Chapter Seventeen

A/N: Alright! These next few chapters are considered the 'climax'! So prepare yourselves! Here we goooo~

"HICCUP!"

Huh...? Hiccup squeezes his eyes shut, lulling his head to the side as he struggles to regain consciousness. He feels heavy and tired, as if he hasn't slept in days, even though he just woke up. There's a dull pain in his stomach whenever he moves.

"HICCUP, WAKE UP!"

Astrid...? Forcing his eyes open, he gazes around the room. His vision is blurry and unfocused, making the room look too fuzzy. The sight of it gives him a headache. On the floor beside him, Toothless is asleep. There are two figures standing in the staircase, looking at him. He squints, trying to see who they are...

"Don't worry, Hiccup..." One of them says, a hint of laughter in his voice. "We're here to help..." They come a little closer. The other one takes something from their waistband and turns it over in their hands. It looks like... He squints again, trying to figure out what it is. A knife...?

"Just relax...this will only hurt for a second..."

The Berserker lifts up his knife above his head, directing it at the groggy boy's chest. A cruel smile slips over his face and casts a humorous look to his companion. As if this is fun, or some kind of game. The other one folds his arms and grins, as well. In a second, this will all be over. Berk's hero will die and Dagur will reward them with all the money and land they would ever want...

As Hiccup's vision finally slides into focus, he realizes he doesn't know who these guys are... Why are they dressed so strangely? Like they're soldiers or something... And...wait a second...what the-

SMASH!

Both men freeze and whip around, shocked looks on their faces. "What was that?!" One of them hisses. "Sounded like the door!"

"I don't know! Just hurry up and off the kid so we can get out of here!"

The first Berserker raises the knife back above his head, as if to bring it down on Hiccup's defenseless form, but gasps in shock when a huge, brightly colored spear suddenly jabs into the ground in front of him. He staggers away, gaping at the spine.

Stormfly squawks, furiously where she hovers outside the window. Astrid smirks at them before hopping in through the opening and landing between them and Hiccup.

"Stormfly, spine shot!" She commands.

The Nadderhead obeys, firing another spine at the Berserkers, forcing them even further from her Rider. The men exchange conflicted looks. Two of them versus an angry dragon and her even angrier Rider? Those odds don't exactly look good...

While they're distracted, Astrid glances over her shoulder. She sighs in relief to see she isn't too late. Hiccup is still in his bed, looking like he's trying to wake up. Toothless is laying on the floor beside him, also struggling to move. She notices the smoking packet of dragon nip in the corner and picks it up, quickly wrapping it in a sheet and shoving it under the bed, hoping to suppress its intoxicating effects on the woozy Night Fury.

Hiccup blinks and shakes his head, gradually working the fuzziness out. "Astrid?" He asks, now that he's sure he isn't seeing things. "What's happening?"

Her eyes are already on him. Evidently, she was talking to him a second ago. But his hearing has only just decided to work properly.

"What...?" He asks, his voice sounding distant and confused.

"I said, snap out of it!" She growls, jabbing a finger at the two men who have recovered from their confliction and are drawing their swords, preparing to fight. "Can you get up?"

Hiccup pushes himself into a sitting position, grimacing a little as the pain gets more defined, along with the rest of his senses. "Yeah." He assures her, even though just sitting up hurts quite a lot.

She nods and throws a look to Toothless. He's still wobbling, his eyes fluttering dangerously. No way he'll be able to carry Hiccup... She shakes her head. "You need to go find Gobber." She tells him, eyeing the two Berserkers nervously. If they were outside, Stormfly could take them down, no problem. But she's trapped in tight quarters and her dragon won't be able to fit. Not to mention using spine shots or fire could potentially injure her or Toothless, as well. Basically, it's one teenage girl against two fully grown, armed men. Her only hope is that Hiccup is able to get to the blacksmith in time...

He stares at her for a moment, still slighty fuzzy-brained. His thoughts are moving at a snail's pace and his body won't be able to carry him much faster. It's like everything is moving in slow motion...

"Hiccup!" Astrid shouts, yanking him back into reality. "Get moving!"

At the sound of the acidic shout, the world jolts back to its normal pace. He can see the two armed Berserkers glaring her down, Stormfly buzzing outside the window, Toothless collapsed to the floor. What on earth happened while he was out?! He forces himself to his feet, staggering a bit but ignores his aching body as he runs for the window.

"Stormfly!" He shouts, gaining the dragon's attention. "Lower me to the ground."

She chirps, bowing her head so he can climb on. He does so with an enormous amount of pain but still manages to stay focused. Biting back the oddly tempting idea of just letting his tired mind be enveloped in the darkness again, he shakes it off and slides out of the saddle, landing on the ground with a muted thump.

"Protect Astrid until I get back!" He tells the Nadderhead.

Stormfly warbles in response and shoots back up to the window to guard her Rider as Hiccup sprints as fast as his weakened legs will carry him. He shakes the stars away when they reappear and sets his focal point on the blacksmith's forge, a few hundred yards away.

I can do this! He tells himself as darkness dances on the edges of his vision. He feels something warm trickle down the front of his shirt. Looking down, he finds the bandage that has been wrapped around his injury is seeping crimson once again. I can do this! Astrid needs help! Think about Astrid...!

The Forge is now only a little ways away.

His sight blurs but he shakes it off. Think about Astrid... He grabs for the handle, fumbling as his tunnel-vision tricks him into grabbing a few inches to the right of it. He finally snatches it into his grip and yanks the door open. "GOBBER!" He shouts as he staggers inside, clenching his screaming wound. He supports himself on the edge of the counter and shouts for his mentor again. "GOBBER, ARE YOU HERE?!"

The peg-legged vikings hobbles around the corner, gaping at Hiccup's slumped figure standing in the doorway. "Hiccup!" He gasps, rushing forward to help the boy. "What are you doing here, lad? You should be-"

"It's Astrid!" Hiccup interrupts him, shaking off Gobber's hand. "You need to help her! There are..." His voice trails off for a moment as his train of thought suddenly greys over. "...Berserkers." He blinks, squeezing his eyes shut as he tries to clear them. "She's under attack...needs...help."

Gobber stares at the delirious teen with wide, concerned eyes. Surely, he's only suffering from the blood loss...but what if he isn't? What if Astrid really is in danger? It could be risky leaving Hiccup on his own in this condition...

"Gobber...!" Hiccup gasps, glaring at him with re-focused eyes. He's not hallucinating all of this, is he? "What are you doing?! Astrid needs your help!"

The blacksmith nods. "Alright, I'll go check it out." He assures him. "But first, let me help you. You look like you're going to collapse..."

"I'm alright..." Hiccup mutters, swatting his hand away again. "Or I will be as soon as you go help Astrid!" He leans the rest of his weight on the counter and nods his head toward the door. "Hurry up, she won't be able to hold them off for long!"

Gobber nods. "Stay here, Hiccup. I'll be back before you know it." With that, he grabs an axe off the wall and runs out the door, in the direction of the Haddock house.

Hiccup sighs in relief. The injured boy limps across the room and flops onto a stool, leaning his head against the wall. He doesn't remove his hand from his stomach, not wanting to see the amount of blood that feels so slippery and warm against his skin. Instead, he closes his eyes against those incessant dots that cloud his sight and focuses on staying awake. He really is tired of passing out. Despite everything that's going on, he smiles. Astrid will be okay. Gobber is going to help her. Plus, she has Toothless and Stormfly too.

Toothless... He bites his lip and opens his eyes again. His vision is clearer than before but that doesn't matter to him anymore. Thinking back...he seemed sorta' out-of-it...I hope he's okay... Hiccup frowns at the ground, worrying about his friend. Maybe I should- He tries to stand, only to have his knees immediately buckle and send him right back down onto his chair again. Wincing in pain, he shakes his head. Sorry, buddy...I wish I could help you...but it doesn't look like I can walk any further...

A/N: HA! No cliffhangers this time...well, not really. I guess that could be considered a cliffhanger...hmm...nah. I'll just say it's not one. XD