Hi, guys! So, I meant to update this yesterday, but I forgot. My apologies. Anyway, thank you, reviewers! I shall acknowledge you!
midnightsky0612: SAY YES!
Snowflake: XD Pun
star7k: You're welcome! And I hope so, too.
faisyah865: I am not Toothless, so I have no idea how to answer this one.
Book girl fan: Exactly what Hiccup was thinking.
httydfangirlforever: Thanks! Also, thanks for the idea, but I already have the next chapters typed out and ready. Though, I would probably put that in there if circumstances were different! I guess you'll have to see what happens. :3
So, yeah. Without further ado, CHAPTER NINE!
Chapter Nine
His eyes squeezed shut, Hiccup plunged toward the rocky sea below. There was no way he was going back with the Outcasts. He'd probably never get out again! Listening to the angry shouts of Alvin and the Outcasts, he waited for the impact that never came. Instead, he felt a slight jerk of his ankle, and he felt his course alter its direction. The viking's eyes shot open in surprise to see a black, scaly face smiling at him.
"Toothless!" he exclaimed in delight. The dragon made a soft purring noise. He landed after placing Hiccup gently back on the ground.
"Good job, Bud," he said, scratching the back of the reptile's head and climbing onto his back. "Now, let's go find the others." The dragon hunched its shoulders and leaped into the darkening sky. They didn't even make it off the island before a whizzing noise perished both their hopes. Hiccup looked back to see a crudely-made arrow sticking out of Toothless's prosthetic tail, already causing it to tear itself apart. Luckily, they weren't very high off the ground.
Toothless landed on the dark rock with a thump, nearly throwing Hiccup off him. He clambered off the dragon's back and took a look at the tail. Beyond repair.
"Well, this is a complication," he said to Toothless. The dragon snorted in agreement. Hiccup looked back to see how much time they had. The Outcasts had already started making their way down the cliff. Hiccup was back to running again, except this time he had Toothless with him. Oh, yes. This was going to be very interesting.
~Page Break~
Astrid sighed in annoyance, flipping her bangs out of her eyes. They'd gone to look for Hiccup, only to get lost in the tangle of rocks that made up Outcast island. In nervousness, Fishlegs had started reciting plant names and properties, making Astrid want to bang her head up against a rock. Every minute they didn't find Hiccup, she grew more and more frustrated. She just wanted to find him and get out of there. Everything would return to normal.
Astrid couldn't stop thinking about Hiccup, but unfortunately that meant Alvin too. Suddenly, she was eight years old again, watching the Outcast torture her father. No! Don't think about that. Think about how happy you're going to be when you find Hiccup! Astrid shook her head , trying to clear it.
"What's wrong?" Fishlegs asked, pausing from his plant reciting.
"Nothing. I just want to find Hiccup and leave." He nodded his head. Astrid had a suspicion that he was more worried than he was letting on. Huh. That was unlike Fishlegs. Gobber stopped very suddenly.
"What is..."
"Shh! Listen!"
Astrid lowered her breathing as much as she could without holding her breath. Straining her ears, she took in as many sounds as she could. There was the rough winds that were whistling all around, and a faint hooting. For a second, she even thought she could here the waves lapping at the shore, but Astrid was positive that it was her imagination.
"I can't hear anything!" Fishlegs said loudly, only to be silenced by Gobber's hand.
"Will ye just shut up a bit more?" Astrid listened as all was silent again. Then, out of the blue, she heard it. An extremely faint, but unmistakable roar that could only belong to one dragon. She exchanged a look with Fishlegs. Toothless!
They ran as quickly as they could in the direction of the sound, not looking back to see if Gobber was keeping up with them.
~Page Break~
Stoick threw the anchor off of his ship as the bottom scraped against rough sand. He motioned for his men to do the same. Now that they had reached their destination, he would need all his men with him.
"Come on," he growled at the twins, motioning for them to get off the boat. The idiots clambered over the edge, only to meet freezing water that soaked up to their knees. They had gotten off the wrong side.
"Eeew," the boy said, walking to the land. At least, Stoick thought that was the boy. The other one followed.
"Everyone, follow me. We're going to see Alvin." He earned many frightened glances from his tribe, but no one questioned his orders. They knew that he would do whatever it took to find his son.
~Page Break~
Snotlout was officially in a very bad mood. He'd been able to convince the other two dragons to follow him, and now they were definitely lost. He'd started flying, making twists and turns where he saw fit, and ended up back at dragon island after about two hours. Ironically, dragons were crowding every inch of the place. Just great.
Turning around to try a different direction, Snotlout nudged his dragon forward. Outcast Island was no Berk. It was tiny and hard to spot, making it the ideal spot for fugitives.
Whining, Hookfang reluctantly turned away from the direction of the other monstrous nightmares. Stormfly and Meatlug following, he flew back. Snotlout decided to try and let the dragons use their instincts. If he couldn't find it, then it wouldn't hurt.
Turning west toward the setting sun, the dragons shot forward like slingshots, their scales glinting in the sunlight.
The storm had obviously died down and there wasn't a cloud in sight. The dragons were humming nervously, cocking their heads at the slightest sound. Snotlout wondered what they were so nervous about. He felt his eyes begin to droop; It had been a very long day. Before he knew it, he was sound asleep.
~Page Break~
Hiccup's evening had been very eventful. He'd pushed his leg to the very limit as he an Toothless ran. All that exercise paid off, though, because they'd lost the Outcasts. After finding a small cave inside a rocky gorge, they took turns watching. It would have been pointless to escape from Alvin only for him to find them before the next day even started. They didn't dare to light a fire because of the likely event of the Outcasts seeing it. If Hiccup knew their leader, they were still searching.
He twisted his head around as he felt a nudge on his back. His favorite reptile was beckoning for him to sleep.
"Thanks, Bud," he whispered, not wanting to break the silent atmosphere. A joyful noise arose from Toothless's throat. Hiccup assumed that meant 'You're welcome.'
When he dreamed, he was back home. He was chasing Toothless all around the Dragon Academy while Astrid watched, laughing, on the back of Stormfly. Man, she looked great today. Astrid, not Stormfly. Fishlegs was squashed under Meatlug, who was sound asleep, and Snotlout, Ruffnut, and Tuffnut were in a heated argument about something. He thought he heard the words 'pet potato' somewhere in there, but he couldn't be sure.
Then without warning, giant spiders began to crawl out of the walls. How they got through the concrete, Hiccup didn't know. In the wake of all the madness, he was able to spot something on their backs. Wait, it wasn't just something! Those were Outcasts? How had Outcasts trained a pack of giant spiders? He watched in horror as they continued to devour all of his friends; Toothless, Astrid and Stormfly first, then Fishlegs and Meatlug, and finally Snotlout, the twins, and their dragons. In the midst of it all, there was Alvin.
"Not so tough now are you, Dragon Conqueror?" Hiccup stared in horror as the eight-legged creatures turned to him, but he couldn't move! He was rooted to the spot. They scuffled toward him and began to pluck him apart, limb by limb. He heard a loud, rough laugh echoing throughout the arena as he lay, unmoving.
When Hiccup awoke, he would have no memory of the dream at all.
~Page Break~
Snotlout was awoken by a sharp jab to the side. Grunting, he tried to shove it away, but the poking wouldn't cease. He finally lifted his head after a particularly sharp one.
"What?"
For a second, he was surprised to see Stormfly and Meatlug. What were they doing in his house? Then he remembered everything from the past few days. When he glanced around at his surroundings, he could just make out rocky mountains extending to the sky. The ground was coarse and covered in nothing but loose dirt and gravel. Sharp peaks and sheer-drop cliffs could be seen every way you looked. Snotlout had never been here before, but it perfectly matched the description from other vikings. There was no doubt about it, he realized a he swallowed a cry of relief. He was on Outcast Island.
Scrambling up from his seated position on Hookfang, he slid off the dragon's back. The three reptiles were still shuffling nervously. Sneaking behind a large boulder, he cautiously peered around its edge. Nothing. Relieved, he tip-toed around the corner.
He honestly had no idea what happened next. He heard a sudden battle cry land before he knew it, he was on the ground, being strangled by something tall and hairy.
"It's me, it's me," he choked out.
"Snotlout?"
He felt the hands disappear and got to his feet, shooting a nasty glare at Gobber, who looked positively delighted. He then turned to Astrid, who had been the one to speak his name.
"Yeah, thanks for that." Now it was her turn to glare.
"Where were you? Odin knows we looked everywhere!" Wait, they had actually tried to find him? Snotlout had assumed they would have dismissed the idea of his survival immediately and gone to look for Hiccup. He rubbed his dirty hands against his shirt, trying to get the grime off of them. Hookfang, Stormfly, and Meatlug all appeared behind him. After a brief but joyful reunion between Astrid and Stormfly, the loud sound of crunching leaves could be heard behind them.
"Guys! Guys! I heard shouting! Are you dead?" Snotlout turned his head just in time to see Fishlegs come barreling around a corner with wide, wild eyes. The larger boy just stood there for a moment, mouth agape.
"Oh."
"Yeah."
"You're okay!"
"Yeah."
"You hungry?"
"Yeah."
"Me too."
"For the love of Thor! Can we please get moving? Hiccup could be gone by now!" No one needed to specify the definition of gone.
The silence was unbearable.
LONG CHAPTER! YAY! Well, long for me, anyway. Some of the coming chapters might be a bit shorter; this was my longest one yet. Hope you enjoyed! Watch out for bagels. They'll invade your mind and control you. They're evil, I tell you! EVIL! But so, so delicious...
-Shadow