The Shadow's Bane

Eclipse's Might

Jim's POV:

If it hadn't been for Toothless's cry as well as Hiccup's, I probably would have never been able to snap out of that possession that the Darkness had a hold over me. The Darkness that Strickler and Numora had taught me to embrace.

It was like watching AAARRRGGHH!!! die all over again. Stabbing Toothless with Creeper's Son had been the last straw for me. How Evil Jim had managed to retrieve that dagger, I don't know. Maybe that's why he could control the Mark that was now permanently stuck on my face.

"NO!" I yelled, using my last drop of energy to brake myself free of the Darkness and spin away from Hiccup out of his reach so that he could get up from my grasp that had pinned him to the floor in the first place.
Then in a flying dash, I swung Eclipse around so fast that Evil Jim didn't have time to escape. With one mighty swing, Eclipse sliced through Evil Jim's heart where a ball of red light burst out of his chest, almost blinding us.

Then he gave out a cry so shrill it made my ears hurt. Unlike Toothless, he burst into rubble and ash on contact that when it was safe to look back up, he was no where to be seen anymore.

"Jim!" Claire called as I dropped down to my knees, now breathing heavily just as I had when I had striked Gunmar down as well.

"I'm sorry," I said. "I don't know what happened." And it was true. I didn't. The only thing I could remember was making our way to the Dragon Academy and then seeing Evil Jim fly down into the arena before the Darkness could take me. Now I was here. We were here.

"Toothless!" Hiccup cried. Making me look up at my brother who ran over to his friend without a moments hesitation. "No," he mourned. "No, no, no. It can't be. Why Odin? Why?" He sobbed. Wrapping his arms around Toothless's stone head.

I must admit. Even I let loose a tear myself. It was heartbreaking seeing him like this. That's when I knew what I had to do. "Toby. Claire. Go back to Arcadia to get the antidote that we used for AAARRRGGHH!!!. Please. We don't have much time."

When I looked back at them I was surprised to see how upset Toby was. The poor guy... he was probably thinking of the same thing I was.
"You got it, Jim. Come on, Tobes. He's right. We need to get to Blinky," Claire said, having to pull him along from his stunned position.

Once she had made a portal and they were gone, I walked over to Hiccup where I placed a hand on his shaking shoulder for comfort. Astrid was next to him on the other side, crying just as much as Hiccup was. If not, less.

"Hiccup?" I asked. "It's going to be okay. Toby and Claire have gone back to Arcadia to get a cure. We will get Toothless back, I promise."

Then after a few more heavy sobs, he lifted up his head to look at me. His once green eyes now red from crying. "I already lost my father. Do you understand, Jim? I can't lose Toothless too. Evil Jim was right. Without Toothless... I'm nothing. And without your armour, you're..."

"No," I said as firmly as I could, surprising him with my tone. "If you want to see it the way I see it, Hiccup. We're heroes. All of us are. Just as Blinky once said to me: The amulet made you a Trollhunter. But you made yourself a hero. Which I'm going to now say to you. Toothless made you a Dragon Rider. But together, you made yourselves a hero."

Hiccup forced a smile at my words. I could see he was trying. "Don't worry. They will be back. And I will stay here too until we get Toothless back."

"Thank you, Jim. I'm glad you're here," he said tearfully just as a flap of wings sounded from above us.

"And I'm sorry that any of this happened in the first place," I said.

"Are you kidding?" Hiccup asked me.

"Jim. You're my brother which is why I would follow you to the ends of the Earth. We're human. We're both growing, changing, learning new ways. And even if I could, I wouldn't change a thing."

His words reminded me of Blinky. Now to think of it, they weren't that much different from each other in terms of their wisdom. It made me smile this time.

"Hiccup!" Snotlout suddenly called from behind us, with the twins hurrying towards us next to him.

"I'm sorry, H," Tuffnut said. Taking his viking helmet off his head to put it against his chest where Ruffnut mirrored his actions.

"What was once what I thought a tribute to Toothless from afar, is actually the very Toothless, himself."

"The last offspring of lighting and death itself is now..."

"No," Hiccup said, interrupting Ruffnut. "He's not. Toby and Claire have gone back to Arcadia to get a cure. Despite everything, there is still hope."

"Aah... not to be a total bus kill, Chief, but Toothless is very much pure stone now, Tuffnut said. "So how is a cure going to help?"

"You will see," I said.

"Excuse me," Ruffnut added, still sobbing. "But I was trying to make a ulogy for our friend here. That's if Hiccup is too emotional to say one."

"It's okay," Hiccup said. "Jim is right. Even the word hopeless isn't devoid of hope. Which if anything, is the one thing we need the most right now."