Author's Note: *Waves enthusiastically* Hello, hello and welcome back to "Sticks and Stones!" Here's part four of "Beaten and Bruised," and I hope you guys enjoy it! =D
Summary: After finally defeating the Dragon Hunters, Astrid and the other Dragon Riders bring Hiccup home, hoping that he'll be okay. (RTTE.)
Beaten and Bruised, Part Four
The attack was launched. Astrid could hear the Riders blasting away at several Dragon Hunter tents and dragon cages. Several shouts rang through the clearing, and Astrid could hear the Hunters beginning to pull out their bola launchers, ready to fire at the dragons. Astrid regeared her focus to the eye patched man she was facing—the man who had kidnapped and brutally beat up Hiccup. Her Hiccup. Then, like a whirlwind, Astrid attacked.
Bursting into the tent unannounced gave the Hofferson girl an advantage. The Dragon Hunter was still rather dazed from the sudden appearance of Astrid, and it took him sometime to recollect himself. Once he did, he unsheathed his sword and charged, but he was late, meaning that Astrid had the upper hand.
Hiccup tried his best to escape the ropes that were bound around him, and Astrid could see the fear that glittered in his eyes. Astrid couldn't believe how cruel, how horrible these people were to hurt someone who only wanted to keep people safe. Who only wanted peace between vikings and dragons. Someone like Hiccup didn't deserve to be taken captive or beaten up. And the fact that this hunter had done all that to the young viking made Astrid angry. Very angry.
Astrid slashed, cut, and swiped at the eye patched Dragon Hunter, her axe only a blur of flashing silver in the air. She was fueled by her anger for the Hunters capturing Hiccup. She was fueled by her worry for Hiccup's safety, and she used these emotions to power every precise slash and swipe that she took at the Dragon Hunter.
Astrid had no idea how long they had been fighting, and she wished that the Hunter would give up so she could untie Hiccup and escape the island with the others. Astrid had fought against many adversaries, and this Dragon Hunter was quick with his blade, but Astrid had no trouble parrying with him. She had practiced in the training arena back at the Edge several times, both early in the morning and at night. Whenever she could, Astrid would practice with her axe for moments like these.
Astrid continued to attack, and the Dragon Hunter began to have trouble parrying with Astrid's potent blows. The blonde continued to swing her axe at the Hunter, and it wasn't long until she managed to knock his sword out of his grip. The sword clattered to the ground and Astrid finished off the Dragon Hunter by bonking him on the head with the end of her axe. He crumpled to the ground, unconscious.
Breathing heavily, the blonde hissed, "If you ever, ever mess with Hiccup again, you'll not only face my axe, but a Deadly Nadder's searing fire."
She then quickly turned to Hiccup, and her face morphed into one of pure concern and worry. Hiccup looked awful. Astrid walked up to this side and quickly cut the ropes, and Hiccup fell forward. Astrid steadied him and she shook Hiccup lightly when he spaced out due to the unbearable amount of pain.
"Hey, hey," said Astrid softly. "How do you feel?"
Hiccup looked up weakly and he managed to crack a lopsided smile. "Y-yeah. I'm great."
What a blatant lie, thought Astrid with a small roll of her eyes. "Hiccup, you shouldn't have flown out here on your own!" she scolded. "You should've waited for us. Something bad might have happened to you if we didn't come and find you and Toothless in time."
Hiccup sighed and he shifted where he was sitting. "I-I know…But what Snotlout said earlier really got to me and I—"
"Hiccup, Snotlout was being a muttonhead, which he does practically all the time. You shouldn't have listened to him."
"Yeah, but I just…" Hiccup bowed his head. "I just wanted to show you guys that I'm not weak or anything…"
Astrid softened. "You're not weak, Dragon Boy. You never were. You're the strongest out of all of us. You flew out here alone with Toothless and managed to survive a brutal interrogation from the Dragon Hunters," she smiled lightly. "I'm honestly surprised that you're still conscious."
Hiccup nodded feebly. "I barely made it…" he trailed off when another wave of pain washed over him. This time, Hiccup didn't hold back a whimper. Unconsciousness was so inviting, so tempting, and Hiccup almost gave in to it when he felt Astrid shaking his arm.
"Hey, stay with me, Hiccup," she said worriedly. At the sound of her voice, Hiccup complied and kept his eyes on her. "I promise, we'll get you to safety once we're done kicking these Hunters' behinds."
Hiccup nodded again, and his eyes widened when he realized something that he couldn't believe had slipped his mind. "Toothless," Hiccup looked around frantically. "Where's Toothless?"
"He's outside with the others," Astrid reassured him. "They're fighting off the Hunters, and I'm sure that they've freed him by now."
Hiccup relaxed, which was a little difficult to do since he was still in pain. He drew in a shaky breath, trying to quell the torrents of discomfort that were running through him, but it was futile. Astrid managed to find a piece of cloth and she tied it to Hiccup's wounded arm. Blood seeped through it, but it was better than having it exposed.
"Okay, we need to get out of here," said Astrid. She gripped Hiccup's hand. "Do you think you can stand?"
Hiccup chewed his lower lip. "I…I think I can…maybe."
"Let's try then," Astrid said. She positioned herself so Hiccup could wrap his arm around her shoulders. The young viking was putting almost all of his weight on Astrid, but the blonde didn't mind. Hiccup was rather light anyway. Carrying him wasn't difficult.
"Okay, ready to stand?" asked Astrid. Hiccup nodded weakly.
"One…two…three." Astrid stood up straight and Hiccup stood alongside her. He let out a gasp when pain erupted from his chest, but it quickly subsided as soon as it came. Astrid asked if he was alright, and Hiccup nodded, as he couldn't find the strength to speak. Hiccup and Astrid then exited the tent and into the rain. Into the midst of the battle.
Hiccup looked around, scanning the clearing that now served as a battlefield. A row of Dragon Hunters was positioned behind bola launchers, and they were giving everything they had at the Dragon Riders. Bolas twirled and spun through the air, but each of them missed their targets entirely. The Dragon Riders dodged expertly and blasted fire down toward the weapons, which didn't burn completely due to the rain extinguishing the flames. The bola launchers did, however; lose the ability to launch bolas properly, which was a good score for the Dragon Riders. Some Hunters had already run for their ships, but the more adamant ones had stayed behind, fighting the Riders even though they had a higher chance of beating them.
Astrid led Hiccup to the bushes and gently leaned him against a tree. It wasn't very comfortable, but Hiccup didn't say anything. He knew that Astrid was worried for him, and she was trying her best to make him feel better, and that was all that mattered.
"Stay here," said Astrid as she unsheathed her axe. "I'm going out to help the others. Don't move no matter what."
Hiccup nodded begrudgingly. He really didn't want to stay. Why, his friends were in the middle of battle. They needed help! Hiccup didn't know how long the Riders could keep on fighting, especially in the rain. He wanted to do something. Something to help. He had already messed up once, and he wanted to make up for it.
But Hiccup knew that his chances were slim. If he ran out into the middle of the rainy battle, he would end up getting even more hurt, and Hiccup didn't want that. He didn't want that at all. Still, he wanted to help his friends, but Astrid had given her orders. He had to stay put.
Astrid gave him a reassuring smile, but Hiccup could tell that it was somewhat forced. She was trying to look brave for him. "I'll be right back." And with that, she ran into battle, her blonde braid billowing behind her.
Hiccup had seen Astrid fight before; she was amazing at it. She took down several hunters at once, and Hiccup couldn't help but wish that he was just as skilled at fighting as she was. He couldn't even take down three Dragon Hunters, and here Astrid was, taking down six at once. Just with a couple vigorous swings from her axe, the Hunters would go down and stay clear of the upset blonde if they knew what was good for them.
Soon, the battle began to come to a close and Hiccup could tell that the Dragon Riders were winning. The tables decided not to take a sudden turn. Hiccup spotted Toothless shooting plasma blasts at Hunters who got too close from the ground, and he would sometimes send Hiccup a kind, friendly warble or a gummy smile despite the fact that they were in the middle of a fight. Hiccup would smile back, glad that his dragon was okay and not chained up in a cage.
Hiccup knew that it wouldn't be long until the Dragon Riders would win. They would then be able to make their escape and finally head back to Dragon's Edge. Hiccup continued to watch the battle when he suddenly heard a twig snap from his side. Hiccup stiffened and he looked to his side just in time to see the eye patched Dragon Hunter who had captured him. He was holding up his sword and a large bump was forming on his forehead where Astrid had struck him. He did not look happy, and Hiccup knew that if he didn't move, he would be meeting that Hunter's sword.
"This ends now, " the Hunter growled, and then, he charged. Hiccup quickly scooched away when the Dragon Hunter brought down his sword. Hiccup did a good job dodging the blade, and he was surprised at how fast he was moving regardless of his injuries, but he knew that he wouldn't be able to last much longer. He was growing tired and weary, and Hiccup began to have a few close calls with the sword as he continued to dodge the blade.
The Dragon Hunter suddenly stopped advancing, and Hiccup thought that he had given up on attacking him when pain suddenly burst from his chest. Hiccup's vision blacked out and when he reopened them, he was lying on his side. His arm was wrapped around his chest. The Hunter had kicked him. Again.
The eye patched Dragon hunter stood over him and he snarled, "Your friends won't be able to save you this time." He then raised his sword to strike, and Hiccup closed his eyes, waiting for his end.
Then, without warning, the Hunter was knocked into by a dragon! But not just any dragon. It was Hookfang. Hiccup's eyes looked up to see that Snotlout was riding on top of him. His cousin rolled his eyes.
"You really need to do a better job at hiding if you don't want to get spotted by people who are trying to kill you, Hiccup," he said, but Hiccup could tell that Snotlout was relieved that he was okay. Hiccup smiled at him in relief.
Once the battle came to an end and the last of the Dragon Hunters were chased off the island, they all came and met up where Hiccup was lying. Astrid told Fishlegs and the twins to check the island to make sure that the Dragon Hunters are really gone, and the trio flew off to do so. Snotlout and Astrid stayed with Hiccup, who wasn't doing too good. He was shivering, and after that last kick, Hiccup could barely take a breath without his chest erupting into pain.
Unconsciousness began to claim him, and Hiccup could hear the faint, almost distant voices of Snotlout and Astrid.
"We need to get him back to the Edge," Astrid said.
"I'll take Toothless," Snotlout offered.
Hiccup could envision Astrid blinking in surprise. "You know how to operate his tailfin?"
"Hey, I might not listen to Hiccup all the time, but I listen when I want to," said Snotlout. Hiccup heard him and Toothless take off, and he felt Astrid lift him onto Stormfly.
"Come on, girl," said Astrid. "Let's go home."
Stormfly squawked and took off, and that was the last thing Hiccup heard before finally falling into unconsciousness, completely unaware of the world around him.
Author's Note: Yes, things are finally getting better for Hiccup! Onward to Dragon's Edge! =D
I hope you guys enjoyed this part of "Beaten and Bruised!" =) Next part is the last part! =D
Until the next chapter!
-BeyondTheMoon1203