Title: The Lonesome Rider

Chapter title: I've Got a Reason to Fight

Author's Note: On to chapter 3. This is probably the longest chapter at all. I wanted to do a big cliffhanger to leave you on, but it just didn't flow that well. Still, you get a cliffhanger, don't you worry! And if any's reading this, please consider leaving a review. I have no idea of any of you are enjoying this; I embrace all constructive criticism and thoughts!

Enjoy!

Crimescenelover

Disclaimer: HTTYD is the property of Dreamworks and I claim no ownership of any characters or places you might recognize.

The storm reached Berk. Astrid stood in the entrance to the Great Hall and watched the water splashing onto the muddy stones of the stairway, leading down into the town center.

The cold from the rain at her front contrasted greatly with the warmth at her back from the large fire coming from inside the Hall. Most of the townspeople had already eaten their supper but the fire still burned bright and would continue to do so for some time.

Her eyes were aimed at the sky, fixated to some point off in the distance, her thoughts in a jumbled turmoil.

"Astrid?" Fishlegs' voice pulled her out of her reverie as he walked up beside her. "What's on your mind?"

"Hiccup should have been back by now," Astrid blankly stated. She hadn't moved her gaze away from the pouring heavens.

"In this weather, he probably took shelter on one of the neighboring islands. You know him; he went further than he was supposed to and knew he couldn't outrun the storm, so he's waiting it out."

"Maybe," Astrid begrudgingly said. She turned her steely blue eyes from their vantage point to settle onto the larger Viking instead. "Aren't you worried?"

The gentle Fishlegs squirmed under her gaze, but still managed to his level head. "Of course, I'm worried," he relented. "But if we go out there now, we'll probably end up in more trouble than he is in right now. I don't know about you, but I'm not in the mood for a rescue operation from Snotlout and the twins."

He pointed behind him, where Ruffnut and Tuffnut were currently on one of their rants about fire and a far-away relation's special skill in taming this natural occurrence. Snotlout listened with incredulous disgust painted on his face.

No, a rescue from them didn't seem particularly inviting at the moment. Still, she trusted them with her life, strange as it seemed. And Hiccup did too. She sighed heavily. She knew Fishlegs was right. However, it didn't do much to soothe her frizzled nerves or the worry twirling in her heart.

"If he hasn't returned by sunrise, I'm going out looking for him," she stated, daring him to argue with her. She almost wished he would; she could use the outlet. But instead he did exactly what she suspected he would.

He smiled his gentle smile and placed a hand on her shoulder. "And we'll be right beside you the whole time."

Hiccup sat up with a jolt and a loud gasp.

He hadn't meant to fall asleep. He felt a small shame washing over him at the weakness. He was supposed to keep watch. He failed even that simple task. He ran a hand over his face to try and clear his addled mind. It was quiet and in the darkest part of the night, meaning dawn couldn't be far behind. There was nothing left of the fire but embers pulsing weakly on the burned wood. Toothless was growling in his sleep much the same way he had done before Hiccup had drifted off. The night was quiet like a tomb.

So, what had woken him up?

He looked around as his eyes grew accustomed to the darkness. He couldn't see much of their surroundings and he was just about to shrug it off when the shadows seemed to move. He spun his head to catch sight of it, but it disappeared in the next moment. He kept himself completely still and waited with bated breath.

Seconds ticked by.

Nothing moved or spoke.

Hiccup's shoulders started to relax again until the sound of a branch breaking echoed in the forest. Hiccup's head snapped around. The shadows moved and twitched again. There was definitely something out there. Hiccup felt his heart beating faster in his chest. He eased himself onto one knee, his remaining foot solidly planted on the ground. Still keeping a watchful eye on his surroundings, he began blowing life back into the idle embers. Claws scratching on the ground came slowly nearer. With a victorious grin, the fire rose up to warm Hiccup's face. He grabbed one of the sturdier branches from the flames and held it high above his head. He leaned slightly closer to the sound coming from straight ahead.

The flames were suddenly mirrored in a set of yellow, angry eyes. Several more lit up as the dragons around him crept closer. They had long, serpentine bodies with four clawed feet, all covered in purple scales. Three sets of horns adorned their small, triangular heads. A nasal horn rested above the nostrils and a distinct underbite revealed their sharp, pointy teeth on their lower jaw. Spiked horns trailed all the way from the neck down to the powerful, thin tail. Their short wings were partially raised in an offensive position as they seemed to move closer in unison.

Grim Gnashers. Well, that was just great…

Hiccup cursed his bad luck. He could really use Inferno at this point. All he had to defend himself with was his small dagger. Hardly an effective weapon against these predators. He thought they only existed around Vanaheim but he knew he hadn't gotten that far out. They preyed on sick and injured dragons and that was found pretty much everywhere. If the predators couldn't get past the Sentinel dragons, it made sense they hunted elsewhere too.

"Toothless, now would be a good time to wake up, bud," Hiccup muttered. He heard no indication from behind his back that Toothless even acknowledged him.

He was on his own.

The Grim Gnashers edged closer, hissing aggressively.

Without taking his eyes of the lurking dragons, Hiccup slowly rose to his full height. He bit back the grunt of obvious effort it took to move fluently. He took care not place any weight on his fake leg. He would falter, or even worse, fall, and that would ruin this tense stalemate he was currently involved in. He couldn't show weakness in front of these dragons; they would tear him to pieces the minute they thought he was easy prey. At this moment, he most definitely was, but he sure wasn't about to let them know that. And Toothless was unconscious and certainly made for easy pickings. He tried to hide the sight of an injured dragon behind him by spreading himself out and making his body as big and scary as humanly possible, inwardly cursing his lean built frame.

Hiccup eyed the advancing reptiles with unease. There were three that he could count; a small pack. Their sharp claws etched into the soft dirt as they moved in unison. He squinted his eyes suspiciously. They weren't attacking. Just growling and hissing, while their yellow eyes seemed to hungrily roam over him. He raised the burning flame higher. None of the dragons sported the red streak down their backs. Their alpha was missing.

The realization came just as the hairs on the back of his neck prickled. Somehow, he just knew. He turned around and just behind Toothless' limp body, the biggest of the Grim Gnashers crouched, its reptile eyes entirely focused on the unresponsive Night Fury. It pounced. Hiccup reacted purely out of instinct. He leaned forward and swung the burning log in his hands. The impact reverberated all the way up his arms as the thick branch smashed into the alpha's head. It sent the dragon flying to the side.

Then everything collided into madness. The rest of the pack attacked at once. One jumped forward with its mouth open, while another shot its projectile-like teeth in Hiccup's direction. Hiccup dived out of the way just in time. He heard the incisors embed themselves into the place where he had stood. He got up quickly. With a grunt, he swung the log at a third Gnasher's jaw as it tried to bite him with its sharp teeth. As it fell to the ground with a whimper, Hiccup saw the rest of the pack moving in on Toothless. One was close enough to sink its jaws into the Night Fury's scaly hide. Toothless warbled weakly as he was tugged and pulled mercilessly.

"Get away from him!" Hiccup shouted.

Fear and worry for his best friend fueled his limbs forward. He yelled at the top of his lungs as he charged ahead and jumped in between the hungry pack and his own dragon. His chest was heaving heavily and sweat was pooling in his hair. His arm holding the surprisingly effective weaponized branch shook visibly as well as the rest of his exhausted body. He needed to end this fight. He wasn't sure how much more he had left in him. He had no idea how though. His lithe armor wasn't exactly fireproof, and he didn't have his shield or Inferno to help him. He didn't have Toothless to help him either.

Through my own fault, Hiccup added guiltily. He chanced a glance behind his back to his unconscious best friend.

It proved a dangerous mistake.

At his slip of attention, the Gnasher Alpha spotted its opportunity. Growling with frustration, its mouth lit up in a bright orange as it shot its powerful fire blast. Hiccup's eyes went wide as the fireball flew directly at him. He turned to avoid the attack and jump out of the way. The brunt of the fire singed the spot where he had been standing mere seconds before. The force of it threw him several feet into the air, the heat licking disturbingly familiar at his clothes and skin. He hit the ground harshly with a pained grunt. The smell of burnt hair and fabric filled his nostrils. It was the only thing to keep him grounded in the moment. His chest echoed with agony. His body screamed as both old and new injuries made themselves painfully known. His vision was tipping and blurring at the edges.

While he was trying to get his limbs to cooperate again, it suddenly hit him. He didn't need to fight all of the Grim Gnashers. He just needed to fight the alpha. For that, he desperately needed a dragon. And since his own was currently out of commission, he would have to find a substitute. He eyed the four Gnashers creeping closer to him. A crazy idea bloomed in his mind.

Let's finish this.

He staggered to his feet with heaving grunts, his destroyed prosthetic almost sending him crashing right back down. His weakness was proving helpful to his plan as one eager Gnasher went in for the kill. It opened its triangular mouth and as it moved in to bite, Hiccup spun on his heel to dodge the sharp teeth, effectively placing himself by the predator's flank. He didn't waste any time. He grabbed hold off one of the spikes running down its spine and heaved himself up and over in one rehearsed motion. The dragon roared in anger and confusion with a human now on its back.

Riding a Grim Gnasher… Fishlegs will definitely go nuts about this!

The Gnasher thrashed its scaly body in an attempt to rid itself of the nuisance. Hiccup tightened his grip as he was shook violently from side to side. The cold scales bit into his exposed skin but he refused to let go. Then his stomach lurched as the reptile spread out its wings and took to the sky. Hiccup felt the jagged motion of its wings beating rapidly to climb higher. The rest of its pack joined them in the sky and circled around them, roaring and hissing. The Gnasher did everything to get Hiccup of its back. It twirled in the air; barrel-rolled rapidly; rising to a great height and then speeding towards the ground. Hiccup yelled though all the rigorous flight maneuvers, but he kept his firm grip. Years of riding on Toothless in all sorts of weather or situations had taught him how to hang on even as the wind tore at him and his eyes watered. Finally, it seemed the Gnasher lost some of its energy and they hovered haggardly in the air. Both boy and dragon breathed heavily with the strain. The rest of the Grim Gnashers flew around them.

The alpha moved in closer from above, snapping its teeth at Hiccup. It got in too close to comfort for the ridden Gnasher as it whined and lashed at its leader with a clawed paw in its confusion and panic. The alpha backed away. Hiccup swallowed, his mouth suddenly filled with a bad taste of what he knew he had to do. He had to get it to launch an attack. Even if that meant intentionally hurting the dragon.

Gods forgive me.

He dared to let go with one of his hands to place it briefly on the reptile's neck in what he hoped was a soothing gesture. Then he muttered gently, "I'm sorry about this."

Hiccup drove the metal of his peg leg into the scaly hide of the Gnasher. As he thought, the dragon reacted immediately. Already weary, scared and angry about the human on its back, the dragon growled and vented these emotions by attacking its pack members. It shot its projectile teeth at the closest unfortunate Grim Gnasher. The victim thrashed and lost its altitude in the surprise attack. Hiccup gritted his teeth as he felt both jubilation and sadness. It seemed like his insane plan was working but he had to harm a dragon for it to do so. He reminded himself that he was during it for Toothless.

He shifted his position so that he could move his leg under the dragon's right wing. He forced the wing to move upwards and the Gnasher turned ever so slightly until it was positioned directly in front of the alpha. Hiccup once again jammed his prosthetic into the Gnasher, this time with as much force as he could muster. Enraged at the abuse, the predatory dragon unleashed a large fireball from its mouth. It hit the alpha square in the chest. While the largest Gnasher tilted and haphazardly tried to maintain altitude, Hiccup made his own Gnasher fire another round. It hit the already disoriented leader. The alpha whined a deep tone as it sunk towards the ground, smoking. The remaining Grim Gnashers followed it down.

"Okay, time to feel the earth again," Hiccup muttered to himself.

He didn't need to do much fortunately. The Gnasher dived on its own as it chased after its alpha. The sharp air cut across his skin as they gained speed in the decent. The rocky, dirty ground rose up fast to meet them. The dragon was tired and spent, so it was without the usual grace that they hit the ground. Instead of simply landing on its feet, the Gnasher crashed onto the dirt and it slid several feet before coming to a stop in a puff of smoke. The impact tore Hiccup off its back. He flew over its head and slammed into roots, rock and earth, stealing his breath from his lungs. He rolled around like a ragdoll before slowing down not far away from Toothless.

He coughed and gasped, desperately trying to regain the air he had lost. Grunting, he pulled himself into a standing position his body was in no way ready for. He grabbed a new log from the fire and held it out menacingly in front of him. His hand shook violently as he thrust his makeshift weapon at the Grim Gnashers, who had all gotten to their feet as well. The alpha limped to the front of the line.

"If you want him, you have to go through me!" Hiccup threatened loudly. He put every ounce of fear and determination into the words. He glared hatefully at the predators in front of him.

The alpha growled and opened its mouth to utter one final, ear-splintering roar.

Then it huffed, turned on the spot and took to the heavens. The rest of the pack followed seconds later, the sound of beating wings echoing in the black night as they retreated. Hiccup was left alone and panting. The moment their lean, scaly bodies disappeared into the fading darkness, his knees trembled and buckled. He crumpled until he found himself on all fours. His blood was rushing in his ears as his heart beat so fast he was convinced it might pop out of his chest. He remained in that position for some time, his mind reeling and struggling to comprehend what had just happened. Then he remembered.

"Toothless."

He crawled towards his dragon, not having the strength to get up. He laid a bloodied and burnt hand on his best friend's flank, satisfied it was still moving up and down in its deep, steady rhythm. He inspected the rest of him and spotted two Gnasher bite marks. One on his hide and another on the tip of his wing. They didn't look too deep, like the Grim Gnashers hadn't had time to actually bite through the thick, black scales protecting his soft flesh. Hiccup breathed a sigh of relief. His best bud was safe, at least for now.

The fight seeped out of him like water from a torn waterskin. The world around him seemed to spin suddenly and his vision blurred and blackened at the edges. The incredible lure to lie down and sleep grew stronger as his heart raced along, pounding away in his ears. His body tensed, his muscles locked and shaking. He stared stubbornly ahead until he couldn't even lift his eyelids any longer. Sleep beckoned him closer.

He let the darkness envelop him as he hit the ground. Unconsciousness came and swept him away.

His last thought before drifting off was on Toothless and how he was failing in protecting his precious dragon.

TBC