"This dragon fight is one for the ages! As Steeltrap takes a crushing blow to the head from the upstart, Whip-Slash!" The Flight Master announced, seeming to look around for anyone who was even remotely interested. No one was, they were either yawning, sleeping, or straight up insulting the match. "Well this looks depressing," Jack commented under his breath knowing Artemis would have to agree, "let's move in closer aye? Maybe that Flight Master has more info he'd like to shout to rooftops."
They silently crept up to a vantage point overlooking the arena and… Ryker. As it seemed, Jack arrived just in time, "ah, Mr. Ryker sir! Always a pleasure to have you join us!" The Flight Master cheered as a strained pleasantry while viewers continued to drone on about how boring the match was. Shouting things like, "mind your trap!"
"Oh, what a snore!"
"Why didn't you bite him?"
All they cared about was entertainment. Jack felt sick. The Flight Master running this place frowned when there was no response and brought out a bag presumably full of course they're working for Dragon Hunters, they always are, he thought as he rolled his eyes in annoyance. Ryker inspected the sack's contents for a moment or two before barking out a complaint. "This is not the amount we agreed upon!"
"Mr. Ryker, we've done well together in our fighting enterprise, but now, with your champion dragon, the fights are over before they start," the Flight Master explained, and rested a hand on the Dragon Hunter's shoulder only to quickly remove it when the action was greeted with an inhuman growl, Ryker certainly didn't seem like the type of person to indulge in physical touch,he must be lonely, Jack thought with zero sympathy, "no one will pay for a fight that ends in five minutes," the Flight Master tried, gesturing to the arena.
Jack was right, this was definitely valuable information. A large gate rose open with a rusted groan followed by a loud snarl vicious enough to scare off a tiger. The dragon that stood ready in the entryway was one Jack had never seen before. It was black and yellow with something that resembled a crab's claws as substitutes for arms. Despite this new and interesting dragon, the viewers seemed nowhere south ofbored.
"I see your point," Ryker said, turning to the Flight Master, "but if I were you I'd find a solution to turn this around," he finished, his words laced with venom before turning to leave. "Your cut," he threw in at the last second and tossed one singular coin over his shoulder. The Flight Master caught it with barely so much as a flinch, "uh, I hate that guy!" Was all what Jack heard him growl under his breath before, like always, everything went to shit.
Jack thinks luck doesn't exist, or if it does, it's out to get him. A Nadder spine shot its way towards his face causing him to jerk back and for Artemis to snarl aggressively. "Dragon Rider!"
"Shoot 'em down!"
Shit. Jack made brief eye contact with the Nadder who'd given them away as they roared with triumph. He probably would've thought more on why the dragon seemed so proud of attacking him, if it weren't for the panic that hazed over his mind. He grabbed onto Artemis who, just as panicked, scrambled into the air.
They were never going to get very far, he could feel it in the fact that for some reason, something in this environment was making him more fearful than usual.
Maybe it was the smell of dragon blood and feces that hung in the air, maybe it was the sound of multiple contraptions being used that Jack didn't notice were there before, or maybe it was the taste of smoke that never seemed to leave, making his eyes think they needed a flash flood to flush it out and his lungs sore from breathing.
A rope wrapped itself securely around Arti's leg, yanking them back. She fired at it in an attempt to get away, though it never broke. Apparently these Hunters had dealt with him long enough to know a simple rope wouldn't be nearly enough to take him down.
Jack twisted to try and find out what the rope was made of as another snaked around Arti's neck and almost hit him in the face like the thing itselfwantedhim to know what it was. "Wire?!"Since when have Vikings known how to make wire?!Then Artemis roared in pain and Jack felt himself tense in fear. She fell, he fell.
It was all a blur of motion and panic but Jack could place together what happened pretty easily. These motherfuckers just shot his dragon with Dragon Root. They landed with a painful thud, rolling and then skidding to a stop. Jack struggled to get to his feet and thankfully so did Artemis, she wasn't dead at the very least. Though she wobbled and looked so disoriented she fell back down multiple times.
Jack knew that if she kept falling like this she'd only hurt herself even more. "Shhh, it's okay just lay down," he tried to guide her towards the ground but she snapped at him with eyes that didn't seem to recognize him at all. Jack felt his eyes sting, and it wasn't because of the smoke.
She fell again, and hit the floor with a snap. The arrow shaft had broken and it made Jack falter for a moment with concern and fear. "Hey, it's okay!" he tried for both him and her, hoping she would stop, instead she whined in pain and tried again.
The Dragon Hunters decided to take advantage of his distressed and adrenaline riddled state and latched their hands onto his shoulders. Jack grabbed a dagger and whirled around slashing at one of their arms and ducking under the second one.
He backed away only to see people rise from thestandsto come fight him. The audience apparently didn't like him either. He whipped his head around to find Ryker there watching the chaos with an amused expression. Jack gripped his dagger harder, if Ryker thought he could shoot him down and proceed to laugh he was sorely mistaken. Jack threw a dagger at his face out of pure spite and rushed to fight the Hunter with a slashed arm.
He seemed to black out from there. His memory, if he were to look back on the situation, would register more like a dream that he would never be able to remember quite right, he knew one thing though. The Hunters plus the people who were viewing the fights earlier were more than enough to overwhelm him. They did it in no time with minimal injuries.
They held him down and Jack surprised himself the pretty much inhuman growl that left his mouth, Ryker strolled towards him as if he didn't just shoot down a dragon, as if he didn't just shoot Jack down, as if he didn't watch his men get their asses kicked with a straight face, well, almost get their asses kicked.
Jack glared at him and only stopped for a second to glare at the Flight Master who had been narrating the entire time like this was a damn dragon fight. Said glare was met with a smug grin.
Jack felt himself jerk back when Ryker reached a hand to take off his mask. He moved so suddenly he could've gotten a headache just from the movement.
In response, the Hunters trapping his arms each wrapped an arm around his torso to immobilize him easier and pretty much stuck him to the ground. Ryker, who was now towering over him, stopped and instead started inspecting Jack's dagger with a satisfied expression as if he'd solved a mystery. "What?" Jack snapped.
"I know who you are, I've seen you before haven't I?" He said, dropping the dagger so it clattered against the stone. The noise effectively cut through the tense silence as well as Jack's obliviousness.
Ryker had seen him fight with the same daggers, without his armor. This time when the Hunter reached to tear off Jack's mask all he did was stare at the dagger on the floor and realize his mistake. He only lifted it when Ryker tried to get a better look at him. He jerked away again out of defiance.
"My brother was right, some people really would pay good money for you," he said, smirking. Jack was disgusted. Their audience laughed like it was somejoke.
Artemis made a noise in her distress, whining and reminding them that,oh yeah, there's a very rare and valuable dragon probably dying in the corner.
Ryker grimaced as he stood. Jack– for no reason other than at least trying –attempted to shake off the men holding him down. Of course all he did was get the two of them to hold on tighter. Even if he did succeed in throwing them off, where would he go? He's outnumbered and trapped. He's not leaving without Artemis. Ever. So he stopped trying, it was hopeless.
"Take them to one of your cells," Ryker commanded, turning to the Flight Master, "and I don't want him in any fights while I'm getting Viggo, He'll want him alive when he gets here and that includes his lizard," he explained before motioning for them to drag Jack and his dragon away.
• •
Hiccup was always welcome to destroying the Dragon Hunters and their plans, but being woken up at the crack of dawn to do so? Turns out he wasn't going to be as enthusiastic. Being woken up at the crack of dawn by Snotlout to do so? Even less enthusiastic. Though it did bring an excitement to the usual morning that's for sure.
"The dragon hunter base is just up ahead!" Snotlout informed beside him, pointing towards a small discrete island that might as well have been a mountain, definitely a place Hunters would choose as a base of sorts. "Remember, approach with caution! They might be expecting us," He reminded Snotlout for what felt like the millionth time even for him. Whatever, file a grievance, it was Snotlout, can you blame him?
"Hiccup, Hiccup! This is the easiest mission ever! We fly in, blast the hunters and be home in time for lunch! BOOM!" Snotlout shouted, pumping his fist in the air as if defeating Dragon Hunters was just that easy, sure they did it almost every day but it wasn'teasy. Then again, enthusiasm never hurt, especially when the rest of the team were definitely lacking in it, "while I appreciate the enthusiasm, I–
"C'mon Hookfang!"
Too much enthusiasm…Hiccup shook his head with a sound of familiar annoyance. His headache was growing more and more each day and he wished there was some tree he could bang it against to make it stop. Then again it'd probably just make it worse. He rolled his eyes and shot forward to catch up with the raven haired idiot.
When they landed, they quickly realized that yes, this was the easiest mission ever considering the supposed Dragon Hunters Snotlout had raved so much about were in fact nonexistent.
Or maybe not. There were turned over dragon proof cages and unlit lanterns scattered around the beach, some even buried in the sand. "There's no one here. It's completely abandoned…" He observed, because it looked like if the Hunters were here, and they probably were, they fled pretty fast.
"This place was crawling with dragon hunters this morning. Something's wrong."
"Did you see anything else? Any dragons?" He asked, because surely Snotlout wasn'tthatblind. "Well… no," he admitted quietly. Their dragons however growled like an eel had found its way into one of their pockets. "Maybe thereissomething wrong…" Hiccup added, equally as quiet. He felt severely more uneasy than he thought he would, his stomach twisting in an uncomfortable manner. Another thing to add to the list of weird details.
Weird thing number three came in the form of… dragons… screaming. Screaming dragons. "Yeah, really wrong!" He exclaimed, "C'mon!" Was all he said before rushing into the cave, Toothless not far behind.
Unexpectedly, the entrance had stairs, which was weird if they ever planned on doing anything with these dragons like, say, moving them. "You know, I think we've seen way too much of this place already. Maybe it's time to head back, what do you say, Hookfang?" Snotlout rambled from behind him, though clearly his dragon disagreed because it was followed by a yelp of terror at almost being pushed down said stairs.
"Oh, c'mon Snotlout! This wasyouridea!" He argued, turning to face him.
"Yes, that wasbeforethe blood-curdling dragon screams," he snapped nervously and as if on cue more of said blood-curdling dragon screams emitted from the depths of the cave. Hiccup didn't wait any longer, he ran forward down the last set of stairs and kept going until he reached an open area with what seemed to be dragon proof cells. The bars looked as if they were haphazardly melded into the walls at random angles.
The placeseemedcompletely empty, at least until Snotlout stomped towards a cell and screamed so loud, startled by a Speed Stinger, that he was sure Johann could hear him from… wherever he went when he wasn't in the Archipelago. "So, Hiccup! Question, question, question: How we are going to free thoseviciousandwilddragons without being... uh, I don't know... EATEN ALIVE?!" He screeched.
"Uh, there's gotta be a switch or a lever… somewhere," he said, suppressing the urge to shrug, "once we get them free, we'll just wait them out," he continued, walking over to a cell at the far end of the cave. This one had what seemed to be a sleeping Razorwhip. It reminded him of Heather… and Heather sometimes reminded him of Jack… who he was pretty sure ghosted him. Of course he couldn't be absolutely sure but Sharpshot hadn't come back yet and it was unusual for Jack to not respond for so long. Though, given the subject of said letter, he couldn't tell if he was surprised or not.
To him, Jack didn't seem like the type, but then again, they hadn't known each other that long. He thought about sending a follow up to ask if he was okay but Astrid told him they should wait a little while longer to see if Sharpshot would return, "Anything?" He asked, in hopes the change in topic would take his mindoffof Jack. "Yep!" Was all he heard before a portcullis dropped down from the ceiling and cornered Toothless and him away from the entrance.
"Snotlout!" He shouted about ready to scold the idiot until either Hiccup's mouth fell off or Snotlout's ears, "hang on! I'll get you outta there!" He assured and before Hiccup could warn him, he yanked the lever upwards.
Immediately a purple gas spewed out from the floor making his lungs itch. He could hear Snotlout coughing from the other side of the room, "Okay bud, time to go!" He shouted, hoping that if he covered his mouth and tried not to inhale the numbing feeling in his limbs would subside.
Toothless shot a plasma blast at thedragon proof should've known, this was a Dragon Hunter base and since when have they not used dragon proof everything? He wouldn't be surprised if the cave was dragon proof.
A sudden panic came over him when he realized he couldn't feel much of anything anymore causing him to rush forward and try desperately to lift the door open. Maybe he was delirious because that obviously didn't work.
Suddenly his body decided that yes, this is when I'm going to stop working, and Hiccup fell to his knees, his mind fogged up trying to make sense of what Snotlout was shouting but all he heard was a mess of words that didn't make sense. So instead he shouted for him to go get help, or tried to at least, from his point of view he was out before he could figure out the words. Maybe they made it through? Not like he could tell, nor was he going to bother trying to figure it asleep.
• •
Jack felt miserable, the Flight Master seemed to love giving him backhanded compliments and even after around three hours Artemis still hadn't recovered.
They had chained her to the other side of the cell and in those few hours Jack figured out two things. Number one, they had chained him in such a way that he couldn't even get close enough to touch her. That just by itself hurt, knowing he couldn't comfort his dragon as she writhed in pain. They'd shot her…twice…
Number two, even if he could get close enough to touch her she'd never allow it. If he got as close as he could she would growl with slitted eyes that didn't seem to recognize him and smoke through her muzzle. That hurt even more. So instead he sat there for hours as the sun drove needles into his eyes trying to drag some tears out..
"I have a very special fight planned for this one,"
Jack wanted to hurt himsobad. The Flight Master had probably meant the dragon that he'd referred to as Ryker's "champion dragon", a dragon that was chained to the wall away from all of them. He too looked tired and miserable but had nowhere near the amount of scars as the Speed Stinger to his right. Jack had argued that Ryker didn't want them in any fights but the Flight Master wasn't hearing it. He had responded with something like, "I need money, and as long as your dragon doesn't die he'll never know," then left before Jack could say much else.
He let out a heavy, burdened sigh and looked over to the champion dragon. He returned Jack's gaze with a sad one of his own, Jack decided to take a chance, "so we're both stuck here huh?" He tried, only to receive a huff.
"You think–
The dragon snarled at him as if to tell Jack to shut up. Ouch. "Alright sorry, Jesus," he muttered and leaned his back against the stone wall. There were no bars, just a small portcullis like gate made of dragon proof metal and a bit of thick wood at the opposite side of the room where Artemis and the champion dragon were chained so there was no breaking out through there, not without help, and he couldn't get either dragon to listen to him. Maybe the Speed Stinger, but right now it seemed to be pretty set on glaring Clark Kent style lasers through his skull.
The dragon was obviously weary of him, and with good reason. But Jack could see one thing, that Speed Stinger wanted to hurt the Flight Master just as much as he did. They seemed to know this too, and it formed some sort of alliance between them. They both wanted the same thing, so they would spare each other.
His thoughts went like that over and over again in circles until Jack noticed that the champion dragon had apparently decided that sleep was a much better option than being present in the dark and dingy room. Jack opted for following in his example, maybe after a few hours of rest he'd be able to think clearer.
He was startled awake to the sound of a heavy gate snapping shut nearby and immediately noticed the champion dragon was being chained up again. Jack twisted to see the Flight Master who stood in front of the crowd, trying to grab their attention with, "ladies and gentlemen."
"Get ready! Tomorrow night, two new dragons enter the ring in a Battle Royale!" The Flight Master announced, and Jack wholeheartedly assumed he was talking about Artemis, "only one dragon will leave victorious. Will it be the Razorwhip or the… Night Fury?!" Jack's eyes widened,Night Fury?That couldn't be right, because if it was…
There was no way…
• •
Toothless
"Toothless!" He shouted as his mind finally cleared of whatever they'd gassed him with. He had no doubt he'd been mumbling in his sleep until now but he didn't care.
His dragon let out a sound of recognition, "There you are, bud," he said in relief as he felt his shoulders relax. His unease however only increased when he noticed the muzzle and chain that attached Toothless to the wall. He turned to see that yes, he was also chained to the wall.
"Where are we?" He wondered, glancing over another four dragons that were all chained to the walls on the other side of the cell.A Razorwhip, a Monstrous Nightmare, a Nadder, and a Gronkle…he observed, each dragon sported a large variety of scars from head to long have they been here?Suddenly his attention was called to the front of the cell by a pained 's a Speed Stinger… correction, itwasa Speed stomach churned.
"Dragon Fights. We have got to get out of here," he said, Toothless showed his agreement with a growl and a glare. Hiccup turned as he heard the door unlock and swing open. Two men with spears entered, and immediately the dragons started snarling and growling.
One of the men banged his spear on the ground causing the dragons to shrink back at the noise, "that's right, you smelly beasts! You know who the boss is!" He shouted.
"Who's he?" The other one asked.
"Ah, him. He was with the Night Fury," the fist one explained pointing at Toothless who responded with a growl of his own. "I've heard about him. He's afriendto dragons," the second one recalled as if it was some sort of amusing joke.
"Good. Then maybe he'll be useful," the first purred, pointing his spear at them. "I've got averyspecial event planned for this dragon. Don't you worry, my friend, I'll let you watch," he told Hiccup before turning and leaving through the door, "and don't touch that muzzle!"
Hiccup glared at the door some more before turning to see the literal tail end of the dragon that had won snake its way through the gate. "Ladies and gentlemen, get ready! Tomorrow night, two new dragons enter the ring in a Battle Royale! Only one dragon will leave victorious. Will it be the Razorwhip or the… Night Fury?!" The crowd exploded into excitement and anticipation to see something as rare as a Night Fury. All they cared about was entertainment. Hiccup felt sick.
Hiccup had practically stood there all night gazing through the bars, it wasn't until the sun found its way into his eyes that he realized that "practically" had become "literally". He turned towards the other dragons, maybe if he befriended them, they could work together and escape.
He slowly walked towards the Nadder, his hands up hopefully communicating,"I won't hurt you,".Apparently the Nadder nor the Monstrous Nightmare got the message because they both snarled and took up a defensive position. Hiccup felt the disappointment rise in his chest.
Toothless in turn growled at them, "hey, gotta back off, bud. That can't help it. They're starving, injured and scared," he told him gently. Hiccup looked around the room until he saw a Gronkle who seemed to be sitting miserably in the corner, "okay, how about you?" He asked and was met with another growl. Hiccup felt his shoulders drop.
• •
Jack was starting to fear for the worst, the sun was officially up and Artemis hadn't moved at all yet. Meanwhile all Jack could dowasmove, the amount of anxious energy he was carrying around was making his palms sweaty. He rubbed his hands on his armor again. They'd confiscated his weapons but thankfully hadn't taken the armor, just the mask.
His pacing came to a sudden stop when he heard the doors of the other cell open, the one that was located across the arena from him. "Ladies and gentlemen, tonight I bring you, for the first time in the ring… a Night Fury!" The crowd roared as two men hauled out two dragon proof cages, "battling the most vicious dragon, this side of Changewing Island… the Razorwhip!"
Jack saw the cages lift. A black Night Fury– missing tail fin and everything –and a purple eyed Razorwhip jumped down from their carts and circled each other, sizing the other up. So it was true, Hiccup had also been captured. Just his luck. Not only was he caught up in this but so was the last person he wanted to see at the moment. Jack felt dread slither around in his chest like an eel.
The Razorwhip, who decided to live up to its name, whipped their tail around to strike Toothless only to miss and instead end up just pinning the Fury down. They rolled away, one shooting a blast and the other flying or jumping to dodge it. These back and forth blasts went on for a moment before the razorwhip decided to use its tail again and nick Toothless on the arm.
In turn Toothless ran at the wall and pushed off of it effectively pinning the Razorwhip who was circling the 's gonna win, Jack thought looking at the Night Fury's retractable teeth which were now angled towards the Razorwhip's neck, yet something made him hesitate giving a killing blow. Instead it seemed the fight was going to the Razorwhip again.
Jack turned his attention from the fight to the other side of the arena and squinted. Lo and behold, Hiccup was watching. He hadn't seemed to notice Jack yet, focusing all his energy on the fight, and making sure both dragons made it out alive. A loud clang startled him out of his thoughts, the Razorwhip was trapped by a fallen cage, Toothless had won.
Jack figited, realizing that Toothless and Hiccup being here might actually be good for him, that they might've just savedhisdragon from having to will it save her from the Dragon Root?
Whatever, they saved him from having to worry about one thing. Hopefully Jack can save them both.
"Night Fury!"
"Night Fury!"
"Night Fury!"
"Night Fury!"
"Night Fury!"
"Night Fury!"
"Night Fury!"
• •
"You did a great job today, bud. I am so proud of you," He praised, hoping it would distract Toothless from the injury he'd gained, though of course it just reminded him of it, especially when Hiccup accidentally brushed against it with his hand. Toothless flinched away, "I'm sorry, I know, I know," he soothed. He'd torn a part of his shirt off and wrapped it around his best friend's paw in hopes it wouldn't get infected.
The door to the cell creaked open behind them, "to the victor goes the spoils," the Flight Master cheered, throwing three fish towards him and Toothless. Hiccup just glared at him for a moment. He could still feel the bruise on his cheek from when he'd been hit earlier.
"Hey, look! A delicious rock! Mmm! Num-num-num!" He tried, holding out a rock he'd beaten out of the wall with his metal leg to a Gronkle who'd been licking said wall for the past twenty minutes. The Hunters probably kept the dragons starving and aggressive.
Hesitantly the dragon took it, "Yeah, yeah, good Gronckle! That's it!" He cheered, smiling only to drop it with a sigh, "okay. Let's try this," he said and held out his hand to the dragon. They waited for a moment until a low growl emitted from the Gronkle, "Well, it's a start…" he supposed.
Suddenly three Dragon Hunters burst into the room and without even sparing him a glance shoved the Razorwhip into a cage. "Now get the Night Fury," the Flight Master commanded, "you stay away from him!" Hiccup shouted, stepping in front of Toothless.
The Hunters swatted him away like he was afly. Hiccup crashed to the floor as pain bloomed and buried itself in his face, he could tell it was going to bruise. Regardless he recovered fairly quickly, or tried to at least, he wasn't quick enough.
The Hunters shoved Toothless into a second cage just as the Flight Master clamped a hand onto his shoulder to hold him back, "You keep it feisty. I like that," he smirked, Hiccup shoved him off.
"Alright, he fought for you, made you a nice fortune, now you need to let us out of here," he commanded, standing up and sneaking a fish into his pocket for later.
"Why would I do that?" The Flight Master chuckled, "When word gets out that I have Furies, vikings will come from all over to see them fight. Night Fury," the Flight Master continued, turning to Toothless, "meet your next opponent: the Triple Stryke," he said, waving to the door.
Hiccup watched the gate rise open to reveal a dragon Hiccup had never seen in his life. It was a purple-ish color with yellow covering its underside. Its claws resembled a crab's and it had three tails, each one sporting a deadly stinger at the end of it like a scorpion.
"Wait,Furies?"
The Flight Master laughed before slamming the door behind him.
• •
"Eh, gotcha!" Tuffnut cheered as his sister and him snatched the Terrible Terror out of the air, they'd tailed it to get here. Astrid's idea. "Dragon fights? Hiccup and Toothless have been taken to dragon fights down there," she said, after reading it, which, despite the implication,cool.
"Forcing dragons to fight each other? That's inhuman!"Or that, that too.
"And people will go nuts when they find out it's a Night Fury that's fighting," Heather added in, in which Tuff and Ruff had already gone nuts… a long time ago. It was in their name and again,cool.
Of course they'd only go nuts on the inside, if the others found out it might ruin the moment and then they'd never get Hiccup or Toothless back.
"Why are we even discussing this? Hiccup and Toothless need us! Ergo, we go. As in, dragons blazin'," Snotlout insisted.
"We can't do that, Snotlout. You saw that chain dome, there's no way we can get in there!" Heather scolded. She made a pretty good point.
"So what do we do?"
"We'll use our superior slothing skills," he said, already thinking of the perfect plan to get them inside, he was sure his sister was thinking the same, "no offense,"offense, "but yoursleuthingskills have not gotten us very far," Fishlegs pointed out, but Tuff had faith that if they just gave them a chance it'd be great.
"Don't worry Fishlegs. Remember, we're masters of infiltration," he reminded them, remembering the time he snuck into Outcast Island very successfully if he did say so himself. Regardless his sister and him flew off to go do what they do best: Infiltrate.
"Oh, this is gonna go well…"
• •
Jack had watched as the "Triple Stryke" as the Flight Master had called it, seriously he could hear him shouting all the way over here, ran around the dome looking mildly happy, only stopping to occasionally look longingly at the sky.
Jack felt a pang of sympathy come over him. Though now he was back in the cell sleeping in his usual corner, he couldn't help but feel bad, not only for the Triple Stryke but for the rest of the dragons that had probably been here months if not had he and Val missed this place?He wondered.
Artemis whined from her corner, next time he saw the Flight Master he'd make sure they do something about the Dragon Root, whatever it took, because Jack never thought he'd see the day where a white dragon could lookpale.
Artemis was curled up in the corner of the room looking like she'd rather be anywhere else than stuck here feeling like shit. Jack stood up slowly, and stepped forward with caution, the chain around his ankle rattling harshly against the ground as he went until he felt it go taught. He knelt down facing the Light Fury and tried again, "Arti..?" He prodded softly as he watched her slowly, painfully slowly, lower her tail fin to look at him. Her pupils were rounded and she looked as if the last of her fight had drained out of her completely. She crooned, his dragon was dying. Jack felt himself clench at his arm to keep from sobbing. "I'm sorry," was all he said, reaching out as if he could comfort her.
The gate rose open to allow the Flight Master and four Dragon Hunters to enter, two of them pushing a Razorwhip in with spears. "Take the Fury and Rider," he ordered.
"If you want her you're going to have to fucking kill me," he snarled, going to stand in front of his dragon. He eyed the Dragon Hunters as they crept forward.
They seemed to be completely ignoring him, walking past him to reach that won't do,he thought, pulling one back just enough to shift his weight and make him fall. They may be heavy, but their center of balance was shit.
The Hunter hit the ground and Jack wasted no time jumping over him and wrapping the chain connecting him to the wall to strangle the man. He knelt behind the choking Hunter with a glare. "Let us go or I'll strangle him," he threatened, he hated to admit it but at this point he was desperate. Would he actually do it?
All the Hunters did was raise their spears above his dragon, "strangle him and your dragon dies, money be damned, I'm sure Ryker will forgive my necessity when I give him the one legged brat and his Night Fury," the Flight Master replied easily. He had a point.
For a tense moment Jack let the man choke, flitting his eyes from the spears to Artemis to the Flight Master. Then he let the chain fall as well as the Hunter he had dragged to the wall. He fell letting out choked gasps as Jack wondered if he went a little overboard. Then again, it was him or Artemis. He sighed, the men lowered their spears and dragged his dragon away to the cell opposite to his own.
He felt a hand on his arm, "I can walk," he growled, shoving it off. They started to cross the arena. "You, Flight Master," he called from the back, "you said that as long as my dragon doesn't die, Viggo and Ryker won't find out. Well how do you expect to explain how my dragon died because you shot her with Dragon Root one too many times?" He queried. To his relief the Flight Master actually seemed to think it over. "You have to cure her," he pushed, still slightly heaving from the stress and anger of earlier.
For a moment they only kept walking, it was just long enough to make Jack feel as if they really were just going to let his dragon die.
"Fine," the Flight Master sighed, "you," he turned to one of the Hunters, "get the antidote," Jack felt his shoulders relax as the Hunter ran off to do what he was ordered. The relief however lasted no more than a second as the doors to the other cell groaned open. Time to meet Hiccup, officially this time.
• •
Hiccup tentatively held the fish out to the Monstrous Nightmare and saw as its pupils dilated at the free food. Just as tentatively, it took it… only to spit it back out again, right, because that was normal. He only had a split second to register the fish on the floor before he was forced to doge out of the way of the Nightmare's fire. Hiccup jumped out of the way and hoped he didn't yelp at the new found heat in his clothes.
"I've seen this before. Hang on," he said, bending down to get the fish again and trying to avoid looking away from the Nightmare in hopes of not becoming Grilled Viking. "Okay, call me old-fashioned but, I'd prefer not to lose another limb," he joked, holding the fish out to the Nightmare again to keep its mouth open.
He took a moment to search the dragon's mouth for what he was looking for when he found it. A metal hook was lodged into the dragon's gum obviously causing more than a little irritation.
Hiccup swiftly stuck his hand into the dragon's mouth and unlodged the hook, throwing it to the ground. He ducked brasing himself for another don't fry me,he thought and waited for a blast that never came. He looked up, the Nightmare seemed to smile at him, "that was the problem," he concluded, throwing the fish into the dragon's mouth. It nuzzled him in appreciation as Hiccup comforted him.
Next he moved onto the Deadly Nadder. Said dragon was much less enthusiastic to see him and immediately snarled, spreading its wings to make itself seem bigger, "it's alright, it's okay," he tried, "I'm just gonna find the blind spot and…" he paused for a moment, stepping into the blind spot of the Nadder. From there he proceeded to scratch its chin. The Nadder quickly leaned into his touch, "see? I'm not gonna hurt you," he said, scratching some more.
Hiccup whipped around to the sound of the door opening, the sight he saw however was not one he expected, "chain the Fury over there," The Flight Master commanded, pointing to the corner that the Razorwhip had been in previously. Hiccup felt his anticipation rise, "As for you…" he said, turning to him, "meet your new cellmate, Vorder," the Hunters pushed in a new person… or should he say a familiar person. Hiccup felt his brain kind of… reboot because that wasJackthey were manhandling, in Vorder's armor no less.
"Oh, and tie his hands this time, this one's… creative," the Flight Master said, turning to did that mean?Three Hunters lumbered over this time, one carrying a bowl of a familiar looking purple solution and the others a rope. One of them seemed to have a bruise around their neck that Hiccup did not necessarily want to question.
Jack stepped back and Hiccup could only watch, speechless as they held him down and tied his hands. Jack cursed as they pulled away and turned their focus on…Jack's was still processing. One Hunter held a spear over the Light Fury while the other slowly took off the muzzle. The Light Fury immediately snarled and thrashed around in a panic.
"Artemis no," Vorder– Jack –told them firmly and the dragon seemed to stop, whining before flopping their head onto the ground like they no longer had the energy to keep it up. The third Hunter poured the antidote and just like that they muzzled the dragon once again and began to leave.
"You better hope that works," Jack warned, glaring holes into their backs as they left.
Hiccup felt like he'd just been robbed of something. Jack, hadn't necessarily lied if he thought about it, just evaded telling the full story. Then again, that might as well be just as bad. Even through this however, Hiccup couldn't find it in himself to feel betrayed, just worried. Worried for Jack. How long had he been here? Was his dragon okay? WasJackokay?
He slowly realized he should probably ask that if he wanted to know so badly, "are- are you okay?" Despite the non threatening question Jack tensed, looked away and never responded.
"Jack…" he started but it fell halfway through and landed somewhere in the pit of his stomach. He was at a loss for what to do. Did Jack think of him as an enemy?Of course he does you idiot! The first time you met him you tried to shoot him.
Hiccup winced, that was definitely going on top for theworstfirst impression he's ever had, and he'd thought it'd been quite literally running into Jack at the Northern Markets but nope! Gods, he and the Riders had been threatening him for months, trying to track him down. And Jack obviously wouldn't listen to him.
He looked around wanting to look at anything but the source of his shame right now, which was mostly himself but Jack more than worked as well.
His eyes latched onto the hook that was left forgotten on the ground. The chains rattled, cutting through the silence as he moved, Jack seemed unbothered by this however and stubbornly glued his gaze to the floor. In fact he only looked up when Hiccup sat down near him and slid the hook over like a peace offering. Hiccup didn't want him thinking it was a weapon and that he was going to shiv him or something. Was "shiv" the right word for that?
Jack looked from the hook to Hiccup with a questioning yet tired look on his face, "It's for the uhm… the binds," he explained awkwardly, gesturing around equally as awkwardly before actually blushing from embarrassment and quickly setting his hands down. He cringed slightly. Jack just seemed to become more confused, "why are you helping me?" He asked under his breath, but even with the silence Hiccup wasn't sure he heard right, "huh?" He questioned.
"Why would you help me?" he asked, a little more confident this time around. For a moment he didn't know how to respond, he only knew he wanted to help in any way he could. Then multiple reasons came to him, "you helped me, and my friends. I think you deserve a little help especially since we're the only ones in here," he finished more confidently than when he started.
Jack seemed to look angry? For a moment Hiccup panicked a little thinking he'd said something wrong and he'd offended him somehow. "Iliedto you," Jack argued, looking at Hiccup like he just said the sky was pink unironically. Was Jack expecting Hiccup to hurt him because he lied? Hiccup's heart sank like a ship.
Jack wasn't thinking Hiccup was going to try something because the Riders weren't too fond of Vorder, but because he'd lied to him. It was bittersweet in a way, Jack was more worried about Hiccup's feelings being hurt than his own safety. At least that was what he was getting from this interaction, for all he knew Hiccup could just be absolutely horrid at reading the room.
He moved slightly closer as if he was approaching a cornered animal. When Jack didn't move away Hiccup slid even closer and picked up the hook to start cutting the ropes. When Jack also didn't pull away at Hiccup's touch he took that as permission to hold his arm so he could cut easier. Jack was tense the entire time however. Hiccup made sure to keep his movements pretty obvious for his sake.
He sat back down when he was done to watch Jack silently rub his wrists, "thank you," he whispered, "I'm sorry," he added quietly, looking smaller than Hiccup thought possible, and Jack was already smaller thanHiccup, the person whose name was an insult to how small they were.
For this reason or another Hiccup found himself with the urge to hug him, to see if he could get the tension out of his shoulders. But he held himself back because Jack looked sotired.
"I know you lied, but why?" he asked slowly, Jack was silent for so long Hiccup thought he'd reverted to straight up ignoring him. "I didn't… want to get you involved," he answered.
"Involved…? Involved in what?" He asked, thoroughly confused. Jack was quiet for at least another three minutes, in which he frequently opened his mouth to say something before backtracking and closing it again. "In me," he eventually said, "in the Dragon Hunters."
"Jack, I'm already involved with the Dragon Hunters."
"Not the ones you fight," he snapped. That wasn't good, more Dragon Hunters? "Other than Viggo and Ryker?" Hiccup asked, because that couldn't be Archipelago is huge, what makes you think there won't be other Dragon Hunters?His brain argued for him. "Yes," was all Jack gave to clarify. "Well- who–
"Ijustsaid I couldn't tell you," Jack snapped again, and it shouldn't have hurt as much as it did… but it did. "I know but–
Jack interrupted him again with a sigh, "I'm sorry, but you're already dealing with Viggo and Ryker and it's only one group of Dragon Hunters anyway. Plus Val won't give me any details. She doesn't necessarily want me dealing with them either, all I know is the usual plan for taking out their bases and ships, okay?"
With that, Hiccup decided to spare the questions for later because honest to the Gods Jack looked like he was ready to collapse and clearly Hiccup had pushed it a little too far if his tone was anything to go by. "Sorry, I know you're tired… you should go to sleep," he suggested which caused Jack to respond with a scoff.
Hiccup decided to finally get a good look at Jack. He looked exhausted, his eyes were lidded and he laid his head back against the stone wall looking like how his dragon did, like he didn't have the energy to hold his head up anymore. "Prone to nightmares?" He asked, remembering their first encounter out of armor, but Jack turned to him, surprised. "You remembered that?" He asked.
"Yeah, why wouldn't I?" Hiccup asked back as he switched focus onto Jack's armor. It was mostly white but like the man's dragon it had pink undertones and seemed to sparkle like snow. It appeared to have multiple layers, one probably more flexible than the other.
"I don't know, maybe becauseIdidn't even remember saying that until now?" Jack retorted, though his expression was telling, Hiccup could almostseethe guarded stronghold being built behind Jack's eyes. "I pay attention to my friends, Jack," he told him, now he was slightly worried.
"Why would you be worried?"
Were they friends? Well, he'd already said it and he definitely found Jack funny and kind if his letters and reassurances from said letters were anything to go by. He knew Jack wasn't telling him the full story, maybe he was lying even now, maybe he was part of something really dangerous, but his intentions were in the right place. Hiccup didn't really know how he knew but he did. Plus, what was the Barbaric Archipelago without a little danger? Hel, any danger at all?
Jack took a moment to process that, "well, 'friend' implies that you trust me," he said.
"I do trust you," Hiccup told him like it was the easiest thing in the world, maybe it didn't mean much coming from him, after all, he was known for trusting too easily and paying the price. But Jack had something different about him. Hiccup couldn't define what that something was exactly but it was there. Thankfully he had other reasons than just "a hunch".
"You saved my life multiple times and Astrid's," he continued, "if your intentions weren't in the right place, why would you go so far?" He argued, moving to sit just a little closer and watched as Jack's face morphed from a strange mix of hopeful yet resigned to all out scared. Hiccup wanted to ask about that one, desperately, but before he could, a whine emitted from the far corner.
Both heads snapped to Artemis who seemed to have woken up in the short time they were talking. Jack immediately got up and rushed forward to his dragon's side. Toothless soon followed and so did Hiccup.
Jack smiled as his dragon nuzzled into him, finally seeming to be doing better than before. It made Hiccup smile too. That is until the Fury spotted him.
She growled, deep and low and it was enough to make Hiccup take an instinctive step back. "Arti…" Jack scolded, causing her to stop but her sharp blue eyes never left his forest green ones.
What broke the staring contest was Toothless of all people. He crooned, catching the Light Fury's attention. Toothless smiled in greeting, seeming to calm Artemis significantly. Meanwhile Jack looked on first in surprise then in realization before he smiled and rolled his eyes.
"What?" Hiccup asked, as Jack stood up to meet him. "I think… our dragons have met before," he said, which definitely wasnotwhat Hiccup was thinking. "What?When…? Where?!"Jack laughed for a moment before just looking at Hiccup and smiling mischievously. It took him a minute before realizing, it could've been atanypoint.
Artemis could turn invisible, she didn't need Jack to fly, she could've flown over to the Edge at any point to visit Toothless. Or they could've met at any point during Jack and Hiccup's meeting at the Northern Markets, Hel they could've met during–
Suddenly there was a memory that had him throwing more than a few things into a new perspective, "Hiccup? What's wrong?" Jack asked him, now looking more worried than mischievous, "nothing it's just… back at Grimora Island, me and Toothless fell into the lake. Something pulled us out, was that you?" He asked, and noticed how Jack looked vaguely surprised, "no, that was all Arti. Though I did ask her to stay behind just in case…" he explained, now looking sheepish.
"Of course you did, why would I ever expect you to run away like I told you to?" He said sarcastically, he guessed it was better than blatantly staying behind but why did Jack have to be one ofthosepeople?
You'reone of those people, his thoughts reminded him. "I'm not going to just let you hold off an entire flock of aggressive dragons on your own," Jack said, lightly shoving his shoulder. "My hero," he deadpanned, but smiled and Jack smiled back.
Toothless pushed into Jack's hand for his attention, effectively fixing Hiccup's perception of time. He'd been staring again, tracing the same path along Jack's sharp features only now with the addition of his smile. What was up with him? Maybe he just wanted to draw the guy, he seemed like someone Hiccup would enjoy , that was it.
• •
"Welcome! Welcome! Great fight tonight! Great fight!" He greeted, stretching a grin across his face that was more genuine than any grin he's ever had in the last five years.
This was the night, the night his life would finally turn around, and there was nothing thosestupidDragon Riders could do to stop , he registered, setting up his expression so hopefully this time it wouldn't falter.
His plan was simple: climb the ranks, train the damn dragons and then finish off the Grimborn Brothers for what they did. The beasts listened to him in this place, this tiny island which was perfect for trapping people so they couldn't escape. Not only that but he hadconnections.
"Well, this is promising!" Ryker said, looking actually impressed,yes!
"I have a new challenger for the Triple Stryke, the most formidable opponent," he promised, grooming Ryker to hopefully hand in a promotion. "Come now brother, let's not hold up the show," Viggo stepped in, Flugari felt both fear and anticipation. He refused to think about the ways this could go wrong, it was his only chance.
They strolled over to the arena where viewers were already cheering about the match begging for it to start, it was a stark contrast to the usual insults and yawns and therefore a nice one. "So, do tell, what kind of dragon do you have planned for this fight, Flugari," he remembered his name,Viggoremembered his name.
Did he know? No he couldn't, "You shall see," he told him, turning around before he could see the impatient and suspicious scowl he knew was there.
"Okay, infiltration plan number 34, you got it?" He instructed carefully,somehowthey always messed this part up. Probably becausesomeonenever remembered the actual plan. "34, copy that."
Yeah sure you do, what does "copy that" even mean?
They walked straight up to the Hunters like that was exactly where they needed to be. "Gentlemen, we are Thorston & Thorston," he started, coming back to back with his sister.
"Sleuths extraordinare," she finished, and Tuffnut started explaining, "We've been tailing a very dangerous suspect who is inside. If you help us, my good men, a hefty reward will be coming your way," he told them, pulling his best storytelling voice, or was he supposed to use an acting voice?
"Reward you say."
Whatever, it seemed to be working anyway, "Oh, yeah. Mad bricks of gold, my viking," he promised.
"Oh, yoo-hoo!" Ruff holered, coming up beside him andflirtingwith the Hunters. "What's wrong with you?" One of them asked and Tuffnut had to pull her away, "What are you doing?" He asked when he thought they were out of earshot. "Infiltration plan number 34, and it'sworking!"She boasted, shaking her– let's be honest –non-existent hips.
"Ruffnut, that's plan 43!" He said loudly before remembering to be quiet.
"Ah, no! Pretty sure it's 34!" She argued back.
"You and I need to have a discussion about our numbering system," he said, lowering his voice before turning around to face the Hunters again,guess we go with 43,he thought before copying Ruffnut, "Oh, boys! So, what do you say? Will you let us catch our suspect?" He heard Ruffnut face-palm to his right, though personally he'd say his acting was pretty good.
"Fine, you can go through, but I want the bricks first," the Hunter said.
"Sure, they are right over here," he told them, gesturing upwards where Barf and Belch were waiting with two large rocks in their mouths ready to drop them on the two Hunter's heads.
• •
"Ladies and gentlemen, this is the main event! Reigning champion, the Triple Stryke, versus the newcomer, the Night Fury!"
The roar from the crowd was loud enough to shake Hiccup awake, he shot up, "woah, woah, woah, hey," he registered Jack kneeling over him with a worried expression. "What– Toothless!" He remembered what happened, they'd tried to take Toothless, Hiccup got angry and they'd knocked him out in the effort. He immediately rushed to get a view of the fight, "Hiccup–
Toothless was shooting a blast at the champion dragon, the Triple Stryke, he seemed to have the upper hand, for now. "Hiccup," he felt a hand on his shoulder, bringing his attention over to Jack, "Toothless is ten times stronger than that dragon, he'll be fine," Jack told him like it was such an obvious fact Hiccup was stupid for thinking otherwise, and Hiccup found himself thankful that Jack washisfriend.
Suddenly the Triple Stryke's entire body weight hit the bars in front of him and he fell backwards at the force of it only to be caught by Jack's arm which had slithered it's way from his left shoulder to his right. He was pushed back up again with a look that said,"I told you so".
"So what do we do?" Jack asked.
"I thought I had a plan with the Razorwhip but that's obviously off the table," he said, that plan went out the window when Jack showed up. "Wait, can you get your dragon over here," he asked, and Jack motioned for Artemis. Hiccup made quick work of the muzzle, pulling it off with only a little bit of struggle, especially when said dragon was actively helping him.
"If we can get all the dragons plus yours to fire at her shackles we might be able to do the same for everyone else and get out of here," he explained and watched as Jack got the dragons to do just that. "Okay, and while we break down this 'dæm' door I'll distract them while you get Toothless's tail on?" He asked and Hiccup froze,right! I don't have Toothless's saddle bag, "that's not sarcasm by the way I'd actually do that," Jack assured him, probably thinking Hiccup's freeze meant something totally different.
"No it's not that, I was actually hoping the dragons would do that for us," he told him quickly remembering Jack's earlier moment of genius a few months ago, to which the man smiled, "taking pages from my book? Hiccup that's blatant plagiarism. And here I thought you were better than that," Jack teased, causing Hiccup to actually laugh despite the situation at hand. Yup, could totally get used to having Jack around.
A loud thud tore through the atmosphere turning their attention back to the fight, Hiccup stood as he watched his dragon emerge from behind the Triple Stryke's cart, eyes just as slitted as when Hiccup first met him, "There's only one way Toothless is gonna survive," he said, as he watched him lunge at the his opponent ready for the kill.
He heard the dragons take another shot at Artemis's shackles before–
"Hiccup! Yes!" That was Astrid, that wasAstrid. "Astrid!" He shouted more than thankful for the escape and the perfect timing.
They burst through the now broken door before stopping short at the sight of both Vǫrðr, or Jack, and the Light Fury. Heather recovered first, "Tail slice!" She shouted and Artemis's shackle broke easily at the Razorwhip's strike. Astrid was the next to recover, tossing over Toothless's saddle and its parts, "I'm going to need time to assemble it again," he said, frustrated.
"The other dragons, Artemis and I can buy you that time," Jack offered.
"And we can handle the people and the Hunters in the stands," Heather told him, her dragon breaking the other dragon's chains.
"Now, for the final strike!" They all turned towards the arena to see Toothless who had gained the upper hand again, lunging at the Triple Stryke teeth bared and ready to kill. Hiccup promised himself then that no matter what Toothless did in this situation Hiccup would never think of him any differently.
Then he stopped. Toothless instead sheathed his claws and fangs, and landed in front of the Triple Stryke instead, sparing its life. "We should get out of here, like, now," Jack reminded them, as Ryker and a set of Dragon Hunters came out of the cell opposite to them.
Heather and Astrid ran out to the rest of the Riders assuring them that they'd keep as many people as possible busy so Jack and him could make it out.
Hiccup looked over to Jack wondering how he'd be able to fly without a saddle before Jack seemed to read his mind, "Artemis and I know how to fly without a saddle we'll be fine, plus I said I'd buy you time."
With that impressive piece of information, Hiccup stood with Jack by his side as the dragons around them fired down the cell doors. "This ends now!" He shouted as the three dragons rushed out attacking the remaining Hunters, the Monstrous Nightmare lighting itself ablaze, the Deadly Nadder shooting spines at the Hunters with crossbows and Artemis hissing and growling alongside Toothless. It left only Ryker in the arena, "I would get out of here if I were you," he told him, and watched as Ryker slowly backed away towards the exit.
"Hiccup!"
Then he was on the ground groaning as the back of his head throbbed. "What–
He turned his head to see Artemis and Jack recovering from whatever just happened. An arrow was embedded into the ground where Hiccup wasjuststanding, Jack just saved his life,again. He was going to have to add another one to his list of debts he owed to Jack.
"I'd be careful with that one Saxon, he has a knack for wearing down his supporters."
Viggo.
He'd forgotten about Viggo, and in any case,what did that mean?
He shook his head, deciding to not think too hard about it right now and rushed over to Jack who looked like he was still recovering, "what's wrong are you okay?" He managed, before spotting the arrow that was jutting out of Jack's armor, "I'm fine, scale armor," he said before snapping the arrow shaft and getting back up.
Hiccup didn't fully believe him, he held him there for a moment to look for any signs he was lying, "shouldn't you be getting Toothless's saddle on?" He asked, and Hiccup knew he had a point, they couldn't stay there any longer, "fine, but you and I are talking about this after," he said before running off to get Toothless ready to fly.
• •
Jack stood there watching as the metal dome lifted from above them and the dragons that had been held here for so long flew away into freedom. It was a good sight to see, he should be happy, instead he was uncomfortable, not mentally but physically. He felt like he couldn't get a full breath into his lungs and the little cut the arrowdidleave was hurting way more than it should for something so shallow.
"Jack!" He heard and turned to see Heather accompanied by Astrid and their dragons throw something towards him. He caught it and realized that it was everything the Hunters had confiscated. He looked back up at them with thanks before turning to re-equip Artemis's saddle and pocket everything.
He sheathed his daggers and staff before attempting to get on Artemis, it hurt more than it should, he paused waiting for the pain in his chest to subside along with the odd feeling of nausea before trying again and getting it right this time.
Artemis looked back at him, worried. "I'm okay," he told her quietly, maybe if he ignored it, it would go away. Hiccup did say they would talk about it later but Jack wasn't one to stick around. He thought he'd head back to the Sanctuary instead. He just needed to split off from them before they noticed.
He heard Hiccup cheer when the Triple Stryke flew into the air like the rest, bringing Jack back to the present, "c'mon guys, let's go home," he told them before mounting Toothless and taking off after the Triple Stryke, Jack followed them.
In the end, Jack had two days to sneak away from them and head back to the Sanctuary. In the end, that's not what happened.
His plan was to sneak away the first time they set up camp for the night, he hoped to get away when no one was looking and everyone was asleep, but that was before he suddenly felt weak and light headed. His stomach churned with nausea. There was a hand on his arm, steadying him before he even knew he was falling off his dragon.
"Jack?" A voice asked,Hiccup, he registered, he groaned in response when his head added a headache to his list of 'that's probably not good'.
"What's wrong?" He heard someone else ask, maybe Astrid but it could've been Heather. It took all of Jack's willpower not to just throw up, instead he held his breath and counted until the nausea receded from its twentieth wave that evening. He thought he was sweating too but he couldn't be sure because he was pretty cold all the same.
"I don't know, he was shot earlier–
"And you two didn't think to tell anyone?!"
"He said it was fine!"
"And you believed him?"
"Well no but–
The voices faded as Jack's tiredness grew into an unbearable urge to sleep and he slipped into unconsciousness.