Author's Note: TW: going forward, there will be mentions of pedophilia and rape throughout the next few chapters. It doesn't go into detail, but it is heavily implied. No such actions are taken. If you feel like you can't continue reading, I will understand if you want to stop reading. I will also be marking the parts with an asterisk (*) so that you'll know.
After several hours of careful climbing, Johann and his men made it to an open cavern covered in all kinds of mushrooms and glowing fauna. The cavern seemed to stretch out for miles in every direction. Above and below them were hundreds of dragons, coexisting without a worry in the world.
"We'll never find him," one of the men muttered under his breath.
"Oh, yes, we will," Johann responded, making it clear he heard the man. "It's just a matter of when. Now get down there and start looking."
As they wandered through the Mushroom Forest, the dragons, more or less, ignored them. A few would stop to smell them before flying off. None seemed to be bothered by the sudden presence of humans. Johann seemed uninterested in catching any at the moment. His first goal was to find Hiccup. Only after he killed that menace would he go after the dragons.
After a while, they came across a cave-in that had light shining through several gaps.
"Well, don't just stand there," Johann said, shoving two men toward the pile of rocks. "Knock it down so we can get through. This place is clearly bigger than just this one cavern."
The men went to work removing the rocks as quickly as they could, praying to the gods that they wouldn't be buried under the rubble. Despite moving as fast as they could, Johann decided he wasn't going to wait for them to finish. He moved one of their cannons into place, loaded it, and fired it at the cave-in, narrowly missing his men, who ran before they could get hurt. The pile collapsed, revealing another realm that was just as big as the one they were currently in.
Johann took out his spyglass and looked at the realm before him. In the distance, at the end of the spyglass' gauge, he saw a two-legged figure running. "I found you, Hiccup," Johann smirked as he put the spyglass away. "Let's go. Break time's over."
Hiccup ran toward the cave, calling for Toothless as he ran. First, he had to get to his shield and spears. Then, he had to do what he could to protect this world.
"TOOTHLESS," Hiccup shouted. He stopped for a second to listen before breaking into a run again. He was breathing heavily, and his legs felt like lead. His prosthetic was not built for this kind of long-distance running. Then, as if to prove his point, his fake leg caught on a rock, causing him to fall over.
Hiccup quickly regained his senses and stood up to start running again, only to fall over again. He looked down at his leg. "Oh, Thor," the chief cursed as he took the leg off. The metal was bent, and the wood splintered. "Useless."
As he tossed the leg to the side, he heard a familiar roar closing in. He looked and saw Toothless flying toward him. "Here, Bud."
Toothless landed next to his rider, quickly noticing the missing leg and crooning in concern. Hiccup managed to stand and balance himself. "Damn thing broke. But we can't worry about that." He hopped toward his dragon and climbed on. "Right now, we have to get rid of the intruders. I think they came in through the Mushroom Forest entrance. Let's head back to the cave first. I need my shield and the spears."
Toothless tilted his head back and let out a battle war, alerting all dragons in the realm to protect their home. The Night Fury then took to the air with a running leap. Within a few minutes, they reached the cave. Hiccup went to dismount but quickly remembered his lack of limb.
"Okay, Bud," Hiccup said. "Let's get my shield and spears."
Toothless walked his rider into the cave. Thankfully what they needed wasn't far. Toothless picked up each item with his mouth and handed them off to Hiccup, who leaned forward to grab it.
"Not sure how we'll manage, but we've won with less," Hiccup said, feeling optimistic. As they left the cave, Hiccup stared at the family portrait he had painted his first week alone. "Don't worry, guys; I'll keep this place safe for you and the dragons."
Hiccup and Toothless arrived at the site of the ongoing battle between humans and dragons. Many dragons, trapped, injured, or dead, lay strewn across the forest floor. Among the dragons were several men either fighting or dead as well. In the middle of it stood a man shouting orders at the survivors to stay and fight.
"It can't be," Hiccup said. "He's dead. How can he be here? Johann."
The second the name passed his lips, the man giving orders looked up at him as if he heard his name spoken. Toothless locked eyes with the villain and shot a plasma blast at him. Johann jumped out of the way, allowing one of his men to take the hit. Johann stood up, looked at the dead man, and then back up at the flying duo. "Pity, I quite liked that one. Now he's gone."
Hiccup had a million questions running through his mind and didn't know which one to ask. So he quickly opted not to bother since he wasn't going to get a straight answer. "You'll never win. This world is protected."
"Certainly not by you, I hope," Johann taunted. "You might have finally managed to grow a beard, but you're still a scrawny man not built for battle. You're nothing without that stupid dragon."
Hiccup knew better than to take the bait, especially since he was in no condition to take on Johann. He had to treat Johann like a new enemy and not an old one. There was no telling what being in the ice did to his mind or body. But judging by how easily he dodged the plasma blast and stood amidst the battle told Hiccup that he was still pretty agile, but his mind was something else.
"Toothless, when I give the signal, fly low enough to drop me," Hiccup told his dragon. "Let's take out the trash."
"I don't have all day," Johan shouted. "If you're too scared to fight, just fly home, and I'll kill you there."
"We're not going anywhere," Hiccup stated. "Right, Bud."
Toothless roared in defiance before diving down into the battle and blasting any of the men that tried to block them from getting Johann. Hiccup took hold of his shield in one hand and a spear in the other. Many of the men tried to dodge the plasma blasts, not bothering to try and stop them.
Once Toothless got within a few feet of Johann, Hiccup jumped from him, tucking himself in as he went down. He hit the ground, rolling, and came up standing. Despite missing his prosthetic, he had years to practice fighting one-legged. Johann wasn't the only one to go through major changes.
Hiccup lunged, aiming the spear at Johann's chest. "Not so scrawny anymore, now am I?"
Johann deflected the spear with one of his knives and took a step back. "No, now you're just stupid. You really should have stayed on that dragon." Johan looked at his few remaining men. "Take down that Night Fury. Aim for the tailfin."
Hiccup turned and watched in horror as a flaming crossbow flew through the air, hitting the makeshift tailfin. Toothless tried to stay in the air as his tailpiece burned, leaving nothing but metal.
"TOOTHLESS!," Hiccup screamed in fear as his dragon plummeted to the ground with a hard thud. Before he had a chance to hop toward his best friend, Johann took the knife in his hand and stabbed Hiccup in the right shoulder.
Hiccup fell to his knees as he reached for his shoulder, yelling in pain. He blinked the tears out of his eyes and tried to focus on Toothless, who lay motionless. But, unfortunately, Johann just walked in front of him, blocking the view.
"You're mine now," Johann laughed manically. Finally, he had Hiccup. He was going to enjoy slowly killing his nemesis. "No one and no thing is going to save you. You'll be dead by the time your people try to find you."
Hiccup yelled in anger. "You'll pay for this. Even if you kill me, Berk will hunt you down and make pay you for what you did."
Johann said nothing and walked away. The battle was over. He signalled for one of his men to grab Hiccup and another to find a place for them to set up shop. Hiccup felt someone behind grab a fistful of his hair and start dragging him away. He watched Toothless for as long as he could, praying to the gods that his dragon was okay.
As he was pulled further away from the battle site, Hiccup began to drift in and out of consciousness.
Toothless awoke in the middle of the battlefield, surrounded by his dead brethren and humans. The ones that had been trapped were dragged away. The injured ones either crawled off or died from their injuries. The Night Fury managed to stand up, wobbling a bit, trying to get his balance. He looked back at his tail and snorted angrily at the sight of his damaged tailfin.
The anger he felt quickly disappeared when he noticed that Hiccup was gone. Instead, he found a small pool of blood and a trail that led in the direction of the Haddock cave. Either his human suggested going there, or it was just the nearest cave Johann found.
The Night Fury knew he had to go after his rider, but he was in no condition the fight Johann and his men. He needed help. He tilted his head to let out a roar but quickly thought better of it. He couldn't alert the humans to his presence. So instead, he ran toward his nesting cave. He knew exactly what he needed to save Hiccup.
Hiccup woke up on the floor of the cave. He was momentarily confused as to why until he rolled over onto his wounded shoulder. Then, as he let out an audible groan, he remembered what happened.
*"Quite the family you've got," Johann said, noticing that his prisoner was awake. "I honestly never understood what she saw in you. I always hoped that once she matured, I'd be able to claim her as one of mine. Oh, the things I'd have done."
Hiccup's blood boiled with anger. Astrid was not someone to be claimed or owned.
"She's spoiled goods now. I might just take this daughter of yours when I head back to Berk," Johann mused. "I like them pure."
"You leave my family alone," Hiccup yelled, gritting his teeth. "You touch any of them, and I will kill you."
Johann turned and looked over at Hiccup. "Ooh, did I hit a nerve?" He walked over and leered down at his victim. "Looks like I did. Let's make a deal. You let me do with you as I please, and I'll leave your little family alone."*
Hiccup knew Johann was lying, but on the off chance the madman wasn't, he had to take the deal. "Fine. Swear on the gods that you'll leave them out of this. This is between you and me."
"Swearing on the gods won't do any good," Johann stated matter-of-factly. "You and I worship differently. I only believe in one god." He gestured to himself. "I'm the only god there is." He took a knife out and plunged it into Hiccup's left hand. "Now worship me."
Author's Note: I hope those of you who are reading are enjoying the story so far. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the story so far and what you think might happen next.
As always thanks for reading. Please don't forget to follow and share.