~Ouroboros~
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1st – 21. Battle in the Fog
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Hiccup woke up to find himself in an exceptionally awkward position, with his legs still asleep and pain spiking from his back the moment he tried to move. It really wasn't all that difficult to piece together how he ended up like this considering that the hammers, nails, sheets of metal, wrecked swords and countless other things strewn around the floor meant that he had been working quite late in the forge and simply fell asleep on his feet. Wincing at the chaotic mess around him and giving off a fast prayer that Gobber didn't come around before he had time to clean everything up Hiccup bolted from the curled position he had been in against one of the larger anvils and cursed as his unresponsive legs buckled under him, not even making a token of an attempt to hold him up.
Still, luck was definitely on his side today he decided; considering the number of sharp objects he had managed to miss landing on.
A few minutes later Hiccup managed to get himself in mostly working order, as long as he discounted the consistent pain from the small of his back which made picking things from the floor slightly more difficult – or if not more difficult, then definitely more painful. That didn't stop him from cleaning up though, Gobber's lectures if he ever found his forge to be in such a state of dishevel were things of legend and to be avoided at all costs, trumping even those of his father.
It wasn't until the last hammer was safely placed in its proper place that Hiccup allowed himself to relax and take stock of the time. By the looks of it he had several hours until he was expected to face off against the Hideous Zipplegack, which was fortunate as that gave him time to do some stretches and get nice and limber in preparation for running the Hel away from it.
First things first though;
Picking up the recently improved tailfin from the table Hiccup ran off to his room and stashed it away behind the bed – as cliché as the place was, Hiccup doubted anyone would be searching his room anytime soon, and wedged between the bed and the wall, the tailfin would be well away from cursory glances of anyone who came in. With that done he threw himself on the bed and closed his eyes. Even with the upcoming dragon training, a few minutes rest in a non-fetus like position would be as close to Valhalla as he wanted to come, at least for the near foreseeable future.
He had worked almost the entire night away to remake the artificial tailfin into as close a mirror copy of Toothless' single remaining tailfin, and it took longer than he had expected. Even after shuffling the structure around he had to discard one of the shafts and remake it from scratch, to say nothing of having to pilfer and cut some more light leather for the membrane – the old cut-out had to be discarded since the fin had to be larger in quite a few places.
Still, the most difficult job so far had actually been parting Toothless from the artificial tailfin – the Nightfury was so much against relinquishing his newly returned ability to fly that Hiccup had almost given up trying, which would have forced him to have to build a second one. Fortunately he managed to talk Toothless down, mostly through fervent promises that he would return with a much better one tomorrow which Toothless would not have to take off.
That of course brought down an entire slew of problems, namely getting the tailfin fixed in time and layering the sections that would be lying flush with Toothless' scales to both grip tightly and be comfortable enough to leave on for long periods of time. Hiccup still had problems with the last bit – the only thing he could come up with is sewing in some wool to soften the edges, but even with that Hiccup doubted it would be healthy to leave it on for longer than a couple of days.
Or at least he thought it wouldn't be – considering Gobber's words on a dragon's insane healing he could very well be completely wrong and it may have been perfectly safe for Toothless to leave the artificial tailfin on forever even without the crude work he had done.
Just to be safe though Hiccup intended to talk Toothless into allowing him to take the fin off for the night every other day… or every third or fourth depending on Toothless' stubbornness. That and checking the scales of the tail for chipping, cracking, flaking, or who knows what else (and that was the problem, he just didn't know enough…).
Other than that, yesterday went much better than he had hoped for. Except for the episode with the eel, there were hardly any hiccups with the plan, and even that turned out for the best since a quick run to the docks to refill the basket with fish took care of any problems with Gobber.
Speaking of the eel though, Hiccup couldn't help but wonder just what it was about it that had caused such a panicked reaction from Toothless. He had never seen any dragons react in such a way, although now that he thought about it the long standing mystery (at least to him) of why the dragons avoided the docks and their high concentrations of food could easily be explained by the dragons' aversion to eel, considering that there were usually some eels hanging around there. Only single numbers usually, but if dragons disliked even the smell of one then everything fit quite nicely together.
No longer sleepy, Hiccup swung himself off his bed and walked out back to stretch, his mind lost amidst the plans of how he could use the newly gained draconic weakness in the ring. It was a perfect weakness too – not exactly dangerous to the dragon, while at the same time quite good for keeping one away. He could really use that, especially considering that real dragon training would be starting today…
Hiccup barely noticed himself picking up the axe on the way out, nor did he pay any attention to almost tripping over the slight drop at the door. The entire time he went through the motions of stretching and getting his muscles warmed up his mind was occupied with thoughts of how this time things would be different. Even as he sprinted towards the docks and later to the dragon ring, his eyes shined with anticipation while visions of grandeur floated through his mind. He could barely restrain himself from laughing at the faces he imagined the others would have when he bested the dragon with feats of skill only possible in the depths of his own imagination.
When Fishlegs inquired about the strange look of Hiccup's axe and the Thorston twins tried to needle him with comments about not properly taking care of his weapon, Hiccup just smirked before replying "You'll see."
Oh yes; for the first time since that ill-fated day he shot down Toothless Hiccup was actually looking forward to dragon training.
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"Well look at that – ye'r all here and it aint even noon yet! Glad to see that ya remembered what happens if ya don't show up on time. Guess since ye'r all early I can give you a few words of wisdom before letting the dragon loose!" Gobber bellowed out at the gathered younglings, who withstood his voice much better than they had during the first few lessons. Unlike stories passed between past and current trainees told, he didn't use a voice more suited for scaring off wolves just to see the trainees' startled reactions – although that was always a good way to brighten his day.
No, the main reason for him using a voice that had once been affectionately compared to a young Thunder Drum was that it prepared them for the near tangible wall of noise during actual dragon attacks, decreasing the number of wet-behind-the-ear Vikings who froze during their first dragon raid. Although comparing me to a Thunder Drum is a bit of a stretch – I haven't killed anyone with my voice… yet.
He did manage to stun a few wolves during those hunting expeditions he went on before the unfortunate loss of his leg – a proper bellow was almost a Viking tradition after all.
"Today marks an important point in yer training, for starting from now ya will be facing dragons every other day! Now you may wonder how that is different from the first few days, so I will tell ya! This time around the lot of you will be on yer own! If any of ya are about to get killed, ye can pray to Thor that the others are close by to help you out, for I will not!" The vicious snarl he ended on was cold enough to freeze water, and Gobber could see the six younglings before him shifting about in unease, soft murmurs that he could not quite discern passing between them. He could still guess what they were thinking – didn't take a genius to figure out that they were hoping against all hope that he was only joking.
He was of course lying through his teeth – if a situation arose where his intervention would be the only way to keep them all alive, Gobber knew he would jump in with barely a moment's notice. There were only two days during dragon training where he would not – the champion's battle against the Nightmare and the fight for survival against the Devil. Even then he always had to consciously restrain himself whenever he saw things going badly, as unfortunately all too often they did.
The trainees did not need to know that though.
"Ya heard that right – I will not run to save you if things turn bad! Ye'r all Vikings! Help yourselves! There are six of ya against a single dragon, if you retained even a speck of knowledge I tried to beat into yer heads you will do well! Now, as this will be yer first real joust with a dragon I will give you lot a few minutes to decide how ya want to tackle it. DO NOT expect me to grant ya that the next time! After today it will be 'you come in, dragon comes out'!" And with that Gobber hobbled off towards the cages, leaving the young trainees alone to plan and muse over his parting words;
"You will all know when training starts."
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Hiccup glanced around uneasily as Gobber walked off to the cages, probably to release the Zippleback at the worst possible moment when no one was paying attention. Casually positioning himself to have the cage door in clear view he turned his attention to the other younglings who have by now bunched up in a circle. Even with his secret weapon ready to go, he was feeling more than a few butterflies making themselves busy in his stomach, so he could not quite imagine how the others felt. Of course they all wanted to be here and dreamt of someday being 'out there' fighting dragons whereas all he wanted was to reach the end with both his and Toothless' hides intact, so any comparisons were difficult to make.
"… I will rush the dragon while you all keep it distracted…"
"… I volunteer my brother as a decoy." – "Well I volunteer you!" – "Can't, I already volunteered you first…"
"… With its two heads why don't we make three groups? That way one group is guaranteed to have a chance…"
From the general chaos going on, it hardly took a mind as keen as Hiccups to tell that if things continued in the same mold, then the Zippleback was going to catch them with their pants down – the rapidly escalating volume of their voices made that all too clear. With a sinking feeling and a quick glance at Gobber, Hiccup knew that his mentor was thinking the same thing. He had to do something – he just didn't know what; preferably before Gobber let loose the dragon from sheer exasperation.
"If we have to work together, why don't we – I don't know – pick someone to lead? Preferably sometime soon, I really don't like the smile on Gobber's face at the moment!" The exasperated voice echoed over the sounds of bickering, surprising everyone into silence. It took everyone turning to stare at him to make Hiccup realize that he was the one who said the words, making him shrink back from all the attention. Even Gobber was looking at him with surprise.
"I am right you know…" he continued in a slightly subdued voice.
The others glanced around, and Hiccup could easily discern the thoughts going through their minds. The idea was quite good, but years of antagonistic behavior towards him made it hard for them to accept that. In the end common sense won out – something he really didn't expect considering the hard headedness of common Vikings… or at least not before Gobber let the dragon loose.
"As the obvious best choice I accept-" Hiccup rolled his eyes as Snotlout jumped at a chance to shine. If the idiot was actually selected as leader then Hiccup would have no choice but to rely on his secret weapon.
"I'll do it" Astrid cut Snotlout off before he truly got going.
"Astrid" Surprisingly enough, it was Fishlegs who seconded that idea first – probably betting on Astrid having a much better chance of keeping them all alive than Snotlout, whose plan would have probably involved something along the lines of the idea he put forward not even a minute ago where he would rush the dragon where everyone else acted as bait.
"Definitely Astrid" Tuffnut was next. Between Snotlout and Astrid there really was little contest in his mind.
"As rare as it is, I'm behind my brother on this – you do it Astrid" Ruffnut's acceptance was slightly subdued; but even though Hiccup could see she was loath to agree with her brother, survival still took precedence in her mind.
"I'll vote for Astrid as well. Now what's the plan? Gobber is looking increasingly trigger-happy." Hiccup concluded, and though Snotlout looked disgruntled at the speed his leadership was shot down, he still grudgingly nodded in acceptance.
Astrid must have already been planning while the others were busy siding with her, for she shot off the plan with hardly a moment to gather her thoughts. "We'll split into three teams and try to pincer it. Snotlout and Tuffnut, you two follow the edge of the ring to attack from the left; Fishlegs and Hiccup will do the same from the right. With the two heads distracted, Ruffnut and I will rush in from the front to hopefully land a killing blow or at least force it back to the cages. If at any point you see the head you are supposed to be distracting notice us, let off a shout or bang your shields – just do something to get back its attention!"
Everyone nodded tensely, Astrid's sober tone nailing home just how serious the situation was. Though Hiccup wasn't sure as to how healthy it was for him to keep the dragon focused on him, there really wasn't much time to discuss things in a committee as in that moment Gobber's bellow of "Hope yer all ready, since the dragon sure is!" reverberated across the ring, followed all too soon by the ear splitting sound of metal slamming against stone as the Hideous Zippleback sensing its freedom blasted open the doorway.
As the sickly green and exceptionally explosive gas flowed outwards to blanket the newly opened cage, Gobber, and more importantly the dragon, Hiccup couldn't help but think that Astrid's plan was falling in pieces around them before it could even get started. Astrid must have felt the same way since she grabbed Snotlout's hand before the fool could charge forward and possibly kill himself in the upcoming explosion.
"Back everyone! Get as far away from the gas as you can! Follow me!" Not even glancing back to see if anyone was heeding her orders Astrid sprinted to the edge of the ring opposite from the Zippleback's cage that was the origin of the flammable gas, dragging a protesting Snotlout behind her. Fishlegs and Hiccup were barely a footstep behind them, and even that was because they paused to gape at Astrid dragging something over four times her weight with barely a hint of exertion. Tuffnut and Ruffnut just shared a glance before following, correctly deciding that they could bicker once they were away from the health hazard encroaching towards the center of the ring where they had all originally gathered.
"Backs against the wall, crouch and hold your shields in front of you! If that cloud of gas blows you want the shield to be hit first!" Astrid's orders were straight from Gobber's lectures, and in a few seconds they would all see just how effective such methods were in actual battle.
Hiccup didn't even bother glancing around to see if anyone else was listening to Astrid as he threw himself into a roll the moment he was close enough to the wall, and scrambled into a crouching position. From the grunts around him he could tell the others were doing much the same thing. Fifteen seconds since the gas cloud was released... If the Zippleback attacks the same way as the dragon manual described, we have at most five seconds more before it sets off the explosion…. Less now.
"Three seconds… Two…" Hiccup heard Astrid muttering close by and knew that she was thinking the same thing. Bracing himself for the imminent explosion, he felt a pang of worry as he wondered if everyone else was ready. Too late to do anything – one second left…
Now.
There was only silence as he held his breath. A second passed, and then another one. After ten seconds Hiccup chanced a glance around and noticed that while the Thorston twins along with Snotlout were still braced for impact, Astrid and Fishlegs were glancing around in confusion. Over thirty seconds since the gas was released – it's no more than coloured air now…
"Safe now, come on! That gas is nothing but coloured fog. Everyone up!" Astrid rounded them up and Hiccup hastened to follow her orders. In his mind Gobber's voice muttered about how a Zippleback's gas turned moss green and perhaps slightly more see-through after thirty seconds, signalling its transition into an inert state.
It was when the gas was acid green that they had to worry.
"New plan then – group together and stay quiet! We will enter the gas and using it to hide sneak up on the dragon. Snotlout and Tuffnut – you are both to watch for anything approaching from the left while Hiccup and Fishlegs take care of the right. Ruffnut and I will take the front. If you spot the dragon, whisper a warning – whatever you do don't shout! We need surprise on our side here! Once we spot the dragon we will divide as per original plan and circle around it. Now let's go, and for the love of Thor stay quiet!" Astrid passed on orders, her voice just barely above a whisper. Hiccup approved – he didn't want the dragon to know where he was either.
As the tightly huddled group entered into the fog Hiccup was struck with a thought – how did Gobber get out of the gas cloud when it was still primed to blow, especially as he had been right there at the point of origin… or did Gobber actually know there wasn't going to be an explosion? No matter which one it was, there was another question to ask – how was Gobber going to watch over their training when all of them along with the dragon were impossible to spot inside the moss green mist?
At least now I know for sure that he wasn't kidding when he said he wouldn't help us if we are about to die.
"Hiccup will you pay attention!" Astrid hissed and he discarded his pointless thoughts to focus instead on making sure their group came out alive and hopefully in one piece.
The fog swirling around them made it impossible to see clearly any further than six to ten feet in any direction, and with a sinking feeling Hiccup realized that the Zippleback held a distinct advantage over them – with its long necks and tails it could potentially hit them while still remaining hidden, not to mention that unlike them it had probably fought within its gas cloud before. Of course both sides had to find the other before any actual combat could commence.
Wonder how many fights similar to this one it has lived through…
For the first time since learning of Toothless' situation Hiccup was honestly thankful that no other dragon besides Toothless was intelligent. It was sort of comforting to know that the dragon they were searching for was a dumb beast instead of an intelligent one like Toothless that would be capable of using the situation to its advantage. Well… about as comforting as to know it was a vicious blood thirsty dragon they were facing instead of having Gobber (…or Toothless) going in for the kill.
Not that the situation was in any way good or well in hand, just that Hiccup knew all too well that it could have been much, much worse. He would have been swimming with all his might away from Berk if he was told that Gobber was out for his blood (…or already burnt to a crisp if it had been Toothless).
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The silence surrounding them was unsettling, pushing in from all sides and making their breaths sound loud enough to wake half the village no matter how hard they tried to keep quiet. The crunching of gravel underneath their feet was worse still, making the group slow down imperceptibly with each step so as to keep the moments they were inadvertently giving away their position to a minimum. A few more steps and they stopped, glancing around uneasily and straining to hear anything that could lead them to the Zippleback's location.
Never thought standing still could ever be so nerve-wracking…
Perhaps the dragon was also waiting for them to give away their position, or perhaps it was much better than they at walking around silently, for there was nothing to be heard. Hiccup was personally betting on the former – several tons worth of dragon could hardly keep itself perfectly silent when moving on the loose gravel floor of the kill ring.
Glancing back at Astrid he could tell that no further instructions were forthcoming – perhaps it was the experience of having to discern Toothless' answers from his moods and draconic facial expressions, but to Hiccup Astrid seemed as unsure of what to do in this situation as everyone else.
Scooping down to pick up a small rock, a half formed plan already swimming through his head, Hiccup prepared to throw it off into the fog surrounding them when a shrill scream pierced through the air, followed by something flying through the air above them. The fog swirled around, and for a brief moment Hiccup could clearly see the light green underbelly of the Zippleback before it passed on to land somewhere behind them.
"Well that didn't go as planned" Hiccup muttered as Astrid yelled out for the others to follow her as she veered off to the side, probably hoping to flank the dragon while simultaneously leaving the place where it had spotted them last. There was no question that the Zippleback had noticed them – if it hadn't seen their group as it flew over them it would have definitely heard their started cries and the subsequent scrambling when Snotlout tripped over Tuffnut and sent them both sprawling on the ground.
The sound of crunching cobblestones was heard to their right before the fog swirled again and a shadow momentarily blocked out the sun. Not breaking stride Hiccup muttered a single thank you to any gods listening that the Zippleback didn't hear them scrambling away.
Glancing down at the fist sized rock still clutched in his hand, he briefly weighed his options before throwing it with all his might behind him, hoping to at least confuse the dragon with the sound of it landing. There was some more scrambling behind them followed by several clinking sounds that sounded distinctly metallic to Hiccup before silence settled in again.
"Spread out in groups as planned until we can barely see each other. It's given away its position so we should be able to sneak up on it as long as we stay silent and it doesn't move…" Astrid whispered and Hiccup moved to comply along with everyone else. If the situation was any less serious he would have marveled at the way the entire group was managing to work together without Snotlout attempting to take center stage or the Thorston twins jumping at each other's throats. Still, considering how far out of their comfort zones they all were – what with the hiding dragon and the nigh zero visibility; it wasn't all that unexpected. Even he was glad that there was someone who knew what they were doing – it prevented the entire situation into breaking into shambles and making them all easy pickings for the Zippleback.
Step by step Hiccup and Fishlegs made their way towards where they heard the dragon land, Astrid and Ruffnut just barely visible five or so steps to their right. Although he couldn't see the other two, Hiccup assumed they were roughly the same distance further into the stifling fog, seeing as Astrid wasn't worried. Scratch that – from what little he could see she was most definitely worried, just not about the integrity of their group.
It was impossible to tell how much time passed, and with their visibility brought down to almost nothing the kill ring seemed to be much larger than he remembered it being. Shouldn't we have encountered the dragon by now? With all his muscles tensed up and ready to leap away at barely a moment's notice, the situation was getting to him. He just wished the Zippleback would finally show up in front of them so they can proceed to merrily attempting to butcher, poison and incinerate each other. Every moment that it didn't just increased the tension in his chest and the queasiness churning in his stomach, and from the nervous glances Fishlegs was shooting around Hiccup could tell he wasn't the only one.
There was a break in the fog ahead as something solid became visible, and for a moment Hiccup saw the scaly green hide of the Zippleback before he realized he was looking at the reinforced wooden doorway of one of the pens. They had traveled all the way across the ring and arrived on the other side, but the dragon was nowhere in sight.
"H- Hiccup? What now?" Fishlegs whispered and Hiccup could hear unease in his voice.
"Let's just get back to Astrid – she probably knows what to do." Hiccup whispered back and proceeded to follow his own suggestion, Fishlegs trailing obediently behind him.
They assembled back near the open doorway of Zippleback's pen, the inside of the two doors slightly charred from where the dragon must have tried to blast its way out at some point. The shadow of the giant plank used to keep the doors shut was just barely visible above them as nothing more than a dark outline, and the distinct lack of the Zippleback they had been trying to pincer just made the scene just that much foreboding. Not that it needed much help; the now more grey than green fog swirling about them and hiding the dragon was more than enough for that.
"Chances of survival are dwindling into single digits now…" Fishlegs' thoroughly spooked voice caused Hiccup to twitch and glance around, a motion that was mirrored by the others. In his state Fishlegs forgot to keep his voice down and Hiccup held his breath as he listened for any sound around them that would signify that the Zippleback had heard them and was en-route.
Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, as it meant they still didn't know where the dragon was hiding, there was nothing but silence around them.
"Um- Astrid? As loath as I am to nag like my brother usually does, please tell me you have a plan to get us out alive?" Ruffnut whispered and Hiccup watched Tuffnut hit her on the shoulder, though the action was much more subdued than it usually was. The simple fact that Ruffnut did not return the gesture showed just how freaked out she was.
Something wet dripped down to splatter against Hiccup's nose and wiping it off he glanced upwards, wondering if it was starting to rain. It would be helpful if it was since it might wash out the fog while simultaneously wetting the Zippleback's heads and prevent it from blasting them all with another dose of its gas, not that it didn't have a plethora of other ways it could skin, dissolve, or dismember them.
Still, not having to worry about being blasted apart or set on fire was worth something, right?
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"- please tell me you have a plan to get us out alive?"
Astrid let off a dark glare at Ruffnut and opened her mouth to reply even as her mind was struggling to come up with a valid plan, but didn't get the chance as Hiccup took that moment to scream and dive to the side, heedless of all the noise he was making. She was just about to berate him (to put it mildly) when a low growl permeated the air, originating from directly above them.
Glancing upwards with a sinking feeling she looked straight into the approaching gaping mouth of the Zippleback before ducking down, the twin rows of razor sharp teeth snapping closed where her neck had been not even half a second ago. Barely hearing Fishlegs screaming as he ran off to take cover inside the Zippleback's cage, or seeing the way the Thorston twins scrambled over each other to put at least some space between the whipping tails and themselves, Astrid rolled out of the way of the second bite, losing her axe in the process. Any chance of getting it back was destroyed along with the axe's handle when the Zippleback bit down upon it and whipping around its head sent most of it careening off into the fog.
The thrice damned Loki of a dragon! The comparison was unfortunately all too apt. The Zippleback didn't slither off silently as she had thought when they found the place seemingly empty – it had used its claws to hang down off the metal chains composing the roof of the kill ring, its nigh unnatural stillness and the thick fog surrounding them causing them to mistake it for just another part of the ring's construction. Worse still, situated as they were directly under it, the Zippleback could reach them with both its heads and tails – they were virtually in its lap!
Spitting off another curse that would have had her mother attempt to storm her way out of Valhalla if she ever heard Astrid utter it, Astrid dodged another bite and winced as she watched the rocks where she had been lying moments ago sizzle and sag down as a green liquid corroded them away.
…A Zippleback's acid can easily melt its way through the strongest armour… Gobber's voice echoed through her mind.
So all she had to do was dodge all the blows, keep herself away from the razor sharp teeth, and make sure that the dripping acid did not land anywhere close to her.
…Easy right?
To make the situation worse, she had lost her axe and was now left with her shield and the single dagger she always carried on her belt – not exactly the weapons of choice. From the sounds of it, the others weren't faring any better than she was – even Snotlout was too busy fending off the tails that had focused on him after the Thorston twins fled to do much talking and showing off.
Imminent death certainly had a way of focusing people.
At least the beast's claws were busy gripping the iron chains above, she thought.
A moment later she had to dive into a roll as the entire bulk of the Zippleback crashed down to earth, flipping along its side to land on its feet. One of its heads slammed upside down into the ground where she had stood, the horn rising between its eyes impaling the ground and missing her by no more than a foot. A brief feeling of relief passed through her – that was one type of piercing she did not want to get.
As she sprang back to her feet she noticed that the head was still stuck in the ground, its neck and the underside of its jaw lying exposed. If she didn't know better she would have said it was mocking her – giving her a perfect chance to kill it if only she hadn't lost her only good weapon.
Her hand flashed to her side before coming back up with her dagger gripped tightly in a reverse grip ready to stab downwards, but by then it was too late as the Zippleback ripped itself free and went in for another bite. There was little Astrid could do except fall back to defend against the quick darts, the acid coating the dragon's teeth leaving trails of black grooves along the entirety of the shield.
Astrid wasn't one to blame the gods for whatever went wrong in the world, but in this case she couldn't help but wonder if someone in the group had done something to evoke their wrath.
Alright, so it's Snotlout, Hiccup and I against an exceptionally deadly Zippleback without a plan to stand on. Glancing down at the pitiful dagger clutched in her right hand she felt exasperation bubbling up through the anger, fear, and horror currently dominating her mind. Oh and in case I could have possibly forgotten, I have already lost my primary weapon.
Their group was already cut in half; what with the Thorston twins nowhere in sight and Fishlegs having disappeared somewhere in the Zippleback's cage. Snotlout was now busy fending off one of the Zippleback's heads while the other head was busy harassing Hiccup. Of course she wasn't forgotten – both of the dragon's tails were now doing their best to pound her into the ground.
Still, the situation could certainly be worse – not sure how, but it definitely could.
The next moment one of the tails whipped around and slamming into her hastily brought up shield, the force of which sent her flying over backwards, her grip on the shield loosening slightly in surprise. As the shield careened off into the slowly dispersing fog around her she couldn't prevent herself from scowling as she rolled out of the way of the subsequent attack by the second tail attempting to slam down on her head.
As I said – the situation could definitely be worse.
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Hiccup scrambled along the rough gravel filling the floor of the kill ring, his axe and shield held tightly in his hands only due to Gobber's training the past two weeks that had made it almost an unconscious action. From what his mentor had said, many a Viking have been killed during a raid due to an unfortunate loss of their weapons or shield, and as Hiccup blocked the incoming jaw from biting off a pound of flesh from him, he fervently agreed.
The sharp contrast between the tense situation moments ago and the chaotic melee currently going on was like the difference between night and day, and not for the first time Hiccup cursed some of the wishes he made, for they had a knack for being granted at the worst possible moment in the worst possible way.
When I wished the dragon to show up I meant for us to catch it unawares, not the other way around! He thought as he lay on the ground and tried to keep his shield in between himself and the biting dragon head that was bearing down upon him. They were in a stalemate of sorts, with the Zippleback unable to get past his shield and Hiccup unable to get up or even roll out of the way as long as the dragon's head was constantly trying to bite its way through.
With the edges of his shield flaying in places, Hiccup did not know how much time he had before it completely broke – still, at the rate it was going he didn't even have a minute. Better make that seconds! He thought in increasing panic when he noticed portions of the shield corroding away, painfully reminding him of the potency of a Zippleback's acid when a drop of it burned its way along his hand.
Pushing his muscles past their limits, Hiccup succeeded in redirecting his shield off to the side, along with the attached Zippleback's head. Rolling off to the side with his axe pressed firmly against his chest, he jerked at the shield's handle and heard something splinter. A brief glance in between rolls caused him to wince at the quality of his shield – it had definitely seen better days, what with half of it missing.
No time to lament it now, although it would make blocking the incoming attacks that much more difficult. Assuming that the next hit doesn't cause it to fall apart into pieces.
Scrambling to his feet Hiccup glanced around to take stock of the situation. Off to his left he could see Astrid fending off the other head armed only with a shield, having shockingly enough lost her axe sometime in the last ten or so seconds that the fight had been going on for. Snotlout was busy handling both of the tails that were darting at him like snakes one moment and whipping around like well… whips… the next.
Of the Thorston twins and Fishlegs, there was no sight, though Hiccup could distantly hear Tuffnut yelling out through the fog about how horribly he had been hurt – if he didn't need to focus back to the battle going on and duck under the Zippleback's head attempting to impale him with its horn, Hiccup would have laughed at that. After all if he was capable of yelling out like that, then he was most definitely alright – better in fact, as he no longer had a savage dragon out for his blood… at least until it finished with the three left behind first.
In the periphery of his eyes he noticed something barrelling towards him, and only barely managed to get the remnants of his shield between it and himself. The force of the blow sent him flying several paces away, his axe still clutched in his hand while the shield remained where it was – stuck on top of the Zippleback's head, pierced as it was by its horn.
Even as he scrambled to get up for the umpteenth time in the course of this fight, Hiccup just knew that Gobber would be berating him for losing the shield, no matter how near destruction it had been at the time.
That was assuming he survived of course, and seeing as how the dragon picked this exact time to get down from its position above them, Hiccup was starting to truly doubt that would ever happen.
With barely a second to go until several thousand pounds worth of dragon landed on him, Hiccup threw himself to the side like his life depended on it – which it was – and cleared the zone of contact with nigh a moment to spare. The ground shook from the creature's landing, causing him to almost lose his balance. He did manage to keep it though, although it didn't make any difference as he was sent flying barely a second later as the Zippleback sent him flying once more when it unfurled its wings.
The fog was already dispersing from all the fighting going on, and the Zippleback's wings only helped clear it off faster. Hiccup's eyes quickly spotted Gobber and the Thorston twins in the middle of the kill ring, too far to provide any help even if they wanted to. The ground neared, and he prepared himself for landing. Time to see if all the exercises Gobber put us through were worth it.
Apparently they were, as he managed to perfectly turn his dive into a roll, springing back up to face the dragon, which was quite fortunate as the Zippleback's head was once more shooting towards him.
Let this work – Odin, Thor, or whatever deity is looking over this, please let this work! Hiccup thought fervently as he swung his axe from left to right in front of him as he had seen his father do several times, hoping against all hope that the Zippleback would notice the reek of eel blood upon it and desist.
It was too late for that though; the head was already too close and coming in too fast.
With his eyes shut with fear, he could only hear the shrill cry of the Zippleback as it closed in on him and swoosh of his axe as it cut its way through the air. He felt his axe strike something, the shock of it jarring his hand and causing his eyes to shoot open from surprise. Almost as if in slow motion he watched the axe burrow into the side of the Zippleback's head, stopping perhaps half an inch in when it failed to pierce through the skull. Still, the weight of the axe proved too much and pushed the head to the side as Hiccup completed the swing, tearing open a long gash stretching from all the way behind the dragon's head, all the way down to its jaw as it moved past him.
The Zippleback's shrill scream echoed through the kill ring, though it was different than before – Hiccup could almost feel the panic and pain within it. The head whipped back, sending globs of blood flying through the air.
No He thought, shaking his head as if to deny what he had just done, his bloodied axe slipping through his numb fingers and falling to the ground. No…
Almost simultaneously both he and the Zippleback stepped back from each other, the dragon holding both its heads as far away from him as possible. Flashes of the bloodied aftermath of the last dragon raid that he had witnessed passed through Hiccup's head as he looked at the scar he had caused, the single remaining eye of that head looking at him in shock.
The other half of its face was a mess of blood and torn scales; the eye nothing more than a conglomeration of torn flesh and blood. The axe had passed straight through the middle and effectively cut it in half. Even with the exceptional healing that dragons had, it was obvious that that eye would never see again – and that was assuming that the copious blood loss didn't kill the Zippleback first, as the torn flesh wasn't as much dripping as pouring the life giving liquid to the ground.
I- I didn't mean to – this wasn't what I-
Not breaking its gaze the Zippleback shuffled backwards into its cage, not even caring as Fishlegs ran screaming out of his hiding place.
Hiccup didn't care either.
.
.
We staggered backwards, looking in surprise at the human that had brought about our death. Oh, not yet – but we knew it would come soon. The long gash across Ael-'s face was quite ghastly and was bleeding copiously, but that was a minor concern – it would heal soon enough.
No, it was the ice spreading from the wound that would ultimately bring us down.
We paid no attention to what was happening, and only when the clang of closing doors and the encroaching darkness finished their paths did we glance around to take in the closed off cave that would be the place where our minds would break off, our body would breathe its last, and our soul would fall into the blissful abyss.
:: Ael-Lea what happened, are you alright? I felt your shock and pain. :: We heard Niu ask us, the tremor of her thoughts betraying the anxiousness she was feeling.
:: Its nothing / We just got careless. :: We replied, and felt shock, worry and slight fear come back as an answer. :: Sorry to leave you without someone to talk to / Our time has come; goodbye old friend. ::
There was a pause and then a single reply, filled with a deep sadness and understanding. :: Goodbye, and may your next life be better than this – you deserve at least that. ::
After that, there was nothing left to say.
Lying down we closed our eyes and relaxed as Ael- embraced me and –Lea did the same. We have lived together, and we will die together. Such was our life, and we would have it no other way.
It was unfortunate that we have not lasted long enough to see Niu's tribe return from the darkness, but Niu will carry on that wish and perhaps see it happen.
If not… well, the eternal abyss makes no distinction between souls – sooner or later all of us will fall into its grasp, and that includes whatever twisted soul governs the cursed darkness.
In the end all of us will be consumed to be reborn again.
The Pattern would see to that.
…
Sometime later we heard the doors squeaking open and the distinct sound of Gobber making his way in. Ael- raised his head to look at the only human we see on a regular basis and allowed him to look over the gash upon Ael- 's face. He didn't come close, but it wasn't as if we were expecting him to.
"Seems like it's stopped bleeding, though that eye seems gone forever."
-Lea raised her head as well, and we both stared at Gobber for a moment before he turned around and hobbled out to shut the door.
"Ye'll live. I'll come by later to feed all ye beasts and drop you off something extra – a nice basket of salmon or so. Hope you appreciate it. Still can't believe that Hiccup of all people managed-" His voice faded out from our hearing, and we turned away to curl back into a comfortable position.
It didn't help of course – the blood flowing through our veins was as cold as ice now, and for the first time in our life we understood what it is like to be freezing to death. Ironic isn't it? For us to be dyeing a dueler's death when we have not once participated in one. At least now we truly understand why duels are so are amongst our kin – it's a terrible fate to die like this.
As our mind literally freezes, its flame becoming weaker and weaker, we embrace each other and release what little control we had over our body, feeling as it takes its last breath. It will soon be time for us to go as well, but until that moment we shall hold on to each other.
A flicker, and then even that is gone – the flames of our mind gone forever. The ice has done its job, as our thoughts and memories that were meant to burn away with our mind are still there, and we are all too aware of them as they begin to fall away, taking a bit of us away with them. We watch all this, keeping each other from breaking into panic and making the inevitable all that much worse.
For a moment as the last remnants of us fall away, we feel ourselves split completely, and that terrifies I and I more than anything.
…
There was no longer an Ael- and his other self, -Lea – but two distinctly separate minds before they too are scattered in the wind. As the darkness swallows them, they can only feel glad that their time apart is over so fast – for one cannot live without the other.
What seems like a single soul dropping down into the abyss splits into two distinct and yet unblemished spheres, and two souls return to the eternal darkness.
Such is the curse of an AttaEcor, to be born with two minds birthed from a single soul composed of two, and to live through life knowing that in the end they will be separate once more.
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A/N
Yes, I killed off the Zippleback. Strangely enough I didn't plan for this – it just happened as I was writing the entire ambush scene and no matter how I tried to change it, it just would not work. Still, this does provide a perfect lead in to what I have planned for the next few chapters, so I decided to let the story stand as it wanted to.
I did not have as much time to edit the chapter as I usually do, so if you spot any errors / mistakes, just leave a message / review about them so I can fix them (dont expect there to be too many, but still...).
On a side note – the changes to the original script are starting to pile up; the direction the story goes next is going to be quite different from what the movie was. Guess after close to 100k words of story I finally arrived at the point where this becomes 'my' story instead of the rewrite of the movie. Hope you all stick with me, it's going to be a bumpy ride.
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Saienai