A/N: Sorry for this late update! also, I fixed chapter 9, so the names shouldn't be out of place. Now we're getting back into some action, so make sure to give me a good review at the end about how it was, and if it should be improved in anyway. Read on...


Chapter 10: No soul


Astrid sat in a corner of the room, stripped of everything but her suit. She was looking at the weapons she had used over the past four years. The needle was lying in front of her, blood staining half of it, and the spears on the other arm she used to gut splicers. She was thinking about them, about herself. She regretted using them over the years, but she still had the need to protect herself.

"I need to protect myself. Without my healing abilities, I'm vulnerable. But I need something different than these. I'm not killing for pleasure anymore." She thought. She picked up her needle and gazed at it. She thought in her head.

"Maybe a gun? No, the splicers are too resistant to bullets. Something bladed maybe. A sword? Maybe as a secondary." She rubbed her chin. A snort from Hiccup got her attention. He was turning over in his sleep. Astrid gave a small smirk. Turning away, she noticed something on the wall nearby. It was a shield with two axes behind it. Walking over, she carefully took the shield down and picked up the two axes.

"Axes…these could work…but I need an open hand for my plasmids." She looked at both, then put them together, handle to handle. She smirked.

Hiccup yawned as he opened his eyes. Astrid wasn't around.

"Astrid?" He called out.

"Over here." She answered. Hiccup turned around to see her in the corner, a glowing light coming from it.

"Um…what are you doing?" Hiccup asked. He walked over to see Astrid standing over a bucket of water, holding a red-hot object with long metal rods. She placed it in the water, sending steam all over the room with a hiss.

"I wanted a weapon upgrade." She told him. "So I made one." Hiccup waved the steam out of the way to wee her lifting a metal, double-bladed axe.

"Like it?" She asked. Hiccup raised an eyebrow.

"Why did you make it?" He asked. "HOW did you make it?"

"Well, I wanted a weapon that could make a swift kill, and be used for defense as well as offense. Guns aren't as effective against splicers because of their resistance to pain, but this can be faster and more effective." She placed it against the wall next to her gauntlets, which now had daggers on each one. Hiccup was astounded.

"As to how I made them, I took the axes that were on the wall and used Incinerate! to melt them down and Telekinesis to shape them. Same thing with the daggers, but they were made out of my spears and needle." She stated.

"Why go through that trouble?" Hiccup asked. "I have dragon skin, I could have helped." She snorted.

"I may be normal again, but I'm not going to be looked after. I can still take care of myself down here." She objected. Hiccup shrugged.

"Okay. Well, if you're done with that, we should get a move on. I'm sure you're hungry, since none of us ate when we fell asleep." Astrid's stomach gurgled.

"…Okay."

"Well, if you two are done talking, we should maybe get a move on." Toothless suggested.

"I just said that!" Hiccup shouted.

"I know. And that's what's delaying us." Toothless said smugly.

"Leaving!" Astrid called. Hiccup turned to see her already walking through the door.

"Hey, wait up!" He called, running after her.


Astrid and Hiccup walked side by side through a dark, damp hallway. Some lights flickered overhead, giving an eerie mood to the place.

"Dark hallway, flickering lights, all we need is a creepy doll that disappears at the end and we have a horror novel." Hiccup joked. Astrid rolled her eyes.

"Must you always crack jokes in every situation?" Toothless asked.

"Hey, it beats letting the area get to you. Imagine what it would be like if I didn't say anything on the trip."

"Well for one thing my head ache would be gone." Astrid muttered. Walking ahead, splashing through a puddle in the process, they finally come within sight of a Circus of Values vending machine.

"Any money?" Astrid asked. Hiccup checked his pockets and pulled out a roll from one.

"About $300." He told. She turned at him with a surprised look. He just stared back.

"What? I got around a lot down here." He said.

"Just put money in the machine before I starve to death." She said. Hiccup sighed and stepped in front of the machine.

"What do you prefer? Coffee, Pep Bar, Canned Fruit-"

Splash.

Hiccup whirled around. Astrid was already staring down the hall, axe at the ready. The puddle they crossed had a few ripples traveling from its center.

"…Um, I'll just get some canned fruit." Hiccup said. He turned around and inserted a few bills. Astrid was still scanning the hallway, looking for anything suspicious.

Clack.

Astrid whirled around the other way. A rock wobbled a bit in the hallway across from their entrance. Astrid narrowed her eyes.

"Hiccup, something's not right here."

"Strange…I'm not sensing anything." Toothless informed them.

"But something's making these noises." Astrid insisted.

"Well, I don't care if a cat is making them, we should go."

Whiiirrr…clank.

Hiccup grabbed the two cans of fruit that came out.

"Let's go." He said. But before they even took one step…

"They're mine!" Hiccup barely dodged before a figure came out of now where and attacked. It slammed against the wall and turned to face them. Hiccup and Astrid gasped. It was a humanoid creature, with glowing eyes and a body made out of concrete!

"What is that thing?" Hiccup shouted.

"I don't know, I've never seen anything like it!" Astrid shouted back. It roared and ran for them.

"Look out!" Astrid shouted, pushing Hiccup out of the way. The golem slammed into her, pushing her down the hall.

"Ah!" She grunted. Her boots were making sparks as they scraped across the ground, trying to stop the golem.

"Astrid!" Hiccup called. He ran to catch her, growing his dragon scales and arms.

The golem finally whacked Astrid, sending her into a larger room through a broken pair of french doors. She spun and landed feet first, arm outstretched with her battle axe.

"YA!" She shouted, jumping at her opponent, her axe prepped to cut through. But before she could, Hiccup came running in.

"Leave her alone!" He shouted. He rammed into the golem, knocking it over. Astrid gasped and did a tuck before landing on her back near Hiccup.

"Watch the hell? I had it!" She shouted at him.

"Well I didn't know!" He shouted back. The golem suddenly punched the ground and flowed into it like liquid. Astrid looked around nervously.

"That's how!" Toothless exclaimed.

"What?" Hiccup asked.

"The golem creature has no real soul. My senses can only pick up truly living creatures." Astrid huffed in response to Toothless.

"Great, so we can't track it." Hiccup said. They both backed up to each other.

"As long as we're back to back, we should see where it comes from." Hiccup said. The ground exploded beneath them, sending them flying. The golem jumped up from the hole. Astrid and Hiccup were on opposite sides of the room.

"Oh, brilliant strategy Mr. Back to Back." Astrid yelled.

"Well at least I had one, Miss Leroy Jenkins." Hiccup argued. The golem launched itself at Hiccup. Hiccup responded by raising his claws and darting forward. As the golem drew near, Hiccup slashed. His claws cut right through the golem's concrete arm! It landed and crumbled into pieces.

"Hah!" Hiccup cheered. Suddenly, the golem raised its shoulder stump. The pieces all flew back and reformed its arm. Hiccup watched in horror.

"Hiccup! Watch out!" Astrid shouted. Hiccup looked behind to see her running right at the golem, axe raised.

"Wait Astrid!" Hiccup shouted. But she didn't hear. She swung her axe. The golem's head fell from its neck and crumbled on the ground. She grinned.

"Got it." She said.

"Astrid, it regenerates!" Hiccup told her. She jumped back; the head on the golem had reformed.

"Give them to me!" It shouted. It lashed at Astrid, who grabbed some boards and rubble with Telekinesis, and threw them at it. The golem raised its arms and blocked them. Hiccup formed Toothless' mouth and shot at the golem with his fire. The golem exploded. Hiccup panted. Astrid walked up to him.

"What is your problem!" She shouted.

"My problem? Let's talk about yours!" he retorted. "You didn't listen to me, you just jumped right into the fight with no planning-" He counted off on his claws.

"Well what about you? You didn't back me up when the thing was throwing me about, and when you did, you got in my way!" She argued back.

"ENOUGH!" Toothless shouted. Astrid and Hiccup held their heads in pain.

"Toothless, that hurt." Hiccup said.

"You two are fighting like hatchlings! Hiccup, you're not coordinating your attacks with Astrid. You're off doing your own style, putting both of you at risk! Astrid, you are not able to heal anymore. You shouldn't be charging into battle like a wild animal anymore! If we are to survive, you both need to learn to work together!" Hiccup huffed.

"How're we supposed to do that?" He asked.

"We only have so long until that thing pulls back together." They stared long and hard at each other. Finally, Hiccup threw up his hands.

"Okay, I'm sorry for not helping." He apologized. Astrid crossed her arms, then sighed.

"And…I'm sorry for not listening." She looked at the small rocks slowly rolling together, and back at Hiccup.

"Any ideas?" She asked. Hiccup watched the rocks.

"Fire. It seems to have the greatest affect against it." Astrid nodded.

"But your fire is more powerful than mine, and it only made it crumble." Astrid then noticed something. Black rocks around the room, unmoving.

"Maybe not. Look, those rocks were a part of it." She said, pointing to the rocks. Hiccup's eyes widened.

"They're not moving. The fire must have severed a connection to the main body with them." She said. Hiccup rubbed his chin.

"So, if we can sever its body with my fire, we might be able to take it down." He said. "The only problem is I can't sense where it is. My aim is only good when I can sense something. Without it my shots will be thrown off." Astrid held up her axe.

"Here, try heating my axe with your fire, it might work." Hiccup saw the golem's body rising, it's back with a large hole in it.

"Okay, but be quick." Hiccup breath a blue flame over Astrid's axe, turning it white.

"Do not touch the blade whatever you do." Hiccup warned her. The golem turned to them and lunged. Astrid yelled and raised her axe.

"Take this!" She shouted as she swung. The axe severed the golem's legs. They fell to the ground, crumbled, but did nothing else. The rest of the body was squirming on the ground. Astrid raised her axe and brought it down on its neck. The body stopped squirming. Astrid let loose a breath she was holding. Hiccup changed back to normal.

"Astrid, you okay?" He asked. She nodded.

"What was this thing? I've never seen anything remotely close to it in Rapture."

"And what did it want? It kept saying to give it something."

"There's a security camera over that door." Toothless noted. They both turned to see the door. Above it was the security camera, with a green light.

"Looks like someone was watching us the whole time." Hiccup said. Wires lead out of it and into the hallway in front of them.

"Well, we should follow them. We might find out more about these things." Astrid said. Hiccup nodded. They carefully stepped over the body of the golem creature and continued onward.


So, who was watching them? What was that creature and what did it want? Find out next time, on How to Train your Plasmid. Remember to review! No flames, but constructional criticism welcome.