*dodges axes and swords thrown at me*
OKAY OKAY I'M SORRRRRRY!
*dodges one last hammer*
THANK YOU! Okay, so, sorry I haven't updated this baby in a few days. I was busy with...well, another story. I finished that story, though, so I should have a bit more time to work on this one...
OKAY OKAY OKAY, I HAVE A JOKE! Here goes: why did the hipster burn his tongue?
Answer: 'Cause he drank his coffee before it was cool.
*puts on sunglasses* *spins in a circle* *tips fedora* *dodges another hammer*
Okay, I know, that was bad. :P Here's the chapter! :D
"Right then," said Astrid, turning from the dead dragon to her three friends. "We should find the search party, tell them that we beat the Gemsho, and then get back to Berk."
There were no words needed to be said in agreement; they were more than excited about leaving Raven Point, heading as far away as possible from the dead body of the Gemsho. They headed back to the center of Raven Point, where the search party had started looking.
There were Berkian soldiers, but not many of them; ten. One of the groups, Astrid figured. They were gazing around blindly, looking for weapons they didn't have.
"Hey!" Snotlout shouted. "We're gathering everyone up again! The Gemsho is dead!"
They all turned and looked at him with confusion.
"What do you mean?" one asked. "The Gemsho is dead?"
"Yes," said Astrid. "We shot it clear out of the sky with a crossbow arrow. It's dead. We have to gather the men and then get back to Berk."
The villagers cheered, and then ran off to look for the other search party members. Astrid turned to Snotlout and the twins and sighed.
"Well, we did it," she said simply. "We killed the Gemsho."
…
Once the men of the search party had been reassembled, they trekked back to Berk, mumbling to each other about the Gemsho and its killers, saying how relieved they were that the dragon was now gone forever. It was hard to believe that the Gemsho was gone, out of their lives, never to return.
No one was complaining, though, quite relieved for that fact.
They walked to the village, met by the villagers who had stayed behind. They gathered around the fifty Berkian Search Party members, each shouting different questions, all at the same time.
"Where are your weapons!?"
"Did you destroy the Gemsho!?"
"Is everyone alright!?"
"Hey, hey!" the "leader" of the search party shouted, rushing forward to try and silence the crowd. They quieted themselves, listening intently to what he was going to say.
"The Gemsho is dead!" he shouted. He gestured to Astrid, Snotlout, Ruffnut and Tuffnut. "These dragon riders killed it!"
The crowd erupted into cheers, people shouting and congratulating them for their victory. As they celebrated, Astrid managed to slip away, unnoticed by the villagers, and her friends. She was going to go see Avril, and then Hiccup.
She ran to her house, pushing the door open and rushing to her little sister's room. She found Avril, surrounded by her mother and father.
She felt a smile crash over her face as she realized that Avril was sitting up, and smiling. She was smiling.
"Avril!" Astrid cried, rushing towards her little sister and hugging her. Avril hugged her back, and Astrid actually felt herself tearing up. She released Avril and held her by the shoulders.
"Astrid!" said Avril. "You got back!"
"What happened, Astrid?" said her father.
"It's over!" said Astrid. "We killed the Gemsho! It's gone, Avril! We did it!"
Avril gasped, a smile crossing her face. "I knew it!" she shouted, launching herself at her sister again and hugging her. "I knew you would!"
The Gemsho had quite an effect on Avril while it was alive, but now, since it had been destroyed, it seemed to have never taken toll on Avril at all. Of course, the Gemsho said that it was bound to happen, since Avril was younger, and she was bound not to remember hardly anything.
However, it hadn't said the same thing about Hiccup…
"I'll be right back, Avril," Astrid promised. "I need to make sure Hiccup is okay."
"Okay!" said Avril, the three year old smiling like crazy. "I like Hiccup! He's crazy!"
Astrid wasn't quite sure what to say to that.
"Be back soon!" she called over her shoulder as she raced back outside. Shutting the door behind her she started running straight towards the Haddock residence. She was surprised and relieved that Avril was doing so better, and she hoped that it was the same with Hiccup.
…
Hiccup's Fear Sequence:
He was walking on an island, smoke covering it like a thick fog, a musty stench hanging in the air, along with ashes and little, tiny specks of fire. As he walked, he soon found himself wondering what island this was.
Then suddenly, he passed something that made his heart skip a beat, his breath quicken, and body tense.
It was the Dragon Training Academy, pieces of the walls destroyed and crumpled into small heaps of dust, dirt and debris.
Then...in that case, this wasn't just "an island."
This was Berk.
And it was in ruins.
As he walked through the streets of the destroyed, abandoned plaza, he glanced around, wondering what had happened. He was slowly growing terrified; what was this? If it was a dream, well, it felt too real. No dream was supposed to feel that real. It felt as if he were literally in the ruins of Berk.
Then, he stumbled across a body. Pausing slightly, he felt his breath quicken when he caught sight of blonde hair, spiked skirt and…
No.
"Astrid," he said as he raced towards her, stopping when he reached her side. He stared at her for a moment; her blue eyes hidden by closed eyelids, her face deathly pale and unmoving, smudges of dirt almost covering her face.
It was at that moment that Hiccup fell to his knees next to the girl, his heartbeat pounding in his chest until he could hear it. He felt lightheaded, suddenly unable to breathe as he stared at the body of Astrid Hofferson.
"Astrid," he said, crawling towards her almost pathetically, unable to register the truth. "Astrid, you can't be…" He paused as he leaned over her, and then pressed his ear to her chest.
Nothing.
"Astrid...Astrid stop!" he yelled at her, shaking her desperately. "STOP IT! GET UP!" Nothing happened.
As the realization finally set in, he stood up and stumbled backwards, landing flat on his back.
"It's not real, just wake up," Hiccup whispered to himself. "Wake up, you moron. Wake up…it's just a nightmare...she's fine...she's fine...she's-"
"Dead," another voice answered for him. Hiccup sat up, his eyes darting to the source of the voice. Once he finally found it, he gasped. The Gemsho dragon stood, as if it had just appeared there suddenly without actually traveling.
"The girl is dead," it said. "So is everyone else who lived here. I killed them all, human. I killed them all."
Hiccup shook his head. "No," he said, "No, no...this isn't happening...no."
"Well, I guess you are right," said the Gemsho. "I haven't killed you yet." It stood up to its full height, and then lunged.
The scene changed just before the dragon met him on. Hiccup was standing in front of a dragon that looked specially like...Toothless.
But wait a minute…
Toothless was backing him up against an ice block, the Night Fury's pupils narrowed into slits as he snarled.
"Toothless," said Hiccup. "Why are you doing this? What is this?" There was no doubt; this was Toothless. It had the tailfin and everything. But why was it backing him up, looking ready to fire a plasma blast…?
"TOOTHLESS!" Hiccup cried, but the dragon did nothing. "No, NO! Toothless, no!"
As the dragon opened its mouth to fire, Hiccup's world went black. When he opened his eyes again, he glanced towards the ice, now splintered and in heaping chunks.
That wasn't all, though.
Stoick was laying on the ground, the ice covering him.
Hiccup didn't move for a moment, the realization too shocking. First Astrid, and now his Dad? No...no, it couldn't have been happening.
Hiccup blinked, and when he opened his eyes again, he saw the Gemsho. He was in a dark room, but he could see the colors of the Gemsho perfectly, as if it were glowing.
"I'm coming for Berk," it said. "I am coming for Berk. I am coming for you. I will kill all of you Berkians with no mercy. I will destroy each and every single one of you, one by one, right before your eyes. Starting with...him." Toothless suddenly appeared, in chains and ropes. The Gemsho stood over the dragon, and swiped it with its claws.
"NO!" Hiccup shouted.
HAHAHAHA, CLIFFHANGER! I told you all I would give you Hiccup's Fear Sequence. Just so everyone knows, Hiccup is afraid of losing Astrid, his island, his Father, Toothless, and the Gemsho (yes, Hiccup is afraid of the Gemsho). This was the vision that Hiccup kept seeing every time he closed his eyes. It would go on repeat, over and over and over again. Stay tuned for the next chapter! :D