snotlout had mentioned it in the small quarrel, comparing it to the short patrolling mission that they were supposed to go on, made Hiccup feel…weak. If he could handle the Red Death, he really should be able to handle going on a little patrol mission. And that's exactly what he was going to do. He was going to prove himself. He wasn't a baby, and he absolutely, definitely wasn't useless.

That didn't mean, though, that Hiccup wasn't offended. He glared at Snotlout with hard eyes and said, "Fine. This meeting is adjourned. We'll decide what to do tomorrow."

Snotlout, Ruffnut, and Tuffnut high-fived and ran off to do their own thing. Hiccup could vaguely hear the twins screaming "BOAR PIT!" while Snotlout ran off to his hut to relax. Fishlegs awkwardly began to collect the maps and books that he had brought and moved them to the back room. Astrid approached Hiccup, who was leaning against the wall with his head hung low.

Astrid sighed. She placed a hand on Hiccup's shoulder and said, "Hiccup, what Snotlout said back there…He's a muttonhead, okay? We'll go on the patrol mission and—"

"I'm fine, Astrid," said Hiccup. He looked up at her. "We can check the island out later."

Now that didn't sound like Hiccup at all. Whenever something odd or strange was happening, Hiccup always made sure that either he or all of the Dragon Riders went to check it out. Hiccup loved Dragon's Edge, and he wanted to protect it from any harm. So hearing him say that they'll let the Dragon Hunters hang around an island that was close enough to attack the Edge until later made Astrid feel somewhat suspicious of Hiccup.

Instead of questioning him further, Astrid decided not to prod Hiccup any further. She could clearly tell that he had been hurt by what Snotlout had said, and she decided that she would try and keep a close eye on him just in case.

"Okay," Astrid said at last. She whistled for Stormfly and turned back to Hiccup. "We'll go and check out the island tomorrow."

Hiccup watched as Astrid mounted her Deadly Nadder and left. Toothless walked up to Hiccup from behind and crooned. His rider was wearing the look that he got when he was about to do something that he probably should not do.

The young viking turned to Toothless. "This evening, Bud, while everyone's busy, we're going to go and check out that island by ourselves."

…

The other Dragon Riders were busy doing their own thing. Even Astrid, who usually was the one who caught Hiccup before he went to do something crazy. The young viking took the map that Fishlegs had brought to the gathering that they had that morning, and he filled Toothless' saddle bag with a small amount of food and some water. Hiccup knew that it wouldn't take him long to steer the Hunters away from the island they were camping on. Hiccup was planning to fly Toothless close to the camp and blast their tools and ships to bits.

Hiccup placed the saddlebag on Toothless' back and mounted him. He held up the map in his hands and then placed it inside the bag. With the location in his mind, he told Toothless to set off. The two took to the skies and the other Dragon Riders didn't notice his departure.

Fishlegs had said that the island was far, but when one is riding a Night Fury, a "far" trip doesn't seem very long. Hiccup and Toothless arrived at the island in perfect timing, but a sudden rainstorm had hit, which forced Hiccup and Toothless to land so that they could avoid getting blown away.

Hiccup was rather disappointed that he and Toothless were only limited to land due to the weather. His plan had involved him and Toothless being airborne. But since that wasn't possible due to the blinding rain, Hiccup and Toothless had to venture on foot and come up with a new plan.

Hiccup and Toothless walked through the thick forest. Raindrops splashed on top of them, but Hiccup did his best to ignore the rainwater that dripped on his clothes and skin. The grass rustled underneath them. The atmosphere was tense. Silent. Too silent. Way too quiet for Hiccup's liking, but he and his dragon continued to press on.

Hiccup and Toothless arrived at a grassy clearing, which had multiple rocks scattered across the area. The two stood in the center, looking around to see if anyone was around, but they saw no one.

Maybe Snotlout was right, thought Hiccup. Maybe I was freaking out over—

Suddenly, Toothless growled and the bushes rustled. Hiccup quickly drew out his sword, but it was already too late. Dragon Hunters—dozens of them—burst forth from the bushes and attacked. Hiccup remembered sword fighting with five or six hunters at once when he heard Toothless howl in pain. Hiccup made his worst mistake by turning around, and a punch was launched to his face, and he staggered. Hunters overwhelmed him. They ambushed him. And even though Hiccup tried his hardest, he knew he wasn't going to win. He was already feeling tired as the Dragon Hunters kept on hitting at him.

One managed to give Hiccup's arm a good slice with his sword, and that was all it took. Hiccup dropped his sword and then crashed to the ground in immense pain. He had been beaten. He had fallen.

He had lost.

…

Hiccup returned to the present, still facing the Dragon Hunter who was pressing his pungent boot against his chest, crushing his insides. Hiccup put on a brave face, but his emerald eyes gave him away. They reflected fear.

The eye-patched Dragon Hunter laughed as he drew out his sword and held it up threateningly. The metal shined and dripped with rainwater, and Hiccup shuddered.

"You have two choices," said the Hunter darkly. "You can either tell me where Dragon's Edge is," he pointed the tip of his sword at Hiccup's throat. "Or you can take your last breath at this very rock."