Hello everyone! Look! I met my deadline! Good thing too. This chapter doubles as a gift. Happy Birthday Aveku! This one's for you! Now I'd like to warn all readers not to jump to conclusions! Please do not send any kind of hatemail until you actually know what's going on. But you should still review! Onward!
Chapter 16
Stoic
The waiting was horrible. Beyond horrible. What if the beast had found the scouts? No he'd never known Astrid to fight quietly. What if it had caught them by surprise? Unlikely, a Viking's senses are sharp. They would find the dragon first. Those noises they had heard earlier. What had they been? They had been bestial, yet he was sure he'd heard strains of a human voice, lost somewhere within the shrieks and roars. Perhaps Hiccup was fighting! At least making it mad enough to cry out while it tortured him! That was his Hiccup. His Hiccup wouldn't go down without a fight.
The brush began to rustle. Every single Viking present either grabbed some weapon, or gripped the ones they were already holding, tighter. Stoic stood and hefted his war hammer. Then Astrid walked slowly into view, hands outstretched. She was a smart girl. She knew that this clearing was full of tense, volatile warriors. She was aware that a sudden appearance could have gotten her an ax in the shoulder. Astrid would go far.
She walked with purpose, straight up to Stoic and spoke in a very quiet voice.
"The dragon is asleep, about three hundred yards from here, in a large depression in the ground. It has Hiccup with it."
"How's Hiccup?"
"We didn't get close enough to see, but it looked like he was unconscious. And naked."
"Naked?"
"Naked."
This was the strangest and most abjurd situation that he had ever encountered. A dragon, that didn't return to the nest, didn't steal food, and took prisoners with apparently no purpose in mind. This dragon would pay. It was making fools of them! It thought that it could attack a village full of Vikings, steal one of their children, and then take up residence a few miles away! This dragon would be made an example of. As soon as they had it subdued, they would drag it back to the village, roast it, and feast in memory of the honored dead! And in revenge for his humiliation, Hiccup would strike the death blow!
XXX
Hiccup
We floated. The melodic strains of darkness drifted past on all sides, caressing our bodies. Our larger body enveloped and engulfed the smaller. Our heart beats could not be distinguished. They beat as one. We feel the tingling sensations in our smaller body, as the hardened blood cracks, and falls away from the puncture wounds in our smaller left shoulder. We know that black scales glisten beneath. Then, Toothless separates himself, letting Hiccup dream on without him. He stands in within Hiccup's mind gazing at the golden pillars of mist. He noticed something now that he had not before. In a few places, the mist had been replaced. Tendrils of blackness now ran through many of the walls and shapes of Hiccup's thoughts. Toothless was versed enough in the ways of his own mind to know what this was. These were his own thoughts, running their course through Hiccup's mind.
Curiously, he withdrew into himself, leaving Hiccup temporarily alone. He opened his inner eye. There were the dark twisting tendrils that were his thoughts, but between them was something amazing. Little flashes of golden light appeared here and there before winking out. Little balls of gold floated here and there among the twisting tendrils of blackness. Toothless felt a human smile pull about his lips. They were truly overlapped. Their mind was a composition of their thoughts, working together. Nothing could part them now. And if they did, they would most likely die. Even here, secure inside his own mind, he could feel a tendril of thought running out and away to Hiccup. He rejoined fully with Hiccup's mind, and let his own mind go to dream alongside Hiccup.
XXX
Astrid
It would be tricky. The depression was mostly circular. The dragon was curled up against the far wall. That was good. They had sent five Vikings down to the other side of the rim with the weighted hooks and the chain net. They could immobilize the dragon after they got Hiccup away from it. The rest of the force would be separated in two. Half for the rim, they would stay behind the beast and make sure it could not escape over the rim. The other half would advance on the floor of the depression, she having found the access that both she and Hiccup had used all those days before.
She was part of the rim party. It was disappointing. She had hoped to be part of the charge. She knelt inches from the edge, watching the Vikings advance silently around the lake. There were orders to not slay the beast unless it was absolutely necessary. Stoic probably would use the thing as a morale booster. She didn't care as long as it died.
Suddenly, on the other side of the ditch, something in the shadows shifted.
XXX
Hiccup
The world rushed into his head in a dizzying swirl of colors, sounds, and scents. He hit the ground and rolled several times. The moss and earth scraped his back and arms as they rushed over his skin. He let out a grunt as he came to a halt on his back, starring at the night sky above him. Then the burning started. It felt as though his back were being pierced by needles of ice. It was so very cold that it felt like fire. He screamed. But then his scream was completely swallowed by a shriek from Toothless. He turned his head and was met with a horrific sight. Toothless was on his feet, with his wings spread wide. Too wide. His wings were being stretched out to either side. In the end of both wings were hooks, attached to lengths of iron chain. The chain had Vikings at either end, pulling, stretching. With each twitch of Toothless' wings, and with each shift in the chains, icy fire lanced through Hiccup's back. Both he and Toothless cried out in pain. Hiccup felt himself curling inwards. The pain was too much. It would sweep him away. His body curled in on itself. Then the footsteps. Two large heavy feet came to rest beside him. He squinted upwards at hairy face above him. The face had a worried look. Maybe it considered him a threat. Then it got closer. Hiccup did his best to shrink away, but he could not go far before the earth beneath him halted his retreat. The face stopped, a mere foot from his own. It was the most terrifying thing Hiccup had ever experienced. Then one of the thing's meaty hands rose, and fell on his shoulder.
The cold was intense. It was worse than ice. Icy temperatures, he was familiar with. This was Berk after all. This degree of cold was beyond absurd. It slowly began to seep outwards from the meaty fingers that gripped his shoulder, and permeated first his entire arm, and then slowly began to work its way into his chest. Soon he began to shiver. The cold was too much. Each one of his muscles twitched and convulsed, in a sadly lacking attempt to give some semblance of heat back to his body. It was no use. After a matter of seconds the cold had rushed passed his collar bone and up into his neck.
"Hiccup!"
He let his head fall sideways. There was Toothless. The dragon's eyes were full of fear and pain. Hiccup stretched out the arm that still had some feeling in it, reaching for Toothless, for his last anchor to his own sanity.
Then, one of the grotesque creatures stepped up, and struck a devastating blow to the side of the dragon's head. The beautiful, scaly body fell limp, the eyes closed, the wings relaxed, and Toothless collapsed. A scream, the likes of which no human had ever heard before, formed itself within Hiccup's chest, and tore its way out of his throat. The thing above him jerked away, but stayed there, hovering. Still carrying the scream, Hiccup felt the cold reach his face. His eyes seemed to be freezing. That was the only way to describe it. And as they cooled and hardened, he saw his vision shift slightly out of focus, turning the world into a vague haze for a brief moment. Then he refocused. But his eyes were not working properly. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't seem to solidify the image they saw. The night was suddenly much darker, and his previous access to the details of his surroundings, was no more. He felt blind, yet he could see, barely.
Finally, as the cold spread to the rest of his body, Hiccup succumbed, to the welcoming embrace of darkness.
XXX
Hiccup
He was walking. The forest all around him was cool and comforting. The moon burned bright above his head, and beside him, there stalked a shadow. Its presence comforted him. They were leaving. Going far, far away. The shadow pressed itself against his side and he felt a surge of heat spread out from the point of contact. Now the trees were thinning out. The heat spreading over his body reached his face. The night sharpened and detail spread over his surroundings. The sky above lit up like fire, as star after star, after star leaped into being. The colors were beautiful, they weren't all white and cold, there were vibrant reds and cooler blues, flickering greens and shimmering yellows. In front of him stretched the sea, and at his feet, were the cliffs. The shadow beside him sat and towered over him. Everything was perfect. Then, there was a flash of metal, a scream, the feel of hot liquid on his hands and face, and then he was falling.
XXX
Toothless
The waking was dark, and heavy with pain. He could feel blood running down the side of his head, dripping on the stone beneath him. He couldn't move. He was locked in place by wooden and metal bands, wrapping him in a cruel embrace. Where was he? What had happened? Where was Hiccup? He started. Where was Hiccup? The pain in his head was not just the throbbing of his wound. Half of his mind was missing. The flashes of golden light, Hiccup's grand and sculpted mind of gold. Gone. He through himself outwards in a search for the missing component. Every thought, every feeling hurt. The mind is not made to work in two pieces. He could not find Hiccup.
But there was something. A small curled, hard, cold thing. It was not a mind, but it was constructed of thoughts. Wait. The other half of his? Hiccup?
"Hiccup!" It felt as if his head had been struck by a hammer as he shouted. The small thing did not respond. The only thoughts on the surface were of cold, desolation, pain. The thing could not comprehend anything else. All it felt was pain. Cold and pain. Memory struck Toothless like a third hammer.
They had been ambushed. He had been woken from slumber by a rock rapping him on the head. On looking up, he had only seen wickedly sharp hooks flying towards him from two directions. He had reacted without thinking, tossing Hiccup off to the side to save him serious harm, then throwing up his wings to shield his face. Unfortunately, that had been exactly what they wanted. The hooks had dug into his wing fringes, catching on the thin bones that provided his wings, shape. Then he had been immobilized. He would not move without horrible pain to himself, and he could not use his fire, as most of his assailants were far too close to Hiccup. Then that hairy brute with the hammer had given him a whack.
His head throbbed. He decided that it might be a good idea to open his eyes. This, he did very, very slowly. The light was miniscule, but the outline of a large door could be seen, directly in front of him. The room that he could see was bare stone, all around. This was bad. This seemed to be one of those holding cells that the Vikings used to keep the dragons they captured. He was trapped. He could not even use his fire. His muzzle was clamped shut by a band of iron and each of his paws, were bolted to a wooden platform beneath him. He was completely, without hope. With a sigh, and a closing of his eyes, he fell downwards into comforting darkness.
XXX
Astrid
Now what was wrong with him? Hiccup refused to stop causing her trouble, even when he was unconscious! Why she had been chosen to stand watch over him in his bed, she had no idea. But Hiccup didn't move. And that was the problem. He'd been asleep for several hours now. In all that time he had not even twitched. His breathing was light, and shallow, as if he were trying very hard to remain as still as possible. If he would just hurry and wakeup, she could call for someone and leave the matter in their hands. Untill then, she stayed where she was, starring at the boy's pale, scarred face. She had to admit, that was a very impressive scar on his face. A vertical line of crimson, seeming to begin under his left eyelid, and travel downwards, straight as an arrow along his cheek and below his jaw.
The scar was not normal however. Nothing about this boy seemed to be normal. He didn't even injure in a normal fashion! The scar was straight as an arrow, and instead of puckered red skin, there seemed to be some kind of hardened blood filling the crack. She reached a hand out and touched the scar. It was warm to the touch, and very, very hard. Then Hiccup twitched. He began to convulse violently as though he were having a knife drawn down his face. Astrid pulled her hand away. The boy calmed. He didn't respond well to anyone touching him. No matter whom it was, Hiccup began to shudder and shake without fail until the contact was released.
Just sitting here next to his bed was so aggravating. There was nothing interesting in the room to look at except for Hiccup. And he hadn't moved a hair's worth since he got here. She wondered if he had other injuries. They'd said he was hurt bad. Curiosity was too much for her. She reached over and pulled the blanket that covered him down towards his feet.
She gasped. The wound from her ax was still there in his right shoulder. But it was no longer a wound. It was covered over, with shiny black plates. Scales. Dragon scales. Not only that. Hiccup's other shoulder was marred by a bite, presumably from the beast that had held him. It was obvious. It couldn't be anything but a bite. But the punctures were not fresh. They too were covered over in hard black plates. The only thing that made her sure it was a wound, was the distinctive jaw shape of the scale pattern. She was about to cry out, when there was a tiny sound.
It sounded like a slight cracking, as if a tiny pool of ice was breaking, or a miniscule piece of glass. Her direction was directed to Hiccup's face. The scar that ran down from his left eye, was breaking. She would see tiny lines spreading downwards from the eye was the covering that she had taken for skin, broke away. Beneath was black. Small pieces fell one at a time, slowly revealing what was beneath. More scales.
XXX
Stoic
Astrid sent the messenger running. He arrived at the mead hall in record time. Stoic was listening to several opinions from his older and more experienced advisors. The messenger was through the door and whispering in Stoic's ear in a matter of seconds. Stoic stood and asked that the advisors discuss among themselves.
The house was still unusually cold and silent. Stoic was especially aware of the creaking of the old staircase as he made his way up to his son's room. Apparently he still hadn't woken, but more scales were appearing. He was through the door and across the room in three strides. Astrid did not look up. She sat in her chair, starring at Hiccup's face. He found his gaze drawn there as well. Hiccup's scar was no longer a scar. It was worse. A line of black scales traveled straight down his face. The positioning made it strange. It looked as if Hiccup's left eye was leaking ink. The scales were small, and closely fit. If you didn't look closely, it looked as if the boy merely had a black mark on his face. But there was no denying the thing's true nature.
That dragon, had done something to his son, and it would pay dearly. Hiccup would strike it's death blow when he was well enough. And it was as Stoic thought these words, that Hiccup's eyes twitched. And slowly, ever so slowly, they slid open. Stoic felt so happy he wanted to jump and dance! But that would have to wait. He dropped to one knee beside Astrid and clasped Hiccup's hand in his own.
"Hiccup? Son? How are you feeling?" As soon as he touched the boy, his lip began to quiver. Then the rest of his body followed. Hiccup began to shudder violently. Quickly Stoic released his hand. Hiccup slowly stilled, and turned his head to look at him.
"Hiccup? Can you speak? What do you remember?" The boy said nothing. He just stared back at him. It reminded him of that other time he'd managed to speak with his son. He had spoken with a voice completely void of emotion. And now, his face was just as empty. The dragon had done this. Hiccup had been like this since he came home, and it was the dragon's fault. It would die tomorrow, when the sun was at its peak.
XXX
Toothless
Being unable to move, is not very helpful when one is trying to escape. Toothless couldn't even see a way he could escape if he were free to move. Fortunately he was not forced to wait very long. It wasn't long after he regained consciousness that very loud clanking and thudding noises resounded from the opposite side of the door. Well, the Vikings were at least considerate enough to grant him a quick death. But what would his death do to Hiccup? The pain his halfmind was causing him would probably be worse for Hiccup. He had lost a larger portion of thoughts. He might even have gone insane!
The door swung outward. Intense sunlight lanced into the cell, utterly blinding him. He felt the platform beneath him shudder, and begin to slide. Slowly, very slowly the world began to resolve out of the intense white. The arena surrounded him. The kill ring, the Vikings called it. The chain walls and ceiling constricted the space, insuring he would not escape even if he was not restrained. What remained of the village was crowded around the outer ring, outside of the chains. The damage he had done to the floor and wall was also gone. Industrious little gremlins.
At the far end of the arena, gates began to swing open. Who would it be? Probably the chief, ceremoniously taking revenge for the kidnapping of his son. The doors finished their inward arc and three figures appeared. The first was massive and hairy, easy to identify, Stoic the Vast. The second was rather small and it's garments swung as it walked. A flash of blue and yellow. Astrid. The third…
No. No. What was he doing here? Why was the chief doing this? Probably mocking him before sending him falling into the void. The human had no right how dare it.
"Hiccup! What's going on?" No response. The boys mind was still a tiny lifeless ball of pain and cold. Astrid seemed to be supporting him. He could barely even walk. The three were nearing the dragon. The four that had pulled him out of the cell stood off to the side. Stoic stopped a few meters from him.
"People of Berk! This monster has terrorized our homes for generations! It has slaughtered our warriors, and our children!"
Hardly. I specialize in destruction, not slaughter. I may have killed a few people by coincidence, but they were just standing under the wrong building at the wrong time.
"This beast has hurt my son! And now, he shall have his revenge!" The Vikings sent up a mighty cheer and started to stamp their feet.
Hiccup was catatonic. He felt nothing but cold and pain. Toothless wrapped his mind closely about Hiccup's, feeling the cold and pain soak into his thoughts. "Hiccup. Hiccup! Wake up! You need to wake up!"
Stoic stepped back and placed a long, wicked knife in Hiccup's hand, and gave the boy a push forward. Hiccup stumbled forward, looking first at the knife, then at Toothless. His eyes were dead, and round. He slowly raised the knife above his head.
"Hiccup! Hiccup! Wake up! Wake up damn it all!"
The tiny Viking's hand fell.
The blade flashed.
There was a rushing sound.
A yell.
Dragon blood splattered the stones of the kill ring.
