Hiiiiii there! XD

Here's another chater yay! Btw it's probably the third to last chapter more or less.

So… oh yeah! The apology! Sorry for taking so long…. 2 weeks wow… I'm embarrassed; but it has been truly hard to find time to write and yesterday, when it was finally ready I had no internet so… sad story.

Well, to compensate you I believe that this chapter is bigger than usual!

The parts in italic are a poem which I DO NOT OWN! I repeat, DO NOT OWN! It's just that right after writing the last chapter I came across this poem by MAYA ANGELOU and was like: "Gods! This is so perfect! I shall use it on a chapter!" And it connected really well with The Depths of Mind so that's what I did. It's called The Caged Bird.

WARNING: It might be confusing but that's exactly what I want. Being the third to last chapter, you'll understand why next chapter or the one after that (the last).

Wish you a great reading! XD

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A free bird leaps
On the back of the wind
And floats downstream
Till the current ends
And dips his wing
On the orange sun rays
And dares to claim the sky

He sat up brushing his eyes and yawning satisfied. It'd been a long while since he'd last slept that well.
Toothless perked his head up to look at his rider happily.
"Oh... Morning bud." Hiccup greeted after hearing a content growl.

He opened his eyes just to be blinded by the strong, still orange morning sunlight and, sitting on the bed's stair side, got up. He found himself on the floor with Toothless right above him, a sarcastic smile on the dragon's face.

"Aaaannnd I forgot to put it back again right?" He laughed.

Toothless grabbed Hiccup's prosthetic and, after giving it to the boy, ran downstairs. Hiccup attached his metallic fake leg and got up, ready to follow Toothless.

-Dark-

The cool morning air hit his face and Hiccup took a deep breath. The sky was cloudy but there was a lot of light still.
He found himself having a weird sensation, as if something bad was about to happen but shook that feeling aside. Toothless wanted to go for a morning flight and even the boy enjoyed that way of starting the day.

-Black-

He looked at all the huts from Toothless' back. The others were still asleep, even Astrid who usually got up pretty early in the morning.
Hiccup was usually the first one to wake up though. He always went for a flight with Toothless before landing and meeting the others at the Clubhouse for breakfast, being consequently the last one to arrive there.

Hiccup made a mental note to play with Astrid about the fact that she was getting lazy (the girl was usually sleeping a couple more minutes than usual, Hiccup didn't judge her though) and released his grip on Toothless' saddle, allowing himself to enjoy the feeling that flying was.

-Black and silent noise, not that he realized that-

The odd feeling reappeared in his gut and Hiccup brought his hand to his stomach when a thin, cold shiver stabbed it.
Toothless cooed worriedly after sensing this and Hiccup petted the dragon's head. "It's ok bud." He reassured the dragon.

- A weird cloudiness he knew that was there but didn't know at the same time-

Toothless barrel rolled multiple times. The Night Fury flew up with such high speed that Hiccup forgot how to breathe. He loved when Toothless took hold of the curse and maneuvers. He loved giving him the opportunity to be free and choose how to fly like a normal dragon would- a dragon that could fly by his own.

-Something wasn't right, what it was he didn't know-

Freedom. They flew through the blue, orange-ish deep sky, feeling the wind, clouds and detachment from the world in their skin and scales.

Toothless was free.

Hiccup was free.

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But a bird that stalks
Down his narrow cage
Can seldom see through
His bars of rage
His wings are clipped and
His feet are tied
So he opens his throat to sing

Pain was the word.

Authentic or illusion that was a big shrugging of shoulders.

He opened his eyes and found Toothless caged next to him. Wait! He was also caged!

"What the-" He mumbled before clutching his aching head. His hands however never reached his skull. Between his laziness and lightheadedness, blurriness and confusion, Hiccup noticed his hands being held over his head. Two powerful handcuffs emerged from the wooden wall and restrained his arms that were starting to go numb by that moment.

A sharp sound filled his ears, like metal scrapping against metal. Toothless roared even with the muzzle around his jam and shook the chains caging him, trying to break free.

Footsteps and a loud BAKK! The last thing Hiccup felt was a short pain on his head.

-Black over black-

Rage. Apart from pain that was all he felt. Rage, remorse, ire, odium, fury, homesickness, longing for his friends, longing for the high, untouchable, unwatchable blue sky.

He coughed and felt the effect of said reflex three times, which was weird- something wasn't right. Hiccup however ignored that and focused on opening his eyes again.

The deep, forest green orbs searched the place with no light in them. A fist met his stomach and his eyes widened. Ryker laughed. "What 'bout now? Are you still feelin' smart or will ya talk?" His hoarse voice asked.

Hiccup coughed again. A red substance he preferred to ignore dabbled the floor.

"N- No. I do- don't feel, bu-but I'mmm indeed sma-smart-t when compa-pared to yo-you." He mumbled back, managing a fake, weak smile.

Ryker sniffled obviously mad.

"Tell me about your base's weaknesses! Now!" He ordered.

"Tell m-me you an-and I-I speak-k the-e sam-ame language-e. 'Cause-se you obviously don't understand-and a no-no." Hiccup groaned back.

"Alrigh' looks like's time for plan D." Ryker declared before turning his back to Hiccup and walking towards the door. He opened it and several roars and cries were heard, as the man disappeared in it's darkness.

"Take 'im." The Grimborn ordered to two guards.

Do I even want to know what plan D means? Hiccup though.

He honestly hoped it to mean death for it would mean that his goal had been reached: Not saying a word of information.

The sky kept its freedom outside of Thor knows where. He made an effort and raised his head from his chest. The dark orbs peeked through his bloodstained bangs and the boy saw nothing more than rock. Not his missed sky.

He didn't know for how long he'd been there. Toothless was weak too and the Haddock'd done the best to distract Ryker from fulfilling his threats towards the black dragon. Hiccup knew that Toothless couldn't fly by his own so he'd been trying to think of a way to help him get out of there because that was the important thing. Take Toothless to safety.

The two guards grabbed him by his upper arms and literally dragged him out of the room.

Something told Hiccup that the plan D was way worse than death

-black-

The caged bird sings
With a fearful trill
Of things unknown
But longed for still
And his tune is heard
On the distant hill
For the caged bird
sings of freedom

It was way worse.

Hiccup widened his eyes in shock.

It wasn't happening.

No.

Shivers travelled up and down his spine, ending on the very edge of every hair on his body.

Ryker had… just-

-An odd feeling of levitation was felt, and it looked like someone was grabbing him-

Hiccup felt the huge need to throw up. Tears started stinging his eyes. He couldn't help it. He was way too weak. This was the last drop.

His legs started shaking at the realization that it hadn't been Ryker but himself doing that. He collided with the cold floor and pushed himself to a corner.

His gaze rotated on the room. Ryker, the ceiling, the walls, his foot, his prosthetic, everything but the Nadder in front of him and his own hands.
Eventually he had nothing else to look at but it.

Don't look at it, don't look at it... He thought. For all that's sacred Hiccup, don't. Look. At. It...

Aaaand he looked. Big mistake.

-Black-

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The free bird thinks of another
Breeze
And the trade winds soft through
The sighning trees
And the fat worms waiting on a
Dawn bright lawn
And he names the sky his own

He opened his eyes a crack and almost gasped. He would've if he could.

For the first time it all seemed- no! It FELT real. He could feel his back hurting with a whole new level of intensity. He felt the need to cry but found out that he couldn't.

The back and forth sensation finally caught up to him and Hiccup found himself in someone else's company.

Astrid had glued her forehead to his. He couldn't make out where exactly they were but her blurry sight told him he was laying on an elevated place and that Astrid was on her knees next to him, her head coming down and resting against him. Her eyes were closed but quickly opened after realizing that his eyelids had moved if slightly.

"Hiccup?" She called, hope growing deep inside her gut. Maybe he was going to be ok after all! His unfocused, distant, cold eyes destroyed the small amount of hopefulness his awakening might've built. So did the weak but still violent fit of coughing the boy started with.

His eyes drifted even more and his raspy breathing afflicted Astrid even more. He couldn't breathe which meant…

"Not you... not you…" She muttered. "Don't do this to me ok?… don-don't leave me here alone…please…You made it until now Hiccup- All you gotta do is wait a little longer, they're almost here." She held hi cold, pale hand in hers and closed her eyes, praying to the gods.

The boy didn't even think about the fact that Astrid Hofferson was pleading. He wanted to say that he'd never abandon her but he couldn't. Why? And who were them?

His heart was on his ears. Every slow beat was there, on his head. He wasn't even trying to breathing.

It was at that moment that he understood what Astrid meant. He was dying. Every beat weaker than the other, until...

It stopped. It stopped beating. The beats stopped and he didn't even stir. Astrid must've felt it too because she suddenly hugged him and opened her watery eyes to look at him, pure terror in her expression. "Hiccup?" Astrid cried. "Hey? No no no no..."

But it all felt so real this time. No weird sensations, no cloudiness. Only the lightheadedness and confusion a person who is dying feels.

He felt strangely calm after understanding what that meant. He felt… free for some reason; as if everything was going to end well, even if not for him but for his friends.

Astrid despaired but never let go of him. Her gaze was constantly switching from the stairs to Hiccup. From Hiccup to the stairs, as if expecting someone to suddenly appear from there and put an end to the fact that Hiccup's heart had just stopped beating.

They kept hugging for Thor knows how long (probably for a short period because... well it's obvious). Back and forth. For Hiccup it felt like hours, for Astrid those were mere seconds.

"I'm so sorry." She muttered, closing her eyes again. He suddenly felt something else apart from calmness. It was loneliness as if the ones he loved were thousands of miles away and yet so close.

His vision blurred even more and the only thoughts on his mind slowed down: Astrid, Toothless, his friends, his father. He felt the idea of freedom on the other side but that was the wrong freedom. That was the wrong path; the easy way out.

Astrid's gasping and-

-black-

"I'm so sorry! I- I ahhh" Hiccup cried from the corner of his cell.

Toothless tried to reach his rider to comfort him but to no use.

"I- I did that! I killed them Toothless! I- I killed them!" He sobbed again, rising his face from his hands. "And you're here too. You don't deserve this! They didn't deserve that either!"

Toothless looked at his rider with sorrow. He could smell the odor of blood coming from the boy and it was obvious what had happened. Something worse than the usual torture: the plan D -the lowest blow of all.

Hiccup's glare focused on Toothless and the dragon despaired at the sight of blankness in his red bloodshot green eyes. It was determination but in the wrong way. "You'll get out. I promise you that Toothless. No matter what it costs! They won't have what they want. I'll make sure of that with all my strengths." He declared.

"And sooner than they expect."

They flew faster than the sound: faster than anything else. The sky didn't belong to them, Hiccup was aware of that. But what no man can own, no men can take and he was sure that the Dragon Hunters weren't going to take the sky away from him nor the gang. He didn't expect to come out alive of that one but that though didn't stop him from enjoying the moment.

Toothless approached the fleet and Hiccup quickly realized what was about to happen to all of his friends.

- Head tightness-

His gaze landed on Astrid first and his heart skipped a beat. The Arrow was way too close; he couldn't blast it without risking taking down the Nadder.

So he did what his heart told him to and, in the heat of the moment he decided (something that hadn't much to decide about.) His or Astrid's life. He ignored the fact that she actually believe he'd become a Dragon Hunter because in the end, his heart yelled and preached for him to ignore his brain.

He took the arrow and probably the Adrenaline muffled the pain, so he wouldn't let the rest of the riders down.

One by one they were all saved.

Toothless went for the loop and Hiccup enjoyed what he supposed would be his last moments of flying: his escape.

xxxxxxxxxxx

But a caged bird stands on the
Grave of dreams
His shadow shouts on a nightmare
Scream
His wings are clipped and his feet
Are tied
So he opens his throat to sing

Astrid held him tight. Hiccup'd just crash landed with Toothless.

His back hurt so much. He couldn't even find the right words to describe it.

"Hiccup! Come on! All you gotta do is fight a little longer! Just stay awake!" Astrid insisted. "You can't sleep. Please, for me?"

He looked at her with dificulty. Should he fight or not? Astrid'd hurt him a lot.

Yes, he was scared. Scared because he knew very well what would happen if he fell asleep. Never waking up again, most likely.

And so a battle between to options started on his foggy mind.

The first side, was the living one. All he had to do was fight and try to keep awake until... Well everything ended ok. Fight once more, to keep in the other's company.

The second one though, was the opposite. A side with no Dragon Hunters, no pain, no betrayals, no... wrongs and rights, goods and bads. He felt the same odd sensation of freedom coming from that one. Freedom from all his problems.

Then he realised that he was trapped. Stranded. Because whatever the side he choose, things just wouldn't be good for him.

And yet, he gave up. He let himself fall asleep knowing that it was all just another Dragon Hunter's cell.

If he took the better side, only the gods would know.

The caged bird sings
With a fearful trill
Of things unknown
But longed for still
And his tune is heard
On the distante Hill
For the caged bird
sings of freedom

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Soo yep XD

Imma run away now… once again. I literally spend my whole life running now that I think about it. Mainly from you, when I'm bad to the characters (aka every chapter lol)

Oh and I reallyyy tried my best on this chapter. We haven't seen any Hiccup!whump scenes like this and I had to go with what I thought would happen.

This chapter might be a littleee confusing*opens arms* *coughs* more like a lot *coughs* but I can assure you that it will all make sense next chapter or the one after that. It's confusing on purpose ok.

With that said I promise all try to take less time although it will be difficult because everything will get even busier, starting this Monday.

I'll try to hurry up and if I take more time don't worry, I didn't abandon the story nor you.

See ya next chapter Dragonites! XD