Naturally, he tripped and fell on his face as soon as he got close. "Of course," he muttered as he pushed himself back up on his hands and knees. He heard a muffled burst of draconic laughter.
Hiccup froze. "Toothless?" he whispered, slowly raising his head to meet glowing green eyes across the small clearing. They were filled with confusion, but more importantly, they contained recognition. Hiccup slumped with relief.
Toothless warbled questioningly as well as he could with his muzzle bound and tried to wiggle into a better position to see his rider. Hiccup jerked upright with a start as he remembered their current situation. "Let me get you out of there bud," he said as he pulled out a knife he hadn't seen in a decade and quickly set to work on the ropes.
The second he was free Toothless pounced on his rider. Hiccup landed on his back with an oof, then raised his arms to protect his face from the dragon's relentless assault.
"Come on, you know that doesn't wash out," he complained. He was far too relieved to feel any real disgust as he wiped off the worst of the dragon drool. He then threw his arms around his dragon's neck. "I was worried about you too bud."
They separated, and Hiccup clumsily pushed himself to his feet. This caught Toothless' attention, and he sniffed at the strange flesh and blood left foot in confusion. "Yeah, it's been a weird kind of night," Hiccup said, before guilt flooded him. He glanced over at Toothless' tail, the left fin conspicuous in its absence. The knowledge that he was responsible for maiming his best friend had always weighed heavily on him, but never more than now, reliving the very night he'd shot the dragon down. "I'm sorry. It's not fair that I got my leg back, but you still lost your fin." He swallowed heavily as he felt tears fill his eyes. "I did this. I'm so sorry, Toothless."
Toothless tilted his head and gazed up at his rider. His eyes narrowed, and he let out an annoyed grumble. He then wacked the boy over the head with his remaining tail fin. Toothless never could stand his rider when he wallowed in guilt.
Hiccup rubbed the back of his skull with a huff and a wry smile. "I know, I know," he muttered, well familiar with the dragon's opinions. "I really am sorry though bud."
Toothless licked his hand to remind him that all had been forgiven years ago. Then, as if to demonstrate that the matter was closed, he turned his back on the crash site and began to retrace Hiccup's steps. Hiccup smiled softly and rubbed a tear off his cheek. They didn't deserve dragons.
He followed the Night Fury through the woods, trying not to trip and fall yet again. He could hear the murmur of his friends' voices as they approached. Suddenly Toothless froze, his ears standing straight up. Hiccup nearly walked into him. "Bud?" he asked in concern.
The dragon's eyes widened, the pupils narrowing in shock before blowing wide in hopeful surprise. His gaze shifted over to his rider, and he let out a questioning warble. Hiccup tilted his head, then finally realized what had caught Toothless' attention.
"… just saying that he'll never go for it. You know how my Dad is." Snotlout's voice drifted back through the trees. Hiccup ignored Fishlegs' reply in favor of grinning at his dragon.
"Yeah, weird night remember. He's alive," Hiccup said happily. Toothless gave him a gummy smile before trotting off quickly towards the gang. Hiccup smiled after the dragon for a minute, before realizing that the rest of the gang didn't know Toothless had come back with them. He rushed after the dragon as the quiet conversation was replaced with startled curses and yelps of surprise.
Hiccup burst into the clearing after his dragon. Astrid and Fishlegs were on the ground, having clearly been knocked over by the half-ton flying reptile. "So, Toothless is back," Hiccup said sheepishly.
"Gee, I hadn't noticed," Astrid responded sarcastically as she pushed herself to her feet.
Toothless was circling Snotlout like an excited puppy, letting out confused but delighted croons. "Hey T," Snotlout said. The Night Fury gave another croon before nosing him in the stomach. "Yeah, I'm ok, see?" He scratched behind one of Toothless' ear flaps and the dragon began to purr happily. "It'll take more than a few arrows to get rid of the Snot-man," Snotlout boasted.
Hiccup thought that he really didn't like that joke, but he was too relieved that his cousin was acting like his usual self to be upset.
"Ugh, you forgot the rope, didn't you?" Ruffnut asked. Hiccup, still in a haze of relief over his dragon remembering him, looked at her blankly. "You know, the rope from the bolas, so that we can climb down to where the rest of our dragons are?"
"Um, yeah, sorry," Hiccup said sheepishly, scratching the back of his head.
"Don't worry, I've got it," Tuffnut said cheerfully as he hopped down into the long crash mark and jogged back towards the bolas. It wasn't far, barely out of earshot, and he was back in less than two minutes with the awkward bundle of tangled rope. By that time Toothless had calmed down and they started walking towards the back of the arena.
The group was far less apprehensive than before, figuring that if Toothless had come back the other dragons probably had as well. Hiccup and Fishlegs flanked Tuffnut and attempted to untangle the ropes as they walked with mixed results. As the trees started to thin out Astrid glanced at the moon.
"Looks about right," she whispered. "The meeting should start any minute now."
Hiccup nodded. They crept to the edge of the first cliff and Hiccup tied a rope around a tree. There were three cliffs they would need to rappel down, each between five and fifteen feet. Although the main cliff was much higher, they could avoid it by climbing down to the rock spur used to support the side platform. From there it was an easy climb up onto the platform and down through the arena's chain net.
Hiccup gave the rope an experimental tug, then glanced over the cliff to judge the distance. He scanned the visible part of the arena one more time before stepping off the cliff and walking down backwards. He turned back to his friends and nodded. Tuffnut tossed him the rest of the rope and began his own descent. Toothless peeked over the edge and crooned questioningly.
"No, bud, stay up there," Hiccup whispered. "I haven't built your tail yet and I'm not sure if you can get up these cliffs on your own."
Toothless gave an unhappy snort, but nodded and settled down to wait. Hiccup quickly began untangling the next length of rope, then looked around for a good place to secure it.
"Here," Astrid whispered, gesturing to a spot where a spur of rock had split away from the cliff. He nodded and tossed her the other end of the rope, starting down the second cliff as soon as it was secure. He heard Fishlegs finish the first climb as he made his way down.
As soon as his feet hit the ground he dropped to his stomach and crawled to the edge of the last cliff. He knew that his caution was probably completely unnecessary. In fact, with how lax Berk's current security was against anything but dragons they most likely could have marched right across the bridge singing drinking songs without being noticed. However, a decade of habit born of near-death experiences is hard to ignore, and Hiccup was in no mood to take chances.
He carefully scanned the arena for any signs of movement, but it was deserted. "Clear," he called out, just barely loud enough to be heard on top of the preceding cliff. As Ruffnut started to make her way down, Hiccup slowed his breathing and listened. He could hear something coming from the arena, and although his gut said it wasn't threatening it still gave him a bad feeling. He could hardly make it out, muffled as it was by thick stone walls, but there was something incredibly desolate about it. It was also extremely familiar, even though he was sure he had never heard that exact sound before in his life.
He glanced up at the top cliff. Toothless' eyes reflected the moonlight as he gazed down worriedly at his rider, refusing to let him out of his sight. That's when it hit him.
"Snotlout," he hissed urgently, spinning around to look at the rope. Tuffnut had been about to follow his sister, but quickly passed the rope to the Jorgenson when he saw Hiccup's worried face.
"What is it?" Ruffnut asked as Snotlout quickly began his descent. Hiccup tapped his ear and pointed to the arena. Her eyebrows furrowed, and she opened her mouth to ask again, but at that moment Snotlout arrived on their ledge.
"Hookfang," he whispered as soon as he rounded the corner into earshot. The last cliff was only a little over six feet high, so Snotlout was able to grab the edge and dangle over before dropping to the ground. He sprinted over to the wooden pillar holding up platform and began hauling himself up. Hiccup and Ruffnut quickly followed him.
When they reached the base of the platform, Ruff used her hands to make a step and give Hiccup a boost. Once he'd scrambled to the top he turned to grab her hand and help haul her up. By that time Snotlout was in the arena, slamming his fists on the door to Hookfang's cage desperately. Hiccup and Ruffnut used the arena's chains to lower themselves into the pit. The agonized screeches were much clearer down here, and Hiccup ran for the lever to open the cages as soon as his feet touched the ground.
"That's a Monstrous Nightmare's mourning call," Fishlegs panted from where he had just made it to the top of the platform. "I heard it once when dragon trappers killed a nest full of hatchlings."
Hiccup yanked the lever with all the strength in his scrawny body. "Snotlout, get back!" he yelled as the heavy log began to lift free of the doors. Snotlout obeyed from ingrained instinct more than conscious thought, and the heavy wooden doors just missed him as they slammed open. Two thousand pounds of flaming reptile burst out, wings spread wide and head raised to the sky, screaming his grief to the world.
"Hookfang!" Snotlout cried, running the short distance to his dragon. The instant he touched Hookfang's scales, his fire went out and the screeching roar caught in his throat. "Hookfang," Snotlout said again, and this time it came out as a sob.
The Monstrous Nightmare let out a low, desperate keen and fell back down onto his forelegs. Snotlout threw his arms around the base of the dragon's long, snake-like neck. Hookfang twisted his head around and bumped his snout against Snotlout's back. He made small, distressed croons as he franticly searched his rider for the gaping wound that had killed him.
"I'm okay, Hooky," Snotlout said. Hookfang fell onto his side so he could grab his rider with his talons. He nuzzled against Snotlout's side and the boy switched his death grip from the dragon's neck to his face. "I'm alive Fangster. I'm here. It's going to be okay." He buried his face in the warm red scales as he began to cry in earnest. "It's going to be okay."
Hookfang wrapped his wings around his rider, hiding him from view. Whatever else Snotlout said was muffled by the leathery appendages. As Hookfang curled into a tighter ball around his miraculously alive friend, Hiccup realized that he was witnessing an incredibly private moment between dragon and rider and quickly spun around.
Fishlegs was standing behind him, wiping a tear off his cheek as he watched the uncharacteristic display from the two most bullheaded members of their little flock. Astrid and the twins were still at the edge of the arena, all three wearing soft expressions. Astrid met his eyes and shook herself. She nudged the twins, and all three began making their way over.
Hiccup put a hand on Fishlegs' shoulder. "Come on," he said, softly enough not to disturb the pair in the center of the arena. "Let's go get Meatlug."
Fishlegs nodded and scurried over to the Gronkle cage as Hiccup pulled another lever. "Oh, my Princess," Fishlegs cried happily as Meatlug pressed into his bear hug. She chuffed at him affectionately when he knelt down to check her previously injured leg.
Hiccup grinned at them before releasing the Zippleback, who immediately charged the twins. "Barf!" "Belch!" they yelled at the same time, right before they were slammed to the ground by their excited dragon. They each clung laughing to their respective head as they were lifted into the air.
Hiccup pulled the final lever and made his way over to his wife and her dragon. "Stormfly," She said joyfully, wrapping her arms around the Nadder's neck. Stormfly purred at her happily before nosing her shoulder with a worried chirp. "Don't worry about me, girl. I'm fine. It's like that arrow was never even there," she said reassuringly.
She smiled down at Hiccup when he wrapped an arm around her waist, leaning against him as she continued to pet her dragon. "We're all here," she said contentedly, smiling at Stormfly. "But, Hiccup, this is really happening. We are fifteen again. We're going to need a plan."
He looked out at his friends. Fishlegs stood up and rested a hand against Meatlug's flank. The twins crossed their arms in sync and grinned at him. Snotlout, who had poked his head out of his Hookfang cocoon, tipped his helmet cockily despite his red rimmed eyes.
For a moment he felt vertigo at the double image before him. He saw his fifteen-year-old friends, inexperienced with dragons and inexperienced with life, completely clueless but always willing to take on the world. He also saw the battle veterans, older than their twenty-five years, who had flown through the gates of Hel. Then the dual pictures settled, and they were just his friends, willing to stand by him through anything and preparing for another adventure.
"Well, you heard her," Hiccup said, tightening his arm around Astrid's waist. "We are in the center of one of the biggest dragon killing tribes in the Archipelago. We have no idea how we got here, no allies, and none of our usual gear."
"Just like old times," Tuff muttered. Ruff snickered, and Fishlegs let out a sigh of resignation.
Hiccup grinned. Just like old times indeed. "So," he asked, "any ideas?"