82A/N: It's been forever since I last wrote something. Honestly, I feel like something has sucked my soul out of me! Despite the disease called "writer's block" (a cruel one it is), I have promised myself that I will try to come up with something worth reading. There have been many wonderful readers who send me amazing reviews for my stories even I haven't updated for months. But for their expiring encouragement I wouldn't be giving this a shot. So thank you very much!
Have you seen the first five minutes of "How to train your dragon 2"? It. Was. EPIC! I wish the 13th of June would just arrive quickly because I can't wait! Hiccup's new look is striking! Toothless is so cute and also majestic as ever! I just don't have enough of this duo!
This story is written in order to express my indescribable fondness toward "How to train your dragon". I don't care what the sequel is going to be like but I will always cherish the first movie and the emotions it has brought me! The fact that a lot of people had done this doesn't prevent me from doing mine!
Disclaimer: I don't own "How to train your dragon".
The Red Death perished with one hell of an explosion. Everything was blurry and foggy after that. Ash flew everywhere, smoke consumed the island and it seemed like even in its death, the monstrous dragon still aimed to kill. When Stoick saw Toothless lying on the ground and Hiccup was nowhere to be found, his heart was crushed. Guilt swallowed him whole, then slowly tortured him cruelly. There were no words which could describe whatever he was feeling at that horrifying moment. Nothing could be done that seemed right. For the first time, the chief didn't know what was to come, how he would live with himself, with what happened haunting his mind until his death. His comrades and the villagers that accompanied him on the suicidal foolish mission were lost, too. They were feeling things that they never thought they were capable of feeling. It was just… overwhelming.
"I did this."
"I'm so sorry."
Funny, the words went out of his mouth. What good would they do now? The person who was supposed to hear them was dead. His boy. Hiccup. The runt of Berk. As he thought that his words were just spoken for himself, the Night Fury's eyelids slowly opened. It lived. It survived. His son didn't. The creature that his son had risked his life to protect, the creature that he was born to kill was the closest living thing his son had ever had in his life. Toxic green eyes looked at him. Stoick suddenly felt like apologizing to the beast, too.
"I'm so sorry."
Those big eyes widened as if they were detecting the honesty in those words. After that, the dragon did something he never expected to happen. Black wings slowly opened, revealing the little human clutching in the dragon's claws. Hiccup looked so fragile, so tiny comparing to the massive black dragon. Hell, he looked frail comparing to everything. And he just slayed the unholy nightmare that no-one could ever imagine in a thousand years. The chief wasted no time thinking, hurriedly took his son into his arms, and took off his helmet so that he could hear the most precious sound in the world. In a few seconds, he held his breath and everything froze.
"Thump… thump… thump…"
"He's alive! You brought him back alive!"
Everyone immediately cheered! The hero had come back alive! Astrid smiled in joy, despite the tears in her eyes. Even the teens who bullied little Hiccup were relieved. They didn't realize they were crying until they wiped their own tears. They still didn't comprehend their own emotions. Never in their life had they thought about anything else except for dragon-killing and their own personal matters. It was all extremely confusing. But undeniably, there was this odd ache that weighed on their hearts which appeared right after the "smack-down".
Stoick felt like the gods had just granted him the greatest wish ever but he didn't realize the unholy offspring of lightning and death itself had actually made his prayer come true. His moment of relief was interrupted when his friend said:
"Well, most of him."
It was like being punched into the face repeatedly. At first, he didn't understand what Gobber was talking about but after his eyes caught the sight of Hiccup's left leg, guilt mercilessly attacked him again. Losing a limb before reaching maturity because of the foolishness of the child's own parent, how ironic that was! He told his people, his voice was strong, for the sake of everyone but people didn't miss how it shook the chief when he spoke:
"Everyone, try to fix the boats as fast as you can! We have to get back to Berk as soon as possible!"
Otherwise… He didn't want to think what would happen if they didn't get back in time. Gobber carefully looked at his apprentice's injury. It was nasty and bloody. Looking at it was hurtful enough, let alone bearing it. Hiccup was the last person he could ever think of to endure something like this, so tragic, so brutal. Gobber wasn't the boy's father, but he usually felt like it. His heart ached for the lad. More than anyone, he knew how exactly it was like. Even he wasn't a proper healer, he knew the leg couldn't be saved. The lad was going to lose it. Damn, it hurt. Stoick realized how critical his son's situation was as well, but the chief was too stubborn to admit it. Gobber somewhat hated his friend for being ignorance sometimes, but he couldn't blame the father either. It was hard, very hard. The blacksmith decided to spell it out to him:
"Stoick, his leg will have to go. There are no other options."
The other man looked like he was going to burst into tears like a child but all he did was bowing his head down and clenched his eyes shut. The news was torturous. The blacksmith was surprised when he got a verbal reply, but from someone else. Astrid.
"What do you mean by his leg has to go?"
"Astrid, if it doesn't, then he has to go." Gobber answered quickly.
The strong Viking girl cried out, tears fell freely on her cheeks as she ran off. She had never done that ever since she could remember and it was horrible. Life was unfair. Hiccup didn't deserve that fate. He saved the day and what he got was a life threatening injury. She couldn't help but blame herself, for helping in the process of making Hiccup an outcast of the village. Fishlegs was the first to see her coming.
"What happened Astrid? What's wrong?"
"Hey Astrid, do you want to help us repair these ships?" Snotlout asked invitingly.
The twins were whacking each other with pieces of woods from the broken ships.
"Hiccup's going to lose his leg."
"What?" Fishlegs didn't believe what he had just heard.
Astrid couldn't repeat the unpleasant news. Snotlout even had the gut to ask:
"But it will grow back, right?"
Astrid felt like beating the guy up but she didn't find the energy to do so. Ruffnut actually cared:
"No other options?"
"No. It's his leg or his… life." Astrid replied.
"Why do I feel like it's our fault?" Fishlegs asked out loud.
"Stop talking rubbish. How come it's our fault? He's responsible for his leg!" Snotlout said, but he didn't believe in his words.
Their conversation was suddenly disturbed as people shouted at each other loudly from the distance.
"What's going on?" Astrid asked, her voice was shaken.
"They're arguing." Tuffnut said.
"No, YOU do it! You're his father!" Gobber growled angrily. He couldn't bring himself to do whatever they had to do in order to save Hiccup.
"That's exactly why I CANNOT do it! Gobber, you have more experience about this than I do!" Stoick tried to reason with his friend.
In his life, the chief had never been hesitant when it came to using a sword or any weapons to bring down an enemy. Now, the sword that would be used to amputate his son's leg seemed to weigh a thousand tons. No, he just simply couldn't.
"You're a lousy father, Stoick. You can't even do this for your own son!"
The chief was desperate and at the same time, he really wanted to hit his friend for doing this to him.
"Fine then, I'll do it. But you need to hold him down for me. We're not going to like his reactions."
"I can't do that either." Stoick whispered painfully. He felt so small, smaller than his son.
"For Odin's sake, what CAN you do?" Gobber bellowed in frustration.
The teens felt their knees weakened as the conversation went on. Hiccup was going to have his leg cut off after he nearly got burned into ash. This kid was seriously attracted to unspeakable disasters. The Vikings who were witnessing the scene swore to the gods no-one could feel as awful as they could right now. Stoick wondered why he hadn't died from all the emotions that he possessed. However, they were terribly wrong. Someone could feel a lot worse than they could. It was only when Gobber took out his sword did they realize that their emotions were just a spoonful of tea comparing to the feeling of one living being.
The shining blade was introduced to the world, blinding almost everyone around there with misty eyes. But then…
"RRROOOOOOAAAAAARRRRRRR!"
Before anyone could blink or take a breath, the wounded Night Fury proved himself to be an offspring of lightning by standing up despite his conditions and shielding his rider from the Vikings. The people were stunned. His pupils turned into slits as his wings were unfurled and spread widely. His tail moved around dangerously but somewhat thoughtfully, avoiding Hiccup's body but aiming for anyone who dared to come close. Everyone felt like dropping their jaws. The unholy offspring of lightning and death indeed.
Toothless was tired. Yes, he was absolutely worn out. Yes, he felt like hell. But all of that disappeared right when he saw a human approaching his little friend with that killing object. No way would he let anyone hurt his wounded human more than he already was. That was not going to happen. He growled menacingly while his paws touched Hiccup's arm with tenderness. The Vikings could almost understand what the dragon was trying to say to Hiccup:
"Wake up, please! You have to wake up, wake up for me!"
And to the Vikings, he was making it crystal clear:
"Take one more step near him with that thing, you'll be very sorry."
Gobber felt his heart slamming his chest at the sight of the dragon. Together they could easily subdue the creature but obviously, Hiccup wouldn't be happy with that, especially if they hurt his dragon. Besides, they weren't so confident when it came to Night Furies either. Who knew what the dragon could do when Hiccup wasn't awake to tell the beast not to hurt people. If it weren't for the lad, Toothless would undoubtedly kill Stoick in the arena without a second thought.
"Toothless, please, Hiccup needs us to do this for him." Astrid said softly and slowly, raising her hands up in the surrendering gesture.
People stared at her with unreadable expressions, making the girl feel like she had done something wrong. A thought crossed her mind, wondering if this was how Hiccup felt all the time in his short life. No wonder why Hiccup befriended and trusted a dragon instead of his own tribe. Toothless would never give him that look.
The dragon didn't believe her, which wasn't so surprising. Why should he? They were just words. Words are meaningless and manipulating. Hiccup did talk a lot, yes, but his actions spoke louder. Toothless wasn't planning to back down anytime soon. He whined and crooned loudly, getting desperate to get Hiccup to open his eyes. The dragon even stamped his feet and flapped his wings every once in a while. Hiccup was very still and didn't stir.
Gobber had many encounters with dragons. He always knew that dragons were mindless beast and they always went for the kill. But that knowledge was proven wrong just about a few hours ago and now he didn't know what to think. The dragon clearly understood everything Hiccup spoke. Therefore, the dragon must have understood what Astrid said. Then why didn't he let them…?
"You don't believe us do you?" Gobber asked slowly.
The dragon growled at the sudden question, circling himself around his human. Hiccup was completely hidden now. Toothless bared his teeth, clearly saying that he didn't. Gobber sighed and rubbed his face.
"Everyone, back down."
People were puzzled at his command. Stoick said:
"Just do as Gobber says! Everyone, back down!"
The Vikings reluctantly gave the dragon and his boy some space. Gobber thought of dropping his weapon to gain Toothless' trust but that wouldn't help him deliver the point to Hiccup's protective friend. He asked:
"So… you understand me, right….. uh…"
"Toothless." Astrid provided.
"Yes, that's right. You understand me, right Toothless?"
The Night Fury titled his head slightly at the question. He slowly brought his head down cautiously. The dragon tried to make out the big human's intention behind the question.
"That's great! Uh, well, Hiccup needs serious help." Gobber spoke very slowly, gesturing at Hiccup and at himself when he said the word help. "I can help him, if you let me."
Toothless tried to digest the man's words. Great, it sounded like Hiccup's fate was his to decide now. The Night Fury eyed the weapon, nodded his head toward the threat.
"Oh, why do I hold this sword? Good question." Gobber scratched his hair. Damn, this dragon was smart, very smart. He knew the right questions to ask.
"Okay, I will be frank. Hiccup's leg's going to kill him. I cut it off, or he dies. You understand?"
Hearing this, the Night Fury contemplated. The dragon took in a deep breath, sniffing for any kind of deception or conspiracy behind this, but he detected none. The man's heart was beating fast, but it was only logical. Toothless whined sadly, looking down at his human and licked his cheek adoringly. He stepped away from the little human but stayed close, signaling for Gobber to approach. Still, his draconic eyes were on the dangerous blade.
"Thank you." Gobber said meaningfully. "You mind holding him down? He's your best friend after all."
Toothless was scared for Hiccup's life, angry at the Vikings and mad at himself for not being able to save Hiccup fully. But the dragon knew he must be calm and composed for Hiccup's sake and his own. He nodded lightly, placing his head on Hiccup's upper body, whining pitifully. Gobber counted:
"One…"
Astrid placed her hands on her mouth to keep herself from shouting. She was shivering like she just caught a cold. The twins hugged each other (it was a rare scene) while Snotlout looked away.
"Two…"
Stoick forced himself to look. He deserved this. He didn't have the courage to do this for his son, to hold him down but he needed to see this, to know what exactly he had done to his only child.
"Three!"
The blade came down, swift and clean, right under Hiccup's knee. The worst part was expected but it still made people unnerved. Hiccup screamed his throat out, thrashing violently under Toothless' head. Hearing his rider's scream, Toothless roared like someone just hit him with an axe. The dragon wish he could endure a fragment of what Hiccup was experiencing. Hiccup started talking to no-one:
"It hurts! Make it stop! Please make it stop!"
"It's alright Hiccup, I promise!" Stoick and Gobber immediately tried to calm Hiccup down.
"Please… please… make it STOP! Stop this!"
People didn't dare to look at Hiccup directly. They tried to look at something else. Toothless licked Hiccup's cheek in order to comfort him in futile.
"Just KILL ME, I don't want to feel this!"
"Oh god, Hiccup, you're fine, calm down!" Stoick shouted like he was ordering his son to calm down, which made things worse.
"Oh Thor, dad's mad again!" Hiccup mumbled, then shouted at the top of his lungs again, his green eyes slightly opened. "KILL ME AND LEAVE TOOTHLESS ALONE!"
At this one, people really wanted to 1) rip their ears off so they didn't have to listen anymore, 2) gag Hiccup so he would stop torturing them verbally. It was an absent-minded accusation. Toothless crooned sadly, holding his human down with his paws, pushing Hiccup down gently with his head.
"TOOTHLESS RUN, THEY'LL KILL YOU! THEY'RE KILLING ME!"
"Your dragon is fine. I'm sorry, Hiccup. I'm so sorry!" Stoick said repeatedly.
After a while, the thrashing and shouting ceased but the words kept playing again and again in everyone's head. Toothless growled at everyone who got too close for his liking, except for maybe Gobber.
"We have a lot to make up for." Astrid announced weakly but surly.
"Yes, we do." Stoick agreed.
"But I doubt that dragon's going to let you near Hiccup to do that." Gobber said
It was going to be a long trip home.