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Hiccup didn’t know where it all went wrong. They had a plan, it was all thought out, it was supposed to be fine-
But now he was being dragged into the great hall, his arm being held in a vice grip by his father. Even worse, his friends were being manhandled, protesting as they get tossed onto the hard stone floor, unable to fight back against the strong, burly vikings frowning down at them.
“I should have known. I should have seen the signs,” Stoick growls, glaring at Hiccup, ignoring the way his son is gasping, trying to catch his breath, how the other children are breathing fast, panicked, eyes wide in fear.
“Dad-” the young boy manages to pant out, but he’s immediately interrupted.
“We had a deal!” the clan leader yells, causing his son to flinch at the sharp noise. He snorts and starts pacing.
“I know we did... but that was before... ugh, it's all so messed up!” Hiccup whines, tangling his hands in his own hair in frustration.
“So everything in the ring. A trick? A lie?” Stoick questions, his tone aggressive, as he marches toward his son, stopping right in front of him and glaring down at the boy.
“I screwed up,” Hiccup whispers, feeling tears start to brim in his eyes. “I should have told you before now. Take this out on me, be mad at me, but please... just don't hurt Toothless.”
“The dragon? That's what you're worried about? Not the people you almost killed?” Stoick yells, causing Hiccup to flinch back as spittle sprays down on him.
He was just protecting me! He's not dangerous!” Hiccup yells back, trying to defend Toothless.
“They've killed hundreds of us!” Stoick retorts, his face twisting in hatred.
“And we've killed thousands of them!” Hiccup argues. “They defend themselves, that's all! They raid us because they have to! If they don't bring enough food back, they'll be eaten themselves. There's something else on their island dad... it's a dragon like-.”
“Their island?” Stoick interrupts with a huff, his eyes widening in realization as he points an accusing finger at his son. “So you've been to the nest.”
“Did- did I say nest?” Hiccup tries to salvage the situation, but it’s too late, he’s said too much.
“How did you find it?” Stoick snarls, only one goal in mind.
“I- I didn't. Toothless did,” he explains, before realizing his mistake as the others wince. Stoick’s eyes flare triumphantly, realizing the secret to finding the island.
“Oh. Oh no. No, Dad. No,” Hiccup pleads, panic in his voice.
“Why would you side with them?” Stoick spits, rage evident on his face. “After all they’ve done to us, you’d still side with a dragon?”
“I- I know, but Toothless, the dragons, they can- they can help us, dad!” Hiccup pleads, his eyes brimming with tears, almost unable to recognize his father like this. He’s painfully aware of the struggles of his friends now, of the way Heather’s knee doesn’t seem to be aligned quite right, of the way Astrid looks ready to fight anyone who comes near, even without her wheelchair.
“Help you?” Stoick chuckles, but it’s not a pleasant sound, it sounds more angry than mirthful. “Those beasts can’t help you. You were never even meant to make it this far.”
“But we’re still people! We’re still vikings, just like you!” Hiccup shouts, trying to appeal to his better nature. His face falls in dismay as he watches his father’s face scrunch up in something akin to disgust.
“You’ve thrown your lot in with them,” Stoick spits out. “You’re not a viking. You’re not my son.”
Hiccup blinks, his eyes wide in shock as the tears finally spill from his eyes, and the world seems to narrow around him. He’s vaguely aware of his breathing quickening as sharp sobs wrench through the air - they’re being wrenched out of him, he realizes. Somewhere in his consciousness, he registers his father leaving the great hall, door slamming behind him, and his friends approaching him, gently holding him in their arms as he hyperventilates and tries to gain control of his emotions once more.
“Hiccup?” he hears a soft voice calling him, sounding distant, although the lips forming the word are right in front of him. “Hey, you’re ok, we’re here. Just listen to my voice, ok? Can you do that?”
Hiccup opens his mouth to answer, but there’s a knot in his throat, so he just nods instead. The lips form a smile, and open to praise him, but he’s not really focusing on the words any more, just the feeling of hearing them. He’s feeling floaty, but he knows he’s surrounded by people who he loves, who love him back, and it gives him a warm feeling inside, despite the pain of betrayal, of loss. He tries to focus on the warm feeling, to bring it to the forefront in his mind, and it helps a little.
“We have to get them back,” he whispers, the words sounding foreign in his mouth. He isn’t quite back inside his own body yet, but he’s close enough.
“I know. We will,” the voice assures, and he realizes it’s Astrid’s, looks up to find her piercing blue gaze, regarding him warmly.
“How?” another voice questions, sounding skeptical. Hiccup recognizes it as Snotlout’s, and he recognizes Fishleg’s hand smacking him on the head, causing a pained yelp, although the sound is mostly exaggerated.
“We’ll figure it out,” Fishlegs says confidently. It feels strange seeing him without his wheelchair. Strange seeing any of them without their mobility aids. Snotlout was right, how were they ever going to do this?
“Hey,” Astrid grabs his attention, snapping her fingers. “I can see you thinking. Look at me, we will figure this out, ok?”
Hiccup takes a deep breath and nods. She’s right. They’re vikings, their whole thing is problem solving. He bites his lip as he remembers his father’s words, but tries not to dwell on it.
“Come on, help me out!” Heather calls, standing by the entrance to the hall, attempting to push open the ridiculously heavy doors. Hiccup’s gaze flits to her knee, breathing a sigh of relief as he sees it’s safely back in its socket. He stands up, fighting the wave of dizziness that threatens to overcome him. His vision returns to normal after a moment though, and he marches towards the door, pushing against it with all his strength, feeling it start to budge.
“Who designed this damn door?” Ruffnut complains, having joined them. With the three of them, however, they manage to finally slide the door open far enough to slip through. Hiccup glances back at the rest of the group, exhaustion visible on their faces, and makes eye contact with Astrid, a silent question in his expression.
“Go!” she urges him. “Don’t make any detours, go save Toothless!”
Hiccup nods and slips through the door, quickening his pace to catch up with Ruffnut and Heather, who are approaching the crest of the hill. They stop short at the edge of the cliff, their shoulders slumping, and Hiccup feels his heart pounding in his chest, hoping that they still have a chance-
But when he reaches their side, his heart sinks as he sees the boats almost ready to leave. Toothless is trapped on one of the boats, every limb shackled down, with Stoick standing next to him. As if sensing his presence, the chief turns, making eye contact with Hiccup. The boy swallows a lump in his throat as he shakes his head, desperately trying to convey to his father that it’s too dangerous to go to the island, but Stoick simply turns away, yelling out an order, and the ships set sail, the young vikings powerless to stop them.
Hiccup sits down hopelessly, watching as the ships grow smaller in the distance. He’s vaguely aware of Ruffnut and Heather walking away, returning only when the ships have cleared the horizon.
“Hey, Hiccup?” Heather gently places a hand on his shoulder, and he turns to look at her, and then his eyes widen as he looks behind her, seeing a hoard of dragons, his friends sitting proudly on their backs. Astrid is astride a Nadder, while Fishlegs is sitting on a Gronckle, and Snotlout is grinning at him from atop a Monstrous Nightmare. Ruffnut and Tuffnut are bickering as usual, except now they’re each straddling a separate head of a Zippleback. A Razorwhip is the lone dragon without a rider, although he assumes it’s the one Heather is planning to get on.
“Come on, let’s go rescue your dragon,” Astrid grins, reaching out a hand. Hiccup takes it and uses it as leverage to get onto the Nadder behind Astrid. As soon as both him and Heather were safely astride the dragons - well, as safe as one can be when riding a dragon - they took off, determined to reach the island, save Toothless, and hopefully talk some sense into the chief of the clan. For the first time since the fiasco in the arena, Hiccup felt hopeful. They could do this.