SHOUT-OUTS (YAY!):
SecretlyNerdish: I like cliffhangers. :D
silverwolvesarecool: :) Thanks! :D
midnightsky0612: CLIFFHANGERS. :D
xFaerieValkyriex: GO ASTRID! :D
TheLastNightFury777: That's the best idea I've heard all day! Kill Dagur, leave without a trace! Brilliant! *high fives you*
movielover48: Yes, I remember that one. :D I'm planning on doing it as soon as I break off my hiatus (starting in April). :D
Omegaman17: Whoa, remind me never to get on your bad side. And yes, sequel to Wayward Strangers. I've already planned doing it. It will be called Wayward Foray. :D
BraveDragonof214: Close! :D
Silver Electricity: Aaah, yes, I remember yours. :D
"I choose...NEITHER!" Astrid shouted, and the others yelled their agreements. Then, all at once, they charged at the Berserker Chief, ready to take him down then and there with no problem, no questions asked otherwise. Dagur took them on instantly, firing crossbow arrows at each and every one of them as they dodged and moved out of the way.
"You Berkians think you're so clever!" said Dagur. "But I know better! You are nothing, in the face of Berserk! You think I came here alone? Well...I DIDN'T!"
As if on cue, more screams and shouts of war filled the air. Astrid and the other riders turned around, just in time to see more Berserker soldiers running towards the beach, their weapons drawn and at the ready.
Dagur laughed, lowering his crossbow. "See what I mean?" he asked, although he already knew the answer. "You Berkians don't even stand so much as a chance against Dagur the Deranged, and his arma-" He was cut off when Hookfang slapped him across the face with his tail, hardly giving it a second thought.
"Good boy, Hookfang," said Astrid, looking at Dagur's unconscious form. "That was quick. Now...let's take down these other Berserkers." They turned, and then charged, their weapons ready to be used against the enemy.
The war started, and continued. Astrid bashed a soldier upside the head, while the others around her did the same. The Berkians and dragons, by the looks of it, were winning…
...Until Astrid was shot.
Somehow or another, Dagur hadn't actually been unconscious. He was just barely managing to stay awake, and did so just - just - long enough to lift his crossbow, and fire at the Berkian girl. Astrid screamed when she felt the pain explode in her leg, feeling more heated with rage then actually hurt.
"ASTRID!" the other riders screamed her name, but she wasn't listening. She pulled the arrow out of her leg, and examined its head. It wasn't the same kind of arrow Hiccup had been shot with, which most likely meant that it wasn't poisoned. Which was good, because the last thing the Berkians needed were two people in need of the cure.
Still, though, it didn't help the fact that Astrid's leg was bleeding at an alarming rate.
"STORMLY!" Astrid shouted, limping over to her dragon, knocking Berserkers to the side as she did so. Her Nadder ran to her the rest of the way to save her the trouble, and then instantly stood over her rider to protect Astrid while she tied a piece of bandage hastily around her leg.
The arrow wound wasn't deep, but it still hurt. Part of Astrid wanted to shake it off and continue fighting without binding it, while the other part knew that that idea was ignorant. If she was going to continue fighting (which she was), then she couldn't have her blood leaving her body as she fought.
"Astrid!" Fishlegs yelled as he ran over to her. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine!" said Astrid, although she knew it was a lie. "Can't we just get the dragons and get back to Berk, right now!? Come on! We have to hurry!"
"I'll...I'll see," said Fishlegs, and then raced off to find the others. Meanwhile, Astrid mounted Stormfly, throwing her knife at a Berserker as he passed while Stormfly fired at them with the hottest flame the dragon could have mustered.
"WE'RE READY!" shouted the voice of Snotlout. Then, without waiting another second, the dragons shot into the sky.
Astrid made a headcount; Fishlegs was there, Snotlout was there, and Ruffnut and Tuffnut were there. The dragons were there as well, obviously, or else some of the riders would have been missing.
"Astrid, are you okay!?" Fishlegs shouted. "I saw you get shot!"
"Wait, she was shot?" said Tuffnut. "Awesome! You're so lucky!"
"Um...no, not lucky, actually," Astrid moaned.
"Wow, are you alright there, Astrid?" said Snotlout. There was concern in his voice, which was something strange, since usually, it was the exact opposite. Astrid nodded, taking more bandages out of her satchel and wrapping her leg better than she had previously done it. Then, she focused Stormfly and herself onto flying to Berk.
There wasn't much time left.
…
Back on Berk, Gothi ran back and forth in a frenzy while Stoick sat beside Hiccup on the bed, resting his hand on his boy's forehead. It was nightfall, and Hiccup was worse than he had been before, his breath labored and uneven while his forehead burned from a fever raging through his body, giving no signs of breaking.
Gothi moved over and forced something down his throat; at first, he coughed and choked, but was eventually coaxed into swallowing. When he did, his fever went down a little bit, but it was temporary, and he went back to burning a second later.
"There has to be something we can do!" said Stoick. He was watching Hiccup die, slowly and painfully, right in front of him. No father was supposed to watch their child suffer, so this was no acception.
Gothi shook her head violently, hearing the same question come from the Chief for the utmost time in the past few hours. She raced frantically back and forth, trying to think of a way to bring down Hiccup's fever while waiting for Astrid and the others to arrive with the cure.
She didn't know how much longer Hiccup had to live. It could have been an hour, while at the same time, it could have been minutes.
Hiccup's breathing suddenly picked up dramatically, sounding worse and more weezy then it had been previously. It went on for a few minutes, Stoick and Gothi panicking, until suddenly, Hiccup stopped breathing altogether.
He wasn't breathing.
No…
OKAY, SO THAT JUST HAPPENED! PLEASE NO ONE KILL ME, BECAUSE THEN I CANNOT FINISH THE STORY! :D Sorry about that...