The Hidden World

Dragon Raid

The group of friends stood behind the reunited couple.
"What the heck is going on?" Jorge asked disgusted and helplessly confused at the same time. Finn was crying happily, very touched by this scene. What could he do, he was the sensitive guy. The twins were restarting after their mindblow. They weren't used to see their strong Hiccup crying in someone's arms and needed to find back to reality.
Ava was confused. She had had a bad feeling. Was this bad? No. Or was it? Was it Viggo pulling the strings? Was that his real father? When had their roles been reversed? Hiccup seemed to not care about Viggo anymore, why was Ava now all of a sudden? In fact, her friend seemed to care for nothing anymore.
Their mission! They needed to get back! How were they supposed to travel back when Hiccup apparently found his father? No no no no no! No!
Ava shook her head frustrated. Hiccup reuniting, it's a disaster! And all of a sudden, too. No doubt this was a trap. And Viggo had succeeded in making the boy mindless, trusting this stranger. Viggo said he knew Hiccup's history, so there was no proof at all. This was a trap!
A sudden noise disturbed the reunion and the whole hall trembled. Ava knew it. She cursed internally.
Stoick left the embrace and glanced terrified at Gobber.
"Dragon raid." He murmured.
"What was that?" Hiccup asked confused and Stoick was reminded of the young adult in his arms.
"Stay here son. Here you'll be safe."
He left him and joined Gobber at the door. The blacksmith already awaited him with a grin.
"Ready Chief?" He asked. The man took a heavy axe and acknowledged his reflection. Behind him his confused son was reflected.
"I'm not taking my chances again." He mumbled and with a last battle cry he stormed out of the hall, Gobber right behind him. He would protect his only son.
Ava didn't waste another second. She picked up the dragon eye and grabbed Hiccup's arm, dragging him away.
"Woah woah, what are you doing?" He asked not amused. Ava rolled her eyes, dragging him out of the Hall, but the boy stopped and stood still, remembering his father's voice. He missed the presence of safety so much, he actually wanted to take it. He seeked the protection of a fatherly figure.
"What does it look like? We're fleeing!"
"Wha-why should we Ave?"
"I'm not going anywhere with these bombs out there." Jorge stated.
"This is obviously a trap. Weren't you the one who suspected Viggo to be behind everything!"
Hiccup snorted amused.
"Weren't you the one who doubted me? Calling me, unreasonable?"
He countered back. Ava hated it when she was attacked with her own words.
"Well guess what, maybe you were right. Please don't tell me you believe meeting a man who has the missing piece to the puzzle called your past is a coincidence." She groaned. Hiccup's face hardened. He knew something more was behind her sudden outburst, but he couldn't pinpoint it now. Instead he answered her question.
"No, I don't think it's a coincidence. I think it's my destiny, along with the dragon eye." He snapped and snatched the eye out of her hands. Ava was shocked.
"That's not the Hiccup I know. Hiccup would never let himself be played this easily like a fool." Hiccup was truly hurt by her words. Gladly he could explain the tears in his eyes as leftovers.
"Then what if I am a fool. A fool with a heart that also desires to have a family. To belong." Ava gritted her teeth, almost yelling at him you already have a damn family! She bit her tongue and swallowed her words.
"Present yourself like a fool, but I won't let you walk blindly into a trap." She stated her opinion and dragged him out of the Hall, shouting for their friends to follow.
"No!" Hiccup shouted, but stumbled out of the Hall.
"Duck!" Ava shrieked and he managed to do so in last second. A strong wind rushed over his head, almost smacking him over. He looked at the one responsible.
Big head with horns, a spiky tail and wings?
"A dragon?" He mumbled surprised. His friends gaped terrified at the creatures.
"Hyaaa!" Finn cried horrified. A dragon with a long neck crawled towards them, it's front legs attached to it's wings. Ava glanced worriedly at her surroundings, only finding an axe stuck in a shield. Worthless. Or...?
She grabbed the weapon with both hands. With a cry she smashed the shield at the dragon's nose and it burst apart in little pieces. The dragon whined, spread it's monstrous wings and took off into the dark sky.
Ava panted in shock and observed their surroundings for another dragon.
"Ok, who's next."
A whistle snatched all of Hiccup's attention. The group didn't notice, only a few trained Vikings surveyed the sky in fear.
"Did ya hear that?" Hiccup whispered, longing for the familiar sound to appear again.
"Night Fury!" He heard the voice of his father yell. Before Hiccup spotted the man, his vision changed so fast his brain didn't progress. Cries reached his ears, but they stayed in the background and received no attention from Hiccup. He was solely concentrated in realizing what was happening.
He looked at his hands, far below him the ground.
"Mother of god..." He gasped and looked up. No stars, only black. He barely spotted sharp claws on his belt, holding the dragon eye. Mindlessly he started struggling in fear and hit something hard with his elbow. Something roared in pain and he found himself nearing the ground. The dragon eye in front of him. In a reflex he grabbed it, just before he felt being pulled up again. Just like before claws had surrounded the eye. Only this time Hiccup barely hold onto the eye with his hands.
A head stared at him, green eyes and an open mouth filled with white sharp teeth. The creature growled annoyed at the sight of him. Quickly it spun itself, Hiccup spinning along. The boy cried in fear, unsure how to stomach that. By now he had realized, if he let go he would probably meet his end with the ground. When the beast steadied it's flight and calmed down, Hiccup sighed in relief. Again the creature glanced at him and he noticed it was looking at him upside down.
Suit yourself, the dragon growled so very done with the human hanging on the dragon eye. It's ears went attentive when it heard an angry roar down below. Before it could react, something sharp sliced it's tail. It cried in unbelievable pain and lost altitude. Somehow it couldn't steer anymore, panicking up in the sky. That action left it to open it's claws. Hiccup and the dragon eye flew towards the ground, observing the dragon in it's own distress. He spotted fear in it's green eyes. He read right through it, because he realized, it was like looking into a mirror.
He clenched the dragon eye in his chest, preparing for the life crushing land. The dragon caught the glance. It didn't know why, but suddenly it set out to dive. It dived to reach out for the helpless boy it had brought into the sky. It flapped it wings to get faster. It needed to save the boy, with all costs.
It opened it's mouth and grabbed the boy at his foot. Pulling him up to it's stomach, wrapping it's wings around them as they crashed onto the hard and dusty ground.

_______________________________________

Barely conscious the dragon groaned in unbelievable pain. It lifted it's wings to see the fragile body of the human in it's arms. The boy was unconscious, but his breathing was rather steady. The dragon eye rolled out of his lifeless arms. It snorted scornfully at the sight of this stupid object. The ground vibrated loudly, signalling mad Vikings running at their direction. The dragon whined painfully, not in the state to flee. But it had to, if it's life meant anything to it. It pushed itself up on wobbly feet, it's vision blurry. Shaking it off didn't work, so it groaned in frustration. The vibrations getting stronger, the noise louder. Despite being unsteady it stretched it's wings. It hesitated, turned around to look at the boy. It still felt his sticky red liquid on it's belly. The dragon sighed and snatched the dragon eye in it's mouth. It spotted the upcoming Vikings, none of them recognizing. It never cared for humans, but it was certain to never forget that little boy. His green eyes, which felt like a mirror reflecting it's own soul. It shook it's head and took of, flying out of the sight and crash landing into safety.

The redhead growled angrily at the almost invisible dragon. Gone.
But it left his son.
Worriedly he leaned down and embraced the fragile body in his arms.
"Please..." He pleaded, checking for a pulse. It took a few moments, but eventually he found one.
"Thank Thor!" He cried relieved. He pressed his only son against his chest and caressed his dirty hair. The little bruises on his face, the split up lip.
"You're alive. You're back." He whispered. A familiar foot and peg noise filled his ears.
"Well... at least most of 'im." His best friend stated. Stoick acknowledged the monstrous wound, his left leg almost shredded into pieces.
"I'd better get Gothi." Gobber said dryly. Stoick nodded sorrowful. He saw the bones, crushed into little pieces, the mass of blood leaving the body. His leg was not to be helped.
Ava entered the scene, behind her the rest of the group.
"Hiccup..." She mumbled in shock. She couldn't help but realize, it was all her fault. Only a true father could care like that. She was wrong. She wanted to protect him. Now she was left to live with the blame of making him an amputee. All because she was jealous, she wanted to have Hiccup all alone.
She bit her lip and looked at where the dragon flew away.
Dragon. A real dragon.
It wasn't her fault! It was that monster! That world in general wasn't safe! Not safe for her Hiccup! And she would do anything to protect him from further damage.
"I'll promise, Hiccup." She swore silently to herself, since Hiccup had already left, carried in the arms of his father. Her fists clenched tightly together. Finn observed her worriedly. He placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Ava-"
She brushed the hand away and glanced angrily at her friend.
"It's Astrid, Fishlegs."