Chapter Text
Hiccup laid himself flat on his back, trying to breathe through the pain. He didn't know how long he laid there, but it was long enough for Toothless to come back with the egg.
"Hey Bud," Hiccup greeted, weakly upon seeing the Night Fury looming over him.
Toothless set the egg down and let out a warble of concern.
"Yeah," Hiccup agreed as he used his good arm to push himself up into a sitting position. "But I've had worse. Let's get out of here."
With Toothless's help, Hiccup managed to stand on his one leg. The second he tried to climb onto the dragon's back, he felt a wave of dizziness wash over him. His leg gave out under him. Toothless quickly caught him and helped lower him to the ground.
"I'm okay, bud," Hiccup lied. He was not fine. He felt like death. He was sure he had lost a good amount of blood given that he'd been stabbed twice. He also hadn't had his seizure tonic since they got back from Vanaheim almost 48 hours ago. Everything had happened so fast that he had forgotten all about it.
Toothless moved Hiccup's hand away from the wound. He sniffed it, before licking it once. Toothless stared at his rider for a second, before running off to get help, leaving Hiccup alone with a frozen villain.
Hiccup laid back down and waited. He listened to his body, looking out for any signs that might indicate a seizure. There wouldn't be much of a warning, but enough to brace himself. As if on cue, his muscles tightened as if he had been struck by lightning. Hiccup shut his eyes while gripping his clothes, hoping it would keep him from convulsing too violently.
He began to convulse as his body painfully shook around on the ice. He counted the seconds for as long as he could before losing consciousness. He got to 10.
Astrid and Fishlegs followed Toothless through the cave on their respective dragons. Toothless kept roaring and warbling. His ear plates were down. Something was wrong, and they knew it. Johann or Krogan did something to Hiccup that left him unable to leave the cave without proper help. Both of them imagined their own horrible ideas of what kind of state Hiccup was in. Was he bleeding from a grave wound? Had he been knocked unconscious? Did they torture him? Was he lying in a pool of his own blood? All of the above?
They entered the nest and found Hiccup lying mere feet away from a frozen Johann, shaking violently, with his eyes screwed shut.
"What did they do to him!" Fishlegs demanded to no one in particular.
"They didn't cause this," Astrid stated as she jumped off Stormfly and took a running start. "He's having a seizure. As soon as he's done, we can move him out of here."
She fell to her knees and gently placed her hand on his chest, holding him in place to ensure that he didn't fall off the edge. "I'm here, Hiccup. Everything is going to be okay."
Fishlegs dismounted Meatlug. "Why would he be having a seizure? It's been a long time since his last one. Unless he's hiding something."
"He's not hiding anything," Astrid said very quickly. "Probably blood loss. He has at least two stab wounds that I can see, and who knows how many more injuries." She gestured to Hiccup's stab wounds.
Fishlegs bit the inside of his cheek. Astrid knew something and wasn't saying it. Normally he would push until he got the desired result. But now was not the time.
They watched as Hiccup's body relaxed and became still. Astrid felt for a heartbeat. As soon as she was satisfied, she stood up and looked around for his satchel. It had to be around here somewhere. A few feet from Hiccup was an egg. An egg bigger than a normal dragon would lay.
"It must belong to the King of Dragons," Fishlegs guessed, following her line of sight. "It probably came here to lay and hatch it. Berserker Island is his nesting site. Even when he's not here, his power lingers, making it impossible for dragons to fly here."
Astrid wasn't paying attention to her friend. She continued to scan for the satchel. After another fifteen seconds passed, she found the satchel leaning up what she assumed was supposed to be the egg's resting place. She jogged over and picked it up. Immediately she began digging through it until she pulled out the blue corked vial.
The blonde warrior jogged back over to her betrothed, uncorking the vial as she moved. Once back at his side, she kneeled down, lifted his head, and forced the tonic down his throat, not caring that Fishlegs was watching. He'd know soon enough.
Astrid stood back up, slung the satchel over her shoulder, and stepped over to pick up the egg. "I got the egg. You get Hiccup. It's time to leave."
Fishlegs obliged and picked Hiccup up. He carried him over to Meatlug and positioned him securely before getting on himself. Astrid held on to the egg as she climbed up on Stormfly. They flew out of the cave, Toothless running underneath them.
Astrid and Fishlegs landed just outside one of the many Healer tents that had been set up to treat those who had been wounded in the battle. At first glance, Astrid saw a variety of wounded, some young, some old, some with mild injuries, some with more severe. She saw a child no older than five lying on a nearby makeshift cot, missing a leg. She saw a mother with cuts on her arms as she held a crying baby. No one had made it out of the battle unscathed. Everyone was injured and needed help.
Astrid dismounted Stormfly and helped Fishlegs get Hiccup off of the Gronkle. They laid their injured leader on the ground. By this point, Toothless had caught up with them and was taking a protective stance over his human.
"Stay here, Fishlegs," Astrid ordered before running off to find a healer. Thankfully she found one just as they were finishing up treating an elderly man with a head wound.
"I need your help," Astrid pleaded, getting the Healer's attention.
The healer looked her up and down. "You seem fine; go wait in the back of the line."
"Not me," Astrid clarified. "My betrothed, Hiccup. He's been badly wounded and has already lost a lot of blood."
The healer rolled his eyes. "You still can't cut in line. I doubt he's that bad. I bet you just want to make sure he's well enough for date night. Am I right?"
Astrid could feel the frustration welling up inside her. "He has been stabbed and beaten within an inch of his life while stopping Johann and Krogan. You can either come with me willingly, or I will drag you to him myself. Which will it be?"
The healer sighed in exasperation. "Fine, I'll come with you. But if I find out you are lying, I'm reporting you to Chief Dagur that you made a false medical report."
"You do that," Astrid threatened. "And it will be the last thing you do because Dagur sees Hiccup, the future chief of Berk, as his brother."
The healer went pale as he quickly packed his medicine bag and followed Astrid to where Hiccup was.
As they arrived, they found Toothless doing his best to keep people away from Hiccup. Fishlegs was trying to reassure the dragon, but nothing seemed to be working. Astrid went up to the dragon, placed a hand on his snout, and gently moved him away from his rider. "It's okay. I have someone who can help. Hiccup is in good hands."
Toothless warbled in concern as he watched the Healer kneel next to Hiccup. He worked quickly, removing the injured man's armor and clothing in order to get a better look at what he was dealing with. Astrid felt the small breakfast she had during the flight here rising when she saw just how badly he had been hurt. Bruises were already starting to form all over his upper body. The stab wounds weren't a pretty sight either. Both were still actively bleeding. The one in his arm looked worse than the one in his leg. In the back of her mind, she realized that Hiccup might end up losing his entire arm if he lived.
If he lived. She thought. It didn't seem like a possibility a few moments ago when she found him in the cavern. It didn't seem possible when she was begging this healer for help. But now, seeing just a fraction of the severity of his physical state, him dying was completely possible. And if he died along with his father, there would be no one left in the Haddock line to care for the village. Civil war would break out amongst the tribe to see who would be chief.
She didn't realize it, but she had begun crying. It wasn't until she felt a hand on her shoulder that the dam broke. She fell into the arms of the person offering her comfort and quietly sobbed as she begged the gods to save Hiccup. She heard people shouting and crying. She could feel the person holding her, barking out orders and requesting more assistance. Someone mentioned sending out Terror Mails to get aid. But none of that mattered right now. Hiccup was fighting for his life and needed her.
Astrid pulled away from the person holding her and wiped the tears away. She looked up at the person only to realize it had been Dagur. "Sorry," was all she could say.
"Don't be," Dagur said. "I understand. The shock wore off. And crying is a good thing. It's healthy. Now let's head over to where Magnus has taken Hiccup."
Astrid looked around, not realizing Hiccup had been moved. "Where'd they take him?"
"To a nearby tent so that he could be treated properly," Dagur answered as he led Astrid in the direction of her betrothed. "The rest of your team is already over there."