A/N-Since no one guessed on the last chapter: the Hebrew title Shevur means Broken. It is also the title of the original poem at the beginning of the chapter.

I mentioned things getting darker, but there is some hope; so, as this chapter states, take a moment to breathe and relax. After all, it's always darkest before the morning...

Chapter 14

Breathe

In that place between life and death

The featureless nothing of emotion

All becomes a crystal blur

Caught at the crossroads of agony and joy

I grabbed Hiccup's fists as he lunged at Toothless again and pulled him back, preventing the boy from attacking the dragon.

"Let go of me!" he screamed, trying desperately to wrench himself away. One hand came loose and swung upward, catching me across the cheek before my tail whipped forward and pinned him again. "Let go of me!"

"Hiccup, it wasn't his fault!" Valka pleaded as she came forward and grabbed his shoulders, helping me restrain Hiccup and sit him down again. "I don't know how they managed to break through, but it wasn't Toothless who did this. Hiccup, I've watched both of you; he would never try to hurt you or Stoick."

As Valka tried to reach Hiccup in the dark point his mind had descended into, I heard sobs and cries of disbelief begin to rise up from the others gathering around us. Astrid landed moments later and leapt off Thorn, racing to take my place holding Hiccup as I stepped away, blocking out the sounds around me as my focus turned to the chief. Kneeling down, I placed my hand on his chest, head bowed as I listened desperately for something to tell me it was not real. This time Toothless hadn't shot Stoick directly, and the man had been wearing the Mysteel armor Hiccup had made him, but an electroplasmic shockwave was powerful. It would have taken a mirac-

Thump-thump.

For a moment it didn't register. Then I blinked, and raised my head to stare down at Stoick's chest, before scrambling to remove the plate of armor he had on and placing my ear to his chest, listening again. I caught a glimpse of Hiccup and Valka looking at me with worry for my sanity and pain at the reminder, but I focused on Stoick again.

For a moment, there was nothing. Then, for a second time, I heard it, too faint for human ears to detect through the rain but not so silent that a dragon's couldn't: a faint, weakened beat of a heart.

"Oh my God," I whispered, "he's still alive."

"What?" Hiccup choked, having heard me say something but not what I said. Slowly, I turned my head to look at him, the faint glimmer of hope rising in me again. "Hiccup, he has a heartbeat," I said louder. "He's still alive!"

Hiccup didn't move for a moment, before what I said clicked, and a light began to reappear in his eyes as I scrambled to remove the rest of Stoick's armor to that I could free up his airways and remove any chance of blood constriction. "But…but I didn't feel anything, my mom didn't hear anything," he stammered. "And human ears are not as strong as a dragon's," I returned, shaking my head. "No, he's got a heartbeat, albeit faint, and," I held my hand over Stoick's nose, feeling the slight flow of air, "I can feel air moving past his mouth. He's still in there; I'm going to try healing him, everyone move back."

Valka and Hiccup both stepped back slightly as I placed a hand over Stoick's forehead and the other over his heart. "Lord, help me," I whispered. "Come on Stoick, breathe." I felt energy build up and begin to course through my hands. The glow appeared and swirled around my digits, gaining strength.

Then…it stopped. It didn't leave my hands, Stoick didn't start breathing better, nothing. I blinked and sat back a moment, confused, before trying a second time. The energy built up, and again, nothing.

"No," I said quietly. "No, come on this has to work!" A third time, but still nothing. I sat back, fear returning. "I…I can't heal him," I whispered, before the rational part of me kicked in again and I stood up and turned to the crowd.

"Someone find Sigrid, now!" I ordered. "Stoick needs immediate attention!" The crowd began shuffling and moving again as the order was passed through them, before Sigrid was finally located.

"But, I thought you could make him better," Hiccup blurted, his eyes beginning to grow wild again and that lick of anger returning. "We can't lose him, not now! You have to do something!"

"I can't!" I snapped, before catching myself and softening my tone. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't get mad. Look, I thought I could. That's what the healing almost always does, and I don't know another means. But this ability was given; someone else has the final say, remember?" I turned and caught sight of Ember nearby, having arrived not too long before. "This happened once before, remember?"

"With me," Ember said quietly, garnering Hiccup's gaze. I nodded. "Sometimes things have to take a natural pace. Why, I can't answer, I'm not the Almighty." I looked straight at Hiccup, and then at Valka as well. "Stoick has basically had a heart attack coupled with a severe concussion. We are going to have to watch him carefully, and he's going to be very weak for a time, but," I grabbed Hiccup's shoulders and looked him square in the eye, "we. Will. Not. Lose him."

Hiccup bit his lip, clearly not liking this situation (not that I was pleased with it either), but then he nodded, and we both moved aside as Astrid came through, trailed by her mother, Sigrid. Immediately the healer knelt down to Stoick and began belting out orders for materials and direction to help the chief and clear the way for the others who had been injured in some manner.

Then Ruffnut spoke up, asking the one question we hadn't gotten to and had hoped to avoid at such an awkward moment. "Uh, so who's going to be chief while Stoick's passed out?"

All eyes slowly swung to Hiccup, whose eyes widened for an entirely new reason. "What? No, no, no I can't do that, not now. I…" he gestured to his father in his lack of words, before continuing. "I'm not ready for that at the moment."

"Nonetheless, you're next in line," Valka gently reminded him, "and the village needs someone. You have it in you."

I placed a hand on Hiccup's shoulder. "You're a better leader than you give yourself credit for, Hiccup," I said. "You have humility, maybe a little too much, and you're smart. You'll be able to do this, at least until Stoick wakes up." Hiccup nodded, before his eyes darkened once more. "But what if he doesn't….wake up?" he asked quietly.

This time I grabbed both of Hiccup's shoulders and forced him to look me in the eyes. "I've told you before, don't think like that!" I urged, and gestured to where Sigrid was preparing a stretcher for the chief and directing several villagers to hold up canvas to keep the rain off. "Stoick has a lot of good people to look after him, and he's still there. But he also needs you to be there for him. Give up on him now and there's no good waiting. And I've also told you before, words are powerful. What you say can change everything around you. So can your attitude, your outlook on life."

Hiccup closed his mouth tightly as I continued. "We will get through this; Sigrid will bring your father back around, and we will find a way to turn things in our favor again. But right now, we also need to focus on getting everyone out of here and back to Berk. You know what needs to happen; you've done it before, even if not on this scale. And, we will listen, so just start telling the others what has to happen next."

Hiccup glanced at his feet, and then over at his father once more, who was being lifted onto the stretcher as Sigrid held a stethoscope (a gift from me some time back) to his chest, keeping tabs on his pulse, and he nodded. "Okay," he said taking in a deep breath and turning to the villagers. "Alright, um, Phlegma, take the other riders and scout the area; make sure Drago isn't coming back for an ambush. Hoark, oversee any repairs needed to the ships and weapons, and choose a vessel to carry any who are injured and can't be dealt with before we return to the village. Gobber, direct a group to pick up anything of use on the beach here." "Got it!" the burly blacksmith said, turning around and hobbling away to round up some of the Vikings for his job.

"The rest of you," Hiccup continued, "if you are not directed to follow them, help in any other manner you can. There are a lot of little details that need to be taken care of. And mom, Sigrid?"

The two women turned to look at Hiccup as he tried to find the right words. Finally he stammered, "Keep…keep my father safe on the way home." They both nodded sharply, and the rest of the crowd began to disperse as the assigned people directed their selected peers for the tasks at hand. I stayed near Hiccup, however, as he turned and began walking off in a direction adjacent to everyone else.

I looked ahead, searching for Hiccup's aim, and found where he was headed. Up ahead of us, the dark figure of a Night Fury was slowly meandering away, head hung low and his tail and both wings dragging in the gravel.

"Hiccup, what are you doing?" I asked, walking up next to him. "I have to talk to him," he said firmly, marching past me. I grimaced. "Look, I agree that you two need to talk," I said, trying to get ahead of him, "but you have a village that needs to be taken care of, and neither of you are in a stable enough state of mind to work this"-

"I DON'T CARE!" Hiccup exploded. "I yelled at him, I hit him, I told him to leave , all the while he was trying to stop himself, trying to do the right thing when he couldn't!" He stopped momentarily and glared at me. "I blamed him even though I am more at fault than anyone! I wouldn't take the shot when we both had it; I have to say something!" He shoved past me again and yelled out, "TOOTHLESS! Toothless wait!"

The Night Fury glanced over his shoulder, but just as I had feared, I saw the pain hit his eyes again and he turned away, wings snapping out as he pushed off and flew up to the peak of a high sea stack, out of view from the ground.

Hiccup stumbled in his steps, strength leaving him again as he watched his closest friend and brother take off. "Toothless…." He spoke half-heartedly. "He's…he's not dead…I need you.."

He sank to the ground, a new wave of tears spilling off his face once more. "I…I've lost both of them," he sobbed. "This is all my fault. If I…if I had just kept him away, Drago would've never thought of…why can't I ever do anything right?!"

He bent over, letting his emotions run free. For a couple of minutes, I didn't say anything. Couldn't say anything really, that wouldn't sound like an excuse at that moment, so I knelt beside Hiccup and waited, sharing his pain. I spotted Astrid out of the corner of my eye walking our way, great concern painting her features, but I shook my head. She stopped, nodded slowly, and turned away again.

"Hiccup," I finally said softly, placing a hand on his shoulder again as he appeared to near the end of his release of emotion. He batted it away however, and I sighed. "Hiccup, you haven't lost anything yet, and it wasn't your fault." I knelt lower, trying to see his face. "No one can guess what could have been; we're not God, we can't reach back and change the past. But right now, your father is still here, and you and Toothless are both grieving right now for the same reason. Look at me," I persuaded gently. Hiccup slowly glanced up at me, even if only for a second.

"Both of you feel like you just broke your friendship," I continued. "You think you could have done something different, and I'm sure Toothless feels the same way, like he should have been stronger. But things happen for a reason; you can't change what happened, okay?"

Hiccup still didn't say anything, so I continued, looking up in relief to see the rain was finally letting up. "You and Toothless are standing on the same ground right now, and you both need time to gather your thoughts before you try and straighten this out. Grief occurs for a purpose; it may hurt, but give him a day or two. I'll try and talk to him, and let him know that Stoick's still with us. You two are very close, you know how the other thinks, feels, works, as much as any real pair of brothers would. You can fix this, but all healing does take time." These words made me look back toward Stoick, starting to gather one reason why we were being put through this.

Hiccup slowly looked up at me, and I saw the corners of his mouth turn up slightly. "You're…you're probably right," he admitted quietly. "Just…do me a favor before I get that chance to talk to him, will you?" "Anything," I assured. He smiled genuinely this time. "Don't let him flay away."

This time I smiled. "Oh, don't worry, he can't outrun me. He'll be stuck with me as much as with you." Hiccup laughed a bit, but it died away as a loud, low moan rumbled out from off to our side. We turned to see the Northern King, the Bewilderbeast from the ice nest, wheeze as he began to regain consciousness once more.

"Go on and help the others," I encouraged. "It looks like there is still someone who needs my help as well." Hiccup nodded and stood up shakily, wiping off the mud that was sticking to his outfit before turning toward the rest of the bustling Vikings at the edge of the beach. I watched for a moment as Astrid now walked up to him, and she and Hiccup embraced each other, hard, before I turned to the injured Bewilderbeast.

His eyes slid open just barely as I approached and, unable to see clearly for a moment and thinking me an enemy, he gave a staggered growl and began to draw in a breath to fire at me with. I held up my hands placatingly. ::It's alright, friend, it's just me,:: I said softly. The Northern King's eyes widened a little, and he then relaxed, wincing as a shot of pain ran through him.

::I'm here to help,:: I explained, ::just hold still for a moment.:: ::You have…healing power?:: he rumbled quietly (quiet a relative term). I smiled and nodded. ::Yes, one of the gifts that came with what was given.::

I reached up a hand and lay it on the tusk that lay entrenched in the gravel, and focused slowly. This time, a wave of energy raced through me and down my hands, entering the Bewilderbeast and spreading through his own body. The wounds on his sides began to knit together, and life began to enter his eyes again. Slowly he turned his head, and began to right himself as I backed out of the way of his tusks so that he could look down at me properly again.

::Thank you for your service,:: he said. I nodded. ::We pulled you into a fight that was not your own,:: I admonished, ::and you paid the price. It's the least I can do in return, especially since your nest needs the Northern King back. And please, I request you return to your home, take care of the dragons that need you there. You have done more than enough for us.::

The Bewilderbeast gave his version of a smile and a low chuckle, and shook his head slowly. ::Please, my name is Tohar,:: he said. ::The Northern King is an old title I was given a long time ago, a bit pompous for my own taste. And it matters not that you requested for me to fight, for it would have become my own battle one day eventually. I should stay, and continue to fight at your side when they return. The nest will stay strong on its own for now.::

I shook my head fervently. ::No, I insist that you return home. The dragons there need protection; the other Bewilderbeast somehow had the capacity to break through even to bonded dragons. And, we have but one alpha dragon to face now; we should be able to hold when our other allies join us.::

Tohar's expression grew conflicted, but he eventually nodded. ::Very well then. Both for your sake and that of my old friend the Mystique I will return. But I will be ready if you are ever in need of my help again::. He stood up slowly, and turned toward the ocean, gathering the eyes of the Vikings who gave a small cheer at seeing the Bewilderbeast on our side alive and well. I, meanwhile, headed back toward the ships, to lend a hand in preparation for the return to Berk.

A/N-New word challenge: Tohar's name has a meaning as well, can anyone tell me what it is?

And yes, I'm softer than the movie makers; Stoick's not dead, but that doesn't mean times ahead won't be hard. After all, Toothless still thinks he killed the chief, and he and Hiccup still have to find their way around this...

Let me know what you think! Don't forget to review!