Hiccup looked at Heather in confusion as he wondered what was going on. He found his answer as he finally traced her line of sight and turned around, his eyes locking overhead.
"Holy mother..."
He said as he saw a looming figure overhead. The figure was a ship, built in the shape of an old Nordic ship from centuries ago. The ship loomed overhead and Hiccup watched as it went into a defensive mode, putting up a shield and turning on it's turrets.
"RUN!!" Someone had shouted, leading everyone in the courtyard to take off in a rush. They rushed in all directions, Heather and Hiccup running off and taking cover behind a large pile of rubble. '' We need to reach the Admin office. Maybe we'll find someone there..." Hiccup commented while looking over a rock at the ship, which had begun during off rounds of concentrated lasers at the courtyard.
"Yeah...but more importantly we need to move!!!" Heather shouted as he she grabbed onto Hiccup's shoulders, leaping away from the rubble and taking him along with her just as a laser collided with the rubble, blowing it apart. Broken pieces flew about, a few hitting them but doing very little as they got up and proceeded onward.
Hiccup and Heather had rushed to the main office of the Berk Academy in a panic. The fire and flames had been snuffed long ago thanks to Hiccup's ship, leaving behind ash and rubble. The area of the main office was collapsed in, Hiccup and Heather moving aside rubble and more in order to get through and check for bodies.
So far they'd found nothing, which was both a good sign as well as a bad one. Good because no one had died, bad because that still means they could've been taken captive. Frightened was the least Hiccup could say he was at the moment. Time seemed to slow down as a cavalcade of blue beams struck the area, shaking the ground and kicking up gravel and more.
The cement had been torn apart by a barrage of laserfire, coming from the large ship hovering overhead. It had focused , for a moment, on the two cadets as they searched for others. It was easy to avoid, but still the vibrations and shockwave alone was enough to send them to the ground. " We need to get out of here. " Hiccup says as he helps Heather up and looks at the ship once more before rushing off to his bike.
He hurriedly kickstarted the bike and got on, watching as Heather join Hiccup. The bike took off at 55 mph and Hiccup made the short ride to his house. After parking, the two burst through the door and Hiccup began searching around. "DAD! Dad?!?! He shouted loudly as he searched every corner of his house, the Raven haired cadet joining in the search.
"I don't think he's here Hiccup.'' She says as he walks up the stairs leading to his room, where he'd gone in his search. "Yeah...if he's not here then...oh gods where could he be?'' He asks as he turns to her.
Heather was already deep in thought when that question was directed towards her. She looked over at Hiccup , locking upon him. Almost immediately after , her eyes darted towards the window and she rushed over, looking out into the city. " What are you looking for?" Hiccup asked as he walked over.
"An emergency flare. They explained back at the Academy that in case of mass emergency such as this-"
"Look for the flare to rally the troops.." Hiccup finished as he joined her in searching the city skyline. "Nothing." Heather said with a sigh as she withdrew from the window. Hiccup stayed there and continued to look. " Maybe they'll send one out later." He says as he too moves away and then turns towards Heather.
"Maybe...if they're all still here." She replies solemnly as she turns her attention towards the floor.
"Hey, don't say that. They're alright- I know it." Hiccup says as he places a hand onto her shoulder in an attempt to reassure her. "So let's get out there alright? We'll help to evac the city to the local shelter and then we'll go on a search."
Heather looked up slowly, her breathing having increased for a moment but returned to normal as she looked into his eyes. He managed to calm her in the face of danger, in the face of fear. She smiled and nodded gently. "Alright... alright you're right.." she says finally as she begins to head towards the door, Hiccup following behind.
The two looked around the streets, watching as many people began evacuating already. Hiccup looked to Heather with a nod and they both moved down the street heading in the direction of the shelter and ushering people onward. As they did this, the same ship that had attacked the Academy floated overhead slowly. It loomed there, almost as if it were stalking the city. Almost as if it were stalking the cadets below.
The ship paused for a moment and then it opened fire, taking down an entire apartment complex in a second. It's fire didn't cease there as it continued to hit more buildings: stores, houses, complexes and more suffered from the damages of the ship. Hiccup and Heather could do nothing but help people to escape as this went on. "This is insane." Heather says as she and Hiccup walk towards the doors of the shelter, Hiccup's eyes scanning over the massive crowd inside. "That's everyone in this district..we should radio into others, check and see that they're alright." He says as Heather looks up to him, nodding before she closes the shelter door.
Hiccup entered a security code into a panel nearby, activating the explosive doors on the outside of the shelter. The doors rose slowly from the ground and attached to the shelter, offering covering from explosives. With this done, the primary security measures kicked in and a large field of purple energy surrounded the building.
"We're secure for now." Hiccup says as he and Heather journey towards the office area. They entered slowly and we're somewhat surprised to see many other cadets and officers were inside. "You guys made it!" Heather calls with a small smile as many speak up at once.
"We radioed in...trying to find others. Found a few. There's a camp set-up not too far from here." Hoark says to the two young cadets as he steps up.
"Anything about my dad or Gobber or anyone else?" Hiccup asks as Hoark solemnly shakes his head. "Sorry lad...last I'd seen em they were being hauled off by The Grimborn crew."
Hiccup's whole world seemed to come crashing down within those few moments. As his mind registered what had escaped the elder's mouth, Hiccup's mind and heart seemed to weaken. But it was reassuring aswell, for now he knew they weren't among those whose lives were lost at the Academy.
Heather placed a reassuring hand onto his right shoulder, mirroring Hiccup's own gesture of kindness from earlier on in the night , a smile gracing her beautiful face as the auburn haired teen turned to face her. "They're alright Hiccup..for now atleast..that is motivation enough , right?" she asks Hiccup, leading the young man to form a ghost of a smile upon his face as his eyes linked with her own.
"Right.." he turned with a swiftness towards Hoark. "Sir, with your permission I'd like to stage a rescue mission." Hoark shrugged. "I'd already been mulling over the idea lad. Now that I've got someone to help with field, this'll be a walk in the park." the older man says as he cracks a smile. A smug look appeared upon the face of Hiccup, for he knew they'd have some force on their side.
Astrid's loud grunts resounded throughout the dungeon-esque containment area that the Grimborns had thrown her and her crewmates into. She attempted for the umpteenth time to pull herself to her feet and break through the prison bars before them. And once again she found herself flinging back onto the floor in pain, rolling onto her left side to avoid further damage to her body.
"Will you give it a rest already?!" Ruffnut shouted to her from a corner narby. The female twin had her arms and legs chained to the backwall, given the same amount of space to move as Astrid. Basically, they could move throughout all four corners of the squared off room, but never past the door. One could even question the purpose of the chains. Tuffnut snorted "I can't believe I'm saying this , but I'm with Ruff. You really should just give up." He says as he scratches the back of his neck, the shackles around his limbs not seeming to bother him in the least. Fishlegs layed on his back right next to Tuffnut, staring up at the ceiling above. "We...are..doomed.." he whispered , his eyes wide. "You've been saying that for the past hour and a half...stop it!!" Snotlout shouted as he walked over to Astrid, helping her to her feet.
"Listen babe, this situation may not be as bad as we think.. I mean you and me are alone together...ya know with Fish, Ruff, Tuff, Uncle Stoick,Bucket, Gobber and a bucket of vomit…" he says casting glances at the other inhabitants of the cell, and the bucket in the back of the cell that brought a horrid scent out.
Astrid grabbed onto Snotlout's arm at that moment and wrenched it behind his back, causing the stocky boy to squeal for a moment before she kicked him away. "Not your babe, Lout!" she shouted angrily as she looked at the door once again, then turned to Stoick. The leader of the entire Academy had been silent since they'd arrived, talking rarely to Gobber who also held his tongue. "Sir? You have any ideas?" Astrid asked patiently, finally calming down.
"Nope.." Stoick replied plainly as he stood and walked around the cell. Gobber spoke up "Lets provide a distraction using an injury- anyone got a spare knife to stab Snotlout with?"
"We..are..doomed.."
"Oi, will you stop that?!?!" The older man snapped at Fishlegs, who finally stopped speaking. "Just saying..we're doomed.." he says as he sits up, staring at Gobber, then Astrid.
"Oh come on! All the other cadets who weren't taken will come for us.."Tuffnut said as he placed his hands behind his head and seemed to relax.
"Yeah, maybe even Hiccup'll be with em.." Ruffnut said, causing Stoick to look over as Snotlout tossed up his arms impatiently. "If we're waiting on my cousin- we're done for!"
Back at the shelter, Hiccup and Heather were sorting out rations to the people inside. They'd finished and went to gather up blankets for everyone, handing those out rather quickly. With only one left and the air conditioning within the shelter blowing wildly, Heather looked to Hiccup, handing him the last of the blankets. He shook his head "Keep it.." he said as he looked in a box in the storage area they were in.
"You sure?" she asked as she wrapped herself in it and followed behind him.
"Yeah...not gonna lie, I'd hoped my suit would keep me warm. So far, it's failing miserably. So I'm gonna find something else.." he told her while looking through a large box. So far he'd found nothing and Heather was becoming slightly concerned, until Hiccup pulled something out of the box.
"Perfect." he said with a smile as he held up a leather jacket, white in color with black lines on its shoulders to it's wrists and on the torso. He slid the jacket on over the top of his flight suit, looking in a mirror nearby. "Cool...very space hero like." Heather commented from behind him.
"Stylish, functional and very warm…" Hiccup smiled as he and Heather exited the room. "We should go talk to Commander Hoark tomorrow about our next plan.."
Hiccup couldn't help but to watch Heather as she moved towards one of the free beds in the back of the shelter, feeling a sense of pity. He'd known her since they were both 13, having just started in the Academy. Him a pilot and Captain in training- the second one forced on by his overbearing father, and her a navigation and weapons expert.
Both were young, both were dumb , and both were...weird. Both of them had essentially outcast themselves from their fellow students- Hiccup due to bullying and Heather due to just plain not liking what she saw. She saw cliche cliques and found it boring. Then she saw Hiccup. And found him... awesome. The two formed a bond quickly- then along came Fishlegs. Their threesome was complete.
They almost fell off as they neared the age of 16, but held on as best they could. Heather's class required her to travel more and Hiccup's required more focus. Fishlegs required more time alone.
He still recalled one night, one faithful yet disturbing night that drew the three together once again. Heather was never as alone as she claimed to be...she had a brother.
It was a warm night in the middle of June. The annual Berk Dragon Festival was live to say the least. Bright lights of white, yellow and red color adorned the streets. Stands for food, games and more were on every corner downtown- a huge banner spread across the main street between the two largest buildings that read "Berk Dragon Festival…" a nasally yet deep voice spoke aloud as a flash of Auburn hair moved forward under the banner. 16 year old Hiccup Haddock was never one for social events, but this event had always been one of his favorite things to attend.
The lights and the food amazed him every time, the brilliant colors blended together so well to create a beautiful pallette. It was something that stunned his artistic side, as Hiccup loved art as much as he did inventing. He'd been working on his own ship for the past two years now and was making great progress. He'd done it with help of his father's best friend and the Academy mechanic Gobber.
Hiccup's eyes focused on the excellent blend for a moment before moving back downwards towards the streets up ahead. He walked over to a cart serving candied apples and other items and opened his wallet, pulling out two whitish-gray colored bills and handing them to the woman behind the cart. The tall and muscular woman smiled as the Chief's son approached. "Evening Hiccup." She spoke as he took the money and gave him a fresh candied apple. "Good evening Helga." He replied with a smile of his own as he walked off with the treat.
"Man I love this time." He said as he crossed over towards a game nearby. As he was walking someone bumped into him, causing him to drop the apple into the ground below. "Oops..my bad." An annoying voice called from behind him.
"And hello to you too Snot." Hiccup said with a roll of his eyes and a sigh of annoyance as he turned towards his stocky cousin. "My bad cuz. I'd pay for it but uh…" Snotlout led on and then laughed as he turned and took off.
"And good time ruined….great." Hiccup said most unhappily as he continued to the game. It was a stand set-up with ten holographic targets and an H1Z-Series 9MM Laser pistol full of stun shots. He slid over two dollars to play and picked up the gun, taking a brief moment to admire the design of the weapon. He'd always been interested in weapons designs as well as designs of...all of their equipment. And mostly how he could make it cooler.
He took aim at the first target, keeping a steady eye as his finger hwrapped around the trigger gently. Finally he pulled, a tiny bolt of blue energy bursting from the barrel of the gun and hitting the target dead center. As it hit, a sharp PING resounded throughout the booth and the hologram shattered and fell with a small holographic 30 popping up in it's place . This continued to be a trend as he moved to the next one, getting the same result. Hiccup blew through all ten targets with an end score of 300. A bell sounded from the booth as the large man behind the counter shouted "Winner!!" With a hearty laugh.
"Pick yer prize 'Iccup." The black bearded man said to the boy. "I'll take…" he took a look around the booth and spotted something he liked. "Those gloves." A pair of extravagant looking leather gloves stood before his eyes in the back of the booth. Black leather with blue linen sewn into it , creating a perfect design of a Berk Guard Crest.
He smiled as he slipped them on and turned around as he heard a chuckle. He found himself looking at a familiar face- Heather Odswaldson.