Work Text:
Hiccup found himself wishing (and not for the first time) that he had some sort of way to quiet the pounding of his prosthesis on the ground as he ran. He knew how to be stealthy, but his disability could potentially give him away. It frustrated him greatly, especially when stealth was what he needed right now.
The mission had gone wrong, so sorely wrong. The Dragon Flyers had known they were coming, and so they’d been surprised and ambushed. Everyone had been captured save for Hiccup and Toothless.
Hiccup had tracked them down and found what he assumed to be Krogan and Johann’s base. It was heavily guarded with both Flyers and Hunters, and the cave system inside was intricate, meant to confuse an enemy.
Luckily, Hiccup knew how to find his way around in places like this. Still, he kept his shield on his arm and Toothless by his side. He couldn’t take any chances of raising an alarm. That would get himself and Toothless captured… or killed. Gods, Hiccup was scared. Were his friends and their dragons even still alive?
He paused in an alcove, Toothless covering him as best he could with a wing. They were running mostly in the dark. Hiccup had refused to bring light. That would give him away, and Toothless was good at being stealthy, and could find his way around without being able to see.
“Is the coast clear?” Hiccup whispered to Toothless after hearing footsteps pass and then fade away into the distance.
Toothless lifted his wing in response, and together, they ran deeper into their enemies’ base.
Krogan paced in front of the Dragon Riders. They’d been pulled from their separate cells, and had been made to kneel in a line before him, their hands bound behind their backs.
“Where are our dragons?!” Astrid demanded. Snotlout was getting a little tired of her shouting, but he agreed with every word she said. He wanted Hookfang. He wanted to get out of here.
“They’re comfortable for now,” Krogan responded. “I would be more worried about yourselves.”
Snotlout scoffed. “Yeah? You think we can’t take a little pain?”
Krogan laughed, and it was a surprisingly rich sound. Snotlout didn’t know why he’d expected it to sound evil .
“Snotlout, is it?” Krogan asked, stopping at him. He leaned over to get right in his face. “I think it would be wise of you to keep your mouth shut, or you will learn what a little pain can really do.”
“What do you want, Krogan?” Fishlegs snarled, probably trying to get his attention off of Snotlout.
“The rest of the lenses,” Krogan said, straightening. “I know you have them hidden somewhere.”
“So you think we’ll give you the location?” Ruffnut asked. “ Please .”
“One of you will,” Krogan said. “Eventually.” He wore a smile that Snotlout didn’t like very much.
This guy’s a sadist, isn’t he? Snotlout figured.
With no warning, he grabbed Snotlout by the hair and pulled him to his feet. Snotlout yelled in shock and at the pain in his scalp. He struggled in Krogan’s grip, but the man was strong.
And fuck, he was tall. So, so tall. Viggo had made Snotlout feel shorter than he was, but this guy? He was taller than even Viggo!
“It’s a shame you’re leader isn’t here.” There was a sching! as Krogan drew a knife from his belt. “He looks like he’d be fun to torture.”
“No, no!” Snotlout shrieked. He was scared, terrified. He’d been playing up his confidence earlier, but torture? It just hit him how real this was. “Please! Let go of me!”
“He is here.” There was the sound of a sword being drawn from a scabbard, and the click of mechanisms as it was set ablaze. “Let them go.”
Krogan turned to Hiccup, still holding Snotlout by the hair. He put the knife to Snotlout’s throat.
“You really think I’d pass up such an opportunity?” Krogan asked. “I don’t think so.” Snotlout could practically hear the man smiling. “I could raise the alarm at any time.”
Hiccup stood there with his sword and his flaming shield, and Snotlout realized that someone was missing: Toothless. That meant that Hiccup had some sort of plan, especially if he’d gotten this far into the caves without raising the alarm himself.
“Then why haven’t you?” Hiccup asked.
“I just want to be able to do this,” Krogan replied. Snotlout was wondering what he meant.
Right up until he stabbed him in his left shoulder. Snotlout screamed at the stabbing itself, kept screaming as the knife was yanked out with not a care in the world to his pain. He wanted to collapse, and, luckily, Krogan let go of him.
What was not lucky was that his hands were still bound behind him and he had no way to protect his face. Another thing against his luck: he landed on his left side.
Snotlout had never felt anything like this before. Sure, he’d been hurt before, but to be stabbed so deliberately? He thought he was crying, and at the moment, he didn’t care.
He heard a roar from Hiccup, and then the sounds of weapons clashing. He didn’t look at the fight. He was just staring at the blood that was leaving his body.
Not too long after, he passed out.
“He has to make it! He has to!”
“Tuff, out of my way! He’s going to make it!”
Snotlout woke to commotion all around him. He didn’t know where he was or what had happened, just that he was in agony and he wanted it to stop.
“What’s all the… Who’s yelling?” Snotlout asked, speech slurred. His tongue felt thick and heavy. He tried to open his eyes, saw a little bit of greenery, and closed them again. They, too, felt heavy.
“Sorry, Snotty,” Astrid said, compassion to her voice that Snotlout wasn’t used to hearing. “Hiccup got us out of there as quick as he could.”
“What happened?”
“Krogan stabbed you, remember?”
Snotlout tried to sit bolt upright, and his eyes popped open. Hands pushed him down, and he realized he was on wet grass, head leaning against something warm and familiar: Hookfang. He was shirtless, and Fishlegs was working on his wound. He winced as he felt the pain of the first stitch. Apparently Hiccup had brought medical supplies.
“Where’s Krogan?” Snotlout had so many questions.
“He, uh…” Fishlegs seemed hesitant to answer.
“Toothless blasted him to pieces!” Ruffnut shouted, throwing up her arms. “It was awesome!”
Snotlout was about to ask where Hiccup and Toothless were, but found them sitting dismally together at the edge of the group, backs turned to them.
“Ow!” Snotlout cried as Fishlegs continued stitching up his wound.
“Hold still!” Fishlegs exclaimed, pressing on his chest. “I’m almost done.”
“Fine.” Snotlout wasn’t at all happy about this, but he’d rather not be bleeding everywhere. He was bruised and bleeding in other places too, and his face and head were sore from hitting the ground with no protection.
He tried to get a look around without moving much. They seemed to be outside of whatever cave system they’d been taken into. No one was attacking them, so that must have meant that:
“Hiccup, did you and Toothless seal the cave?”
“We did.” Hiccup’s voice sounded heavy .
“Dude, you don’t have to feel bad,” Tuffnut told him. “They deserved it.”
“Yeah?” Hiccup stood, turned to face them, crossing his arms. “And who are we to put judgment on whether someone deserves to live or die?” He fixed them all with a hard stare.
At that, the group fell silent. Snotlout could see Hiccup’s perspective.
“But you rescued us,” Astrid told him. “And our dragons. And all those Singetails.”
“Damn, Hiccup was a badass when I wasn’t looking?” Snotlout whined. “Typical.”
Hiccup threw up his hands in defeat, then stomped back over to where he’d been sitting (except maybe farther away now), and plopped himself down beside Toothless.
The rest of the group was rather silent as Snotlout’s wound was finished being tended to. Even Snotlout kept in any exclamations of pain.
Hiccup’s guilt lay over them like a death shroud, and Snotlout didn’t know how they were ever going to pierce it.