Woah, this took me so long to think through and actually write down. I knew what was going to happen for ages, but never got stuck into this chapter until now. I hope you enjoy this one.
Loki would not let go of Hiccup. He simply hoisted the young boy over his shoulders like a fur skin coat and began to walk away from the gathered Vikings without another word to them. Hiccup could see the increasingly worried faces of the other chiefs and their heirs. Hiccup inclined his head to see fear in the face of his father. They couldn't move, couldn't do a thing to help.
Hiccup noted how the man didn't make a single sound upon the floor as he walked away. It was like being carried by a spectre, who happened to possess a corporeal form. He calmly strolled past Toothless, paying no attention to the evil leers coming from the frantic dragon.
"Where are you taking me?" Hiccup breathed out, feeling slightly winded with his chest pressed against a firm shoulder. Hiccup could deduce that even though the God held a lithe, tall and slender frame, he had dense muscle which was probably heavier than it looked.
"Don't fret little God, I will keep you safe and well!" The answer was cryptic and made Hiccup feel even more worried.
Hiccup didn't want to go anywhere with this being. He was the trickster of the Gods; a force that attempted to drive the world towards Ragnarok. He was clever, shifty and sly and could work his way around the greatest of Gods, planning their downfall and their demise with the skills of his silver tongue. He was the master of crafting plots and bending words. Hiccup was really frightened.
"No, I won't go anywhere with you!" He attempted to kick and squirm. Loki simply laughed and clenched his claw like nails into Hiccups side to stop his escape attempts. "No, stop, let me go. Toothless. TOOTHLESS!"
Hiccup was reciprocated by a furious roar coming from inside the hall. They were walking down the steps now, the outside air was frigid and snow was falling in torrents. The ground was frozen and coated in soft flakes two inches thick.
There was a boom, a gust of searing hot air, followed by a billow of steam. Loki moved Hiccup from his shoulder and held him by the leather of his collar. "You dislodged my magic, how?"
Loki peered fiercely into Hiccups eyes. His gaze was wild, like fire. The silver was flecked with a strange Amber that resembled rivers of gold running through a silver cliff. It was Wildfire incarnate. He was a demon as well as a God. "I repeat, tiny God," Loki shook Hiccup like a sailor unfurling his sails, "how did you-"
Loki couldn't finish before he was barrelled into by a mass of black. Hiccup was let go, but immediately seized by a set of powerful jaws.
Hiccup felt disorientated, the sudden movement made him feel slightly nauseous; before he could make a note of where he was Toothless – who must have been his rescuer- ran down the stone entryway towards the village. He half sprinted half flew.
Hiccup didn't have time to mount Toothless, and Toothless knew they didn't have any time to waste to allow it. There was a dangerous being, possibly the most dangerous God there is, on their tail, who wanted Hiccup for his own malicious intent.
Hiccup was too shocked to move. He dangled like a kitten from his dragon's maw as they sped over grass and stone. By now the whole village was on red alert, not understanding what all the noise was. Dragons and Vikings emerged from their homes, weapons and teeth ready and primed for a fight, whatever it was.
Suddenly, once they had entered the actual main square of the town and the dragon was about to take flight, Toothless was knocked aside by something heavy as easily as if he was Hiccup being tackled by Snotlout. Toothless roared, letting Hiccup go accidently. Toothless managed to jump away with a beat of his massive wings; but Hiccup was not so lucky.
The small boy rolled along the ground after the vicious tackle, his ribs garnering the attention of the cobbles and stones as they battered into his ribs painfully. He took a gasp of air once the motion ceased, his ribs stinging painfully.
"I wanted this to be a peaceful transaction, but then you and your little pet had to go and make a big meal over it. Honestly, you are as bad as those bickering Gannets that call themselves Gods. Always making everything out to be a betrayal to their way of life, or a knock in their pride and self-respect." Loki was there, casting an abyssal shadow over the winded boy as he lay on the ground. He sounded eternally peeved right now, his voice picking up a tiny spark of anger and indignation.
"After all, none of them can match the brains, lies and trickery I can weave with the power of my words." He bent over the boy, looking into his eyes as if searching for something. "As it stands, you too possess amazing brains and the ability to weave gold with your words. I have been watching you Hiccup; all your encounters with dragons and Vikings alike, your ability to craft and invent." Loki let out a raucous giggle as he placed his foot over Hiccups chest, pushing down with minute effort and still managing to hurt the bruised ribs. "It's not every day one can come across a being with these rare skills."
Hiccup attempted to wriggle away. He clutched at the Gods' ankle and pushed the foot off. He sat up slowly whilst evening out his breathing. "I don't lie and hurt people like you do!" Hiccup panted, his anger flaring like the fire of a Deadly Nadder.
Loki gave him a cynical looking glare, as if saying the boy said something strange. "Oh, is that right?" He picked Hiccup up once again by his forearm, hoisting him into a standing position. "Tell me, why haven't you told your friends and family about your little problem yet?"
Hiccup immediately got his meaning, his eyes widening and his lips slightly ajar. "I didn't mean to…"
"HICCUP!" The scream of his name came close by. Hiccups father and the rest of the humans on the island were converging on the sight of the tall, dark man holding fiercely onto Hiccup.
"Dad," Hiccup tried to wrench his arm away, but Loki had too much purchase on his arm. His grip was bruising and made Hiccups eyes mist with tears.
"Let my son go, demon!" Stoic's voice was low and threatening. Wielding a massive Warhammer, he struck Loki on the edge of his temples, effectively causing the God to fly a couple of yards away from the force of the blow.
Unfortunately Loki didn't let Hiccup go, and before Stoic could realise what had happened, the two disappeared all of a sudden.
It was like a great black shadow surged had up and swallowed them before, moments later, they reappeared behind Stoic. The great abyssal presence rose up behind the tall man, even taller and more sinister than the most fearsome Viking. Silver eyes glowed forth from endless darkness, leering and triumphant; although the figure was slightly disfigured, unnatural and all wrong.
The shadow dropped, revealing Loki, with his neck bent slightly and his head turned sideways. His neck snapped back into place from where it was kinked at an awkward and fatal position. Instead Stoic was met with a fearsome and sinister gaze. The expression was deadpan, fringing on bored. It was as if the being didn't feel the powerful blow behind the mass of harsh iron.
"That almost hurt, more like a slight ache actually, although it helped take the tired kinks from my neck."
Stoic glowered, his sight set on the terrified and shocked looking boy wrapped tightly in Loki's strong left arm. "Release him, monster." He growled.
Loki started to scratch his forehead, apparently nonchalant about speaking to the large, bearded human. "Hmm, you mean you don't want to fight monster like me? You want me to let him go without a fuss?" Stoic raised an eyebrow. Was this being crazy?
"You Vikings thrive in a world of violence and wars. You kill when your will demands it, without question. Peace comes about through chaos and bloodshed; that is the only way you can keep your own skins safe. No wonder Balder is not at all fond of you humans." Loki then cackled, and then a really freaky thing happened, his eyes turned a piercing, luminescent green. "Hah, but I love it. You pathetic mortals always open new ways to murder and plot in attempts to seek balance in your own insignificant existences. I ask you now, who is the real monster?"
As Hiccup was listening, he looked out for Toothless, hinting to the dragon to move. His hands were making vague gestures and the boy only hoped Toothless understood what he was saying. He needed to get onto his dragon. They were the strongest in the air; together.
Hiccup needed Toothless to approach him silently, without the God suspecting. He was busy preaching his words of hate to the whole island, not at all paying attention to the boy in his arms. Hiccup only hoped he wasn't paying attention.
Toothless bowed his head slightly, bringing his belly low to the ground so that he could stalk like a cat hunting for birds. Hiccup remembered seeing a cat prowling towards a sleeping baby Terror, Toothless watching in curiosity. Unfortunately for the cat the Terror woke up and simply spat a small spark at the cat, who then scampered off in shock with a singed whisker.
Hopefully Toothless would get to him before Loki noticed. There was one thing Hiccup needed doing right.
Right when the cat was about to pounce, Hiccup noted the hesitance in its stance. The creature with wings and spines looked equal to the litheness and skills of the cat. Would it have been hurt once it pounced, even though the Terror was smaller than itself?
Toothless was near now, his legs taking wide steps, his body traversing about a metre with each stride, in silence. His pupils were narrowed to their smallest size, his teeth were bared. He would not fail. Too much hung in the balance.
Toothless didn't hesitate, he struck with fire and fury. His smouldering irises boring into the creature with the audacity to cling onto his friend.
The bright purple plasma blast bored right into the unsuspecting back of the God at close range. It surge out like a Riptide of the mightiest storm; the power behind it causing the ground to shake and for mud to fly up into the air.
Using the distraction and the purple smoke to hide himself, Hiccup bolted free of the arms that had to let him go. The fire did nothing to hurt the boy, for his skin was coated in fine golden scales. The force of the blow gave him all the momentum he needed to get away.
He made a beeline straight for his dragon, but felt a tug on his ankle and a pull in his belly when he was wrenched to the ground by some unknown force. He couldn't feel anything restricting him, but he knew that there was something there holding him down.
The only part of his body he could move was his head. He looked off to the side to see that every single human and dragon within his line of vision was tied to the earth by something shimmering a violet light.
"I have had enough of this!" Loki screamed. Hiccup couldn't see him, but he could feel him nearby.
Loki faced the sea, his face expecting and rigid in his fury, green eyes cast towards the now rolling waves beyond the cliffs. His eyes reflected a volatile, crooked mischief. If one could see into his mind they would see chaos, mixed with the longing for acceptance. A dark creature doesn't belong within the light of others; it does not mean they are evil, just misunderstood.
"Jormungandr, come and help your daddy now."
'Jormungandr? Isn't that…' Hiccups eyes blew wide. "Oh Gods, he is calling the Midgard serpent!" Hiccup screamed from his place on the ground. The coils tightened, squeezing the breath from him.
Whilst being squeezed Hiccup could hear the fearful calls of the others, human and dragon alike. This God could subdue a whole island nation plus guests with only an inkling of his power.
His blood ran cold when he heard the sea. It was a sound akin to a mountain falling onto its side. Whatever had breached the surface of the sea was vast, and far larger than even the Red death. A roar sounded out, or rather, a long guttural hiss that was scratchy, like stones bombarding into each other at the bottom of the shallow, coastal water during a storm.
The dragons on the island where roaring and crying in fright now. They could sense the great looming beast as it dragged itself out of the sea. Hiccup could feel the vibrations within the earth as it dragged it heavy bulk onto land. What he didn't know was that only the head had emerged from the water. There was then a resolute crash that made Hiccups ears ring.
"Son, it's beautiful to see you again," Loki purred when the great serpent cast its flaming ruby eyes onto its blood kin, "It is simply marvellous to spread a little chaos within the realm of mortals. I wish to spend a little more time with you."
Hiccup could see. He saw a great snake head, resting its bottom jaw on top of the whole village. It was staring at the multitude of terrified Vikings and dragons.
'Yess, father!'
Hiccup screamed in pain, the voice ringing in his brain. Toothless also gave out a pained roar. The snake just appeared to speak, but it didn't feel like a physical manifestation. It felt like a breach behind his ears, vibrating within his skull and brain.
"Let's cause a little bit of chaos!"
And with that, the ties on the mortals seemed to dissipate into the air. Hiccup could see shimmering purple tendrils whither and fade into nothing as they relinquished their grasp on the humans and dragons.
Dragons roared their freedom, Vikings screamed as they prepared for a battle. Essentially all hell broke loose.
Loki conjured up a whole hoard of shadow creatures, who rose up from the ground like the spirits of the dead. They barked and slathered as they faced off against dragons and their riders.
Very soon the island was a battlefield. Hiccup could tell who was fighting what and where his loved ones were. The world was essentially turned on its kilter. It was surreal notion that shouldn't have a foothold in reality; Hiccup felt like the world was now madder than the nightmares he had in the past. No, this is a nightmare.
"Toothless, where are you?" Hiccup screamed into the chaos.
He could see that the great Serpent had decreased its size so that it could drag its body onto land some more. Its head was fringed with horns that resembled sea stacks. They were old and crumbling. Its skin was a strange, dappled palette of sea greens and oceanic blues; even in this light, Hiccup could see those colours in amazing clarity. A ridge of flowing, deep purple spines trailed all the way down its body. They were like the wings of great dragons.
It was being mobbed by a whole hoard of riders, with Snotlout of all people riding Hookfang at the forefront. Hookfang unleashed jets of viscous flames, that bounced and ricochet off the mirror like scale plates.
The snake snapped and hissed in fury, its malevolent fangs showing for the whole world to see. Hiccup shuddered to think what it would be like to be snapped up by those monstrous jaws.
"TOOOOOTH-"Hiccup screamed, but felt arms capturing once more. Oh he was getting sick of this now.
"SON," Stoick boomed from directly behind the boys head. Hiccup felt immensely relieved to know it was his father who had snatched him up.
Remembering where he needed to be the brunette haired boy dug his right foot into the ground, essentially stilling Stoic in his run. "Dad, I need to find Toothless."
"I know son, but I can't afford to lose you. We don't know why that creature wants you; we can't hope to match the evil of a God, it's beyond us."
"But dad, what can we do? He won't leave until he has me. I think I know why he wants me, I can just-"
"NO," Stoick boomed, the fury and fear evident in that single, brief word. He looked down at his son, his eyes glistening with moisture. It was a face Hiccup had never seen on his father before. He had never seen the great chieftain look so frightened before. "I will never allow you to give yourself up to that monster."
Hiccup stared into this fathers face. He felt his own eyes moisten. He felt proud to have a father like Stoick, a man who would never give up on his family.
"Dad, we need divert that monsters attention away. For this I need to find Toothless." Stoick gave Hiccup a stern glare, "I promise I won't give myself up."
Stoick seemed to relent. He nodded his head in weary admission.
"Thanks dad."
Hiccup left his father, sprinting back into the chaos. He had to sidestep past looming black figures as they attempted to tear into human flesh. Hiccup brandished the dagger he kept in a sheath strapped to his arm.
Hiccup was all about peace and talking to sort problems out, but when driven to the edge he would do whatever it took to come out of it alive, even draw blood.
Or in this case shadow. He sliced a creature along its neck, which made a spectral mist rise from the slash, taking the rest of the creature with it as if it was some kind of vacuum.
"TOOTHLESS, WHERE ARE YOU!"
Hiccup didn't have to wait long for he heard the tell-tale hiss of a Night Furies breath at it flew like a bolt of lightning through the air.
Toothless was so close, so close.
"Do you want him to die a fiery death?"
Hiccup spun around to see a looming cloud of black in the shape of a man standing over him. Green eyes gazed out from that abyssal black.
Hiccup lunged with his dagger, but his wrist was caught, his dagger flung away with a purple tendril. Hiccup saw a flash of silver deep inside the tendril in the shape of runes. His powers are formed through words?
"It is the power of runes. All Gods possess them, whether they be in the shape of letters or images. It depends on the God or Goddess in question, and their powers differ."
'That voice was different. Who was it?' Hiccup didn't have time to think before he felt a vast presence shift above him. He slowly looked up, shivers running through his body. The Midgard serpent was watching from above. Toothless grasped within its massive jaws, unconscious.
"He will you know. If Jor decides to swallow your little friend, he will dissolve in the fires of his belly. No creature except a God can survive." Loki was back to normal, his face devoid of all emotion. He looked deadly serious and not at all aloof.
"What do you want?" Hiccup asked, feigning calmness.
"I don't want anything." He said whilst looking at Hiccup's chest; right at the spot where the necklace lay. "I only wish to see chaos, to spread discord amongst the Gods."
"Then why bother with the likes of me?" Hiccup couldn't help but wonder now. Was there a reason behind his strange new powers? What of the scales and other, physical attributes? The scale that Gothi presented to him, what did that mean?
Loki struck out, his long fingers clenching the boy's throat. "All will see and all will witness what you truly are."
Hiccup clawed at the hand, his eyes widening when he felt a burning sensation sizzling through the skin and burning the organs found there. The pain was immense and when the heat felt like it was trying to reverse and find a way out, it only had one outlet.
"I'm going to take your rune prisoner for now!" Suddenly a bright golden flame gushed from the boy's mouth, it flowed out like a snake peeking out from its burrow before fingers snatched the head. Loki captured it as if capturing a butterfly. He pressed the flame to the skin of his own throat, banishing the power to his own skin. Suddenly scales sprouted all over Hiccups body and golden, feathered wings burst from his back in a shower of blood. He screamed in acute pain, his back flaring as if sliced into by a poisoned sword.
"Your powers are no longer grounded; they are trying to break free to join the flame of its master."
Loki snapped his free hand out and clicked his fingers. Immediately Jormungandr dropped Toothless, who fell to the ground in a heavy heap of scale and wings.
Loki then handed the petrified boy to the great snake, whose long, ice blue tongue surged out and wrapped around the struggling boy's body.
The bound Dragons and Vikings could only watch in horror as the heir of Berk disappeared into the mouth of the great snake, only to be swallowed down.
The last thing Hiccup heard was Astrid and Stoick screaming his name, and Loki cackling in glee.
'Only a god could survive the fires of the Serpents belly.'
So what do you think? Shocking? Inspiration for the character of Loki comes from both the Thor films and a book titled The Gospel of Loki. This book is fascinating and makes Loki out to be a victim of prejudice, only because he is born a demon. Really he only wanted to be accepted in Asgard, but resorted to defying them when they threw his help back into his face. I dont think he was at all evil, only self serving. He got scared too, the Gods where so much bigger than him, and all he had to protect himself was a shield of words and his quick witted brain.