*waves* Hoiya! lunarcrown came up with this awesome venomcup au, and I just had to write something for it! Now I don't know all the details to this AU, and I'm definitely not the first to write about it (Which I actually just found out. In the middle of writing this drabble I thought "It might be a good idea to look at the HTTYD AU tag to get more info" and… like, you have to go check out aleteia's fic.. It's amazing!) So yeah I'm sorry if I got stuff wrong etc, but I hope it's enjoyable anyhow! And let me know if you guys want more, and I might make this into a multi-chapter thingie. Just lemme know in the reviews. ;))

(Very minor HTTYD 3 spoilers. This is a what-if Hiccup got captured by Grimmel, and while Astrid tries to rescue him, she gets captured as well.)

Unhinged

Astrid had long since stopped struggling. She wasn't even sure she could at this point, since her arms were so numb from the men's tight grips she could no longer feel her fingers. She figured that, the best way to get any information, was to remain silent and passive- for now. She would fight when the time called for it. However, she could still glare, and so she did.

After days of sitting immobile in a cell, it was a struggle to make her legs cooperate as she was dragged down the shadowy halls of the ship. She tried not to make eye contact with the men they passed, but if she did, she let her hatred spill into her gaze. If looks could kill, she was certain the entire army would be dead at this point.

The men laughed and made vulgar comments that made her squirm inwardly. They hadn't made any moves to touch her- yet. She only hoped they knew better than to try. She might be weaponless, and weak, but she would use whatever means of defense she had. She had teeth, didn't she? Then by Thor's hammer she'd bite any man who came near her.

But for now, she hoped remaining cooperative would pay her back in the end. Maybe… maybe she'd stay alive long enough to get out. Long enough to…

to see Hiccup.

She watched and studied everything they passed, keeping her eyes peeled for any hints that he was or had been there. He must be. He had to be. She refused to think differently.

But three weeks. Three weeks. What could they do to one man in three weeks? She shuddered to think.

She'd only been in captivity for three days. Locked in a cell, with nothing but moldy bread and water to keep her alive. They hadn't even given her a slop bucket.

Heathens. The Hooligans might be rough Vikings, but even they had the decency to give their prisoners a bucket to do their business in. Her hatred was threatening to brim over. She feared she might explode should she even lay eyes on Grimmel. The slimy bast-

Speaking of which.

They rounded a corner, and came to stop at a door. A man standing there didn't even question their presence. All he had to do was see her, and he nodded, opening the door and letting them pass.

Grimmel stood, back to them, with his hands pressed against the top of a table. He had papers strewn about the table, along with empty vases and dirty glass cylinders. He didn't turn upon their entrance, just continued staring at the papers.

"My dear Lady." He spoke without looking up. "A pleasure."

She gnawed on her gag, nearly choking on her withheld words. She reminded herself to stay silent, not that her words would make it past the gag. Yet still, what a coward to forcefully silence his prisoner. Did he fear what she had to say?

It was as if he had heard her thoughts. Good, then maybe he'd heard the few choice words she had bouncing about her head.

"Ungag her." He finally turned around, a smug smile pasted on his pale face, his eyes unreadable. He leaned against the table.

As soon as the cloth left her mouth, she spat a wad of spit on the floor, right at Grimmel's boots. The words came unbidden. "You snake." She said darkly. She hated how far up she had to look to meet his eyes. It made her feel even more defenseless, a feeling she did not appreciate.

He snorted a laugh. "My lady! You underestimate me. I dare say I like to consider myself on a dragon status."

She pondered a response, but decided against it. Rather, she heated her glare.

"Now." He stood and walked to a shelf, where jars of purple liquid lined. She didn't know how she hadn't noticed them before. They were chiming as they softly hit against each other with each wave that hit the side of the ship. It was a little hum that played in the background, and accompanied with the purple glow from the bottles, it created an eerie atmosphere.

Grimmel plucked up one of these bottles and uncorked it, letting a fowl stench seep into the air. Astrid squinted, her eyes watering from the fumes. He coughed and recorked it, with a satisfied nod of his head. He continued. "I know why you came here."

"Did you figure it out by yourself?" She muttered dryly. To her surprise, he laughed.

"Hiccup's humor must be contagious." He walked closer, still chuckling. "I wouldn't have thought you, a warrior or Berk, to know the meaning of sarcasm."

He fiddled with the bottle in his hands, unconcerned. "Hiccup and I are much alike. We use our brains to get what we want. And if his attitude isn't the only thing you've caught on from him, then I'm sure this is no great recollection."

It wasn't. Hiccup's mind was his weapon, and all of Berk knew it. It's why they trusted him as much as they did. It's why she'd believed him those many years ago.

Grimmel began tinkering with a tube of some kind, filling it with the bottle's contents. And yet, in all of his pointless conversing, he had yet to tell her what had become of Hiccup. It was making her uneasy, for she felt that if he was dead, Grimmel would've used it against her by now. And yet, if he was still alive, wouldn't Berk had gotten a ransom note long before now? Grimmel was just so unpredictable. She couldn't read his behavior, and it was irking her more then she could say.

Finally, he looked up, smiling widely without showing his teeth. It was creepy, and made her uncomfortable. She squirmed where she was held, but the soldiers didn't loosen their grip.

Grimmel looked past her and nodded, presumably at the guard by the door. She heard the door creak open, followed by shuffled footsteps.

Someone stumbled past her, followed by two burly men. When she saw who it was, she lunged forward, forgetting she was still contained. The men jerked her back sharply, forcing a gasp from her lips. She stared, horrified, struck silent by the shape Hiccup was in. She was too shocked to feel any joy at the fact that "Thank Thor, he's alive." for all her mind could focus on was the cylinder fixed at his neck by a leather collar. Her eyes caught the slightest glimpse of glowing purple from within the glass.

He was leaning against the wall, his head wavering, his eyes unable to focus on anything. He was so pale… and, as best as she could see in the little candlelight, his skin carried a slight purple tint. His green iris's were no longer the beautiful emerald color she knew, but a glowing purple. He blinked hazily, staring at nothing. She saw his legs shake.

"My new weapon!" Grimmel cackled and waved his arm at Hiccup, as if showing off a new toy. Hiccup only blinked, not responding at all. The soldiers stood a few paces back, next to the men who held Astrid, just watching in uncertainty, as if they weren't sure what to do.

Grimmel walked to Hiccup and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, dragging him to stand across from Astrid. She involuntarily breathed his name. "Hiccup…" He made no response.

It was killing her to have him so close- close enough to touch- and yet, it wasn't truly him. She hoped he'd say something, that he'd even look at her, but he did neither. He stared into space through half-lidded eyes, his body trembling. She feared he would tip over at any moment.

Grimmel slapped the back of Hiccup's head. "Look at her."

He did, eerily. He looked, but he didn't see. His gaze went right through her.

"What have you done?" She hissed, raising her gaze to meet Grimmel's. He grinned and settled a hand on Hiccup's shoulder, as one would an old friend. He tossed the tube in his hand, which she now realized with horror, was the same cylinder like thing that was fixed at Hiccup's throat.

"I've done what Stoick should've done years ago!" He cackled, and began plying the tube from the collar. Once off, he took the needle from it's end and fixed it on the new one. "Hiccup makes a marvelous dragon killer, Astrid. It's a shame you underestimated him."

The tip of the needle disappeared into Hiccup's neck.