It was the worst day of his life so far. Everyone was taking a shot at him today, and he had no idea why. All he did was wake up and walk through the village to get to the forge as always. But today people seemed colder towards him, more hateful than usual. Even kids younger than him were taking shots at tripping him, stomping on him when he was already down. Hiccup forced himself up for possibly the 100th time in 20 minutes, and limped to the forge. He saw the other teens Snotlout, Tuffnut, Ruffnut, Fishlegs, and Astrid heading to the ring for dragon training class. Shocker he wasn't joining but then again he didn't want too.
Ever since he bonded with Toothless, he could never think of killing a dragon or hurting it. The last few raids, he actually stopped people from killing dragons by making some small move so the dragons could get away but no one saw that he was doing it. Hiccup knew if he ever got caught he'd be in huge trouble. Like unforgivable amounts of trouble so he had to be careful. Hiccup reached the forge and saw Gobber there, preparing to head out since he was teaching the dragon training class.
"Alright lad, there's a few things for you to do in there and then yer to come to the ring. Understand me?" Gobber asked him.
"Yes sir...Why do I have to go there...its not like I'm training or anything?" Hiccup asked him.
"Yer dads orders lad. He don't want yew in 'ere alone all day." Gobber shrugged.
"Got it. I'll be there when I'm done..." Hiccup sighed softly, Gobber then headed out of the forge. Hiccup entered and started on the work Gobber left him to do. Just a few daggers, bolas, and sharpening a double-headed axe. He recognized it, it was Astrid's axe. Well her mothers at least since 2 years ago she refused to wield the one Hiccup made anymore, Hiccup took an hour to finish everything. He sharpened Astrid's axe then hooked it to his back and headed off to the kill ring.
(The Kill Ring)
As soon as he got there he saw them fighting a deadly nadder, Astrid was pretty weaponless. She had a shield but that was it, Hiccup walked over to Gobber who was on the outside of the ring. "There yew are. I knew it wouldn't take you long, what you got there laddie?" Gobber asked him.
"Saw it sitting by the wheel, though I'd sharpen it and bring it to Astrid..." Hiccup shrugged.
"So nice of yew, I'll get her so you can give it to her." Gobber said, Hiccup's eyes widened but before he could protest, "Astrid lass! Hiccup brought your axe!" Gobber yelled. Hiccup paled as he felt himself face-palming as she turned and glared at him darkly.
"Haddock! You bring me my axe right now or I swear you are a dead man!" Astrid ordered him, Hiccup sighed heavily as he moved to the ring entrance and lifted the gate as she rushed over and the nadder was hot on her heels raising its tail to fire the spines. Hiccup's eyes widened with fear as he rushed at Astrid and pushed her down to the ring floor when the nadder shot its spines out, they narrowly missed taking Hiccup's head off. The nadder squawked heading for the exit, Hiccup took Astrid's axe off his back and chucked it at the lever to lower the gate. Great, now how was trapped in there with the others.
"What did you do that for!" Snotlout yelled as he went to help Astrid up.
"Excuse me if I don't feel like seeing a tribe member get sliced by nadder spines..." Hiccup remarked sarcastically.
"Less chitchat kids! That nadder is still after y'all!" Gobber called out. The nadder enclosed on Hiccup and ran towards him, Hiccup stiffened closing his eyes and standing completely still, trying to relax himself. He heard a few gasps and when he peeked open an eye he saw the nadder just standing before him, crouching calmly and relaxed. "What the..." Gobber asked.
Hiccup couldn't believe it, just like with Toothless. The dragon saw he wasn't afraid and trusted it so it stopped its attack, Hiccup took a breath of relief. "How in the name of Thor..." Ruffnut started.
"Just...nobody move...Absolutely no sudden moves..." Hiccup whispered.
"No arguments here." Fishlegs said quickly.
Hiccup looked at the nadder and offered a smile, "Alright...alright see...its okay there um...are you a girl or boy?..." Hiccup said calmly. The nadder squawked at him when he said girl, "Okay, good...so you're a girl...listen...I'm sure you have a good...reason to want to hurt these guys...I–I know they are chasing you around...but I promise, I won't hurt you. And...if you go back to the pen...I'll let you out later. I promise..." Hiccup whispered to the nadder. It gave a nod to him, bowing its head. Hiccup blinked a few times and then offered a small head bow back as the nadder slowly walked past the other teens, it screeched at them raising its tail. "He–hey! Do–Don't do that..." Hiccup called to it.
The nadder stopped and looked back at him, Hiccup pointed his finger towards the pen. "Don't attack them...I got them to stop so you have to as well..." Hiccup ordered. The nadder nodded again as it headed to the pen, "I promise I'll release you when these guys aren't around..." He whispered, the nadder laid down as he prepared to shut the door but then paused before walking away from it, leaving the doors opened. "Screw it..." He mumbled walking to the main gate and opening the lever, his eyes fell on the nadder sadly. "Go on now...You're free." Hiccup ordered her.
The nadder ran out happily squawking, it licked Hiccup's cheek then nuzzled him before taking to the sky and flying off.
"What just...happened?" Tuffnut blinked clearly confused.
"I–I think Hiccup...just told the nadder what to do, and it...listened to him." Fishlegs gasped.
"I–it should of attacked him! No dragon just does that...Right Gobber?" Snotlout asked looking over at the blacksmith who was looking at Hiccup standing beside him calmly.
"Hi–Hiccup...how did you do that?" Gobber asked him.
"Not every creature of Odin intends harm on others, the nadder was scared being trapped here...so I let her go. Would any of you liked to of been locked up and used as training?..." Hiccup stated blandly, his eyes still on the nadder pen, "I didn't think so...I didn't threaten her, that's why she didn't attack me. Not everything is always as it appears, and some of us see things differently than others." He added before he picked up Astrid's axe laying by the exit and walked it over to her, he put it in her hands calmly. "You're welcome for saving your life by the way." Hiccup remarked coldly as he opened the main gate and walked out leaving them all in shock.
(Hours Later)
Word about what Hiccup did spread like wildfire through out the village, Hiccup kept in the forge working hard to avoid it. Everyone was trying to ask how he did it, but he couldn't reveal that truth without revealing Toothless. So he just kept his mouth shut, he didn't even talk to Gobber. But when Stoick found out what happened, he didn't hear that Hiccup settled a nadder down, he heard that Hiccup let it go and was furious. "HICCUP HORRENDOUS HADDOCK THE THIRD!" His voice boomed loudly. Hiccup winced a little, oh this was going to suck. "FRONT AND CENTER. NOW!" His father shouted out.
Hiccup took a deep breath as he moved away from his work bench and went outside, he saw his father towering over him with his hands on his hips and the whole village had formed a circle to watch the scene play out. Hiccup suffered many a scoldings publically, so this was nothing new for him. "Y–yes dad?" Hiccup asked.
"Would you mind telling me about the ring earlier!?" Stoick yelled.
"U–uhm...I uh...let the nadder go...?" Hiccup replied shakily.
"And why in the name of Odin would you do that! You know they are used for trainin!" Stoick shot back.
"What training...You're training people how to kill a dragon when they don't need to be killed..." Hiccup mumbled.
"How can you say such a thing! Of course they need to be killed, they are menaces! They've stolen from us, and killed hundreds!" Stoick bellowed.
"And we've killed thousands of them! And we stole from them, they were here before us...we took their lands. I'd want revenge too..." Hiccup shrugged.
"They took your mother, Hiccup." Gobber added now.
"Took her. No proof if she's dead or not...maybe she realized they were bad after all and she's still alive somewhere where they don't kill dragons for stupid reasons." Hiccup retorted. A few people gasped.
"They carried her off in a raid, Hiccup and she was never seen again...I searched for months, years for her." Stoick told him.
"And why do you care so much I let a dragon go, legend around the village is mom used to stop people from killing them too. She believed peace was possible, maybe she found it and refused to come back here because she knows her husband is an idiot who doesn't listen to reason!" Hiccup yelled back. Stoick took a step back, Hiccup never dared talk back to anyone. Especially his father.
"Hiccup how can you say such a thing to your father! Honestly, you're supposed to be the future chief and this is how you treat people? If this is how you act, I don't want to be under your command in 3 years when you turn 18..." Spitelout said now.
"Because your son would make a better chief, going around picking on his own cousin for personal enjoyment. Right, Uncle Spitelout? Whatever...I don't care. I don't want to be chief... not to these people..." Hiccup growled.
"Lad, stop being a menace and apologize to yer old man." Gobber sighed. Hiccup froze, had...had Gobber really just said that? That he thought...he was a menace? "You'll never be chief with that attitude. Sidin with those beasts, what is wrong with yew..." Hiccup couldn't believe it, Gobber turned on him too. Before he could say anything he felt a hand whack him good, forcing him to the ground. When he looked up, he saw his father there glaring down at him.
Hiccup couldn't help the tears forming in his eyes. No...this was it. He was done. Gobber turning on him, and his father hitting him was the last straw. Hiccup closed his eyes and forced himself to his feet. "I quit." He said firmly.
"Beg yer pardon lad?" Gobber asked now.
"I. Quit. I'm done working in the forge and I am done working for you. Everyone hates my weapons anyway, 2 years ago they found out I forged them and they threw them away. Whatever...I'm done. I'm so done with everything involving this gods-forsaken island! I don't want to be chief. I don't want to be heir anymore. I don't want anything to do with this stupid tribe! If I'm such a menace..." He paused walking away, "Then maybe I should be killed like the dragons since I've apparently sided with them...Don't worry...You won't have to worry about me getting in your way anymore..." Hiccup said in a cold voice as he walked through the crowd of people, shoving people out of his way to walk to his father's house.
He was done. He couldn't take it anymore, Gobber turning on him was what did it for him. He was done with the forge, done with the village, done with his father...Done with life. He'd held back the last two years for Gobber's sake but after that whole scene, it was clear Hiccup didn't matter to Gobber as much as he thought he did so what did he have left here. Nothing. Hiccup entered the house and slammed the door.
"Ha–has anyone seen Hiccup get that cold before?" Fishlegs asked curiously.
"No...he hasn't. In fact, I don't think I've ever seen him get like that period..." Stoick said now.
"What did...he mean by he was done with...everything?" Astrid asked.
"I don't know...Maybe we just let him cool off?" Tuffnut suggested.
"I'll go talk to him in a bit when he's calmed down..." Gobber headed back in to the forge. The group slowly dispersed going back to work.
(Hiccup's House)
He was in his room sitting on the bed and crying in to his hands. He never usually did this during the day but he just couldn't take it anymore. Hiccup got the blade from his desk and ran it along his wrist drawing blood, then he did the same with the other. They weren't particularly deep cuts but then again, he wasn't done either. Nothing was holding him back anymore, his left the bloody knife on his bed while walking to his desk, he pulled out a piece of paper and got his charcoal pencil. Tear drops from his eyes fell on the paper, so did the blood from his wrists as he began to write.
He didn't write a lot, enough to get the point across that he was killing himself and he hoped everyone would be happier with him gone because he knew he would be and if his mom was dead, then at least he'd get to be with someone who cared about him. Hiccup felt things getting fuzzy for him, he took the letter and then the knife. Hiccup slammed the knife in to the wall over his bed, hanging the note there. 'No more pain...I won't hurt anymore...' Hiccup thought trying to force a smile. No one loved him. No one liked him. No one cared about him. They'd be better with him gone, Hiccup forced himself towards the stairs and walked down them. Blood dripping down his arms while he did.
Reaching the bottom he used his first made dagger to slice his wrists deeper, then along the length of his arm to the bend of his elbow. Hiccup couldn't feel anything anymore, he was numb and gods he was happy to finally feel nothing. He left the house and walked down a path leading to one of Berk's high points. It was lunch, everyone was in the hall or so he thought. Not that it mattered, everyone would probably egg him on to move faster to his death. His dagger slipped from his hands while walking.
(With Gobber)
The old blacksmith closed the shop for lunch as he moved towards Stoick's house to talk to Hiccup but he noticed the blood and it made him worry. He knocked, "...Lad can I talk to you?" Gobber asked calmly. No answer. "Hiccup...Its old Gobber...I want to say I'm sorry for what I said earlier..." Gobber said while entering the house now. He instantly knew something was off. "Hiccup!" Gobber called again. Gobber saw the blood on the floor and trailed it up the stairs quickly to Hiccup's room. He saw the blood puddle on the floor by Hiccup's bed, then the knife holding a note covered in blood and tears.
"Odin no..." Gobber whispered as his eyes skimmed the paper. Finally he tore the note down and rushed out to the hall, he tripped over something, and then picked it up. Worry filled him as he barged into the hall panting. "STOICK!" Gobber yelled, the chief was up instantly seeing Gobber looking terrified with the color drained from his face.
"Gobber, what in the name of Thor is the problem..." Stoick asked..
"Its...Hiccup...He's...he's gone...We have...to find him...Now." Gobber said.
"I'm sure he's fine, probably in the forest..." Stoick sighed.
"I thought that too...Until I saw blood outside your house...Stoick there are drops of blood leading from the front steps to Hiccup's room...and in his room...I found this..." Gobber said in a choked voice now handing him the letter. Stoick took the letter and began to read over it, "To whoever finds this letter. It's my final goodbye to Berk and the Hairy Hooligan tribe. I'm the real Hiccup Haddock and I don't know why everyone hates me so much. I've never done anything wrong. But then again...maybe I do know because now I hate me too. I have no one in this village who is on my side, no one who cares, and no one who wants me around. So I'm sorry for being such a screw up. And to everyone else, sorry I'm such a menace. I let the nadder go because she didn't deserve to die for being scared and feeling threatened. Anyone who had been captured and forced to fight would fight back, the only way to avoid conflict is to avoid completely...I won't apologize for freeing an innocent creature. Stoick, I'm sorry I couldn't be the Viking son, or heir you wanted me to be. I'll tell mom you said hi...I've tried for years to deal with it but I just can't anymore. I can't take the every day beatings, the teasing, the hurtful words that cut deeper than my blade that I can never forget. I can't take having a father who doesn't care about me at all, that I'm just invisible to him and everyone else unless I do something wrong. And right now...I don't feel the need for trying, or talking, or breathing. No one has to worry about the little embarrassment, disappointing, useless, stupid, runt getting in their way anymore. You won't have a Hiccup among you anymore. So that's it I guess. Bye."
By the time he finished reading the letter, his eyes widened with absolute fear. He saw the blood and tear stains on the paper, he couldn't even formulate a sentence right now. "And then I found this in the road..." Gobber said shakily handing the blood covered dagger to Stoick, where they could see the fresh blood on the blade. "Stoick! He's trying to kill himself and if we don't find him right now...He'll..." Gobber trailed off with worry.
"I want everyone single person up and looking for my son right now! I want every inch of Berk searched!" Stoick demanded, no one needed other commands. "Odin's ghost I was a fool...How did I...miss the signs!" Stoick rushed outside.
"Stoick we couldn't of known...That blood is fresh, there was a puddle of it by his bed, on his desk and drops leading out...we'll find him..." Gobber told Stoick.
"Where do we start chief?" Astrid asked.
"Gu–guys...I don't think we need to look for him..." Fishlegs started slowly.
"Fishlegs, my boy is trying to kill himself, if we don't find him he'll die!" Stoick growled angrily.
"N–no I mean I found him...He's up there on the cliff..." Fishlegs pointed to Hiccup standing on the cliff. Without another word they rushed towards the cliff but didn't approach fast.
"HICCUP!" Stoick yelled. "Stop son."
"Hiccup don't do it! Please, get away from the edge!" Astrid pleaded. Hiccup slowly turned his head towards them, and they saw the color drained from his face, blood staining the sleeves of his green tunic and still dripping on to the ground.
"No more...No more pain..." Hiccup said weakly, he looked as if he'd pass out.
"Yes that's right...No more pain...Just...walk back this way lad...You need your arms wrapped...Please...Listen to old Gobber now...Come back this way." Gobber said gently.
"N–No...No more...Can't...do it anymore...Everyone will be...better with me gone. No one...cares about me..." Hiccup stepped closer to the edge.
"Hiccup no. That's not true...we all care about you...please...please?" Astrid tried now stepping closer towards him slowly.
"Go away! Just go away all of you and leave me the fuck alone!" Hiccup snapped angrily. "Can't you even let me die in peace! You wouldn't let me live in peace, I think I deserve this much!" Hiccup cried. It was now they all realized how right he was, they gave him hell for years. They pushed him to do this, to want to die because he thought they'd be happier with him gone.
"Hiccup...Please...I'm begging you...Come away from the edge..." Stoick pleaded.
"I–I want to be...with mom...I don't want this...life anymore...Nothing...to live for..." Hiccup closed his eyes turning his head back to the cliff. If he didn't die from bleeding out, the freezing waters below would. That on top of the fierce waves crashing him in to the side of the jagged rocks. It didn't matter how it happened, one of these ways would kill him for sure.
"Hiccup no...Your mother would want this for you...Please son...Please come back and we can talk about this..." Stoick tried again.
"How the hell do you know what she wants! She wanted peace and you didn't listen to her, but you still loved her all the same. Why don't I matter to you! Why am I invisible to you! Why can't you love me like a father is supposed to love their child! But I just don't care anymore! I don't want to talk, I'm done...talking...No more...Hiccup the Useless...No more pain..." Hiccup whimpered as he stepped on the very edge.
"NO!" They yelled as Hiccup turned his body to face them as he closed his eyes and let himself fall backwards off the cliff. They rushed towards the edge to look down, tears in all their eyes. The sound of a whistle whipping through the wind caught their attention, then a roar. Before their eyes they saw a black blur shoot out of the forest by Raven Point. "Night Fury..." Gobber whispered in shock. The dragon zipped under Hiccup and caught him with its front paw and shot back towards the cliff. The night fury laid Hiccup's body down on the grass, then it looked at the group angrily before darting off again and out of sight.
"Th–that Night Fury...just saved his life..." Fishlegs gasped out, everyone was in shock.
"No time to worry about it...Hiccup is unconscious and bleeding out...if we don't get him help right now, he's dead." Astrid said trying to keep it together. Stoick gathered Hiccup's unconscious form in his arms and rushed to Gothi's house, when she got him she pushed everyone out to work on the young heir. No one could believe it, Hiccup had slashed his wrists and tried to jump off the cliff. Everyone anxiously waited outside Gothi's. Everyone was upset, at themselves. They did this, they pushed an innocent 15 year old boy to try and commit suicide. He'd be dead if the Night Fury hadn't grabbed him and brought him back up to the cliff to them. A night fury of all dragons, had saved Hiccup from certain death of its own free will. The whole tribe felt terrible for what they'd done, they all had a role in it, and if Hiccup died. It was on their hands.