Toothless followed the ship for a full day waiting for his chance to attack. He needed ideal circumstances to do it. The cover of night and no islands close enough to hear or see the commotion.
Tonight would be the night. The ship was sailing into a fog bank that went on for miles. The fog bank was nowhere near any island. If anything it worked as a barrier to separate sections of the Archipelago. No one would hear the screams of dying Hunters.
He wasn't sure how long they'd had Hiccup or what they did to him, but even high above he could smell his human's blood. They were going to pay for the harm they caused.
Hiccup watched through the cracks as the sunset, darkening his cage once more. He'd grown used to the darkness. It was welcoming most nights, because just below him was the kitchen and the cook would be setting fire to a small hearth soon. The heat would rise, warming Hiccup up as he lay on the floor. The warmth soothed his pain and helped remind him of home.
He looked at the tonic he'd secretly been given last night. It said it was for pain relief, but he didn't trust it. He didn't trust any of the tonics he'd been given. He could handle pain all on his own as far as he was concerned. Besides, why bother giving him something that eases his suffering if they're just going to kill him in the end? It didn't matter if he led them to the Hidden World or not, his time with the Hunters ended in death.
The last shreds of light disappeared from the cracks, leaving the room pitch black. Hiccup shuffled over to the spot just above where the hearth was and waited for the cook to light it.
Just he got into a semi-comfortable position, the boat shook. Above and below him, he could hear screams and orders being shouted. He couldn't make out what was being said, but he could have sworn someone said "Dragon".
He crawled over to the hull and did his best to peer out one of the cracks, hoping to be able to see what was happening. He strained to listen as well. After what felt like an enternity, he could have sworn he heard-
"Toothless," Hiccup muttered in awe. Before he had a chance to fully understand what was happening, the boat shook once more, throwing him across the cage.
As he was getting his bearings, his the door to his cage was flung open. "Come on! We need to get you of here!"
Hiccup heard the person shouting at him, but couldn't quite grasp what was being said. His head throbbed from being flung and hitting the wall. "Wh-What?"
"No time for questions," the mystery person said as they hasitly unshackled Hiccup's leg from it's chain. "We have to go!"
Hiccup finally understood. He was being rescued. This person was helping him get to Toothless. With the person's help, he managed to stand up. He looked over at his rescuer and realized it was Jorn, the Healer that had been tending to him.
Together they made their way through the ship. No one paid them any mind. As far the other Hunters could tell, Jorn was moving him to the lifeboats so that Skade wouldn't lose his prisoner in case the ship sunk.
"Why are you doing this?" Hiccup asked.
"I'm a Healer," Jorn answered. "My job is to heal your wounds not inflict them. I'm not going to stand by and watch you die because Skade is on a power trip." He helped Hiccup climb the stair that led to the top deck.
Once on top, Hiccup took a second to inhale the fresh air and stare up at the night sky. He didn't think he'd ever see the stars and moon again. Above him and Jorn was Toothless, who was blasting away at the ship and any Hunters that got caught in his line of fire.
"Toothless," Hiccup called out, his voice hoarse from lack of use and liquids. He couldn't shout above the commotion.
"TOOTHLESS," Jorn shouted, getting the Night Fury's attention. He looked over at Hiccup who gave him a small nod of appreciation.
The dragon stopped his attack long enough to look down at his human. He roared in anger at the sight of him. He dove down and landed in front of Hiccup and the Hunter standing next to him. He readied his plasma blast to kill the Hunter.
"No, Toothless," Hiccup managed. "He's good. Helping."
Toothless listened to his friend and aimed his blast downward through all four levels. Between the force of this current blast and the damage he'd already caused, the ship started to sink. He looked back up at Hiccup, who offered him a weak smile, just before he let out a scream of anguish, falling over in the process.
Jorn already holding, did his best to ease the fall, got a good look at the knife that had suddenly appeared in the young chief's shoulder blade. He turned around and saw Skade, standing on the platform above them.
"WHY!?" Jorn screamed.
"His usefulness had expired," Skade answered. "I have no more need of him, now that the Night Fury is here. This dragon will lead me to rest of his kind."
Toothless let out a roar of defiance, before aiming a a powerful plasma blast at Skade. The villain didn't have time to dodge and was blasted several yards into the water.
Jorn carefully rolled Hiccup over to his side, checking to make sure the younger man was still alive. "Come on, Hiccup. Not now. Not after everything, you've been through. You can't die here. You have to get home."
After what felt like an eternity, he felt Hiccup's pulse. It was weak, but it was there. He carefully picked up the young man and carried him over to Toothless. Gingerly he placed him on the dragon's back and stepped away.
Toothless didn't take off and gestured for the healer to get on. He was coming with, whether he liked it or not. There was no time to argue this, more than half the ship had already sunk. It was no or never.
Realizing he had no choice, Jorn climbed on, holding onto Hiccup's limp form as the three of them took to the skies.
