A/N: The Healer's Island chapters will be coming to an end soon, then I promise some Hiccup and Toothless bonding, some Hicstrid, and more characters being featured in the story.

It might increase the reading experience if you listen to the song, "Something Wild" by Lindsey Stirling, before reading the chapter. You don't have to though.

Warning: Injury, violence, vague mentions of blood, and some major angst.

Deep Down

As silently as he could, Hiccup fell into step behind Ullr, mirroring his footsteps, biting back a groan of pain as he resisted the urge to fall back into a limp. After a few steps, however, Ullr caught on, sensing movement behind himself and turning around, bow and arrow poised to fire.

Hiccup was ready, as Ullr and his drawn bow spun around, nearly bumping right into him, Hiccup reached out— taking in a sharp breath of air as the movement to his left arm, caused the two sides of his cut to press against each other— and gripped the lower and upper limbs of the bow, gaining control over its movements.

Before Ullr had recognized what Hiccup was doing, he released his arrow on instinct, expecting to shoot at whoever had been behind him, however, instead, the arrow whizzed past Hiccup, and landed ineffectively, a distance away.

With his control over the bow, Hiccup twisted it down and out of firing position, hoping to be able to wrench it out of Ullr's grip and use it in his own defense, but Ullr reacted too quickly. Still holding the grip of the bow with his left hand, Ullr twisted his body and elbowed Hiccup in the side with his right arm, causing Hiccup to release the upper and lower limbs of the bow as he stumbled back a step, his amputated leg almost taking him down.

Having his bow back didn't help Ullr, though, as he was still too close to effectively shoot at his enemy. So, Ullr swung his bow at Hiccup, who dodged, then swung it again the other way.

As the bow swung past Hiccup once more, he moved in closer after dodging, and managed to get a hold of the bow. This time, however, Hiccup only managed to grip onto the string. It was good enough for Hiccup, though, so long as he could prevent Ullr from using the bow against him.

Hands on the upper and lower limbs of the bow, Ullr pulled back, stretching out the string as Hiccup firmly held onto it with both hands. When that didn't work to get his weapon back, he switched tactics, pushing Hiccup backward and into the trunk of a tree, trapping him against it by pressing the bow string against his chest.

Hiccup grunted in pain as his back hit the tree with force, then, let out another muffled sound in pain when Ullr kicked at his bad leg. He had hoped to hold out for longer during this fight, but didn't think he would win in a battle of strength to push back at Ullr and free himself. However, as Ullr started to smirk at his opponent's predicament, Hiccup's eyes were drawn to the glint of something at his enemy's waist. It was the handle of a dagger, white and polished, and just as disturbing to look at as the last time Hiccup had seen it. Hiccup was still disgusted by it, still didn't want to touch it, but... he didn't have very many other options. While Ullr was too distracted by pressing the bow against Hiccup, he failed to notice as Hiccup let go of the bow string with one hand, and stole the weapon.

"You're done." Ullr got out as he kicked at Hiccup's bad leg once more, hoping to make him collapse to the ground.

Not bothering to respond, Hiccup raised the dagger he had just drawn, effectively slicing through the string of the bow that was threatening to choke him if Ullr had his way and managed to slide it up his chest and to his neck.

With a gasp of surprise, Ullr took an immediate step back, a look of shock on his face as he looked down at his useless bow. A string could be replaced, but for a moment, he had thought that the bow his father had given him when he'd first started spending one on one time with his son, to teach him archery, had been damaged. It was a relief to find that it was mostly still intact.

The bow clearly meant something to Ullr, Hiccup hadn't been expecting such a response from his opponent. He couldn't waste time on empathy, though, not when his and his parents' lives were at stake. So, before Ullr had completely recovered from his shock, Hiccup stepped forward and sliced the blade of the dagger across his knuckles.

Ullr dropped the bow as he felt the sting of the blade, hissing in pain as he automatically reached for the only other weapon he thought he had. A look of surprise crossed his face as he looked at Hiccup, holding the dagger in a defensive position. Hiccup had stolen his special weapon, and he hadn't even noticed. How could he have let his guard down like that? His father was already upset with him, but if he knew that his son was still making such stupid mistakes, he would be ashamed.

Not having very many more options, Ullr lifted his fist and aimed for Hiccup's face. If he could land a hit, it would distract Hiccup long enough for him to either pick his bow back off the ground or steal his dagger back.

As Ullr's fist came down at him, Hiccup caught it with his free hand, yelling in pain when the movement manipulated the cut in his shoulder, twisting it so that the valley of the cut opened up. He couldn't take much more of this, he knew, but he had to keep Ullr there for as long as he could, to give his parents a better chance.

Ullr used Hiccup's pain to his advantage, pressing his fist into his opponent's hand so that Hiccup's arm would give. When Hiccup's grip weakened, Ullr followed with another kick to the prosthetic.

Hiccup growled in pain and nearly lost his footing, but pressed on, swinging the dagger in his other hand at him. However, before the blade got anywhere near him, Ullr gripped onto Hiccup's forearm and tried to force the arm to bend the way his elbow wasn't meant to bend.

Hiccup cried out again, his already injured elbow protesting at the movement. He opened the hand holding the dagger, and did his best to toss it into the air. He couldn't help another groan of pain as he used his left hand to catch the dagger and swipe at Ullr's face.

Ullr stepped back, letting go of Hiccup's right arm, and avoiding taking a blade to the face. However, as Hiccup swiped at Ullr with the dagger, he had been forced to take a step forward, stumbling again at the pain in his stump, putting Ullr on his left side. When he tried to draw back and put Ullr back in front of himself, the archer grabbed Hiccup's left arm and pressed against his injured shoulder, wrenching it in a way it wasn't meant to move.

Everything went dark for a moment as the overwhelming pain seared through his shoulder and jolted through his body. Hiccup felt something shift in his shoulder, heard a popping sound, and knew that something wasn't right, his shoulder wasn't in place, it wasn't where it should be, and it hurt.

Hiccup let out a strangled cry, nearly going limp as he stumbled forward and into Ullr. The dagger dropped from his loose grip and landed on the ground.

"Try anything, and I will put pressure on your shoulder." Ullr warned softly, into Hiccup's ear. Hiccup's head was practically leaning against Ullr's shoulder, his right hand gripping at his opponent's arm. As Ullr squeezed Hiccup's shoulder once more, he succumbed, feeling the need to move in order to relieve the pressure against his dislocated shoulder.

Slowly, and while continuing to press into Hiccup's injury, Ullr lowered him to the ground and crouched over him. Once on the ground, Hiccup panted, his eyes firmly shut and his left arm pressed against his own body in an attempt to prevent movement and alleviate pain.

"That was a good effort, I'm impressed." Ullr said as he looked down on a panting Hiccup, from his position over him, then he scowled. "But you made me look bad in front of my father. I see why he's so intent on making you suffer."

With that said, Ullr wrenched Hiccup's left arm away from its position, eliciting an agonizing scream that tore through his throat.

Being very experienced with the staff, it was easy for Valka to counter every move that Yrsa made. The staffs collided, bouncing off each other, and then collided again. The two woman countering each other's moves almost faster than could be followed with the eye.

Seeing an opportunity as Valka blocked and drew her weapon back, Yrsa decided to aim low this time, swiping her staff at her enemy's feet.

Valka was quick, however, and picked up her foot to avoid being tripped up, while she spun on her other foot, swinging her staff around and nearly whacking Yrsa in the side of the head as she faced her opponent once more.

Yrsa's eyes widened as she barely got her staff up in time to protect herself from the curved end of Valka's weapon— she was outmatched and she could see that. Valka was talented with a staff, so Yrsa figured that she'd have to do anything she could to gain the advantage.

Valka pulled back and swung again, seeing that Yrsa was distracted by the close call. However, her attack was countered. Yrsa twisted her staff under Valka's, and tried to throw the offending weapon off balance. It was a move that Valka knew well and she easily twisted her own staff so that she had the control, forcing one end of Yrsa's weapon to collide with the ground. It should have been an easy move since her staff had curved ends and textures that could catch on things, but Valka's wrist was still sore and she winced as she felt a twinge of pain. Though, she wished that she had been able to hold back her reaction, because Yrsa smiled at her, knowingly, having found a weakness to help tip the scales.

Narrowing her eyes, Valka was determined to prove that an injured wrist wouldn't stop her. She had an end of Yrsa's staff pinned to the ground with the smaller curved side of her own, so she swiped the end of her staff up the length of her opponent's, and whacked at her bare knuckles.

Gasping, Yrsa almost lost her grip on her weapon. In the short moment that she was fumbling with her staff, Valka took the opportunity to expertly twirl her staff into position and jut one end into her enemy's gut. Yrsa stumbled back, still trying to right herself and get into a position to fight back, but Valka was relentless.

Valka had the end of her staff against Yrsa's stomach once more. She moved her good hand into position, holding against the larger end of her weapon, and pushed the staff forward, causing Ryker's wife to stumble back and to the ground, holding a hand to her stomach.

The fight between Stoick and Ryker was much more brutal, with less finesse and experienced movements. They fought with rage, strength, and power behind every move. Ryker was slightly smaller than Stoick, but no more quick than him, since he favored strength over speed. They were somewhat evenly matched, except that Ryker had a sword and Stoick had a single dagger.

Ryker thrust his sword at Stoick, who used the smaller blade of Hiccup's dagger to collide with its tip, in order to avoid getting stabbed. It was frustrating, being on the defense. Ryker could strike from a safer distance away, while Stoick would have to find an opening to move in closer to his opponent, so that he could strike with his smaller blade.

Thinking that he had the advantage with his sword, Ryker pressed the blade of his weapon harder against Stoick's dagger. If he could force Stoick's small weapon away, he could get a good stab in at his enemy. However, though Stoick only wielded the dagger, he had a lot of strength in his grip, and he pushed back with greater force.

Ryker took a step back as his strategy began to fail. With a growl, he suddenly pulled back, allowing the momentum behind Stoick's strength to drive him forward. Seeing his opening, Ryker swung his sword at Stoick's side, but was disappointed when his blade was met with Stoick's arm guard, the spikes catching his weapon and the thick leather preventing it from penetrating.

Stoick raised his arm, the spikes of his arm guard forcing his enemy's blade to twist and wrenching him forward. As Ryker stepped in closer to try and gain control over his weapon, Stoick used his free hand to punch him in the nose.

One of Ryker's hands held to his nose as he staggered back, his sword becoming free of Stoick's influence. The pain didn't stop Ryker for long, though. He was too determined and infuriated to step down now. However, as he moved to strike once more, he saw as his wife fell to the ground, Valka preparing to strike.

Eyes widening, Ryker turned his back on the fight with Stoick and used his sword to meet the swing of Valka's staff, the motive behind his actions weren't entirely about saving his wife from a harsh blow, it was also about switching opponents.

The value he used to have in family had been drowned out by greed, obsession, and the stinging betrayal of his brother, though a sense of obligation remained. Ryker wanted the opportunity to fight against Stoick's wife, Hiccup's mother. He'd never encountered her before, but knew that if he even hurt her a little, it would affect Stoick and Hiccup immensely. She was smaller than him, and he thought that he could overtake her easily, while Yrsa distracted Stoick. Then, he and his wife could go after Stoick together. However, he hadn't expected Valka to be a match for him.

Valka had been surprised when Ryker's blade met her staff, but she didn't let it distract her from the fight. She slid one of her hands lower down her staff so she had a hand at either end, and pushed the blade away from herself. As Ryker continued to strike with his sword, Valka blocked each blow as she held her staff in front of her, preventing the blade from ever coming near her.

Getting frustrated, Ryker swung high, the sword arching over his head and coming down on Valka, but she easily brought her staff above her, the blade nicking the center of her wooden staff. Ryker pulled the blade back so it was over his head, then swung it down at his side and swiped at Valka's feet.

Valka jumped to avoid the attack, then swung back with an end of her staff as she landed. Ryker dodged and struck again, the two opponents seeming to be evenly matched as they continued to counter each other's moves. Valka spun and swung her staff with practiced ease, and Ryker put all his strength behind every thought out strike.

When Ryker had blocked the blow that was meant for Yrsa, she'd reacted quickly, rolling away and getting back to her feet.

Stoick had noticed when Ryker had set eyes on his new target, assuming that he was trying to protect his wife, and he followed behind the man with the intention of protecting his own wife. However, Valka was quick and talented with her weapon, and Stoick's attention was then drawn to Yrsa, who rushed him.

Yrsa was quicker than Ryker, and that was the first thing Stoick noticed when he raised his arm to deflect the blow from the staff swinging toward him, his arm guard taking the hit. As soon as he had countered her attack, she was swinging at him again, knocking the dagger out of his other hand, then swinging back once more, this time, the blow landing, striking Stoick in the side.

However, it didn't do much.

Yrsa struck quickly, but she didn't have the strength behind her attacks that her husband did, and her staff was a blunt object, unlike Ryker's sharp blade. She blinked in surprise as her enemy barely reacted to the blow, and in that moment, Stoick gripped the end of the staff that was still in contact with his side, and tore it from her grip.

Stoick was not practiced with a staff in the least bit, Valka had once tried to show him, but it wasn't his weapon and he knew that he couldn't even think of doing half the fancy twirling that his wife could do, but he was strong and he could land a good blow against someone with just about anything. Taking down Yrsa would be easy.

A scowl on his face, thoughts of the things this woman and her family planned to do to his son— his Hiccup— fueling his actions, he prepared to strike.

Katla had been watching the fight from the beginning, eyes wide, not knowing what to do. She'd never had to participate in a fight like this. She hadn't participated in any of her family's hunts until she had decided that Hiccup was to be her first victim. The things she'd done to Hiccup were the worst things she'd ever done in her life.

She watched as the fight progressed, fearful of the outcome, seeing that each strike from either side was meant to do real harm, and even kill. This wasn't some spar or half-effort to stop the other side, it was a fight to the death, or so it seemed to Katla. Both sides were willing to kill the other, to get their way. However, Hiccup's parents fought for their family, while Katla's fought for selfish gain.

Feeling ashamed, knowing that her family would look down on her for hiding, Katla stuck to the shadows as she watched. She felt herself tense every time her parents seemed to be losing or took a blow, but she also felt a foreign feeling of empathy for Hiccup's parents.

When Stoick took away her mother's weapon and prepared to strike, she acted without thinking. Her family had always been important to her, she felt an obligation to them, she loved them even as they didn't always seem to love her back. She couldn't just stand there and watch as her mother was struck down. So she ran forward, drawing her dagger from its place at her waist, and placed herself between Stoick and Yrsa.

Stoick hesitated, surprised, having forgotten that Ryker's youngest was still there. Katla stood in front of her mother, a small dagger in her hands and pointed it at him. She looked uncertain and scared, and it almost reminded him of Hiccup when he had been that young, trying to be something that he wasn't.

He and Valka had discussed that they would not show mercy, that they had to take the Grimborns out because there was no reasoning with them. However, they had failed to mention what they would do with young Katla. She had to be only sixteen, maybe seventeen. Unless she looked young for her age, like Hiccup had. She was the only member of the Grimborn family who was still a child, even Ullr was an adult.

As Stoick hesitated to attack, now that Katla was in the way, Yrsa smiled. She had spotted Valka's weakness, an injured wrist, and now she spotted Stoick's weakness. Just like his son, Stoick hesitated to attack a young girl. His and Hiccup's morals and sense of what was right, prevented them from doing what needed to be done during a fight, and it would be their downfall.

Yrsa quickly stepped forward, wrapping an arm around her daughter, using her as a shield, and snatching the dagger she held, into her own hand.

"Mom?" Katla gasped as she was grabbed from behind, alarmed by her new position. Shouldn't her mother be shielding her, instead of using her as a shield? She felt a growing hollowness inside, an ache in her heart, and a sense of betrayal.

"He won't hurt you, I know what I'm doing." Yrsa answered harshly, reprimanding her daughter for questioning her. Yrsa moved toward a glaring Stoick, Katla in front of her, and swiped at Stoick with her daughter's dagger.

Stoick was shocked by Yrsa's actions. How could a parent put their child in such danger? What if he were a cruel person who would attack the young girl in order to get at his true enemy? Katla, her daughter, could be killed. It was a selfish move that a father like Stoick would never approve of.

It put him at a disadvantage, but he would not harm the girl— the girl who had a look of utter betrayal on her face, the same look that Hiccup had once given him when he had foolishly disowned him.

Yrsa may have him cornered, but he had the staff, he could block from a distance away, and she had to get very close to attack with the dagger.

As Valka fought with Ryker, she was grateful that she'd had the chance to spar with Hiccup. She had plenty of experience in fighting with her staff, but most of the time the dragons would aid her during a mission to free dragons or in her escape. She didn't fight with the bad guys as often as people might imagine she did, and it had been a while since she had gone up against a swordsman. Hiccup had shown great skill, having trained a lot and learned from a talented teacher. Valka had been kept on her toes, deflecting Hiccup's strikes and thinking quickly about her next move. It was all coming back to her as she fought off Ryker.

She was quicker than her opponent and she knew her weapon well. Ryker was brutal and strong, but he was also filled with rage that could make a person sloppy. Valka continued to block and strike, the fight seeming to be getting them no where. At this point, it seemed that the first to tire would be the one to win.

Ryker was frustrated that his new opponent was so skilled. He had thought that switching with his wife would give them the upper hand. He thought that he would be able to take Valka out quickly, that the loss of his wife would make Stoick more vulnerable, that Yrsa would be able to handle Stoick in the meantime. But Valka was proving to be a talented fighter and they weren't getting anywhere, and that meant that Yrsa could possibly fall to Stoick on her own, and that thought did make his heart clench, even if they weren't as close as they had once been.

As Valka blocked his sword once more, leaving her side open as his weapon was deflected, he decided that the only way he could win was by being underhanded.

Instead of swinging his sword again, he moved in on Valka's unprotected side and grabbed a handful of her hair.

Valka cried out as her head was thrown back when Ryker yanked at her hair. She had been about to draw her weapon back in, to protect herself, but her opponent had done something she hadn't expected. With his hand near the base of her head, tugging at her hair, she was at his mercy and in his control. She tried to pull her head back up and stand up straight, but he only gripped harder and tugged her back even more.

It was too awkward an angle to swing her staff back, to try and hit Ryker away and she struggled to twist around, but all her attempts were unsuccessful.

When Stoick heard Valka's cry, he immediately snapped his head around to look at her. She was in a precarious position and the anger swelled inside when he realized the underhanded action that Ryker had taken, to finally gain the higher ground. He wasn't a match for Valka, not in Stoick's mind, without fighting dirty.

Ryker had Valka's head pulled back as he kept her in place with a handful of her hair, pulling at the base of her skull where the shorter and more sensitive hairs were. She didn't make it easy for him as she struggled, but he would have her— all he had to do was swing his sword in an arch, aiming at her neck.

Stoick wouldn't have that.

Pointing an end of the staff he now had in his possession at Ryker, Stoick ceased trying to get at Yrsa and charged him, driving the end into the side of his head, near his eye and above his ear. Ryker dropped, and Valka landed on her back as she was finally released.

As the throbbing began to ease, Valka raised a hand and pressed it against the back of her head as she looked from Ryker to her husband. She wasn't sure if Ryker was alive, a blow to the head like that could be fatal.

Her attention was briefly drawn to where she had fallen, as she felt like she was sitting on something. Valka shifted her weight as she realized that she had landed on something, and found that she was sitting on the handle of Hiccup's dagger. It must have landed there when Stoick was fighting Yrsa.

"No!" Yrsa screamed from behind Stoick, interrupting Valka's thoughts. They both turned in time to see Ryker's wife toss Katla into the dirt like she was nothing, then go running to her husband's side. The couple hadn't shown affection for one another once, whenever Stoick or Valka had seen them, and Stoick wasn't sure if it was even love that took her to her husband's side. He was a provider, a valuable resource. If he was gone, then she had to take care of her kids on her own, again. Ullr could take his father's place as a caretaker, but he still needed to be shaped into what Yrsa wanted and needed him to be. And Katla, she was proving to be rather useless.

Katla landed hard, scraping up her hands and wrists as she caught herself. She couldn't help as the tears ran down her cheeks. She had been shocked when her father had fallen, remembering a time when he was at least somewhat caring toward her. She had always preferred her father over her mother, at least, until he had returned from the Dragon Hunter ships that had taken him away. However, that wasn't the driving force behind her tears and sorrow.

Her own mother had used her to protect herself, then tossed her aside like she was nothing. Her mother... truly didn't love her. That was it, Yrsa's actions had finally confirmed it for her.

Part of Katla already knew that her mother didn't love her, but she hadn't been able to accept it before, and hoped that it wasn't true. She had hoped to earn that love... and now her father was possibly dead. She couldn't earn back his love either, if he was gone.

All she had left was her brother, whom she'd once been very close to, before he had received his bow and become the favorite.

As the shameful tears ran down her cheeks, all Katla wanted in that moment, was to be in the embrace of her older brother. She sometimes gave him a hard time, and she was always jealous of him, but he was the only one in the family to be kind to her more often than not.

Katla picked herself off the ground and ran, hoping to find her brother.

There were no tears in Yrsa's eyes as she looked her husband over frantically, just fury. She wasn't even very thorough as she looked for signs of life, not knowing exactly what to look for.

She didn't know what she would do if Ryker were dead. When he had left with Viggo, she had hated being the only parent at home, taking care of their children. Ryker's job was supposed to pay off, the time spent caring for her family on her own, was supposed to pay off. But it hadn't. Instead, she had worked hard, told her children what she expected of them, and then got ejected out of their village.

They'd had nothing, so she had provided by any means necessary. She had seen the obedience in her son— so much like his father— and the uncertainty and weakness in her daughter, when she had started forcing them to help her provide.

Yrsa had loved her husband once, though she had married him more for the influence his family had once had over their village. She would come to miss his familiar presence and the support he provided their family, and that thought fueled her rage.

If she couldn't have her husband, then she would take away Stoick's wife.

From the corner of her eye she saw as Stoick began to approach her, staff raised up in warning, and Valka started to pick herself off the ground. Narrowing in on Valka, she launched herself over Ryker, and tackled Valka back to the ground.

Valka had seen the intent in Yrsa's eyes as she began to pick herself off the ground. In the split second she had before Yrsa was on her, she gripped Hiccup's dagger and thrust it forward, feeling as it sunk in.

"Val!" Stoick was by her side in a heartbeat. He'd swung the staff he held, when he saw Yrsa lunging for his wife, but he'd been a fraction too slow and missed. As soon as he was next to Valka, he shoved a limp Yrsa off of her.

"I'm okay..." Valka shuffled back as Yrsa's weight was lifted from her, wiping at the bloodstain that was now on her clothes and coming to terms with what she had just done.

"You're hurt." Stoick placed a hand on her stomach, but Valka merely set a hand on top of his and shook her head, giving him a reassuring smile. She was fine.

Both of them looked to Yrsa, laying on her back, the handle of Hiccup's dagger the only part of the weapon that was visible. Stoick let out a slow breath, relieved that his wife was unharmed. However, his relief did not last for long.

Suddenly, an agonizing scream echoed through the forest, both Stoick and Valka feeling a cold dread erupt in their guts.

"Hiccup." Valka scrambled to her feet, Stoick standing as well.

"That... sounded like him." Stoick knew it was Hiccup, had heard a very similar sound come from his son when his leg had been amputated. Though, Hiccup had claimed that he didn't remember it.

"My son..." Yrsa coughed and sputtered, then let out an eerie laugh. "Will kill him..."

Stoick and Valka glanced back at Ryker's wife as she said her last words. Valka wasn't a killer, avoided it if she could, but she wasn't very sorry about how things had turned out.

"You need to go." Valka said to her husband as she rushed to Ryker and knelt next to him, starting to look for signs of life.

"You're not coming?" Stoick was surprised that Valka didn't intend to go after Hiccup with him.

"He's not dead." Valka determined after a moment, referring to Ryker. "He's out, and he's not coming to, anytime soon, but he needs to be tied up. We're not taking any chances. You go after Hiccup, I'll follow behind when I'm done here."

Stoick hesitated for a moment as he looked down at Ryker.

"I'll be fine, he won't attack me, he can't. His head is already bruised, that was a nasty hit to the head, he's lucky to be alive at all." Valka assured her husband. "There are no other threats around here, other than maybe Katla..."

Stoick startled as he realized that Katla was missing. He somehow doubted that she was much of a threat anymore, and Valka could handle her easily.

"I love you..." Stoick said, and Valka smiled up at him.

"I love you too." Valka responded as her husband ran off in search of their son.

"Ullr!" Katla cried as she ran blindly through the forest. Her eyes were red from crying and her voice was desperate. All she wanted was her brother, for him to reassure her that everything would be okay, to see his smile and be reminded of when she was a young child, looking up at her big brother. "Ullr!"

She came to an abrupt halt, freezing when she heard an agonizing scream. That wasn't her brother, she was pretty sure, so that meant that it was... Hiccup.

Katla switched directions, running in the direction the cries of pain were coming from until she came to an area where the trees were further apart, and that was when she saw them.

Her brother was looming over a prone Hiccup, doing something to his arm and shoulder that was causing him severe pain.

"Ullr..." Katla whispered the name this time. She'd never seen her brother take someone down before, as he hunted his human victims. He was like an entirely different person. The smile on his face was not the one she wanted to see. Ullr was enjoying what he was doing, reveling in Hiccup's pain.

He looked... like their father.

Katla closed her eyes tight, a grimace on her face as another of Hiccup's cries of pain pierced through her. She'd heard similar cries of pain before. She'd also heard pleas for mercy and begging for help... but for some reason, this was different. For some reason, Hiccup's pain was upsetting her, making her feel.

She'd grown accustomed to cruelty, to harshness. Life back home had been hard, but it had been better than after her mother had gotten them kicked out. Then, they had moved from place to place, just the three of them, and her mother... she had made her and Ullr do some terrible things. All in the name of survival. They had to, so it was okay. If they didn't, they would starve, they would have nothing.

However, if the things Yrsa had made Katla and Ullr do back then had shocked the young girl, it was nothing compared to how things were after Ryker caught up to them. He was not the same person he had been before going off with Uncle Viggo. And Ryker and Yrsa together were able to do even worse things, things that had never crossed Katla's mind, or Ullr's, she was pretty sure.

The first time someone had been killed so that the Grimborn family could benefit, Katla's eyes had been wide, she'd been stunned. She hadn't witnessed the act, but she could put two and two together, despite her lack of a good education. It was horrifying and scary to think about... so, she didn't think about it. She knew, but she lived in denial. Katla did appreciate having new clothes, food, and boots that weren't falling apart, after all. The deed was done, so... why let those things go to waste?

But then it became a regular thing, and most of the time they weren't even in need of anything when a person was killed or hunted down. Ryker and Yrsa wanted more, Ullr reveled in the praise, let his parents' approval of his actions fuel him. Katla was often left out, and at first that was fine with her. However, her brother, who had always had their parents' favor, changed. He became cocky, started treating her badly alongside their parents, whenever they were around. Though when he became gentler with her when their parents weren't around, Katla didn't appreciate it, she resented it, felt patronized.

Ullr gained praise for killing, and once they had moved onto the lush island, full of plants, he gained even more praise for hunting and cruelty.

Katla had wanted in on it.

The tales her brother would boast about around the fire, the new and fancy weapons he wielded, the pats on the back, the affection he was given... Katla wanted that, she wanted to be a part of this family that she should have already been a part of, instead of being told to stay out of the way.

Though Ullr's tales were morbid and vicious, the weapons made of things Katla didn't acknowledge, her parents and brother would return all bloody, their home filled with stolen items, she would hear screams every now and then, the occasional corpse would sit, covered, in the corner of the house... she was used to it. She knew, but she lived in denial. If she didn't think about it, if she didn't let herself see, then it couldn't get to her. These things, these occurrences, became the norm. And eventually, Katla wanted to participate, because then she could be a part of the family too, she could be praised, be... loved.

The first victim she was determined would be hers, was a young man standing in a patch of chamomile. However, it turned out that he wasn't alone. His parents were with him. But that was okay, Katla had thought, she could take down the one, and that would prove her worth. Her family could take down the two parents, and share in her glory. It would be good, it would work out.

Watching Hiccup, though, gave her an insight into his life and his situation. She saw emotional people trying to get along and become a family. They made an effort, they loved deeply. Mistakes were made, and mistakes were forgiven. Their family was so different than her own, Katla didn't know a family could be like that. Even if they had their own problems, she could see the love, underneath it all. But that wasn't what she was there for, so she pushed that all aside and went forward with her plans.

The thing is, she had already seen the Haddock family as individuals, as people, and try as she might, she couldn't get that out of her head, and that only served to frustrate her. Even worse, things didn't go according to plan. Then Hiccup had turned out to be her father's enemy, and she wanted to hate him... he was the reason her father was so bitter. But... he had been the only person who had been patient enough to teach her to build a fire, to show her a light in her dark world.

His screams of pain as Ullr tortured him, caused tears to spring to her eyes, even as they were shut tight. She had wanted this, she had been so stupid. Never had she been this close, never had she witnessed in person the treacherous acts of her family. Being there, up close— hearing the pain, seeing the fear, feeling the cold dread... she couldn't handle it.

A memory suddenly came to mind, one of her earlier ones, from when she had been a young child. Uncle Viggo had come over and paused before going into the house. He had approached her as she sat in the grass and plucked up the pieces just for something to do with her hands, and he kneeled down in front of her.

"You don't want to be inside." It wasn't a question, but an observation. Uncle Viggo was good at that— observing, seeing.

Katla didn't know what to say, Uncle Viggo rarely talked to her. He came by to see his older brother, her dad, and that was it.

"I don't blame you." Viggo continued. "I don't want to go inside, myself."

Katla fidgeted with the grass some more. Her home wasn't a happy place, all she had was her older brother, but now he was always off practicing with his new bow, and she wasn't allowed to follow him around anymore.

With a sigh, Viggo settled down beside his niece who looked up at him with wide eyes. There was still grass in her hands, but her attention was now completely on her uncle.

"I see something in you that I don't see in anyone else in your family." Viggo said, and he seemed to soften, to become more friendly. He wasn't usually like this. "Do you want to know what it is?"

After a brief moment of thought, Katla nodded her head.

"You are too good, too pure, too innocent. You feel everything, don't you? Everything that happens in your home." Viggo set a hand on her back, and she was surprised to find comfort in the small gesture. "You're a smart, nice girl. You don't belong here."

Viggo got a faraway look on his face, almost like he was mourning something.

"I used to be something like you." He withdrew and began to pick himself up off the ground. "I hope you don't ever lose yourself, like I did."

With that said, Uncle Viggo went into the house, leaving his niece sitting in the grass, confused. She hadn't understood all of what he had meant, but she had liked seeing a softer, kinder side of him.

Feeling determined, Katla finally opened her eyes, seeing everything in a new light. She knew now, why Uncle Viggo had switched to Hiccup's side— he had seen those same traits in Hiccup, that he had seen in her, that he used to see in himself. In the end, he couldn't take someone like Hiccup down, not when he had once seen good in the world, like she had, like Hiccup did.

She wasn't like the rest of her family, she wouldn't be. Katla would dig deep, so she could unbury her true self. Her family wouldn't manipulate her anymore.

"Stop!" Katla shouted as she rushed her brother.

Startled, Ullr looked over his shoulder in time to see Katla pounce at him. The momentum of her attack sent him rolling off of Hiccup and to the side of him. Before he could register what was happening, she was back on him, attacking him in any way she could. She no longer had her dagger, since her mother had taken it, but Katla was pretty sure she couldn't bring herself to use it against her brother anyway.

"Augh! Katla, stop!" Ullr gripped the front of her shirt, drew her in, then tossed her aside like it was nothing. However, she was determined and was shoving him back down before he could pick himself back up.

"Leave him alone!" Katla shouted as she knocked Ullr on his side and pushed his face into the ground. Finally fed up, Ullr growled as he swung his arm back, smacking his sister on the cheek. Katla gasped and fell back.

"What. Is. Wrong with you?!" Ullr raged as he stood up, looming over her. "What have I done to you this time? Do you still think things are unfair? Are you still jealous because mom and dad love me more than you? Look at what has happened, your plan failed. You failed. That's why you're nothing and always will be!"

Katla's eyes widened at her brother's outburst, he'd never talked to her like that before. It was shocking to hear. Just like her mother's actions had confirmed for her that she didn't love her, Ullr's words confirmed for her, that he no longer loved her either. It was a harsh truth, but she should have known. She didn't want to be part of their family anymore, anyway.

Picking herself off the ground, Katla glared up at her brother. "I don't care. I don't want to be good at what you do. I'm glad it failed."

"What?" Ullr glared down at his sister, his eyes darkening.

"I'm not one of you, I won't do this." She was defiant.

"What would mom and dad say?" Ullr took a step closer to his sister and she started backing up.

"Dad... dad's gone." Katla managed to get out, feeling odd saying it out loud.

Ullr froze in his tracks, an expression of shock spreading across his face. He didn't believe it, it couldn't be true.

"No he's not." Ullr denied.

"Stoick hit him in the head, hard. I saw dad go down." Katla confirmed.

"Stop saying that!" Ullr shoved his sister and she fell back, landing next to Hiccup, who was panting and grimacing at the pain in his dislocated shoulder. "Where's mom? Did you just leaver her? What kind of a daughter just abandons her mother?"

"I wasn't the one who did the abandoning." Katla argued as she lay on the ground on her back, her elbows holding her up.

"What does that even mean? You left mom there, with Stoick and his wife? She's outnumbered."

"Mom used me, she tossed me aside! I wanted..." Katla bit back tears. " I wanted you."

Ullr let out a humorless laugh and glared back down at his sister.

"Stop acting like a baby. What did you expect from me? I'm not going to coddle you, you need to grow up, you can't do anything right. You abandoned mom and expected me to be on your side? You came here and attacked me, you've betrayed your own family." Ullr was raging, baring down on his sister with the intention to strike as she shuffled backwards from her position on the ground, but he didn't get the chance as he suddenly found himself stumbling forward and falling to his hands and knees.

Hiccup had reached out and grabbed at Ullr's foot, tripping him up. However, Hiccup didn't have much strength left and he wasn't able to do anything more. Growling, Ullr looked back at Hiccup.

"I'll take care of you in a minute." Ullr promised, kicking at Hiccup's side as hard as he could manage from his position on the ground, then he set his sights on his sister. She was still on the ground, though she had pushed herself up into a sitting position and was just barely out of reach of her brother. When Ullr met her eyes, she couldn't help the fear that consumed her.

Hiccup siding with his sister, making an effort to protect her, only made it sink in that much more for him— Katla had switched to Hiccup's side, just like Uncle Viggo had. Hiccup was still destroying their family and everything they had ever accomplished.

"How dare you side with him?!" Ullr seethed, then crawled forward, grabbing for his sister who scrambled to turn around and get her feet under her, so she could run. "Dad is gone, mom probably is too, and you've betrayed me? Everything is gone!"

Ullr tackled his sister from behind in rage, as she tried to get away from him. She hadn't ever thought that she would stand a chance in a fight against her brother, but she never would have thought that he would take his anger out on her either.

Katla fell forward, her head bouncing off the ground as she let out a sound in pain. She felt dizzy for a moment, then lost consciousness as Ullr used his hand to ram her head back into the ground once more. When she didn't move, Ullr pushed himself to his hands and knees, getting off of his sister. Ullr wasn't sorry, not in the least bit. Everything had completely fallen apart and it was her fault, and it was also Hiccup's fault. He turned around, attention drawn back to his original victim.

"You did this." Ullr loomed back over Hiccup who had finally stopped wheezing from the blow he had taken on Katla's behalf. "I'm going to finish what my dad started, and you're going to suffer, like he wanted."

Anxiety was gripping at his heart with every scream of pain that Stoick heard. He followed the sounds, trying not to let his imagination get the better of him, but failing. What was Ullr doing to his son? The only other time he had heard such agonizing screams from Hiccup, was when his leg had been amputated, but he'd lost consciousness not long after. Stoick prayed that he wouldn't arrive too late, that Hiccup would survive.

Stoick wasn't sure what was worse, though. The eerie silence that followed the cries of pain, or his son's screams, themselves. When they finally stopped, the last echo fading away, all Stoick felt was dread. Why had Hiccup gone silent?

He rushed through the forest faster, calling out for his son, looking frantically. It felt like forever when he finally saw something ahead. It was a manmade, wooden armrest. Realization came to Stoick as he remembered seeing Hiccup escape from a distance. This must have been how, he'd broken the armrest and freed one of his hands. Stoick hurried forward, but didn't have to go far before he saw signs of a scuffle, Ullr's broken bow, and... Katla.

At first, Stoick wasn't sure what to do, but he wasn't an indecisive person usually, being a chief, so he came to a decision quickly. Since Hiccup and Ullr were no where to be seen, but had clearly been there, he headed over to Katla, the only person around, and knelt down beside her.

"Katla?" Stoick said as he shook her shoulder. She was breathing, he could see that, but she had a cut on her cheek where she had been struck, and a scrape on the side of her head, where she had hit her head against the ground. She didn't stir.

The sounds of someone running up on him had him on immediate alert and he turned around, ready to fight.

"Stoick... what happened?" It was Valka, having managed to catch up with him. She was slightly winded from running.

"I don't know. Hiccup isn't here, but he was." Stoick answered as Valka knelt beside him and took over tending to the girl.

"I'm sure it wasn't Hiccup who attacked her..." Valka pointed out the obvious. Stoick nodded solemnly, in agreement. Ullr had attacked his own sister.

Katla stirred, letting out a soft moan as she approached consciousness. Valka coaxed her into waking, knowing that she held the answers to what had happened to Hiccup.

"Katla?" Valka said softly. Katla opened her eyes, startled for a moment as she saw Valka above her. Then, tears came to Katla's eyes— she had no one left. Without thinking, desiring to be held by a loving, motherly presence and having seen that Valka was those things, when she had been watching Hiccup, Katla wrapped her arms around Valka and cried.

Valka was taken aback, Stoick almost intervening, not liking the crazy girl in close proximity to his wife. They shared a look before Valka turned her attention back to the girl, they didn't have time for this, they needed to know where Hiccup was. She stroked Katla's head once, then pulled her away from herself, looking her in the eyes.

"I need you to tell me where Hiccup is." Valka said, sternly.

"I don't... I don't know." Katla looked around, realizing that her brother was gone, and so was Hiccup. "They were here..."

"We know they were here, Katla. What was the plan, where was Ullr supposed to take Hiccup?"

"We were supposed to take him closer to the center of the island, past all the traps that... that we set up." Katla looked down in shame. "Ullr said that we could lure you in, with Hiccup's... Hiccup's screams..."

Valka swallowed hard, having to regain her composure.

"Would he still take Hiccup there? He already, he already hurt our son." Valka couldn't bring herself to say it, that Hiccup had been tortured already.

"I don't know." More tears came to Katla's eyes.

"How can you say that?" Stoick butted in, his impatience winning over. "You should know how your family thinks."

Katla flinched, almost like she expected to be struck for her incompetence and unsatisfying answer. Valka held up a hand to her husband, indicating that he should stand down.

"Perhaps you can find some tracks or something that could give us a hint?" Valka suggested and Stoick relented.

"I'm sorry..." Katla said in a soft voice, and she sounded like she meant it.

"I believe you." Valka reached a hand into her son's satchel, that she had back over her shoulders, pulling out a thin rope. "But I would feel better, knowing that you're secure and won't hurt us."

Katla didn't resist, holding out her hands so that they could be bound. Valka started wrapping the rope around her wrists.

"I need to find my son, Katla..." Valka said as she finished tying the rope. "Where do you think your brother would go? We'll do our best, to keep him alive, so long as we can get Hiccup back safely."

"I know..." Katla didn't think Stoick or Valka would kill her brother, and she wasn't holding back in order to protect him. She simply didn't know. "I just, I'm not sure. I didn't ever go on hunts with him. This was my first one..."

Valka looked disappointed, worry in her eyes, but she could see that questioning Katla about where Hiccup could be wasn't going to get them anywhere. She felt bad for the girl, especially after hearing that Katla hadn't been able to go through with her first hunt, because that meant that she hadn't done it before, only her family had. She had a completely different demeanor than she had before, when she had been trying to gain the favor of her family.

"Alright, then." Valka relented. "Can you at least tell me— what shape was Hiccup in, when you saw him?"

Katla met Valka's eyes with a look of alarm. Valka wasn't sure she liked that reaction and worried even more.

"He was alive." Katla confirmed. "But Ullr, he did something to his arm. That's why Hiccup was in such pain. Hiccup tried to help me, when... my brother..." Katla went quiet, a faraway look on her face, and more tears in her eyes.

Valka let out a slow breath, at least relieved to hear that Hiccup had been alive and that Ullr hadn't done any of the terrible things that had come to her mind when she was going crazy with worry at the sound of every one of her son's cries of pain.

Behind her, Stoick paused as he circled the area, looking for some kind of clue. It was a relief, but very short-lived, to hear that Hiccup wasn't in as bad of shape as he had feared. Hiccup was still with that cruel monster, and if they didn't find him soon, he might not be alive for long.

Turning her attention back to Katla, seeing the look of betrayal on her face and knowing that it had been her brother who had attacked her, Valka set a hand on the girl's shoulder and rubbed it in a show of comfort. She didn't know what to say to comfort her, and part of her wasn't even sure if she wanted to say something nice to the girl who had targeted her son. It was an odd situation, but Valka knew, Hiccup would have nothing but compassion for Katla. So she would do her best to treat her well.

"My brother is an experienced hunter and tracker. I'm sorry, but be knows how to cover his tracks, I don't think you'll find anything." Katla tried to regain her composure, offering the only information she had to give. Stoick paused in his search, having already come to the same conclusion. There was a bloodstain on the ground, likely where Hiccup had been laying, injured in some way, but there weren't any drops of blood or trails to follow. At least, not any in the area. If he really searched, it was likely he'd eventually find something, but it would take hours, and they didn't have that kind of time.

"Wait... do you hear that?" Valka slowly stood, staring up at the tops of the trees and the early morning sky, becoming lighter as day approached. Both Stoick and Katla listened, expecting to hear more of Hiccup's cries of pain, but instead, hearing faint squawks and distant voices.

"Dragons?" Stoick questioned, then was answered as the distant view of dragons flying over the island, passed by.

"Dragon riders." Valka confirmed, her voice laced with hope.

"Stormfly is a tracker class dragon." Stoick met his wife's eye. It seemed there was hope after all, a dragon could find Hiccup faster than they could. Even a group of people could find and save Hiccup faster than just the two of them.

Valka helped Katla to her feet, but kept her hands tied in front of her. They would head in the direction the dragons had been flying, then they would get Hiccup the help he needed.

It didn't take as long to get back to the burned down house of the Grimborns. Instead of wandering aimlessly through the forest in search of Hiccup— maneuvering by sound more than sight as they followed Hiccup's cries— they headed in a straight line, back the way they had come, Katla being able to correct their path if they ever headed off course.

The group of dragon riders had seen the clearing in the forest from above and the suspicious looking rubble, and landed.

"Stoick? Valka?" Astrid was the first to notice them, running over to greet them. She wrapped a surprised Valka in a quick hug, then gave Stoick a smile, but it wasn't long before that smile faded. "Where's Hiccup?"

"...that's a long story." Valka looked worried again, putting Astrid ill at ease.

"What happened?" Fishlegs asked. He had found an injured Sharpshot in a discarded cage, near the rubble of the house, and now held him in his arms. "Sharpshot's not in good shape, Hiccup wouldn't ever leave his dragon like this."

The rest of Hiccup's friends, including Eret and Gobber, had followed behind Fishlegs, joining Astrid, and Hiccup's parents. Everyone looked concerned, the dragons were all on high alert, sensing something to be off.

"Who's that?" Snotlout gestured to Katla, noticing her bound hands and eyeing her suspiciously. She was watching the dragons with wide eyes.

Valka was almost knocked over as Heimdall raced to her side, nuzzling into her. Toothless wasn't far behind him, though his focus was on the fact that Hiccup was still missing.

"Sorry, Heimy refused to stay behind..." Astrid commented, the blind dragon having followed them, but surprisingly hadn't slowed them down. "Valka? Toothless knew. He knew something was wrong... he could sense it. What... where's Hiccup?"

Valka stopped paying attention to Heimdall and looked between a restless Toothless and a worried Astrid, a curious expression on her face.

"We'll explain on the way, but Hiccup doesn't have a lot of time." Stoick answered for his wife, his cryptic words putting everyone on edge.

Struggling barely made a difference. Hiccup was weakened, he was hurt, and missing his prosthetic limb. Ullr had taken it from him and tossed it aside somewhere along the way, saying that he didn't want Hiccup trying to run off again. It was all he could to do to remain on his one good leg as he was pushed and dragged along by his insane captor.

It occurred to Hiccup that falling to the ground and refusing to move could be his only option for slowing their progress, but then Ullr might just pick him up or drag him along the ground. Hiccup was scrambling to come up with some kind of a plan, but was coming up empty. All he could really do was hope that someone would come along and save him.

"Here it is." Ullr announced with a satisfied tone, enjoying what he was putting Hiccup through. He looked back at his victim. Hiccup desperately tried not to react, although Ullr's expression told him that he had failed.

Hiccup froze, seeing the mound of dirt and the long pit next to it. He remembered overhearing the conversation the night before, as the Grimborns ate around the fire. Katla and Ullr had been sent to dig up the traders' cache of goods. A crate that had ended up only having a store of clothing, fabrics, and leather hidden away inside. The wooden crate was mostly empty now, the goods having been tossed aside by the siblings as they had dug around inside, hoping to find valuables. And now, Ullr intended to use that crate for a very different purpose.

The inhumane, cruel monster was going to bury him alive.

"Don't do this." Hiccup barely managed to say in a hoarse whisper. His throat had gone dry and he could feel the cold grip of anxiety wrapped tightly around his insides. He was nearing panic, a sense of disbelief and denial preventing him from thinking straight and trying to come up with a plan.

"After what you've done to my family?" Ullr answered with a smirk, enjoying Hiccup's reaction. "You're the reason we ended up here in the first place, the reason my home was destroyed, the reason my parents are gone, the reason my uncle and sister are traitors, and the reason I'm now alone. You're lucky I didn't come up with something worse. You can either accept your fate and let yourself die, or hold out hope that you'll be saved, then die anyway." Ullr put his arm around Hiccup, chuckling because he thought the predicament was funny, his sanity long gone.

"You think this will fix things for you? You're not getting off this island alive, not if you do this." Hiccup warned.

"Your parents won't kill me, not when I'm the only one who knows where you are." Ullr had a crazed look in his eyes. "Maybe I'll give them hints, watch as they agonize over finding you."

"What if they won't play your game?" Hiccup asked, trying to resist as Ullr used his arm to steer him closer to the pit and the long crate within.

"They will. It's their only chance of getting their son back."

"...what if they don't care about that? Then they will kill you." The words were hard for Hiccup to get out, his breath hitching. He didn't believe it, but was desperate to put whatever doubt he could, into Ullr's head. Hiccup knew that his parents had succeeded it defeating Ryker and Yrsa, and that had been what he wanted. He had kept Ullr too busy to go and aid his parents in taking Stoick and Valka down. Hiccup was in this situation because he had given himself up, in order to give his parents a chance. He wanted to hold out hope that his parents would still find a way to save him, but the closer he got to the pit, the harder it was.

"What kind of parent doesn't care about their kid?" Ullr asked with repulsion, as if that was worse than any of the cruel things his messed up family had ever done. Hiccup felt defensive and disgusted at the same time. A parent should definitely love their children, and his mom and dad did love him. Besides that, they had never done any of the inhumane things that Ryker and Yrsa had done. Surely Hiccup's own complicated family wasn't worse than the likes of these people, even if he had been neglected, abandoned, and lonely for the majority of his life. His parent's genuinely loved him... Ryker and Yrsa made their children earn their love, and even then that love wasn't sincere. Hiccup had once believed that he had to earn his father's love... but that hadn't been the case. Ullr was still holding onto the lie that his parents truly loved him and hadn't been using him for their own gain.

"Why don't you tell me?" Hiccup responded.

"If your parents don't care, then you're going to die for sure." Ullr growled in anger, shoving Hiccup hard, and with only his good leg holding him up, he fell. His right hand ground into the dirt, his arm collapsing and causing him to land on his sore elbow, just in front of the pit. Hiccup let out a groan of pain as his left arm and shoulder were jarred. He'd done his best to hold his left arm to his body, to keep it from moving.

Once the severe pain subsided, Hiccup looked down into the makeshift coffin, his future grave site that no one would ever know about. He would die there, alone, and without hope of ever being found— either before he died or when he was nothing more than a lost, unidentifiable corpse.

"Please..." Hiccup whimpered, he couldn't think of a worse way to go. His eyes became wet with tears of fear and he closed them tight, trying to hide his feelings from the vicious person behind him, it would only spur him on. "Ah!"

Ullr grabbed the collar of Hiccup's shirt and pulled him upright, turning him around. Both of his clenched fists were holding the front of Hiccup's shirt. The two were face to face— one wearing a cruel and gratified smirk, the other's eyes wide with fear and filled with pain.

Hiccup let out a gasp as he felt himself being pushed back, becoming temporarily weightless before gravity pulled him down into the void behind him, the bottom of the pit feeling much farther away than it actually was. His back hit the bottom of the wooden coffin, hard, despite the few pieces of fabric that remained, stunning Hiccup as he coughed and desperately gasped for breath, his dislocated shoulder sending a hot, intense pain flaring through him.

Ullr laughed at his pain, Hiccup could hear him, distantly. He tried to move, tried to pull himself up so he could climb back out and get away, but all he could do was try to breathe while the impact from the fall intensified his injuries, and pain echoed through his body.

Suddenly, everything went dark and Hiccup thought that he had temporarily lost his vision from all the pain. But the light didn't come back. A rising panic surged through him as he realized what had happened. While he had been struggling, Ullr had put the lid on the crate.

"No... nonononono!" Hiccup caught his breath and started shouting as the shovels of dirt spilled through a couple cracks between the wood and made scuffling sounds against the lid. He punched the wood with his right fist and kicked with his one foot, but the lid didn't budge and more dirt spilled inside. "No!"

Hiccup couldn't think straight, he couldn't wrap his head around what was happening to him. This couldn't be happening. He let out a sob and pounded harder. It was pitch black and stuffy, the sounds of dirt became further away as he was buried alive. Eventually all he could hear was the pounding of his heart and gasps for air.

"No..." He was tiring even as he continued to punch the wood and kick. "Help!" He struggled and wiggled around, still in denial, still thinking any of his actions would make a difference in his current situation. "Please... please..."

Hiccup broke down into sobs, the weight of the situation finally crashing down on him. He stopped pounding on the lid and gripped his hair with his one hand, his left arm still held against his body, to keep his shoulder from moving.

He didn't want to die down there. He didn't want to suffocate while holding onto false hope. He didn't want Astrid to wonder for the rest of her life what had happened to him. He didn't want Toothless to be without his best friend and rider.

Hiccup had never cried this hard before, usually pushing through his pain and despair with a stubborn will to not show any weakness. But he had never felt such hopelessness and despair. At least when he had been trapped in the ice, he had been wrapped up in Toothless' warm embrace. Now he was cold and alone. He sobbed harder.

"Stop... stop... damn it, stop!" Hiccup shouted at himself, demanding his body to listen to him and come under his control again. He closed his eyes and took in a couple deep breaths of precious air, wiping at his eyes that wouldn't stop spilling tears. "I have to conserve air..."

Talking to himself wasn't really helping, his voice sounding so loud in the small space, reminding him how far below ground he was. There was no way anyone would ever find him... he started panicking again at the thought and had to force himself to calm down again. He had to relax and slow his heart rate so he would be consuming less oxygen. If he wanted there to be any chance of survival then he had to be smart.

Hiccup closed his eyes again, even though it didn't make much of a difference when it was so dark inside the coffin. He forced himself to breath slowly as he tried to focus on comforting memories.

Thoughts of flying with Toothless came to mind, the two of them soaring through the clouds at high speeds, doing tricks and stunts that always made the Night Fury roll his eyes at his rider, even if he did still enjoy them just as much as Hiccup did. He thought of Astrid, smiling at him as they just talked. They could talk for hours about nothing and everything. He thought of how fierce and beautiful she was. How he never thought he would even be her friend, yet she loved him for who he was. He thought of their upcoming wedding...

Hot tears pooled in his eyes. He wouldn't ever get the chance to marry her. Hiccup would die and be separated from the one he loved. She would be left to go on without him. They would never have the loving family she promised they would have one day— showing Hiccup how wonderful a family could be.

A moan of despair escaped Hiccup's lips as his thoughts turned negative again. He was never meant to be part of a complete and loving family, was he? He was always destined to be alone, just like he was now. He had spent the majority of his life alone and he would die alone.

His new train of thought brought him to memories of the past when he had been rejected by the other kids, tossed aside by his people, and ignored by his father. He had spent a lot of time playing by himself. He had even pretended to have friends on occasion. He had bothered Gobber until he had become an official apprentice. He had drawn in his sketchbook and looked through his mother's old books when no one wanted to play with him. He had walked the path through the trees that his dad allowed him to wander on, so long as he promised to not go beyond it on his own, but he was always on his own. Hiccup had spent so much of his life alone, feeling completely unloved and unwanted.

Hiccup had been allowed five years of feeling like things had changed. Five wonderful years of friendship and love, just to lose it so cruelly. His friends didn't like him anymore. Maybe they never had. Astrid and their future would be lost to him. He wouldn't ever fly with Toothless again. Hiccup would die, laying there in his grave, wondering if things would have been different, if he had just admitted to everyone that he was still struggling with his past, that he was still prone to doubting himself.

A childhood full of neglect and cruelty was not so easily forgotten, was not something one just moved past. Hiccup had tried, but everything lingered below the surface, threatening to consume him. What if he did say something, and he lost it all anyway? Hiccup hadn't wanted to threaten what he had gained, hadn't wanted to lose the friendship and acceptance, the love and approval of his father, just so that he could address all the negative feelings that he had buried. It no longer seemed to matter anyway, either he would have lost everything if he had admitted to his feelings, or he would have ignored it and ended up right where he was. There was no winning.

Maybe... maybe that was for the best. His life had fallen apart before his parents forced him to come to this horrible place. His friends wouldn't miss him. Astrid was strong, she had been fine without him before, she could go on without him now. Hiccup's technical drawings for Toothless' tail fin, that allowed him to fly on his own, still existed somewhere, Gobber could figure it out. Then the Night Fury would be granted his freedom again. Berk was better off with someone else as chief anyway... and Berk would finally be rid of him for good.

The ache in his heart had been intensifying with every depressing thought, but now he felt nothing but acceptance. He was going to die here, there was nothing he could do about that but try to make it as painless as possible for himself. He had wanted this once, a long time ago, he would have welcomed the end, gratefully. There had even been a time when he had tried to make it happen, but his resolve did not hold.

There were only two things that really held him back now. Thoughts of a future with Astrid, and thoughts of his brother, Toothless, being on his own. He could let go of everything else, so he did. Taking a couple more even breaths, he told himself that Astrid and Toothless would be okay without him. They would be okay... they would have each other. They could move on. They did not need Hiccup. Hiccup could let go, he could die right there, and everything would be fine. The world outside his coffin would go on, not much different without him there. He would remain in the ground, lost to the world and... things would be fine.

A small part of him wasn't completely convinced, but he forced himself to push that part deep down, with all the other things he didn't want to deal with.

Hiccup and his hidden feelings, buried deep.

He couldn't help the fear that remained, however. Would it hurt to suffocate and die? Would he just fall asleep and never wake? Hiccup didn't want to be in pain anymore. He didn't want to be afraid anymore.

Wrapping his right arm around himself, Hiccup tried to come up with a way to distract himself from the pain and the fear. He just wanted this experience to be over with. He was ready to go. He was ready for everything to be over.

Hiccup started to hum, one of his favorite songs coming to mind. The corner of his mouth twitched when he recalled Astrid pointing out that he must like the song because it was basically about his life.

"You had your maps drawn... You had other plans to hang your hopes on..." Hiccup muttered the lyrics softly to himself, the melody playing slower than it was meant to, through his head. He could feel as it became harder to breath, the air growing stale and thin. He didn't even know how long he had been down there, but he knew he wouldn't last much longer. "Every road they led you down felt so wrong... so you found another way." The words were merely a whisper, Hiccup having to fight for breath as he spoke. "You've got a big heart... The way you see the world— It got you this far." He coughed but kept going, the song distracting him, just like he had wanted. "You might have some bruises and a few scars, but you know you're going to be okay..." Hiccup's body relaxed and his eyes slowly drifted closed. "And even though you're scared... you're stronger than you know..." His breathing became shallow. "If you're lost out where the lights are blinding, caught in all the stars are hiding... That's when something wild calls you home." His voice became impossibly quieter, his lips barely moving with each word as he started to fade. "If you face the fear that keeps you frozen... chase the sky into the ocean... that's when something wild calls you home... home..."

Hiccup's last thoughts were of Toothless and Astrid, the only home that had ever mattered and the ones closest to his heart.

A/N: Thanks for reading! I hope you liked the chapter. I did a lot of research for this chapter and spent a lot of time thinking through the fight scenes. It was difficult to write. Sorry about the cliffhanger!

Review Responses:

Silver Sentinel: The spot where Stoick and Valka were, was a distance away, so they wouldn't have been easy to see as they watched. I'm sure it was hard for them to watch Hiccup when he was captured. Hiccup wasn't as out of it as he looked, he was just making plans and trying to get the Grimborns to lower their guard. He is still in pain, but not completely incapable, plus he's desperate to get out of there. Well, Stoick and Valka thought the Grimborns were still sleeping and had to take the risk to go down there, to find Hiccup.

omega13a: I hope you had a good birthday!

corbinace: Maybe she would have been, if the situation wasn't so intense. You ended up being right, by the way, about Hiccup being buried alive. I just couldn't tell you that you were right when I responded to your last review, haha. Way to go!

gandalf nho: Yeah, hopefully they get there in time!

CHSHiccstrid: Hiccup did his best, but since his goal was to distract Ullr so that his parents could have a chance, he was kind of successful. Astrid just didn't want to abandon her new duties when it was her first time as interim chief on her own, but it is good that they are finally on their way. They'll certainly be surprised to find that Ryker is alive. I tried to get Snoggletog Showdown ready in time for today, but I've been busy, so you got another chapter of Deviation instead! I'm glad you still want to read it even though Christmas is over! The third movie stuff won't come in for a little while, but it'll get there. There were a lot of things in that movie that I didn't like either. I'm sure some other RTTE characters will come in eventually.

Lightbrightfury: That's a good point, Stoick might be more accepting of Valka being there because Hiccup has been such an example to him. Valka has spent twenty years with just the dragons, and during that time the Bewilderbeast led in a very different way than Toothless does. The way Hiccup handles dragons on Berk, is different than how Valka handled them, because Valka changed to live with the dragons and the dragons have changed to live on Berk. Valka's reasonings don't have to make sense to you, they make sense to her. These dragons that have always been free, are going to be locked in stables while they are being trained, and she doesn't think that's right. She's expecting Berk to change for the dragons, and they have, but not as much as Valka expects. She also just lost her Bewilderbeast and is probably still feeling that loss, and then she sees them hacking away at this giant tusk. In the end, she does give in and stop fighting these things, because reconciling with Hiccup is more important to her. I disagree with her too, but that doesn't mean that her reasons aren't real to her.

KN Hudson: Thank you! It is about time that Toothless and the others left in search of Hiccup and his parents. Things do still need to be resolved between Hiccup and his friends. I'm sure Stoick and Valka were waiting in agony for the right time to go in, to save Hiccup. They just want him safe. This chapter had all the fighting in it, you were right to bet on Stoick and Valka.

Jhousa: Thanks! I think this chapter goes more into Katla's background and how she was trying to fit in with her family, only wanting their love and acceptance, but could never quite do it. I hope you liked this chapter too!