The ice stretched onwards for Thor knows how long, it being almost as vast as the ocean itself. And it's thickness was immense, intense in a way that would take the group hours to chisel through.
But they didn't have hours.
They had seconds.
A mere few seconds until all hope was lost. Until their leader had drowned, the water sucking all of the life out of him once and for all.
Toothless, who had been hovering guard above the ocean next to Viggo's ship, dove at the ice and began scrabbling at it for dear life. But despite the sheer sharpness of his talons, they barely left a scuff.
The Nightfury was frantic, launching plasma blasts at it and throwing his entire body weight at it, much to no avail.
The others had landed too now, and yet the force of the five Vikings battering the ice and six dragons hammering fire into it still only left the smallest of marks.
They were trying to fulfil the impossible. The unimaginable.
The ice was impenetrable, perhaps even strengthened by Viggo and his men lacing the Snow Wraith's food.
"Come on... COME ON!" Astrid was throwing her axe at the fortress of cold beneath her. For all she knew, Hiccup could already be unconscious. It wouldn't surprise her.
A minute had passed since he had dove into it's depths.
"Think, Astrid, THINK!" She yelled.
They could not let him die.
But with every second which passed, it became a more and more realistic conclusion.
.oOo.
Seconds ticked by, and every moment felt like an eternity. Perhaps that was the universe dragging the young Viking's last moments out.
10
It was getting harder to breathe by the second. Hiccup's arms and legs were numb, yet in agony as he continued to tread water. It was dark down there, under the sea, the murky blue colour seemingly overtaking his mind. The few snippets of light he could see beyond the surface looked like shaded, moving blobs, which were a contrast from the sunrise he could vaguely see beginning to form in the background. Longing to be at the surface, he presumed it was beautiful.
9
The people must be the others, moving constantly in attempts to break him free. He could hear their shouts and Toothless' frantic clawing, though muffled by the water surrounding him. He wanted nothing more than to scream out, to tell them he was okay, but he knew the dangers which would evolve from that. It would only kill him faster.
8
He briefly thought about his father back on Berk, awaiting his son's return, blissfully unaware of the situation he was currently stuck in. In that moment, Hiccup contemplated his mortality, and the news being broken to the man, the words then breaking him. No, he had to hold on. Had to grasp onto the hope he has left. He had to stay alive for Stoick. For the other riders. For Astrid. For Toothless. For Berk.
7
But it was getting so hard. Getting more and more difficult for him to stay conscious never mind hold hope. Black spots were dancing around his vision and his body was threatening to capsize at any moment. He felt himself growing weak. Terrifyingly weak, his movements becoming minuscule and his muscles aching. He could feel his heart pounding violently against his chest. He wondered how much longer for.
6
And it was then, whenever he was on the verge of letting unconsciousness come over him, he caught a glimpse of light through the little snippet of his eyesight which he had left. It burned bright like the Bethlehem star, even through the ice. Using all of the strength he had left from deep within him, he ploughed his way to the surface, every movement stripping him of more of the essential oxygen he was lacking.
5
It looked like a concentrated fire, an array of each of the dragon's constant blasts, with he occasional blast of purple plasma fired in the mix. Hiccup hammered at the underside, but it wasn't budging, and it felt just as cold as it had the first time his hand had met it.
4
He felt as if a giant fist had grasped him around the chest, not letting him intake any air whatsoever, and his body was protesting against staying awake with all it's might. Every little piece of hope he had in his mind was fading, just like his chances of survival. It was no use. This was it. The end.
3
His eyes were fluttering shut, like butterflies closing their wings after a long, hard day of flying. The motion stopped too, his movements as dead as the waves which had once rippled across the entire ocean. And though he didn't know it, him now being unable to feel anything in his world of unconscious nothingness, he had begun to fall, the ocean engulfing him, taking the boy for itself.
2
Nothing. Not even a flinch came from him as he sank into the abyss. Little did he know that the constant flame and pounding with various weapons from the dragons and riders above had finally cracked the ice, and a hole just large enough for the Nightfury had formed. Toothless dove in, his teeth suitably retracted in anticipation for the save, but all that could be seen in his eyes was fear.
1
His jaws wrapped themselves around Hiccup, and he pushed upwards to the surface, as frantically as he had attempted to break the ice initially.
The trapped water and broken ice smashed in all directions as Toothless flew out, wings stretched to full capacity, and he soared as far away from the hole as he deemed possible, and safe.
And with that, he landed, and placed Hiccup down on the ice from which he had emerged.
Astrid, Fishlegs, Snotlout and the twins slid all over the place as they ran towards the pair, Astrid sliding on her knees as she hurried to get to Hiccup.
"Hiccup. Please breathe. Please breathe."
Toothless glanced at her, before releasing a huge slobbery tongue and letting it roll across his rider's face. It was the only thing which woke him up in the mornings to take him for a flight, if pounding on the roof didn't work.
Nothing.
Not a twitch. Just nothing. There was no rise and fall of his chest anymore, and he was ghostly pale.
"No, no, no..."
Toothless tried again, worry growing rapidly inside him like a balloon being pumped full of helium.
Nothing.
This was it. He'd gone and done it now. Viggo had got what he had wanted.
Hiccup was dead.
"Move out of the way!" It was as if a light had been switched on from inside Fishlegs Ingerman's brain as he reacted in a way he never had before. Shoving Astrid and Toothless out of the way, he clasped his hands together and pressed them down firmly on Hiccup's chest, and back up again, repeating this as many times as he could count.
1...
2...
3...
4...
5...
6...
7...
8...
9...
10...
Hiccup jolted upwards suddenly, liquid erupting out of him as he heaved and spluttered up the baltic salty water from inside of his lungs. Coughing and choking, he let himself return to the world of the living.
Feeling himself clear of all blocking his airways, he took in a massive breath, and felt himself slumping backwards, to be caught by Toothless, who swooped in, acting as a pillow, directly before Hiccup's head smashed off of the ice. He wrapped a single wing around his torso in attempts to bring him some hind of warmth.
Everyone knelt around him, relief printed all over them as they waited for Hiccup to finally come to.
"What.. h-happened?" He asked, stuttering and gasping on his words slightly.
"Viggo happened."
And then it all came flooding back to him, just as the water had flooded inside of him.
Viggo. The Snow Wraith. The Dragon Eye. The mission.
He clambered to his feet shakily and leant on Toothless for support as he hobbled over to the area of ice he had been trapped beneath.
"Hiccup, what are you-"
And that's when he held it up. The Dragon Eye, shining in the light of the newly-rise sun as he pulled it out from the pool it was swimming in.
And yet, it did not quite shimmer the way it did previously. It did not quite look as it did previously.
"It's fake," Hiccup stated angrily, as he held it out to them. "That's it. It was all a set up. We've now lost the Snow Wraith. The Dragon Eye..."
"But at least we still have your life." Astrid reached out and held his free hand, and the two stared out to the horizon.
And yet Hiccup's mind was preoccupied.
Viggo Grimborn had outsmarted him once more. Almost stripped his life from him. They had failed this particular mission, yes, but Vikings are stubborn. More stubborn than anyone you'll ever encounter.
And Hiccup knew this wasn't the end. He wasn't going down without a fight.
.oOo.
And an A/N at the end of this fic!
So, I was wondering, would you like another two-shot continuing on from the end of this story later in this series? I have some great ideas in mind. Let me know in your review!
Thank you again for all of your support, and I hope you enjoyed this!
See you all tomorrow!