#Toothelss | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

phagechildon · 6 years ago

Text

The Greater Good - Chapter 7

READ ON AO3

Tumblr: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |

Story Summary: Jack, unable to handle the dark life he’s living, is now trying to redeem himself by using his skills and demigod powers to protect the innocent. Though he gets more than he bargained for when he meets Hiccup, who unknowingly holds the very fate of the world in his hands.

Chapter Summary: While trying to find a way to save Zootopia, Jack gets a very unwanted visitor.

-----

“What happened?” Hiccup asked for the tenth time since waking up, watching as Jack continued to pack. He seemed antsy and jumpy, his eyes barely watching what he was doing as he continued gazing around the room as if expecting something to jump out at them. Something happened, something bad.

“A lot,” Jack growled back, starting to get annoyed with the question as he finished tying the bag full of moon flowers and herbs shut. “I can’t say. You’re just gonna have to trust me for now.”

For now. That meant he’d tell him later, right? He had to believe that, even with the dark look in Jack’s nervous eyes. He was acting like he told him about a new shadow figure, like the one he saw at the Hamada Village. Did this have something to do with the Nightmares then? Gods, hopefully Jack wouldn’t get overprotective again to the point of shutting him out and treating him like a kid.

“I do, just remember to trust me too,” he said back, making Jack stop packing for a second. It was a gentle reminder, not an insult. At least, he hoped the demigod wouldn’t take it offensively.

After a moment Jack took a deep breath, as if trying to release the tension as he threw the bag onto his back. “How’s the pain?” He asked, making his way to his bedside.

“Well the medicine finally kicked in, so I’m fine now,” he reassured. Letting out a sign of relief, the demigod got a little closer, his voice falling to a whisper.

“Do you think you can walk?” They both knew it wasn’t advised. Walking could tear the stitches open in a heartbeat. If Jack was asking to risk it, it meant they were in immediate danger.

“Probably?” Hiccup said hopefully. Without missing a beat Jack gently pushed a hand underneath the auburn’s back, the other slipping under his head.

“Take it slow freckles,” he forewarned. With a soft nod Hiccup, with Jack’s support, slowly managed to sit up. It was honestly painful, the stab wound sending an electric shock of pain from his core to just about everywhere. His eyesight swam a bit, and without even realizing it he found himself leaning against his friend.

“Sorry,” he whispered, taking a few deep breathes, his eyes gazing down to the bandages. Good, they were still an off white, there didn’t seem to be any sign of blood. “Thanks-“ Jack’s grip on him suddenly tightened, making him look up at him with a look of uneasy.

“They’re coming, get ready.”

Hiccup didn’t even get a chance to ask him to elaborate as they both heard a pair of rushing footsteps. “Excuse me-“ someone said behind them, making them both freeze. “What are you doing, you can’t just take him-!” The man’s voice suddenly stopped, making Hiccup turn just in time to see the man’s eyes roll up into the back of his head as his knees crumbled from under him. Shattering on the ground next to him was an icicle, making him realize Jack acted so swiftly Hiccup didn’t even feel one of his hands leave him to throw the icicle at the man.

“I know what’s going on here, I know most of you are possessed,” Jack’s deep voice echoed against the dark hospital walls, the room gradually getting colder. The candle light seemed to dim in response, the darkness slowly becoming so thick in the room it threatened to dive into them. Toothless shivered in fear as he landed on Jack’s shoulder from the beam above, cowering against him in fear.

“Oh~?” Each and every guard that stood against each wall said in a deep teasing voice. Fear crawled into Hiccup’s throat, preventing him from saying anything back. The whole atmosphere and energy in the room completely changed, reminding him of how his world felt when the shadow first appeared. He didn’t like this.

As if sensing his and Toothelss’s fear, humanoid shadows started dancing off the walls as some of the guards slowly started stepping forward, the whites of their eyes bleeding to pure black as shrill chuckles chilled their bones. The scene was straight out of a nightmare, and yet Hiccup couldn’t look away, not even as black goop started seeping down their cheeks like thick tears of blood.

“Do you really, Jackson Overland?” They asked in unison as the same black goop started seeping past their lips. Hiccup desperately tried to look away, but his eyes seemed to focus on one guard in particular, a guard who seemed to smirk wider at the attention. Everything else bled away, even the sounds until it was just Hiccup and this Nightmare. He couldn’t move, he couldn’t speak, and he couldn’t even breathe. The air was so thick with terror that he couldn’t even get his body to merely blink. The man only seemed to chuckle as delight sparkled deviously in his eyes.

He grew closer and closer with each struggling second, the guard’s body moving like the flickering flame of the candles that used to be around them.

When the man parted his lips, black ooze seeped past his chuckling lips. “Who?” It groaned with an ever widening mouth that wanted to swallow him whole. Hiccup trembled, trying to scream – to demand it to go away! But his lips were sealed tightly shut, his voice locked away as the creature grew so close it loomed over him. “Who… are you?” It asked, reaching a bony goo dripping finger out towards his paling freckled face. He couldn’t help it. The closer the finger got to him, the more his mind started becoming numb like the rest of his body, the world literally melting away into nothing but darkness.

Then he blinked. Desperately he gasped for much needed air as the figure suddenly disappeared as the room grew brighter. Muffled sounds of sharp ice piercing the air slowly started registering in his ears as if he were resurfacing from water. Frost clung to his skin and clothes as he felt Jack pull him against his chest. A large thud was heard as the demigod slammed the butt of his staff to the ground, summoning ice that encased the entire floor of the hospital, trapping all the guard’s feet in a thick layer of ice. The wind grew more violent and cold until the all the candles blew out at once, giving Jack the perfect cover. Without warning he took off, holding Hiccup protectively against himself.

“T-Toothless prefers to fly himself!!” The dragon cried as he desperately clung to Jack’s shoulder. Hazily Hiccup reached up and pulled Toothless to himself, protectively cradling the dragon against his chest as he tried to pull himself back to reality. Once again he was taken away from reality and encased in a thick cloud of fear, unable to help Jack. He refused for this to become a trend, next time he’d find a way to fight the Nightmare head on, no matter what it took.

They were flying for a while, to the point where Hiccup couldn’t hide the freezing shivers and small tremble of pain as the cold and position irritated the wound. “Are… we almost there…?”

The demigod’s stiff body seemed to relax after hearing his voice, those deep blue eyes gazing down at him with a soft warming smile. “Sorry, I’m just trying to throw them off our trail, it won’t be much longer, I promise,” Jack reassured.

Not wanting to freeze the injured viking, Jack only made a few more detours - just as a precaution -before flying as fast as he could to their destination. Within the next five minutes they finally landed, the smell of urine and feces telling them they were in the countryside. As horrible as it sounded, Hiccup was curious as to how an anamorphic City ran their countryside, but decided it was best to look into that later, when they weren’t being hunted down.

“You made it,” a familiar female voice said, making Hiccup squint into the darkness. He heard her voice when he was going in and out of sleep talking to Jack back at the hospital, but was never well enough to open his eyes.

“It was a close one, I didn’t expect all the guards to be possessed,” Jack admitted. The more his eyes adjusted, the more he was able to make out. She had silver hair tied back into braids and wore what he believed to be a guard uniform of a higher stature. If the guards back at the hospital attacked them, why wasn’t this one?

No- he wouldn’t stress about this. He trusted Jack, the demigod promised to tell him everything later; he had to believe that for now.

“That’s… frightening,” she admitted, clenching her fists angrily. “To think they have most of the guards under their control… there’s no way the whole city isn’t under their control by now.”

“If the whole city was theirs, they wouldn’t have to worry about being discrete. Half the city is probably more accurate when it comes to numbers. Although… now that I’m here, they’ll probably start speeding up the process,” Jack admitted as he started following her, tightening his hold around Hiccup. The dragon whisperer looked to Toothless, who shared his look of concern.

“Is there anything I can do?” The auburn asked, unable to help it. Even hurt he wanted to help in some way.

Jack looked down at him, those deep blue eyes glimmering in the moonlight. “I’ll explain everything and brainstorm once we’re inside,” he reassured, a small smile finally tugging on his lips. “How you feeling? I lost you for a few minutes back there.”

The mere memory made him shiver and pull Toothless closer to himself. He wanted to tell Jack what he saw, but remembered how freaked out he got the last time. “A little better,” he started. “As soon as the lights dimmed I got so dizzy and light headed.” It wasn’t a complete lie, he just didn’t tell him everything.

“Yeah that can happen, especially if you’re not used to their presence,” Jack informed as they came up to a rather large farm house. The officer knocked twice, no more and no less, and gave a small hoot. Almost instantly the door opened, revealing a rather large but cute bellied cheetah with a candle in his shaking hands.

“Judy, you’re here!” He let out a relieved laugh, opening the door more and motioned for them to come in. “My grandparents left a few hours ago, we have the house to ourselves until I send word for them to come back!”

Jack raised an eyebrow as they went in, eyeing her weirdly. “You just got here too?”

She nodded gravely as she locked the door behind them with a strong piece of wood. “I was being followed by Mrs. Otterton, it took a bit to lose her.” She sighed sadly. “Knowing her and her kind heart, having her possessed is the best way to trick the whole city.”

“I’m glad you noticed,” Jack couldn’t help but admit as he felt Hiccup move a bit uncomfortably in his arms. The position was probably agitating his wound, especially since they were flying for so long. “Where is our room?”

The cheetah blushed deeply, embarrassed he didn’t show them the room first as he quickly turned on his heels. “I’m so sorry, this way please,” he said, leading them to a rather large room that didn’t have a lot of furniture. The bed was made up nice and already had some medical supplies present on the nightstand. “It’s the guest room, not a lot of people have used it so… I hope it’s okay?”

“It’s perfect, thank you,” Hiccup reassured, cursing as he started to sweat. Shit… were they really flying for that long? The moon flower was already starting to wear off.

Toothless jumped on the bed as Jack very carefully set Hiccup down. The bed was surprisingly comfortable, far better than the hospitals. “I could’ve walked,” Hiccup mumbled, making Jack roll his eyes.

“I know, but I didn’t want to risk it.” He said softly, slowly pulling Hiccup’s shirt up. The auburn couldn’t help but gasp very lightly in pain, clenching the bed sheets as Jack unwrapped it. “Hmm, didn’t rip open, that’s a good sign.” Pulling the bag off his back, he pulled out the ointment and gently rubbed it on the scabbed over wound as gently as he could. Not even the medicine could mask some of the spikes of pain, but the Viking merely bit his lip to stop himself from expressing sounds and tried to focus on something else.

“So… mind filling me in now?”

“Fine,” Jack said as he set the ointment down and wiped his hands on his pants. He almost forgot the most important part. “Just another second Hic.” Going to Judy and Clawhauser, he checked the back of their necks, finding no Nightmare mark. “Good, now check mine,” he said as he stood in front of Judy, allowing her to check.

“All clear,” she said, to which Jack immediately let out a sigh of relief.

“One more,” he said as he went back to the confused dragon whisperer and very slowly pulled him to sit up, checking the back of his neck too.

“Uhm… what’s this?” Hiccup asked, so horribly confused.

“The Nightmares invaded the City,” Jack started, a look of relief flooding through him seeing Hiccup mark free as well. “Someone from The Last Quarter rank.”

“The Last Quarter…” Hiccup pondered for a moment, his facing paling almost instantly. “Wait… that’s the rank where most are demigods and are granted some of Pitch’s power, right?”

Jack blinked, seeming surprised he remembered as a proud smile peeked through. “I knew your bookworm brain would remember,” he said, though the smile quickly faded. “They’re using the Nightmare mark to control people. It seems like half the city’s under their control.”

Hiccup’s eyes widened in shock, unable to comprehend the full scale of the situation, but knew it was dire – almost as dire as the Hamada plight. “What are they planning with all these people?”

All eyes were on Jack now, who refused to meet anyone’s gaze. “It’s hard to say,” he admitted. “The Nightmares work with human traffickers to find slaves, bait, and even assist them with infiltrating and finding suitable victims they both can use.” He turned his attention to Judy this time. “You said people have gone missing and some turn up dead correct?”

Judy’s face crunched in disgust. “Yes, and someone came forward last night. She told us the doctor tried forcing her away before he was found dead last night.”

Jack nodded, though his face was grim. “We can’t afford to overlook anything,” he said, slowly standing, starting to pace. “If we say both the Nightmares and human traffickers are here then we won’t be caught off guard. In order to at least capture one, we’ll need to lay a trap-“

“Bait,” Judy hesitantly said, not liking the idea. “It’s risky, but they won’t come out without having a prey.”

“Exactly, and luckily for us, the caster can’t be too far from the one he’s controlling. And the better the bait, the closer the caster might be.”

Hiccup and Judy narrowed their eyes, not liking the way he said that. “What do you mean by that?” Judy asked, putting her hands on her hips, ready to dismiss the idea.

“Did any of the victims have anything in common?” The demigod asked, quickly reaching for a notebook on the nightstand. His eyes widened as he felt callused fingers press against his hand, making him turn to see Hiccup smiling gently up at him.

“Let me, I’m kinda useless anyway.” Jack returned the smile as he gently reached forward and ruffled his hair, letting him take the notebook and pen.

“You’re not useless, you never are,” his face softened a bit before shaking his head and clearing his throat. “Do you remember most of the victims?”

“I brought the case files,” Benjamin beamed, running into the other room and returning with a rather large stack of paper. His arms quivered from the weight.

“Bring them here since I’m the scribe,” Hiccup said, the cheetah not arguing one bit as he set it on the bed next to him.

“I’m worried,” Judy couldn’t help but interrupt, biting her bottom lip uneasily. “Nick’s not here yet.”

“Me too,” Jack sighed, glancing back to Hiccup who was already combing through the files. He didn’t want to leave him alone, but they didn’t have a choice. They didn’t have a lot of allies, they needed everyone they could get. If only he knew the area, he wouldn’t have to take Judy with him, but he barely found this place. “Hic-“

“I’ll be fine,” the dragon whisperer reassured, not looking up from the files. “If I can’t do anything I still have Benjamin and Toothless to protect me, if they even find us,” he reassured, though both Judy and Benjamin looked at each other.

“Toothless?”

“My best friend,” Hiccup said as Toothless, with a cackle building up behind his lips crawled up from under the bed, watching as the two froze up a bit. How they didn’t see Toothless was beyond him, but the dragon was pretty good at being discrete when he wanted to be (he was an expert at acting like a stuffed animal).

“A dragon?!” The Cheetah gasped as he backed up against the wall, fear obviously gripping his heart. “N-no one ever said anything about a dra-dra-dragon-!”

“Don’t worry, he won’t hurt you. He’s saved us countless times,” Hiccup reassured as he gently pet the top of the dragon’s head. Despite trying to act cool, the touch made Toothless shiver and cave, the sound that escaped his lips resembling a purr. “He understands us, even if he tries to act like he doesn’t-“ violent coughs suddenly erupted from Hiccup, the pencil falling from his fingers. Immediately Jack was at his side, gently running a hand up and down his back, the other holding out a cup of water he grabbed from the nightstand.

“Idiot,” Jack whispered, letting Hiccup’s shaky hands take the cup, but kept his own close in case he dropped it. “Less talking, more resting.”

The stubborn Viking opened his mouth to retaliate, but all that came out were more violent coughs. They were so deep his ribs ached and his head felt so light yet pounded with a mighty headache. He couldn’t hold his own body weight after a few minutes, using Jack for support as the cup fell from his shaking hand. Luckily Jack was prepared and caught it. Judy, seeing the struggle quickly went over and grabbed the cup from the demigod, setting it on the nightstand. Jack offered a small grateful smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes.

“I’ll prepare the medicine,” Judy whispered, knowing the recipe from her training in order to supply first aid to citizens.

The coughs continued for a few more minutes, to which Jack never let him go. He merely used the other hand to gently move up and down Hiccup’s left arm in tandem with the hand that soothingly ran up and down his back. Despite the comfort, the freckled body started to tremble as his breathing became labored. Both guilt and anger streamed through Jack at each flinch, tremble and sharp breath he made. He knew Hiccup was probably experiencing the unfathomable burning sensation coursing through his veins by now. If only he had been more observant, he could’ve saved Hiccup from this pain.

“Here,” Judy whispered, bringing the water to Hiccup’s lips. “Please drink Hiccup.”

The auburn hardly seemed conscious as he parted his lips, allowing her to tip some water in. Shortly after she brought the medicine to his lips and made him drink the disgusting mixture, relieved he didn’t throw it up. They didn’t have a lot of moon flowers left…

“I know,” Jack whispered, feeling her worried gaze. “I’ll find a way to get more while we’re out looking for Nick.” Once he felt Hiccup’s breathing regain some regularity the demigod slowly pulled away enough to look at the freckled one’s face. It was scrunched up in pain, though one forest green eye slowly opened, feeling Jack’s gaze.

“Rest,” he whispered, gently laying him back against the bed. “You can look through the files later, they’re not going anywhere.”

Hiccup gently but stubbornly shook his head, moving his arms in an attempt to get up. “No… they need us-”

“-to get better so we can save them,” Jack finished, gently running his hand through Hiccup’s soft hair, knowing any kind touch would be a sharp contrast from the burning and aching hell he felt a few seconds ago. “Benjamin can start looking through the records while you take a nap okay? I’ll be back when you wake up.”

Hiccup hated this – that much was obvious in the beyond annoyed look on his face. But his body still ached, his ribs felt bruised and his lungs felt weak. Sleep sounded amazing right now.

“Fine, but just… for a bit…” he whispered breathlessly as his eyes slowly closed, sleep consuming him.

“I’ll make sure he’s okay,” Benjamin gently said from the doorway, giving them both a warm smile. “I won’t let anything happen to him.”

Right, they needed to go as much as Jack hated the idea. It felt like they were playing right into Pitch’s hands by searching for Nick. There was probably some kind of trap or ambush waiting for them. “Don’t harass Benjamin too much Toothless,” the demigod warned as the dragon’s ears drooped a bit, yet also looked offended. “I have a bad feeling about this.”

“Same,” Judy said. “But we don’t have a choice. We can’t just leave Nick to be marked and used by the Nightmares. Besides, we need everyone we can get to put a stop to this anytime soon.”

“Then let’s go.”

----

Jack quickly learned that bunnies weren’t fond of heights, which made sense considering most burrowed into the ground. Or maybe it was just Judy; she did mention having a rather rough fall with Nick that nearly killed them in a forest not too long ago. Either way he landed as soon as they got to the city and snuck quietly through it, searching for any signs of Nick.

“He was picking up supplies and records, which puts him near the police station,” Judy whispered as they stopped in an alley behind rotting crates, waiting for a few drunkards to go back into the bar they were leaning on. “Considering the amount of time that’s passed, he should be around this general area, if not a few blocks away.”

“This is the fastest route, right?” Jack clarified, earning a nod from the officer.

“If we don’t see him after a few blocks, we should double back and check the establishments. He might be hiding out in one until the night crowd dies down.”

“Risky, considering one touch can mark him, but whatever works at this point.” Judy nodded as they both watched the singing drunk men go back into the bar. Without even needing to speak to each other, they moved almost in unison to the next alley way. They didn’t need to peak over the pile of garbage they were hiding behind, they heard his voice immediately.

“You know, I really need to get going-“ they heard Nick say a bit out of breath. “Judy’s waiting for me to set up the trap-“

“Judy?! You’re relying on her?!” A deep man’s voice boomed, causing Judy to blink in complete shock.

“Wait, is that-“

“No offense Chief Bogo, but Judy and I have this in the bag,” Nick replied with a sharp warning tone, his protectiveness seeping through.

“Oh do you now?” The larger man snapped back, taking a threatening step forward. “Because from where I see it, both of you are conspiring with the enemy against the city!”

Nick burst into laughter, his stomach shaking so bad he had to use his free hand to hold his stomach. “You really think we believe in this Frost guy?” He asked, giving the chief a sly smirk. Jack couldn’t help the way his heart dropped a bit in his chest. “He’s the one falling for our trap as we speak.” Chief Bogo raised his eyes brows in question, putting his hands on his hips as a sign of distrust, making Nick roll his eyes. “He used to be Pitch’s right hand commander for crying out loud, it can’t be a coincidence that he shows up just as the Nightmares make a slip up and reveal their presence. Besides, someone doesn’t just wake up one day deciding they’re fighting for the greater good like that. He might have the rest of the world fooled, but not us.” The fox’s eyes sterned. “The only reason he isn’t behind bars is due to caution. I don’t have any plans on becoming a frozen cube anytime soon. Not good for my bikini body, you know?”

“And how do you plan to capture him?” The chief asked, skeptical. “As the King’s right hand knight, I should-“

“Stay at his Majesty’s side, as it’s your duty.” Nick finished. “We haven’t failed Zootopia yet, and we don’t plan to start anytime soon.”

“Like you rookies can deal with Frost without getting killed,” he mockingly laughed.

“Oh?” The fox asked with a challenging raise of his eyebrows, one the chief sadly knew well. “Then you’ll be in for another surprise.”

“So you do have a plan, what is it?!” The chief asked a bit harsher this time, taking another step forward. Nick merely tisked a few times, like one would do to an impatient child.

“It’s called a hustle Chief,” he said, tossing an apple from one of the supply boxes he had at the bull. “The hustle of a lifetime.”

This time the Chief let out a boisterous mocking laugh, looking at the apple as if it held the world’s secrets. “If you think you can hustle someone like Jack Frost, you’re a fool.” Taking a bite of the apple, his posture relaxed, though there was a dark gleam in his eyes. “Fine, go ahead and try. One less idiot I have to be held accountable for.”

“Aw, and here I thought you cared,” Nick teased, batting his eyes at the bull who grunted in response. Without another word he left. And yet Nick still felt someone’s gaze. Someone was watching, someone who had ill intentions.

“Someone else is here,” Jack whispered to Judy who nodded grimly in response as they both desperately searched with their eyes, trying to find the culprit without giving their position away. “You guys really don’t think I’m the one behind this-“

“Of course not,” Judy said with a small quiet laugh in her voice. “Though your arrival seems to have made the one responsible a bit nervous, they’ve been sloppy ever since.”

Despite wanting to believe her, he couldn’t put his whole heart into her words. After all, people he considered to be dear friends violently stabbed him in the back before. That is, except for Hiccup… so far at least.

When Nick turned around to go in the opposite direction, he felt the dark ominous feeling get even stronger. Nick was about to walk right into a trap, shit. Looking around, Jack caught sight of the sky, noticing the clouds still heavy with stubborn rain that refused to fall. “Perfect,” he smirked, helping the air get to the perfect temperature. Judy looked to him confused until she saw it.

“Fog? Or is it mist??” She blinked, honestly impressed. “Didn’t know you could do that.”

“Only if the weather permits it,” he revealed, watching as Nick grew horribly confused and nervous. “Honestly I think we got lucky.” Turning to the law enforcer, he motioned to the other with his head. “Go get him, he’ll freak out if I go.”

“Yeahhh, he gets spooked easily,” she chuckled, leaving Jack to keep watch in case whoever else was here tried attacking them. Yet as he waited, he felt the claws of doubt squeezing him tightly around the throat. Of course the thoughts from earlier came back, making him uneasy. What if they really didn’t trust him? What if they were doing all this just as a precaution, just as Nick said? If that was the case, then he left Hiccup at the mercy of Clawhauser-!

No- he was thinking irrationally, letting fear take possession of his common sense. He knew how to read people and get a good sense of their character. Judy wasn’t the one to lie like that, she was far too sincere and serious. When she thanked him for saving her parents, she spoke from her heart. Besides, she saved Hiccup from himself, pushing him away before he could ice his best friend. If she didn’t care, she would’ve let him do it.

Taking a deep breath, he gave a small smile as he saw the two quietly make their way back. They didn’t speak, not until they were far from the city and could see Clawhauser’s family farm, and it wasn’t just because they were trying to be stealthy. Nick looked pale, as if he barely escaped death.

“What happened?” Judy finally broke the silence, knowing Jack was waiting for her lead. “You’re almost three hours late!”

“Not now,” he said with a shaky breath. He was trying to act composed, but was failing miserably.

“Okay,” Jack said, shooting Judy a glance so she’d back off – for now. “Did you check him for the mark?”

“Yes,” she said as they came up to the door, doing their secret knock. “None. Which is why I’m worried.”

“Check mine, just in case,” the demigod asked, to which the rabbit was more than glad to do. She didn’t want anyone giving away their secrets, not when they were practically the last defense Zootopia had.

“Clear,” she said, moving so Jack could check hers. The cheetah opened the door, giving them a small smile.

“Man am I glad to see you guys!” Benjamin laughed nervously, dead locking the door behind them. “You’ve been gone for almost three hours, Hiccup and I were beginning to wonder if we were the last survivors!”

Upon hearing that Hiccup was awake, Jack quickly ran over to the room, not surprised to see the nerd with his nose in the records, his left hand flying across a piece of paper as he took notes. He couldn’t help but let out an enduring sigh of relief. Hiccup really was something else.

“Did you even get any rest?” He laughed, slowly making his way to the bed.

“I got enough,” Hiccup easily replied, not even looking up at him as he squinted at the papers more. “Just going over everything, even the things we talked about before. - Most of the victims at the start were predators, but something’s changed,” he confirmed, glancing up at Jack as Judy and Nick came in. “Looking at the dates of disappearances, prey started going missing about a month ago, all within the ages fifteen and twenty five.”

“Perfect slave age,” Jack hissed, making Hiccup nod grimly.

“Even when prey were taken, there was at least one predator in-between them, which doesn’t make any sense. What do predators have that prey don’t to make them more valuable?”

Judy, Nick and Benjamin gave each other uneasy looks. “Around here, it’s probably the opposite,” Judy admitted as Nick growled. “Even if we live in a big city together, racism and prejudice levels are high. Predators are always seen as the bad guys to the point where a bunch of politicians in the government tried to force them all to wear shock collars starting at the age of five.”

“It was a long battle, those racism bastards almost won,” Nick bitterly mumbled. “If it wasn’t for Gisselle, a famous singer around here who spreads the message of peace through her fans, Zootopia would no longer be a utopia for most of us.”

Jack’s eyes narrowed upon hearing that, glancing at Hiccup. “How long ago did the battle end?”

“It was recent actually,” Judy said, thinking back. “Probably around six to five months ago-“ her eyes widened, Nick’s face flashing in realization too. “No, they wouldn’t stoop so low!”

Nick shook his head though, crossing his arms in anger. “Think about it carrots, it makes perfect sense. Some of those politicians were not happy about it, they practically started their own cult once it was over!”

“Did you get the gate keeping records from the office?” Jack asked as Hiccup wrote all this down.

“Of course, who do you think I am?” Nick said as he quickly went into the other room and returned with two books. “There’s two gates, one on the north and one on the south end. If anyone left, their name will be in these books.”

Benjamin clapped his hands together happily as he took the books from Nick. “Finally I get to be of some use!” He cheered, going over to Hiccup’s side.

“It makes sense if the politicians really are behind this,” Nick scoffed as he leaned against the wall, looking at the ground. “Chief Bogo is obviously compromised. He kept trying to ‘order’ me to follow him back to the castle where we could ‘investigate’ there. It’s hard to believe he’d allow anyone even remotely suspicious near him or the King.”

Judy’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. “That doesn’t sound like the chief at all.”

“My thoughts exactly,” he confirmed. “And if he’s marked-“

“Then it’s safe to assume most of the castle is too, including the King.” Jack finished, though there was something that didn’t sound right about that. “Unless… it originated from the castle. Most cases end up with the higher power bathed in corruption.”

“Okay,” Judy stopped them there with a sigh. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Let’s wait until they finish going through the gatekeeper’s books before we start pointing fingers at anyone or we’ll be no better than them when it comes to jumping to conclusions.”

“Agreed,” Jack stretched, his eyes wondering to the small basket that contained only two petals of the moon flower. “I’ll use this intermission to search for more moon flowers.”

“Need any help?” Judy asked, to which Jack shook his head.

“I’ll be fine-“

“We shouldn’t separate,” Nick interrupted, shivering a bit at the thought. “They saw I was alone and tried to move in for the attack. We’re stronger and more vigilant in numbers. Besides, what’ll happen if you get marked? You’d lead them back here!”

“I agree,” Judy said. “I’ll go so Nick can rest.”

“I appreciate the offer, but I’m not planning on touching the ground,” the demigod said, grabbing the basket and putting the last two pedals on the nightstand. “I’ll be as quick as a bunny.”

Judy couldn’t help but roll her eyes with a soft smirk. “Fine. But if you’re over an hour late, we’re gonna come lookin’ for you.”

“Fair enough,” he said, seeing Hiccup so absorbed in the research he wasn’t even paying attention to what was being said. With a small smile of fondness, he made his way over to the bed, ruffling his hair again, much to the viking’s annoyance.

“You’re doing something stupid again, aren’t you?” Hiccup peeked up, making Jack roll his eyes a bit.

“I would do no such thing!” He laughed, looking to Toothless. “Make sure he doesn’t get himself into trouble again. We’ve been hurt the past few chapters and quite frankly, I’m over it.”

The dragon nodded. “Stupid humans need to stop being stupid and hurt. Toothless is sick of having to be dependable.” Jack didn’t understand the noises, but Hiccup did as he let out a snort.

“If it means anything bud, I really appreciate your help the past few days,” he smiled, gently petting the dragon behind the ears. “I couldn’t ask for a better friend. I know I can always rely on you.”

“Anddd this is where I take my leave,” the demigod said with a wave. “I’ll be back in an hour.”

But he wasn’t so sure. There was something about the air… something he didn’t like. Someone was watching, someone that made his skin crawl. He knew for a fact that no one followed them, and yet he still felt this strange air. It reminded him of when Pitch lurked and watched from the shadows, but this presence was so much stronger. Somehow he knew the prying eyes would follow, and they did.

No matter how high or fast he flew, the presence was still there, almost mocking him. But he didn’t let it stop him.

Staying just high enough to see the ground below, he found a patch of moon flowers swaying gently in the wind. The presence seemed to get stronger, to the point where it felt like it was pressing into his back. Landing he growled, dropping the basket.

“Enough hiding, come out already!” He snapped, the air growing cold, his hair slowly turning icy white.

An airy yet devious chuckle echoed around the forest, frightening the wildlife to flee for their lives. It didn’t frighten Jack in the least as his staff formed in his hands.

“I couldn’t tell if you were toying with me or being a complete idiot,” the voice came from behind. Pivoting on his heels, Jack aimed his staff only to gasp. Leaning against a tree was a man with shaggy blond hair that was nearly white with deep green eyes that screamed power and mischief. He wore a white toga like the nobles or even a king of Greeks would wear, showing off a little bit of skin as if to be alluring and friendly. Yet his poisonous uneasy aura gave him away.

“What do you want?” Jack hissed, his grip on the staff tightening considerably. He was trying to hide and conceal his emotions, but the harder he tried, the more he failed. And of course the wind exposed his emotional state.

“Oh I’m hurt,” the man gasped, holding his heart dramatically as if it ached. “After twenty years I thought you’d be excited to finally meet me, your father!”

Jack’s eyes narrowed as snow started to fall, giving up on trying to conceal his feelings. “I actually begged the other gods to never let us meet, but they’re obviously useless as always.” Knowing it was worthless to hold his weapon up against a god, he lowered it, concentrating on collecting the moon flowers instead before his frost killed them.

Loki chuckled at the response, slowly pushing himself off the tree. “They really are useless up there, they couldn’t even touch me if they wanted.”

The demigod didn’t respond, nor did he watch the god slowly start to circle him from a distance. He merely kept at his task, picking as many moon flowers as he could. This task was far more important than entertaining a dead beat god.

“You don’t even have questions for me?” The god asked, raising an eyebrow in shock when the other started ignoring him. “Nothing to scream or yell about?” Once more silence filled the air, making Loki scowl under his breath. “Don’t you want to at least attack me!?” When the mortal still didn’t respond, his anger started to boil, the air becoming thick and tense. “Don’t test me Frost, or-“

“Or what?!” Jack finally snapped angrily back, looking the snake dead in the eyes. “I’m doing what you’ve done to me all these years – ignoring you. I have far more important things to be doing than entertaining you.”

“Oh?” Loki smirked, letting out a deep sigh. “I don’t need entertainment, I simply dropped by to warn you, but it seems like you want to learn the hard way,” he waved, turning to walk away.

Jack stiffened, his mind starting to reel in fear. Warn him? If he hadn’t warned him about anything else in his life, why now? What could possibly be so big that he’d show up for the first time in twenty years to tell him?

“You’re lying,” he said back, not believing it. Loki was a trickster god. Somehow he knew Loki wanted him to ask so a lie could be spoken. Grabbing the last few flowers he picked up the basket, ready to fly away.

“You’re right, how could I forget? I came to warn you about two things, actually,” he smiled, his eyes watching Jack’s every move. “Struggling with the mortals here is futile. The finale is in three days, and you guys don’t even have a single lead.” Jack couldn’t help the way his body froze in fear as reality sunk in. Three days, that was it?! Did that mean the city really was that lost to the Nightmare mark already? “You should leave while you can, this city is a lost cause.”

“A lost cause?” Jack whispered angrily back, clenching his fists tightly as he refused to look at Loki. “Causes are only lost when people give up, and I for one, refuse to give up.”

Loki merely shrugged his shoulders, that annoying smirk never leaving his lips. “You always were a stubborn one, but if you won’t listen to that warning, then at least think about this one.” Jack merely clenched the basket and jumped, willing the wind to carry him when god spoke again. “The company you’re traveling with, Hiccup, was it?” Fear gripped Jack’s heart, forcing him to stop in his tracks. His father knew about Hiccup, and that worried him. “His fate is dark and twisted, you’d be better off sending him back to Berk to save yourself the trouble and heartache.”

This was a trap, this had to be a trap. Asking him for elaboration would result in him falling for a trap. After all, Loki was the trickster god, he was always trying to ensnare people into his web of lies.

“I’ll take my chances,” he merely grumbled, allowing the wind to whisk him away as fast as it could.

“You can’t even fathom what the fates have in store for that boy, Jackson. I hope you’re ready for it.” Loki’s voice carried through the winds, making the demigod shiver and speed up even faster.

Like he’d believe a word his father said. He didn’t care before when his life literally became hell on earth, so why care now? There had to be something in it for him unless why warn him at all?

And yet, as much as he wanted to ignore the first warning, he couldn’t. Somehow he knew he was telling the truth; maybe it had something to do with his own experience as a former Nightmare. Either way, he didn’t dare take a chance. There were far too many lives at stake. As for the second warning… he didn’t know what to make of it. There was a strange tone in the god’s voice, as if there was pent up anticipation. Gods liked to watch humans struggle, and if Loki has his eyes on Hiccup, it meant there was a good chance a storm was coming his way. But he wouldn’t face it on his own, Jack refused to let that happen.

---

The flight back took a bit longer than he anticipated, probably because he was thinking too much. It wasn’t all that surprising to see Judy outside looking up at the sky, her stress and worry deflating the instant she saw him. It was nice to know she at least somewhat cared about him.

“Took you long enough!” She sighed, putting her hands on her hips as he landed. “Did you run into any trouble?”

“Sort of,” he admitted, checking the basket to be sure none of the moon flowers escaped. They all seemed to be there which was honestly surprising, but he wasn’t going to question it. “One sec,” he said as he turned his back to her, allowing her to check for a mark. When she finished he returned the gesture, relieved they both still had their free will.

“Okay now that that’s out of the way, what’s happening here in Zootopia is way bigger than I initially thought.”

“What do you mean by that?” She asked quietly as they went inside, locking the door tightly behind them.

“I ran into Loki.” He simply said, catching sight of Hiccup at the corner of his eye still awake working with Clawhauser in the next room. The poor dragon whisperer looked so pale and tired, his breathing already abnormal. The stubborn Viking wasn’t resting enough. The antidote wouldn’t work without proper self-care, and that included a lot of sleep. Yet if there was any ounce of truth to Loki’s words, they didn’t have much time, especially for sleeping.

“Loki?” Judy paled, putting the pieces together.

“Yeah, my literal god parent,” he sighed, running his hand through his hair, making some of the snow fall out. “It’s… the first time I’ve ever talked to him.”

“What’d he say?” She asked, not liking this at all. He couldn’t blame her, he didn’t either.

Motioning for her to follow, they went into Hiccup’s room, watching with a warm heart as the dragon whisperer looked up at him with a welcoming smile.

“What took you so long? I almost forgot what you looked like,” the auburn smirked, making Jack chuckle. Even exhausted Hiccup was still Hiccup.

“At least I’m memorable~” He winked, making his way over to the bed. “How you feeling Freckles? You don’t look too good.”

Hiccup instantly looked away, avoiding eye contact as he spoke. “Oh you know, the usual these days,” he laughed nervously. “My veins burning and muscles aching, not to mention feeling like my lungs will collapse any minute as breathing’s become a chore, but otherwise good.”

Jack was taken by surprise, and so was Toothless. He saw the little dragon look up at Hiccup and tilt his head a bit, his jaw opening slightly in awe. Hiccup had been honest even if he was trying to cover up the pain with his jocular attitude.

He didn’t even feel Hiccup’s gaze back on him, only saw him roll his eyes and mutter ‘oh gods,’ before shaking his head. “While you were gone, Ben and I finished compiling a list of all the suspects, but…” he trailed off, looking over to other officer who looked horribly nervous.

“But what?” Judy asked, preparing herself to hear nothing but bad news from everyone.

“We mightttt have an infestation,” he said as he nervously tapped his fingers together.

Judy tilted her head, feeling dread crawling into her chest. “What do you mean?”

Ben looked to Hiccup who gave an encouraging smile. “According to the list, nearly all the politicians who fought for the collars left on the same day around the same time a month after the debate ended, and they all came back around the same time too.”

Hiccup nodded. “The pattern continues for at least a whole month before they seem to leave in groups on different days instead.”

Judy paled over, her legs feeling weak. “H-how many total?” She asked, her voice a bit airy.

“Thirteen,” Hiccup said, his breathes getting deeper. “Seven of them either work at the castle or near it according to Ben.”

“They were desperate,” Jack noted. “All of them were running around trying to find warlords to make deals and packs with, not even considering the consequences of their actions,” he hissed.

“They realized too late they made a mistake,” Nick’s voice came from the bedroom doorway, making everyone look up at the half asleep hybrid who was rubbing the sleep from his eyes. “As we've already said, all of them were predators at the beginning.”

“And within the last month or so, a lot of prey have become victims too,” Judy said, rubbing her arm in an attempt to comfort herself. “The Nightmares and human traffickers probably got tired of getting nothing but predators, and of course the politicians couldn’t say no to offering up prey due to whatever deal or pact they made with them or they’d risk a full on attack on the city.” Judy said, crossing her arms, not liking this one bit.

The demigod pursed his lips, seeing the possible connection now. “I can imagine the Nightmares found it easier just to mark them. Not only does it avoid full on war that would diminish their supplies but it also puts them in full control - which they love.”

Judy cursed under her breath, taking the news hard. Politicians loved going around and trying to spread their message to people, which gave the Nightmares the perfect way to infect so many citizens without raising any suspicion.

“Can a marked person mark another?” Judy couldn’t help but ask, wondering how fast it really could spread.

“Only if the original caster tells them to, so they have to be nearby.”

Nick felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up as he shivered. “They were near when I was with Bogo.”

Jack nodded gravely. “Most likely, I’m pretty sure I sensed them. They know you and Judy are trying to put a stop to this and finding you alone was a golden opportunity. I’m honestly impressed you made it.”

“What can I say, I’m a clever fox,” Nick smirked, loving the attention.

Judy rolled her eyes, still horribly tense. “Okay, so we know who started this, but how do we even know how much time we have left? And how do we even fight back?”

The demigod sighed, knowing what he learned was about to make everything ten times worse. “Like I mentioned earlier, I ran into Loki. And although I’d never take stalk in his words, he said we only have three days before the city is overran.” The room became still in an instant as everyone paled over considerably. “But as I said, I don’t know if there’s any truth to what he said. But I’d rather not take a chance.”

“Three days?!” Nick gasped, blinking a few times as if trying to verify this wasn’t a dream. “That’s almost as bad as our forty-eight hour task.”

“That’s insane,” Judy let out a laugh, feeling the pressure getting to her. “Overran by who?”

“I don’t know, but we won’t solve anything by panicking,” he said.

“I know,” she mumbled, taking a few deep breathes as Nick came over and gently rest his hand on her shoulder.

“Don’t worry Carrots, nothing’s impossible as long as we work together, right?” He smiled. The bunny hybrid couldn’t help but nod, taking another deep breath.

“You’re right, sorry,” she said, looking back over at the demigod. “Okay, so where do we start?”

“By coming up with a plan,” Hiccup said, smiling a bit hesitantly, already knowing Jack would probably shoot it into the ground. “I think I have one.” Seeing as he had everyone’s attention, he cleared his throat and continued. “According to the victims list of those who vanished, a lot of them were either in the hospital or were recovering from some sort of injury or sickness, correct?”

“At first, yes,” Judy admitted. “What’s your point?”

But Jack paled a bit. Hiccup couldn’t be thinking what he thought he was thinking, could he?!

“My point is that they probably take the injured and sick to their actual contacts outside because they don’t need to expend that much energy transporting them. Considering they can’t get away or fight back because they’re weak, they don’t even have to mark them-“

“No,” Jack interrupted as he glowered sharply at the auburn. “Absolutely not!”

Hiccup rolled his eyes in irritation. “For the love of Thor, can you at least hear me out first?!” He demanded, glaring up at the demigod. Jack opened his mouth, wanting more than anything to say no, but stopped as he stared into Hiccup’s determined forest green eyes. He wasn’t a child, Jack had to remember that. As much as he wanted to protect Hiccup and make sure Loki’s warning didn’t happen, babying him would only do more damage than good, even if he did try using the fact that he was injured against him. Besides, if he didn’t agree to it, the stubborn auburn would probably go through with it anyway. He had to make sure Hiccup knew what he was getting himself into before agreeing though.

Seeing the demigod back off, Hiccup felt himself calm a bit. “I’m not much help here, but I can be out there. While you guys deal with the caster and enemies here in the city, I can secure the prisoners that were taken and somehow find a way to stop the army from sending in any reinforcements.”

“But you’re injured and poisoned,” Jack stressed, holding up the basket of moon flowers he just picked. “Without these you’ll die.”

“I’m sure they’ll know,” Hiccup said. “If they were willing to take the others who were injured and sick as well, they must be treating them before sending or selling them off unless why kidnap the weak ones?” He had a point, no one could deny that in the room. “Besides, I’m the only one here they don’t know. If it were you, Judy, Nick or even Ben, they’d rather have you guys on their side and mark you. To them, the only value I have is with being sold.” His forest green eyes locked with Jack’s deep blue eyes, making it impossible for Jack to look away. “Besides, they’ll have to cure me in order to sell me, which will also benefit us.”

That was all true, and yet Jack was still wary. “But they’ll take your prosthetic-“

“Probably.” Hiccup merely shrugged as if it wasn’t a big deal, which worried him even more.

“They’ll hurt you-“

“Most likely.”

“They’re starve and dehydrate you-!”

“I’m well aware of the risks of war, I can do this,” Hiccup said, giving Jack an encouraging smile. “If they take my prosthetic, I’ll find a way to make a temporary one. If they hurt me, I’ll make them think I’m weaker than I am. If they starve and dehydrate me, I’ll over exaggerate my condition to convince them to give me a larger portion. – I’ll be fine Jack; there’s a benefit to having a fishbone like body.”

The demigod knew he lost. This was the plan now, he couldn’t deny it even if he wanted to. It would be the easiest way to save the prisoners that weren’t sold off yet – which there was a good chance since most were injured and sick – and keep enemy troops from aiding the ones they’d end up fighting. But he still couldn’t help but worry about losing him, if not to death, than to Pitch. “How would we even find you after?” But he knew that answer too, even Hiccup knew he did.

“For better accuracy, you should use a lock of my hair.”

“Ugh, does this mean Toothless has to find another dragon to help us?” The dragon groaned in dragonese, not liking the idea either but knew he had no say. “If you stupid humans decide to go through with this plan you won’t even need a terrible terror because you’ll be dead! At least when you’re dead you won’t be Toothless’s problem anymore! Toothless can finally live peacefully!”

Hiccup rolled his eyes. “Come on bud, I know you care.”

“So do I,” Jack admitted, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. “What are you gonna do to keep the soldiers from leaving?”

Hiccup bit his lip, thinking for a few moments. “I uh, haven’t figured that part out yet. I figured if nothing came to mind before then, I’d sort of wing it once I was there,” he laughed nervously, looking to Jack with a soft smile. “Then again, you’re the expert. Do you have any suggestions?”

Jack couldn’t help the small blush that painted his cheeks despite the fear he felt. There was just something in the way he said it that made him feel a bit bubbly, or maybe it was the look of fascination and the amount of faith the auburn had in him that made him feel this way.

“Considering you’re still injured and poisoned, you’ll need to avoid confrontation where you can even if they do get rid of the poison,” Jack started, thinking critically. What was something Hiccup could do no matter what base camp he was taken to? It needed to be something simple, something he could do without much effort to take the whole camp down. “Once you’re well enough, they’ll treat you as a slave, so might as well as act like one.”

“I can be a pretty good actor from what I hear,” Hiccup reassured, ignoring the snort of laughter from Toothless who obviously disagreed.

“Good, then if they try to assign a job to you, tell them you’re a really good cook. They may just go along with it considering you’re still healing from the stab wound. And if they don’t assign a job to you because of the wound, as soon as you’re able to, find a way to sneak out and pretend to be the cook. Typically the lackies aren’t very smart and won’t question seeing a new slave making their meals.”

“Okay,” Hiccup said, not really connecting the dots. “So what should I do with the food? Poison it?”

“Not exactly,” Jack said, a little horrified Hiccup would even consider the thought. “You’re going to dump ingredients that don’t belong together in, ingredients that are so horrendous they give everyone such a horrible stomach ache that if it’s not food poisoning it might as well be. But it still has to taste good enough for them to keep eating enough of it.”

Nick nodded at the idea, liking it. “Easiest way to take down an entire army. Even if they have someone test the food to verify there’s no poison, it’ll slip past them – for a few hours at least, long enough for the damage to be done.”

“Exactly,” Jack said with a smile. “Which will give us enough time to take care of business in town before Nick and Judy pick you up.”

Hiccup glanced at the two officers who looked similarly confused. “Wait, what about you?” He hesitantly asked, not liking where this was going.

“There’s obviously more than one camp,” the demigod said, looking down at his hands. “I’ll track down the other camps and take them down myself. They can’t mark what they can’t touch or see, and I heard there’s a blizzard warning.”

“Jack-“

“No Hic, I have to do this alone,” Jack said, looking at him sternly. “As soon as the other camps hear the caster fell, they’ll quickly try to disperse and flee with what they have. After all, what good is a city they no longer have control or access to? Besides, if there’s another Last Quarter rank there, I refuse to let any of you be marked.”

Hiccup didn’t like the idea as he glanced at Toothless who pinned his ears back, not liking it as well. Unlike Jack Hiccup knew the demigod could do things on his own, but the fact that there was even a small possibility of someone being there that was able to mark Jack made them both uneasy. Even if they managed to take the city back and return the prisoners they’re able to recover from the camps, they could force Jack to take the city in a manner of minutes. “Take Toothless with you then,” he said, not even needing to ask the dragon first. “At the first sign of danger, or if you lose control, he can either try to pull you back or get us.”

“Hic-“

“It’s not an offer,” Hiccup said sternly back as Toothless jumped on his shoulder, giving him the same stern look. “I’m just letting you know why he’s going with you.”

“Fine,” Jack sighed, knowing Hiccup would make Toothless follow him regardless of what he said. “But if things get hairy for you while you’re captive, you need to know the four basic rules of survival that even I cling to when I can’t rely on my powers.”

“Okay,” Hiccup said with a small victorious smile.

“Listen to all the rules first before interrupting,” he forewarned, knowing the viking might get snippy. “If you can run, run. If you can’t run, surrender, then run. If you’re outnumbered, let them fight each other while you run. Four is where you talk your way out of it, something you’re really good at.”

“Those are actually pretty good rules to follow,” Nick piped in, having done some of them himself. “Running isn’t cowardice, not when it’s about survival. It’s the difference between life and death.” He looked to Judy who was leaning on him, beyond tired but trying to hide it. “We should teach this to our academy with a few spins on it.”

“Toothless likes it too,” the dragon said. “Lots of running from danger, not towards like Hiccup does a lot.”

Hiccup rolled his eyes, but understood the underlining concept. “I can’t deny those are indeed good survival tactics,” he sighed, making sure to remember them. “Thanks.”

“Anytime,” Jack said, biting his lip. “You know, there could be a fifth for you, and it’s only if there’s no other way out.” He didn’t have to say it though as Hiccup nodded, understanding. It was the absolute last resort, and only if there were more lives on the line aside from his. If the world knew about dragons the way he did, everything would fall into chaos.

“Can you teach me how to make the antidote just in case?” Hiccup asked, finally giving in. The searing pain coursing through his veins was too much, he couldn’t ignore it anymore. He was surprised his breathing was somewhat normal with how heavy yet light his lungs felt.

“Of course,” Jack reassured, reaching over and grabbing the ingredients and materials. “You guys should go get some rest, we have a long day tomorrow.”

#hijack #phage writes #frostcup #the greater good

1 note · View note