Chapter Eight

A/N: This chapter might be sort of confusing. If you have any questions, feel free to PM me and I'll do my best to answer them. (Although, at this point, you really aren't supposed to know for 100% what's going on. It's okay if you're a little turned around.)

Another short chapter, sorry guys!

I high recommend you listen to 'Winter Breath' by Adrian von Ziegler while reading this...fits very well. XD (It's all violins and pianos and haunting-beauty!) XD

"Son!" Stoick pounds on the door for a third time, getting frustrated and, admittedly, a little worried. Why won't Hiccup answer him? "Hiccup!" He shouts, seriously considering busting down the door. However, as soon as he hears the heavy thump from inside, his consideration becomes a resolve. Lifting up one foot, he throws all his weight into a kick that cracks the wooden door at the hinges. Not exactly what he'd had in mind but it works, regardless. He yanks the door open and freezes, mid-step.

What he sees inside is like a scene from one of Gobber's famous ghost stories. Hiccup standing at the back of the room, smiling at the open air. He's talking...but in a language that Stoick can't understand. His eyes are rolled back in his head but open, showing nothing but white.

And there, in his closed fist, is the pendant.

Fury roils in Stoick's gut at the sight of it. That accursed pendant! It's doing something to son, something bad... He can feel it. And now this! Hiccup is talking to no one, his eyes rolled back as if he were unconscious.

"Hiccup!" Stoick barks again as he barges across the room, determined to end this once and for all. He grabs his son's shoulder, gasping at the terrible heat that radiates off of it. As if the boy were on fire.

Hiccup ignores him, as if he hasn't heard a word his father said.

"Son!" Stoick grabs the other shoulder, twisting Hiccup around to face him. And still, the possessed boy only stares. He doesn't say a word. A chill runs down Stoick's spine. A little voice in the back of his head tells him, This isn't Hiccup... What that means, though, he isn't entirely sure. It's like there's a different mind existing in his son's body...a different essence.

His own eyes trail down to the locket, grasped firmly in the boy's hand. It no longer looks so innocent. There's a menacing air about it, as if it were daring him to try and take it.

And Stoick is not one to turn down a dare. Growling furiously, he snatches the pendant out of Hiccup's hand, causing the boy to gasp quietly. He throws it to the floor, expecting it to shatter of the spot. But the tough locket only skitters a few feet away, remaining perfectly intact.

A small, almost innocent laugh echos through the room, sending chills to Stoick's very core. He turns and gapes at his son, who is smiling in amusement. Hiccup grins in a very Hiccup-like manner, all crooked and buck-toothed. It sends an aching pain through his father's chest to see this imposter using his child's face. Then, in a fit of terrible fury, Stoick chases after the amulet, lifts up his heavy, booted foot and slams it down on top of the locket.

The pendant creaks, dangerously. And with a little more pressure, it finally...breaks. The herbs being smooshed into the ground, torn and ruined.

Hinrik's new body shivers. His knees feel weak and he stumbles over to the wall to catch himself so he won't fall. There's a throbbing pain in his head and that voice won't stop screaming at him.

"GET OUT!" It screams. "THIS IS MY BODY! GET OUT!"

No! He responds as firmly as possible. But this other voice is strong. Hiccup is strong. And a little scary...

The voice is quiet for a moment. Maybe Hiccup has given up after all...? But then- "I said...GET OUT!"

Aragwen gasps at the sound of the crack. Spinning around, she finds the tiny skull shaking violently. A long, harsh fissure has broken through its surface. The light glowing in its eye sockets is so dim, she can hardly see it.

She wants to help, to do something but there's nothing she can do. From this point on, it's all up to Hinrik. He has to fight his own battles...but by the looks of things, he isn't doing so well. Hiccup appears to be winning this fight...

Hinrik's light is almost out...

And Hiccup's pendant is broken. That will make it a little harder for her to 'push' him. Of course, the pendant was only meant to be a tether for Hinrik until he found a way in, which he seems to have managed pretty well on his own.

She watches with an intense gaze as the light flashes within the skull, narrating Hinrik's struggle to remain in control over his new body and keep Hiccup suppressed.

"Find me soon, Hinrik." She sends. "Hiccup is a troublesome one. He must be removed as quickly as possible."

He is, indeed. The boy agrees, his voice echoing through the chamber. I fear I may not make it to you in time...He is fighting back.

"Don't say such things, my darling." She purrs. "You are far stronger than he is. I know it. I'll see you tonight."

I love you, mother... His voice sounds quiet. Just as she thought, Hiccup has pushed him down and retaken his body for the moment.

"And I love you, my dear." She sends anyway, unsure if he'll hear it. However, once she is sure he's gone, she adds, "And then we can go swimming just like before...oh, you're going to make your mommy so proud..."

After the events in the washroom, Hiccup is carried home by his father. He's awake but just barely, his green eyes unfocused and half-lidded. His body shivers uncontrollably. He thinks he has a fever.

That was Hinrik... Hiccup realizes numbly. Aragwen's dead son... Is that why she's doing all of this...? So he can have my body and come back to life...? He outwardly groans at the thought of it. Needless to say, having another person's spirit take over your body and crowd you out, pushing you away into a deep, dark pit in the back of your mind...is a very invasive and terrifying feeling. Maybe...maybe I got rid of him. He muses, carefully feeling around in his own mind for the presence of another soul. He finds no one. Maybe I pushed him out...

But he knows it isn't true.

Because as soon as that thought surfaces, a ghostly voice whispers in his ears as faint as a winter breeze...

"Still here..."