Wrong Door Part 2
Once he had been lectured by Gobber and taken a slap to the back of the head for being an idiot and wandering where he shouldn't have been, the teen found himself escorted up two floors to a dragon habitat where he could start bonding and training his new dragon. Gobber had explained along the way that the young dragon was a Night Fury, the rarest and most intelligent breed of dragon known. The dragon they had all been waiting for from the time they found the cache of eggs in the far north of Norwegian waters, in Kvitoya, one of the Svalbard islands. The dragon that their best potential riders should deserve.
He stared at the little dragon, bouncing at his side like a giant dog. Something soared in his chest and he grinned again, trailing a hand and rubbing the little dragon. He had been handed instructions in English and a printout of an ancient parchment, covered with old Norse runes and very naive diagrams. He frowned and peered closer as they stood at the entrance to the pen, the wide space yawning ahead of them. Toothless was bouncing like an excited puppy.
"Though dragons be fierce beasts, they eat almost everything though fish seems to be preferred," he read aloud. Then he reached into the cold bucket just inside the pen and tossed a cod to the dragon. Toothless gulped it down in three bites. Gobber screeched to a halt and stared at the teen.
"What was that, laddie?" he demanded, his blue eyes popping wide in shock under his thick blond unibrow. Hiccup flinched.
"Um...sorry," he began. "I-I just read the page...I thought I was supposed to...sorry..." Gobber patted on the shoulder-though, being Gobber, the contact was hard enough to knock Hiccup sideways.
"Lad...you can read this stuff?" he asked. Hiccup nodded warily.
"Um...yeah?" he said in a worried voice. "My Dad...well...you know how he is with his Viking heritage...um...so he demanded I learn the old Norse runes...and you know how I always wanted him to be proud of me...so I learned...though as usual he never paid any attention...though I'm...um...pretty sure he would know in an instant if I hadn't learnt...so I sorta know...I still need to revise...um...and kinda do better..."
"Laddie-I think about two other people in the base can read this stuff-and basically we're all about this stuff!" Gobber gaped. "Why did yer Dad nae tell me this stuff? Gods, that man is impossible!"
"Um...in his defence...he probably doesn't remember," Hiccup said quietly. "Um...I think he barely recalls I exist most of the time..."
"Well, he remembers now!" Gobber told him with an embarrassed look. "He wants a word wi' ye!" Hiccup stared up and shuddered.
"Oh Gods," he groaned. "Well, that isn't going to end well, is it?" Gobber clapped him on the shoulder again and he staggered a bit.
"Just...try not tae annoy him, son," Gobber advised, sealing the pen with the newly-named 'Toothless' inside and steering the boy to the stairs to the next floor-and the Base Commander's office. Hiccup cast a longing glance back at the pen, guessing they would find some way to undo what he had innocently gained and rob him of the friendship and companionship of the amazing and very friendly dragon. He walked quietly alongside the big Colonel, trying to calm his breathing and the apprehension bubbling in his stomach. He and his father had a difficult relationship and he had been surprised that the General had even remembered him when he vanished to Scotland for ever. But his response had been as perplexing: he had dragged Hiccup with him with no discussion, option or opportunity to pack or say goodbye. Hiccup had then been abandoned as an inconvenience in the Base and had realised he was trapped with no hope of escape or reprieve.
The General's office was at the far end of the administration corridor, backing onto the General's personal suite when Stoick lived-alone. His son had been assigned a small standard dormitory room, the same as any member of military staff in the base. Hiccup was forced to eat in the Mess, obey all base rules-but with no privileges or-effectively-contact with his father. In fact, the only time that Hiccup saw his father was when he was summoned to his office when he had done something wrong and was getting his ass chewed off.
Stoick Haddock, respected General and legendary figure in counter-terrorism and intelligence, was an enormous bear of a man, hard on seven feet in height and four hundred pounds of muscle and determination, topped by cropped flaming hair and a huge flaming and braided beard that wouldn't look out of place in a naval hero. His face was stern and frequently cold and his grey-green eyes were remote and tended to narrow with anger and disappointment whenever he inspected his son. His uniform was pristine, pressed and clean, sheathing his stiff form as he steepled his fingers and stared across his huge, glass-topped desk at the slump-shouldered shape of his son.
"Stand up straight, boy!" he growled, his eyes glittering with irritation. Why couldn't his son behave like a proper military child instead of like a sulky teen. Hiccup raised his green eyes and looked at his father with a hurt expression.
"Wow, way to make me feel good, Dad," he said sarcastically.
"When you deserve praise, I'll give you some," the General snapped. "But what I really want to know is why the Hel you were there, boy?" Hiccup lifted his chin.
"Um...I was lost..." he said in an embarrassed voice.
"Speak up!" the General growled. He only had 'loud' in his repertoire and constantly picking at his son for 'mumbling'.
"I was lost looking for the IT stock room," he said a little louder. His cheeks were flushed.
"For the love of...Hiccup! How long have you been here?" his father snapped.
"Five months, three weeks and four and a half days," the teen said dully.
"And you're still getting lost?" His father's tone was scornful. Hiccup stared at him, a little defensive and hurt.
"Hey...I have limited access and never got shown anything around here!" he protested. "You just hauled me along like a piece of luggage and dumped me when you arrived!"
"I have a base to run!" Stoick snapped back at him.
"So what am I supposed to do?" Hiccup shot back, his eyes glittering with anger. "You never asked me ANYTHING! You just sent men to collect me from our home. I barely had time to pack my computer and a few things...the few momentos I have of Mom. You never even let me say goodbye to my friends."
"You didn't have any friends!" Stoick told his son brutally. The teen's eyes widened and he backed up a step, breathing hard and fighting the desire to scream in anger at his father for such a brutal shot.
"No...but I did have people I wanted to say goodbye to," he said quietly. "But-as usual-it was all about what you wanted and you chose to imprison me inside a mountain in the middle of nowhere! Does anyone else have family here?"
"Your Uncle and cousin are here," Stoick told him shortly. "And Dagur has his brother and sister..."
"And they are ALL military personnel!" Hiccup shouted. "I'm not-and never will be. And I don't want to be here. I wanna go to college like a normal High School graduate and have my own life. And instead-I gotta have yours!"
"You are my son!" the General roared.
"And I never see you!" Hiccup shouted back.
"I have a base to run!"
"Big fucking deal!" Hiccup retorted, his tone sarcastic. "It doesn't take much effort to get family quarters, does it, Dad? To admit that now we're here together, it may be an opportunity to spend a little family time and get to know me?"
"The Base Commander has single quarters only," Stoick said flatly.
"BULLSHIT!" Hiccup screamed at him, his fists clenched. "You're in charge. You could have changed things...if you wanted. So be honest with me, Dad! You didn't want to, did you? You had a chance to be with your son...and instead you stuck me in a single berth on the far side of the base, with no one I know. I'm not even fucking OLD enough to join the army and you've stuck me alone in the middle of an army base. I am a fucking MINOR and you've abandoned me...AGAIN!"
"Mind your language, boy!" Stock growled, his face scarlet with anger.
"Or what? You'll put me in jail? No, wait-even better! You can put me in a fucking children's home! Howzabout that, Dad? That was a good way to dispose of me, wasn't it? In fact, the only mystery is why you ever bothered to get me out! You could've left me there and then you would never have to have bothered about your only son!"
"SHUT UP!" Stoick roared at him, lurching to his feet and leaning menacingly over the desk, his huge hands flat on the desk. Hiccup flinched, his eyes widening and he backed up half a pace, breathing hard. "You know-you only ended in that home through your own weakness and stupidity!" he snarled. "If you hadn't been so pathetic in being beaten up like a pitiful runt, you would not have ended up there!"
"Yeah, Dad-that was all my fault!" Hiccup shot back sarcastically. "And I suppose it's my fault there was no food in the house, the washing machine was broken, that I was cold and hungry? That you left me with no money, no responsible adult and no idea if you'd ever come back?"
"All you had to do was look after yourself!" Stoick shouted at him. He flinched again, his eyes pleading.
"I was a fifteen year old abandoned with no money, no food, no clean water or clothes...how the Hel was I supposed to do that?" Hiccup cried at him, his voice despairing. "Why is it my fault when you abandoned me alone? Why is it always my fault?"
"It was your damned fault you ended up where you weren't supposed to be and RUINED a unique opportunity for this Project through your deliberate interference and stupidity!" Stoick roared at him. He blinked.
"I-I'm s-sorry..." he murmured.
"And now we have to clear up your mess-again!" Stoick shouted. Hiccup winced.
"Sorry...Dad..." he said in a defeated voice.
"And you will have to give up that dragon!" the General told his son brutally. Hiccup's downcast green eyes suddenly flicked up, suddenly rebellious again.
"No," he breathed. He shook his head, looking up defiantly. "No. I won't!"
"That was not a suggestion, boy-that was an ORDER!" Stoick roared. Hiccup shook his head.
"I'm not one of your little soldiers, to order around!" he retorted.
"This is a military matter!" Stoick snarled. "You will obey me! You are to give up that dragon!"
"No," Hiccup said quietly. "No. He chose me. He wanted me. And I want him. Dad-I refuse. You'll have to take him but I won't relinquish him!" His face locked in a scowl, the General glared at his son, his eyes fixed his son's. Hiccup swallowed, his eyes bright with defiance. Overwhelmed with fury at his son's recalcitrance, Stoick pressed the buzzer on his desk and the door slid open, revealing the stocky shape of his brother and Security Officer-Snotlout's father, Colonel Spitelout Jorgensen. Stoick gave a cold smile.
"Take him to the cells," he ordered, his voice brutal. "He has been insubordinate!" Not believing his ears, Hiccup's eyes widened and he backed away in shock. He was already shaking his head as he tried to pull away but Spitelout grabbed his skinny arms and jerked the boy forward.
"Yes, sir!" he snapped and hauled the boy away. Resisting, the teen stared up in shock at his father, his eyes and face pleading.
"D-dad?" he asked, his voice shaking. "W-what's going on? You-you aren't s-serious?" Stoick sat down brusquely and turned back to his paperwork. "DAD! You can't do this!" he shouted. "DAD! Please..." And then the door closed behind him.
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