A/N: Sorry for the sporadic updating, I'm a little behind in my writing lately. However, I am still working on all of my fan fictions and none of them will ever be abandoned, no matter how long it has been since they've been updated. This story just happens to be the one that had a chapter ready to go, for today's update. Other chapters for other stories are in progress.
Look out for more of "Snoggletog Showdown" (one of my other stories) come December. If you haven't given it a read yet, you should! That story takes place in the "Deviation" AU.
Enjoy the new chapter and have a Happy Thanksgiving!
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Taking Action
They were all alert as they moved as swiftly as they could through the forest, finally arriving at the clearing Stoick had in mind. Once there, they quickly set down the wood and branches they had collected along the way, Valka kneeling to arrange them in a neat pile.
"Are we sure this will draw them out?" Hiccup expressed his doubts as he surveyed the trees surrounding them.
"It's our best shot at luring them out." Valka answered, balancing the pieces of wood against each other to make a pointed tent for a large fire. "I've done this before. A fire will make them think that we let our guard down in order to cook or keep warm, a fire indicates people."
"If they don't come and we see them at their hut, then we won't proceed." Stoick assured his son. "The fire won't spread, not in this clearing. It'll burn out on its own if someone else doesn't put it out."
The clearing was mostly dirt and rock, the only plants nearby were the trees that were a good distance away. Standing in the middle of the clearing made Hiccup feel exposed and vulnerable. However, it was the best chance they had of getting what they needed and putting their enemies at a disadvantage. They had to take the risk, to attempt their plan.
"Do you have the flint in here?" Valka asked once she was done constructing her fire pit, starting to dig around in Hiccup's satchel that she was wearing around her shoulders. Hiccup did have flint, but didn't want to bother with it and the time it sometimes took to get a spark. In answer, Hiccup drew his Dragon Blade and set it alight. Valka backed up as Hiccup used the fire that was consuming his blade, to light the large pile of wood. Once done, he retracted the blade and put his sword back in its place at his thigh.
"That should do it." Valka said. "I used lots of fresh leaves to make it smokey."
Sure enough, as the fire began to grow, it became very smokey. If the smoke couldn't be seen from a distance, the smell of burning leaves would certainly lead anyone right to it.
"We'd better go." Stoick began to lead the way back into the trees and out of sight. From there, it was Hiccup's turn to lead. He was the only one who had been to the insane family's makeshift house. This time around, Hiccup knew better than to use the path he had taken last time, the one with overgrown plants that made lots of noise as you walked through them. He also couldn't lead them down any of the worn paths that had been created by their enemy's coming and going, or they risked the chance of running into them as they left the house to track down the fire Valka had just built.
Hiccup led his parents up and along a steep hill that he had seen before, one that eventually led to a ridge where you could look down on the house from a distance. It would allow them to observe the house before continuing with the plan, to make sure no one was home. Once at the top, the three of them crouched down to look.
From far away, the house made of recycled planks of wood, didn't look like it should be standing. It tilted to the side, just a little. It looked run down and abandoned, though there were people living there. There were even more piles of things outside the house than before, since they had gone back to the ship to loot it further since Hiccup had last been there.
"How can anyone live like that?" Valka asked in a whisper, even though they were far enough away not to be heard. She wore a grimace on her face, obviously disgusted.
"They aren't exactly in need, not with all of those goods." Stoick observed.
"They have more than they need, they just let the rest of it go to waste." Hiccup said, having been inside the house before and close enough to see the state of things.
Their attention was suddenly drawn to the house as a couple figures came running out of it, they had noticed that a fire was burning somewhere on the island. Then another two figures appeared, running after the other two. It was the parents they hadn't yet had the chance to observe up close.
"They're gone." Valka began to stand. "We only have a short amount of time."
As planned beforehand, the three descended the ridge. There were plenty of handholds for them to use to climb down and it was the quickest way down at this point, as opposed to going back down the hill and all the way around.
Hiccup hadn't been looking forward to this part, afraid that his leg would give out or cause him trouble as he put weight on it as he descended.
Valka was the quickest of the three— despite the injury to her wrist— accustomed to climbing, and being very agile. She had to pause and shake her wrist out a few times, but still made it to the bottom first. Once she reached the bottom she looked around to make sure it was safe, then looked back up at her family. Stoick reached the bottom next and lent a hand to Hiccup, to help him land without putting too much pressure on his stump.
"Whatever happens while we're out there, you both know where to meet back up?" Valka asked, just to make sure. She didn't like the idea of them being separated, but there was always a chance that would happen. Stoick and Hiccup nodded.
They couldn't retreat back up the cliff face, not when they were going to have their hands full of supplies and hopefully some weapons for defending themselves.
"We meet back up at the river, near that alcove." Hiccup answered. Ideally, if they could get what they needed and escape, they would be able to hole up in the alcove Stoick had told them about until help could come. But that all depended on the success of this mission and their ability to not be followed back to their meet up spot.
Satisfied that they all knew the plan, Valka took the lead as they jogged to the house, now out of view as they had descended the ridge and were no longer on higher ground. Once they reached the edge of the tree line, the open space around the house right in front of them, they paused cautiously, listening for any sounds of people or looking for signs of anyone, in case some of them had returned. All seemed clear.
Stoick grabbed the first weapon he found, a rusty ax sitting atop a crate, and took his position to stand guard. Valka immediately dumped a basket of foreign fruits that looked to be going bad, and used it to hold the supplies she was gathering for them. She also had Hiccup's satchel so she could tuck supplies inside it as well. Hiccup took a deep breath and approached the house once more, not particularly looking forward to stepping foot inside again. His job was to gather anything of use from inside and then set the house on fire.
With a last look behind him at his parents, Hiccup stepped foot inside the home, that eerie feeling consuming him once more. There was something off about the house, something that put Hiccup on edge. The smell was still lingering, but not quite as strong as before and Hiccup wondered if they had finally disposed of the trader's body.
This time around, Hiccup observed the items inside the house more closely. It seemed that they kept the more valuable things inside. There were trinkets, gold pieces, unique armor, and gaudy weapons. Nothing that Hiccup or his parents needed to have the best chance of survival until help came. All of it was worthless to them and doing the people who lived there no good, as it all collected dust while sitting in the house.
Hiccup picked up a piece of the armor, wondering if it would be useful. Turning it over in his hand, something nagged at the back of his mind. He'd seen armor like this before...
At the sound of a creak, Hiccup whipped his head around, eyes wide. He stood frozen for a few moments, waiting for another sound, but only silence followed. It was probably just a loose piece of wood.
Turning his attention back to his task, Hiccup set the spiky shoulder armor back down, deciding to look a little longer before finding something flammable to start a fire. The burning home would distract their enemies long enough for them to get away and escape to the place where they would hide out. It would also put them at a disadvantage and destroy a good majority of their supplies.
Eyes roaming the main room of the house, Hiccup's attention was drawn to a corner of the room. Valka's staff was leaning against a wall. Face lighting up for a moment, Hiccup quickly took the staff in hand, having found at least one thing that had made entering the house worth it. He wondered if anything else of theirs had made it inside and decided that it would be worth it to look in the remaining room he hadn't yet entered. He would not be going back into the room where the body had been last time, that wasn't worth it.
As Hiccup stepped in front of the remaining, dim room, he paused. The eerie feeling had increased and something told him that entering that room was a bad idea. For a moment, he battled with himself. The whole place gave off a bad feeling, it was just a room, probably filled with stuff just like the rest of the house. Hiccup took a step forward and paused again. Something was off, something was wrong.
Deciding to listen to his instincts, Hiccup stepped back and squinted into the darkness of the room. It almost seemed like there was something there that hadn't been before. It was like he could almost see a dark silhouette standing in the doorway of the room.
Hiccup felt a shiver go down his spine as he realized that he could hear breathing and the dark shape had just moved. Someone else was in the house.
A soft, deep chuckle came from the room, causing Hiccup to tense.
"I couldn't believe it when my daughter told me your name." A deep voice said from the shadows. Hiccup held his mom's staff in front of him in defense, narrowing his eyes as he tried to figure out where he had heard that voice before.
"Surely, it was a coincidence." The voice came again, though he remained in the darkness and out of sight. "But 'Hiccup' isn't that common of a name, and when my daughter brought back your dragon... then, then I knew. It really was you. I left with them to head to the fire, so I could finally face you again, but then it occurred to me. Hiccup Haddock is tricky, so I returned here."
The shadowy figure lifted his arm, his hand and the small cage it was holding coming into view in the main room where sunlight streamed in through the slats between worn wood planks.
"Sharpshot..." Hiccup lowered the staff just a little, as his attention was captured by the little dragon, laying inside the metal cage. He still couldn't tell whether or not his dragon friend was alive.
"Is this what you're looking for, Dragon Rider?" The voice became louder and angrier, causing Hiccup to raise the weapon once more, attention drawn back to the threat in front of him.
"Who are you?" Hiccup demanded, mind still trying to piece together the familiarity of the voice and that armor even as he was distracted by the desire to hold Sharpshot to him and see if he was okay.
"Someone you wronged." The arm was lowered and Sharpshot was no longer in view. "You and your friends took away everything, wouldn't just let us do our work."
Something suddenly clicked in Hiccup's mind, sending him reeling. He knew who the man was... but how?
Finally stepping forward, the man's face came into view, worn and older than Hiccup remembered— his eyes more crazed and murderous than they ever had been.
"Ryker." Hiccup breathed out, still shocked to be faced with a man he was sure drowned because of the Submaripper, when he had taken over command of the Dragon Hunters and betrayed his own brother, Viggo.
"I nearly died, because of you and my brother." Ryker took another step forward and Hiccup was able to see that he had a sword in his other hand.
"You betrayed Viggo first." Hiccup felt the need to defend the man who had given his life to save him, in the end.
"He belittled me, always so cocky. He thought himself better that me, when I always gave him the benefit of the doubt, because he was my brother. I joined the Dragon Hunters so I could gain wealth, to provide for my family." Ryker seemed crazed, consumed by anger and a desire for a vengeance he'd been denied until that moment. "But when I made it back home? They were gone, cast out!"
"Your family is insane, why would any society of people want them?" Hiccup stated, regretting it as soon as the words left his mouth. Ryker growled and swung his sword. Hiccup barely had the chance to block the blow with his mom's staff, wincing as the sword put a nick in the wood.
"My wife is just misunderstood and my children are tough." Ryker defended his family. "No one will walk all over us, never again!"
Hiccup dodged another blow from the sword, things flying everywhere and landing with a crash as the blade missed its target and whacked things off of a shelf instead.
"We'll have everything we could ever want and nobody will get in the way. We've moved from place to place, cast out again and again, until landing here, and I won't let you take everything from me again!" Ryker sheathed his sword in a quick movement and then used the cage to swing at Hiccup. Unwilling to whack the cage away while Sharpshot was inside, Hiccup took the hit, trying to grab the cage in the process.
The metal of the cage whacked against Hiccup's arm, causing a bruise to form instantly from underneath the fabric of his clothes. When Hiccup grabbed the cage, Ryker pulled it back toward himself, tugging Hiccup along with it. Using his free hand, Ryker gripped Hiccup's neck with his hand as he came within reach.
Hiccup struggled, letting go of the cage so that he could try to get out of Ryker's tight grip, only to feel lightheaded as the hand around his throat tightened.
"Where's your Night Fury now?" Ryker asked with a smirk.
The hand around his throat only felt tighter as Hiccup stumbled back, nearly falling over as Ryker dragged him to the front door. Suddenly Hiccup felt himself falling backward as Ryker threw him to the ground.
It was much brighter outside and Hiccup gasped for air and coughed, hand rubbing at his throat as black spots competed with the brightness in his vision. He could hear voices calling out to him, distantly, as he recovered from being deprived of air. He vaguely realized that as he lay on his back, one arm splayed out beside him, that he could feel his mom's staff sitting in his open, left hand. Before his vision had cleared, Hiccup gripped the staff tight and swung it forward, at the dark blur that stood beside him.
Ryker crashed to the ground beside Hiccup with a growl of anger, immediately reaching for his sword in its sheath at his back, and swinging it down at Hiccup. Knowing that Ryker would retaliate, Hiccup rolled to the side, the staff tucked into his body, and managed to stand, though it took him a moment to steady himself.
As Hiccup oriented himself with his surroundings, having mostly recovered from being choked and thrown around, he could see the rest of Ryker's family had returned. Stoick and Valka were being threatened with weapons pointed at them by Ullr and Ryker's wife— a more mature and older looking version of Katla, and even more crazy. Sharpshot's cage had rolled to the side when Ryker had fallen, the Terror's limp body still unmoving. Hiccup's heart clenched at the sight, if his dragon was still alive, he needed help, soon.
"Daddy, don't kill him yet!" Katla ran to Ryker and clung to his arm that was holding the sword. Ryker only groaned in annoyance and shook his daughter away. After everything he'd been through, after things hadn't worked out between him and his younger brother, there were only so many things left that he really cared about— and vengeance on Hiccup was one of those things. His mind had deteriorated along with his life, and his psychopathic wife hadn't helped.
As Ryker raised his sword up to strike again, Katla ran in front of him, causing him to pull back at the last minute as she charged Hiccup. Caught unawares by Katla's bizarre behavior, Hiccup rolled to the side to dodge.
Katla didn't miss a beat, turning in an instant to face Hiccup again, and pulling out a dagger from its sheath on her belt. She swiped at Hiccup who twirled the staff and knocked the sharp weapon from her grasp.
"Stop losing your dagger!" Ullr admonished from his place, holding Valka back by aiming his bow and arrow at her. Katla glared at her brother, not appreciating him critiquing her fighting skills.
"You don't need it, just attack him!" The crazy mother shouted. She was holding the rusty ax Stoick had been wielding before, pointed at him. Stoick glared on from his place, watching with worry as Hiccup was tossed around and attacked. There was an arrow sticking out of the leather arm guard he wore, where he had taken a shot while fighting back against the ambush of the other three members of Ryker's family.
"Yrsa!" Ryker angrily got after his wife for encouraging their daughter. Katla had wanted to prove herself by hunting down the person she had been stalking for the past week, while they had been caught up with Ullr and his hunt. However, the moment that Ryker had realized just who it was that she was hunting, he wanted to take over.
Katla growled and lunged forward, fed up with her family and wanting to finally show them what she could do. Hiccup used the staff again, but this time to knock her aside and keep her at a distance.
"I thought you'd have gotten better at combat after all this time, especially since your Night Fury isn't here to save you." Ryker mocked, relenting and letting his daughter have a chance to get at Hiccup before he swooped in to finish him off. He had wondered where the Night Fury was before, but decided it didn't matter. So long as he could take Hiccup down, he would be satisfied.
Hiccup swatted Katla away again, trying to keep away from her as she continued to lash out at him like a crazy cat swiping its claws and threatening to bite— she was feral.
"She's just a little girl!" Hiccup expressed his moral dilemma at fighting Katla while holding an end of the staff pressed against her chest as she pushed against it and tried to get at him.
"She's not much younger than you were when I went up against you." Ryker smirked, remembering Hiccup's morals that always held him back and gave Viggo the upper hand. "And I had no qualms with trying to kill you. Katla can take it."
Katla swatted the end of the staff closest to her, out of the way, throwing Hiccup off balance, and lunged at him. She clung to him as he stumbled back and fell over, the staff landing a few feet away.
Hiccup used his forearms to protect his face as Katla straddled his waist and tried to claw at him, intending to give him some scratches that matched the ones Sharpshot had adorned her face with. Irritation growing at not being able to get at him and at having lost her dagger first thing, Katla gripped one of Hiccup's arms and bit down.
Letting out a brief cry of pain, Hiccup drew in his free arm then struck Katla in the nose with a fist. She instantly let go of Hiccup's arm and gripped her nose that was now bleeding, falling backward as Hiccup pushed himself up to sit and shoved her off of himself.
Despite Katla's craziness and her intent to hunt him down, Hiccup couldn't help the quick pang of guilt he felt at striking a girl younger than him, it felt wrong, even if it was justified.
When Katla went down, Ryker was quick to respond, looming over Hiccup, who was still on the ground, with his sword held high over his head.
"No!" Valka shouted, no longer caring about the arrow pointed at her, not if her son was about to be killed. Stoick took a chance, catching the ax that Yrsa swung at him, just below the blade and on the wooden handle, pulling it out of her grip and pushing her aside. He looked at his wife, who still had an arrow pointed at her, and Hiccup who was about to get sliced by a sword, and knew he was going to go for Hiccup. However, before anyone could take action, Katla once again stood in Ryker's way.
"Wait!" Katla, still holding one hand to her nose, tried to get in her father's way. "You want him to suffer, don't you? He doesn't deserve such a quick death."
Intrigued by her words, Ryker lowered the weapon and gave his daughter a questioning look, urging her to go on.
"I came up with a plan." Katla said proudly. Stoick and Valka remembered her mentioning a plan before, one that involved Hiccup, they didn't like where this was going.
"It's a good plan, father." Ullr backed his sister. "It'll be fun."
Yrsa stepped away from Stoick, intrigued by the idea of extending the fun they were having by tormenting Hiccup Haddock and his family.
"What?" Ryker demanded, losing patience.
"We use Hiccup, to torment them." Katla pointed to Stoick and Valka. "Ullr and I will take him to one side of the island, and he'll suffer the whole time, while these two have a limited amount of time to try and get to him before he dies. While they try to get to Hiccup, you and mommy will be hunting them down. If they don't make it to Hiccup, they all die terribly, if they do... well, they can have Hiccup in whatever shape he's in and try to get off the island on their own."
"Why would I risk letting them all go?" Ryker didn't like that part of the plan, even if he liked the idea of Hiccup suffering.
"Because hope will only make everything that much worse for them when they lose— Hiccup will hope for his parents to survive and save him and his parents will hope to get to Hiccup in time." Katla answered with a mischievous smirk, having lowered her hand as the bleeding had slowed. She didn't seem particularly concerned with her injured nose.
Ryker took a moment to consider his daughter's plan. There really wasn't that much of a chance that Stoick and the woman he was told was Hiccup's mother— though he knew nothing about her— would be able to successfully get to Hiccup in time. They would be desperate to get to their son, which would only make things more challenging and fun. Stoick would suffer too, knowing that his son was in danger. The whole Haddock family would suffer and die and he liked that.
Still sitting on the ground, Hiccup did not like the considering expression on Ryker's face as he thought through his daughter's proposal. They had to get out of there or they were all going to die. Hiccup didn't know what exactly Katla had planned for him, but he knew it would be terrible, and he didn't like the idea of his parents being hunted by Ryker and Yrsa.
Slowly, Hiccup moved his hand to his thigh, where his Dragon Blade was. He wasn't far from the door of the makeshift house, and right next to the door was a stack of woven baskets, made out of something dry, and perfect for catching fire. While Ryker was busy thinking over Katla's plan, Hiccup took the weapon in hand.
What Hiccup had planned next was tricky, as soon as he withdrew the blade and lit it on fire, all attention would be on him. Hiccup wanted to snatch up Sharpshot's cage, his mom's staff, and escape with his parents. But it was going to be a close call.
Committing to his idea, Hiccup clicked the button and the blade shot out of its hilt, the fire whooshing as it consumed it. Katla turned to Hiccup with wide eyes and Ryker started to make a move. Before anything else could happen, Hiccup tossed the flaming blade into a basket. It instantly went up in flame, the fire spreading to the other baskets next to it, and starting to climb up the wall of the house, made out of dried out, old wooden boards.
Ryker and Katla looked to the flames and Hiccup took the opportunity to reach for the staff as he got up. He needed to get to Sharpshot next, but he was nearer the house and behind Ryker.
Seeing the house start to go up in flames, Ryker began to seethe. All of their valuables and greatest treasures were in there. It had taken months, nearly half a year of living on the island, to build up their stash. Frantically, Ryker kicked the baskets aside, away from the house as he tried to prevent the house from burning further, but it was in vain as the house was already burning steadily, the flame growing and spreading quickly.
The distraction of the fire allowed Valka the opportunity to grab hold of the arrow that Ullr had nocked so he was unable to let it loose. Taken by surprise, Ullr lost hold of his bow as Valka snatched it and used it to whack him on the side of his head. Ullr fell to the ground, stunned.
Stoick used the rusty ax he had back in his possession to take a swing at Yrsa. She stepped back, avoiding the swing and backing down, more concerned with their house and the belongings inside that were catching fire. She ignored Stoick in favor of trying to save their house and the treasures within.
"Hiccup, come on!" Valka called for her son. He didn't want to leave Sharpshot behind, again. However, glancing down at the poor dragon, tossed around inside the cage, Hiccup wasn't sure if he was alive. It didn't make sense to cage a dead dragon, but then Katla was obviously insane.
"Hiccup." Stoick called firmly, this was their chance to get away, Hiccup had bought them the opportunity to escape. However, Hiccup wasn't willing to leave just yet, not without attempting to save his dragon friend. Ryker was busy with the fire, all he had to do was go up behind him and snatch up the cage.
Ignoring his parents, Hiccup set his sights on Sharpshot and went for it. As Hiccup took a few steps forward, a twinge of pain in his left leg almost took him down. He couldn't help it as he stumbled and gasped in pain, alerting Ryker to his position.
Ryker glared down at Hiccup with an expression of hatred as he stood in front of his burning home. His wife and daughter were still tossing the crates and piles of things near the house further away from the flames, entering the home to save the things inside no longer an option.
"You've taken more from me than any other enemy I've faced." Ryker growled as Hiccup managed to stand up straight, though he was obviously favoring his left leg. "So don't think that you'll be getting the Terrible Terror back."
As Ryker took his place between Hiccup and Sharpshot, Hiccup knew that there wasn't a chance of him getting his dragon back in that moment. He could only hope that they wouldn't hurt his dragon further, as he stepped back.
"Hiccup." Stoick was suddenly behind his son, gripping his arm and pulling him behind himself. "Run."
Hiccup felt like he was betraying Sharpshot, again, as he got a last glimpse of the cage. The feeling of a hand taking his helped him tear his gaze away from his dragon. It was Valka, she had taken his hand and was starting to pull him along with her. Stoick had given them the chance to get a head start on escaping, and Valka was going to be sure that their son got out of there.
The sound of metal hitting metal met their ears as they started running in the direction of the river where they were all meant to meet up if they were separated. But as they neared the path they needed to take, Ullr suddenly appeared in front of them, looking a lot like his father as he seethed in anger, blood dripping from the side of his head.
Valka tugged Hiccup in the only direction left open to them, back the way they had come and toward the ridge they had climbed down from. There was the sound of someone growling in pain from behind them and both Valka and Hiccup felt a moment of fear before Stoick was suddenly behind them and ushering them along.
"You're okay..." Valka expressed relief as they all ran together. Stoick merely grunted a response, affirming that he was fine, more focused on getting his family out of danger.
It didn't take them too long before they came to a halt at the bottom of the rocky wall they had descended earlier.
The only way out was up.
Valka took her staff from Hiccup so his hands would be free and attached her weapon to a strap she had on her back, meant for holding the weapon in place. Then the three looked at each other briefly before starting the climb. The rock wall was littered with footholds and handgrips, being highly textured and rigid, making the climb that much easier for them.
The family of three were all panting after having run hard in their attempt to escape, and they progressed up the rock wall as fast as they could, searching out places to hold onto, gripping to the wall to the best of their ability.
With a grunt of effort, Stoick reached the top of the rock wall first, having ended up climbing a section that had the most frequent and assessable hand and foot holds. He heaved himself over the edge and turned around for his family.
Valka, being nimble and used to such terrain, was making quick progress, deterred only by her injured wrist that was hurting her more this time around. She pushed past the twinge of pain, and climbed as fast as she could. Just a little further and she could take Stoick's hand, then he could pull her up effortlessly.
Hiccup was struggling. He was practiced at hiding his discomfort when it came to his amputated leg, and his parents hadn't noticed his face shutter when he gave in to the pain searing up from his stump and through his thigh. The running had taken its toll on his already irritated amputation and climbing the rock wall was proving very difficult. Still, he forced his face into a neutral expression as he focused on taking it one step at a time.
"Almost there..." Stoick encouraged them both in a quiet voice. He had an arm dangling below, waiting to help whoever needed him first. He was getting anxious, not liking having his wife and son in such precarious positions and open to attack.
The sound of rustling bushes reached their ears and they all stilled as they listened, their heart rates picking up in fear. It was the Grimborns, they could hear their voices carrying toward them. Their pursuers were angry and knew what direction they had gone, they would be there in no time.
Hiccup and Valka snapped back into action, climbing with renewed determination. Stoick still reaching to help whoever he could grab onto first, itching to pull them both to safety. They were both so close, if he leaned, maybe he could snatch one of them up.
"Ah!" Hiccup gasped in pain, his eyes squeezing shut as he tensed and clung to the rock wall. His leg was cramping up and he could feel it through his entire left leg.
"Hiccup?" Valka looked at him in concern.
"What's wrong?" Stoick tried to lean further down to reach Hiccup, but it would be a stretch. Hiccup didn't answer as he continued to gasp and breath heavily through the pain.
"His leg..." Valka looked down, noticing as the prosthetic slipped from its hold as Hiccup tensed up. He was mostly holding himself up by just his hands and arms. She shifted her weight as she started to climb horizontally, hoping to reach her son so that she could help him ascend the cliff, just a little higher. Hiccup was to her right and she wanted to boost him up so that he wouldn't have to put pressure on his stump, but it required her to backtrack in order to get in position to aid him.
Stoick watched with wide eyes, hating that he couldn't do much to help from his position. He remembered how Hiccup had stumbled, back at the burning house, when he had tried to go for Sharpshot. He had favored his left leg after that and Stoick hated that he hadn't taken that into more consideration when they had started to climb. The thought of his son in pain spurred him on and Stoick readjusted his body so that it hung over the edge a little more, allowing him the reach he wanted.
Hiccup wasn't registering what was happening around him, completely consumed by the pulsing, tight pain in his stump and up through his thigh. He tried to breathe through it, tried to ignore it, but it was too intense.
As Valka started to step down, her weight had to be held up mostly by her arms, causing her wrist to twinge with pain again. Her hand slipped and she cried out as she felt herself fall. At the same time, Hiccup could bear the pain no longer. He felt the urge to grip onto his stump with his hands and curl up in a ball. As his muscles seized up again, shooting pain through his leg, he lost his grip and fell.
Stoick swung his arm, trying to reach for Hiccup's hand, but he was too late. Instead, he managed to grip onto Valka's wrist before she was gone too.
Hiccup landed hard, feet first— prosthetic and flesh crashing into the ground— a strangled cry leaving his lips. The pain was blinding as he crumpled the rest of the way down. He could barely breath. His prosthetic had jammed into his stump and he couldn't move. He panted and whimpered, drawing the attention of their pursuers, but he had no thoughts for anything other than his all consuming pain.
Nothing he did eased his suffering, he tried to push himself up only to collapse back down. His vision was blurry and he was pretty sure he could hear someone shouting at him. As he rolled onto his back, he squinted, seeing the blurry form of his mother being pulled up by his dad.
He had caught her.
That thought pierced through his heart. When it had come down to it, his father had chosen to save his mom. Hiccup felt a turmoil of emotions course through him. He felt selfish for having wanted his dad to save him instead, but felt like that was what a parent should do. He had clearly been struggling more than his mother. She could have made the climb a second time since they hadn't even been that high up, he clearly couldn't have— as he had barely been able to make the climb the first time. His parents had told him, had promised... if his prosthetic hindered him, they would protect him.
He blinked back tears, not sure if they were from the pulsing pain in his stump or from the sudden feeling of betrayal. He lay flat on his back, looking up at his parents, still blurred as his vision refused to focus and his head felt fuzzy. They were calling to him, probably about getting up. But he couldn't— though if he could, would it even be worth it to go to them? He had given them their second chance, he had put his trust in them, and they had failed him yet again. Did it even matter to them, what happened to him now?
No. Hiccup tried to push those thoughts back, he had to curb his tendency to think negatively. He couldn't give in to those despairing thoughts again. There had to be an explanation for what had happened. His parents loved him...
Something new suddenly filled his vision as a couple of their pursuers leaned over him, though he couldn't tell which ones they were, and he felt panic and dread wash through him. One of them said something with a sneer, the other laughed, Hiccup whimpered.
The world spun around him, dizzying him further, and he felt himself being dragged away. The movement jarred his prosthetic, hurting his stump even more, and he cried out again before giving in to the darkness.
—
A/N: Thanks for reading! We're finally seeing more action here.
Silver Sentinel: It had been a while since I showed what was going on back on Berk. There will be more of that to come. Hiccup had been having dreams about past dangerous or life threatening experiences, I decided it was about time I addressed that. Also, the dream was good for hinting about a certain someone showing up. Hiccup and his parents are doing better now, but there are still things that will come up over time that they'll need to talk about. Hiccup's confidence in his ability as chief was shot when things didn't go well and then both of his parents yelled at him, that's something that will have to be built back up.
JustANormalHTTYDFan: They made a plan, and it didn't quite work out the way they hoped. Now they need another plan, or at least, they need to survive long enough to save Hiccup, and get to him before his time runs out. Toothless needs to figure it out soon, doesn't he?
corbinace: That's a good point, their enemies could have been anywhere while they planned, but they didn't overhear any of the plan, even though it did go sideways. Hiccup and his parents didn't account for one of their enemies being someone they knew, who would remember that when it comes to Hiccup, there is always more to the plan.
CHSHicstrid: Hiccup is going to need to open up to his parents more as their relationship progresses. He's still prone to doubt, but now he is fighting against those negative feelings and trying to give his parents the benefit of the doubt. The movies and shows have been out for a while, so I've had plenty of time to watch through them all. That doesn't mean that I always remember everything from every episode and sometimes I have to go back and watch something so that I can reference it. I had to do that for this chapter! That's true, Astrid needs to figure out what Toothless is saying and listen to him!
KinglyRoom59363: Thank you! Haha, I guess it was kind of filler, but it is important for Hiccup and his parents to resolve some things. I had been putting his nightmares in the story for a while now, I figured I should try and resolve that too. And it had been a while since I showed what's been going on, on Berk. This new chapter was definitely not filler, I'm getting back into the plot and getting into more of the action. I hope you liked the new chapter!
KN Hudson: I know, poor Toothless! I don't think Hiccup and Toothless have been separated for this long before, and with their newfound connection, Toothless doesn't know what is going on, just knows that he needs to get to his best friend. I suppose Astrid could be a little more perceptive since she has known Toothless for so long, but it is also her first time being interim chief on her own and she doesn't want to let anyone down. She is torn between going after Hiccup and her new responsibilities. Hiccup really has been through a lot of potentially traumatic stuff, hasn't he? He went from being ignored and being on his own, the most traumatic thing in his life maybe being the occasional dragon raid, to going on adventures, going up against multiple bad guys, and nearly dying every other day. That's quite the change. Stoick is being more supportive of Hiccup and this time around maybe he'll stick with it. It's true though, Hiccup won't be alone when he's chief because he'll have Astrid, and Toothless, and his still-living father, and his mom. Just as it should be!
Ysabelle Anne R. Inoncillo: How did you like the new chapter? Sorry for the wait in updating. Which moment in the story are you referring to, when you wonder how things would have been different if Hiccup had told his parents that he was fine?
