Author's Note: I there, i'm back with another chapter of the story, things will get interesting with this chapter. I don't want to go into that much as it'll be considered a spoiler. Well, I also wanted to use this chance to announce that alongside this story i'm doing a Snoggletog story that will be posted next month. Basically it's a version of of the Homecoming short special, but it's a version I think that would be better and what it should have been like. Thought I'd get that out there and inform you all. Also, i'm close to finishing my school semester and once it's done i'll have more time to write. For now enjoy.
Chapter 2: Blindsided
The sun had long since set by the time Stoick and Hiccup left the forge together, their tandem footsteps the only thing that could be heard…That and the heavy footsteps of a Night Fury following right behind. The trio were now heading for the chief's home, as small idle chatter could now be heard from the two. Both voices are calm and collective, although for Hiccup there happened to be a bit of irritation laced in as he listened to his father's reasonings of his actions. The chief seeing the look on his son's face and shaking his head slightly, "I don't mean to be so overbearing Hiccup, I'm just making sure you're alright."
"Dad it's been three days, and there's no fever or any other symptoms, I feel fine," the boy argued softly. The current amount of attention making him remember at how…attentive his father has been to him since after his break down with the killing. The nightmares always waking his dad up, prompting the chief to check on him. Asking if he needed to talk now and then, and whenever something was bothering the boy Stoick would want to know what is wrong and the like. Now with the sickness the man wasn't taking any chances. He would constantly ask how he's feeling, place a hand against his forehead, even going around and checking on him when out in the village. His presence has been too much at times, especially since he can't fly, now being no exception.
"All it takes is one small incident for anything to happen," the chief responded back, trying to convince his stubborn child.
"Not like there's much I can do around the village as Toothless' riding gear is still broken," Hiccup voiced with slight displeasure.
"I still think flying isn't a good idea either, you know how cold it gets when you're up in the air," Stoick retorted, truly believing in this, and glad something unexpected happened to keep his child on the ground. "Remember I've experienced it as well."
"Dad I'm used to it, I've been doing it for a while already, especially when it snows," Hiccup retorted, rolling his eyes in the process. He does admit it gets cold, but he was distracted by the thrill of flying and could practically ignore it. "I don't get why you have to be on me like my shadow."
Stoick sighed upon hearing that, stopping to face him, "Like I said, once you're a parent yourself, you'll understand my reasonings."
"And as your child, I do know my own limitations, and I need you to understand when I say I'm alright, I'm fully capable of doing my usual duties in the forge and academy, you have to trust me on this," Hiccup responded, folding his arms.
"Yet you're still my child and your health comes first," the chief retorted in a calm voice, trying to be civil.
"Yeah, how unfortunate all this happened at the most inopportune of times times," the teen responded back.
Stoick didn't answer at first, studying the boy's face before his eyes rose a bit in understanding, "Still sour that I didn't allow you to go with the Riders?"
"Uh…a little…but beside the point," the teen shook his head as his mind could only conclude his father current attitude as of late was more than just his sickness. He wasn't sure how he could reassure him that things are ok with him. "Dad…I'm fine…really, everything that happened before…w-with the killing…I'm ok really…and I was serious with letting you know if anything is bothering me…besides haven't I been proving to you that I'm not hiding anything like before?"
Stoick couldn't help but nod in response as his son's words rang true. Every now and then he would find his son with a troubling look on his face and would ask if they could talk, which the chief would welcome. Hiccup would then explain what was bothering him at that moment, memories and nightmares a like, and the chief would do what he could to address these concerns. They still happened, but far in between. Hiccup has improved greatly since before, yet the chief couldn't help but still be worried that all those memories will haunt him worse than before. He knew that something as big as a first kill will haunt someone for life.
"I know…but can't you just listen to me this once? Relapsing is something that can happen if you don't take it easy. I admit I am still worried, but can you at least do this for me?" Stoick asked, at least so he can have one less thing to worry about.
Hiccup didn't respond at first instead turning to the side to look at Toothless, the dragon looking back at his rider and giving a small warble. "I would do it; it would at least give two of us peace of mind."
Almost as if reading his mind Hiccup sighed deeply and ran a hand over his face, "Alright, alright, not like I can't really do anything else right now."
"Thank you," Stoick blew a sigh of relief, reaching out to ruffle his son's head and earning a chuckle from him. The chief gave a small laugh before the two then resumed walking back to the house.
"You know, can you at least allow me to work on Toothless' riding gear? Because that will at least give me something to do…" Hiccup started to speak along their walk. Stoick listened on to his son talking…but slowed down his pace, tuning his son out for a moment as he looked around the area they were in. His eyes scanning around the lit-up area, only to frown as he couldn't see anything. Currently they were in the village square right now…but that's the main problem.
They were the only ones there.
He looked around, but didn't find anyone else around, where are the night watchmen? Everyone else were either getting a late dinner at the Great Hall or retried back to their homes for the night. The chief stopped, and continued to look around, body on guard, "Hiccup stop, do you see that?"
"Huh?" the boy stopped talking and looked around as well, eyes widening in surprise after a few seconds of looking. "Uh…dad…I don't hear anything either."
Now Stoick realized this as silence could be heard, "That's odd…where are the night guards?"
"Better yet, where are the late-night dragons?" Hiccup asked as he realized their absence as well. He knew at night some of the dragons would be flying around or getting a late-night meal. An occasional roar and warble could be heard anywhere on Berk but now…nothing. His eyes then glanced around again until his gaze stopped at one of the dragon stables, a building with platforms so the dragons can rest on. Hiccup found the stable filled and the dragons sleeping soundly…but…they looked off for some reason. The dragon's postures, form and the like seemed…unnatural. Both eyes rose as something else is spotted, "What's that?"
"Huh?" Stoick responded, turning to see Hiccup hurrying over to the stable, prompting him and Toothless to follow with haste. They neared the stable and the chief saw his son kneel down and holding something. "What is it?"
Hiccup showed his father a small, green, glass bottle, which is uncorked. His nose wrinkled as a pungent odor could be in haled from it, the smell is small, but the scent brought a bout of uneasiness to the chief, causing him to shake his head to clear his mind. Red flags instantly went off in his head as the odor seemed familiar in a way, but then his senses were on alert as he realized that something like this wouldn't ever be used in Berk, and he knew no one else would use this. Both eyes then widened as he turned around and unsheathed his sword, "Hiccup, stay next to Toothless!"
"What?" Hiccup looked on confused.
"Something is wrong, the odor that is coming off of that bottle can put anyone who inhales it to sleep," Stoick explained, which made the realization click in Hiccup's head.
"The Dragons…they are asleep by force?" his heart started to race as the teen then realized that Berk has an unwanted guest…or more.
"Whoever is here must have taken out the night guards," Stoick said in a worrying tone, as he kept on looking around. As the realization is sinking in Hiccup slowly started to panic a bit as this is something, he thought wouldn't happen at all…for a long while at least. His hands trembled a bit and breathing quicken as-
"Look out!" Toothless roared as he tackled Hiccup to the ground, just in time as arrows flew above where his head was and embedding themselves into the ground.
Stoick looked over in alarm, before looking in the direction of where the arrows flown from, only to see moon lite silhouettes on one of the homes. Toothless then fired a plasma blast at them, causing the attackers to jump away with a sudden shout. Rapid footsteps hit the chief's ears, prompting him to turn, only for his eyes to widen upon seeing Beserkers and Outcasts starting to come out of hiding, storming the village. "AMBUSH!" he shouted at the top of his lungs.
Hiccup's eyes widened as he froze in place on the ground, panic starting to set in as another attack on Berk is happening. A huge wave of fear engulfed him as memories of what happened before came back to him, of what he had to do in order to save his best friend. Only this time he didn't have his friends here to help, and he couldn't fly at all. Seeing so many of the enemy approaching them. How did the Beserkers and Outcast get on Berk without them knowing? Where was the warning horn? This isn't good as no one seems to be alerted. He jumped as Toothless fired another bolt of plasma at the incoming enemies, the impact causing them to jump and fall to the ground. That action was enough to knock some sense back into Hiccup, prompting him to get back to his feet and moving to his dragon's side, "Toothless, I need you to alert everyone!"
"I'll do my best!" With that the Night Fury then reared his head back and opened his mouth, "RRRRROOOOOOAAAAAAAARRRRR!" His head moved back as a deafening roar left his mouth. The volume and strength enough to be felt and heard anywhere on Berk, if anyone was sleeping or unaware this would definitely catch their attention. Some of the attackers even had to cover their ears from the intensity of the sound, but the action had served its purpose.
In mere seconds the doors to the homes opened up as many of Berk's Vikings came out, eyes widening at the intruders, yet knew to arm themselves. Stoick seemed to mentally breathe a sigh of relief upon realizing reinforcements were imminent, "Hiccup, stay on Toothless' back!"
"Not arguing there," the teen then climbed onto his dragon, but had a bit of trouble holding on as there wasn't a saddle.
In mere moments audible cries and shouts could be heard from Berk's Vikings, but it wasn't the cries of battle. Apparently, the preemptive strike the enemy managed allowed them to surprise everyone. The Beserkers and Outcasts were either kicking the doors open then going inside to ambush anyone inside. Both of Stoick's eyes widened as he saw one kick a door open and then toss some kind of bottle inside.
"Oh no," the chief said in a slight panic as he realized what they were doing. A small battle cry knocked him out of his staring as he brought his sword up to block an incoming slash. The chief reared his left hand back and punched his attacker in the stomach, a groan could be heard as the attacker fell to the ground, robbed of air. Another came running towards him, but a plasma blast hit the ground, knocking him off his feet.
"We got your back!" Hiccup called out and got a nod from his father.
Stoick turned but his eyes widened as a moonlight illumination of a bottle soared through the air, towards them! "Hiccup move, NOW!" the bottle broke on the ground mere inches from Stoick's feet, a small gagging came from him as the odor was released and he started inhaling the contents, which acted fast. The chief stumbled back as his mind started to get a bit fuzzy, but felt a tug at his cape, pulling him away from the radius of the chemical and into fresh air. Taking a huge gulp of air his mind started to clear up after a few seconds. Turning back, he found Toothless had pulled on him, "Thanks."
"Of course!" Toothless warbled.
Stoick then looked back and he could see some of Berk's Vikings were engaging in battle, but not all of them. Being caught off guard like that including the substance that is being thrown around is making it a one-sided battle. He had to bring his sword up as two more Outcasts came over, Stoick parred the strikes and using his free hand to pick one up and slamming him into the second one, the strength used happened to be enough to disorient them. Yet they weren't the only ones as there were tons more around, yet they were being slowly overwhelmed. This isn't good, there's no way they can win, what a fine time for the rest of the Riders to be gone.
"Hiccup!" Stoick said, catching his son's attention. "You need to get out of here!"
"What?!" the teen's eyes widened, not sure if he heard that right.
"Berk is losing this battle, I have no Idea how they did it, but this was carefully planned, and now we don't stand a chance. You need to get out of here!" the chief kept his eyes forward, slowly moving, along with his son and dragon, and keeping an eye out for danger.
"Dad, we can't fly at all!" Hiccup responded, causing another scowl to leave his father's mouth as he was reminded of that little fact.
"You need to go into the forest and hide out, go to the Cove and wait there, it's well hidden and won't be discovered as easily," the Chief instructed with such importance, making Hiccup go wide eyed.
"Dad, I can't leave you-"
"I will try and get as many people as I can, you need to go now!" Stoick urged on, all he cared about is keeping his son safe, and with the tactics that the Outcasts and Berserkers are using it wouldn't be safe for him or his dragon to stay about, especially since they're unable to fly. Yet, most importantly Stoick knew that this is something Hiccup wouldn't be helpful in, not in his current state. "Also, you may look like it, but you're not ready for this, not again."
Hiccup wanted to retort but held his tongue, fully knowing that this is true…much to his disappointment. The way he froze a moment ago as the enemy started attacking, all the memories that came back to his mind…and most of all how he can't stop thinking of his first kill. A shudder went through him and hands trembled a bit, part of him trying to suppress the anxiety he's feeling. He wanted to heed his father's warning and flee…but he couldn't leave him, not like this, as it felt like he's abandoning him. "I…dad I can't…I can't leave you…"
Stoick sighed upon hearing that, he should have seen that coming, sadly, this wasn't the time for his son to be stubborn. "Toothless…take Hiccup to the cove, keep him safe," The chief spoke, yet it wasn't in an authoritative tone but…one of pleading. Something a parent would say when their child's life is on the line.
Silence filled that area as the dragon's eyes were wide, matching his rider. The Night Fury soon nodded in understanding, knowing that his rider isn't going to move, and it was up to him to do it for him, "Leave it to me."
"Whoa!" Hiccup cried out as Toothless started to gallop out of the area, barreling passed more of the enemy, we barreling through some as well. The teen held onto his dragon, not wanting to fall off, but looked back and saw more Beserkers closing in on his dad, "Toothless, we need to help him!"
"I'm keeping you safe, the only way is to do what your dad says!" the dragon warbled as he kept running towards the forest, the chief's dwelling approaching as it'll be a clear shot into the trees. Along the way Hiccup looked around seeing the battle going on, yet he didn't spot any other dragons at all. Usually they would help out in defending their home but he wasn't seeing this at all. Were they taken out as well? Toothless kept his eyes forward as they nearly exited the village, "We're almost there, once in the forest we should be-"
"Toothless look out!" Hiccup shouted, which prompted the dragon to dig his paws into the ground, skidding to a complete stop. Unfortunately thanks to the momentum of his speed, that and no saddle to grip, Hiccup flew forward off of his dragon, landing about five yards away. Thankfully Hiccup tucked so he managed to roll and come to a complete stop, sustain no damage of any kind. At the same time two bottles had landed in the gap between the two. Both realized what it is and backed away, putting more distance between one another. The bottles shattered and immediately disbursed the overwhelming odor, but thankfully the two had put enough distance in order not to be affected by it.
"Get them!" voices of Berserkers and Outcasts rang out, as a group of them started to gain on the two.
"Toothless behind you!" Hiccup called out, still on the ground unmoving.
The Night Fury roared as his back legs kicked, and tail moved like a whip, hitting into the incoming enemies and knocking them down. The dragon easily taking them out and showing that despite being grounded he's still a force to be reckoned with. Toothless readied himself to take on more that were incoming, but his eyes spied something else, which caused his to raise them in alarm. More Outcasts were coming, but they were approaching from behind Hiccup! His rider is unaware of them as he is slowly getting, and not hearing them. What a bad time for him not to be able to talk at all. What is worse is that odor from the bottle is still lingering about and with it between the both of them there wasn't time to run around and help him. So, making a quick decision he fired a plasma blast right at three incoming enemies, the bolt of fire flew past Hiccup and hit the ground. The incoming Outcasts being blown away with painful shouts, leaving them dazed from the close impact.
It was then Toothless felt additional weight on his body, arms wrapping around his neck. He roared loudly as he knew who it was and struggled like a buckling yak. One Berserker flew off of him but more jumped on him. Hiccup looked over and saw his dragon being pounced on by the enemy, "Toothless!"
"Run!" The Dragon roared out, Tail whipping out to hit more, but felt more bodies jump on and hold it down. "Run!" Toothless roared out once more in desperation before his legs gave out due to the excess weight. Strong hands were now pressing down on his snout to shut his mouth, effectively silencing the dragon and making sure he could not help out anymore.
"No!" Hiccup cried out as he watched his dragon being subdued by the enemy but had little time to let it soak in as all eyes were soon on him.
"Get him!" one of the Beserkers shouted out, as some got off the dragon, not enough to allowed Toothless to escape, and started to run for him.
Hiccup saw this and turned around, sprinting into the forest, feeling a huge pain in his heart for what he's doing. "I'm so sorry bud," he said to himself as he entered the tree line and kept going forward in a blind run.
Minutes passed as Hiccup continued to run through the forest, dodging various trees that came into his path, and hopping over any that had fallen over. It proved a bit difficult for him as he's not as quick as he used to be thanks to his prosthetic, which caused him to trip, fall and stumble a bit. Already he could hear his pursuers right behind him, but thankfully he knew the lay out of the forest and knew where everything is so it made it easier for him to know when to jump, weave and even slide, so he still managed to keep a good distance.
Despite being his size, it didn't mean the teen could run forever, and could feel his lungs burning for relief. Worst of all he could feel burning sensation radiating from his stump, making him wince in discomfort. He can't keep going on like this or his leg is going to give out, he needed somewhere to hide. Looking around he thought quickly and dived behind a large, fallen, tree trunk, pressing himself against it and covering his mouth as he panted and wheezed some. He stayed as quiet as possible, listening out for the incoming footsteps, which came loud and fast. His heart started beating really fast with every approaching second, especially as the fear started to set in. What happens if he is caught? Something bad most likely, but he didn't even want to think what that could be at all. Concern for Toothless and his father grew as he had no idea what is going on with them or if they are ok. He had to hope his dad managed to get some people and came across Toothless and helped him.
As the Footsteps were literally feet away the teen couldn't help but hold his breath, quieting himself down as he didn't trust himself not to make a sound. The next few seconds happened to be the longest of his life as he could literally hear his heart beating, loud and fast. He couldn't stop himself from trembling as one wrong move would be the end of it. An almost painful sigh of relief nearly left him as he could hear them move past him and getting quieter and deeper away with every second. Soon enough he couldn't hear them, but he waited a few more seconds before removing his hands and allowing himself to breathe again.
Slowly he rose back to his feet, breath still heavy and wincing as his stump is burning some more. Another sigh of relief left him as he lost them, which is good as he wasn't sure if he could keep running at the moment. All he needed to do is stay hidden and calm down before he could go to the Cove and-
"Gyah!" Hiccup cried out as a strong set of arms wrapped around and picked him off the ground.
"I got you!" A voice shouted from behind, making Hiccup's heart race as he realized that he's caught! But how? He must have not been paying too much attention to his surroundings and got snuck up on. This is bad, he struggled as much as he could, but the grip is strong and isn't loosening, his feet kicking furiously. "Over here, I have him!" he shouted out loud, alerting anyone nearby.
Hiccup groaned as the grip tightened, squeezing his body somewhat painfully, cutting off a bit of his air way. The teen's heart started to race and threatened to burst from his chest, he had to do something or else his pursuers will double back and find them, and it would be the end of it. But what can he do if he couldn't wiggle free of the man's grip!? His worry turned into panic as his captor called out once more, causing him to thrash out uncontrollably. His panic only grew as he could hear the faint calls of the Beserkers returning voices, and faint footsteps. Hiccup needed to do something right now and fast! His legs continued to kick wildly and without knowing it his prosthetic moved forward before immediately slamming it backwards…right between his captor's legs.
"AHH!" he cried out loudly before his voice went silent and the grip loosened. Hiccup fell to the ground, but cried out as he rolled his ankle, making him fall down on his side. He took the chance to take a big gulp of air, yet he clutched his ankle as it radiated in pain.
"Where are you!?" one Berserker called out, making Hiccup's eyes widen.
"Are you alright!?" a second one called out, the voices still somewhat in the distance.
"H-H…e..re," Hiccup turned to the man who had him, seeing it's another Outcast. He's on his knees, hands clutching his aching groin, as he tried calling back to his comrades, but his voice came out as small wheezes, and hoarse, as the blow is responsible for it.
Hiccup looked at the Outcast then back at the forest as the footsteps are getting closer and voices louder. He needed to make a decision on what to do, or what he should be doing. His body is still tired and there is no way he could outrun them this time, especially since he rolled his ankle and can't wait on it right now. He couldn't stay here as the Outcast before him would recover in no time and give away his location, and most likely grab him again. He needed to do something now, and hopefully pray to Odin he didn't get caught.
"What's that sound!?" a voice called, hearing a faint wheezing.
"Is it coming from there!?" the second voice called.
The footsteps and voices getting louder, making Hiccup's breathing increase, and the panic going into overdrive. What happened next Hiccup wasn't sure how it happened, his body acted on his own as he reached into his vest and lunged at the Outcast.
A moment later the group of Berserkers came to a certain area with a fallen tree, looking around but unfortunately didn't have torches to help light their way. They used the moonlight that came through the tall trees to help light their way. "I swear to Odin that the voice came here," the head Berserker said.
"Same here," A second one responded, all heads looking around.
"Where are you!?" the first one called out, moving around to get a better view. "Come on, respond!"
Nothing but silence came, followed by an irritating growl from the second voice, "We should fan out, he shouldn't have gotten far."
"Good idea make sure to-" All of a sudden a horn is blaring throughout the forest, causing them to turn their heads in the direction of the village. Most of them snarled as they knew that sound is to recall them back. "What bad timing…we were so close…yet we best go, Dagur gets furious when his orders aren't obeyed."
"I know," the second one sighed as the small group then started to hurry back to the village, their footsteps getting quiet and quieter with every passing second.
A minute passed before Hiccup's head popped up from behind the tree, his ragged breathing finally being let out as his body trembled from the fright of nearly being caught. Immediately a sigh of relief escaped him as he knew he was safe, all by a horn none the less, but that made him curious as to why Dagur would call them back. Both eyes rose as a scary thought came to mind, but he didn't want to think of that at all…yet something new became apparent as he started to calm down. He felt a sudden….wetness on his hands as they were resting on something solid yet…warm? Both of his eyes slowly went wide as his body trembled for an all new reason. He slowly looked down as he realized that he's on top of something…or rather someone. A choked breath came out of his mouth as he looked down.
The Outcast that had him is dead.
Sticking out from the unprotected part of his helmet is Hiccup's knife, which is embedded right between the eyes. Blood oozed from the spot and now soaked the teen's hands. Immediately Hiccup moved off the unmoving body, grunting as he couldn't stand on his rolled ankle, but the pain didn't even register in his mind, as his heart thumped fast in his chest as he couldn't believe it was happening again. He was still in disbelief over what he saw…yet it cemented itself within his mind of what he did.
He had killed again.
A/N: Hope you like, a surprise turn of events right? Well this is something I had in mind when planning this story as I wanted to know what would happen if this happened to Hiccup once again, especially when he seems like he's over this traumatic event. Believe me when I say that this will get better with the oncoming chapters, I would stay more but that would give away a lot of spoilers. All I can say that it'll be a some what reverse of the story Collateral Damage. If you have any questions please let me know, and please let me know what you think of the story. Till next time.