Chapter Seven

A/N: Gosh, I don't know why these chapters are so dark lately! This chapter, as a whole, isn't bad at all but there's a certain sequence at the end that is quite...well, morbid. Hmm...I worry about myself sometimes! XD

The Haddock house's front room is jam-packed with villagers, demanding to know the condition of their heir. Is Hiccup even alive?! Everyone is concerned for the boy's well-being. Could it be true that Dagur, leader of the Berserkers, is the one who did this?! Does this mean war...?

Everyone goes quiet when a noise catches their attention. The sound of heavy footsteps coming down the stairs that lead to Hiccup's room. No more noise pursues. They all wait, eagerly, to hear what their chief has to say.

Stoick ducks into the front room. There's a tight look on his face, a weariness in his eyes. He holds up his hands, motioning for everyone to listen. Even though they already were. "He'll live." He says. But before the crowd can burst into excited conversation, he motions for them to remain quiet. "But he's in bad shape. He won't be waking up anytime soon. And..." He sighs, deeply. "There's one more thing. When Gobber found him...there was a note..."

The crowd watches him with grim expressions. What could possibly have been on that note...?

Stoick plants his hands on his hips. "The Berserkers want war." He announces. "It was Dagur who tried to kill my son."

The crowd is-in a word-outraged. Their voices are boiling with fury and resentment at the knowledge that the tribe they'd signed a peace treaty with, not three weeks ago, would do something like this! How dare Dagur do this?!

Once more, Stoick pacifies the crowd with a wave of his hand. "We will discuss this further in the Great Hall. For now, Hiccup needs a quiet place to rest until he's recovered."

Taking the hint, the crowd begins to disperse. Only a few people remain after the rest have departed. Astrid is sitting on the floor in a far corner, looking distant and wrapped in thought. The only other remainder is Gobber. He is standing by the stairs, acting as a guard so no one could go up and disturb Hiccup's sleep. Not that anyone could wake him anyway... Even Toothless had been unable to rouse a reaction from his friend.

Stoick eyes them both before walking over to the viking girl. He places a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Astrid, if you wouldn't mind, I need someone to stay with him while Gobber and I discuss our plans with the villagers..."

She nods, jerkily. "Yes sir..." Astrid stands up and folds her arms over her chest, quietly crossing the room to the stairs. Gobber steps out of her way, sensing her distress. At the bottom the staircase, she hesitates. She hasn't seen him yet...not since early this morning when Toothless fell off the roof. Now, she's wondering if even that had been an accident. Was Dagur to blame for everything? She wonders how bad he is... Stoick said he wouldn't wake up for a while. What did that mean? Hours? Days? What? She closes her eyes and takes a steadying breath before slowly beginning to climb the steps.

"Thank you, Astrid." Stoick calls behind her. "We'll be back soon."

Toothless is laying in Hiccup's room, on his stone slab. There's a fresh bucket of water placed beside it. He's supposed to drink a lot, in order to help heal his burned throat. But swallowing that much water makes him feel sick. Especially on an empty stomach. Of course, he isn't in the mood to eat either. Gobber tried to get him to eat something but he refused. He's just too worried about Hiccup to do anything else right now...

Once, he got up and walked over to the boy. He tried everything. Nudging him, cooing at him, even roaring at him once he got frustrated. Nothing works. Hiccup is alive...so why won't he wake up? Why does he just lay there and sleep? It's like the aftermath of the battle with the Red Death all over again! Only this time, Toothless is pretty sure his Rider gets to keep his leg. That's a plus, at least...

Now, the Night Fury has given up trying to wake him. Instead, he just lays on his make-shift bed and tries to stay awake, despite his heavy eyelids. He won't fail Hiccup again...

That's when he hears someone coming up the steps. Instinct causes him to tense, even though he can clearly smell that it's Astrid. She would never hurt Hiccup. And so Toothless relaxes again.

The viking girl tentatively pokes her head around the corner. She spots Toothless on his bed and offers a tight smile. At least he's okay. More or less. Apparently, Dagur had caused him to burn his throat pretty badly. He must be in a lot of pain, even though he won't show it. After scrutinizing her friend's dragon, she finally musters up the courage to look at Hiccup himself.

The small boy is laid on his bed, quilts pulled up to his chest. His hands are folded over his stomach, making him appear almost as if he were only sleeping instead of unconscious. His skin is pale and there's a little bandage wrapped around his head. According to Gobber, he must have hit his head as well because it was oozing a pretty substantial amount of blood. Great. Just what Hiccup needs. Another head-injury. Although, all of those things seem trivial compared to the real proof. Two massive, purple bruises wrap all the way around his neck. Marks that reflect the trauma he was forced to endure. The event that had nearly stolen his life.

Astrid grimaces at the sight of him, looking broken and defenseless. Hiccup had never really been the 'warrior' type but seeing so utterly helpless...is sort of scary to her. She gets the sudden, insatiable urge to just lock all the doors and windows, grab a sword in one hand and an axe in the other and stand guard over him until he wakes up. However long that might be...

Toothless coos at her, as if sensing her protectiveness kicking in.

She smiles, sadly at him. "I'm sorry this happened." She says. "I know you did everything you could to protect Hiccup. I'm sorry I didn't see the signs before...it's so obvious now that I look back..." She sighs, shakily and runs a hand through her hair. "But...you shouldn't worry. Hiccup is going to be fine. It's just a matter of time before he wakes up and is back to his old self again...you'll see."

Neither of them are certain who her words are meant to convince. Her or Toothless? Regardless, there's nothing either of them can do right now. Except wait.

"Where am I...?" Hiccup wonders as he gazes around. He's in an utterly dark room. No light is shining. He can't see his hand in front of his face. He should probably be scared. He has no idea how he got here or even where 'here' is. But he isn't. There's an odd calmness about him. Somehow, he knows this isn't real. Could it be a dream then? He tries pinching himself to wake up, even closing his eyes and willing himself to snap out of it. That doesn't work either. With a tired sigh, he plants his hands on his hips and tries to think of another way to escape.

He can't remember what it is, but he knows there's something important happening in the real world. Gods, if only he had some light! If only he had-

"Toothless...!" He gasps, turning a quick circle. Is he here? Hiccup would never go anywhere without Toothless. "Toothless!" He shouts, cupping his hands around his mouth to help amplify the sound. "Are you here, bud?" He calls the dragon's name several more times but gets no response.

He's about to give up when he suddenly hears something. A wailing screech that's...oddly familiar to him. Turning around, he finds something within the darkness. A light! It's bright, hot and a brilliant shade of purple. So THAT'S what the noise is! Hiccup smiles as he runs toward the plasma blast. "Toohtless! Is that you, buddy?!"

He stops in his tracks, sucking in a shocked breath as pain shoots through him. His entire body screams in agony and soon, he finds himself crumpling to the ground. There's a tightness around his neck that makes him want to panic. It feels like someone is choking him...

"Tooth-less!" He manages to cry out. Hiccup flinches as another plasma blast is fired into the air, slicing through the dark like a knife. Only this time, the brightness continues to grow. The shadows recede and disappear into oblivion, leaving Hiccup with a perfect view of his surroundings.

He's in the blacksmith shop, his pressed to a support beam. His head aches and his ears are ringing. Someone is choking him but he can't see who it is. He wants to fight them, to escape from their painful grip...but he can't move. His entire body feels numb and his limbs won't do what he tells them to do.

But, suddenly-

Toothless busts through the door, roaring furiously at Hiccup's attacker. He opens his mouth, a plasma blast charging in his throat. Hiccup looks at his attacker, forcing a defiant smile. Toothless is here now. He's as good as saved. But his attack only laughs. And Toothless never fires his weapon.

Hiccup watches in horror as Toothless suddenly bursts into flame, crying out in agony as he thrashes about. Hiccup fights back now, desperate to help his dragon. But whoever is choking him is doing a pretty good job. He doesn't budge an inch and grip only tightens.

Toothless collapses to the ground, sizzling with smoke and embers. The smell of burned flesh assaults Hiccup's senses. Tears spring to his eyes.

No... No...! NO!

"TOOTHLESS!" He screams in desperate terror as he snaps awake.