Author's Note: Hello, all and welcome back to "Sticks and Stones!" =D I don't really have much to say, so here's part three of "Beaten and Bruised!" =D I hope you guys enjoy it!

Summary: The Dragon Riders set out to find Hiccup, who is still in the Dragon Hunters' clutches and is doing his best to hold on until his friends come to his rescue. (RTTE.)

Beaten and Bruised, Part Three

He was still stuck.

He was still hurting.

And he was still, still lying in a rather precarious position against a hard, uncomfortable rock.

Hiccup was beginning to lose hope. He had watched as the Dragon Hunters wrapped Toothless up in chains and moved him somewhere out of his reach. Hiccup wanted to call out his dragon's name to rouse him from his unconsciousness, but he knew that if he did, that Dragon Hunter looming over him would slice him to pieces.

The young viking squeezed his eyes shut as another spasm of pain washed over him. His head was pounding, as if a viking was incessantly banging a hammer against his head. Every single inch of his body was hurting, and Hiccup couldn't find the strength to move. He was sure that a rib or two was broken, and his face and skin was still covered in bruises. The rain was still pouring down from the sky, and Hiccup wished that it would stop. It was only making things worse for him.

But despite the pain he was undergoing and how scared he was for both himself and Toothless, Hiccup willed himself to face the Dragon Hunter that was still standing over him. Thankfully, he had removed his boot from Hiccup's chest, which was something that the auburn-haired viking was extremely grateful for, but he still held his sword to his throat and was still demanding the location of Dragon's Edge.

"Where is it, boy?" the Hunter spat. Hiccup shivered as the sword point got closer. A little too close for comfort.

Hiccup's green eyes hardened as he looked up at the Dragon Hunter above him. "I'm not revealing anything to you."

That was probably one of the bravest things that Hiccup had ever done considering the fact that a sword was being pointed at his throat, ready to end him. Hiccup closed his eyes and waited. He knew that this was probably it. He was going to die a possibly stupid death because he didn't listen to Astrid. He didn't think things through. And now, he was going to pay for his unwise thinking.

But the slice never came. Hiccup cracked his eyes open to see that the sword had been moved and was now sitting in its sheath at the Dragon Hunter's side. Hiccup was bemused. Was he not going to hurt him?

"I guess we'll just have to take you to the interrogation tent," the Hunter said.

Hiccup felt a wave of relief wash over him—well, as much relief as he can feel since he was still undergoing an immense amount of pain. Finally, he was going inside where there weren't any raindrops pelting onto him! But a part of Hiccup knew that when it came to interrogation, the Hunters did not play nice.

Hiccup found himself being harshly yanked up from the ground by one of the other Hunters, and he swallowed down a whimper that was crawling up his throat. Hiccup didn't want to look weak in front of the Hunters despite the condition he was in. On the outside, Hiccup looked like he had been beaten up, and he still retained a brave expression. But on the inside, he was fearing what was about to come. He feared that he and Toothless might not make it out alive.

There's no time for negative thinking, thought Hiccup. I need to come up with a plan to get Toothless and I out of here.

What could he do? There seemed to be no escape as Hiccup was dragged by one of the Hunters toward the interrogation tent. Hiccup tried his best to walk inside, but the Hunter was doing more of the dragging than Hiccup was walking.

Hiccup needed to come up with a way to get to Toothless. He could cause a diversion and try to run for it, but he knew that in his condition, that would never work. His chances were slim, and even if he did make it to Toothless, he would have to find a way to untangle all of the chains before the Hunters reached them. Hiccup mentally sighed. He didn't know what to do. And the only other thing he could think of doing was to wait for his friends. He knew that they were probably out searching for him by now, and Hiccup also knew that Astrid was going to give him a long scolding if he got back to Dragon's Edge.

When he got back to Dragon's Edge. Not if. When.

Hiccup was thrown inside, and he crashed to his knees. He really wished that the Hunters were kinder to their prisoners.

The young viking looked around. It was as dark as night inside except for a single flickering candle that was sitting on a table in the middle of the tent, which didn't give off as much light as Hiccup would have liked. Hiccup shuddered at the sight of several skulls of different dragons that were hung on the walls, giving the interior a very eerie look. Hiccup wondered how many people the Hunter had interrogated in the tent…and how long it took for them to make their victim break. With the dark, chilling atmosphere and single lit candle, Hiccup knew that for most people, they must have broken after only a few questions. Maybe even after just one.

Hiccup turned to face the eye patched Dragon Hunter. "Release me and my dragon, now," he demanded. "I'm not revealing where Dragon's Edge is no matter what you do to me. So, you might as well save time and let me go right now."

The Hunter ordered his men to shut the tent, leaving him and Hiccup in darkness. Hiccup looked around frantically. This was his chance. He could try to escape! But all too soon, Hiccup suddenly felt himself being violently picked back up. The young viking hissed in pain, but the Hunter paid no attention to the physical suffering that Hiccup was going through. He tied him up to a chair and forced the auburn-haired boy to look at him. Hiccup glared at the Hunter with all the courage he could muster, and was about to speak, but the Hunter beat him before he was able to do so.

"Tell me where Dragon's Edge is, or a Night Fury head will be mounted on my wall," he said darkly.

Hiccup drew in a breath. Toothless' head would be mounted on the Dragon Hunter's wall if he didn't tell him where Dragon's Edge was. Hiccup would never reveal the location to Dragon's Edge to anyone with ill intent, but he was running out of options, and he didn't know how he and Toothless were going to get out of their unpleasant predicament. Hiccup didn't want Toothless to get hurt. He didn't want his dragon to suffer because of something that he dragged him into—

Hiccup suddenly remembered what Snotlout had said before: "For every little, tiny, itty-bitty situation, you have to drag us into it!"

No, no… thought Hiccup. Snotlout was right. I-I dragged Toothless into this and because of me, we might not make it out of this alive…

But that didn't mean that Hiccup wasn't going to try. From what he had learned from his time on the Edge was that you can never ever give up without a fight. He had to save Toothless. He had to get back home. He had to get back to his friends and apologize. But first, he needed to pass the interrogation, which he knew was going to be difficult.

Hiccup lifted his head and said valiantly, "I'm not revealing anything to you. Do what you want to me, but I'm not telling you a thing. It's either you release me and my dragon, or you face the wrath of the Dragon Riders. Something that you definitely do not want to deal with."

The Dragon Hunter standing in front of Hiccup crossed his arms. "I'm not releasing you, no matter what you demand. I'm going to draw out the information I want, and you'll eventually reveal your precious base's location," he began to pace in front of Hiccup maliciously. The young viking didn't like the cruel look that flashed in the Hunter's eyes as he paced in front of him. "And since you've requested so nicely…I'll give you my worst."

Bring it on, thought Hiccup. But as brave as he sounded in his head, his heart was thumping, beating, pounding against his chest. He was hoping—pleading—that his friends would be able to come and save him and Toothless before it was too late.

…

Astrid and the other Dragon Riders were still navigating their way through the rain. The storm had begun to let up, but it was still difficult to see through the blur of raindrops, and even more difficult to hear one another over the howling winds. Astrid was extremely worried for Hiccup at this point. There had been no sign of him or Toothless the entire flight, and a part of Astrid was beginning to fear the worst. She knew that Hiccup had probably been captured, which made Astrid's worry increase even more. The Dragon Hunters were mean. Cruel. Absolutely malicious. Whatever they had planned for Hiccup was not good, and Astrid knew that it was only a matter of time before they would give up on Hiccup and—

Okay, stop, thought Astrid as she gripped the saddle horn. She urged Stormfly to fly faster through the rain. Hiccup is going to be fine. He's going to be okay. He'll be able to hold on long enough for us to save him.

Astrid had lost count on how many times she had reassured herself that Hiccup was okay. As worried as she was, she was also somewhat upset with the Haddock for leaving without her knowing. Astrid knew that Hiccup was stubborn, and as amazing as he was, he still doubted himself sometimes. And Snotlout had reopened that old wound, and Hiccup headed off to prove himself by leaving to investigate an island swarming with dangerous Dragon Hunters.

Impetuous. That was how Hiccup had acted. That was how he often acted whenever he was in the middle of a situation when he felt like he couldn't do anything. Astrid sighed and brushed her bangs, which were sticking to her forehead from the rain, out of her eyes. She was going to talk to Hiccup once she and her friends saved him from the Dragon Hunters' clutches and she was going to make Snotlout apologize, although Astrid knew that the Jorgeson would. He knew not to disobey Astrid when she said to do something. Especially when it came to Hiccup.

Speaking of said Jorgeson, Snotlout had been uncharacteristically quiet during the flight. Astrid looked to her side, and he seemed to be deep in thought. Astrid guessed that Snotlout actually felt bad for what he had said to Hiccup earlier. Maybe she wouldn't have to remind him to apologize to Hiccup after all.

"Okay, everyone, remember the plan!" yelled Astrid over the winds. "If we're going to save Hiccup, we need to stay undetected. Be stealthy! Once we get Hiccup and Toothless, we'll need to fly back to the Edge before we're spotted."

Everyone nodded, and at that moment, Fishlegs announced, "We're getting close! The island should be up ahead."

Astrid nodded and she peered through the rain. Up ahead was a medium sized island. It was almost nothing but forest except for the sandy beach that lined the coast. Astrid could hardly tell that it was a base for Dragon Hunters. The island looked quiet. Ominously quiet. And knowing that Hiccup was being held captive by Dragon Hunters on the island made Astrid feel even more compelled to save him.

"Let's land," said Astrid. And the Riders all dived to the sandy beach and landed almost silently. Astrid slipped off of Stormfly's back, holding her axe in her hand tightly. She looked around. She heard nothing, saw nothing, and from an overall standpoint, the island looked like it hadn't been touched in a long time. Almost abandoned. Forsaken.

But Astrid wasn't fooled by the island's appearance. Somewhere, deep in the large forest that nearly covered the entire island, Hiccup was being held captive by the Dragon Hunters. He could be hurt, and that meant that the Riders had to hurry.

"Come on," said Astrid. "And stay low. The dragons will stay here until we need them."

The other Riders agreed to this and as silent as shadows, they crept into the forest. Astrid and the Dragon Riders had practiced stealth multiple times both back on Berk and on the Edge. Hide and seek was extremely competitive between them. Stealth was an important key to being a Dragon Rider, especially when one was sneaking into a base where there were several Hunters that could harm you, which was why Astrid was glad for all of the extra stealth training. Even the twins, who were usually the loudest of the bunch—and always got found first during stealth practice—were being as quiet as they could. No one stepped on a twig and made it snap. No one tripped or stumbled. Everyone kept as close to each other as they could while at the same time avoided things that could cause noise that were hiding on the forest floor.

"Good job, guys," whispered Astrid. "Let's keep going. I'm sure Hiccup is somewhere nearby."

"But we don't know that for sure," said Fishelgs. "Unless if there's something of his lying around here so we can clarify that, we have no idea where Hiccup—"

"Hey, guys," said Ruffnut from behind. "I found something shiny!"

"Seriously?" said Snotlout with a deadpan expression. "Something shiny?"

"It's really shiny," Tuffnut said. "Whoa, I think it's a sword! Maybe I can use it for a hiking stick. My legs are tired."

"You're so lazy," said Ruffnut. Astrid shuffled her way in between Fishlegs and Snotlout and found Ruffnut with her hands on her hips, watching as her brother used the sword as a cane. Astrid immediately recognized the weapon.

"Let me see that," she said, and she took the sword from Tuffnut's hand. The male Thorston was appalled.

"Hey! You don't just take stuff out of people's hands!" he exclaimed. Ruffnut clamped a hand over his mouth.

Astrid ignored him. She was too busy running her fingers over the cool, wet metal of the sword. Hiccup's sword. She noticed that the metal was slightly dented, and the blade was due for a sharpen, which meant that Hiccup had used it recently. And there was only one thing that a sword was used for when it was taken with one on a trip.

Defense, thought Astrid. Hiccup had used the sword to fight. He had been attacked. Now, Astrid's worry began to rise.

"Hiccup was attacked," she said to the others. She held out the sword and showed it to them. "He must have been ambushed and he dropped his sword here." She turned to the twins. "Where was it lying?"

The twins pointed to a pile of bushes up ahead. Astrid blinked.

"Wait, what were you guys doing up there?" she asked.

"We were looking at the Dragon Hunter's camp," said Tuffnut. He let out a small whistle. "It's pretty impressive. And I'm surprised that people are still wandering around in the rain."

Astrid shook her head, wishing that the twins had told her and the other about their observation sooner. She led the Dragon Riders a couple feet ahead and peered over the thick bushes and saw it. The large clearing that served as the Hunter's base. There were several tents and dragon cages set up everywhere, but the only occupied cage was the one with Toothless inside. The poor Night Fury looked like he had been hit on the head and was wrapped up tightly in chains. Heated anger began to bubble within Astrid. How dare the Dragon Hunters hurt an innocent dragon! Astrid hoped that Toothless was alright; she was relieved when she saw the rise and fall of his chest.

Now, where was Hiccup? He and Toothless were inseparable. Even when they were captured, they always found a way to stick together. Astrid narrowed her eyes and scanned the camp. There was a group of hunters talking on the left, and a tent that was bigger than the others sat on the far right near the woods. It was blacker than Night Fury scales, and Astrid could tell that whoever was brought into that tent, didn't come back out.

Hiccup's probably in there, thought Astrid. She could feel it.

At that moment, a cry sounded from the tent. Astrid felt her heart tear in two. That cry belonged to Hiccup.

Without thinking, Astrid dashed toward the black tent and burst inside. She gasped in horror at what she saw.

Hiccup was barely hanging onto consciousness. He groaned and his head lolled to one side, and Astrid could see the multiple bruises and scratch marks that littered his face, and he was having trouble breathing. His breaths were unpredictable and erratic, and his face contorted in pain whenever he took a breath. What was worse was that the ropes that bound him to the chair he was sitting on were tied so tight that he would have had trouble breathing even if he wasn't in such a poor condition. The right sleeve of his shirt was cut, which revealed a slice wound from a sword. It was still bleeding, and it soaked the area surrounding it, making Hiccup's shirt sleeve a deeper shade of red.

Astrid snapped her head toward the Dragon Hunter who she immediately knew captured Hiccup. She raised her axe, ready to fight and yelled one simple, but vehement command to the other Dragon Riders, who heard her all the way from the bushes.

"ATTACK!"

Author's Note: That Hunter is going to be dealing with a very upset blonde soon. X) I hope you guys enjoyed part three of "Beaten and Bruised," and I'll see you guys in the next one! =D

Until the next chapter!

-BeyondTheMoon1203