A/N: Heyy! Sorry this is a day later than I told you guys it would be. I have a valid excuse: I got ill on Christmas Day. It literally woke up on Christmas and the first thing I thought was not 'yayy it's Christmas finally!' or 'I wonder what I've got' but instead it was 'why does everything ache?!'. So yeah. I then spent Boxing Day and the day after recovering. But I shouldn't complain, there are millions in this world who are in more pain than me everyday (like Hiccup in my stories. Oh wait... he's fictional :().
Anywayyyy... back to talking about this chapter. This one was a bit harder to write for some reason, even though I was bursting with inspiration. Maybe it's the illness, I don't know, but what I'm trying to say is I'm sorry if this is not my best chapter/work in general, but all feedback is welcome! Onto reviews!
CzarnyKot356: Yeah, I get that... impatience is a term any fandom experiences a lot. When will you be able to watch it then?
IAmHelenOfTroy: Oh yeah I see that now... that's weird. Why is it like that? And, here's your next chapter, enjoy! ;)
JerryZ (review on chapter 1): I don't they will make an appearance in this story, but they do make an appearance in my stories When the Game Rules Change and Never a Coincidence so maybe you'll like those ;) Self-promo ends now. But I hope you'll enjoy this story nonetheless!
CoverGirl7210: I think this story will have between seven and ten chapters. I don't know the exact number because I haven't planned out the last few chapters in as much details as the first ones but it should be around that length. And you shall see what Viggo has planned... ;) *cackles in distance* I like cackling if you haven't noticed XD
Anyway, here's chapter 4. Enjoy!
It was a chilly, brisk evening, but it felt harshly cold when you were at sea. And even more so if you happened to be feeling like the entire world and all the gods were against you.
And Astrid happened to be feeling that way. She led the group of Riders out to sea, deducing where Viggo's ship was headed with the information they had forced out of the lookalike. How did they force it out of him? By ordering Stormfly to drop him. Every time. He would plummet towards the sea, screaming the answer to their question before the Nadder's talons would grip his shoulders again – which probably also hurt. At least, he gave them a bit of info just to save his own butt and Fishlegs would start using the info to keep them on track. They hadn't managed to get a single direct answer out of him. You would think that after they had done it five times that he would realise that just talking was less effort for them all, but this guy appeared to be almost as stubborn as Hiccup.
Hiccup... How was he? Had Viggo hurt him? What was he planning? Oh, this is all my fault... If I had just noticed earlier… She glared at the imposter.
"But Astrid, how could you have known? None of us saw this coming!" Fishlegs replied as Meatlug flew next to Toothless. Oh… I said that out loud….
"It is quite clever if you think about it. Bringing your enemy down from the inside-" Tuffnut commented from where the Hideous Zippleback flew behind them.
"It is, but it's the coward's way to win a war." Fishlegs interrupted him. "Kidnapping and slavery are both inhumane, they should really be outlawed."
"Uh, I wasn't finished!" The male twin exclaimed, with an expression that said don't interrupt me! "I was going to ask how dumb this Viggo guy thinks we are! I mean, did he seriously not think we would notice something was off?" Silence fell, every Rider thinking about the question raised.
"Well, Viggo thinks everyone is expendable. With that kind of mindset, you can't have a very good relationship with your men. Maybe he just forgot we weren't like that," Snotlout pointed out, though it seemed unlikely to Astrid. Viggo always thinks of everything, he can't have forgotten this.
"Or maybe he didn't need us to not notice. What if his plan is going perfectly? He did manage to get almost a day lead on us!" Ruffnut piped in, being surprisingly logical. Astrid paused in thought.
"We shall see what Viggo is up to when we get there," She patted Toothless, who by now knew this was a signal they needed new directions and flew over to the imposter in Stormfly's claws.
"Now, shall we do this the easy way or the hard way?" The young maiden asked, wearing a hard scowl. The imposter glared back.
"Vikings always do it the hard way, I'm telling ya anything!" He shouted, voice laden with a thick Scottish accent. Astrid rolled her eyes at his ignorance and stupidity.
"Alright." She sighed. "Where is Viggo headed?" But he shook his head defiantly. Astrid narrowed her eyes, fed up with the repetition, but nodded to Stormfly to drop him. The Deadly Nadder squawked cheerfully in reply, releasing her grip on the boy.
"Wait, I'll tell you where he's going!" The imposter shouted before he had dropped even a meter. Astrid smiled, anticipating a direct answer at last. At least logic is finally getting through to him.
"Go get him, girl!" She said quietly to her dragon, who squawked in joy again before diving down. "Oh? What do you want to tell us?" Astrid asked him when her dragon brought him back up.
"Viggo wants to-" He started.
"Astrid! Ships up ahead!" Fishlegs' voice came loud and clear from behind his maps. Astrid looked up, and immediately her anger from the interruption turned to happiness and excitement. Judging by the information we've got so far… Hiccup should be on that ship! Hold on, babe!"
"Ok, gang, let's go up to the clouds out of sight. We'll come up with a plan, then get Hiccup back," She smirked down at the ship. Who's the fool now, Viggo?
He was going crazy again, he had to be. His brain was an absolute mess of horrible situations, all starting with Viggo's slave taking his place and ending in all of his friends and family dead or captured… He had screamed in frustration at one point, screamed until he remembered that Viggo or Ryker or any of the other Hunters guarding him could be listening and thoroughly enjoying it. He couldn't let that happen…
Another question had been raised in his mind too: where was Viggo taking him? Away from the Edge, that much he knew. But were they on the way to his base? Somewhere else? Was he simply going to be locked up until the other Riders realised that he had been replaced? How long was that going to take? Was every minute he sat on this ship one minute closer to a death in his enemy's hands? Every second they let that imposter linger on the Edge, the further he was away from them, and the more Viggo could do what he liked with him…
He screamed again, overwhelmed by the thoughts. I must be going crazy… He thought again, when suddenly another voice in his mind spoke up.
Do something then. Hiccup widened his eyes in realisation. How come he hadn't thought of that? All of the silence and not knowing meant he hadn't even tried to escape yet. Normally by now, he would have worn the guards into the ground with all his attempts to get out.
But it's not like you can do much in your situation. The negative side of his brain started again.
You can at least try. Argued the other side. The worst thing that could happen is-
"Shut up," He muttered to his own brain, wanting as much mental capacity as he possible reserved for trying to escape. He looked around him, at the all-too-familiar wooden walls and metal chains. The chains. That's the first step. He shuffled towards the bolt in the middle of the room, bending over to see it from new angles, hoping that would help him figure out the mechanism. The two chains from each of his wrists had been welded to the metal block that was attached to the floor with two massive bolts. If I could loosen the bolt then maybe…
But how? He inspected it again, noticing the slight gap between the metal block and the bolts. Ignoring the rattling of the chains as he moved, he untied the ropes that kept his prosthetic leg on, then lodged the metal that normally acted as his foot into the gap and pulled on the other end of his make-shift lever. And fifty pained grunts, ten growls of frustration and five minutes later, the piece of metal slowly emerged from the metal hunk before it shot out, the momentum forcing Hiccup onto his back. He winced as his head hit the floorboards and pain shot through his nerves, then flinched again when the bolt hit the wall with a loud clang. He froze, praying to Odin that the Hunters happened to be out of earshot. Five… ten… twenty seconds passed before he dared to move again. One down… one to go…
He followed the same procedure again with the other bolt, though luckily it didn't take as much time and effort... thank Thor! He then gently pulled the contraption out of the floor, freezing every time it came in contact with the floorboards. I've come this far... can't get caught now. The whole thing was finally out of the wood. It was heavier than he had anticipated, it would be harder to get out carrying this block around with him, but Hiccup was not one to give up easily. He examined the thing, noticing how a thin wire was attached at the bottom end. I wonder what purpose that served... I could use it to pick the lock of my cell though... A smile crept onto his face as his next step to escaping became clear. His fingers tingled with determination and excitement as he reattached his prosthetic. Picking the metal block up in his shackled hands and walking slowly towards the dragon-proof gate to minimalize the noise of his chains, he got to the gate, broke off the wire and started poking around in the big green-tinted lock. He whispered prayers to the gods as he worked, begging them to show him favour and not let any Hunters spot him. He continued to fiddle with the mechanism, which proved quite difficult at the angle he was standing at, but he let out a gasp of excitement and thanked the gods when he heard a clear click and the gate started moving.
Bang! Something crashed up on deck, causing him to jump and the chains to rattle uncontrollably.
"Dragon Riders!" Came a harsh shout from above him, one that caused a happy smile to creep onto Hiccup's face. Great timing guys! He shouted in his mind, recklessly flinging the door to his cell open, holding the metal block under his right arm as he sprinted towards the ladder that led to the open. Ignoring the constant rattling of metal and shouts of protest from Hunters all around him, he used his left arm to pull himself up onto the deck.
Chaos was everywhere. The dragons set fire to the deck, arrows and boulders flew in every direction, the twins and Snotlout were causing mayhem as per usual… and Hunters were running towards him. He panicked, he hadn't thought this bit through. How was he going to get into the air and not get caught again?
"Hiccup!" Astrid shouted from above him, causing him to turn around just in time to dodge an axe had would have chopped off half his shoulder. He suddenly remembered the metal block in his hand and an idea popped into his head. That's too risky… You have no choice… You're not strong enough for that… Hurry up before you lose another limb! He dropped the hunk of metal onto the deck, backing into the Hunters who were ready to recapture him as he grabbed the chains attached to his wrists and spun. Soldiers looked at him funny, wondering what in the name of Thor he was doing until he had built up enough momentum to lift the block from the ground. He spun it around with all his might, straining to not drop it as he knocked over every Hunter within a few metres radius. Keep going, keep going, keep going… can't keep going. The metal hit the ground with a loud thump and Hiccup almost followed but was soon sidetracked as he dodged the many weapons being swung his way.
"Use the chains as a shield!" He heard Astrid call again as she and Toothless circled the ship. Explosions were going off all around him but he forced himself not to be distracted as he swung his wrists around as protection from maces and spears. Clank, clank, clank… Wait, what? Hiccup suddenly stumbled backwards as his wrists became light as a feather. He looked down in surprise, and to his delight he found the chains had been cut in two, leaving only metal rings around his wrists and a few remaining links attached to them. Let's get into the air… Where's Astrid?! He shouted in his mind as he evaded arms trying to grab the remainder of his chains.
"Hiccup!" Astrid shouted again from where she and Toothless hovered above the stern of the ship.
"Coming!" He shouted, getting the message and sprinted towards them. He reached the end of the ship within a minute and climbed onto the wooden ledge as ebony black scales came towards him. He raised his arms ready to be rescued, glancing behind him worriedly to see Hunters hurrying towards him. Come on, come on! Hurry up! His brain screamed at his girlfriend, as they neared. A few more seconds! He had had luck on his side up until now, he just hoped it would hold out until he was back safely on the Edge.
But apparently, his luck had run out. An excruciating pain pierced his back, and before he could register what happened or what caused the sudden pain, he lost his balance and toppled forward into the cold ocean, just as Toothless and Astrid swooped over him. The water hit him the face like a rockhard block of ice, but the combination of the pain, the cold and salt water making contact with the wound paralyzed his body as his lungs begged for air. He screamed into the water, his brain screaming at him to swim, but now his chest ached for oxygen. He was blinded by black spots as he sank motionlessly in the water. Find a happy place! No, fight for your life! But his consciousness was slipping out of his grip as he heard muffled shouts of his name through the water. His eyes fought to stay open but he was spiralling out of control as his world turned to black.
A/N: Yup... that happened. Did you like it? Please give me some feedback in the reviews. Positive or constructive critism, I don't mind, I just like knowing your opinions. I will try and get the next chapter up within a few days but until then, enjoy the last few days of 2018!
~httydfangirl123