How To Train Your Dragon: Possibilities

2: A Loss That Shouldn't Be: Stoick hadn't been fast enough. It should've been him, laying lifeless on the ground. Instead, Drago had managed to cut a wound deeper than any weapon could hope to. And he had cut deepest into a Night Fury.

"Stop!"
The sudden yell caught Drago Bludvist's attention, distracting him from the victory that lay only a few moments away from his grasp. This giant of a man, his hair and and cloak of darkest black gently swaying in the wind growled, turning his head to the owner of the voice as it descended from the skies to land at his side. It was no doubt the Dragon Master riding atop his tamed Night Fury. Yet instead of being a bulking force that could have torn his forces apart as that girl has said, Drago was surprised to see his foe simply clad in some pathetic leather 'armor', with no weapons drawn or on his person. Just a small boy? He'd make sure to get that girl back for trying to dare intimidate him.

Drago smirked to himself at the boy's courage to address him directly. Maybe it was because of his foolishness that he found it amusing. Either way, this would turn out to be an interesting little confrontation. Drago watched though scarred eyes as the boy dismounted his dragon, sliding off the beast's back onto his feet, throwing his helmet to the ground. The young couldn't have been more than 20 and he certainly didn't live up to his father's 'Vast' reputation in his build. The youth's dragon glared at Drago with a growl, it's much smaller frame compared to the new Alpha enough to make the conqueror laugh. After all of the threats from his friends, all of the rumours about the youth's prowess, this was all he had to offer?
"This?" Drago sneered. "This is the great 'Dragon Master'? The son of Stoick the Vast? What shame he must feel..."
The boy didn't even flinch at the insult. He didn't even seem to be paying attention to Drago's attempt to intimidate as he instead glanced out over the destruction of the battle around them. Boats lain in ruins, weapons stuck into the frost covered rock beneath their feet, dragons circling overhead as if unsure with what to do with themselves now that their former Alpha was dead. Even now, Drago knew that there was no real danger to him, even with a Night Fury staring him down only a few feet away. He would let the boy speak. Just to see what he could muster up.
"All of this loss. And for what?" the Viking exclaimed, his arms gesturing over the scorched ruins of the battle. "To become unstoppable? To rule the world?"
So an attempt at peace, it seemed. Drago almost seemed to lose interest, the boy's words fading into the background as he observed his and his Alpha's handiwork. It wouldn't be long before all of Berk would be lain in ruins like this. The perfect solution to those who would dare to ally themselves with the dragons. Yet still, his foe still protested against him.
"Dragons...they are kind, amazing creatures that can bring people together".
The words rang in Drago's ears like an earache. Such affection for these dangerous demons that had destroyed his home, his life. He had to chuckle to himself again about how soft and naive this boy was to the real world, to the reality of these beasts he was vainly trying to protect. He'd show him, turning in place and unhooking the straps of leather that held his prosthetic arm to his body.
"Or tear them apart..." he responded, voice gruff and unforgiving as he noticed the young man become visibly taken aback by his injury. Something they both had in common, losing a piece of themselves to these monsters. To Drago, it has just been more than his arm. "See? I know what it's like to live in fear" he spoke, reattaching his arm as he began to circle the youth like he was bestowing some great wisdom to him, like a favor. "To see my village burned. My family taken. But even as a boy left with nothing, I vowed to rise above the fear of dragons and liberate the people of this world."
"Then why a dragon army?" the boy asked him, his question accented by the rumbling of his Night Fury in a threatening growl. Drago smirked at his simple answer.
"Well, you need dragons to conquer other dragons."
"Or maybe you need dragons to conquer people. To control those who follow you. And to get rid of those who won't."
This one seemed so noble in his efforts. But he certainly wasn't stupid, leaving Drago to feel something close to impressed at his foe's deductions.
"Clever boy" he growled under his breath. The boy continued his vain pleas despite them falling on deaf ears.
"The world wants peace. And we have the answer back on Berk." Drago couldn't believe that. Not when the young man's dragon was taking slow steps towards him with a constant threatening rumble so impressive it made the ground beneath his feet vibrate. He spoke of peace yet was being eyed up by a monstrosity such as that? Even so, the dragon showed such raw power when it came to protecting his 'tamer'. It almost made him wonder what the Night Fury would be capable of if it didn't hold itself back at the youth's orders. Which gave him a rather good idea. A deliciously satisfying idea. As the plan began to manifest itself in Drago's head, the boy tried to break his concentration.
"Just...let me show y-"
"No!" Drago snapped, cutting him off before he could finish. "Let me show you..."

Before Hiccup could even respond, Drago began to scream. A roar akin to the most hardy of battle-hardened warriors that made his very core twist from it's savagery. The madman began to swing his weapon around in the air, the resonance of the metal slicing through it so easily only adding to the feeling of nausea in Hiccup's stomach as each swing made its way in circles around Drago's head. As if on cue, the Viking suddenly picked up on a dull hum to his left, a horrendous crunching of ground beneath heavy feet as he realized that the Bewilderbeast was on the move. The great behemoth turned its attention towards its much smaller prey, its stare nothing like that of the former Alpha. Instead of seeing a protective gentleness, Hiccup could see nothing but a twisted form of rage in its eyes. What had Drago done to this creature to turn it so hateful and eager to serve? He took a few steps back, his own eyes unable to leave the chilling stare of the gigantic Alpha, even with Toothless continuing to growl behind him as if to provide some reassurance he wasn't as small as he felt right now.
"No dragon can resist the Alpha's command." Drago hissed through gritted teeth. "So he who controls the Alpha...controls them all."
The glinting spear in Drago's head ceased it's spinning and became still, it's sharp end pointed towards Toothless. The Night Fury backed away a step from the man just as a horrendous noise shook the air around him and Hiccup. The Alpha stared down at the smaller black dragon, its pupils narrowing to slits of black as the spines covering its head twitched at the deep bass shaking its way into the ground. At that very moment, Hiccup saw Toothless break into a fit of frantic spasms, the Night Fury's head head shaking with roars of protest as he fumbled around his feet like he'd lost his sense of balance.
"Toothless?" Hiccup blurted aloud, a rising fear of alarm starting to show itself in his voice when his dragon didn't respond to him. "T-Toothless, you okay, bud? What's going on?" he continued, trying to keep his voice in that usual warm tone that he knew the Night Fury always responded to. Toothless didn't respond this time and only continued to writhe with snarls of frustration, almost as if he was in pain from the Alpha's frequency piercing into his ears.
"Witness true strength. Strength of will over others."
Drago's words were lost on Hiccup. What did he mean? What was he doing? A few passing seconds was all it took for Hiccup to get his answer as Toothless ceased his frantic body movements. The Night Fury's head became still before it raised up, refusing to turn around to face his human as Drago continued to speak. His voice was somehow able to cut through the resonance of the Alpha's call, a fact that only added to the sudden sense of dread that seemed to tell Hiccup was out of his depth.
"In the face of it...you are nothing." Drago whispered, his tone calm despite the sheer rage he had shown in his cries moments ago. The sharp end of his spear turned away from Toothless and swung through the air with a glint from the dimmed light of the sun through the clouds. And it landed pointing straight at Hiccup.

Right on cue, Toothless turned his head like an owl, his gaze gaunt and empty as his ear plates twitched at the constant vibration of the Alpha's orders. Now, to the young Viking's horror, Toothless was responding to Drago's command. And he wasn't just responding to it, he was already starting to move towards Hiccup with intent, like he had been hypnotized into doing so. Hiccup stammered as he began to back away, the eyes of his best friend showing the same look of narrow slits against green as if to match the Alpha's own commanding presence.
"W-What did he just tell you...?" Hiccup managed to say. Toothless didn't even make a sound or response. The dragon just continued to walk slowly towards him, that empty face showing no trace of the dragon he knew. Just this thing, a tool that did what it was ordered to do. Hiccup wasn't sure whether to be upset or petrified. Possibly a bit of both. He took another step back, his boots crunching into the ground as he watched the Night Fury bare his teeth in a savage growl than seemed to sync with those horrible resonances driving into the Viking's skull.
"Toothless! Come on! What's the matter with you?" he pleaded, his eyes flicking back and forth between the Alpha and the advancing black dragon. He thrust an arm out in his usual calming gestures to get Toothless to back down but each slow step continued without hesitation.
"No, no, no, no, come on, what are you doing? Knock it off! Stop!" Hiccup's voice cracked as he started to panic. His brain was starting run out of things to try. Nothing he knew about trying to control a dragon was working and it wasn't working on the one who knew him better than anyone. He couldn't have known that Toothless couldn't hear him. He couldn't have known that the dragon he knew had been buried beneath the surface of this control, the Alpha's sheer will spurring him on with a single command: destroy. It was the only thing running through the dragon's head and there was nothing Hiccup could do to break its hold.
"Toothless, no! Toothless!" he begged, his head turning to look behind him as he saw a wall of ice make its way slowly towards him with every step back, the giant columns of frozen water having falling from the shards of the Sanctuary mere moments ago. And now they were to serve as the perfect trap. Drago snickered, not even looking at the sight at this point as Hiccup was backed into a corner. It wouldn't be long now before he struck a blow to Stoick deeper than any blade could manage. Toothless' wings outstretched as his deliberate steps towards the human pressed into the ground without fail.
"Don't!" Hiccup cried, his eyes starting to sting as they welled with the beginning of tears, terrified that his best friend stared through his very being with such menace. Another snarl from Toothless' hung open jaws sent chills through his body, the memory of the first time they had met in the woods flashing before his vision. Toothless had shown mercy then. But there was no hint that it would happen this time. Hiccup stumbled, almost tripping over his prosthetic leg as he heard another voice from the distance scream his name.
"Hiccup!"
It sounded like his dad. He wasn't sure, he couldn't concentrate. He dare not try when Toothless was bearing down on him like this. He could only keep begging his dragon to stop, just as his eyes widened in horror at the glowing purple flame began to build at the back of the Night Fury's throat.
"NO!"
"Son!"
The other person managed to break his attention long enough for him to turn away from Toothless.
"Dad!" Hiccup screamed, his arm outstretched as if to tell his father to stay away. He could still control him, he could win Toothless back, he just needed to try harder. Stoick wasn't going to take that chance, already seeing the dim purple color begin to illuminate Hiccup's body. With his limbs aching at his rush to reach his son in time, Stoick threw himself forward towards Hiccup just as Toothless' throat constricted and sent out a speeding fireball towards them both.

It all happened so fast. Time seemed to move in slow motion for them both. As the scorching heat of Toothless' attack began to close in on them, Hiccup's thoughts begged him to try one last time to break through the Alpha's control. His mouth began to change into the shape of yelling Toothless' name, something to make the Night Fury stop even though the action had already been done.

'You'd never hurt him...you'd never hurt me...'

Not a word more was spoken when a mighty explosion doused the scene in thick black smoke. Toothless' fire had shattered the wall of ice, sending pieces of it everywhere across the ground. Valka, having only been moments behind Stoick when he had started his run to stop the dragon, barely had a chance to catch her breath. Her heart almost stopped when she realized what had happened, her eyes trying to peer through the veil of black for a sign of any movement. She continued her frantic pace down the hills of snow, her footing slipping on the slippy surface the odd time just as the smoke finally began to blow away in the breeze. Both Stoick and Hiccup lay still on the ground, covered in shards of frozen material as Toothless just stood there, panting heavily. Smoke escaped from the sides of his jaws as he stayed completely still with that horrible expression. Nothing but a machine under Drago's wicked control, Valka knew all too well what that insane monster could've done. She swallowed the welling of fear in her throat as she tried to get closer, hoping that Toothless would remain docile for now to let her. She approached Stoick first, sliding to her knees as she tugged on his gigantic frame with a grunt of exertion.
"Stoick!" she cried, pulling at his arm as he rolled onto his back. Her husband spluttered after a terrifying moment of laying still, coughing as if the smoke had collected into the back of his throat. He pushed himself up onto his elbows as he tried to make sense of what happened. He squinted, blinking his eyes as the blurry view of his wife's face came into view.
"Val..." he said softly, trying to get back to reality. His mind slowly caught up with him as he came around, his paternal panic rising in his chest and outweighing any desire Stoick had to take on Drago. His head frantically turned around, hoping to see that he had been successful in his efforts to save his son. He soon found him only feet away.
"Hiccup!" Stoick yelled, clambering his heavy frame to his feet as Valka followed him in an equally panicked state. The chief's gut was already twisting as he rested his gaze on the sight of his son's contorted body strewn beneath heavy blocks of ice. He hurried to Hiccup's side, tossing aside the chunks of material like paper as they fell to the ground in heavy thuds. He grabbed Hiccup's body and pulled him onto his back, shaking him roughly to rouse him from his lack of consciousness. As he did so, Stoick couldn't help but notice the grisly damage that had been left behind from the dragon's fire. His mind protested it, trying to ignore the gaping wound in his boy's stomach that hadn't been properly cauterized and was leaking crimson to the ground, the smell of burning flesh, the sickening sounds of mangled bone against muscle when he was moved. Stoick felt numb even contemplating the thought, but it was already creeping into his mind.
"No...son, you wouldn't. You're not doing this to me again! You..." he stammered, shaking Hiccup again more desperately as he still didn't get a response. "Hiccup! Hiccup!"
Valka knelt besides them both and leaned her head down against Hiccup's chest. Her eyes were wide with panic, listening for a sign, something, anything to show he was alright.

She didn't get one. Her body heaved in shock as she covered her mouth with her hand. Her eyes filled with tears, even as her clothing began to stain red from being so close to her son's injuries.
'No...no, it...' she started, the sentence losing strength the more it went on. Valka had always been one to cling to hope despite the evidence. Back when she remained on Berk, she clung to the idea of peace. And here, her mind was desperately trying to cling on to the idea of her son being alright. But in the end, it all became too much for her to delude herself any longer. Valka let out a cry as she sank herself over Hiccup's body, her back heaving up and down with her sobs as the realization of what had happened began to wash over Stoick as well. The words he wanted to say were lost to him, his thoughts no longer capable of thinking what they were supposed to be. All he could muster was getting his gigantic arms to cradle all of his family close together as he too began to weep.
'Hiccup...' he whispered, trying to remain brave for his wife's sake. The guilt was making it hard to. If he had been just a little faster, if he had stopped Hiccup from trying to confront that damned madman in the first place properly, then...maybe it would've been him instead. It should've been him instead. Stoick could barely even notice the sounds of the other dragon riders landing nearby now that Drago had left. To where, Stoick couldn't guess. He didn't want to. He didn't even look up. All he could do was stare down at his son's still face. Hiccup's cheeks were wet. Stoick couldn't tell if it was because he had lost his life in fear of his best friend...or because his father's tears were falling onto him.

As the giant beast responsible for the act began to turn away at Drago's command, its attention was broken from Toothless. It didn't have a use for him anymore and the Night Fury's threatening stance from before shrank down to normal. Toothless shook his head, grimacing as the noise of the Bewilderbeast finally ceased and left him free to his own thought. His eyes returned to normal, squinting and blinking back to the real world as he tried to figure out what had happened. Where was Hiccup? The last thing he had remembered was the pair of them facing off against that nasty dragon trapper. The next thing he knew, he had been...overwhelmed by this awful presence. He didn't even know what it was, he just knew it had frozen his thoughts behind a veil. He remembered feeling rage and anger and the need to kill, but he didn't know why. The dragon crooned, feeling worry rise within him when he didn't initially see Hiccup standing there to comfort him with his words as he usually did. Hiccup always did that when he was worried and it always soothed him. But there was no sign of his human anywhere. And it was then that Toothless noticed the figures crowding around something. Both Hiccup's father and mother were there, Astrid and the other riders were there and Hiccup...
Toothless' eyes turned wide, suddenly racing forward to try and see what was happening. Was he there? Was he OK? Even as he approached them, Toothless had to note that the Vikings were all quiet, his ear plates twitching to try and pick up on anything they were saying. They didn't speak a word. Only muffled sobs reached the dragon's ears as his front paw touched the ground not too far away from them. Stoick heard the footstep crunch into the ice and finally raised his head from his grief stricken trance. He knew who that footstep belonged to and raised his body up with a ferocious snarl of his own. Valka watched in shock as Stoick's brow scowled harshly and he stood, his eyes almost wild as the rage filled his words. He was yelling louder than Toothless had ever heard him do before.
"NO! Get away from him!" Stoick screamed, the power of his voice making the Night Fury flinch from the sheer volume alone. "Y-YOU did this! You demon, you...!" he continued, his voice breaking under the strain of the situation as he raised his fist above his head like he was going to strike. Toothless whined, taking a step back at Stoick's words. Valka raised an arm up towards her husband's hand, pushing her head into it as her own voice threatened to fail through her tears.
"I-It's not his fault...you know that..." she murmured, trying to be the voice of reason. Stoick's angry expression faltered. He sighed out a sob, sinking to his knees once more as another tear slipped over his burly features. He knew his wife was right. This poor creature was nothing more than a tool to Drago. Blaming him for this wouldn't change anything. Toothless hummed again in puzzlement, glancing between them both as he seemed confused as to what they were blaming him for. They were so angry, so sorrowful...had he done something wrong? Where was Hiccup? The dragon began to feel angry himself, growling in frustration that they wouldn't tell him where Hiccup was as his front leg stamped into the ground. It wasn't until the Night Fury finally directed his eyes at the crumpled bundle between the two Vikings that he felt an awful chill run through him. The same one that had run through him when they had faced the Red Death and when Hiccup had been initially kidnapped by Valka's dragons. The small amounts of red liquid pooling at his paws were more than enough to make that chill hit even harder. Toothless let out a panicked noise as he realized that the bundle was his Hiccup.

He rushed to Hiccup's side, his legs slipping on the ice and blood and making him stumble over himself. He didn't waste a moment even as he fell, his head bobbing down and nudging into the Viking's side with an insistent rumble to get him up again. He growled insistently, just like he had done the first time Hiccup had lain unconscious all those years again.

'Get up. Come on, get up!'

He batted him gently with his paws, mirroring their play fights to try and get him 'fighting' back. The Night Fury soon found himself freezing when warm moisture coated his claws in a red color. Toothless whimpered, worriedly looking between Stoick and Valka for some sort of answer.

'Why isn't he waking up? Wake him up!'

They met the dragon's wordless inquiry with the same look. Eyes red and dry from their tears, a general numbness about their being. Toothless' entire body went slack. His ear plates sank downwards across his head, his wings impacting onto the floor as if they had lost the strength to hold themselves upright. Genuine fear began to flood his senses as he pushed at Hiccup, nuzzling that limp arm over and over again.

'No, you get up now! Get up right now, Hiccup!'

The humans surrounding him could only watch as the Night Fury vainly, desperately tried to wake up his human, pushing at him with both of his claws now with more frustrated and insistent growls over and over. Again he kept his nudging and nuzzling going, his nose starting to turn as red as his paws as the dragon's crooning became more anxious. Valka's heart broke all over again at seeing such a beautiful creature be in such distress. She had never seen such behavior before from a dragon. Yet alone for a human. The fact that it only showed the bond her son had had with Toothless made it all the harder to face. She bit her lower lip and held out a hand, placing it on the Night Fury's forehead to stop his movements. Their eyes met. Toothless' mouth hung open as he whimpered again, though his 'voice' seemed to break at doing so. The dragon's pupils dilated, his eyes becoming shiny in the dim light of the battlefield.

'No, he...he's fine. I protect him, I always do. I protect him...'

And it was then that Toothless saw the wounds. The way they smoldered and burned, the way the stench of decaying flesh hit his senses enough to make his nostrils flare. It was then that he realized his own mouth still felt warm like he had just used his fire. As the connections were made and the truth hit like a blow from a Viking's axe, Toothless felt like his very heart was collapsing in on itself, unable to stop the moisture building in his emerald eyes.

'My Hiccup...he's...he's not...'

He hadn't protected Hiccup at all. It hadn't been Drago. It hadn't even been the Alpha. Toothless knew he had done this. Valka bowed her head, her hand slowly withdrawing from Toothless' head as she surrendered to her own grief once more. The Night Fury looked between all the humans, even the other riders stood feet away as they all seemed the same. Astrid has sunk to her own knees besides Toothless, the tears freely flowing to the ground as she clenched her fists in rage at Drago, threatening to tear through her own clothing. That madman had managed to do what Toothless had thought to be impossible.

'Please...please, you can't be gone...! I'm begging you...'

And it was at that moment that something happened that no other dragon had done before or since. As tears rolled over his scaled cheeks and he shifted his body close to his human with one more pathetic nuzzle, the Night Fury raised his head upwards to the sky.

And Toothless howled.

It was a sound that made everyone shudder from its tone and power. A howl that was infused with pain and longing all at once, breaking in its sustain as Toothless' back heaved in breaths and stammered noises. Yet no matter how loudly the Night Fury forced his lungs to cry, no matter how they burned at the exertion of volume like it would wake his friend, his closest companion in this world...it was no use. The dragon grew quiet, his noises reduces to heaves and humming noises that could only be the draconic equivalent of crying. He gently rested his head upon his human's body as he continued to cry, not even able to summon up the anger over Drago to take action or pursue. Toothless could only stare at his human's face. The way that those eyes used to shine as they looked at him, so full of love and warmth. The Night Fury would never see that again. The dragon's front legs curled under the boy's body, pulling it against his black underside as his scales touched Hiccup's skin. Neither Stoick or Valka tried to stop him, holding each other as they too were lost to sorrow. Toothless' cheek brushed against Hiccup's forehead. He felt so cold to touch. No longer warm like his embrace usually was. Had been. It was just lifeless.

And Toothless knew it was because of him. He had killed his human. His Hiccup. And he had nothing but his grief left.

As Drago Bludvist walked away towards his Bewilderbeast, using his hook to climb atop one of its giant tusks, he glanced back at his work as that black beast roared to the sky. He had done the damage. With a broken dragon, a broken Stoick and the great Dragon Master laid to rest, he didn't see a point in sticking around. As powerful as the Alpha was in forcing the others to follow its command, the Night Fury was useless without a rider to operate its tail. Drago was in no mood to deal with a straggler who couldn't fly. Most importantly, it would no longer be a threat to him without its rider.

Drago sneered, raising his weapon into the air as he called on his men to move. The ships began to pull away, the rest of the dragons circling over the new Alpha's head. Now all that lay ahead was Berk.