{Normal POV}
[Berk]
It began as another average day on the island of Berk except for the fact that the Hooligan Tribe had been a year without their Heir, the dragon riders without their leader, Toothless without his best friend, and Stoick without his son. It wasn't the exact day that Hiccup had been taken, but this time of year did mark the year of Hiccup being gone. Stoick riding Toothless with Skullcrusher following, and the teenagers with their dragons had continued the search throughout the harsher Winter months, but still returned with nothing to show for all their hard work. Stoick and the riders had gotten a few hints as to where Hiccup might be, but nothing ever came full circle to find him. All of them refused to give up, and would not believe that Hiccup was dead without proof. Toothless especially. Hiccup wouldn't have stopped searching if it were one of them, so they refused to cease their efforts until Hiccup had been found and returned home. Last night, the allied Chieftains returned to Berk as they had said that when Winter was over, they would lend a hand in the search parties again. However, the leaders had arrived late and it was agreed to discuss the next move in the morning. As that time was now, they were sitting together at a head table. Alvin, Ander, Bertha of Bog Burglar, Norbert, Thurmond of Peaceable Country, and Dagur were there. The rest of the leaders were allied and were staying behind with only the promise to keep an eye out. The offspring, or in Heather's case, the sibling to a Chieftain, were sitting with the dragon riders for the time being. Everything had been calm until Toothless promptly lifted his head and began looking around intently.
"Toothless? What's wrong boy?" Astrid asked.
Hiccup? Toothless questioned, though, in disbelief that he had caught his rider's scent.
Toothless? What's wrong? Skullcrusher inquired.
Hiccup's scent is close. Toothless informed while staying alert. Suddenly without warning, the doors to the Mead Hall opened revealing someone recognizable to Stoick, Gobber, the dragon riders, even Dagur and Heather. Viggo Grimborn, and then right behind was his older brother, Ryker Grimborn. In Ryker's arms was an unconscious male with auburn hair and freckles on his face.
Stoick rose to his feet instantly, angry. "How dare you two come here and barge in-," Stoick started, but was cut off when Toothless raced over to the Grimborn brothers. Viggo instantly put his hands up and moved out of the way when Toothless growled. Ryker held steady as Toothless began sniffing the male, then he started to warble and nudge the male's face, licking his cheek.
Hiccup! Toothless screeched. The actions of the Night Fury made everyone understand that this unconscious man was Hiccup because Toothless would not get worked up for anyone else. Stoick made his way over quickly to see his son in the arms of an enemy. More than that, Hiccup was all beaten up, cut, and bruised; this only ensured more anger to the worried father.
"What have you done to him!" Stoick demanded.
"We have done nothing," Viggo said.
"Like we're really going to believe that!" Snotlout jumped in now.
"You kidnapped Hiccup a year ago as revenge for him destroying the Dragon Eye!" Astrid added.
"We had nothing to do with this," Ryker scoffed.
"Give me my boy, now," Stoick ordered.
"Ryker, hand Hiccup over to his father," Viggo said.
"How do we know he'll honor the agreement we have with the kid?" Ryker asked.
"What agreement?" Heather glared.
"Hiccup would never agree to anything involving you two," Astrid remarked.
"We're the reason the boy isn't dead, so how about showing a little gratitude we set him free and returned him?" Ryker huffed.
Gobber made his way over now and stepped between the two parties. "Everyone needs ta calm down. I tink these two, regardless of the past, are tellin' the truth,"
"Gobber, are you serious!? Look at him! Look at how my son looks, and he's unconscious!" Stoick roared.
"Stoick, stop a second and listen to old Gobber," the blacksmith told him. "If these two were responsible for taking Hiccup, why would they bring him back after a year?" The room was quiet. Alright, maybe Gobber had a point. "Can you tell us what happened?"
"He was tortured in an attempt to break his spirit, but unfortunately, not even we know everything he went through. We didn't know he was there until six months ago," Viggo stated as Stoick was becoming angrier.
"And sparked the sudden kindness to help him escape? He save your lives and now you're returning the favor?" Dagur asked.
"The boy and we have a deal. We get Hiccup out and he keeps us safe from the madman who is inevitably going to kill us when he finds out we set his prisoner free," Ryker remarked.
"Hiccup would never agree to keep you two-," Astrid started.
"It is so decreed that no harm or imprisonment is to come to Viggo and Ryker Grimborn as they are henceforth permitted to reside on the island of Berk under the full protection of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third; Heir to the Hairy Hooligan Tribe," Viggo announced. Silence fell over the room. "Hiccup told us to say that in case you didn't believe us," he added.
"And I still don't! Give me my boy, and then I want these two locked up!" Stoick ordered firmly.
"I told you this wouldn't work!" Ryker glared at his brother.
"See, they are trying to gain access to Berk because they know Hiccup rebuilt the Dragon Eye, and they want it because Hiccup destroyed theirs!" Astrid informed.
"Hiccup rebuilt the Dragon Eye?" Viggo asked quickly.
"Yeah, when you had yours; Hiccup built his own," Fishlegs chimed in.
"We might still have a chance, brother," Ryker said now.
"It matters not, Ryker. The information is indeed helpful to know, but we're in agreement with Hiccup, and we'll discuss the matter with him when he awakens," Viggo stated.
"You two will never get near Hiccup again," Stoick responded. "How dare you use such a fake decree, and try to make me believe-,"
"Stoick," Gobber sighed. "It's not a false statement," he informed.
"What?" Stoick looked at Gobber quickly.
"They said that decree with Hiccup's full name and title. You know that Hiccup hates his name, and he never would have used it or told an outsider unless it was for official business. These two have only ever known Hiccup as Hiccup Haddock, not the Horrendous, and not The Third. So for them to understand the full statement to give, then Hiccup told them what they needed to say for us to believe it," Gobber explained as Stoick unclenched his fist and sighed. "I'm sure we can talk to Hiccup about everything when he wakes up, and figure more of this out, but for now; we have to honor the words. Viggo and Ryker Grimborn stay on Berk, unharmed, and no imprisonment,"
"I wish I could say he was forced into it, but even at the risk of death, you're right; Hiccup never would have used his full name unless it was for a formal matter and he trusted them," Stoick grumbled. "Fine. Let it be known that for the time being; Viggo and Ryker Grimborn will be staying on Berk unharmed and out of prison!"
"Yes, Chief," the Tribe replied.
"However, Hiccup didn't say anything about you two not being guarded. So until this gets sorted out, you will have escorts everywhere you go," Stoick remarked to the Grimborn brothers.
"Acceptable terms," Viggo said.
"You weren't getting a choice in it," Astrid huffed.
"Now, give me my son," Stoick stepped closer to receive his child from the elder of the two brothers.
"Go on, Ryker. Hiccup ensured his end would be held up, which is why he told us what to say before he passed out after escaping. You saw the shape he was in, and he needs to be treated," Viggo put a hand on Ryker's shoulder. Ryker passed Hiccup to Stoick carefully. "Easy now," Viggo reminded.
"Dragon Riders, do not let them out of your sight. I'm taking Hiccup to Gothi," Stoick informed then left.
"Get them something to eat, kids. I have to go with Stoick to translate," Gobber enlightened. "Toothless, come," The Night Fury nodded and left with Gobber as they followed Stoick.
"How long to do you suppose he'll remain unconscious?" Ryker asked Viggo.
"Hard to say, brother. Hiccup passed out last night while flying back here, and hasn't woken since," Viggo stated.
"You know that they've realized we're gone, and Hiccup too," Ryker remarked. "You did remember to grab-,"
"I have them," Viggo nodded. "I wouldn't forget such a crucial set of items, especially now that we know what we do. There's still a chance, and we'll run it by Hiccup to see what he thinks,"
"Whatever you two are plotting-," Heather warned.
"Nothing that concerns you," Ryker scoffed.
"And what do you mean flying back here?" Fishlegs wondered.
"It was the only way we could escape and not be caught immediately after. Hiccup trained a dragon for us to use, and then he passed out while we continued the journey to Berk," Viggo said.
"Which dragon?" Dagur asked.
"I believe Hiccup called it a Titan Wing Monstrous Nightmare, and he named it Cinder," Ryker responded.
"Well, they can't be lying about that because they wouldn't have named the dragon; only Hiccup would use a name," Snotlout told the others.
"What's it gonna take for you to trust us? We didn't hurt him, we took him away from those who were," Ryker crossed his arms over his chest.
"When Hiccup wakes up and confirms that, then we'll believe you. Until then, you're still enemies to us because you tricked us once and I don't know how you got Hiccup to believe you, but I suspect foul play. You only set him free if he agreed to protect you; it wasn't out of the kindness of your hearts," Astrid glared.
"Fair enough. Relax, dear brother. We can't expect them to feel otherwise given the past. I'm sure Hiccup will clear everything up," Viggo assured. "We told Hiccup to trust us, and he's given his in return. The rest of these people don't have to like it, but we're allies with Hiccup now, and we're working towards the same goal,"
"Aye, that we are," Ryker nodded. It seemed that the entire Tribe, and Chieftains present were glaring and keeping their eyes on the two brothers while they were sitting down at the table with the riders, and being excessively guarded while they ate the meal provided. On another note; everyone was worried about Hiccup. Sure, he was home but the shape he was in looked awful. Even Viggo and Ryker confirmed that Hiccup needed treatment and to be easy with shifting him around, so it had to be bad. For now, nothing else could be done until Hiccup woke up.
…
[Gothi's Hut]
Stoick had brought Hiccup straight to the village elder and healer, Gothi. Immediately, the old woman had Stoick lay Hiccup down gently while the worried father stepped back. Gothi sent Gobber and Stoick out while she looked over the young Heir, and treated the injuries she was able to. Unfortunately, Gothi could determine vaguely what Hiccup suffered just by old scars, and it broke her heart to see everything. After nearly two hours of work with cleaning up blood, applying ointments, and bandages; Gothi allowed the Chief and blacksmith to return. Hiccup was lying unconscious on the bed, covered up and motionless. However, it could be seen that he had a shirt his size on, and the two assumed that Gothi must have dressed Hiccup in something after removing whatever other thing he was wearing. Toothless had never left his human's side, and there were no arguments about that either. Toothless was sitting beside the bed, watching his rider closely.
"How bad is it, Gothi?" Stoick asked. The elder gave a grave and sympathetic look as she began to use her staff to write in the sand.
Gobber read the symbols and sighed. "Hiccup went through hell with these people," Gobber said then continued to tell Stoick everything that Gothi wrote down about what she found. Of course, it angered the Berk Chief to know what his son went through. After everything, Stoick ended up sighing. "Gothi says she got all this based on what she's seen, but only Hiccup would be able to tell us what happened,"
"And how long will he be unconscious?" Stoick forced himself to inquire. Gothi started drawing again, then stopped.
"Could be a few hours, could be weeks; she just doesn't know," Gobber informed. Stoick started to leave as Gobber stopped him. "Where are you going?"
"I'm getting answers," Stoick said.
"Stoick, stop. You heard Viggo; they know he was tortured, but not how much, and only knew he was there six months ago. And Hiccup was gone for a year; they don't know anything more or less than we do. You son is home, and you need to be here with him," Gobber reminded.
"You're right," Stoick agreed as he sat down in the chair beside Hiccup's bed.
"I'll go back to the Hall and keep an eye on things, and I'll leave Spitelout in charge for now so you can focus on him," Gobber motioned to Hiccup. Stoick nodded as Gobber patted his shoulder, then he exited the hut. Stoick held his son's hand and lowered his head, vowing to get revenge on whoever did this to his boy.
…
[A Week Later]
Seven days had passed since Hiccup was returned to the Hooligans in a beat up and unconscious state. Viggo and Ryker were guarded day and night everywhere they went. For sleeping arrangements; they were kept in the Berk Dragon Training Academy with the dragon riders taking shifts on watching them closely. Heather and Dagur were in on that as well. Spitelout was running the village as Stoick and Toothless loyally stayed at Hiccup's side; he had been moved from Gothi's into Stoick's house. All anyone could do was wait for Hiccup to wake up, but it seemed that was taking longer than expected. Hiccup's body was recovering slowly, the minor cuts had healed but the bruising was just beginning to fade away. Everything else was guaranteed to take longer because of how severe it was. At the moment, Hiccup was in the home alone as Stoick had stepped out to talk to the riders about Hiccup's condition, Toothless was still with Hiccup; he refused to leave unless it was to use the bathroom.
"How is he, Chief?" Astrid inquired.
"Unconscious," Stoick sighed. "But healing slowly,"
"What did he suffer that would keep him out this long?" Dagur asked.
"More than anyone should ever have to endure," Stoick informed.
"You two," Heather glared at the Grimborn brothers who were with them as they had been for a week now. "You know what he went through, even if not all of it. Why were they torturing Hiccup? You said they wanted him to break," she demanded.
"Hiccup was captured to train a madman's dragons, and Hiccup refused, so they tortured him daily to break him into doing what they wanted," Ryker informed.
"And he never broke no matter what they did to him," Viggo added.
"What did they do? How much of it do you know about?" Stoick questioned.
"Beatings, whippings, starvation, chained up, stabbed, cut, burned with hot metal. I'm positive they put him up against dragons too, to make him train them to save himself, but he wouldn't do it," Viggo remarked.
"These people pushed him to the brink of death, or a point where he passed out. That's when it stopped, as soon as he recovered a little, they would begin again," Viggo enlightened.
"And no surprise that you did nothing to help then," Snotlout huffed.
"Hey, we were no more prisoners there than Hiccup was. We had our share, and they wouldn't let us get close to him after we discovered the boy was there," Ryker retorted.
"Who did this?" Gobber came up now. Before anyone could answer, there was thrashing around in the house.
"Dragon! Dragon in the house! Help!" came Hiccup's panicked voice. Without warning, Hiccup scrambled out of the house with Toothless chasing him. Hiccup tripped as Toothless pinned him by accident. Hiccup's eyes held fear beneath Toothless. "Pl-Please…don't kill me…" he pleaded. The others were shocked, and didn't know what to make of it. Why was Hiccup afraid of Toothless?
"Hiccup? Son, it's alright. Toothless would never hurt you; he's just excited you're awake," Stoick tried.
"W-Who is…Toothless?" Hiccup asked as they all froze.
…
The area was still as most everyone in the village heard when Hiccup started yelling 'dragon' and freaking out. Currently, he was pinned beneath his Night Fury and scared to death. Hiccup was breathing heavily, shaking, and didn't appear to remember who Toothless was.
"Well, this could be bad," Ryker shrugged.
"Chief Stoick, if I may; perhaps have the Night Fury back off. The boy has only just woken up," Viggo offered.
"Toothless," Stoick said as Toothless stepped back and Hiccup backed up a little farther.
"Hiccup? What's wrong? Toothless is…your best friend," Astrid said.
"Fr-Friends…with a dragon? A Night Fury? Have you all gone mad? And I thought I was the crazy one," Hiccup said as he got up quickly.
"We're…all friends with dragons?" Fishlegs mentioned slowly. Hiccup saw the others flying around, and select few staying near the people he had grown up knowing. "Why doesn't he remember?"
"I don't know. Son, you don't remember that you are a dragon rider? That Toothless is your dragon?" Stoick stepped forward.
"Ride dragons? Why would I do that?! It's against everything a Viking stands for!" Hiccup remarked. "That's a Night Fury! The most lethal dragon around," he added.
"Y-Yes, we know, Hiccup, but he's your…best friend. You trained Toothless, the Night Fury, and defeated Red Death. You stopped ended the raids, and stopped the war," Heather tried.
"W-Who…are you?" Hiccup inquired as Heather blinked a few times.
"I-I'm Heather, Dagur's little sister," Heather informed.
"Dagur? The Deranged?" Hiccup asked as she nodded. "The same Dagur who uses me as a moving target for his dagger throwing practice?"
Dagur chuckled nervously when they all looked at him. "Oops. I-I'm sorry about that, brother. I was just messing with you back then," Dagur said. "We're all friends now,"
Hiccup shook his head. "I'm not your brother, and I-I don't have any friends. I'm just my father's biggest disappointment because I can't do anything right," their eyes widened.
"Hang on a second," Gobber got closer to Hiccup. "You know my mind is terrible, but I'm pretty sure you're birthday just passed a few months ago. How old are ya again, laddie?" the blacksmith laughed a little.
"Really, Gobber? I'm fifteen," Hiccup crossed his arms over his chest and rolled his eyes. The group gasped.
"Okay, yeah. This is bad," Gobber informed.
