I stared out at the figure standing by the river from my hiding place. He looked twenty at most, wearing a red shirt and some simple armor. He was alone. He would be an easy target. Except that wasn't my mission today. I crept silently closer and zoomed in on him with my one prosthetic eye cover, scanning him. He was crying, his heart rate was above normal, and his eyes were dilated, staring as if to something that wasn't there. I made a note of him and watched his movement to figure out what his place was. Was he a sentry? A guard? A fisherman or food gatherer? What would happen if I killed him?
He began to speak, and I listened.
"Dang it, Hiccup. Dang it." He choked.
Hiccup.
Who was that? A friend of his? No worry. He must have been mad at someone, perhaps some petty human argument where he had come out here to pout afterwards. Humans. I rolled my eyes. Pathetic balls of emotion. Stupid fleshlings. I smirked. Well, this man wouldn't live as flesh much longer... once Viggo got what he wanted. The entire village of Berk would be his soon enough.
"Heh. Look at me, Hiccup." The man was speaking. "I-I'm a mess again. And all it took was one memory. Why do you have to haunt me? Is it because you're mad at me? Because I'm sorry. I really am. Whatever I did."
I smirked. Dumb human, whoever you're talking to isn't here. You're alone, you logic lacking ape.
But whatever he was saying... it was having a weird affect on me. Something in my mind, deeper then circuitry and machinery was awakening ever so slightly. A faint flickering candle deep in my very soul. But immediately it was blocked by a nasty zap from my machine heart. A reminder that I was not human. It was a failsafe to keep me from feeling or malfunctioning. Viggo put it there.
The faint memory of a boy with auburn hair faded the moment it tried to surface. He did not exist.
Deciding that this man knew I was here and had found a way to mess with my circuits, I decided he was a threat to my mission. I primed my blaster.
He would die.
I started as something rustled in the bushes. My thoughts immediately turned from Hiccup to what was in the bushes.
"Hello? Who's there? Ruff? Tuff?"
Something flew out of the bushes on the other side of the river and pinned me to the ground. I stared at the monster before me. He held a large blaster which was apparently his arm to my head. Despite the machinery and the freaky glowing eye, I recognized him.
It was Hiccup.
What had once been my best friend was now a hybrid of human and machine. Hiccup.
HICCUP. My brain flew into a fury of thoughts. He was ALIVE? He was ALIVE!
His half metallic face held a wicked, taunting grin. A fake voice came from his mouth. "Any last words?" I heard a sickening wirr coming from the blatser pinned to my head. "I so enjoy what humans have to say before they die, like 'Spare me!' or 'Oh no, don't shoooot!'." His tone had so much mocking in it.
My thoughts of 'will he kill me' were still being overrun by a torrent of 'HE'S ALIVE!' My excitement got the best of me.
"Nothing? Hmm a shame." The machine covered Hiccup purred. "I guess you die without last words."
"HICCUP! I-I Y-YOU'RE ALIVE! And looking a little odd, I admit, but-"
The android started. He said nothing. So I continued. "Oh gosh, it's so good to see you! What happened? I missed you so much! They all told me you were dead, but I never believed it and oh my gosh I was right, you're alive!" I was crying again with pure joy this time.
The android smirked. "Ha. He ha ha ha. Very fuuunny, human scum. You had me for a second there. You really did." He pushed the blaster into my head roughly. "Those are the worst, most pathetic last words I've ever heard. What an oh so sad attempt to get me to stop. Too bad it failed."
My heart began to sink. This wasn't Hiccup. It couldn't be! He would never be this rough, this cruel, this nasty. But it was clearly him. When I looked into the one good eye, it was him. Despite the cruel pleasure he was taking in seeing me scared and trapped, when I looked into that green eye, I saw every bit my friend had been.
"Hiccup, where's Toothless?" I asked.
Hiccup reacted to this by wincing visibly as if he was in pain. "He doesn't exist." Hiccup hissed. "He doesn't exist. He doesn't exist!"
"He does! You built him! You gave him LIFE, Hiccup! You LOVED him! He LOVED you! I LOVED YOU! You're my BEST FRIEND IN THE WHOLE WORLD!"
"HE DOESN'T EXIST!" The android roared.
I froze, my heart leaping into my chest and trying to reach out to Hiccup.
"He doesn't exist." The android hissed, calming down. "There is no Hiccup. There is no Toothless. There was no friendship. No love." He was icily calm now. "I feel nothing. NOTHING."
"Hiccup..." I whispered in a small voice. "Please, you would never hurt me."
"Oh would I?" The android croaked. "Well then." He moved closer, staring me in the face. "Fine. But we WILL meet again."
And with that, he hit me on the head with his blaster and everything blacked out.