Dedicated to rAnDoM pickLe for motivating me to get this story up and running again.
I'll ring the boy's throat, I don't care that he's already deceased!
Viggo could just about breath fire as he raged through the trees, a million curses crashing through his mind.
It was as Ryker had said: The treasury was emptied completely. Not one chip of gold remained. The only thing left inside was a smiley-face drawn in a small pile of dirt on the floor. Viggo was certain he'd blown a blood vessel at that point.
Where is that insufferable spirit?!
Every Hunter had been sent out to comb the island for the gold. There had been many shifting eyes and uncertain mumblings among them. Ryker voiced to his brother what many of them were thinking: "How are you so certain the gold remains on the island? Ought we to send men out to sea in pursuit of a possible ship? Or dragon?"
"Oh it's still on the island," Viggo had ground out. "I have no doubt of that."
He swore at a branch that caught under his unlucky feet. How lovely it was to be sleep deprived.
So far neither he nor his men had found any sign of Hiccup, and there was no guarantee the boy wasn't invisible to him at the moment, but Viggo knew for a fact that treasure couldn't vanish into thin air. Something would inevitably show. Viggo's familiarity with this island far surpassed that of the peg-legged bean-pole, so why in Odin's name hadn't he found anything yet?!
He and the search party accompanying him strode out of the trees onto the island's east shore. Viggo halted while Ryker and the men marched forward. Hiccup stood at the edge of the waves, skipping stones over the water. The Hunters walked right past him without a single glance.
Viggo waited until his men were further up the beach before approaching the ghost. He stopped with his hands behind his back, waiting for Hiccup to turn around, while the boy continued to skip stones. After several seconds, he glanced back over his shoulder at Viggo.
"Where is it?"
Hiccup cocked an eyebrow.
"The gold. I know you took it. Only you could have pulled off such a feat." Alive or dead. "So where is it?"
Hiccup held up his hand. He rolled a gold coin between his pointer finger and thumb, then flicked it over the water. It skipped four times and sank.
"You did not!" Viggo bristled.
"I did, actually." Hiccup somehow pulled another coin of his pocket and skipped it, this one only three times. "Rats," he muttered.
"You halt this outrageous behavior this instant!"
"Or you'll kill me?" Hiccup sassed, pulling out another coin.
Viggo snatched it out of Hiccup's hand and Hiccup turned to face him.
"How much have you tossed out?" Viggo glowered, voice dangerously low, fingers tight around the coin.
Without breaking eye contact, Hiccup reached into his pocket, pulled out three gold pieces, and tossed them over his shoulder into the waves. "Everything."
Viggo couldn't look away, couldn't stop staring numbly into his opponent's eyes, searching for some sign that he was bluffing, and all the while the furnace inside him grew hotter.
Words could not describe that moment. Was it possible that Viggo was feeling something beyond anger? That no emotion existed as a suitable enough response to this situation? And how could he find that Well Troll again so he could wish Hiccup to hell?
Hiccup started to look less sure of himself the longer Viggo stared at him. His fingers tugged at his translucent sleeve, he averted his eyes, blinking and losing their staring contest. After another moment of tension, the young ghost vanished from sight.
For a few minutes, the world outside the spot Hiccup had disappeared ceased to exist. Then Viggo's gaze lifted to the sea, where thin whitecaps slapped against the shore and dark water sucked everything back out again. He knew the shallows dropped off quickly along this particular beach. He knew anything that sank here would very likely be lost forever.
"Brother?"
Viggo didn't look at Ryker when his second in command spoke.
"Viggo." No response. "Viggo!"
Ryker grabbed his brother's arm. Viggo's gaze snapped to his brother, his eyes flashed like knives, and Ryker let go, eyes widening slightly.
"What's going on?" Ryker demanded slowly.
Viggo looked back at the water before spinning on his heel and marching off.
"Brother what are you doing!"
"Order the men to search the water."
"Where are you going?"
"I have something to attend to!"
When Viggo got back to his tent, things were floating. The sight of his Maces and Talons table bobbing in the air as an invisible person carried it about almost made him trip over his bed, which had been placed in front of the door. The Maces game itself had been relocated underneath the desk, which in turn had been set askew in the opposite corner.
Viggo marched over to the floating game table and slammed it back on the ground with a shuddering thud.
Hiccup reappeared a second later on the far side of the tent, obviously putting as much distance between him and Viggo as he could.
"Get out."
"Why? This is my tent now, too."
"You sound like one of your inferior minded twins. Now get out."
Hiccup hit his chest with his hand. "Hey! Thanks to you, I now have just as much of a right to be in this room as you do! You can't kick me out!"
"These are my quarters, and I order you!"
"I'm the ghost! I'm in charge!"
Viggo balled his fists and stormed in Hiccup's direction. Hiccup backpedalled, eyes wide, and hit the wall. He vanished.
Viggo stopped. When the boy didn't reappear, he went to his desk - the fact that it was crooked grating on his nerves - and began to look around for certain papers. When Hiccup did pop into view again, Viggo spared him the briefest glance before turning back to his maps.
Hiccup stood to the side of the misplaced cot, arms limp. He watched Viggo for a few moments in silence. When Viggo didn't pay him any attention, he got back to work moving the Maces and Talons table.
"Does the Haunting Spell reduce your maturity level as well?" Viggo snorted, still not looking up.
"What?" Hiccup looked over at his foe, face twisted with bemusement.
"I don't have time to watch you. If you want, I can have the men build you a playhouse in the woods and you can reorganize the furniture in that."
Hiccup dropped the table with a crash and clenched his fists. His mouth tightened in a thin line. "I'm trying to get a point across."
"And what point would that be?" Viggo finally looked up with his eyes. "I have ways to make you regret your actions."
"Oh yeah? How so?"
Ryker entered the room and yelped as he tripped over the cot and nearly crashed to the floor. He gasped for breath and gazed around the room.
"Throw a tantrum, little brother?"
"This would be the work of a somewhat neurotic miscreant." Viggo jabbed the map with his pencil.
Hiccup scowled and crossed his arms. Viggo made sure to keep his full focus on his brother, and not the ghost right behind him.
"The intruder?"
"Nothing you need directly worry about. What progress have you made?"
Ryker's scowl deepened between his brows. "The men raked the shallows, came up with a handful of coins. Other than that, not much progress."
The report did nothing for Viggo's mood. He tapped the table irritably, his frustration clear on his face.
"I have new orders for you. Recall all the men, save perhaps a few to search the eastern shore, and have them ready the ships. They are to attack the Edge immediately."
"What?" Hiccup exclaimed, jolting in place, eyes wide.
Ryker didn't hear him. "Did you want to to give a specific reason for this attack?"
"I have no tolerance left for their leader, who I happen to know is indisposed on this very island."
Ryker's eyes widened. "Haddock?"
"The same."
"On the island? Shouldn't we be searching for him?" He sounded exasperated, like he couldn't believe his brother would delay something so important.
"I told you not to worry about it. I will remain behind to deal with him."
"I - "
"Dismissed, brother."
Ryker frowned, then turned, kicked the cot out of the way, and pushed through the tent flaps.
Hiccup stared at Viggo, jaw slack, expression akin to horror. He blinked, shook himself out of his stupor, and dashed through the tent walls.
I need a ghost proof cage. Viggo leaped to his feet and slid around the desk.
When he made it outside, Hiccup was nowhere in sight. Ryker had slipped into the main camp and now strode toward two guards to relay orders to them. One ran off, and not long later a horn sounded to gather all the men.
Viggo watched from the high ground as several parties gathered around his brother. This he paid less attention to. His eyes roved over the base as he tried to deduce where Hiccup would have run off to. Surely he would want to halt the attack, and no doubt he could do it. That made the ships and equipment a main target. Jaw tightening and untightening, he raced down to the tents to have a word with the men.
"We still have a thief in our midst," Viggo declared, stepping up onto the speaking platform and completely interrupting what Ryker had been saying. "I need men to carefully watch all valuable equipment in our possession. All armor and weapons must be guarded and the shipyard patrolled. This attack could be our final victory. Nothing must be left to chance."
Ryker continued to arrange the Hunters while Viggo scanned the growing crowd with a critical eye. Long before anyone else noticed, he saw a soldier running over to their gathering, clearly aiming for the stage.
"What is it, soldier?" Viggo demanded as soon as he was within earshot.
"The armory, sir. No one can get in."
Viggo stiffened and he felt Ryker become fully alert behind him.
"Show me," he said. He jumped off the platform to follow the man while Ryker gave a few last, quick instructions before trailing after them as well.
When they reached the armory, three men were trying to force the door with a felled log.
"Axe it down, you fools!" Viggo snapped as he walked up. "It's clearly barricaded!"
And no doubt Hiccup has been able to barricade it quite well.
While the men passed around axes and hatchets, Viggo circled the armory and scanned its sides. Rounding the back corner he glanced down. Dozens of smiley faces grinned up at him from the dirt. Viggo scuffed at them with his feet. The smileys went around the entire building.
The men had axed through a section of the main door only to find boards nailed on the other side. And if they had to guess, there were many, many layers.
Ryker sniffed the air with frown. "Is that smoke?"
Viggo's growl was dragon worthy. "Probably." He stomped off.
"Hey! Where are you going?" Ryker shouted, gesturing to the armory, the interior of which everyone now guessed was about to go up in flames. The men hacked at the door faster.
"The docks!" Viggo shouted back. "If I can prevent another vital resource from being destroyed, then I had best see to it now."
By now, Hunters were running every which way, some shouting for water, some for axes; some were busy preparing to launch the ships. The marina was especially hectic. More than a few men were scratching their heads and scanning the boards around their feet. Apparently tools had gone missing, because of course they had. Viggo prowled the marina, scrutinizing the sides of ships and crates. At the gangplank of their largest vessel, a smug smiley had been carved into the wood. Viggo calmed himself before he could make the mistake of charging aboard, and crept up the plank.
Boots near silent on the the steps, he padded below deck, turned away from the disturbed pile of crates and down between the dragon cages. Water thumped under the boat's belly, echoed by a soft scuffling in the far end of the brig.
In the last cell, Hiccup was in the process of pouring alcohol over a pile of splintered crates. How he managed to find three entire casks of hard liquor so quickly Viggo didn't know, but he did know what would happen next if Hiccup lit the flint and steel he had in his right hand.
"No!" Viggo scolded.
Hiccup jumped, dropping the bottle of alcohol and hurriedly fumbling with the lighter.
"Don't do that!" Viggo screamed, heart leaping as he imagined the explosion going off so near himself. He grabbed the flint and steel from his nemesis.
After a small, somewhat awkward pause in which Hiccup cast sidelong glances between Viggo and the unlit pile, Hiccup said, "So, how is the armory holding up?"
"Very well, thank you," Viggo ground out, stuffing the flint and steel under his belt.
"I won't stop, you know. I will do everything in my power to keep my friends safe. I can't let you attack the Edge."
"So you have made clear in the past, but my dear Hiccup you forget that your range is now extremely limited. And there is no way you can destroy my entire fleet before they leave for your base." Perhaps he underestimated the ghost's abilities, but even now he could hear his men getting well underway. Footsteps thudded overhead. "I think it is well within my capability to keep you at bay while an attack is underway."
"Viggo, if you do this I will make you regret it." Hiccup's fists and jaw clenched.
"I am sure you will do your best."
"I mean it! I'll destroy your entire navy, ship by ship. I've already depleted your treasury - "
"One of them." Viggo folded his arms.
" - and I can burn down every building on this island. Your papers. Your Maces and Talons set!"
Viggo's face fell, and he stumbled over his snappy comeback.
"Again you forget: You can only go where I go. If I decide to retreat, to separate myself from my men, I shall leave you stranded without access to our resources." He'd already planned on saying this, but now it came out sounding less confident than he'd wanted.
"Reduce it to splinters and fling the pieces to every corner of the island." Hiccup's mouth began to turn upwards in a grin.
"Hiccup be reasonable..."
Hiccup spun on his heel and dashed through the side of the ship.
"HICCUP!" Viggo tore up the stairs, dodged men working on deck, and raced through the busy marina in the direction of his tent.
"Hiccup Haddock, what are your terms?" Viggo panted as he burst into the tent without even looking up to see if Hiccup were there.
The Berkian heir tossed the Viking Chief piece in the air in mock thought. He did this for a long moment, humming and hawing, a hand on his hip. Viggo ground his teeth and tried not to look at him. (The sight begged him to blow a fuse.) At last Hiccup spoke.
"Help me find the Well Troll and reverse my death. If we work together," he snatched up the Accomplice piece in his other hand and tossed it once in the air before catching it in his fist, "then I will halt all attempts at sabotage, and I'll help you get to the Edge where our Troll friend was last seen. Once we talk to him, I get to keep my body, and you keep your Game." He pressed both stone figures into the same hand. "And I think we can both give each other a couple months of cease fire to recover from this ordeal."
"Alright," Viggo sighed. "I'll help you."
I feel so bad for not consistently updating! My sister and multiple readers continuously asked for the next part, and I've just let it sit idle in my docs. To those urging me to post: thank you for pestering me. I hope you found Hiccup's antics amusing. :)
A huge thanks to everyone who is still reading, and for all the faves and follows! Please let me know what you think of chapter 3! (Constructive criticism appreciated.)