Breaking Point 19

Everything was starting to look up and for the first time in an extremely long time Dagur felt at ease. He had Hiccup. He had his sister. Things were finally looking up for him. Once Hiccup was healed and back to himself and maybe reunited with that dragon of his they could take on the Outcasts and free Berserk Island. Viggo had failed in his promise to help take back Berserk Island but Hiccup, Hiccup would follow through. All he needed was time to heal.

As they waited for Savage and the Berserkers he encouraged Hiccup to eat. The Hooligan heir had always been thin but not this sickly thin. If he didn't know better he would have thought Viggo starved Hiccup. Ryker had for a while. It was why Dagur had snuck food to him so often, why he had felt so protective of Hiccup. Yes, he wanted Hiccup sexually, he always had but Hiccup was also his brother and it was his duty to protect him whether Hiccup understood that or not. He protected Hiccup as he did Heather, or at least he should have. It would take a long time to make up for the things he had done to the younger boy but time was something they both had now that Hiccup was with him.

"You really think Toothless is alive?" Hiccup asked, having eaten only half his fish and a few bites of an apple before idly staring at them as if they were foreign objects.

"I think so," Dagur repeated. Hiccup had asked the same question a few times now, seeming to forget the answer and needing reassuring once more. "We'll find him, Hiccup, don't worry."

The boy nodded but didn't look up, still lost in his own little world.

Heather touched Dagur's arm and gestured for him to walk with her and give Hiccup a little space. "Dagur, something is seriously wrong with him. I know I don't know him like you do but…look at him. He's barely eating, he keeps talking to himself. He's wasting away. I need you to tell me exactly what happened with Viggo. This is more than simple torture."

He pulled away from her and gave her a dark look. "What do you want me to tell you? They tortured him in ways I've never seen before but he's tough, he'll work through this."

"What about what happened at the waterfall? That wasn't…"

"Heather, drop it," Dagur snarled, for the first really snapping at her since they were reunited. They stared at each other for a few moments before he took a deep calming breath. "Please," he amended. "Just until we find a way to help him. Then I'll tell you everything. Alright?"

She looked doubtful but after a few minutes consideration she finally nodded. "Fine but he needs some serious help or we're going to lose him and not just his mind but all of him. We need to contact Stoick."

"No, I can help him. I can fix this," Dagur argued.

"You're not a Healer, Dagur. He needs a proper Healer and…" Her words were cut short when dragons began screaming and stampeding toward the center of the island, their wings flapping anxiously. Some went to protect Hiccup while others took to the air. Windshear gave a cry, her head bobbing and bumping into Heather's arm. "What's wrong, girl?" she asked, soothingly stroking her head.

"It's probably just Savage. The buffoon makes more noise than…or not." Dagur's eyes widened as a fiery boulder slammed into the trees, setting branches and leaves on fire and scattering dragons. More fiery boulders began to rain down, chasing away the wild dragons. "Hiccup!" Dagur yelled, leaving his sister to calm the Razorwhip while he raced for the defenseless dragon rider. He grabbed Hiccup and pulled him under the cover of a rock slab. "Heather, leave her and find cover!" he ordered.

"She is my cover!" the girl yelled back, climbing onto her dragon's back. "Keep down while I check this out."

"Get back here!" he ordered but she was already gone.

"Viggo," Hiccup whispered, his breath shuddering as if fighting for control.

Dagur nodded. It was the only explanation. Viggo had found them, might have even taken control of his ships. He whacked the back of his head off the rock slap in frustration. He should have prepared for this. He should have had Savage take the ships and go in the complete opposite direction. Of course the Hunters may have still gone after them but it would have given them more time to get somewhere safer with Hiccup. "Damn it!"

Hiccup was struggling to keep control. "They're chasing the dragons away. They're trying to block our escape," he breathed. His hands went to his head. "No…no…you're not going to him!"

"Hic?" Dagur asked, before remembering he was most likely talking to Henryk. "We've got to get out of here. Can you call one of them? We need a second dragon if there's a chance of us making it out of here alive."

More boulders rained down destroying trees and foliage. Dragons screeched and raced to the sky.

"Ah…no," Hiccup answered, his voice pained as his fingers curled around his hair.

"No! Nope, no pulling your hair unless you want to end up like this," Dagur said, grabbing Hiccup's hands and pulling them away from his head. Okay, he had to think. He could hear Windshear in the distance as well as other dragons firing at the ships below and no doubt at anyone scaling the dormant volcano. He couldn't fight plus keep Hiccup under control and all his weapons with the exception of maybe a dozen knives on his person. His armor was still at the tent as was his sword and Heather's axe. They were weaponless and dragonless with who knows how many Hunters about to descend on them.

. . .

Miles away the sound of dragon fire echoed over the ocean. Skullcrusher gave a roar and veered toward it. His growl was echoed by his fellow dragons. Before any of the exhausted riders could ask what was going on their dragons picked up their speed, seeming livelier than they had in many long weeks. Stoick glanced toward Astrid who had been flying Toothless ever since they found him and got new flight gear on him. The look they shared was weary but there was also a sudden sense of excitement that filled all the riders. It was the first possible sign of Hiccup they had in months because when there was trouble and dragon related chaos there was Hiccup.

. . .

Dagur threw daggers at every man that came over the ledge of the volcano until he ran out of knives. Then he grabbed Hiccup and dragged him toward the tent in hopes of reaching his sword while Heather gave them cover fire. The boulders had stopped but now there were Hunters invading the island with arrows flying at them, all seemingly aimed at Dagur's head. Regardless, he shielded Hiccup, not wanting a stray arrow to hit the boy. The Hunters' aims were process, keeping Windshear from landing and giving them a lift to safety. What Dagur wouldn't give for crossbow right then.

"They're everywhere!" Heather yelled as Windshear fired spine shots at the approaching men.

They were running out of options. Hunters were ascending the island from every direction. He kept Hiccup behind him, his eyes scanning for a possible opening to higher ground. If he could reach higher ground he could pass Hiccup off to Heather but alas there was nothing he could reach that was within reasonable distance. To make matters worse the Grimborn brothers had arrived.

"I underestimated you, Dagur," Viggo purred as he strolled toward them, his sword still across his back and appearing unarmed, a far contrast from Ryker who had his sword in hand and looked ready to lope Dagur's head. "I didn't think you had the brains to pull off such a stunt. Of course I thought Heather would have gotten the two of you much further than this." He gaze shifted upward toward the girl and her dragon. "How disappointing." He raised his hand toward Hiccup. "Henryk, come here, my love."

Dagur grabbed Hiccup's arm when the youth moved to go to Viggo without so much as questioning the order, as if he were in some sort of trance. "He's not yours," he snarled at Viggo, trying to push Hiccup back but all of a sudden the younger boy was like a statue and unmoveable.

"Oh, my dear Dagur," Viggo purred with a thin smile. "He is mine, body, mind and soul. You see I have one thing you will never possess, the will power to break someone so completely that a mere word from me will make them do whatever I say. This was a fool's errand. You cannot save someone who doesn't want to be saved. Now stand aside and let Henryk come to me."

The young Berserker chief took a firmer grip on Hiccup's wrist, refusing to let him go.

Viggo sighed and lowered his hand. "As you wish. Ryker, I suppose we're going with your plan."

Dagur gave a snort and glanced at Ryker. "And what might that be?" he growled lowly.

Ryker chuckled darkly as he sheathed his sword and bowed out his bow instead. "That you have about two seconds to decide what means more to you, some silly boy or your beloved sister." He drew an arrow from his quiver and took careful aim at Heather's back. The girl was too busy trying to keep back the other Hunters to notice what was happening around him.

Dagur had a split second to react and he was torn what to do. The gods must have felt mercy for him that day. A strangely familiar roar echoed over the island, the only warning any of them got before a plasma blast slammed into the ground between Dagur and the brothers. Dagur shoved Hiccup to the ground and protectively covered him with his body as a barrage of dragon fire slammed into the island and sent the Hunters scattering in every direction much as they had the dragons earlier. The Hooligan battle cry came next. Dagur protected Hiccup's head as the battle raged on, not willing to let Henryk go back to Viggo. But he couldn't stay like this forever. He had to fight.

"Stay put," he ordered, pointing at Hiccup as if he were talking to a small child, unsure which personality was at the forefront and praying it was Hiccup. But before he left he gave the youth a quick passionate kiss, unable to say the words he wanted to but hoping a kiss would express what he felt. He left Hiccup under the cover of one of the few remaining trees and dove head on into the battle, hoping to be the one to kill Viggo. From the corner of his eye he spotted the form the Nightfury but he paid it no mind, a bigger prize at hand.

A battle wasn't exactly what Stoick expected when they flew toward the island but that was indeed what was happening. He spotted Heather immediately and then Dagur running head first into the heat of it, pausing only long enough to scoop up a sword along the way, his focus solely on the Hunters as Astrid and the other riders called them. Stoick didn't recognize any of the other players. Not even the young man sprawled on the ground that looked like a fragile twig amongst all the chaos. It took a harder look to before a glimmer of recognition finally came to him.

"Hiccup," he breathed but he was given little time to take a really good look at the boy before he was attacked by the Hunters and his focused was turned to keeping them away from his son.

Most of the fight took place in the air as the riders teamed up with Heather to push back the Hunters, most not seeing or noticing Hiccup on the ground. Astrid was in the thick the battle and holding her own with the help of Stormfly and Snotlout. All three were searching for Hiccup and hadn't even noticed the young man awkwardly getting to his feet. Henryk had taken control and was searching for Viggo, unable to see him amongst the smoke and dragon fire. Nervousness filled him as he avoided the blasts that kicked dirt and debris.

"Viggo!" he screamed, unable to see much of anything but his voice was lost amongst the sounds of explosions. But someone heard him and a roar tore through the island, jerking him as if he had just been shocked. "Toothless?" he whispered, his voice changing slightly as Hiccup fought his way to the surface of their mind. He inhaled sharply as the roar happened again and he spun on his heel in the direction he thought he heard it from. He peered through the smoke and debris, trying to find the Nightfury, fearing he was dreaming and his mind was finally so broken that it could no longer tell what was real or not. And even when the smoke cleared and he saw the ebony dragon clearly he hesitated, fearing this wasn't real, that Dagur had lied and his best friend was indeed dead. "Toothless…" he pleaded, wanting it to be real and tears rolling down his cheeks. The Nightfury must have felt the same because for a moment it just stared at him before bleating happily and bounding toward him. Hiccup hesitated and took a step back before deciding it didn't matter. Real or not Toothless was there. He was there with him and Hiccup ran toward him, throwing his arms around the dragon's neck and burying his face against warm black scales while breathing in the familiar scent and committing it to memory. "Toothless…" he sobbed, tears streaking down his face. "Oh gods…you're here, you're really here."

"Henryk!" Ryker's voice bombed, causing Hiccup to gasp and stare at the Hunter in horror. He hugged Toothless tighter, afraid to move as the man stomped toward him.

Toothless snarled, his tail wrapping around Hiccup and wings flaring in warning but for Hiccup it was like a trigger was switched on inside him and he stood and faced the man as Henryk tried pushing forward. "No," Hiccup said, shoving the other persona back, an internal struggle that only grew the closer Ryker got to him. Toothless growled and tried making him move back so he could blast Ryker without harming his long lost rider. "Stop…please…" Hiccup pleaded as Henryk tore at his mind, fighting for control.

"Henryk, come here," Ryker ordered, reaching out for Hiccup only to have Toothless snap at him. He snarled at the Nightfury before raising his bow and arrow and taking aim at the dragon. The Nightfury would still fetch a hefty price on the market, dead or alive.

"No!" Hiccup cried, getting in front of Toothless only to be shoved to the ground and safety by the dragon.

The arrow missed as a huge fist slammed into Ryker's jaw. Hiccup's head jerked up in surprise when a thick fur blocked his vision. He scrambled backward and into Toothless, trying to stay out of the way as swords clang and Ryker swore and the large man with red and gray braided hair grunted. Hiccup's heart raced as two minds fought for control, unsure if he was to help Ryker or the large man…Stoick the Vast, his father…or not. He moaned as his head began to hurt and he clung at his head. Toothless warbled questioningly, his tail and wings protectively wrapping around him. "Please stop…" Hiccup murmured, confusing the Nightfury but unable to stop the growing pain in his head.

"Keep your hands off my boy!" Stoick snarled, shoving Ryker back with his sword, his steps careful as he stepped in front of Hiccup, keeping the boy and Nightfury behind him. He had been unsure at first, the youth looking so different with short hair and far thinner than was acceptable but the moment he saw the boy run to Toothless there was no denying who he was.

The other man chuckled as he swung his sword in a lazy arch. "Your boy? You're his father? He talked about you when I broke him. Stoick the Vast, is it? Aye, he cried for you. You should have heard his screams," he taunted, hoping to throw the big man off balance so he could reach Henryk and get him to the ship. Forget Heather, he could always catch her another time. Henryk was the key.

The taunt worked. Stoick snarled in outrage and swung but Ryker ducked, his blade slashing into the Hooligan chief's arm but still the big man would not move away from the boy and dragon.

"Such a little thing," Ryker continued chattily. "Must take after his mother. I wonder if that's where he got his gifts. He is quite lovely, don't you think?"

"Keep talking," Stoick growled, kicking the Hunter in the gut and sending him stumbling back.

Behind him Hiccup jerked in surprise, Henryk rearing his head and moving to help Ryker, only stopped by the comfort of Toothless who silently assured him everything would be okay.

Ryker laughed darkly as he searched for an opening, something that might cripple Stoick so that he might make the blow that would take the larger man down. "So tell me because I just have to know, did you teach him to fuck? He seems like a natural at taking cock."

Oh it worked, he managed to enrage Stoick alright but it didn't have the desired effect. Stoick's nostrils flared and eyes narrowed, his big bushy brows furrowing. "What did you say?" he raged, his fists so tight they turned red around his sword.

Ryker lounged at him, fully expecting his guard to be off after being told such a thing about his precious Hiccup. He wasn't expecting Stoick to be fully prepared for such a move and with an elegant flip of his sword run him through. Ryker hung from the sword in utter shock, his eyes wide in disbelief. Stoick dumped the Hunter on the ground like the piece of trash he was. He spat on the man in disgust.

A shocked yell came as the result of Ryker's fall. It wasn't Hiccup although he stared at the body in utter surprise not thinking it was possible to kill the monster that had tormented him for so long and turned him into a slave. No, the cry gave from Viggo who was fighting Dagur and had the upper hand until he saw his older brother fall. His face paled in shock and without much thought to his own safety landed a hard upper cut to Dagur's jaw that sent the Berserker sprawling on the ground before charging toward Stoick with vengeance in his dark eyes. It was a suicide run, his usually brilliant calculating mind numb by the shock of seeing his brother fall and he would have died too had Henryk not taken up Ryker's sword and jumped in, deflecting Stoick's blow and nearly losing his head in the process.

Stoick paused, his blade a mere fraction of an inch from Hiccup's forehead. "Hiccup?" he asked, not quite understanding what his son was doing defending this strange man.

"Don't you touch him!" the boy snarled, his voice not sounding right.

But Stoick didn't have to do anything against the man; Toothless blasted the Hunter chieftain, throwing him back and clear away from the two Haddocks.

Hiccup spun around in surprise. "Viggo!" he screamed as the man was thrown back.

"Get him out of here!" Dagur yelled as he staggered to his feet. It was rare for him to try and give Stoick orders but this time he screamed it, the desperation obvious in his voice. "NOW!"

Stoick was a little taken back but he didn't question it. He snatched the sword from his son's hands and threw it aside as he wrapped his other arm around the boy's waist and hauled him toward Skullcrusher. The boy kicked and screamed and clawed at his arm trying to escape and crying out for Viggo, everything else forgotten. Stoick didn't understand it. He was sure he didn't want to either. He held his son close as he ordered the riders to their dragons.

"No…no…let go! LET GO!" Hiccup screeched trying to break free as they flew off.

Windshear swooped down with Heather to grab Dagur then quickly shot back in the air to join the riders. Everyone's attention was on the Hiccup tucked protectively in Stoick's arms, still struggling and screaming until at some point he stilled, his body going slack as he passed out. Stoick gazed down at him, his large fingers shakily touching the almost unrecognizable face of his son. "What have they done to you?" he whispered, tears shimmering in his own eyes. After so long he finally had his boy back and it gave him hope but there was obviously something very wrong with Hiccup and it went far deeper than the physical devastation down to his far too thin body.

NOTE: Be honest, how many people were totally frightened at the end of the last chapter? Seriously, faith people. I'm twisted but not that twisted.