XLIII.
A month of unbidden nightmares descended upon him, of restless, near-sleepless nights and haunting dreams, images mocking the hypothetical fears of how a reunion with Toothless might poorly end, of Stoick's death again replayed, or his own death this time, or even, somehow, Astrid's – a torrent of terror, all at once, collided with Hiccup the instant he noticed the Night Fury's advance. Yet unlike the unwelcome midnight trysts, which, traumatizing as they were, at least bore not upon reality beyond unwelcome memories, Hiccup knew that this meeting now in daylight could not be escaped, could not be retracted, could not be redone. No waking up. No escape. What happened now between the Night Fury and him would determine the rest of their lives.
Assuming both of their lives continued beyond this incident.
He had known this day would come when he would once more need to face Toothless. Though sweating nightmares compounded his worst fears, the worst situations which could occur, and pelted his mind with constant anxieties, Hiccup's mind had worried about this moment even beyond the content of his dream states. The last month, alone much to himself, had left Hiccup with only his mind and the Driver Dragon for company; and thus his thoughts had cycled, over and over and over, about what possibly he could do when he and Toothless once more met face-to-face. Rational attempts to break the spell entered Hiccup's mind just as frequently as gut-clenching fears nothing could be done. And stubbornly he had tried to best those fears by repeating to himself arguments that Toothless could be saved. Charted out in his mind exactly how that could be done. And yet all his plans, all his infinite plans, some of them rather intelligent in fact, all disappeared the moment Toothless' narrow-slit eyes fastened upon Hiccup. Every strategy Hiccup had devised to free his best friend from the Vigilante fled in the same way he wished to flee now.
The fear of his father's death pressed upon Hiccup's mind. The threat his mother spoke to him, the last time they had spoken, weighed down upon him, too. If we meet again, don't think your dragon will miss his shot a second time.
Finding Toothless again could mean Hiccup's death.
The dragon advanced.
Yet at the same time, Hiccup did not run away. He did not even step backwards, not a single tentative stride. His heart pounded, and his memories screamed at him he was about to die, but Hiccup stepped forward instead. Stepped toward Toothless.
For while this encounter with Toothless might mean his death, it was not life without his best friend.
"Toothless?" Hiccup murmured, his voice cracking as he reached out his hand in the direction of the snarling dragon. The crouched Night Fury crept forward from several yards away. Both of them stepped forward to lessen that distance. Hiccup kept his voice soft as he continued inching onward, watched his hand tremble violently as it neared the dragon's jaw. His left palm hovered, hovered, hovered, just beyond reach of a tooth-filled open mouth. "It's me, bud. It's me."
No evidence suggested Toothless so much as heard Hiccup's voice. Slit black pupils stared intently at the young Viking, now just a jaw snap's distance away.
Did Hiccup see gas foaming inside the dragon's throat?
"I'm right here," Hiccup said. He hesitated to lean forward now that Toothless was right there, his head right there, his future cause of death right there.
No.
It did not have to be that way.
It did not have to end in death.
It. did. not. have. to. end. now.
Memories of the two of them flying, carefree, in the skies together sang a greater truth than memories of Stoick's death. That was the deep reality in their bond, years barrel-rolling in the skies, play-fighting on cliff sides. Not. this.
He needed Toothless to see it. Share with him those memories. Return to older days of the two of them together…
And Hiccup pleaded, "Come back to me." Hiccup held himself upright as strong as he could, focusing on reducing the shakes in his hands, maintaining firm eye contact with Toothless despite the dragon's continued static stare.
He touched Toothless right on the snout, right between the eyes, feeling the dry scales scrape against his palm, and gazed directly into the dragon's soul. And though his voice cracked, and flashbacks splattered in blood filled his vision just as vividly as he saw the dragon's dark stare now, Hiccup declared, "It wasn't your fault, bud."
He had to force out the next words. "They… made… you do it."
He had to force himself to remember positive events between himself and the dragon, not the plasma blast on the Vigilante's mountainside.
You never meant to kill my father.
And Toothless stirred. Just for an instant, a small instant, Toothless' eyes dilated before snapping back to narrow lines.
Remember, Toothless, remember who we were. The freedom of Dragon Racing. The day of the Regatta when the sport first gripped Berk's attention. That was a fond memory the two of them shared.
Memories of harsher days in Hiccup's teenaged years, days of enemy Viking attacks, but which still in all glory proclaimed their long-enduring friendship.
He recalled one of them now. Toothless and Hiccup rescuing Stoick from Dagur the Deranged, back when Hiccup was only sixteen.
"You'd never hurt him."
Toothless's eyes definitely dilated this time, and it might have taken more time for them to retract again.
A spark of trepid hope. Hiccup's heart had been drumming before. It pounded even more now at the thought that maybe, maybe, maybe, this might not be the end. Toothless was not growling now, not preparing for a blast, barely baring his teeth.
More memories.
More.
The day Hiccup was struck by lightning, fell from the mast of the ship and sunk to the ocean, and Toothless plunged into the waters to save his life.
The day a rogue Whispering Death attacked Berk, in which Hiccup fell off a cliff, and Toothless dived through the skies to save his life.
The day in the Kill Ring, back when Vikings still killed dragons, that Toothless pounced straight into the fray and fought off a Monstrous Nightmare to save Hiccup's life.
"You'd never hurt me."
Tears trembled in Hiccup's eyes as he continued to beg the unseeing Night Fury to remember, remember, remember their bond.
Snoggletog holidays together.
Toothless fishing Hiccup's dropped helmet from out of the sea.
Hiccup constructing Toothless' tail and saddle.
"Please," Hiccup cried. "You are my best friend, bud."
Old memories, old ones, back when Toothless was trapped in the cove.
Fishing together in the lake.
Mimicking each other's awkward grins.
Drawing sketches in the sand – Toothless even trying the art himself by pulling along an uprooted tree trunk for a stylus.
This, this is who we are, Toothless. Not Dad's death… not a betrayal… not a separation… but an inseparable bond.
"My best friend."
Toothless' eyes were dilating, contracting, dilating, contracting. He threw his head forward, butting into Hiccup, and the young Viking steeled himself to be bowled over and emboweled. But he held onto Toothless' snout, and even as he squeezed his eyes shut, he grabbed more firmly onto Toothless, more resolutely, and cried out, "I won't leave you! I won't let you go!"
It was like the day Hiccup first reached out to touch Toothless' nose. Back then, staring directly at the dragon brought suspicious snarls and retreated steps. Closing his eyes, ducking his head, and reaching out gently, very gently, encouraged trust. Toothless had leaned in that day and tapped his snout against Hiccup's outstretched palm. Their first physical contact marked the first great milestone of their bond together.
And Hiccup had reached out now, and touched the Night Fury in the same way, the same helpless position, begging for that friendship to continue. For that bond to once more be forged, more inseparable than before.
The dragon cooed. Hiccup could hear the sentence in Toothless' non-human voice:
You're my best friend.
Hiccup opened his eyes. Toothless' wide black pupils reflected Hiccup's face. A gummy, toothless grin greeted his friend wholeheartedly. This was a dragon whose soul reflected Hiccup's own – this was Toothless, the real Toothless, no longer under the Bewilderbeast's control.
Jubilation screamed through Hiccup's heart.
And then a voice screeched out, "How are you doing that?"
Hiccup barely had time to react, to jump aside, before a sharp-edged wooden staff cut between the Viking and his dragon. The Vigilante whirled around, pointed her weapon before her son, and snapped, "He is under my control!"
The reflection of Hiccup in Toothless' eyes disappeared as once again the pupils tightened to heartless splinters. As soon as Hiccup's hand released Toothless's nose, the dragon lost his memories of his friend.
Valka struck at her son.
Hiccup wrenched out his sword.
Crack.
The two weapons united.
"I don't want to fight you," Hiccup insisted, though he maintained Endeavor before him even as he spoke so, knowing very well they would duel regardless.
Valka, green eyes glowing intently at Hiccup, snarled back, "So long as you breathe, I will stop you!" She spun away again, almost as though dancing, and whirled her staff in hand before striking yet again, this time sweeping low at Hiccup's foot and prosthetic. He jumped aside and held up Endeavor before her second offensive swing could strike him on the side of his head. Out of the corner of his eye, Hiccup noticed that his blade's sharp steel edge dug into her staff, not severing it, but still digging tenaciously into its side.
Then their weapons disengaged – just for an instance – before a flurry of jabs and thrusts and swipes and stabs and swings bounced one off another, a parry meeting a quickly-assembled block, a defensive swing halting the trajectory of an aggressive slice. In the constant whirlwind of staff head and sword blade, Hiccup could see not where Toothless went, could barely see his mother's wrathful eye, could indeed see little as he ducked and hoped to live. He backed away, deflecting swing after swing, each block less quickly pulled up, each save more precariously close to drawing his own blood. Hiccup found himself pushed to the western entrance of the hangar, and indeed stepped outside, his foot and prosthetic clopping against the wood of the outside landing area, the sea stretching out behind him.
Still Valka drove forward.
With a belligerent swing, Hiccup struck straight in the center of her staff, and an enormous snap followed. The rod broke straight in two. For the first time in the confrontation, Valka's eyes appeared shocked, uncertain.
Hiccup held out Endeavor, wondering what now to do that he gained the advantage and the Vigilante was disarmed. Stalling for time as he made his decision, Hiccup held up his sword and told the Vigilante, "It's over now."
He spotted Toothless prowling out of the hangar behind Valka. Hiccup stood nearest to the edge of the platform, the Vigilante and the dragon nearer the entrance to the caves. Toothless was too far away for Hiccup to see the pupils and determine whether or not the Night Fury would fight for his mother or for his friend. Either way, though, only Hiccup appeared to notice Toothless' presence; Valka focused her attention elsewhere.
She glanced upward to the sky, and with an all-too-knowing half-grin, sneered back at Hiccup, "Or is it?"
"Toothless!" he shouted out instinctively, reaching out to the dragon beyond him.
Then.
Water.
Gushed.
Everywhere.
Hiccup had only half a second to glance up and see the Bewilderbeast open its jaws to a shooting geyser of freezing water before the world turned to solid ice. At the same instant Hiccup lost his mobility, a large, black object jumped forward with a roar.
And then Hiccup was frozen – completely – cocooned in geometric blue – the entirety of his vision, shapes – warped diamonds, squares, ripples of line segments crisscrossing – all of it glass, and blurry, and pressed up against his eye – he could not blink – eyes searing despite the cold – or was it cold? – he could not feel it, not really – could not feel the temperature – only the pressure – pressure building and building around him, pressing against all of him, every inch of him, his thighs and his legs and pressed up tightly against his cheeks – solid, everything, solid – and there was no movement, no anything – not a twitch of an eyelid – not a fingertip – he floated – floated in numbing pressure – and suspended in nothingness, alone with his mind – fright of entrapment built – built up and up – so that his body sought to gasp for breath – but there could be no breath – no breath at all – impossible pressure squeezing his nostrils tight shut – air pressure building at the bridge of his nose, his head – pressure inside and out – his lungs, similarly constricted – the growing sting of increasingly strained lungs – tightening, tightening, tightening – a diaphragm attempting to spasm, to seizure, from the pain of it all – the pressure, the demand for air – but frozen solid, even that failed – agitated lungs convulsing inside the trapped encasements of an unmoving body, unmoving sides – thoughts slowing – body collapsing in on itself – vision flaking, though burning eyes still cannot close – lungs seizing – everything burning – spasming – could not breathe – could not escape – fully helpless – blotches of blackness overcoming vision – blackness swarming – pain – sightless – fear – terror – pressure – agony – lungs – could not breathe – could not think – could not…
Glowing blue. Painful brightness. A banshee screech.
Everything… shattering.
The prison, exploded.
Hiccup's vision danced as air suddenly engulfed him. The sudden overwhelming draught of air into his nostrils almost collapsed him into a faint; black sparks danced around his vision for quite a time before he spied a pair of dilated, worried Night Fury eyes.
Toothless stood right over him protectively, wings unfurled, body… glowing… blue.
And as Hiccup's lungs heaved for breath, and he could do nothing except sit, winded, beside the dragon, his thoughts caught up with events and he realized what had happened.
Toothless had dived in front of Hiccup right before the Bewilderbeast shot a blast of ice. However, somehow the Night Fury had blasted free of the ice, saving both himself and Hiccup from imminent suffocation.
Toothless turned and roared at something beyond Hiccup's sight. He glanced over and realized his target was the Vigilante, once more stunned and staring in shock at the glowing blue and black Night Fury. Neither she nor Hiccup had ever seen the like.
To his feet Hiccup staggered, placed a hand on his dragon's side to stabilize himself, and panted, "Thank you, bud." And he turned to stare at the Vigilante, and with more breath and temerity, declared, "Do you get it now?"
An unmoving feral vigilante dragon lady lamely held a broken staff in her right hand.
"This is what it is to earn a dragon's loyalty." For while the Bewilderbeast still hovered directly overhead, no more would it be able to control Toothless. Not so long as Hiccup remained right beside his best friend.
Confronting conviction and decisiveness snapped out through Hiccup's challenging words. "Let this end! Now!"
The Vigilante fled. The caretaker of dragons fled another dragon. Toothless shot out a plasma blast beneath her feet as she hurled herself off the edge of the hangar platform and dove straight at the Bewilderbeast's left tusk. Grabbing on, she climbed up onto the dragon, and screamed out, "Fight! Fight!" Another powerful torrent of ice shot forth, but was met with Toothless' blast. Purple and blue fireworks exploded mid-air.
Hiccup hurled himself onto Toothless' back and quickly adjusted his prosthetic to snap into the dragon's saddle. The two of them then launched into the air, Hiccup calling out, "Let's do this! Drive them away! You and me… as one!"
Another plasma blast, directed at the alpha's tusk. A tremendous roar rocked Berk.
Ice. Swoop and turn, Hiccup and Toothless spinning in the skies to evade another attack.
Shot of purple. Angry bellow.
The Bewilderbeast retreating. Standing on top the brow of the dragon now, Valka, the Vigilante, the enemy of Berk, gaped. And as her enormous dragon, hundreds of times the size of Toothless, backed away from one furious, dive bombing Night Fury, she realized… she had lost.
Hiccup and Valka met eyes once more. Mother and son, opposed from one another, meeting an unwanted enemy's stare.
She then rattled her half-broken staff and the Bewilderbeast sunk directly downward. The sea in which it was wading suddenly consumed the monolith, leaving no sign of the dragon but a trail of bubbles. Hiccup soared over the area, staring intently, wondering when Valka and her dragon would resurface from ocean waves, but they never did.
Not another blast of ice would threaten Berk for now.
They were gone.