WARNING: MAJOR SEASON 6 SPOILERS (UNTIL THE ELEVENTH EPISODE, GUARDIANS OF VANAHEIM). You've been warned! If you haven't seen Season 6, GO WATCH IT RIGHT NOW, IT'S AMAZING.

It sort of bugged me that in Guardians of Vanaheim, Snotlout was struck by lightning AGAIN (how many times has he been struck, like five?!), AND that he wasn't affected realistically AT ALL, so I decided I wanted to write a what-if about it where Hiccup was struck instead! *cackles* You know how much I love my Hiccup!whump. XD

This'll probably going to be maybe 5-7 chapters or so - depends on whether you guys want more! I'll update on a fairly regular schedule, so no worries about this being abandoned or anything! ANYWAYS, I'll stop rambling now.

READ, ENJOY, R&R... Hope you like it!

Chapter 1:

CRACK!

Thunder roared deafeningly in Hiccup's ears, making him wince. The sounds of battle and the present downpour blended together into a cacophony of sound, overwhelming his eardrums. Of course, the Dragon Flyers had to choose today to find Vanaheim… the day where a huge storm had to come along that would most likely knock them out of the sky.

"We need to regroup!" he called over to Astrid and Snotlout, barely dodging a fireball from one of the Singetails. He couldn't even count how many times he'd been shot at tonight if he tried. There was just no escaping the Flyers… except through maybe one way. He looked to the dark skies before them, face grim, but knew there was no other place to go. "Back into the storm! They won't follow us."

Astrid and Snotlout reluctantly went after him on their dragons as he and Toothless darted ahead, but they had no chance to protest the plan; the Singetails' blasts were getting uncomfortably close.

As soon as they were under the cover of thunderclouds, Hiccup regretted his decision to fly here. A lightning bolt struck nearby, missing him by a couple of feet, and almost hitting Toothless's prosthetic.

Thor above. He inwardly groaned. His metal leg and Toothless's tailfin were the perfect attractions for the lightning - there was a high chance they might get hit in this weather. He looked down at his prosthetic foot, hoping it was too small to draw anything dangerous. But with his recent luck, he knew he couldn't count on much.

Oh, come on, Hiccup, he told himself. It's one little piece of metal, and we're probably flying too fast to attract anything. The chances of being struck… you won't get hit. You won't. And you can't. There're too many people depending on you for you to be knocked out of the sky now.

"Uh, Hiccup–!" Astrid shouted to him, glancing back at the Flyers nervously. Their opponents were beginning to follow them; they had apparently decided that going into the storm was worth getting the Dragon Riders. "I think we may have underestimated them."

Suddenly, Hookfang gave an alarmed screech as a bolt of lightning flashed eerily close by, and reared in anxiety, causing Snotlout to tumble forward. His helmet was thrust from his head at the jolt and began to fall towards the sea before Snotlout could grab it. Soon, it was lost in the dreary blackness below, probably floating around in the ocean by now. Snotlout gave an enraged yell, frustrated that he had lost his prized helmet, but even he knew he couldn't go down to get it. There were more important matters to deal with right now.

"You know, I'm sure you'll make a great chief one day, Hiccup," he growled, bitter at his loss, "just know that I will not be living on your island!"

BOOM!

"Well, that's so comforting, Snotlout," Hiccup said sarcastically, "but right now, we need to figure out a way to neutralize these guys." He cast a look over his shoulder back at the Dragon Flyers and was dismayed to find them having no trouble keeping up with the Riders. Cringing as Toothless suddenly swooped to avoid another explosion of Singetail fire, he knew that the dragons were bound to hit their targets sometime.

Snotlout fumed, running his hand over his head unhappily with a longing sigh. "Oh, I can think of plenty of ways to neutralize them!"

Barely suppressing his frustration, Hiccup cast him a withering look. "Neutralize without harming the Singetails! We only want–"

"–to get rid of the Flyers," Astrid said. "We know, Hiccup, and we're with you!"

Snotlout gave an indifferent mutter.

Hiccup smiled faintly, though he was anything but happy. "Thanks, Astrid. Now, I think maybe we could–"

CRACK!

A flash of light so bright it blinded Hiccup for a few seconds attacked a space alarmingly close to his prosthetic, and he closed his eyes till the burst faded, knowing from secondhand experience what looking at it for too long could do to a person's eyes.

"Hiccup! You good?"

"Yeah, fine, Astrid. My leg and lightning just aren't good friends." He shook his head, and there was a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach that he couldn't quite shake away. "Anyways, I–"

CRACK!

Another string of lightning snaked its way down from the sky, hungry for a metal object to strike… and soon, it found Hiccup's leg.

As he was attached to that very gadget, the lightning quickly traveled from the prosthetic through Hiccup's frame with more force than he'd ever felt in his life. All his senses were tingling, exploding with agonizing power that left him winded and paralyzed. Unable to handle it all, his body seized up and a piercing scream left his lips. He was horrifyingly conscious for a moment of blaring pain, and then it became all too much for him and he allowed the roaring in his ears to sweep him away into blessed darkness.

Some of the electric current traveled to Toothless, too, and the dragon shrieked at the sting, losing control of himself as he was momentarily knocked out. In consequence, Hiccup was pitched from his Night Fury's back and thrown high up into the air, limp and lifeless.

He wasn't airborne for long, however. After a few seconds, he plummeted down, quickly followed by Toothless. A minute later, they had vanished beneath the clouds. Astrid and Snotlout were frozen in terror on their dragons, too horrified at the previous sight of their seemingly invincible leader so vulnerable to do anything except stare.

Astrid was the first one to come to her senses, knocked out of her daze when she realized she could no longer see Hiccup's figure in the blackness. Her hands tightened on Stormfly's saddle horn, and she couldn't breathe for a long moment.

"HICCUP!"

The cry tore itself from her throat, painful and petrified. Snotlout and Hookfang began to move, as well, Astrid's holler waking them up to reality.

"SNOTLOUT, FOLLOW ME – HICCUP FELL THIS WAY!"

"G-got it! Hooky, let's go find that Haddock!"

The pair drove their dragons down towards the sea, squinting through the rain in a desperate attempt to discern their missing leader. But it seemed that he had just simply vanished – he was gone, and it didn't look like they were going to find him or Toothless anytime soon.

"HICCUP?"

Astrid was clearly in pure panic mode as she frantically searched the waves below for him.

"Hiccup!"

She nudged Stormfly forward, fright arresting control of her senses, but she'd search the entire area if there was even the slightest chance he was around, though the possibilities of finding him were slimming down every second. By now, Hiccup had probably reached the ocean… and a fall into the water from this height could do serious damage to a person's body.

For once, Snotlout was the level-headed one. "Astrid, hey – hey, hold up! If you go all crazy on us, we'll never find him! Remember that he fell with Toothless, and that dragon would never let Hiccup out of his sight after what just happened. We find Toothless, we find Hiccup, and something tells me it won't be too difficult to find a Night Fury!"

Trembling, Astrid pulled her dragon to a halt, turning back to Snotlout. Though she didn't want to waste a moment not looking for Hiccup, she knew he was right. Flying around with no idea what to do was no plan, especially with attacking Dragon Flyers as a threat. "Fine. Where do you suggest he is? It's not like Toothless can tell us where he fell!"

However, sure enough, a screeching plasma blast came from below a few seconds later, followed by a familiar roar.

"Down there!" Astrid shouted, pointing in the direction of where the shot had come from. She had Stormfly nosedive towards the place, Hookfang and Snotlout hot on their wingtips. Even between all the raindrops falling in front of their eyes and the Singetail Fire behind them, they managed to make out something large in black in the water underneath them.

Toothless.

They swooped down over the dragon, who was struggling to stay afloat in the rocky waves. He was obviously drained after the fall from the sky. Hookfang quickly retrieved him from the ocean before Toothless could sink anymore, his size and strength helping him keep the Night Fury aloft.

Astrid lowered Stormfly so she could look at Toothless, who was shrieking at the spot in the sea he'd just been taken from. She had a horrible feeling she knew what he was going on about. "Toothless! Is Hiccup…?!"

He weakly pawed at the water below, moaning with loss. And that could only mean one thing: Hiccup was there.

Oh no.

Astrid and Stormfly dove down beneath the waves without a second thought. Though stinging with the saltwater, Astrid's eyes darted around as she looked for her missing betrothed with a determination she'd never felt before. She couldn't allow her worry to cloud her thoughts – not now that Hiccup needed her.

Come on, come on, come on… where was he…?

Half a minute passed, and Stormfly swam them deeper and deeper; but they found nothing, and Astrid was beginning to lose hope. However, as she began to reach the end of her air supply, Astrid saw something shiny flicker in the darkness below. Her heart-rate tripping over itself, she pushed Stormfly down even further, and saw…

Hiccup!

His abnormally pale face was slack and burned, mouth agape in a silent gasp of pain. A few cuts scratched his cheeks, but fortunately, the injuries didn't look too serious. But he looked dead, she admitted, and for a moment, she was afraid he was. Yet, she refused to accept that; he was strong – strong enough to survive a lightning bolt and a 400-foot fall… yes, of course...

Wasn't he?

Not willing to risk anymore time, she lunged forward off Stormfly and grabbed Hiccup's limp arm, dragging him onto her dragon's back. She sat him in front of her once she climbed back on and held onto him so tightly that there was no chance of him falling again. He wasn't getting away from her again that easily.

Stormfly quickly pulled them out of the freezing water and was flying again within seconds. Hiccup's body let out an involuntary cough of water as soon as he was out of the sea, but after that, he was still. Snotlout let out an audible sigh of relief when he saw Hiccup, but his gratitude was short-lived when he really saw him. Hiccup did not look well at all, between his ashen face and motionless form. From Snotlout's position, he almost seemed to be dead.

"Oh, Thor… i-is he…?"

Astrid looked down at Hiccup grimly, swallowing. "I don't… know. I haven't checked…" Trying to stop shaking, she lifted two fingers to his neck, checking for a pulse.

One second went by.

Nothing.

Another passed.

Nothing.

A third moment stretched along.

Nothing.

She was glad it was raining, because otherwise, she'd have nnothing to her disbelieving tears.

"Oh gods… Hiccup, no… you can't be…"

Thu-thump. Pause. Thu-thump.

The slight pressure beneath her fingers was so minuscule, she almost didn't feel it, but the moment she felt anything had her intently concentrating for more. And a few beats later, she found that Hiccup's heart had started up again and he was breathing. "H-Hiccup! He's alive! Snotlout – Hiccup's alive!"

Toothless whined happily, though he was too weak to struggle against Hookfang's talons and reunite with his rider.

Looking as though he might faint in relief, Snotlout muttered, "Well, of course he is… never doubted for a second… lightning bolt should've killed him, but he's too stubborn to do anything right…" He shook his head, like, That was Hiccup for you.

BOOM!

A sudden explosion of Singetail fire came from behind, and it was a miracle the blast didn't strike one of them. It was useless to think of fighting back, so neither Rider fired back in return to the threat. Instead, Astrid squinted ahead in the rain, holding Hiccup closer for comfort. "We have to find somewhere to land! We'll never get away like this. Hookfang can't hold Toothless for long, and Hiccup needs to be checked over. He's still not waking up."

No matter how hard she shook him, he remained out cold, and that was a concerning fact; she'd seen enough battle injuries in her life to know that when someone was unconscious for so long, brain damage was possible.

She looked ahead, searching for a place to rest in this storm. It would only be a matter of time before the Flyers caught up with them, and landing would make them sitting ducks – but Hiccup and Toothless were more important. They could figure out an escape later.

A-ha! There was something in the distance… hmm… what was it…? She peered closer, and a shipwrecked boat leaning caught between some rocks came into view when a flash of lightning illuminated it. She let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. It wasn't perfect, but it would have to do. There was no other way out of this, and at least they'd have some line of defense if they hid out there. It was their best bet.

"Snotlout, follow me!"

Pulling Hiccup's sagging form tighter underneath her arms, she urged Stormfly towards the marooned ship. It was only a few seconds' flight away at the speed they were going, and they were soon hovering over the vessel. Astrid spied an opening on the main deck of the craft – a hole broken through the top probably during the shipwreck that left it there.

Astrid and Snotlout circled the boat once more, then descended towards the ship and dipped through the hole. They heard several more blasts from the Singetails behind them as soon as they were safely indoors, and Astrid felt a rush of thankfulness that they had found this place.

She jumped off Stormfly as soon as they touched ground, and Snotlout helped her set Hiccup prostrate on the floor. He remained unconscious, though he gave a few groans as they handled him, appearing to be sensitive to the touch. The crash into the water had probably bruised him up, Astrid guessed with a sympathetic wince.

Other than the occasional grunt when someone touched him, Hiccup was still. Eerily still. It scared Astrid to see him like this – he was always moving around, tweaking around with some project or off on a flight with Toothless… Watching him lie there so lifeless was unnerving.

"Hiccup…" She shook him gently, but at his painful sigh, she was afraid that he might've broken a bone or two from the fall. Frowning, she swiped a wet lock of hair off his face.

Snotlout was behind her, helping Toothless get situated in the corner, though resting was the last thing the Night Fury wanted to do when his rider was in this state. Hookfang observed them all, his expression almost nervous.

Astrid took Hiccup's hands and rubbed them in hers, hoping to spread some warmth into them in the process. She also needed the reassurance of his slow pulse in his wrist. Knowing that he was alive and breathing calmed her, though she was anything but relaxed.

"Hey… hey, Hiccup… you have to wake up now, okay? Even if you don't want to. I know you're tired, hurting, and you deserve a rest, too. You really do. You've worked so hard these past couple of months, and you've barely taken a break. I'm so sorry, Hiccup. I'm sorry I let this happen to you. I should've done something – anything. But… what's done is done… and you have to wake up for me. We need you right now." She bent over and kissed his forehead, squeezing her eyes shut. "I need you. So, please… please…"

KA-BOOM!

At the sound of a shot from outside, Astrid lurched to her feet and ran over to the side of the ship, where there was another window-like hole to look through. The Singetails were getting feistier, the Flyers unrelenting in their struggle to blast them out of their new hideaway. Now that she was out of the craziness of the battle, it dawned on Astrid that coming here might not have been the best idea. Like she had thought before, they were trapped here now without help or any resources. Their leader had been struck down, and his dragon was barely strong enough to stand. Things weren't looking good at all. Maybe they should've braved the storm...

"Well…," Astrid said shakily to Snotlout. "At least the Flyers are too busy with us to go tell Johann and Krogan about Vanaheim.

Snotlout gave her a strange look. "We're trapped inside a ship that's being attacked by Singetails – after your precious betrothed has just been struck by lightning – and that's all you can say?"

"I'm just trying to make light of things, okay? We have enough to worry about. And at least Hiccup's not dead!" she snapped. She had been so afraid that he was, and still feared he wouldn't make it. She remembered the last time he had been struck; the mutton-head had been trying to prove Toothless's innocence to Berk and had gotten himself zapped. She could clearly recall the way he'd fallen from the high perch he'd been standing on, sinking beneath the waves as he fell into the sea. Much like this time, she'd been too horrified to do anything, and Toothless had had to save him before he was lost. Hiccup had been lucky to pull through that time – and she prayed to Odin that he'd come alright the same now.

"Yeah, well, he almost was!" Snotlout shouted back, panic beginning to become evident on his face. "And now we're stuck here, and we're all probably going to die!"

Suddenly, Hiccup gave a violent twitch, and a shock of electricity jolted through his body. Astrid jumped to attention, whirling around to see that his otherwise normal breathing had become ragged and strained as he panted for a breath that had suddenly disappeared. He gave a series of rapid coughs, and more seawater was released from his mouth… and then he went limp again, as stagnant as before.

Astrid was relieved for a short moment – it was just Hiccup coughing out some water. There was nothing to worry about.

…right?

Yet she couldn't fight away the feeling that something… something was very, very wrong.

You're being silly, she chided. Hiccup's out of the water, he has a pulse, and he's breathing. He's fine. He's pulled through a lot worse than this, he'll make it…

"Snotlout, you've been struck by lightning before," she said, eyes still locked on Hiccup. "Did you have any odd… side effects?" The spasm hadn't been normal, she knew. Snotlout had been struck by lightning… she didn't know how many times. She wondered if he knew something about what was going on.

"Uh, other than speaking backwards, nope. But because of all the electricity put into your body at once, your heart usually can't take it all and sometimes you can die from the shock. Your heart just stops and everything."

Astrid was surprised that he knew this information, incredulity shown on her face. Snotlout glared. "What? I was worried about my health after all those times of being struck so I read up on it! And, yeah, I read sometimes, don't look so shocked! But, anyways, I wouldn't be too worried about him. He was had a pulse before and was breathing and stuff… he'll be fine."

Despite his assurances, she still found herself slowly coming back to Hiccup's side and kneeling next to him. "Hiccup?" She touched his chest, wishing he'd reach up to squeeze her hand back like he always did. "Hiccup…? You okay?"

There was no answer – but, then again, he hadn't answered earlier either. She frowned as Snotlout sat down beside her and slowly took Hiccup's hand, holding it by the wrist. Astrid tried not to be bothered at Snotlout's unexpected concern but failed. Was something wrong? He had just said Hiccup was fine… yet…

"…because of all the electricity put into your body at once, your heart usually can't take it all and sometimes you can die from the shock."

But Hiccup was okay! She'd just felt his pulse before the Flyers attacked… it'd been strong and steady… it would keep on beating, just like before, for sure…

"Your heart just stops and everything."

"Astrid…" Snotlout's alarmed tone caught her attention, jerking her from her thoughts. "Astrid, Hiccup had a pulse a minute ago, right?"

Feeling a sense of dread creep up in her throat, she swallowed, nodding. "Yeah."

His troubled eyes met hers, and she felt her breath hitch as he said, "Well, I don't think he… he doesn't…"

Astrid frowned. "What, Snotlout? He doesn't what?" When he hesitated to answer, she growled, "Answer me!"

Please, please, please, please–

Letting Hiccup's slack hand fall from his own, Snotlout's eyes filled with alarm that confirmed her worst suspicions. "Astrid… he doesn't have one now!"