When one door closes
As Merida walked through the building of Haddock industries headquarters she was in a foul mood. First there was the fact that she and Limelight had lost their fight with Fury and Frost while they took the sword of Mor'du. Then there was the fact that her secret identity was compromised. Who knew what Fury would do with this information on her? He could extort her for company secrets for all she knew.
Her rage boiled at the thought of that Fury. She hated that man. All smug with his fancy armor. Then he had the audacity to blackmail her into backing off the sword and cease her hero activities while in his city. Merida hated when people gave her orders. Who did that man think he was?
But with his knowledge of her identity she and Limelight had no choice. And three days after their fight they had kept a low profile and done as he said.
But what really bothered her was that she hadn't been able to reach Hiccup in the last few days. She tried calling him to schedule a date, thinking that was just the thing that would cheer her up, but he hadn't responded. He hadn't even come in to discuss the terms of the merger, he just sent his executives to speak with her. When she questioned his secretary she only said that Hiccup was indisposed and handling a 'personal matter'. It bothered her, she couldn't help but feel like she was being avoided.
Like she had done for the last few days she walked to Hiccup's office to see if he was there that day. She came up to his secretary and asked to speak with him. To her glee she said he was in today. So Merida walked past her and to his office door. She paused just outside his door to fluff up and brush stray hairs out of her face. Then she straightened her clothes out and took a breath before putting on her best smile.
Then she pushed open the door. She didn't see the need to knock since they were going to be partners in the future. And maybe something more. With a smile she walked up to Hiccup's desk. Hiccup's office had a large stain glass window and the size could be used to double for business meetings. At his desk she could see Hiccup deep in work, looking over documents and checking things on a computer screen.
"Hey stranger," she greeted playfully.
Hiccup, apparently just noting her presence, looked up from his work at her. He set his papers down before looking up at her with a tight smile. "Hello Merida," he said evenly.
Merida raised an eyebrow slightly noticing his odd behavior. He seemed…different. It's like he wasn't as cheery to see her as usual.
"So did you take care of your 'personal business'?" she inquired.
Hiccup kept his face neutral. "Yes…I did," he answered blankly.
Merida furrowed her brows. There it was again. Smiling wide she leaned over the desk slightly to look into his eyes. "So anyway, I was wondering if you were free. I haven't seen you in a couple of days and I thought we could spend some time together," she offered. "Dinner would be lovely."
Hiccup stared at her blankly. Then with a sigh he stood up. He kept his face stoic as he held her gaze. "Actually Merida, I've been doing some thinking," he began. He paused to take a breath, determined to finish his statement. "And I think we should stop…this," he said gesturing between them both.
Merida was stricken by surprise. "Woot?" she asked in shock as she stood up to look at him.
"Yeah. Relationships are complicated enough. But they're even more so for people like us," he explained. Merida of course would never understand the double meaning when he said us.
"But Hiccup…I thought…well we…I," Merida stammered out. Not knowing where to begin. She couldn't understand where this was coming from. They'd been having so much fun. They'd been connecting so well. What could have happened to make him suddenly decide this?
"I hope this won't interfere with the merger Merida," he interrupted. His heart clenched as he saw the hurt in her face. His stomach churned as he watched her pained eyes looked into his. Helpless. Confused.
But he kept his gaze trained on her. He clenched his jaw and kept his feature smooth. He had to do this. This was for the best.
Merida saw the firmness in his eyes. He meant what he said. Her heart sank as she released a sad sigh. But she squared her shoulder and looked into his eyes. "Of course not Hiccup," she said with a nod. "Excuse me," she said under her breath as she tore her eyes away and walked out of the room as fast as possible.
Hiccup watched her walk away. Knowing he'd possible just ended the best thing that had ever happened to him. After discovering her identity he contemplated calling off the merger altogether. But he decided against it as there was so much good that could come of it. But he remained firm that he couldn't stay with Merida. Not with enemies coming at him from both sides.
He sank back in his chair and his shoulders sagged. His mind kept replaying the look of devastation he had to witness when he'd told her it was over. But he swallowed deep. He pushed his pain down to the deepest pits of his heart.
It wasn't like they were actually a couple yet. And Merida was…well Merida. She would bounce back in no time.
She was rich, beautiful, intelligent, and a fantastic woman. She would get another guy as soon as she wanted.
Merida hated romance movies. With a passion. Especially those involving the female character getting her heartbroken, by some guy who's obviously an idiot and not worthy of her, and then gorging herself on ice cream and junk food to sooth the pain. She'd always yell at the screen, telling her to 'suck it up'.
But now, as she sat there watching a movie in which a girl just got her heart broken and eats her own gallon of cookies and cream ice cream…she totally gets it. She could now empathize with this poor girl who had her heart ripped out and stepped on. And as she shoveled down spoonfuls of her frozen treat in an attempt to quell the lancing hurt that coursed through her chest every time she thought about Hiccup, she attempted to hold back tears. The ice cream seems to momentarily fill that hole that he just ripped out of her heart.
Beside her, Rapunzel was staring wide eyed as she indulges in junk food. Rapunzel was the one who suggested a movie in an attempt to get Merida back to her old self. But she never imagined this.
"Wow Mer. I've never seen you like this over a guy before," Rapunzel pointed out. Merida only sniffled before shoveling another spoonful into her mouth. Then she mumbled something around her spoon that her friend couldn't make out.
"I'm sorry, what?" Rapunzel asked.
Merida swallowed a mouthful of ice cream. "It hurts so bad Punz," she muttered miserably.
Rapunzel's heart goes out to her friend. She couldn't believe what she told when she gotten home. That Hiccup had ended their relationship. She was shocked. She'd seen them getting along so well the other day. They'd had been so into each other.
"So that's all he said? That being rich and owners of your companies would complicate things too much?"
Merida nods. "But that can't be it. Can it?" she asked looking to her friend desperately. She wanted to understand why? Is it really because of the reasons he explained. If it was, why now?
"What did I do wrong Punz?" Merida asked aloud.
Rapunzel pursed her lips. She tried to think of something to say. Anything that might help ease Merida's pain. "Well…you do tend to come on a little strong Mer," Rapunzel pointed out weakly. Merida looked at her and coked her head to the side. "Maybe he was intimidated," she finished with a shrug. But as the words left her mouth she realized that they might have not been the best thing to say.
Because now Merida was going to think that it was her.
Her words hit Merida like a punch to the face. Was it because she showed too much interest? "But Hiccup did nae seem to mind," she said. Thinking back she remembered Hiccup seemed to like her taking charge.
With a sad whine she rolled onto her side and clutched her ice cream to her chest. Rapunzel could only watch helplessly, unsure of what to do.
"You want me to go throw his car into the ocean?" she said in a light joke. Merida shook her head in rejection. She hasn't stooped so low to be petty.
Rapunzel sighed and turned to back to watching the movie. She would do what she could for Merida. Hopefully she could offer her support and her company. And then maybe Merida would get over Hiccup and go back to her old self.
"Dude…you broke up with her?" Jack asked beside Hiccup as he sat at the computer in their base. He could tell Hiccup is heartbroken. He may have seemed solely engrossed and focused in his work, but Jack knew that he was trying to distract the aching in his heart by engaging his mind.
Toothless could sense it too as he laid his head on his master's lap to provide some comfort. "Yes Jack. Why is that's so hard to understand," Hiccup asked in annoyance.
Jack stood there, unsure of what to say. "But, you liked her so much," he reminded him.
"Yeah, I do," Hiccup said shortly. "But are live are way too complicated."
Jack pursed his lips as he tried to think of something to say. "Dude, I think you're overthinking things," Jack offered. Hiccup glanced over at him and raised an eyebrow. "I mean, when I was with the guardians, me and Tori dated. And yeah, as superheroes our enemies tried to use us against each other, but as heroes we were strong enough to take them down," Jack explained.
"But you guys only had people coming at you from one side Jack," Hiccup argued. "Frost and Hummingbird had enemies. But Tori and Jack didn't. You were safe outside of costume. I'm not. Neither is Merida," he explained.
"So you're doing this to protect her? Cuz she didn't seem like she needed much protection. As herself or Archer," Jack shot back.
Hiccup frowned up at him. He appreciated what he was trying to do but he didn't want to his this right now. "We're done talking about this Jack," he growled as he turned back to the computer. Jack opened his mouth to argue but Hiccup cut him off with a short and decisive, "Done."
Jack scowled down at his stubborn friend. That was Hiccup's problem. He went with his head to much. And as brilliant as his mind might be sometime he had to go with what he felt. With a sigh Jack backed off.
"Alright," he said shrugging. "I'm going out on patrol." With that he turned and walked away to leave his friend to his work.
Hiccup sighed at the computer screen as he continued trying to find a way to pinpoint Drago and Pitch's location. But all the while his thoughts of Merida plagued him.
"Focus damn it. Just let it go. Let her go. The city needs Night Fury right now," he commanded himself.
As Jack flew over the city as Frost he thought about Hiccup. His friend hadn't had some special in a long time. He felt bad for him. Hiccup was a good guy. He was always willing to do the right thing, even if it cost him his happiness. Jack would never admit it, but he greatly respected that about him. If he were in Hiccup's shoes he probably wouldn't have done what he did.
"SOMEBODY HELP!" suddenly came a shout. Jack snapped to attention. Stopping in midair he turned and tried to pinpoint the scream.
"PLEASE! I NEED HELP HERE!" came another shout. Jack pinpointed it coming from an alley. As fast as he could he flew over to it. When he got there he found a group of young women, he noticed that about five of them were huddled in a circle and kneeling around what looked like bodies. He feared the worst as he touched down.
"Is everything ok," he said to announce his presence.
The girls all turned to look at him. "Frost," one of them cried in relief. "Please, they need help," she said gesturing to the bodies. Jack rushed forward. The girls moved aside to let him get a look.
The good news is that they weren't dead bodies. But what he saw was the bad news either.
Hiccup sat in silence in the base having had no luck in an attempt to find Drago and Pitch. He aimlessly stroked Toothless' head as he contemplated his next move.
"Fury," came a voice from his earpiece.
Hiccup raised a finger to press the button on the earpiece to respond. "Go ahead."
"Come to Berk Downtown Hospital. Like now," Frost said firmly.
Hiccup raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong? Drago?" he asked.
"Just…you're going to want to see this," was all Frost said.
Hiccup furrowed his brow in confusion at his answer. But standing up he responded. "On my way."
Frost waited anxiously for his partner to arrive. He could hardly believe what he saw. It had to be magic. He could feel it. Dark magic. And these poor girls.
"Frost," came a familiar voice. Frost turned to see Fury walking down the hall of the hospital. People stooped and stared as he passed and some rushed to get out of his way. Frost turned to see his partner. He stepped to the side before opening a door to a hospital room.
"In here."
Fury stepped inside before Frost came in after him. Inside the hospital room were two beds. Both holding a patient. As Fury looked them over he raised an eyebrow. They were two women. Old women at that. Greying hair, wrinkles galore, what was so special? They were hooked up to machines and appeared to be unconscious as their chest fell and rose steadily.
"This is what you called me down here for?" he asked gesturing to the two old women skeptically.
Frost looked him in the eye. His face serious. Fury knew that what he was about to say was not a joke. "That one is 21," he said pointing to the one on the left. "And that one is 23," he said pointing to the other on the right.
Underneath his helmet Fury's eyes widened in shock. He took another look at them. How could girls in the early twenties look like that? It was impossible.
"Were there scans? Maybe something happened. Let me take a look at—"
"This isn't science partner," Frost said cutting him off. Fury stopped and looked into his eyes. "This is magic. Some pretty bad and powerful stuff. Their life force has been sucked out of them, turning them into this," he said gesturing to them.
Fury was at a loss. He didn't know what to do. Frost didn't know either. That's why he'd called Fury down. He was always the idea man.
Fury racked his brain for a solution. And it came. Frost noticed this.
"Got an idea?" he asked curiously.
Fury nodded. "We need help."
Rapunzel was on her friend's laptop as Merida watched yet another sad romance movie and ate a packet of Oreos. If she didn't stop soon she was going to get fat. But now didn't seem like a good time to tell her that.
She was contemplating melting Hiccup's tires for what he did when Merida's computer started bugging out. She furrowed her brows in confusion when suddenly a whole bunch a zeros and ones appeared on the screen.
"Uhm. Merida…I think I broke your laptop," Rapunzel called out. Merida turned to look at her and cocked an eyebrow. Her computer was custom made and one of the highest quality in the world. She got up from her couch and walked over. She bent down beside Rapunzel as they both watched the screen.
"You've been hacked," came a familiar voice. They both gasped and jumped back in surprise. "We need Archer and Limelight to come to the top of Berk Downtown Hospital now," it said. "It's urgent." With that the screen went back to normal.
Both women exchanged a glance. That had been Fury. No doubt about that. And he was calling them out. They thought about not going but the last part about it being urgent spurred them into running to get changed. Within a few minutes they were in costume and ready. Heading to her balcony Merida allowed Rapunzel to pick her up before the both took to the air.
Frost and Fury waited anxiously on the hospital's roof. Fury figured that the only person who could help the two women was Limelight. He'd heard that one of her powers was healing people. Hopefully she could heal this.
He'd hacked Merida's computer since he knew she would obviously still be in the city. And even if Limelight wasn't she would probably have the means to reach her.
"They're here," Frost said pointing to the sky with his staff. Fury looked up to see Limelight and Archer coming straight for the roof. They waited as they landed on the roof and Limelight set Archer down. Then they all stood in awkward silence.
Hiccup gulped underneath his helmet. Seeing Merida as Archer again was weird. Especially since he broke up with her.
"Well?" Archer said impatiently.
Fury shook his head to focus. This wasn't the time for that. "Thank you for coming," he said honestly. "Something has happened. Something we need your help with," he began.
"Yoo've got a lot ay nerve askin' fur uir help," Archer hissed at him.
Fury took a breath to stay calm. Damn Merida. Fiery as always. "I wouldn't have called you if we didn't seriously need it. More specifically you Limelight," he said looking to the blonde.
The woman cocked her head to the side curiously.
"There are some women who could use your help. If not for us, then for them," he pleaded. He figured she wouldn't refuse. Even if she hated him, she was a hero. Helping the innocent was what they did.
He watched as she seemed to mull it over. She was probably trying to tell if he was lying or not. But eventually she relented. "Ok. Lead the way," she said firmly. Fury nodded and motioned for them both to follow.
Inside the room of the two women the heroes stood in silence as Limelight stood in front of their beds. They saw her fists clench and unclench at her sides and her hair flash in what Archer knew was anger.
"Gothel," Limelight muttered under her breath with venom.
"So you know what happened?" Fury asked.
Limelight nodded. "Gothel happened. An enemy of mine and a witch. She has this bad habit of stealing the youth of others," she explained. "You were right to call me. I'm probably the only person who can help these two."
"Please. Do what you can," Fury said as he took a step back. She glanced over her shoulder and nodded at him.
Then taking a breath she willed her hair to move. It did as it grew and divided into two section before covering the two women's whole upper body, save their faces.
Then she closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
~Flower gleam and glow~
She began to sing. The others watched as her golden locks glowed brilliantly. It started at her scalp and began spreading down her hair.
Fury and Frost both gasped while Archer remained silent. She'd seen her do this before.
~Let your power shine~
~Make the clock reverse~
As she continued to sing Frost and Fury noticed the girls' wrinkles began to fade away. And their hair was also darkening. Liver spots and loose skin began to tighten and color rushed into their faces.
~Bring back what once was mine~
~What once was mine~
Limelight finished as the glow in her hair faded. Slowly she unwrapped her hair and willed it back to the normal length.
Frost and Fury stood their gaping in shock. Then the girls' eyes began to flutter open. Then they sat up in bed and rubbed their temples before sweeping their heads around the room in confusion.
Fury led them out of the room. Outside the girls' families were told it was ok to see them and they would be fine. They thanked them profusely before rushing inside.
Fury and Frost turned to look at Archer and Limelight.
"Thank you," Fury said sincerely.
Limelight accepted his thanks with a nod.
Fury and Frost exchanged a glance. Archer and Limelight could see a silent communication going on between them before they both nodded.
"Come with us if you'd like," Fury said blankly. With that he and Frost began walking back up to the roof of the hospital.
Archer and Limelight exchanged curious glances. But with a shrug they both obliged. Once at the roof Fury and Frost looked back them expectantly. Limelight and Archer understood and Limelight picked up her friend and waited.
With a nod Fury took off first, followed by Frost, and Limelight followed after. She followed after them, curious as to where they were leading her and her friend. She followed them for about 15 minutes as they were led to the docks. They passed by many shipyards before stopping at an abandoned one.
Fury and Frost flew in through the window of an abandoned shipyard building. Limelight went in after them. It was very dark inside, save for the light of the moon shining in. But she could make out Frost and Fury standing in the center of the building.
Landing, Limelight set Archer down before they both walked up to stand in front of them. Once they did they looked at them both, waiting and wondering where they'd just led them.
Fury held their gaze before lifting his arm up and pressing something on his gauntlet. Then suddenly the floor under them gave a lurch before it suddenly began to lower. Archer and Limelight yelped and looked around in surprise as they started descending into the floor.
They could hear the whir and crank of machines around them so they assumed they were on some kind of platform.
"Where are you taking us?" Archer asked.
Fury remained silent as he looked to her. "Our base," he replied.
"Welcome to the cove ladies," Frost said with a smile.
New chapter. Hope you like.