Hey guys! :D
SOOOO, I forgot to mention, this fanfiction is inspired by book 3 in the HttYD series, "How to Cheat a Dragon's Curse", because I want it in an episode. XD
So anyways, here's chapter 2! Two updates today! :D Shout-outs:
ShadowSpirit020: You guys get it early, but it ends on a cliffhanger. LOL! :D
DragonChanger1: Well, I don't want Toothless to die for sure. If one character HAD to die...um...well, for sad purposes, one of the twins. That would make me cry if one of them died. But a certain someone in the books ended up dying, so I'm actually wondering if DreamWorks is going to kill that same person in the third film...D: XD
wikelia: Thanks! :D Yep, chills. XD
Galaxy-Mitsuko-Pegasus: NOOO, TOOTHLESS! D:
Gamer Spice: Thanks! :D Yeah, Hufflepuffs are cool. :D
AquaticDragon: Thanks! :D Glad you like it so far! :D
Charr2003: Yep! You guessed it! Hufflepuff! :D It's funny, you would think with how many times I've been evil to the characters, someone would have guessed Slytherin. XD But no one guessed Slytherin, so I'm happy about that. LOL! :D Oh, and there WILL be Hiccstrid in this episode for sure. I can promise you that. :D *wink* Yay, Pinterest follower! :D :D :D
Jo: Yeah. Poor Toothless. :(
Dimentional Phaser: I always do. ;)
The Brucest Writer: Haha, I bet everyone's looking at the release dates I posted on my profile and betting how many days earlier I'm actually going to post it. XD Thanks a bunch! :D
Animals Rule: *descreetly hides stick of dynamite behind back* Kill Toothless? What gave you that idea? XD
Angel Azul: Yep, I will probably always post sooner than my set release dates. I can't help it! :D And yeah, no problem! Between my Spanish classes and a bit of Google Translate, I can read it just fine. :D Thanks for the review! :D
LunarCatNinja: Yep. Stupid, vicious dragon. :(
Guest (#1): Awesome! :D
HappyPup1: YES. PROTECTIVE HICCUP. :D
pinkpop002: Haha, yeah, I noticed the potatoes. ;) But for sake of story...XD Thanks for the review! :D
The tiny green dragon was trapped in a small glass jar with holes punched in the lid, growling and snarling, flicking its little red tongue. Ruffnut and Tuffnut tapped on the glass tauntingly and laughed when it growled at them. Fishlegs sat in front of the table of the Clubhouse, where the jar sat atop, flipping through Bork's notes, every now and then looking up at the green dragon in the jar.
"Come on, Bork," Fishlegs whispered. "Tell me you've found something like this before…"
Meanwhile, in the corner of the Clubhouse, Toothless laid on the floor with Hiccup sitting beside him and Astrid hovering nearby. Snotlout was looking over Fishlegs' shoulder.
Finally, Fishlegs threw down the book in triumph. "I found something!" he shouted. "Here!"
Astrid hurried over; Hiccup remained unmoved, absentmindedly stroking Toothless' head soothingly. "Where?" Astrid demanded, bracing one hand against the table and the other grabbing the notebook.
"There, see?" Fishlegs pointed to a picture that looked almost exactly like the dragon in the jar, drawn with black charcoal and covered in with a cruel green. "It says this dragon is called the Venomous Vorpent."
"Cool name," said Tuffnut, tapping the jar. "Did you come up with that all by yourself, little guy?"
The dragon hissed at him.
"It says," said Fishlegs, "that the poison is lethal to dragons and Vikings unless a cure can be administered in time."
"What's the cure?" Astrid questioned.
"Here, I'll read his entire entry," said Fishlegs, raising the book. He cleared his throat and read out loud for everyone in the Clubhouse to hear.
"'In my many travels across the archipelago,'" he read, "'I rarely came across a dragon such as this. The Venomous Vorpent dragon's venom is lethal to Vikings and dragons alike, and when the Vorpent stings, its victim cannot feel a thing, as the dragon numbs the area before the strike.
"'But in my travels, I stumbled across something that could cure one stung by the Venomous Vorpent: a rare vegetable called the potato.'"
"The potato?" said Tuffnut, confused. "But those don't actually exist, right? They're just from legend."
"Let me finish," said Fishlegs impatiently. "Bork says, 'I journeyed to a far away land, millions of miles from the isle of Berk in which I had grown up, and found a potato. But as I was leaving, I was attacked by soldiers. A knife was thrown at me, but it didn't hit me; instead, it sank into the potato, thereby saving my life.
"'I left the potato in a hidden cavern of ice, where no one would find it and where it would be kept as fresh as time would allow. I hope it is found eventually, but until then, the Guardian Dragon of the ice cavern should keep it safe from unwanted intruders.'"
"So you're saying," said Snotlout, "if Toothless was really stung by this thing, the only thing that can cure him is a legendary potato that may or may not exist that stays in a hidden cave that also may or may not exist along with some Guardian Dragon who may or may not just kill us all?"
Fishlegs flinched, but nodded. "That's about the size of it," he said.
All eyes turned to Hiccup, waiting to see what he would say. Hiccup swallowed thickly, drumming his fingers against his knee.
"Sounds like fun," he finally said, and he rose to his feet and, grabbing his satchel off its hook on the wall, began packing supplies.
"Hiccup, it's suicide," said Fishlegs, stepping towards him. "Even if the potato does exist, who knows what kind of dragon is guarding it? And you don't even know where to start looking for Bork's hidden ice cavern."
"I don't have a choice," said Hiccup, stuffing his spyglass into the satchel. "If I don't go, what happens to Toothless?"
Fishlegs looked down at the ground sadly. "The venom of the Vorpent is lethal," he said. "And according to the notes on the Vorpent, it acts within forty eight hours. Which means...in two days...he'll…he'll be..."
"Stop," Hiccup said, holding up his hand. It was impossible to read his expression. "Whatever you're going to say, I'm not interested, because obviously, that's not going to happen, because I'm going to find the cure, even if I have to travel a million miles to get it."
"But you won't be able to fly in this weather," said Astrid, raising a hand towards the door. The weather had grown increasingly worse, and snow fell in gigantic, ridiculous amounts. "Not even Toothless could fly in this weather, much less a dragon slower than that."
Hiccup had just been packing away his dagger when Astrid brought this realization to light, and Hiccup, for a few moments, did nothing.
Then, with a shout of fury, he hurled the dagger across the room. Tuffnut ducked; the dagger sank into the bullseye of the target the twins had been throwing arrowheads at earlier and split down the middle, two equal halves crashing to the floor and the dagger embedded in the wooden wall behind it.
No one was quite sure how to respond to that, and for a few moments, none of them did anything. They watched, waiting until Hiccup regained his composure, sucking in a shaky, jagged breath and wiping furiously at his eyes.
"Then I'll leave in the morning," he said. "First light. Until then…" He looked back up at them and sighed. "You should...probably go back to your own huts and get some sleep. I'll bed down here."
Astrid, Fishlegs, Snotlout, and the twins exchanged looks momentarily before turning their gaze back to Hiccup.
"Well," said Astrid, "in that case, Stormfly and I are sleeping here, too."
Hiccup stared at her. "But why?" he said.
"Because I don't want you to feel like you're alone," said Astrid softly.
"Yeah!" Fishlegs agreed quickly, catching on. "Meatlug and me, too! It's warmer in here then back in our huts, and Meatlug hates the cold. Besides, maybe then I could read up on Bork's notes some more."
"And," said Tuffnut, "if Barf and Belch get to sleep in here, then Ruffnut and Tuffnut get to sleep in here!" He pointed to himself and smiled.
"And of course," said Snotlout, "nothing's complete without me and Hookfang! You're not getting rid of us that easily!"
Hiccup looked at them incredulously. "Thanks, guys," he said, "but you don't have to-"
"Yes we do," said Astrid. "You'd do the same for any of us."
"It's for moral support, H.," said Tuffnut. "We'll probably feel real guilty if we don't."
Hiccup looked at them, each in turn, and then, he smiled, if faintly. "Thanks," he said. "I appreciate it."
…
Astrid sat up, completely awake while the rest of the riders were sleeping. Snotlout was sleeping awkwardly on top of Hookfang with his legs hanging over the dragon's side, his helmet over his face, amplifying his snores. Ruffnut and Tuffnut were hanging upside down from above with their legs draped over the ceiling beams; Barf and Belch slept on the ground beneath them, and Meatlug and Fishlegs were sleeping across from them.
Hiccup and Toothless were, likewise, sleeping, and they looked peaceful, for the most part, Hiccup leaning against Toothless' side and Toothless' wing draped protectively over him.
Astrid sighed. She didn't know how Hiccup had managed to sleep when she hadn't. He had far much more on his mind than she did.
"Can't sleep?" Fishlegs' voice asked, breaking her from her thoughts, and Astrid nodded wordlessly. "Me neither."
"You're not the only one," said Snotlout, and he pushed his helmet off his face and looked at them, one eye open and the other shut.
"I think everyone's suffering that tonight," said Tuffnut from above them, and he and Ruffnut dropped from the ceiling, twisted as they were still falling, and landed perfectly on their feet.
"Everyone except him," said Snotlout, jabbing a finger in Hiccup's direction.
"Or is he awake," said Tuffnut, "and is eavesdropping? Someone poke him and find out."
Astrid reached over and slapped him. "Don't you dare," she said harshly.
"Alright, I won't," said Tuffnut. "I was just joking, anyways. You're not the only friend Hiccup has, you know."
There was silence for a few moments.
"This is wrong," said Fishlegs, shaking his head. "After everything Hiccup and Toothless have been through, for something like this to happen…"
"Toothless is going to be fine," said Astrid. "We'll head out tomorrow, find the cure for the Vorpent venom, and get it back before it's too late."
"But what if we are too late?" said Fishlegs quietly.
Astrid looked down at the wooden floorboards, studying a knot in it for a moment. "I don't know," she said. "I don't want to think about how Hiccup would take it if...if we can't do it."
"I told you," said Ruffnut, "Hiccup and Toothless are like two sides of the same sword. If one side gets broken off, the other side's destroyed, too."
Several glares were shot in her direction, and she looked hurt. "What?" she said. "You mean you guys get to talk, but I can? Stupid…"
"You're not wrong, Ruffnut," said Snotlout angrily. "And the truth hurts sometimes, doesn't it?"
Astrid looked up at Hiccup and Toothless, sleeping soundly together, as if one of them wasn't dying and the other wasn't panicked.
"We have to find the cure," said Astrid.
"Agreed," said Snotlout, and the twins nodded eagerly.
"For Toothless' and Hiccup's sakes," said Fishlegs quietly.