Chapter 261
Hiccups POV:
It's been an hour since I began tracking down Arachne, the woman who was turned into a spider for insulting the gods and had now kidnapped my daughter but for what reason, I do not know. Now I had been able to track Arachne down to what looked to be the old abandoned gold mine that was said to be hidden in the forest but I guess now it served as Arachne's home. This brings us to now, with me looking into the mine that I knew to be where Arachne took my daughter with my kitsune mask on and my star sword at the ready since I had no idea what was lurking in this place. I took a breath and slowly made my way into the darkness of the mines, while keeping my guard up knowing that not only could the supports give in at any minute and collapse on my but also because Arachne could've set up traps somewhere.
I slowly and quietly walked through the tunnels and found myself in a labyrinth of mine tunnels, following a trail that seemed to run all over the place. I was honestly greatful for my masks ability to light up the tracks since Arachne's scent was all over the place which would've made tracking her a lot more difficult. Besides that, I haven't run in with any major problems other than accidently walking into a large cob web and getting a face full of the stuff which while not dangerous, was still gross. It didn't matter to me though since every step brought me closer to my little girl and chances are, every second counted as there's no telling what Arachne intended to do with her.
I was brought out of my thoughts when I found Arachne's trail leading me into a large chamber with a giant spider nest in it and knew it had to be a trap. I slowly walked into the chamber while keeping my guard up knowing that letting my guard down for even a second, then Arachne would most likely use it as an opportunity to jump me. I opened up all my senses in case she tried something but I heard nothing from anywhere until I heard what sounded like pigs snorting from somewhere in the mine. I shrugged and figured a group of wild boars must've wondered into the mine and were busy trying to find their way out of this labyrinth of an abandoned mine. Not seeing any danger, I brought out a scouter automaton and had it fly into the spider nest to check out if Arachne had perhaps hidden in there or at least put Chara in it. I'm sad to say that neither of them were in it but there was golden medallion with some weird symbol on it which I had my Scouter bring out since it might at least be a clue to where they went.
Once my Scouter was out of the nest, I put both it and the medallion into my spiderpack before I began to walk towards the exit but as soon as I was five feet away, I stepped on a hidden floor panel. Iron bars dropped from the roof of the exit cutting me off before a glow from behind me made me turn around with my weapon at the ready. What I found Arachne standing there with a cocoon on her back that I knew was where my daughter was currently being held but before I could attack, I noticed Arachne was transparent meaning it was just an illusion of some kind. It was then the illusion spoke saying.
"Hello Hiccup Haddock, I am Arachne and right now you're most likely wondering why I've taken your daughter and the answer to that is simply because in addition to you being a servant to those cruel gods who did this to me, you also spoiled my plans by stopping the bandits." I shivered in disgust, imagining why she wanted that village destroyed. "You won't need to worry about little Chara though as I have no intention of causing her any harm whatsoever but you will never see her again as I have taken her to a place where you shall never find her and just to ensure you don't try to follow, I've left a gift to keep you busy." The sound of cranks echoed through the mine. "Have fun with the beasts I captured to deal with you Hiccups and don't worry about Chara, I'll take good care of her."
She then let out another laugh as the illusion vanished and the pig snorting got louder before a group of six revolting creatures crawled out of the openings and the moment my eyes fell on them. I saw they looked to be about the size of a bull, but they have a more grim expression that actually made me feel a cold shiver go down my spine. Their eyebrows were high and shaggy, while the eyes beneath weren't large but narrower and bloodshot and had a mane that begins on the crown of the heads, resembles horsehair, that falls over their foreheads covering their face, which were being pushed across the ground by a long thin neck. I immediately knew what they were and turned my mask back into its bandana form and pulled it over my eyes. The reason for this is the creatures were catoblepas', creatures that were known to have a diet of poison roots and plants so they could breathe poison while looking into their eyes would turn any living creature to stone. Fortunately, their heads were so heavy that they couldn't lift them off the ground which is why their muzzles were constantly covered in filth but made it easier to scoop up the poison roots they enjoy eating. I growled knowing it best I keep my eyes closed and rely on my ninja training to fight these beasts as I muttered.
"Arachne, when I find you I am going to make you regret ever hearing my name for kidnapping my daughter and releasing these abominations to fight against me." With that said I got into my battle stance and prepared for the coming fight.
Unknown location
Nobodies POV:
In a large ancient temple built into the upper wall of a mountain, filled with statues of warriors taking various battle stances with looks of complete terror on their faces along with various beast in postures of defence or aggression, Arachne made her way down the twisting halls that made the temple more like a labyrinth. Arachne hummed as she did so with Chara still wrapped in a cocoon on her back except now she was struggling to get out of the cocoon, hoping to escape or at least let someone know she was there. It was then Arachne walked through the entrance to a large chamber that had a large stone cline at the back, in front of a large statue that had been hidden by her webs, two giant stone torches on either side, against the far right wall was a loom and covering the ceilings and walls were Arachne's webs. Arachne let out a sigh as she said.
"I do so love returning here as this new home so much more than that depressing mine I used to live in." She then removed the cocoon holding Chara and placed in on the cline. "A much better place to live and enjoy my days." She then brought her legs down on the cocoon slowly removing the silk that covered Chara's head, exposing her face that glared up at Arachne with defiance but Arachne could see the fear behind it. "Welcome to your new home little one." Chara just continued to glare as she said.
"My daddy will find me and he'll hurt you if you hurt me." Arachne chuckled.
"Why little one, you seem to misunderstand a few things." Arachne gently sat Chara up and gestured to the room. "This place I've brought you to use to belong to a mortal turned monster like me but unlike me, her fate was far worse as she was hunted by hundreds who were able to confine her in this place which was then hidden with few mortals coming to face her and being killed by her until a mortal hero came and killed her." Arachne slowly walked around Chara, circling her. "This left this temple vacant but still hidden so I was able to move in here and there's no way for your father to find us."
"My daddy's a great tracker, he can track you down."
"Sweet child, we didn't walk here entirely, I used a bit of magic to create a portal to this place so your father has nothing to track." Now Chara let the fear she was feeling show as it was impossible to hide. "Now there's no need to worry since soon you won't even remember your former family." Chara looked up at her.
"What are you going to do?" Arachne chuckled as her eyes began to glow like purple crystals.
"Just give you a new perspective of me and your life." Chara looked away in fear but Arachne used one of her front legs to make Chara turn her head back to her. "Don't worry little one." Chara looked at Arachne. "Just relax your mind." Chara's eyes met Arachne's and her pupils shrunk down as her eyes began mirroring Arachne's making the large spider chuckle. "Now little one, you are under my power and we can begin making some changes but don't worry, I'll take good care of you from now on." She then let out one last chuckle that echoed through the temple.
Back with Hiccup
Hiccups POV:
To say I was furious would be an understatement since I'd just finished off the last of the catoblepas that were left for me by the same spider who had kidnapped my daughter. I growled and began looking around the area for any type of clue to where Arachne had taken Chara but I'm sad to say there was nothing other than the medallion I found in her nest. I growled and walked up to the nest once more before pulling out five orange Loki balls and throwing them into the nest, setting it a blaze as I turned around and phased through the bars that were blocking the exit. As I made my way towards the tunnel that leads to the exit, I couldn't help but wonder how I was meant to explain things to my wives since I know they were not going to be happy to hear Chara wasn't here and somehow, Arachne had vanished, scent and all. I didn't know how Arachne did it or what her plans for Chara were but I knew that I would find them and I would make Arachne pay for messing with my family.
1 hour later
I was once again on my ship that I had brought out since it was faster than my carriage since the place we were going to would take four days to get to by carriage. The place we were going to was the home of my old friend Chiron who would hopefully be able to point us in the right direction by helping me understand what the meaning of the symbol I found on the medallion. I sighed as I leaned on the railing while looking out at the passing landscape beneath my ship in the sky as I wondered if I'd survive long enough to get home. My wives made it clear that if Arachne had harmed Chara in any way, she'd be forced to answer to them as would I and until Chara was found, I'd be sleeping in the dragon pen with Toothless. I sighed and knew worrying wasn't going to do me any good and made my way down to the dragon pens where I'd most likely be sleeping for the remainder of the trip.
Morning
Morning seemed to come after a night that seemed to never end since none of us could sleep well with our combined worry for Chara keeping us all up. Fortunately, with the help of my ship, a four day journey into a simple overnight trip while my mystic map made finding Chiron a piece of cake. As soon as we found him we told him what had happened and asked him for his help which he was happy to give which brings us all to now. With me and my family watching Chiron as he examined the medalion while rubbing his beard in thought before snapping his fingers in realization as a grim look formed on his face. He turned to me with a frown and shook his head as I said.
"I'm afraid my friend that this medallion came from the lair of the fallen Gorgon, Medusa who was slain many years ago by the hero, Perseus."
"So the place has been abandoned ever since?" The centaur nodded his head.
"It is a haunted place where no mortal dare go near for it is said that the souls of those turned to stone still haunt the empty halls of the labyrinth that leads to the gorgons lair." I growled.
"I'll be damned if I let any spirits stop me from saving daughter." Chiron smiled.
"It's wonderful to see the lengths you are willing to go to in order to protect your child even though she is not your own blood." I ignored what he said and ordered.
"Tell me where Medusa's lair is?"
It was easy to tell he was hesitant to give me an answer but a glare using the eye of the dragon along with a combined glare from my family got us all the information we needed and as soon as we had it we took off and as we did, I worried what Arachne was doing to my daughter.
Medusa's lair
Nobodies POV:
Deep in the labyrinth that was Medusa's Arachne clung to the ceiling while looking down at little Chara who's eyes were no longer their usual color but had become purple that seemed to shimmer. Along with her eye colour changing Chara's regular clothing had been changed into a white chiton which most Greek girls her age wear with a white silk wrap around her waist, a pair of leather sandals and a golden necklace ending with a spider web amulet that had a glowing purple gem in the center, around her neck. Her hair had also been styled differently with most of it being set free from her usual braids so it ran down her back with a bit of it tied up in a braided bun at the top. Right now she was walking down a hall past the various statues of Medusa's victims while tossing a small ball up and down with a smile on her face as she hummed happily as if she didn't have a care in the world. Arachne slowly lowered herself from the ceiling and landed behind Chara, her legs making a tapping sound as she landed, alerting Chara to her presence. Chara turned around to face her but instead of giving the glare she originally gave her after kidnapping her, she gave Arachne a big smile and walked up to her as Arachne said.
"Alright sweetie, it's time for you to put your ball away and come with me so we can start your weaving lessons." Chara nodded.
"Okay mommy, I'll practice hard and follow in your steps to become a great weaver who's better than those mean gods."
Arachne giggled as she lead Chara back to the room that had the loom which she would use to train Chara into a weaver like she once was. She watched as Chara sat down in front of the loom and slowly began working it under Arachne's supervision who gently directed her in the art of weaving while thinking about how wonderful her plan had come together. Chara now believed her to be her mother who had raised her for years here in Greece and all of the memories she had of her time with Hiccup and his wives along with her blood family were sealed away and the necklace she put on Chara made her stay that way. Also, just to ensure she didn't remember anything from her previous life by seeing something familiar, she'd stripped Chara of all her previous clothing and weapons, leaving them hidden away as a memento of this victory. Along with this she'd brought Chara to the lair of a fellow mortal who was cursed by the gods for simply being better than them in some way and then killed by a mortal hero. Since this place was hidden away from the world, it was the perfect hiding place and home for her to raise her new daughter without the fear of anyone finding them but to be on the safe side, she'd enslaved a few mystic beasts to deal with anyone who entered. Arachne was brought out of her thoughts when Chara asked.
"Is this the right way to do it mommy?" Arachne looked at Chara and nodded.
"Very good sweetie, that's how you do it." Arachne continued to help Chara learn how to weave as she began thinking about how she'd bring Chara up to be a proper Greek woman without any need to wield a weapon like Hiccup had been training her to do.
2 days later
Hiccups POV:
Two days since we met up with Chiron who told us where we could find Medusa's lair and since then it's been two days of travelling, endless worry and training for what could await us in that nightmare of a place. Now after all this time, we'd finally arrived at the entrance to the temple that was built into the higher parts of a mountain and I was determined to get in there and find my daughter or kill the beast that took her from me. Now I'd said goodbye to my family and was now on top of Toothless on the top deck of the ship as we looked into the crack in the mountainside that would lead to Medusa's lair. I rubbed Toothless' head and asked.
"You ready to do this bud?"
He growled and nodded before we took off into the crack with him using his echo location to find our way around the tunnel without any issues. It didn't take us long to find ourselves at the entrance to the temple in the form of a Greek arch entryway with the head of the gorgon in stone, at the top of it. I took a breath and rubbed Toothless' head as I muttered to him about being careful since there's no telling what's lurking in this place, waiting for us. Toothless growled before we made our way inside, under the arch while keeping our guard up since there's no telling what we could run into since although this was the lair of Medusa, Arachne might've brought in other forms of beasts to guard it. It was then three roars caught our attention and we looked ahead to see three large cyclops holding clubs looking at us with purple eyes. I growled as I said.
"If Arachne thinks these things will keep me from finding my daughter then she has another thing coming." I switched my prosthetic into its dragon claw form and the fight began.
20 minutes later
Nobodies POV:
It's been twenty minutes since Hiccup and Toothless had entered Medusa's lair which was now Arachne's lair and since then they've encountered cyclops, manticore, harpies and multiple other beasts. The beasts didn't last long though as Hiccup used his large arsenal along with Toothless' speed and ability to stay out of reach to make short work out of all of them. Now they were making their way into one of the expanded chambers, leaving behind them two dead cyclops with the bodies filled with arrows and burned faces. Their faces wearing the same expression of seriousness, showing how determined they were to find Chara and get her out of this retched place. Presently, Hiccup had his kitsune mask on and was trying to find the scent of either Chara or Arachne to make their search a little easier. It was then Hiccup heard the sound of wood hitting wood which was not a sound Hiccup would expect to find in this labyrinth like place and steered Toothless down the hall towards it.
It wasn't long before they found themselves in a large chamber full of statues which used to be great warriors who had come to slay the gorgon but instead became her victims. It was hear Hiccup dismounted Toothless and took out his star sword while unfolding his eagle shield in case Arachne had placed any more surprises for them. It was then they found themselves in another chamber, however there were fewer statues in this room but after examining the floor, Hiccup could tell they'd all been moved out for some reason. They continued to make their way towards the sound of wood hitting wood until Hiccups ninja senses kicked in and he quickly turned around while slashing his sword upwards, cutting off the web that was shot at him from above. He growled and looked up at where the web came from and said.
"Nice try Arachne but you have to get up pretty early in the morning to stand a small chance at catching me by surprise." He looked right at her in the darkness with the only light coming from the lit torches. "Why don't you come out and face me instead of being a coward and lurking in the shadows." Arachne slowly climbed down a stone pillar support until she reached the middle and looked at Hiccup.
"I do prefer the shadows but since you and your pet went through so much trouble to get here, I suppose I could stay in the light." Toothless growled at the sight of her but Hiccup held up his hand silencing him.
"You have no idea the immense burning fury I am feeling right now but I'm going to give you a chance to explain to me why you kidnapped my daughter."
"It is simplicity itself Hiccup, you serve the ones who turned me into this beast you see before you and stole my dreams from me so it only right that you pay the price for it, especially after you ruined my first plans by saving that village."
"It was your own arrogance and belief that you could get away with insulting the gods that lead you to this fate Arachne."
"My oh my, it seems I misjudged you and believed you to be a servant of the gods but it appears you aren't a servant but a pet." Hiccup growled at this.
"This coming from the overgrown bug who was stupid enough to believe taunting the gods was a good idea." He then pointed his sword at her. "Now tell me where Chara is before I lose my patience and make this temple you tomb."
"If you wish to see her so badly then I will gladly allow it." She turned in the direction that the sound of wood hitting wood was coming from. "Chara, could you come out here please sweetie."
The sound of wood hitting wood stopped before it was replaced by the sound of footsteps as Arachne climbed down from the pillar and walked towards the sound. It was then into the light stepped none other than Chara herself who smiled sweetly at Arachne as she asked.
"Yes mommy?" Hiccups eyes widened, hearing Chara call Arachne mommy but it was then he noticed her eyes were purple but neither of the girls noticed as Arachne walked up to Chara.
"This man wants to speak with you but tell me, have you ever seen him before?" Chara turned to Hiccup and Toothless for a moment and examined them before shaking her head and turning to Arachne.
"No I haven't mommy." Before Arachne could reply, Hiccup growled.
"You brainwashed her didn't you?" Arachne chuckled.
"I just gave her a little something I took from the gods when they turned me into a spider."
"That explains why you were able to do it since any other form of magic would've had no effect." He glared at Arachne. "But I have faith in my daughter's strength." Hiccup then turned to Chara. "Chara, it's me, your father."
"My father?" I nodded.
"Chara you have to fight the magic, for your real family."
"My real family?"
"Especially Brant, your brother who's truly worried about you."
"Brant?" She then took on a look of pain and gripped her head which is when Arachne took action and leaned towards Chara's face.
"NO!" Chara opened her eyes and stared into Arachne's with her eyes quickly mirroring them. "Arachne is your only family!" Chara then replied in a low voice.
"Arachne is my only family." When this took place, Hiccup noticed the necklace around her neck glowed and knew if he stood a chance at getting his daughter back, he'd need to get it off her.
"So, that necklace is what's keeping my daughter under your control."
"Indeed!" She then stepped in front of Chara, blocking Hiccups view of her. "But I will not let you close enough to even touch it or her." Hiccup slowly reached into his coat and pulled out five yellow Loki balls as he signalled Toothless to get ready.
"You might if you can't see me coming."
Hiccup threw the balls in front of her as Toothless covered his eyes with his wings right as the balls hit the ground and released a light that was so bright it filled the entire chamber making Arachne scream as she was blinded. Hiccup used this opportunity to activate his ox flame boots speed mode and rush over to a blinded Chara who was covering her eyes, scoop her up and run back to Toothless. As soon as he was out of Arachne's range he took the amulet in his prosthetic hand and crushed it in to pieces making purple mist rise from it before Chara screamed in pain while grasping her head in pain and passing out. Hiccup quickly caught her and gently placed her on Toothless' saddle, securing her on it as he ordered.
"Get her out of here and back to the ship!" He growled but looked to Arachne. "Don't worry, I'll be fine and you know how much a father will give for his daughter." He growled and nodded before running out of the chamber but gave one last look back at Hiccup who stood ready to fight as the lights faded allowing Arachne recovered and glared at him.
"You little rat, that was a dirty trick."
"When it comes to saving my daughter, there's nothing I won't do." Arachne looked around and noticed Chara wasn't anywhere to be seen making her angry and growl out.
"Where is she?"
"I had Toothless get her out of here after I crushed that pendant you were using to control my daughter and now she's on her way to meet up with her mothers and brother."
"When I'm done killing you I'll go after them and put Chara back to the way she was before you ruined things for me and while I'm at it I think I'll do the same to your son and raise him to be a soldier for Greece and your wives will make good servants while that beast of yours will make good furniture once skinned." Hiccup glared at her.
"You're not going near my family."
Arachne growled and spit out a stream of green liquid from her mouth which Hiccup was quick to dodge which was a good thing since the second it hit the ground it melted the stone. Hiccup chuckled and looked at Arachne while giving her a look that clearly said 'that all you got' making her roar and pounce at Hiccup to try and pin him to the ground. Hiccup was quicker though and jumped out of the way while folding up his eagle shield for better mobility when he tuck and rolled out of the way. He then turned his left arm into its prosthetic form ready to continue to fight Arachne who quickly looked back at him as she shot her webs to the ceiling and pulled herself up to it in seconds before spraying her acid down towards Hiccup. Hiccup quickly launched the spike from his left prosthetic into the ceiling while running to avoid the acid before launching the spike into the ceiling and having the chain return to the arm, pulling him up while swinging him.
Hiccup used his body to control the momentum and swing towards Arachne who realising what he was doing used her webs to lower her body down and swing towards him, ready to spit more acid. The second she began spitting the acid, Hiccup made his prosthetic pull the chains in faster, raising him above the acid blast towards the web and quickly swung his sword at it, severing the link between it and Arache sending the spider falling to the ground. It was then Hiccup released more of his chain and lowered his body down to the ground before he pulled his spike back down from the ceiling and back into his prosthetic. Arachne who had recovered glared at him in anger about being dropped to the floor the way he did and was now more determined than ever to kill him, the more painful the better.
She gave out a roar and began charging at him with her two front legs held high above her head and ready to be brought down on him. Hiccup stood his ground until Arachne brought her claws down on him but as soon as they were a foot away from him he quickly caught both legs in his hands before falling back, pulling Arachne forward as he did so with his legs pulled in. When she was right on top of him Hiccup slammed his feet into her abdomen right before a large flaming ox burst from her back and dragged her back as she screamed in pain and shock. Hiccup smirked as Arachne hit the pillar who then roared in fury as she leapt at Hiccup who quickly pulled out his cobra sand bag and poured a large pile on the ground and just as Arachne reached him, a giant sand cobra formed throwing her back. The cobra roared and glared at Arachne who stared at the serpent in shock before growling and asking.
"JUST HOW MANY OF THESE DAMN TRICKS HAVE THOSE BLASTED GODS GIVEN YOU?" Hiccup smirked and pulled his sword back into his prosthetic before replacing it with his flail which he quickly extended while taking the chain in his left hand and swinging the head around.
"More than I know what to do with most of the time."
He then loosened his grip on the chain with it and swung the head down on Arachne who jumped back, barely able to dodge the flail but not fast enough to avoid the shockwave which threw her back. She landed on her feet though and glared at Hiccup who smirked at her as he pulled the head back and got ready to bring it down on Arachne once more. Before he could swing it down though a familiar voice cried out.
"STOP!" Both opponents froze before turning to the owner of the voice which was Chara who was rushing back into the chamber with Toothless hot on her tail until she ran between the two with her arms raised. "Daddy, please don't hurt Arachne she's nice."
"Chara, step aside since it seems her influence over your mind hasn't cleared yet and I don't want you getting hurt."
"No, when I woke up all of my memories of my family came back but the memories of my time with her stayed and they weren't all bad." She lowered her arms. "She was very kind to me and was teaching me how to weave."
"She took you from us and intended to rob you of your identity and keep you from your real family, all for the sake of revenge on the gods through me." It was then Arachne finally spoke.
"I'm afraid that I was not completely honest with you Hiccup." Hiccup raised an eyebrow. "Revenge on the gods was simply an extra to my main goal of achieving a dream that the gods took from me." Hiccup gestured for her to go on. "To be a mother to a child whom I could pass my weaving skills onto."
"So you originally intended for the bandits to destroy the village and you'd take one of the orphaned children as your own but when I stopped it, you decided to take my daughter to achieve your dream while also gaining a little revenge on the gods." Arachne nodded as Hiccup sighed before turning to Toothless. "Toothless, take Chara back to the ship and don't let her come back." He then turned to Chara which showed there was no room for argument. "Chara, don't run away from Toothless this time, stay with him until he gets you back to your mothers." Chara nodded and mounted Toothless but gave her adoptive father one last pleading look as she was taken away and saw him looking at Arachne with an unreadable expression and as soon as she left, there was silence until Arachne said.
"So are you going to kill me now?" Hiccup looked at her.
"Can you blame me, you kidnapped my daughter and robbed her of her memories for what I originally thought was a grudge against the gods but now I understand you mainly did it out of desire for a child of your own."
"Indeed, I do get lonely and always wanted a child of my own to raise into a weaver as I once was." Hiccup sighed.
"Well I can't be mad with you since despite the kidnapping of my daughter, you didn't harm her and actually taught her something new and you may claim what you did was out of desire for revenge against the gods but I know it was out of desire to achieve the joys of being a parent." Hiccup closed his eyes and looked down with a smile on his face. "A joy I know of even though Chara and her brother aren't my own blood."
"What do you mean?" Hiccup looked up at her.
"Both Chara and her brother were adopted by me and Blanca after we found them on a ship belonging to some slave traders but let's focus on what's happening now." Hiccup pulled the chain of his flail back into his prosthetic and switched the head with his hand before turning it back to its normal form once more. "The way I see it, one of three things could happen right now." Arachne gestured for him to go on as he held up one finger. "One , I could kill you right now before setting this entire cursed place a blaze." He held up a second finger. "Two, I leave you here and seal up the entryway to the point that it'll take you days to get out." Arachne began shivering, fearing what the third thing was before Hiccup smiled. "You come with me back to my island and agree to act as a babysitter for Chara from time to time while also helping to protect the island when it's in danger." Arachne looked at Hiccup as if he were crazy.
"You would honestly offer me a place on your island after all I've done?"
"I can see some good in you Arachne and I'm willing to give you a second chance but you'll have to agree to a few conditions until I'm fully able to trust you and that'll take a lot of time since messing with other people's minds is something I hate above all else since it's caused me a lot of pain in the past, both as the victim and going up against the victims." She bowed.
"Why are you doing this?"
"Arachne, a thing I've always been good at is my ability to read others which was an ability that only increased after my ninja training which is how I know that you may be putting up this big intimidating appearance but I can see you're hiding the pain you feel since having not only your dreams taken from you but everything including your friends and family."
"Am I truly that easy for you to read?" Hiccup nodded.
"Don't feel too bad, after my training under the ancient one, reading people is as easy as reading a book."
"You'll have to tell me about it sometime."
"So you accept my offer." She nodded.
"With much gratitude and the promise not to use any more magic on anyone." Hiccup nodded.
"Good, now could you show me where you hid my daughters belongings and show me what you'd like to bring with you." She nodded and lead Hiccup into the chamber that held the loom.
"If it's possible, I would like to bring my loom back with me since it's something that reminds me of my days as a weaver and I think Chara might like to continue to learn how to weave." Hiccup nodded.
"I understand." He pulled off his spiderpack and had its mouth expand before loading up the loom into it while Arachne watched. "So did you web up all the walls for a reason or is it just a spider thing?"
"I wanted to cover up the ghastly statue that covered the wall."
"Mind if I take a look?"
She shook her head as Hiccup put his spiderpack back on before pulling all her webs down to reveal the walls were covered in snakes with the back wall holding a golden statue of Medusa's head that had a coiled emerald snake in the middle of the forehead. It wasn't that hard to tell why Arachne covered it up since all these snakes staring at you would creep anyone out but the one in the middle of her forehead was the creepiest since it looked to be pumping with power. Hiccup then growled in pain as the eye of the dragon seemed to pulse with an unknown power and then much to the shock of both Hiccup and Arachne floated out from its place and float up to the emerald snake in the forehead. For a few seconds there was nothing before the snake uncoiled and slithered into the eye which glowed brightly for a few seconds and then floating back down into Hiccups hand.
Hiccup examined the eye a few times and saw no difference before he put it back into its original place behind the eyepatch and then knew there was a difference when he felt a surge of power go through him which brought him to his knees. Just as it had come though, it had vanished just as quickly, allowing Hiccup to stand back up and although everything seemed the same at first, he knew he'd need to run a few tests when they were out of this place. With this in mind he allowed Arachne to show him where she hid Chara's clothes and gear and put it away in his spiderpack before they left in order to get back to Hiccups family but as they did, Hiccup couldn't help but wonder two things. What did that snake do to his eye and how in the world was he going to explain Arachne to his wives since he knew they were not going to be happy about it after what she did to Chara. For now though he'd enjoy a few minutes of peace even though he did not know what the future held but that's what makes life worth living since it makes it fun.
AN: HAPPY NEW YEAR to you all and felt it only right the new year began with a new chapter with a new inhabitant for the island. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and will remember to review and vote on the poll that's on my profile page since I've only gotten two votes on it so far. Anyway, the last sentence in the chapter is a message to all of you, we don't know what the future holds but that's what makes life worth living since it makes it fun. Happy new year to all you my friends and readers.