A/N: Um...oops?
galahsrock - "[Narrator] But alas, she did not update soon..."
Disclaimer: If wishes were horses and all that...but nope, not mine.
HICCUP'S POV
"Toothless, dive!" I shouted, but it was unnecessary, since he was already leaping off the ledge. He tucked in his wings, letting gravity pull us down at a high speed. A cacophony of screeches and frantic flapping bounced around the enclosed space as the dragons gave chase, making it difficult to concentrate.
Toothless dodged a myriad of teeth and claws as he weaved around pillars of stone, desperately looking for an exit. His ability to maneuver at impossible angles was the only thing keeping us alive, and I had to simply hold on for dear life. Many dragons flew straight into the walls, unable to turn quickly enough. But where one fell, another one replaced it.
My eyes widened when a Flame-scale opened its jaws wide, spewing a stream of fire directly at us. Toothless, somehow sensing the oncoming danger, performed a barrel roll at the last second to prevent me from getting burned to a crisp. I had on my fireproof flight suit, but my helmet was in the saddlebag and there was no time to grab it.
*Hold on!* Toothless commanded, which was the only warning I was given before he cut sharply to the left, nearly sending me off his back. There was a whoosh of sound as we entered a narrow tunnel. Wind whistled through the tight space, and those few seconds of quiet darkness were the only reprieve we got before we burst into the open air. Toothless zoomed through the sky like an arrow, pushing his speed to the limit.
I risked a glance over my shoulder, dropping my jaw at the scene behind us. Hundreds of dragons poured out of the mountain, swirling toward us as one giant, chaotic mass. More appeared from the fog, slowing us down as Toothless avoided colliding with them.
We flew deeper into the storm we'd been trying to steer clear of earlier, hoping to use the cloud cover to our advantage. Gray clouds surrounded us on all sides, and I had to duck my head as the rain pelted down, unable to see anything at this point. Lightning flashed, illuminating attackers flying all around us.
Toothless turned his head and shot a plasma blast under his right wing, hitting a Spike-tail that had been getting a little too close for comfort. The dragon shrieked at the impact and dropped out of sight toward the sea below. My heart raced as I watched it disappear, wondering how long we could keep this up until the rest of the dragons reached us. Toothless unleashed several more blasts, each one aimed perfectly yet not even making a dent in the crazed flock.
We were both so focused on the dragons behind us that we didn't think about the ones below. A strong force rammed into Toothless' stomach, jerking me up and out of the saddle at the same time Toothless was shoved sideways. I yelped in shock, gripping the saddle with both hands as my entire body was flung outward. My fingers slipped against the wet leather as Toothless wrestled with the other dragon, unable to break himself free. We hurtled downward, exiting the heavy clouds like a meteor. I tried to pull myself back into the saddle, but we were spinning so much that I couldn't even tell which direction was up.
I'm so screwed…
Right as I had the thought, a blur of scales passed by, smacking into my legs and tearing me away from Toothless in the blink of an eye. I gasped at the pain that erupted in my left shin as I spun head over heels toward the choppy sea. Toothless roared my name, but he was unable to come to my rescue. There was no way around it—my dragon was tied up and I had no wings of my own—I was going to hit the water.
I sucked in one last gulp of air, holding out my hands to brace for impact as I plunged headfirst into the frigid ocean. The first thing that registered in my mind was the bone-deep cold. It was like my entire body had turned to ice in an instant, a deadweight at the complete mercy of the currents. It wasn't until my lungs started burning that I realized my limbs had yet to move. I was sinking lower and lower into the dark abyss.
No…you have to…
What? What did I have to do? My brain was short-circuiting, unable to perform basic thought. Fire filled my chest, the urgency of the situation forcing my instincts to take over. I kicked my legs, unable to feel the movement but hoping I was doing it correctly. My arms cut through the water, and soon enough I was heading back toward the surface. I could see flashes of lightning above me, refracted across the waves in hypnotizing bursts of white.
I broke free from the suffocating depths, gasping in a lungful of sweet air. My hair clung to my face, and I whipped my head side to side in an attempt to see my surroundings. Rain still showered down in heavy drops, blocking most of my vision. As far as I could tell, I was in the middle of nowhere—adrift in an endless sea. Waves swelled all around me, luckily not breaking directly over me. I coughed, spitting out a mouthful of saltwater as I turned in desperate circles.
Where was Toothless?
I couldn't even see the other dragons anymore. I wasn't sure if it was because they were hidden in the clouds or because their leader had called them back. I was as good as dead out here. Maybe they'd figured the job was done.
"Toothless!" I shouted pointlessly, panic and the lack of oxygen making my voice crack. More water sprayed up into my face, and I sputtered. I was too frozen to even shiver. My limbs were swaying back and forth to keep me afloat, but they no longer felt like parts of me.
Just as despair threatened to swallow me whole, a loud, ominous creaking cut through the thunderous rain and crashing waves. My heart stopped at the familiar sound, knowing before I even turned around what I would see. I didn't want to drown or freeze to death, but this outcome hadn't even occurred to me.
I twisted around, staring up in shock at the large viking ship that was sailing right toward me. There were men hanging halfway over the sides, pointing at me and yelling to each other. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but I could tell everyone on board had gone into a frenzy. They were vikings—that's all I needed to know.
I wanted to flee—to hop on Toothless' back and get as far away from the humans as possible—but that wasn't an option. In fact, my only options were to get on that ship or sink to the bottom of the ocean. Neither was desirable.
Before I could try to weigh the pros and cons, the decision was made for me. A rope came flying over the side, and I was much too sluggish to dodge. The end, which was tied in a loop, landed over me, and suddenly it was being pulled taut. I flinched as it cinched tightly around my chest, prying at the rough material with numb fingers. My actions made no difference as I was pulled closer and closer to the looming ship, and I started to breathe in harsh pants when it registered that I wasn't going to escape.
I flailed as I was yanked up and out of the water, trying to grasp onto any protrusion I passed, but it was no use. Whoever was holding the rope at the other end was a lot stronger than I was at the moment. My body banged into the wood, and I let out a pained yelp when every nerve in my left leg lit up. I glanced down, noting that the bone was most definitely not straight. I didn't have time to contemplate the consequences of that before the humans gave one last pull and I was flopping onto the deck, landing on my side with very little grace.
Despite my injury, years of instinct rose to the forefront of my brain and I scrambled back into the railing, hissing at the crowd of humans in warning. There had to be at least twenty of them, all of them looking at me with confusion, pity, suspicion, or some mixture of the three. A few had brandished their swords, but didn't appear to want to use them.
"It's a kid!"
"Why's he acting like that?"
"That leg is gonna need a splint, for sure."
"Why was he in the middle of the ocean? You think he saw the dragons?"
The slew of questions bombarded my ears, and my gaze shot around warily, trying to decide who was the bigger immediate threat. I was so full of adrenaline that my leg barely even hurt. My nails dug into the floorboards beneath me, and I transitioned into a crouch, placing all my weight on my good leg. I bared my teeth, preparing to defend myself if necessary, when a booming voice instantly silenced everyone's conversations.
"Enough!"
A burly, red-haired viking with a beard to rival Thor's lumbered down some steps at the head of the ship, his gaze piercing me like a dagger. I hunched forward, growling low in my throat. His body language was exuding a clear challenge, and I knew this human was the one in charge.
He ambled toward the crowd, and they parted to let him through. There was a shorter man hobbling along at his flank, his expression more curious than aggressive, but my attention stayed on the human Alpha.
"Stoick, he's just a wee thing," the one-legged man exclaimed in surprise, gesturing toward me with his hook-hand.
I went rigid at the name, closing my mouth. Surely this overgrown viking wasn't…
My eyes widened, and without any kind of consideration for sanity, I lunged up toward the railing, fully intent on jumping overboard. Out of all the vikings, Stoick the Vast was the last one I ever wanted to see, especially in these circumstances.
"Grab him!" Stoick ordered, and almost instantly I was being dragged back onto the deck. I thrashed against the two men holding me, snarling with unveiled frustration. They both leaned away from me as if they were afraid of getting bit—which was a very real possibility—but didn't let go.
Stoick approached me, staying well clear of my arms and legs. "You're not going anywhere, boy," he told me firmly. I glared back at him with every ounce of fury I could muster. He was unfazed by my attitude. "I bet you've got one hell of a story to tell," he added with the obvious implication that he was going to find out every single detail of that story.
I jerked against the men holding me, baring my teeth again. "I'm not telling you a damn thing," I spat, my voice coming out more guttural than normal.
"You will," he promised darkly, then turned his gaze to address the two vikings next to me. "Bring him to my chambers," he said brusquely, spinning on his heel and waving for them to follow. I grunted with effort as I fought being shoved that direction, my eyes flitting up to the sky in desperation. My protector and other half was somewhere beyond my reach, and I had no idea if he was even still alive. Surely I'd feel it in my soul if he was dead, right? I shivered, both from the cold and from the horrible fear that was beginning to take root.
Once we reached the room Stoick had spoken of, I was unceremoniously pushed inside, the doors slamming shut before I had a chance to run. I remained on the ground, wincing as the white-hot pain in my leg finally made its presence known.
Both Stoick and his blond sidekick were standing on the other side of the small space with crossed arms. I dragged myself to the corner, watching them for any sudden movements. At least in this position no one could sneak up behind me. I'd been in rooms like this before on missions—vikings always keep the most valuable information in the captain's quarters—but never without Toothless there to back me up, and certainly never with a broken leg hindering my ability to attack.
"My name is Stoick the Vast, chief of the Hairy Hooligan tribe and captain of this fine ship. That's Gobber." He nodded toward the other man, who tilted his head in greeting. My eyes narrowed as I glanced between them. The name sounded familiar. My mom had told me all about her Berkian friends as well as Stoick.
It was hard to believe I was in the same vicinity as my so-called father. If I ever made it back home, I was going to ask my mother what she ever saw in this ill-tempered male.
When I offered no self-introduction in return, Stoick scowled. "I want to know why you were floating in the middle of the sea in the same area a giant flock of dragons passed through, and why you're wearing armor made of dragon scales," he demanded, giving my attire a quick once-over.
I ducked my head, stubbornly refusing to meet his gaze or give him an answer. He dropped his arms and clenched his fists, clearly intending to physically force my cooperation, but Gobber laid a placating hand on his arm.
"He's just a lad, Stoick," he protested, wanting to avoid violence. "Let me try and talk to him," he suggested. Stoick raised a contemplative eyebrow, then shrugged with a heavy sigh.
"Fine, but if he doesn't tell you anything, it's my turn," he warned, storming outside without another word. Gobber looked after him disapprovingly, shaking his head. I stayed motionless, waiting for the smaller man to speak.
"Stoick can be a bit bull-headed, but he's a good man," Gobber insisted. At my silence, he continued, "Did you make that armor yourself? It's quite lovely craftsmanship, actually. I've never worked with dragon scales myself," he said conversationally. I perked up at the reminder that Gobber was a blacksmith. It had been so long since my mom had spoken about him that I'd forgotten about his trade.
"You make armor?" I asked, turning to face him.
Gobber lit up at getting a response, and nodded vigorously. "Oh, aye! I make and mend the armor for the whole tribe. Maybe not as glamorous a job as others, but I enjoy it," he remarked. "Where did you get the scales?" He wondered.
My jaw clenched, and I turned away again. "Found them," I mumbled vaguely.
"I've never seen scales like that," he commented thoughtfully. He scratched his beard, his eyebrows furrowing. "How did you get out so far?" He murmured, mostly to himself. "You couldn't have been in the water longer than a few minutes or you'd be dead…There are no other ships nearby." My heart beat faster as he puzzled through the facts.
Gobber squinted at me as if trying to read my thoughts, and for a moment I was sure he'd guessed the truth, but it didn't matter. The next instant, another viking burst through the doors, his eyes wide with panic. "We're being attacked! It's a…well, we don't know what it is!" He admitted, running back out to help his shipmates. I crawled closer to the entrance, biting my tongue to stifle the pain in my leg.
Gobber rushed forward as fast as his wooden limb could carry him, pointing at me as he passed. "Stay here!" He commanded, then disappeared into the frantic flow of bodies running back and forth across the deck.
I scoffed. I don't think so.
Amongst all the panicked shouting onboard, I heard a very familiar and comforting sound which had me nearly sobbing with relief. There was a shriek of fury, then a blur of black shot by the mast, knocking a man off his perch. He shouted for help, grabbing onto a piece of netting to keep himself from falling thirty feet, but everyone was preoccupied.
Toothless was circling the ship, but had yet to fire upon it. I knew that was for my sake. He hadn't spotted me, but he knew I was here somewhere, and he definitely didn't want to sink a ship with me onboard.
I slunk along the outside of the cabin, using the distraction of Toothless' attack to my advantage. Once I made it to the railing, I could have him pick me up. We'd be out of here in no time. It would hurt to fly with a broken leg, but these were desperate times.
"And just where do you think you're going?"
I jumped as my arm was snatched in a vice grip, immediately striking out with my free hand in a slashing motion. I caught Stoick across the cheek, drawing blood. He tensed up in silent rage, then grabbed the offending hand, twisting it behind my back. I grunted in pain, wishing I could breathe fire. That would solve all my current problems.
"You still have information I want. Once this damn dragon is taken care of, we're going to finish our conversation," he informed me coldly, dragging me back to his chambers. I struggled to break free, but his grip was like iron.
"No!" I growled. I couldn't let them hurt Toothless! Stoick shoved me back into the room, locking the doors behind me. I spun around, banging on them with as much force as possible. "Stay away from him!" I screamed furiously, but Stoick was already marching away to help his men.
The wind whistled past Toothless' wings as he made another dive, his attacks getting more wild and uncoordinated. I wanted to call out for him, but that would mean he would land on the ship to try and get me out, and he'd be too distracted to watch his own back. Once again, there were no good options.
I watched helplessly from my prison as Toothless rose up through the air to prepare for another attack. He didn't see the net being loaded into the cannon, nor did he notice the man yell "Fire!" Horror settled in the pit of my stomach as the trap shot into the sky, heading directly for my dragon.
"Toothless!"