Chapter Twenty-Three: The Fight
Ingvar had laughed at the Rider's request for a fight in the former kill ring, but he agreed cockily to it nonetheless. Astrid threw her axe at a target for the sixth time that day and yanked it out of the barrel. She decided to get some rest for the fight at sundown, so she took Toothless on another flight and sat by Hiccup's bedside for a little longer. She squeezed his hand and said, "Everything is going to be okay, Hiccup. You'll be fine. Just hang on, Dragon Boy."
Hiccup didn't respond, and Astrid wasn't expecting him to. He was running out of time and Astrid didn't want to lose her best friend so soon. She sighed and stood up to leave when a cough from behind her made her turn around. Toothless perked up and looked at Hiccup. Astrid's blue eyes widened. She walked back to Hiccup's bedside quickly and nearly squealed when Hiccup's green eyes opened. They were dull and half-lidded, but they were open.
"Hiccup!" Astrid cried. "You're awake!"
Hiccup winced at her high volume. "Y-Yeah...I guess I am."
"Sorry," she said. 'It's been four days."
"Four days?" Hiccup repeated. Then he shot straight up. "Four days?!"
"Hiccup! You need to lay down!" Astrid said, surprised at the sudden outburst. Hiccup nodded and he laid back down on his back, ignoring the pain in his left arm.
"Does it hurt?" Astrid asked.
Hiccup nodded. "Yeah…" Hiccup sighed. "What happened?"
And Astrid told him everything that had happened in the past four days. The battle, him going unconscious, and how everyone with Inytitis had been released two days ago. Hiccup was glad to hear that his father was back to normal again, and he couldn't wait to see him when he returned from chiefting.
"How are the other Riders?" Hiccup asked.
Astrid shrugged. "The same as usual," she said. Astrid bit her lip, debating whether she should tell Hiccup that he would die the next morning if the plan didn't work. Hiccup seemed to notice that something was wrong and he held Astrid's hand.
"Astrid, is something wrong?" asked Hiccup. Astrid looked into his eyes.
"No, no, everything's fine. It's just…" Astrid sighed. She bit her lip and looked back up at the auburn haired boy in front of her. "Hiccup...you have something called Detyocis. Ingvar gave it to you when he shot you in the leg with that dart during the battle."
"Oh. No wonder I feel so horrible," said Hiccup. He blew his bangs out of his face. "What else?"
"The others and I know what the cure is, but the bad news is that Ingvar has it," said Astrid.
"But he's here, right?" asked Hiccup.
"Yeah, he's in prison but he's stubborn as a mule and he wouldn't give it to us when we asked for it," said Astrid. "We have a plan though, and we're putting it into action in an hour."
"What's the plan?" asked Hiccup.
"We're challenging him to a fight and then the twins are going to pickpocket the healpetal from one of his pouches," explained Astrid.
"The twins are masters at pickpocketing people," said Hiccup.
Astrid nodded. "Yeah, they are."
"But what's got you so down?" asked Hiccup.
"Hiccup...if this plan fails and we don't get the healpetal...you're...you're not going to make it…" Astrid whispered sadly.
Hiccup froze. He drew in a shaky breath and then asked, "How much time do I have left?"
Astrid stayed silent for a while, but then, she said, "Until tomorrow morning."
Hiccup blinked. Then he blinked again. "Well that's reassuring." Then he passed out.
…
Astrid, Snotlout, and Fishlegs stood in a row facing Ingvar, who stood alone across from them. Astrid held up her axe and Snotlout held up his mace while Fishlegs held up his sword. Ruffnut and Tuffnut were hiding behind three pyramid stacked crates in the corner, and Astrid prayed to the gods that their plan would work.
Almost the entire village was there, and Stoick was going to call out when to start. Hiccup had wanted to come and he begged his father to let him go when he woke up after fainting, but Stoick had said that he was in no condition to leave bed. Hiccup had begrudgingly stayed at home with Toothless, and Astrid was glad that the young viking had stayed. She didn't know how the fight was going to go, and she hoped that Invar didn't know anything about the plan that they were going to initiate when the fight started.
Ingvar only had his axe, the same weapon that Astrid was using. Except his was bigger, larger, and more daunting. The blades were sharp and Astrid knew that one slice from that axe could wound one of them badly enough that they would be unable to continue to fight.
Note to self: stay clear of sharp axe, Astrid thought. Ingvar wasn't allowed to use any of his darts, and two men had made sure that he was ridded of any weapon that wasn't allowed in the match. No darts, no arrows, just hand to hand.
Astrid liked hand to hand combat. It was thrilling, but also dangerous. She needed to be careful and light on her feet like a Nadder, which was something that Astrid could do very well.
The fight would be three rounds. It was Ingvar against all of them. The twins were getting ready to start pickpocketing and Stoick shouted for the fight to begin. Astrid ran in first, parrying with Ingvar's axe with celerity. Ingvar would sometimes turn to fight Snotlout or Fishlegs, but the two managed to dodge his blows or block his swipes. Astrid tried her best not to look at the twins when they ran in and swiped one of Ingvar's pouches and hid behind the crates again. The man was so busy fighting the three of them that he didn't even notice the three pouches that he was missing after the round was over.
Astrid and the Riders stepped outside to take a break. Tuffnut and Ruffnut ran up to the three of them. Fishlegs and Snotlout were panting heavily, but Astrid wasn't even tired.
"Did you find the healpetal?" she asked.
Tuffnut shook his head. "Nope. Just a bunch of junk and other stuff."
"I bet this guy only wears seven pouches for fashion reasons," said Ruffnut as she shook her head. "What a waste of survival gear."
Astrid tightened her braid and turned to the two boys that were still breathing heavily. "Are you guys ready to go back in?"
"Oh no. Heck no," said Snotlout. "I haven't even rested properly!"
"I'm ready, I guess," said Fishlegs. "Although I could use a few more minutes."
Astrid sat down. "Okay, three more minutes, but then we have to go back in."
Astrid sharpened her axe during the three minute break and she, Snotlout, and Fishlegs went back in for the second round. The second round was longer and more brutal than the first, and Astrid had to admit that Ingvar was a very skilled fighter. She had way more close calls than she had in the last round, and Ingvar even managed to slice a bit of her hair when he swung his axe at her head. Astrid managed to dodge at the last second, and she parried with him. That had everyone on edge and when the round ended, her friends were gawking at her.
"What?" asked Astrid.
"You could've died!" cried Snotlout. "How are you being so mellow right now?"
Astrid shrugged. She honestly didn't know. On the inside, she was actually a little scared. Her heart had been racing when she dodged the axe. She could have been decapitated! Astrid took a deep breath. Just one more round and two more pouches.
The twins walked up to them. "Nothing in these pouches either. There has to be something in those last two," said Ruffnut.
Astrid nodded. "This is the last round, and we're winning. Keep it up, you guys."
Everyone nodded and once again, Fishlegs, Astrid, and Snotlout went back in to face Ingvar, but Ingvar made a request to change the rules.
"I'm fighting just Astrid this round," the man said. Snotlout and Fishlegs turned to Astrid worriedly, but Astrid kept on a cool expression.
"Okay," she said. Astrid had seen this coming, but she didn't know if she would be able to defeat Ingvar by herself. She drew in a breath and Stoick allowed the two twenty minutes to prepare. Astrid stopped out of the ring, her friends following not too far behind.
"Astrid, you can't take him all by yourself!" exclaimed Snotlout.
"I can if I try," said Astrid. "We need this last win. And even if I lose, Ruffnut and Tuffnut will have the healpetal already."
"But losing means you get hurt," said Fishlegs. "We can't lose you."
Ruffnut and Tuffnut nodded and Astrid chewed her lower lip. Her friends cared for her, and she cared for them, but she needed to do this. Not just for herself, but for Hiccup.
"You all know I need to do this," said Astrid. "If I get hurt...well...hopefully I don't get too hurt."
"You don't have to go out there," said Fishlegs.
"I have to," said Astrid. "I'll be fine. I promise."
Astrid went back into the ring and Ingvar was waiting for her. The two circled the ring, giving each other death glares.
"Ready to be defeated, Astrid?' asked Ingvar.
"Are you ready to be defeated?" asked Astrid, a determined expression on her face. The fight then began and Astrid lunged. She brought down her axe but Ingvar parried expertly, and the metal axes grinded together as Astrid pushed down. The twins were making their way over.
"You'll never cure him," growled Ingvar. "He's going to die and you'll never see your precious friend again."
"Shut up!" shouted Astrid. "You don't know anything! If anyone isn't going to be seen again it's going to be you."
Astrid and Ingvar parted and Astrid saw the twins carrying the last two pouches. Unfortunately, that's when Ingvar noticed that they were missing.
"What…?" he said in bewilderment. His eye flickered with rage and he turned to Astrid. "You tricked me!"
Astrid readied herself for the rage that was about to attack her. When people were angry, they often fought harder, faster, and more brutally, so much so that one could actually get seriously hurt. Astrid tightened her grip on her axe as Ingvar ran toward her, and she parried with him just in time before he slashed at her arms.
The fight lasted longer than it was supposed to. Ingvar was angry and Astrid was beginning to get tired. She knew she wouldn't be able to last much longer. She needed help.
"A little help would be nice!" she shouted. Fishlegs and Snotlout came running in with their weapons and fought against the (literal) madman. It didn't take long for the three to finally knock Ingvar to the ground, and Astrid held her axe by his throat.
"Don't move if you know what's good for you," she said. Ingvar gritted his teeth and Astrid watched as three viking men ripped the axe weapon from Ingvar's hands and dragged him back to the dungeons. Astrid smiled and high fived her friends victoriously.
"We did it!" she cheered.
Ruffnut and Tuffnut ran up holding a purple flower. "We got it! We got it!"
The Dragon Riders squeezed into a group hug and couldn't stop jumping up and down. Hiccup was going to be okay!
"We should hurry up and give this to him," said Astrid as she took the purple flower out of Tuffnut's hand. "Let's go!"
And the Riders ran to the Haddock hut to give Hiccup the cure.
