After endless hours of scanning through books, people soon began to take shifts. Some would look through books while others would rest. Then at a certain time, they'd switch. But no one took Hiccup's place, he didn't want anyone too. He'd search for the marking if it killed him. That would actually be a benefit.

Astrid and the others searched through books that surrounded the history of the mark while Stoick and Gobber looked at any languages that could've used the mark for any occasions.

Astrid walks up on Fishlegs as he's flipping through pages looking for something similar to the mark. "Any luck?" she asks.

"Astrid we've been looking at this all night. I' starting to think there's nothing else there." He says, the fatigue clearly affecting him.

"There has to be. Keep looking." She orders.

Fishlegs sighs in aggravation as he takes another book from a mound at the corner of his desk. "Search for the Symbol, book 304."

Astrid walks up to Gobber as he's writing down notes. "Gobber anything?"

"I've cross-matched that symbol with every language cryptic writing known to Vikings." He tells.

"And?"

"Nothing. Whatever it is, it's definitely foreign to us." He declares.

Meanwhile, Hiccup had secluded himself in one corner of the room, surrounded by towers of books that he mixed of one he did and didn't read. At some point in time, Goathi had ridden back with his father to retrieve her gathering of books and hopefully compare books.

Once Hiccup was certain he looked through every book Grandmamma had, he took it upon himself to look through all of Goathi's books, by himself. But they weren't showing much promise. He had at least four books on podiums surrounding him. He would flip through one, and then move to the next, flipping more pages.

"Come on. It's my body, my decision. There has to be a way to stop him. I know there is." He says as he turns the pages of a royal blue book with silver lining bordering the cover. "I just need a little help finding it."

He shifted to a notebook bounded in black leather. He grabs the pages and flips through them from the back. Then the pages suddenly fall, that they do when on section of the book was visited more often than the others. He leaves it open, but doesn't see anything that could be useful.

Then he cocks his head to the side, squints, and sees a corner of the pages turned up. He grabs it with both hands, and flicks at it until he can grip it with him thumb. He peels back the page and see's a flash of red appear. He forced himself to peel back until Hiccup realizes the pages were stuck together, purposefully. As if no one wanted anyone to see this.

Finally, the page revealed the trinity marking that was on Hiccup's forehead. Hiccup gasps as he grabs the book. "No, no this has to be wrong."

"Hiccup?" a voice called. The sudden sound scared Hiccup into dropping the book to the floor, but it still fell open to the page. The voice had called from behind several shelves, and Hiccup recognized it as Astrid. "Any luck finding it?"

Hiccup glanced down, and flipped the books closed with his toes, then sliding it under a nearby vanity. "Uh, no it's not in any of Goathi's books."

Astrid poked her head out from behind a tower of books leaning against the occupied shelves. "Are you okay Hiccup?" she asks. "You look really, pale." Her face a show of concern.

"It's nothing Astrid, I just haven't had a good night sleep in awhile, that's all."

"Look Hiccup, I know Hadrian scared you, but I promise you, we will find a way to stop him." she promised, placing a comforting hand on Hiccup's shoulder.

Her determination should make him feel better, give him hope, but instead, Hiccup's eyes watered, and he suddenly began to sob. Astrid said nothing as she pulled him into a hug. Hiccup hoped she didn't think she made him upset, he was losing it. And the thought of what Hadrian said, about them fearing for him.

Hiccup wrapped his arms around her neck. He fights to talk through his sobs and sniffles. "I can't do this, Astrid. I can't take it anymore."

"Shh, it's okay Hiccup." She coos to him. "We'll stop him."

"He won't leave me alone. I can't sleep, I can't looks without seeing him. I can't take it." Hiccup cried. He never felt so broken.

Astrid pushes him off and cups his face. "You have to be strong, you can't let him think he's won." She wipes away tears with her thumbs.

Staring into Hiccup's eyes, it almost made her own water. She'd never seen him like this. In fact, she'd rarely seen Hiccup cry, before all this. He always had a fierce determination, and his sarcastic personality made him appear like nothing could scares him, shake him. And now, he's already giving up on trying to stop Hadrian. It wrenches her heart to the point where it hurts.

Not knowing any words of comfort, not that they would bring him any, she simply improvises with a soft kiss on his forehead. Maybe showing him her more soft side will help. It seemed to work, because Hiccup squeezed his eyes shut and he raised his hands and placed them over hers, intertwining their fingers. Hiccup takes a shaky breath and lets out another soft sob.

"You need to rest. Why don't you go join Fishlegs and take a break?" she asks, brushing a few stray hairs out of Hiccup's eyes.

"Okay." Hiccup says without protest. As he lets Astrid lead the way, he glances back over his shoulder to memorize where the book now lies, and hopefully it'll stay like that undisturbed until tomorrow.

As he walks into the main room, he finds Toothless snuggled down by a fireplace he must've ignited himself. His ears perk, then his head follows. He coos and Hiccup walks over and strokes the Night Fury's head.

Hiccup was about to settle down when he hears his father call. "Hiccup, why don't you fly back to Berk? We'll handle this."

Hiccup was more than happy to get away from all these spells and scrolls, and he didn't even mind when Stoick asked the rest of the kids to go home with him. after spending at least four days suffocated in the stuffy room, he was happy to go home, snuggle down in his bed, and just sleep.

After saying goodbye to his father, and after Stoick letting him know they'd be back later tonight, they follow Hiccup up and watch as they take off on their dragons.

Once they landed back home, Hiccup said nothing to no one as he lazily sauntered into his home and up the stairs to bed. He didn't even help himself to any leftovers as he was too tired, and had long lost his appetite.

He settled into bed and watched as Toothless hopped onto his bed, igniting it as he always did, and for a brief moment, he felt a sense of normality. Toothless settled down and laid with his tail just brushing his nose. Hiccup rolled to his side and stared at the candle that he usually blew out before bed, but instead, left it on. He even reached up and retrieved the stuffed Nadder his mother made as comfort.

Unfortunately, his dreams were not as peaceful as he'd hoped. He ended up back into the black forest that he recognized so easily now. And whenever they were around, so was Hadrian. Above him, there was a swirl of a storm-ridden sky. Ash floated through his ankles as the wind draped them to new places, including his eyes. He closed them as best he could but some had already made their mark on his eyes.

Like a mirage, a dark figure emerged in his blurred vision. If surfaced through the clouds of fog and ash and moved toward him like death itself, face blurred and half hidden from view. He shuddered. He had no time to pull away or even move before the figure seized him. A rough hand clamped over his mouth, stopping a shout before it could emerge.

Hadrian dragged him to one side of the forest despite his struggling, and reaching a cave, he pulled back one corner of a heavy worn tapestry, one that depicted a dragon trampling its rider. He thrust him inside. Hiccup rolled across the cold and damp stone floor. He looked up to find himself inside a hidden passageway. And inside this passageway, a tripod torch burned yellow-orange.

Its flame threw jagged shapes across the masonry. He soon watched Hadrian duck inside and emerge above him, all towering height and grimness. Hiccup scampered backward until he met with the damp wall.

"You have no idea how much trouble you're in." a muffled voice spoke.

Smooth and yet ever sharp with admonishments, it was a voice he recognized immediately. Bile rose at the back of Hiccup's throat, along with a scream. Hiccup scrambled up and bolted down the passageway. He didn't know where it would take him, but anywhere to get away from Hadrian. The passageway grew colder, narrower, and more mazelike. His breath clouded in front of him, visible even in the fading light.

"Run all you like." He said. Hiccup looked back and saw him walking, but his voice sounded like he was right next to him. "It won't make a difference. Every step just brings you closer to me."

Hiccup remembered him saying that at the cabin. And suddenly, out of nowhere, he crashes into Hadrian, and while he didn't throw Hiccup off, he held him there.

"You can't run from me Hiccup." He said.

He broke away from him, laughing, and released Hiccup with a shove before dispersing, unraveling into coils of smoke. Hiccup fell, tumbling in a sprawl. Suddenly insubstantial, the ground shattered beneath him. He fell through, and the scream within him broke loose at last. He watched as the cave-like setting faded into the familiar gray sky, bits of the brown cave morphing into icy-glass blue.

Hiccup crossed his arms over his face, shielding his eyes from the jagged shards of icy glass that winked around him in the blackness, threatening to shred him. He toppled until he jarred to a halt, caught by several sets of arms that dipped him into a low cradle. Glass rained like lethal confetti, a shard embedding itself in his shoulder, another slicing his ankle. He felt another toss, and felt his back slam into hard ground with a bone-jarring slam.

He opened his eyes to find high above him, a shattered black skylight opened to reveal the cave. Hiccup propped himself on his elbows, and felt his body shiver when he realized he was at the very bottom of a cold grave. His heart jarred at the sight of it, fear tightening his chest.

Nearby a mound of dirt awaited, pricked by the spade ends of several shovels. Their handles, like needles in a pin cushion, stood erect from the pile, ready to be put to task. In front of the mound, as a marker, loomed a tall, shrouded statue. A long hooded robe concealed the form's entire head and swathed its arms, which were held open over the gaping maw of the black grave.

Hiccup squeezed his eyes shut and opened them again. But he didn't wake up. The scene remained. The grave remained around him. It was all the same, only now Hadrian walked up and stared down at him. The lower half of his body obscured from view. Hiccup pushed himself to stand, spitting ash from his mouth. He wiped sweat and grit from his eyes and leveled a defiant glare up at him.

"Let me out!" Hiccup shouted.

Hadrian only laughed and heaved dirt into the hole. A rush of ash burst forth from the grave. Hiccup drew a sharp breath, his heart pounding so hard that it started a ringing in his ears. This was insane. They were going to bury him alive, and he couldn't do anything about it.

"Please! Let me out!" Hiccup screeched. "Please!" he shrieked, banging and scratching at the dirt of the open grave.

Hadrian looked down, his glistening fiendish gaze fell on him. He raised his hand over the open grave, over Hiccup. His fingers curled one at a time into a slow fist. Beneath him, Hiccup felt the ground tremble, the shudder. Above him, the edges of his enclosure quivered.

Dirt and rock loosening until, at last, they broke forth in a tidal surge. Earth poured over him in rushing waves from all sides. It fell against his body in heavy clods, a suffocating weight that fast became crushing.

"No!" Hiccup screamed, flailing.

He thrashed, battling to loosen himself from the raining soil and ash that threatened to consume him. He fought to stand once again, causing the dirt to press more tightly around him. It claimed his legs, trapping him. Hiccup reached with both arms toward the edge of the grave, toward the open sky, but the earth gushed, building to his waist, to his chest. It piled past his shoulders, his head, and now raced to consume his arms, swallowing the light one fragment at a time.

With it went the vision of trees, the gravestones, the ashen sky, and the stone-cold glare, and evil smile of Hadrian.

The growing silence seared his mind. Hiccup arched against the constricting earth, the enclosing darkness. His dirt prison shifted in answer to his movements, compressing.

Out! He needed to get out!

With his mouth clamped shut, he unleashed a scream from the back of his throat. But who would hear? He couldn't move his arms. His legs. Anything. Panicked, he realized he'd been holding his breath. The packed dirt squeezed his chest, crushed his lungs. He couldn't breathe!

He gasped involuntarily and was rewarded with a mouthful of coarse grime. He swallowed and his body convulsed at the acrid taste. His lungs burned for air. His heat knocked hard against his rib cage, begging for release.

If he didn't get out, he was going to die. He knew it. He was going to die.

Mom. He thought her name over and over in his head. Mom, where are you?!

No answer came to him, and gradually he grew still again. Locked in the earth's suffocating embrace, he listened to the flutter of his heart, the only sound in his ears as, beat by beat, its rhythm began to slow. Its thump reminded him of the sound of a drum, the drums that played happy rhythmic beats during Snoggletog songs.

Tears priced at his eyes. How could he die when he promised he'd rid himself of the vermin that invaded his mind? When everyone was waiting for him? His father coming upstairs and finding his son not breathing. Died in his sleep. He squeezed his eyes and felt the tears leave him, stolen by the absorbing dirt that had taken his breath, and with it his final hope.

Something cool grazed the very tips of his fingers. That was when he realized that they must be the only bit of him still above ground. His waning consciousness told him it was the wind. The sensation same again, and Hiccup flexed his fingers – and felt the soft brush of . . . skin?

All at once, the crushing pressure pushing down on him lightened. Something drove into the dirt, and Hiccup latched at once to the arm that plunged to grasp his. It pulled, and he felt himself being dragged up one inch at a time. The dirt fell away, releasing him from its death grip. His head broke the surface.

He gasped.

Coughing, Hiccup lurched forward, sucking in cool gulps of air, his lungs battling to expel hunks of dark gray soot. But nothing came. There wasn't even any dirt anymore. He was back in his bed, coughing, the quilt entangled in his legs, his heart beating rapid.

Hiccup took a look at his hands and saw they were an unusual shade of white. He went rigid, going completely numb. His heart was beating as if it just restarted. No, it couldn't be true.

Did he really just die?

Hiccup licked his lips, and they were very dry. Hiccup rushes downstairs, ignoring the soon to come headache and dizziness that was bound to come. He burst into the bathroom and looked into the reflective surface of the metal shield.

He practically was a ghost. His lips were just fading out of that shade of purple that the dead had. His skin was porcelain white, slowly switching to that yam pale brownish color. His eyes were icy green, and slowly, he watched as the pupil torturously dilated in and out, and the green's usual color bleeding back to a warm glow.

Hiccup dropped to his knees. He didn't stop the tears that poured down his cheek. He sobbed and sobbed until he was sure there was nothing left. He clutched hi middle to dull the pain that pinched his left side. He began to rock back and forth, and while every breathe was like a blessing, he knew he couldn't deny it any longer.

He couldn't face him.

If Hadrian had the power the nearly kill him while dreaming, he was too dangerous to keep inside. Hiccup felt immensely pathetic he practically watched his ego and remarks crumble before his eyes.

He'd lost.

He felt so humiliated.

A strange sound came from his lips. A combination of dread and sorrow, giving voice to his despair.

"You win." He whispered.

"You win!"