Hiccup draped his fur vest over the back of his desk chair as he readied himself for bed. He unwraps his sleeves from his hands and strips off the tunic before walking back downstairs and feeding it to the fire. Back upstairs, he manages to find another similar tunic and lays it out at the foot of his bed.
Toothless hops up on his stone bed and blasts the rock with his fire before circling and settling down. He purrs as Hiccup scratches behind his ears. Hiccup laughed as Toothless nearly flopped off the bed as Hiccup made his way back to his bed.
"Goodnight bud." Hiccup says, and he hears Toothless coo in reply. "Today was a pretty good day. And you know, I'm starting to feel good about this whole, Hadrian thing. Maybe I can take him down." Toothless coos again and Hiccup blows out the candle on his nightstand and snuggles beneath the covers.
Out in the woods, the soft patter of footsteps quietly echoes through the trees. Hadrian runs through the forest in a direct beeline for the village. He'd forgotten what real trees look like. With the pathetic skeletal remains of his old "home", he had forgotten that trees are really brown, and that they're usually covered with green leaves. The ground is a mixture of brown and green, and it feels rejuvenating to feel rocks and leaves instead of ash.
He leaps up and lands on the branch of an oak and squinting his eyes, can see the lights of the village and a few mobile ones. No doubt guards scouting the village. Hadrian leaps off and sneaks off around to the next house as a nearby guard was walking near it. He ducks into the nearest alley and flattens himself against the slick brick wall.
He sees the faint outline of the guards shadow come closer. Hadrian stalks his way closer to the front, but just out of sight of the light. Hadrian flattens against the wall, then just as the guard passes him, Hadrian whips off his bow and springs from the alley.
He slips the bow around the Viking's neck and already the ma's struggling. Hadrian lines up the handle of the bow at the center of the Viking's neck. The Viking makes a few gasping ad choking sounds, then Hadrian forces him down to his knees. He then places his knee at the center of the back, and with a hard yank up and to the right, Hadrian heard the sharp, merciless and rewarding snap.
The Viking goes limp in his arms and Hadrian drags him into the alley. Then after looting his body, peaks his head out from the alley. No one had seen him, and there were still a couple left. Probably thought the man went in for the night. Hadrian smiled as he traveled through the village in the shadows.
As he approaches Hiccup's house, he can see the lights are out. They all must be asleep. Hadrian sees another alley and ducks in again. He slightly steps out and peeks through the shadows, half his face concealed. Another guard is walking on the opposite side of the road. Hadrian smiles as he loads an arrow into his bow, he pulls and aims, but pauses when the guard stops to talk to another.
He can hear how the guards are talking about the missing one he took down. He debates on what to do. He can shoot both down, or he can go while they're distracted. Keep moving it is. He slips from the alley and rushes for the house next to the Great Hall. He leaps and rolls to the side of the house and flattening his back against the wall. Peeking around the corner, he can see Hiccup's house in sight.
Looking up to the roof of the house, he wall scrambles up and stands on the banister slicing across the roof. He walks to the edge and can see a good jumping distance from Hiccup's house.
"Time for a visit." He whispers.
Hadrian steps back and then runs across, powerfully leaping, flipping forward, and landing on Hiccup's roof with no sound louder than a tip.
He crawls and grips the banister and walks his way across the roof until he reaches the skylight directly over Hiccup's room. Hadrian walks around it until he settles in a corner lining parallel to Hiccup's bed. He leans his head in, and peeks over to Toothless. The dragon's head in resting on his paws and eyes closed.
Hadrian smiles. He looks over to Hiccup and the boy's resting on his arm as he lays on his side. Even with the shadow of the skylight obscuring his face, Hadrian can see the outline and that's all he needed to find his target. Hadrian reaches back and pulls an arrow from his sheath and loads it into the bow.
Pulling the string back, he smiles and whispers. "So long, Dragon Conqueror."
Suddenly, Toothless body began to shiver. His ears perk and twitch back and forth. Something wasn't right. He snaps his head up and looks around the room, then his eyes look to see Hadrian with his loaded arrow
Toothless' eyes shrink to slits and he springs up and releases a blood-curdling scream that ultimately startles Hiccup awake. Hiccup jerks in his bed and first looks to Toothless then up where he's screaming. Hiccup jumps as an arrow embedded itself in his pillow. Barely missing his head.
Hiccup springs up from his bed as Hadrian leaps down in through the skylight and crashing into his bed; smashing it to pieces. Hadrian rises and dusts off his shoulders. "Hey Hiccup. Miss me?"
In an instant he flicks his wrist and sends five daggers flying at Hiccup. "Look out!" Hiccup screams as he and Toothless dodge in opposite directions.
Hiccup ended up rolling near the edge of his room, and as he turns to roll over, Hadrian suddenly lands on him, straddling his hips. Hadrian immediately whips out a dagger and flips the blade. He tries to stab at Hiccup's face, but Hiccup was still able to move his head and as Hadrian aims for the heart, Hiccup manages to stop him, but his hand was still slowly coming down. He was stronger than Hiccup remembered, but so was he. By now, he'd be dead.
Toothless suddenly, crashes into Hadrian, knocking him off and pinning him to the ground. Toothless roars and the two wrestle rolling and Toothless frantically flapping his wings. Hiccup pushes to his feet.
"Toothless be careful!" Hiccup cries as he inches closer. "Toothle-"
Hiccup was cut short as Toothless' wing smacks him in the face and sending his sprawling at the edge of Toothless' bed. Toothless is momentarily distracted and Hadrian takes advantage. He stabs the blade of his knife into Toothless' side, just behind his front right leg.
"Toothless!" Hiccup screams.
Hadrian kicks Toothless off after removing his knife, and scrambles for Hiccup. Hiccup manages to snatch his belt weapon before Hadrian tackles him and the two toppled over the edge of the room and crashing into the table on the floor level. Hiccup grips Hadrian's wrists to prevent his hands from reaching his throat.
Hiccup then head-buts Hadrian and kicks him off and Hadrian rolls and comes up on one knee. Hiccup pushes himself up and straps the belt to his waist. Hiccup draws his knife and flips the blade.
Hadrian raises an eyebrow. "Well, you're full of surprises. New toy?"
"Something special from my friends." Hiccup snaps.
Hadrian runs forward, but suddenly is slammed in the side, and sent skipping across the floor and into the front wall. Momentarily unconscious. Hiccup looks and finds his Dad standing, breathing smoke he was so furious. Toothless leaps down and rushes to Hiccup's aid. He snuggles and purrs and Hiccup grants him with pets.
"Hiccup what happened?!" His father asks.
"Hadrian! He, he came out of nowhere and nearly shot me in the head. I woke up to Toothless screaming and the next thing I know, I nearly got shot in the head with an arrow."
"Well, Toothless has good instincts." Stoick says.
Suddenly a dagger whizzes by Hiccup's head and slits off the ends of his bangs. Hiccup looks to see Hadrian block a punch from his Dad and knee him in the stomach before grabbing and twisting his wrist and hurling him over, crashing into the corner of the house.
"Dad!" Hiccup cried.
Suddenly Hiccup was tackled again and this time they burst through the front door and bounce and roll back and Hadrian kicks Hiccup off and he crashes into a wooden wheelbarrow, shattering it and sending barrel's rolling. Hiccup stops one and kicks it toward Hadrian. Hadrian leaps over it and shoots an arrow at Hiccup.
Hiccup swerves out of the way and runs toward him, but Hadrian snatches his wrist and twists it behind Hiccup's back. Hiccup hisses in pain. "Bet you think you're pretty slick."
Then Hiccup snarls, unbends his wrist and spins and twirls Hadrian, slamming his foot in Hadrian's chest. "I have my moments."
Hadrian windmills under Hiccup, and Hiccup simultaneously back handsprings a foot away. Hadrian whips out two knives and runs toward Hiccup. Hiccup reaches back for his own, but had to dodge the oncoming stabs. After Hiccup had scrambled away, he reaches back and pulls out his knife. He aims for Hadrian's head, and when he misses, Hiccup whirls in a circle, and kicks Hadrian back by aiming at the stomach.
Hadrian bounces back and he pushes off his toes as he slides, and rushes Hiccup. They par and their weapons heavily clang together. Hiccup goes for a slice on the face, but Hadrian blocks by making an X with his daggers. Hiccup pushes first, then Hadrian pushes back. Evenly matched.
"You've gotten stronger since I last saw you." Hadrian comments.
"Lean in a little closer and I'll show you how strong I've really gotten." Hiccup retorts. Then he pushes down the weapons and head-buts Hadrian again, sending him somersaulting back.
Hadrian comes up on one knee and readies a dagger. But before he could fling them, a spine shoots from behind knocking the weapon out of his hand. Hadrian snarls and grips his wrist. Both boys look up and see Stormfly.
"Astrid!" Hiccup realizes.
"Hiccup! Are you okay?!" She calls.
"Be careful!" Hiccup warns.
Hadrian looks back and sends three dagger flying and as Astrid flies out of the way, he runs for Hiccup, but suddenly, Meatlug lands in front of him and Hadrian slides to a stop. She roars and barfs up a lava rock sending Hadrian scrambling. He skips backwards and lands on his stomach. Hiccup pushes past Fishlegs without even a thank you and goes after Hadrian. But Hadrian pushes himself up and sees Hiccup. Hiccup pauses, and waits for him to rise. Hadrian does, but he sonly smirks and walks backwards, and disappears into the shadows.
"Hey get back here!" Hiccup shouts. He runs for the dark, but only comes to find foliage and bushes. Hiccup swipes at the greens and angrily grunts.
From inside the woods, Hiccup could hear Hadrian's maniacal laughter. "You want me boy? Come and get me." he mocks.
"Uh, am I the only one who smells a trap?" Fishlegs comments.
Hiccup turns back around and walks toward the teens. "We'll need to take him from above. The boy's no match for a Night Fury." Hiccup commands. He then turns to Fishlegs. "Thanks."
He mounts Toothless, and sees that his leg is clean. He looks to his father. "I've managed to stop the bleeding. I told him to stay, but he's pushing through." Stoick explains. His father mounts Thornado alongside his left. Astrid backs up Stormfly on Hiccup's right. Then with one flap of Toothless' wings, the group was off in the air. Hiccup uses his spyglass to look through the trees and bushes. The moonlight casted its iris curtain along the woods. The shadows obscured the look of the forest, giving it more detail look. Perfect. No wonder Hadrian always adored the night.
Looking left and right, Hiccup began to think they'd lost him. He was about to call everyone back, when suddenly, he saw a figure move. "Down there!"
Hiccup and Toothless swoop down and hover over Hadrian. Hadrian pretends to not notice them and at the last minute, he swipes his wrist through the air and sends four daggers zipping. Hiccup weaves out of the way and dives Toothless down. Hiccup had grabbed a bow from his father before they departed the house.
With the sheath on his waist, Hiccup pulls an arrow and aims at Hadrian's shoulder blade. "You're not the only one who can shoot an arrow." Hiccup snarls.
He releases the string, and Hadrian had rolled out of the way. In turn, he shot his own arrow and Toothless spun out of the way.
"Where's he going?"Astrid calls.
"I don't know, but we need to be ready." Hiccup informs and as he says this, the blanket of trees comes to a halt and they're now overlooking the Cliffside where the Typhoomerang's flower bed grows.
And right at the center of the burn is Hadrian. Arms folded, smirk on his face. Hiccup knew something was about to happen, but he had backup and dragons. Hiccup swoops down and leaps off of Toothless before landing in the flowerbed. Hiccup rises and grip his bow.
"You know, for a little runt, you sure can cause an awful lot of trouble." Hadrian says.
"You're really not the first person to say that." Hiccup says, gritting his teeth at being called a runt.
Hadrian snickers while he slowly walks around Hiccup; Hiccup turning to keep his eyes on him. Meanwhile over in the bushes, Stoick and the others landed just in sight for Hadrian to see. In a way, they do have the upper advantage. If Hadrian did go with the Outcasts, as far as everyone knows, they still haven't been able to control their dragons. And since Hadrian's not the nicest kind of guy, their chances were pretty good.
"But, no matter what you do, Dragon Conqueror or not, you're still as naive and predictable." Hadrian suddenly comments. "Now!"
Suddenly, a wave of arrows erupts from the tree line. "Take cover!" Stoick shouts.
But Toothless comes up behind Hiccup and with a plasma blast, eliminates most of the arrows. Then Stormfly's fire exterminates the rest. Hiccup draws an arrow and readies his bow.
"You're going to have to do better than that!" Hiccup mocks.
"I did"
Then slowly, Outcast soldiers materialize from the trees and shadows, all armed to the teeth. Wielding axes, swords, spears, horned shields.
Hiccup pulls out an arrow and shouts. "Ambush!"
Hiccup immediately shoots an arrow at Hadrian, knowing Hadrian would dodge, it then ricochets off the Outcast's helmet, rendering him unconscious. The Outcasts charged, but Stoick and the others barged in and started paring with them. Hiccup goes for Hadrian, and Hiccup prepares as he draws a sword. Hiccup slings his bow over his shoulder and grabs his sword. The two slam with a heavy metallic clang and the sharp scraping of the swords and Hiccup and Hadrian struggle against one another. They thrust apart and Hadrian skillfully exchanges between hands, spinning for effect, before running and slicing for Hiccup's head. Hiccup weaves low and slices his Achilles tendon before rolling out of the way.
Hadrian's leg weakens, but he doesn't fall to his knees. Instead, he pushes up and bends his knee to get used to the pain. He smirks and runs as if it's not injured at all. Hiccup dodges his first swing at the head, and blocks one aiming for his stomach. He swings the sword behind his head and hears another clang before pushing off, spinning and kicking Hadrian's feet out from under him. Hadrian flips in mid air and spins low and slices at Hiccup prostatic foot. The sword gets jammed in the wood and Hiccup uses his muscle to lift his other leg and slam it into Hadrian's face.
He falls back, losing his grip on the sword and rolling until he's flat on his stomach. Hiccup grips the sword and pulls. It takes a good couple yanks until the words free. Hiccup pats his foot on the ground, testing if it can hold his weight, and it seems fine. Hiccup looks up and in an instant, Hadrian flies at him, snatching back his sword. Hiccup grunts in pain as Hadrian had twisted his arm back to loosen his grip. Hadrian rolls forward and smiles.
Making a beeline for Hiccup, he leaps at the last minute slashes above head, and Hiccup blocks, and Hadrian lands behind him. Hiccup turns to see him smiling. "Come along little man." Hadrian says.
Then once again, steps back into the foliage. Hiccup was about to follow before a battle cry caught his attention. He turns to see Stoick and the others fighting off Outcasts. Hiccup looks back at the foliage and shakes his head. He loads an arrow and nails an oncoming Outcast heading straight for Astrid. She looks at him then Hiccup just as he was running, leapt and slamming his bow onto the Outcast's head. He falls to the ground and Astrid looks to the Outcast, then Hiccup before giving him a thumbs up.
"Hiccup!" his father calls after punching an Outcast. "Where's Hadrian?"
"He vanished further into the woods." Hiccup tells as he swipes at an Outcast coming from behind, slashing across his face.
"Go!" His father says. Hiccup looks to him in confusion. "We'll hold them off. Go get Hadrian!" Stoick tells him as he blocks an oncoming axe.
Hiccup nods and shields his sword. He hops aboard Toothless and the two fly off into the next section of woods. They fly low and scan the land. They can't see much, when out of nowhere, an arrow flies and grazes against Toothless' saddle.
"Whoa! Down there bud." Hiccup points and the two dive down and land in a clearing.
Hiccup hops off and looks around. Nothing. Hiccup takes a few steps forward and listens. The woods were silent. Even the birds and crickets had ended their nightly song. A flash of lightning startles them both, and then rain drop tickle Hiccup's skin and wets his hair as he looks around.
"Something's not right." Hiccup says. "Where are you Hadrian?! What's a matter?! Afraid of a dragon and a ninety pound runt?!"
Dry lightning cracks across the skies, and crash of thunder emphasizes Hiccup's blooming rage. The storm clouds gathering in his eyes.
Suddenly Hadrian's laughter echoed through the trees. "Patience Hiccup. I'll deal with you soon, but right now, you have other things to worry about."
As if on cue, a wolf's howl radiated through the trees. Hiccup's skin started crawling with goose skin, sending a shiver through his shoulder and down his spine. Hiccup listens closely, past the sound of the downpour, through the wind kicking up moisture. Hiccup looks around and takes a step forward.
Suddenly, a bear trap encloses around his prostatic leg. Hiccup loses his balance and falls to the ground on his back. He pushes himself to a sitting position and looks at the trap. He kept thanking the gods that it was just his fake leg.
"Aw man." He says as he tries to pry the trap loose. Toothless circles around him and cries in worry. "I'm fine, bud. I'm fine. Thank Thor it was just the fake one."
Hiccup continues to pry the trap loose, but the thing had snapped tight. And as Hiccup was about to call Toothless to blast it, the wolves' howls echo again in the distance. Hiccup goes rigid. He slowly peers up ahead into the trees and bushes. Toothless suddenly shifts into defensive mode and walks to stand over Hiccup. Through the shower of rain, Hiccup could see paws run through the bushes. Hiccup's breathing quickens as a wolf snarls nearby. Hiccup pulls his bow forward and readies an arrow; his gaze shifting back and forth.
Suddenly a wolf springs from the bushes on Hiccup's left, teeth bared in hatred as it aims for him. Hiccup shoots it in the skull and it topples past him and Toothless. More howls emanate and Hiccup's breathing quickens. His heartbeat threatening to break his rib cage. Fissure-like lightning travel's through the sky and briefly illuminates the clearing. A second wolf bolts out of the middle of the bushes, its mouth already open and ready to attack Hiccup. He shoots his arrow and it embeds itself in the wolf's throat and it too topples and crashes to Hiccup's side.
Snarls and growls were head behind them now, and Toothless turns and grimaces. Toothless roars through the woods, and three wolves emerged from their hiding places, licking their lips and snarling in anger. Toothless snarls back.
A wolf from before, suddenly filled with courage, dived for Toothless and stated to maul his tail. "Toothless!" Hiccup cries, and as another wolf aims for Hiccup, he shoots it the mouth and Toothless simultaneously blasts the trio of wolves and they fly back and scatter once they hit ground. Once Toothless had reached back, he grabbed the wolf by the scruff on his back and shook it back and forth before chucking it into a tree. With a final snarl, the wolf darted back into the woods.
Slowly as Hiccup awaited another wolf, Toothless growls and inches away from Hiccup to scout for more in the foliage. Hiccup looks and hears the bushes fall silent. He then takes his chance and tries once again to pry the trap loose. He puts down his bow and tries to pry the rustic metal apart. Suddenly, Hiccup hears a growl and the minute his eyes drift up, a wolf tackles him.
"Agh! Get . . . the hell . . . off me!" Hiccup cries as the wolf bites at his trapped foot.
Hiccup flips to his side and kicks the wolf in the snout, knocking it off his foot, but it snarls and instantly leaps on top of Hiccup; snarling and growling as it tries to bite down on his face and neck. Hiccup blocks with one arm while he reaches behind and grabs his knife. He then stabs the wolf in its shoulder, just at his front right leg. It backs off, whines for a brief moment before leaping again. Hiccup continually stabs it anywhere he can land the blade. Its blood splatters and sprinkles itself all over Hiccup's leg, arms and partially his face.
Until finally, as the wolf goes in for the final death bite, Hiccup brings the blade in front of him, and the blade embeds itself all the way to the hilt into the wolf's chest. Its body go limp, its head falling on Hiccup's shoulder. Hiccup hysterically breathes as he rolls over and quickly pushes off the wolf. It heavily rolls off, its mouth still open, and eyes still feral. Hiccup tries to calm his breathing as Toothless rushes over, grabbing the wolf by the tail and flinging it into the bushes.
Hiccup starts to frantically rip the trap apart, eager to get away and find Hadrian. "Toothless!" he calls, his voice cracking as he's still trying to get over the initial shock.
Toothless comes over and blasts at the trap and it snaps and loosens. It still needed a little prying, but it was much easier and Hiccup was finally able to pull his foot out. Thankfully it wasn't broken, but there were holes in the wood. Hiccup gets help from Toothless to stand and tries to see if it can still hold. A little wobbly, but it can still do the job.
Hiccup continues on through the woods, "Figures Hadrian would lead us right to a wolf hunting ground." Hiccup snarls as they travel further. He looks to Toothless tail. "Sorry about your tail bud."
Toothless coos in reply and nuzzles Hiccup's hand.
They wander out of the clearing and into the woods, looking in all directions, more alert. Meanwhile, Stoick and the others had just finished defeating the rest of the Outcast soldiers, and ready to meet up with Hiccup.
"Alright, that should do it." Gobber says. "Now, let's meet up with Hiccup and see if he's had any luck."
Stoick mounts Thornado while the other kids hop on their dragons. "I'm hoping he didn't have any." Stoick admits as the dragons ascended.
Hiccup had stopped at a small outcropping near the riverside to check his foot. It still seemed in pretty good shape, and the storm lightened up; now it was all just a simply drizzle, soon to be clear. Hiccup took the chance to ring out his clothes and Toothless took a drink from the river.
He looks to Toothless' tail and sees it ripped and chewed and filled with so many holes it mimics Swiss cheese. As Toothless was drinking, his ear began to twitch. His head suddenly rises and Hiccup looks to see that familiar look in his eyes. The look he had when they found the dragon's nest a couple years before.
Toothless starts looking around. "Toothless?"
Toothless crouches down and snarls across the river. Hiccup takes his bow and readies it. Hadrian's laughter radiates from the trees. Hiccup turns in a circle, desperate to find the origin. A muted lightning bolt flashes in the sky. Hiccup turns and spots Hadrian bolting from the trees.
"Hey!" Hiccup calls and he chases after him. Not even bothering to mount Toothless.
Hiccup had to put his coordination to the test as he was divided between chasing Hadrian while avoiding any sudden trees, branches and twigs that come out of nowhere, whipping him in the face and cutting his cheeks. Hiccup locked on the back of Hadrian's head as he was close on his tail. He could feel Toothless not far behind him. He follows Hadrian and the two come to a sudden drop, and Hiccup jumps, a little shaky on the landing, but pushes forward to keep up with Hadrian. He watches Hadrian break through some bushes and Hiccup rushes and pushes through and comes skidding to a stop.
There he and Hadrian both stood. Out of breath, and gazing at each other. Drenched in rain, bruised, and splattered with blood. A smile still stretched across Hadrian's face.
They're both silent. The rain had stopped, and it seems the world has as well. They now stand on a ridge in the cliffside, overlooking the sea of Berk. Fog from the rain and humidity now clods and blankets the bottom below. Hiccup shudders at the memory it brings back.
"You're not bad." Hadrian says, breaking the silence. "For a kid."
"If I can kill wolves, I can kill you too." Hiccup snaps.
"I'm not done with you yet, Hiccup. Or any of your friends."
"You're not going to lay a finger on them." Hiccup says. "Over my dead body."
"That, can be arranged." Hadrian says as he draws his sword.
Outcast men emerged from the overhead cliffs and laughed and mocked Hiccup. Toothless snarls and inches forward, Hiccup stops him by extending his arm out to his side. Toothless still snarls, but steps back.
A dragon knows when it isn't his fight.
Hiccup draws his own sword, and he keeps a steady grip. Hadrian smiles and is the first to run and leap for Hiccup.
"One on one?" Hiccup challenges.
"If you think you can handle it." Hadrian retorts.
Thornado and the other dragons fly overhead, scanning the forest left and right. "Any sign?!" Astrid calls.
"Nothing yet!" Stoick replies.
"Wait, Stoick! Down there!" Gobber points to the clearing littered with the dead bodies of the wolves.
"What happened?" Astrid whispers as they land.
Gobber traces his fingers along the wound of the wolf next to the bear trap. "They came across here. Hiccup must've gotten stuck. That's when the wolves attacked. But it looks like they won."
"We need to find Hiccup!" Astrid pleas.
"Dragons everyone!" Stoick commands, and they mount and take off in an instant.
Hiccup had just swiped and crescent kicks Hadrian in the temple. Hadrian spins and launches his fist into Hiccup's stomach. Hiccup drops to his knees and tries to inhale, and Hadrian kicks him further down near the wall of the cliff. Hiccup pushes to his hands and knees, and as Hadrian comes charging with his sword, Hiccup springs up and Butterfly spins out of the way. Hadrian's sword stabs into the wall and Hiccup rushes to get his sword.
Hadrian yanks his blade free and chucks it to Hiccup. It sticks into the ground, nearly missing Hiccup as he slides to a stop. Hiccup looks behind and Hadrian punches Hiccup in the stomach again and while Hiccup's doubled over, Hadrian punches him in the back, sending Hiccup tumble rolling forward. As Hiccup's momentum carries him forward, he manages to reach his hands out in front of him and stop himself from hitting wall as his feet found the ground. But Hadrian knees him in the ribs, sending him slamming into a stalagmite in the ground of the ridge.
As Hadrian runs to him, Hiccup Tornado kicks him in the jaw, but Hadrian whirls and goes for another punch. Hiccup jumps on top of the stalagmite and pushes off, slipping back. His feet find the side of the cliff and he pushes off beaming for Hadrian. But as he comes in, Hadrian lifts his foot, and instead of kicking Hiccup in the stomach, he uses Hiccup momentum to catch and swing him down, so his foot slams into Hiccup's chest. Hadrian picks up Hiccup by the collar of his tunic, and forcefully tosses him to the wall of the cliff. Hiccup remains curled up on his side as Hadrian approaches.
Hiccup was breathing fairly heavy, and his body aches all over. His muscles complain and his bones ache. Even mind over matter couldn't help him. While Hadrian received damage, Hiccup was growing weaker. His pain tolerance at its limit.
"You always knew it was going to end this way." Hadrian mocks.
Hiccup coughs. "No." he whispers in a raspy tone.
Hiccup then turns and claws at Hadrian with his nails. Not a very effective weapon, but better than none at all. Then Hiccup takes advantage and punches Hadrian repeatedly left and right until they were near the edge of the ridge. Hadrian blocks the next punch and nails Hiccup in the cheek. Hiccup skips back and quickly pushes to stand. Hadrian's coming for him, sword in hand and Hiccup rushes toward the wall before flipping into a gainer, and Hadrian's sword just missing his foot. Hiccup lands on the blade and sucker punches Hadrian left and right two more times before Hadrian goes for him. Hiccup, already ahead, drops gripping the blade of the sword and swinging out sending Hadrian sliding across the dirt.
Hiccup jumps down and yanks Hadrian's sword free.
"Hiccup!" Someone suddenly called. Both boys turn to see Stoick and the other's land their dragons. "Hiccup!" Stoick calls again.
They were about to run and defend him, but the Outcasts soldiers arm their crossbows, ready to fire.
"Stay back!" Hiccup yells.
"And watch me finished your son, Stoick!" Hadrian adds.
Hiccup readies and blocks his oncoming punches but Hadrian knees him again in the stomach and Hiccup, already out of breath, nearly collapses. He catches himself on his hands and knees and Hadrian kicks him closer to the edge of the ridge.
"Hiccup!" Stoick shouts.
Hadrian turns back and smirks and places his foot on Hiccup's side. Stoick suddenly screams at the top of his lungs and charges forward. Hadrian quickly turns and powerfully pushes off his feet and flipping back, landing on one of the other ridges with an Outcast solider.
Hiccup's body seemed to roll on its own weight and Hiccup drowsily rolls off, barely conscious. His eyes and mind foggy. Stoick runs and jumps off the cliff, nabbing Hiccup's wrist before slamming his hand and digging his into the rock for grip. Hiccup's weak body, weak and feeble, dangles over the fog and mist at the bottom of the Cliffside. Hiccup can just hear the waves of water crashing into the rocks below.
Hiccup shakes his head and finds his Dad gripping the rock, but it already looks weak. A simple stomp of a foot and their done. Stoick turns and looks to Hiccup.
"Hiccup, hang on!" Stoick cries.
"Dad, it won't hold us both." Hiccup says.
Stoick's breathing quickens. "It will. It will Hiccup!" His eyes began to water, and his voice cracked, as if he assumes this is the end.
Stoick looks to his son, so bruised and bleeding. They needed to get to the village. Gobber and the others had already started to fight the Outcast soldier the second Stoick charged. The men fire their arrows and Gobber and the kids use their shields and weapons to fight them off.
"Stoick! Hold on!" Gobber shouts.
Stoick was about to reply, but the crack in the rock increases and Hiccup's heart skips a beat every time he sees the fissures in the rock grow and extend, like veins of an arm, stretching out. The tip of the small rock in the side starts to rigidly tower over more and more. Stoick's eyes fill with tears as he tries to keep his grip strong. Hiccup knew it couldn't hold them, he also knew his Dad was stronger than him. Tears streamed down his father's face.
There was only on way.
Hiccup slowly reaches behind his back and draws his knife. He looks to his father.
"Dad," Stoick looks down, tears flowing down his flushed cheeks, and the plea in his eyes.
"Please." He whispers.
"I'm sorry. For everything." Hiccup says.
With that, Hiccup whips out his blade and slashes his father's wrist. Stoick cries out in pain, and in reflex, releases Hiccup's hand.
"No! No! Hiccup! HICCUP!" Stoick screeches.
A sharp, pain filled scream that echoes down into the fog and mist. Oothless, Astrid, Toothless and Gobber rush to the edge and just watch Hiccup fall into the white death. Stoick watches helplessly as his son falls into the cloud. He watches as it opens up its mouth and swallows Hiccup whole. He tries to reach down as if he could somehow float his son back up and into his arms. Toothless screams in horror and in such pain it chills everyone to the bone.
Soon his son's shadow vanishes and Stoick's left alone, and heartbroken.
He looks back up to Hadrian, and can feel the rage and anger germinating through his veins. Hadrian stares him dead in the eyes and says. "Men! Fall back!"
The men file out and Hadrian takes on last look to Stoick before walking off into the darkened woods. Stoick grips the side of the rock and grit his teeth to stop the tears, but the pain had a mind of its own, and it was going to eat him alive until he was hollow. A raging pit of darkness swells in his heart and eats away at his compassion and mercy until every remembrance that connected to hiccup was gone.
That night, a dreadful rainstorm flowed into the sky. As if the gods had witnessed Hiccup's sacrifice and were too, sad to see him go. The others remained sheltered under an outcropping of rocks in the cliff. Gobber and the dragons stood in the rain and Astrid had broken down in tears, and wouldn't stop. Not that anyone would stop her; it's as if she's channeling their emotions and the pain and agony they feel. Looking ahead at Stoick, he held a wooden cross and Hiccup's knife in his hands.
Toothless stood next to him, staring at the abyss that had swallowed his friend. Toothless' nose twitches uncontrollably, and his eyes appear as blank as Stoick's. Stoick gazes into the shiny reflective metal of Hiccup's knife, and with a flash of lightning, he can almost see Hiccup's eyes. That beautiful emerald green.
It only stabs Stoick in the heart even more. There was so much left unsaid, so much he should've said. Tears steam down his face, but Stoick couldn't tell if they were his, or mere raindrops. A bolt of lightning flashes behind him, and Stoick can almost hear Thor's cries of anger. Stoick grips the cross, and in a horrid cry of mourning, impales it into the ridge. Dirt and pebbles scatter and Stoick falls to his knees, just as he did before when he faced Toothless and his son after the demise of the Red Death.
And that's when he broke down crying and sobbing. He didn't ever try to be strong. How could he?
His wife, and now his son were gone.
He had no one.
He was all alone in the world. And it was all because of Hadrian.
Stoick let the rain trickle down his face, down his arms, his sides. It felt like the tears streaming down his face. His heart beats harder and time escapes him, his trembling hands gripping the handle of the sword. He tries to scream out his lungs, but his voice is numb.
What was he to do?
What more could he do?
The rest of his world crumbles into ash and oblivion. A crushing weight that makes breathing almost impossible.
All he can do while the sun rises over the horizon, is hope that she's found him on the other side.