It was a difficult time that came next. Fish was recovering well, my leg and arm were healing, Astrid was getting better every day. Tuff wouldn't talk, and no one had any idea where Ruff was. Which was concerning. Whatever had happened to the female twin had probably not been good. I was hoping she was okay, but judging by the way Tuff was, I wasn't sure.
With the help of Hiccup and Fish, who were both looking way better, and even the Hiccup clones, we began to turn our people back into their usual selves, taking off the armor. It was a difficult process, but we managed, and one by one, the citizens of Berk were put in whatever building we could find. The RCCB was too small, but there were a few other building strong enough to hold people. One was the Chief's house.
Hiccup seemed to be recovering with every second he spent with Toothless. I was sitting with him and Toothless by the river one evening. They were both very quiet. Hiccup was sitting cross-legged, rubbing his prosthetic leg over and over. Toothless had his broken tail wrapped around Hiccup, staring off into the woods. I broke the silence, clearing my throat.
"So... how are you feeling, Hiccup?" I ventured.
He started, turning to stare at me. Instead of answering, he shrugged. He turned back to stare at the river, refusing to meet my gaze. This was the exact spot that I had met Clone. This was the spot that I had seen Hiccup and Toothless, remembered seeing them playing together, splashing like brothers.
"Uh, you remember this spot, right, Hicc? This was your favorite spot, here under this tree, and we'd come here all the time."
Hiccup nodded absently. I wilted.
"C'mon, say something. I know you better that that. You're thinking something." I pushed.
Toothless shot me a look of disapproval. Hiccup sighed softly.
"I just..." He said softly. "Even after all Viggo did, I don't think..."
You don't think he deserved that death. I finished silently. Sometimes I knew exactly what Hiccup was going to say.
"Well, if it makes you feel better, I don't really either. Inferno dropped him in the woods, and last I saw, he was pretty torn up. He shouldn't come back, and that means we're safe. He probably didn't suffer long. Still, that had to be painful."
I realized too late that I probably hadn't made Hiccup feel better, but worse. I had put my fat foot in my fat mouth. I glanced at him and saw him melting into Toothless' legs. Said AI was sending me an unimpressed look.
"Don't pay that any mind." He told Hiccup. "The man had it coming. He tortured you, our village, ripped my wings off... He had it coming. Now he can't hurt anyone ever again." He lifted his front paw and gently rubbed Hiccup's back.
Hiccup didn't respond. I chided myself and face-palmed.
"Sorry, Hiccup, I didn't mean to-" I started.
Toothless sent me a silent shut up. I snapped my jaw shut before I could cause more damage. I had already known Hiccup was a little more fragile than he had been before. My stupidity had hurt him again, like years ago when I had bullied him. I sighed.
"Well, for something else to talk about, how about you explain to me how you turned the Cyborg clones against- I mean, so they worked for us?" I pleaded.
Hiccup stirred slightly and looked at me. "Yeah, sure." He straightened up, apparently eager to talk about his programming skills. "To start with, it was just a simple manner of making a delayed algorithm. At first, it would send the 'work for viggo' signal over and over. Then over time, would change to a 'don't do what viggo says' signal. Then, the clones of me seemed to have some idea of what to do anyway, and eventually, they just started helping instead of hurting.I was hoping it would work, but I didn't expect it to work so well." Hiccup seemed pleased with himself, and he smiled at me.
"That's pretty incredible." I praised, patting him on the back. "Nice."
"I think it's time I fixed Toothless." Hiccup said suddenly. "I think I feel up to it now." He probably would have done it sooner, but he had been pretty out of it at first. The village was being rebuilt now, and things were better. We had some materials, and a temporary forge.
"Okay, great idea." I agreed. "Can I come with you?"
"Of course." Hiccup stated. "What else do you have to do?"
Plenty. "Nothing. Let's go."
I gently pried Toothless' head cover off, placing it aside and staring inside.
"Looks good in here." I nodded, seeing everything in order. Lucky enough Viggo had decided not to be barbaric enough to rip up Toothless' brain. Richard had left a while ago to oversee some repairs. I was surprised my father hadn't come to see me yet, but maybe he was still recovering. I hoped I would see him soon. Suddenly, I noticed something. There was a noticeable slice through Toothless's head. Why hadn't I seen it? It looked like a knife cut, slicing straight through Toothless' head and into some gears. It looked like it had stunned him, but hadn't killed him or caused severe damage. But anymore to the right, and-
I shuddered. An image flashed into my mind, an old one. My father slicing his knife straight through Toothless' head.
It hadn't been my imagination. My fists clenched. Why in the world had he done that? He knew Toothless was a friend. I was confused. I heard a soft noise and whipped around to see a large figure in the door. In seconds, I was whipped back to the torture room. Ryker was holding a plate of slop with a nasty expression on his face.
"No, not again!" I yelled, backing into the wall, a small part of me wondering why I wasn't chained. "Stop! Let me go! I don't want to help you!" Pain seared through my leg, and I winced, collapsing. A large hand grabbed me and I panicked, turning and trying to bolt for the open door to freedom. "Let me GO!"
"Hiccup? Calm down!" Ryker taunted me.
"Let go of me! I don't want to! I don't-"
The nasty scene faded, and I found myself looking up into my father's eyes. He looked surprised and worried. My heart slowed, and I tried to stop hyperventilating. Once I felt barely passable, I stood on shaky legs.
"I'm f-fine." I whispered. "I'm okay."
"No you're not, Hiccup. You looked terrified and-" He stopped suddenly, and I heard a snort from Toothless. "It's alright, son. It's okay. It's over now." I looked up at him. He was stripped of the cyborg armor, and looked better. He still looked tired, though, and as though he had been through a lot. I smiled meekly at him and moved forward, wrapping my arms around him. He stiffened slightly and then relaxed, hugging me back.
"I'm glad you're okay, dad."
"I'm thankful you're here, Hiccup. I thought I'd lost you forever." I heard a new softness in his voice, and his hug became softer and gentler. I hadn't thought him capable of such gentleness. I began to cry, hugging him tightly and feeling his big strong hands rubbing my back and stroking my hair. It was comforting, after the screeches of war, after deaths, and fights, and cold chains, and torture, and so much pain. Now, all that was gone, replaced by the simple embrace of a loving father. I almost felt perfectly safe for the first time since my birth. I was calmed by the heart I could feel beating in his chest. His soft assurances.
Gee, I was nearly nineteen or so, and this was the first time this had truly happened. Sure, we had been reconciling since the Red Death, but after that, it had started awkwardly. We both didn't forget those years he neglected me overnight. Old habits of not listening to each other faded hard. We still argued and had rough days where we grated on each other's nerves, stepped accidentally on toes. But we tried, we made efforts, and here, they were paying off. We were here embracing freely as father and son, loving family, comforting each other after a storm. I no longer felt unloved. I felt free to hug him without feeling ashamed that I wasn't the son he wanted.
It felt good.
Finally, we split apart and I smiled at him, thanking him silently.
Then I decided to ask him something.
"Dad, I found a knife mark in Toothless' head. You wouldn't happen to know about that, would you?"
He winced.
"Son... it was during the battle against Drago. The AI were brainwashed, remember?"
WHAT? "No, I didn't. I don't remember the battle."
My father sighed heavily. "Drago and his army showed up, with you, Richard and the others not far behind. Then, just when we were about to take to the air to attack with our AI, they turned on us, joining Drago. You and Toothless also took to the air, and began to attack."
I was stunned. There was no way! "But Toothless couldn't- I- no! There's no way! How could I have been attacking? Was I brainwashed too?"
Stoick shrugged heavily. "I don't know. But all I do know is what happened. Richard had me catapult him up there, and he knocked you off Toothless and tried to get Toothless down without hurting him. But... Toothless was going to kill him. I had to act, son. I stabbed Toothless because it was the only way I knew how to stop him."
I lowered my head, trying to show how much this hurt me.
"Y-you hurt Toothless..." I hissed softly.
"I'm sorry, son, but it was either Toothless or Richard. At the time, I had to make a decision. Son... please understand." He searched me pleadingly, with such an expression that begged me to forgive him.
Half of me wanted to. The moment we had just shared was fresh in my mind, but now all I could feel was this odd sense of betrayal. I stared at him, and he must have seen the conflict in my eyes.
"I'm sorry." He repeated. This time, he made no excuses, just gave me a raw apology. I calmed slightly, giving in and nodding.
"I just don't want to see you hurt him ever again." I said. He nodded.
"I'll try. I promise. Anyway, there's something I want to-"
Toothless suddenly stiffened. I turned to him.
"Bud? What? Are you okay?"
"Running algorithm. Fail-safe 7-8-5-0-1-3-2-k-i-l-l." Toothless droned. "Kill target Hiccup Haddock." His pupils thinned to slits and he turned ominously in my direction.
I felt a shiver travel up my spine.
"Toothless?"I asked in a small voice.
My father backed away, looking startled.
"What is he doing?"
"I don't know." I was beginning to panic as Toothless began to stalk me, looking not like my best friend but rather my enemy. "Toothless, stop!"
"I'll have the last laugh after all, Hiccup." Toothless said. "To think, after all those mind games, after all those chats we had, that it would end like this." He smiled mechanically. This felt wrong. What was he doing? "I figured out long ago that you would turn my Cyborgs against me. I knew you were clever. But not clever enough. Isn't fate artistically ironic? I win in the end, even if it is a small victory."
Toothless was grinning almost as a wolf now. "I'll take happiness from wherever I happen to be, knowing that in the end, your own love for your AI was your undoing. That this, this, my dear Hiccup, is the fate of you and all humans if you don't learn your lesson! You will die to the machines you love so much! You will cause your own end! And with that, Hiccup, I'll bet you'll want to know how this is happening. See, two can play at the algorithm game. I reprogrammed your precious "Toothless" to act friendly until the moment was right. Then, turn on you and kill you. Consider this my last present to you. Checkmate, my dear Hiccup. Checkmate."
Toothless opened his mouth, and I could see his flame-shooter firing up. This was Viggo's work. I was panicking, and suddenly, I felt wood against my back. I was outside, pinned to the wall of a house. This would be where I would die. I gasped.
"Toothless, NO! Don't do it! It's me, Hiccup! Your creator! Your friend! Toothless!"
Toothless paid me no heed, and I could hear the blast firing. Everything seemed to slow, except my rapidly beating heart. My life flashed before my eyes, this time with happy images of Toothless only at the end.
"Hiccup!" Someone yelled.
"Please..." I wheezed. Suddenly, I turned to see my dad running towards me.
"SON!"
The blast fired. I was pushed to the ground. The world blacked out for a moment, and, my ears were ringing.
I looked up. Toothless was standing rigid as a statue, smoke trailing from his open mouth. I followed his eyes to a heap on the ground. A crowd was gathering to see what had happened. Valka and Richard were among them. Everyone was staring at the scene, open-mouthed, wondering what had just happened. My blood rushing in me ears, I scrambled to my feet and ran to my dad, lying motionless on the ground. Toothless still did not move. There was a black spot on the wall, and apparently, my father had been thrown violently against it when he had rushed to save me from Toothless. Of course, none of this was going through my head right now.
I was panicking.
NO.
Pushing over his limp form, I stared at him for a moment before putting my head against his chest. I could feel a weak, barely noticeable heartbeat. It was there... then it was gone.
It faded out, then...
Nothing.
Shock hit me harder than landing in cold water in just my underwear. It couldn't be over just like that! My dad was strong, my dad was unstoppable! He had survived many things before, and just moments ago, we had been hugging and bonding! His heartbeat had been there! It wasn't fair at all! I began to cry, shaking him feebly, trying to get him to move.
I remembered the words we had exchanged after the Red Death.
"I don't know if we'll get the chance to be a family, but I want that chance!"
"We'll get that chance."
I was sobbing now, hardly aware of Richard at my side, of my mother coming over and having no idea what to do, of the clamor in the crowds. Nothing registered. Until I was aware of a big black shape moving closer. My head snapped up, and through my tears, I could see Toothless. He had moved closer and looked upset. He gently nuzzled my father's limp hand.
I felt something snap.
"No." I hissed. "No! Get away from him!"
Toothless looked up at me, shocked. "H-hiccup? B-but..."
"Go on! GET AWAY!" I yelled, feeling wave after wave of pain and anger and shock move through me. "GO! DON'T TOUCH HIM!"
Toothless drew back as if I had attacked him, looking hurt and confused. It didn't even cross my mind that he was innocent. Just that my father was DEAD and it was all his fault. He stared at me for a moment before turning and blundering off through the crowds. I slumped back, feeling exhausted and useless and stupid.
I collapsed on the body of my father, sobbing.
I stared blankly at the scene before me, watching as if I was a stranger, far away. Villagers were carrying my father's body onto a pyre to be burned. All that was passing through my head, over and over was This can't be real. It has to be a nightmare. I was sobbing, leaning into someone, I didn't quite know who.
"We're here to honor a great man."
A voice spoke. It was cracked with pain, and I followed it to it's source. Richard. He was still Stoick's successor, I realized, and he was speaking the eulogy.
"A warrior, a Chief, a father. He was something to every one of us. He died doing one last act of love. Of protection. He will be honored." Richard was having a hard time speaking now, a hard time keeping his voice level. "He- he was a father to me, too, when I felt alone. I can only hope that I can be half the Chief he was." He motioned that he was done, and Inferno reached his large head forward and lit the pyre. It lit in a blaze of glory, and I watched if for a while. I eventually couldn't watch anymore and turned away.
This is wrong.
I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned to see Richard.
"They found this on him. I think he was meaning to give it to you." He said, his voice cracked with pain. He held out a familiar object. I recognized it as my flute. He placed it in my hand and I clutched onto it, beginning to cry all over again.
"Thank you." I whispered, hardly getting my voice to respond. Richard nodded and began to back away. I felt overcome with pain and ran to him, throwing my arms around him. He stiffened with surprise but hugged me tightly.
"Thank you..." I whispered again. What was going to happen now? It had all happened so quickly. One second, Everything was fine, and getting better, the next, everything had shattered again. There seemed to be no end to the pain caused by Viggo Grimborn. I felt lightheaded as the weight of everything crushed me again. My father, Stoick the vast, Stoick the unstoppable... was gone. The world spun, and I let myself collapse partway into Richard's arms.
I let myself be guided home, where Richard stayed with me a while, asking me if I needed anything. I just shook my head numbly, clutching to the flute so tightly my knuckles were white. I eventually calmed down enough to think everything over. Viggo had planted a trap in Toothless meant to kill me. Toothless had tried, but my father had saved me, taking the fatal blast for me. Richard was now going to be the chief. I was fatherless. Toothless was gone- oh gosh, Toothless! Where was he? I regretted chasing him off now. More pain hit me. What if he never came back because I was so harsh to him? What if I had lost him too? The pain was too much to bear, and I felt the room spin around me.
I was gasping for breath, trying to stay calm and failing. Toothless was gone, wasn't he? After all that, this is how it ends. I let out a cry of pain and whimpered, clutching to the flute.
"No!" I cried. "I'm sorry! Please!"
What was done was done.
Was this my fault? All of it?
Were my clones just as upset about my father's death? Where were they?
My thoughts blurred together in a merciless stream of pain. Sleep eventually gripped me and dragged me into troubled, dark dreams.