Disclaimer: The following is a fan based story. I do not own How To Train Your Dragon, all rights belong to DreamWorks Animation and Cressida Cowell. Please support the official release.
Chapter 5: Awakening
The last thing he remembered was falling.
And then nothing, everything went black and quiet. He felt like he was floating through a fog. Time seemed to stand still.
How long had he been here? An hour? A day? A year? It could have been an eternity for all he knew.
He couldn't feel anything, his limbs were like that of a ghosts. They were attached, but almost as if they weren't his to govern. All of his senses died as they faded to black under the nonexistence that was this void. At first he could feel a small pain, almost like a burn and a sharp sting on his leg, but after a while that faded too. He just floated through the cold darkness, not knowing which way was up or down, or even if said directions still existed.
After a while, his memories began to fade as well, as he fought to recall even his own name through the thick fog that clouded his mind.
My name is…Hiccup right? No, yes, my name Is Hiccup, My name is…what…what is my name? Who…who am I?
The void just kept on devouring everything until there was nothing left but an empty shell. There was nothing, not even a name to his pathetic existence, if you could even call it existing. Everything he ever was, was now gone as well as everything he ever could have been.
And then he began to sink, slowly at first but picking up pace as he fell deeper and deeper still, into the unforgiving jaws of the void, the shadows closing in and growing impossibly darker.
Then suddenly, his rapid decent came to unexpected halt, and that was when he heard it, a voice calling out to someone.
"HICCUP!" the word, that was a mixture of a roar and a slightly baritone voice, tore through the silence and into the young man's ears and exploding over his eardrums.
Even though the volume of the voice caused his ears great discomfort, there was something about that tone that caused a nostalgic warmth to spread through his body, like warm tea and honey. And it filled his hollow heart with an emotion he couldn't quite place. Why? Why did that voice seem so familiar? And that word, what did it mean, who or what was Hiccup?
Hiccup? Who…..who is…I'm….Hiccup…right? That's….that's my name…..Hiccup.
How could he have forgotten his own name? He didn't have long to ponder on this however as the once unrelenting darkness was suddenly interrupted by a blinding flash of harsh light, burning his eye's with the intensity. And then came the pain, at first a sharp jolt near the center of his chest, but it soon spread, like wildfire, as it burned its way through his very veins, toward the rest of his body.
The heat was so intense he was sure that whatever was left of him would surly have been turned to ash. His body felt like it was being torn apart, delicate flesh being torn from small bones, bones which were broken and torn apart like an animal does its prey. His teeth and nails were ripped out of their rightful homes and his spine was pulled and stretched, like putty in a child's merciless hands. He wanted to scream or cry, but couldn't. His lungs would not allow him the release as they were being filled with thick smoke, choking him and turning his lungs black. And just when he thought he would surely die, if he wasn't already, it stopped.
The pain faded away to a dull ache as his body was pieced together like a jigsaw puzzle. The smoke that had been choking him flooded out of his lungs, leaving a raw feeling in his throat. His skin no longer burning as it had been earlier, left behind only a slight stinging sensation, almost like a sun burn. The pain was gone, but something still felt…off, like he'd been put back together in the wrong order.
Slowly he became aware of himself again as he felt the presence of his limbs return to him, giving them and experimental twitch. When he was satisfied that he could once again control them, he moved to concentrate on his hearing. He could hear muffled sounds, like voices surrounding him. Slowly, as if not sure he'd be able to; he forced his heavy eyelids to crack open.
Blurry images danced in front of his eyes as he attempted to focus. And slowly, after blinking a few times, the images began to clear as they ceased their wild movements and stood still.
He instantly felt his body surge to its feet and instinctively coil itself into a defensive crouch, as several tall, burly Vikings towered above him like trees. His heart hammered in his chest, like a bird in a cage. His narrow pupils darted back and forth in their green pools as he desperately searched for some sort of escape.
He flinched as one of the larger Vikings, with a long bushy red beard, knelt down beside him. The young dragon arched its back in an attempt to distance himself from the human, when the Viking reached out one of its massive and thick hands to touch him, oblivious to the drake's discomfort.
Hiccup felt an odd sensation, as his sharp teeth unsheathe themselves from his gums as the Viking continued to move closer, hand outstretched. A deep growl rumbling in his chest, Hiccup fought to keep his balance as his tired limbs protested beneath his weight, threatening to give out.
"Stoick, I don' think that's such a good idea." A blonde Viking, who appeared to be missing a few limbs, cautioned. "I don' think he can recognize us."
But either the crouched man didn't hear the warning or he chose to ignore it, as he inched forward yet again. Just when Hiccup was readying his teeth to defend himself against the Viking, a large black shape placed itself, with blinding speed, in between the two creatures, effectively blocking either one from moving any closer to one another.
"I think Toothless is tellin ya ta back off Stoick." The Blonde Viking said, relieved that Toothless had interfered when it looked like Hiccup was going to strike the chief.
The red haired Viking glared at the Nightfury with a look of such rage it made Hiccup cringe away and hide himself behind his, slightly larger, savior. The Night fury however didn't move from his protective spot in Front of Hiccup, and unfurled one large midnight black wing to block the smaller dragon from the large man's line of sight. Large yellow eye's leveling the man with a pensive stare, as if daring him to approach.
"Fine, I'll leave him be…for now" The large man, Hiccup now recognized as Stoick, said as Toothless blocked his attempt to move toward the smaller dragon, yet again, with a deep threatening growl.
Turning around to face the smaller dragon, Toothless sniffed curiously at the young boy. "Are you all right little one?' the older Nightfury asked in concerned tone. Hiccup felt a curious sense of familiarity sweep throughout his body as he met the worried gaze of his protector. Feeling like he could trust this drake he rose to his full height, no longer cowering behind his make shift shield, and nodded.
"Who...who are you? Where am I? How… how did I get here?" Hiccup began firing off questions at a rapid pace, as confusion and fear poured out of him in waves.
Now that his adrenaline was wearing off, his legs felt like heavy stones, his body ached with tiredness, begging for rest. But Hiccup fought through the sleep trying to cloud his mind, determined to hear the answers to his questions as he stood anxiously and expectantly, waiting for the Nightfury to speak.
"Calm down little one, you're in no danger here." Toothless reassured. "Now tell me, what can you remember?"
"I…..I don't remember anything, just that I was in some dark place and…..and someone was calling my name." Hiccup said his face bore a look of utter concentration as he desperately wracked his brain for something, anything that could tell him what was going on.
"Hhmmmmm….then it's as I feared". Toothless said somewhat sadly. "Of course with what you've been through in the past few days it's not entirely unexpected. Tell me, do you remember who you are?"
"My name is Hiccup but other than that….no" Hiccup said a little distraught, how could he have forgotten who he was? Even though the Vikings had given them some space and were a comfortable distance away, something still seemed…off. He couldn't shake this strange itching feeling in the back of his mind that something just wasn't right. He felt like he should know these people, this Nightfury, but why couldn't he? What exactly had he gone through?
"Do…do you remember who…who I am?" Toothless questioned, but with hesitance this time, knowing the answer but hoping, beyond all hope, that he was wrong.
Hiccup studied the Dragon before him closely, as if trying to remember every aspect of the midnight blue drake's scales.
Toothless was slightly larger than himself, with dark black scales that shone blue under the moon light. Scratched and lacerations that had scabbed over, littered the surface and marring the otherwise beautiful completion. Something about those injuries set off a small voice somewhere in the back of his head, as Hiccup returned his gaze to meet the others. Yellow eyes that seemed to illuminate with years of experience and knowledge, stared down with patience, and badly masked fear, as he waited for the young boys answer.
Something felt so familiar about this dragon ,like the drake standing before him was important to him in some way. The voice in his head was screaming at him now willing him to remember. He shook his head, as if by doing so he could clear away the thick fog that seemed to blanket his mind. But not matter how hard he tried to remember, he just…couldn't. Solemnly He hung his large head in defeat and slowly shook it in negative.
"No…I don…." but before he could even get the words out something caught his eye that made him go silent. The Nightfury was missing one of his tail fins! A shiver of recognition swept through his tired body and crashed over him like a wave. He couldn't tear his eyes from the missing spot on the drake's tail, the voice screaming even louder in his head 'THIS IS IMPORTANT, REMEMBER! '
"I…..You're…Toothless!" and as soon as the name left his lips a whirlwind of memories came flooding back, when he launch a boa into the air, when he risked his life by freeing a dragon, when he attempted to pet said dragon, and when he flew for the first time. It all came back in a rush, assaulting his mind and causing a headache to form with the sudden onslaught.
Whining and shaking his head in an attempt to calm the new pain that seized his mind, Hiccup attempted to right himself up to look at the other dragon from the crouched position he'd taken when the images had begun their rampant storming through his mind.
"Toothless, I…I remember you." Hiccup managed to get out through clenched teeth, his head ache quickly becoming worse with his growing exhaustion.
A look of such relief and joy crossed the other dragons face making Hiccup feel slightly better, as toothless' eyes lit up as if he'd just been given the greatest gift one could ever receive.
Then something occurred to Hiccup….how had he even been talking to Toothless earlier? And why in the world was he sitting on all fours? Slowly hiccup attempted to pick himself up onto his feet but realized quickly that that wasn't going to be an option as his lack of balance forced him to stumble forward, back onto all fours.
"Careful little one, you've been through a lot, your body might not be used to it yet." Toothless said, concern emanating from the dragon, who had moved forward to help steady his (previous) rider.
"Might not be used to it?..." Hiccup questioned, suddenly worried. "Toothless, what's happened to me?" Hiccup demanded. However instead of answering his question the drake averted his attention elsewhere, avoiding eye contact.
"Toothless". Hiccup began again in an accusatory tone, causing a sheepish look of discomfort to appear on the dragons face as he continued to avoid his gaze.
Hiccup, realizing quickly he wasn't likely to get an answer from the stubborn creature, decided to investigate his body one his own. Looking down Hiccup was met with a sight that nothing could have prepared him for.
Long, curved claws extended out from large paw like appendages. Dark raven black scales, which shimmered with a dark green, gleamed up at him from short muscular legs. Suddenly aware of a weight on his back, Hiccup turned his gaze to a large pair of bat like wings that lay furled tight against his body, extending backwards towards a long tail complete with two tailfins.
Suddenly Hiccup felt like he couldn't get enough air, as his chest rapidly expanded and contracted in his desperate attempts to fill his lungs with oxygen. His already tired legs began to wobble and he began to feel extremely light headed. His legs shook violently with exhaustion and shock, as he fought to maintain his balance. Spots began to dance in his vision as the world began to fade from his eyes.
Then the ground rapidly rose up to meet him as Hiccup collided with sand in a dead faint.
After the smoke had cleared and the boy, turned dragon, lay unconscious in the wreckages of what was left of the small vessel, everyone stared awe struck at the sleeping figure.
What had just happened?
Stoick stared at the new dragon, his son, in utter shock. His son had just been…been turned into a dragon! And a Nightfury of all things! He couldn't seem to move from his spot on the beach, his body frozen in shock. He just continued to stare out into the water, his mind desperately trying to make since of what had just occurred.
No one moved for a long time, until a splashing sound seemed to awaken everybody from there shocked states, as they glance around the shore to locate the source.
Toothless had jumped into the frigid water and was now paddling furiously to reach the small boat. Swimming proving to be rather difficult as his wings created drag, and the lack of webbing in his paw like feet made it harder to pull his large body forward. But eventually after nearly going under a few times, Toothless reached the damaged boat and began pushing the vessel back towards the shore.
The return trip took longer this time considering his new luggage, but after a few moments of determined paddling, Toothless docked the boat on the sandy shore and pulled himself out of the freezing waters, splashing several Vikings as he shook in an attempt to dry himself. Then turning around, he pulled Hiccup from the burnt wreckage.
Stoick, who'd somehow managed to shake off his dazed state, approached the shore with no small amount of hesitation and fear.
What has that accursed creature done to my son?
Stoick thought to himself as his gaze locked with a pair of yellow orbs. A rage boiling in his chest as his desire to grab his axe grew with a devastating hunger. He had forgiven the creature for his past wrong doings after the battle. He'd even formed some strange type of mutual understanding in their shared grief. But this… this was wrong. He'd already lost his son once, he wasn't about to lose him again to this creatures dark magic. Just as Stoick felt ready to sate his blood lust and finish off the Nightfury, a noise from the shore caught his attention, stopping him in his tracks.
Hiccup was beginning to wake! His legs twitched and a small moan escaped the new dragon's lips.
The villagers began muttering behind him, things like, "black magic", "a curse" "…. Demon" , reached his ears. However he ignored them as he focused on the stirring form of his now dragon son.
He watched in awe as the young dragon opened his piercing green eyes, and blinked as if in a daze. A warm sensation filled the chief's chest as he watched his son gaze at his surroundings. Those eye's, he knew those eyes. They were the color of leafs in the spring and the grass that flowed like water in the wind, the same color as the young boy's mother's
His blood lust was replaced with a new desire as he knelt down near the, now fully awake, dragon and reached out a hand. He just wanted to touch him, to confirm his existence, to prove that this wasn't just some sick joke his mind was playing on him in his sleep.
He heard Gobber speak something that sounded like a warning, but it was lost on him, as he attempted to approach the scared creature. But just as he was about to rest his large hand on his son's scaly head, a large black figure blocked his path, much to his disappointment.
Looking up, he realized the obstacle was none other than Toothless, who was now leveling him with a fiercely protective stare.
Stoick felt his rage rise in him again like a typhoon, as he returned the stare with a glare of his own, fire burning in his irises. How dare this creature try to keep him from his son, it's not like he was going to hurt him. Then ignoring the dragons warning, the Chief attempted to move past the Nightfury to his son once again, only to be cut off again by said dragon, letting out a deep threatening growl as he bared his fangs. Stoick watched as the dragon unfolded a large wing and curled it behind him to block his patch, and a painful realization hit him.
Looking over Toothless' outstretched wing he gazed over his son's crouched form. He sat coiled in a defensive crouch as he cowered behind his dragon shield. Hiccup's large green eye's focusing on him with a look of such fear it made Stoick's heart seize in his chest.
Hiccup doesn't….recognize me.
The thought hit him like a knife in the chest, as Toothless' behavior finally began to make sense to him.
He thinks that I might hurt him, my own son.
But really, was the creature that far off, after all he'd done it before. He could still remember it vividly, the feeling in his hand as he shoved his son to the ground. And those eye's, they had been full of so much hurt, hurt and anger. Stoick would remember the moment for the rest of his life, how could he have sunk so low. Looking down he realized he'd wrapped his fingers around the handle of his axe. What was he doing, here we was looking at his living breathing son, and he'd almost been about to kill the very creature he had to thank for it.
So without a fight, he stepped back and lowered his arms. "Fine, I'll leave him be…for now" and with that he slowly made his way to the edge of the tree's trying, to put some distance between himself and the source of his new pain, before he did something he was sure he would regret.
A/N: Alright so I apologize that this chapter came out so late, classes just started so I might not be able to release each chapter on time. But I promise to try to release a chapter at least once a week. As a treat for making you all wait so long I wrote an extra-long chapter this time, it's almost twice as long as usual! I have a beta reader now so hopefully this chapter reads a little smoother then the last few. As always I appreciate all the support and advice, it's very helpful So until next chapter, bye, bye.
_tsuchihana