The newlyweds woke up arm in arm and enjoyed the titles of being husband and wife. They kissed each other many times before hunger drove them out of their bed. They got their morning habits up from back home on Hunter Island before heading outside to meet the people around.
It had been a few small hours before Viggo asked Havòk if he had seen Ryker. "I need to discuss some business with him." "Sorry Viggo, but I haven't seen him for a while. Actually, I haven't even seen him since last night." Viggo got suspicious about where his brother could be. "Maybe he is still in bed?" Havòk asked him. "No, Ryker is usually up earlier than us." Ann answered to him.
"And if not, he is always out back to work earlier than us." Viggo said thinking out loud. "I'm starting to get worried about him." "Hey, we can always ask people if they had seen him around lately." Ann suggested to her husband. "Maybe we should. Come on." Viggo said and took Ann with him in their search for their brother.
After an hour of asking and looking in possible places where he could've been, he was nowhere to be found and nobody had seen him. "Viggo, where was the last place you saw him last night before you got to me?" Ann came up with it. "Let me think quickly. The volcano mountain, at the Sacred Waters!" He said and they ran to the mountain.
They yelled and shouted their lungs out to call for him, but there was no answer. "Where can he be?" Viggo started to panic a bit. "Baby, calm down. I'll ask my Dragon to help, but I need to focus." Ann said to him and she walked to the mountain walls where she laid her hand on and her eyes turned blue again.
A short moment later, her eyes turned back to normal and she told Viggo where Ryker had last been. "He was still here when you left, right?" "Yes, how do you know?" Viggo asked confused. "My Dragon? It just showed me where he has been last night. And where he is now." "What?! Where is he?" Viggo grabbed her arms rather tight and it hurt her. "Au!" "Sorry."
"It's okay. It's your brother we're talking about. Now, I have seen him and he must be down here somewhere. There must be some sort of small cave." She looked over the edge of the volcano pass. "Can Luna fly over there?" Viggo came standing by her side. "No, it's too tight and Sky is unable to get down there as well as he cannot fly. Maybe Luna can sniff the area to see if she can find his scent."
Luna was called to the volcano to inspect and she got Ryker's scent very quick. "He must be down there somewhere. I'm going down there to see if I can find him." Ann said. She tied a rope around her waist and made Luna carefully lower her into the cliff. Moving and looking around, Ann finally saw an opening in the pass. "A little more to the right, girl!" She said and walked into the direction she wanted, Luna following her every step.
As Ann reached the cave opening, she could see Ryker laying on the ground there. "Ryker!" She yelled and got herself out of the ropes. Coming closer to her brother, she could see a puddle of blood under his left leg. "Oh my Gods, are you alright?" She hugged him. "As far as I can be, I'm okay. I just can't walk on that leg anymore." "What happened?"
"As Viggo and I were protecting and taking care of your dragon, I sent him back to you, huh? Well, when he left, our parents saw their chance to sneak up on me and cut me in the leg. The only place I saw as an escape was this small cavern. Luna, Ash and Sky took care of them while I tried to get out of there, preventing my parents to kill me." "Why would they kill you?" Ann asked perplexed as she tied a bandage around his still bleeding wound. "Because Viggo and I have our own dragons now. They said to me we aren't true Hunters. We don't keep dragons as pets, but only hunt them." Ryker groaned of pain in his leg.
"You two have changed in that perspective. You use your dragons to fight by your sides. Now, we have to get you out of here." She said and touched the wall with her hand again. Her eyes turned blue again and a path out of the mountain appeared. "Come on. The path is just wide enough for both of us to get past." She helped her brother up and they stumbled to the exit.
As they got back to Viggo, Ryker was taken over by other men who called over to help out. They helped him get on Luna and she would fly Ryker back to Steve for treatment. "You think he's going to be okay?" Viggo asked her. "I don't know. Although he is a tough one, that cut looked very deep. It might become a big handicap for him in the future if left untreated. Maybe it will be a handicap to him if he is not healed by the Dragons." Ann concluded. Ann saw the worries grow in Viggo's eyes. He needs Ryker for the hunting business.
Ann turned his face to her. "Hey, Ryker is being brought to my dad now. He knows how to treat something like this. If my dad doesn't trust it, he will see if the Dragons can heal him" She comforted him with the thought.
When they were about to walk back, Ann heard a rustling coming from behind them. It was Ragnar walking up to them. "What did you do to Ryker?" Viggo hissed at his father. "It wasn't me, son." "Mother did this to him? But he is her favorite!" Viggo stood perplexed to hear that. "A favorite who turned his back on her. He has disappointed her badly. And I am disappointed in you." Ragnar raised his voice at the end.
"Hmm, funny. You say you're disappointed in me, yet you just called me son. Isn't that ironic?" Viggo fired things back at his father. "Anyway, I think you don't deserve to be chief anymore. I will take over from here again, while you and your brother will be banished from the Hunter tribe." Ragnar turned his back on them to walk away.
Viggo growled heavily and wanted to react to this madness, but all of a sudden, someone jumped out of a tree behind him and stabbed him in the back. "Viggo!" Ann screamed in panic as her husband was critically hit, very close to his heart. He fell to his knees, crying out in terrible pain. His breathing had become uneven and short, like he was faltering.
Holding him in her arms, she cried but looked up to see his mother standing with a blood covered dagger. She just stood there, smiling wide as she seemed to enjoy the feeling of getting rid of her least favorite son. She came back walking up to Ann to finish the job and possibly kill her as well. "Get away from us!" Ann yelled out as loud as she could.
A Hunter had probably heard her scream and came running back. "Ma'am! Is everything alright?" He yelled as he saw the Grimborn elders closing the distance between her and themselves. He didn't hasitate at all and whistled for Ash. This man was one of the few that was allowed to have trained with Ash for situations just like this.
Ash came flying to them as fast as he could. As he landed close behind the newlyweds, he roared violently and scared Amara away. The elder Hunters retreated to hide once again, maybe causing more trouble ahead.
Ann had a hold on Viggo's cheek and saw his eyes fall shut. "Don't close your eyes, baby. Stay with me. Please, stay with me." She said through her tears. As his eyes slowly closed, Ash took a hold of his owner and gently laid Viggo on his back. Gesturing Ann and the Hunter to climb up too, they got to the air in great haste to save Viggo's life.
They got back to the village and landed on the village square as Jake ran up to them. "Jake, help! Please!" Ann shouted at him. He saw Viggo being carried off of Ash's back and seemed to be very weak in his bad injuries and called for help from other people.
Steve came outside of the house where he was treating Ryker's leg to see what the commotion was all about. "What's going on here?" He yelled out and saw the giant titanwing dragon standing in the middle of the village square. "Steve! Viggo needs your help!" Jake screamed out to him.
Coming to take a look, Steve realized how bad this was. "Get him inside, now! Try not to move his back too much." He instructed the men that came to help out and carry Viggo to a seperate house for surgery. "Havòk, quickly finish up and come to help me as quick as you can!" Steve stepped inside just shortly, only to quickly move on to help his son-in-law.
"What's going on?" Ryker asked a little scared. "I don't know, but it is urgent. I'm sorry, but I have to help out..." Havòk was working as fast as he could, yet being as precise about his work not to rush and make mistakes. "I get it, Havòk. Do what you must." Ryker said as his leg was stitched up.
"Viggo, no!" Ann tried to stay close to her husband, but Steve stopped her. "Sweetheart, I need to act fast now. I cannot work if you are this upset about him. I will do everything I can to save his life, but let me do my work." He held her against him for a brief moment and gave her a quick kiss on her forehead before he rushed in to stop Viggo's life-threatening bleeding.
As Havòk came running out of the other house, Jake took Ann to Ryker as the door was closed behind him. He knew Ryker was the only one who could possibly calm her again. "Ann, what is going on?" Ryker asked her, but she dropped herself next to him crying on his shoulder. "Viggo has been brought in badly injured, he might be in life danger." Jake explained and that left Ryker shocked. "Badly injured? How?" "I don't know. Ash returned with Ann and Viggo alone. We have to wait until she is able to tell us." Jake gestured to Ann.
After a while, the same Hunter that had helped Ann out knocked on the door. "Can I please come in? I have been with misses Grimborn when she needed help. I can tell a bit of what happened." He explained. "Let him in!" Ryker told Jake and the Hunter stepped in.
"First, give me your name." Ryker ordered him. "My name is Birger, sir." He said while standing in the room with his hands behind his back. "Well then, Birger. Explain what happened to Viggo." Ryker said as he held Ann closer to him.
"After you had been sent back to the village for treatment, I was going back myself as well. I heard a scream coming from the location we just left. I ran back, only to see that your parents were closing in on mister and misses Grimborn. I could see that she held Viggo in her arms, he was obviously injured. I helped her out by chasing your parents away from them and make sure they would get back to the village safely." Birger explained and Ryker was just shocked.
"What injury does my brother have?" "I'm not sure, sir as I have not seen Viggo being attacked myself. Neither have I seen his wounds." Birger's eyes spoke the truth. "Thank you for helping them. Make sure my parents are off the island. I do not want them to cause any more trouble. You're dismissed." With that, Birger took his leave and left Ryker thinking about his parents. He could not believe they would do such a thing.
After a few tough hours, and a sleeping Ann again, Steve returned to Ryker to give them an update about Viggo. Ann was woken up to see her father standing in the middle of the room. "Dad?" She said pretty sleepy. "Hey, I have come to tell you about Viggo." He whispered to her.
"He is still alive, but he lost a lot of blood. He is weak and might be asleep for the time coming. I, unfortunately, cannot say how long I think he will be sleeping." "Most important right now is that he is alive." Ryker held Ann close. "Can I go to him?" Ann asked her father softly. "Of course, sweetheart. Just keep in mind not to rest your head on his chest now. It might cause the wound to bleed again." Steve said and Ann left straight away to go to her husband.
"Unbelievable she has to go through this one day after her marriage." Jake mumbled a bit after Ann left the room. "We just have to hope for her he will wake up again. And soon." Steve said. "I hope he will keep fighting to stay alive. I have never witnessed any kind of love that strong before." Ryker admitted his worries about his little brother.
Two weeks went by and Viggo's condition had increased bit by bit, but was still in a deep sleep. Ann has never stepped away from her husband's side and could only hope he would wake up soon. "Just hold on for me, sweetie. I don't want to lose you forever this time." She had given extra information about the attack on Viggo to her father what had happened, that Ragnar distracted them while Amara could attack him from the back. It left all the people furious, especially Ryker who couldn't believe what his parents tried to do to the newlyweds and to their own sons.
As Ann was lightly asleep next to Viggo, she heard him groan softly and noticed he showed signs of waking up soon. She jumped out of bed to get her father and once they returned, Viggo had his eyes opened just a little bit. Unable to hold herself back, she almost jumped on the bed to kiss Viggo a bit rough.
They enjoyed seeing each other again and Viggo couldn't hold back a wide smile once they let go. He held his hand on her cheek and Ann pushed her face into his palm. "It's so good to see you." He whispered. "I missed you." Ann said on the same tone. "What do you mean?" He asked a bit shocked.
"You have been asleep for two weeks. We thought you wouldn't survive, because you were in a bad condition." Steve explained as Ann stroke Viggo's face. Tears welled up in her eyes again. "Hey, shh. I will never give up on being here with you, no matter how badly injured I am." He smiled. "Come here. I want to hold you close." He gestured her to come laying in his arms. "You still have a long way to go, son. But I know once you have enough strength, we can take you to the Waters so you can be healed." Steve said to him.
A few days went by again and Viggo had been giving everything to be able to get to the Waters. Ryker had been visiting him already and couldn't be happier to see his little brother make it through all the misery their parents had brought him into. "You think we both will be taken to the Waters?" Ryker asked Viggo. "I don't know. We don't know if people from outside this tribe can be healed by the Sacred Dragons." "Sure you can." Ann stepped inside.
"You just need to prove to the Dragons something to show you are worthy of being healed by it." She explained. "And that is?" Ryker frowned. "You two have to walk up the mountain yourselves. I know it will be a wrecking hike, but you are allowed to have someone to support you as you walk. And it's not only for people outside the tribe, also for those who live in it." Viggo and Ryker shared a look before Viggo spoke up.
"Then I would like you to support me." He smiled to Ann. "I expected you to say that and I do appreciate it that you want to choose me, but I think it's better if you two are going together. As two brothers supporting each other in tough times." She winked to them.
"It is a good idea though. You need support on your right side and I need it on the left." Ryker thought out loud. "Why my right side?" "Because you have an injury on your left side. If I'm going to support you on the left, it means that I have to take your left arm over my shoulder and I don't think you want to go through that pain."
Two days went by again and Steve thought Viggo would be strong enough to take the attempt. He had regained a lot of strength and things looked for the better for him at this point. "Are you willing to go today?" Ann held her husband in a firm hug, yet very careful. "I will be fine, sweetie. Don't worry about me. I feel much stronger now than I felt a couple of days ago." They went in for a kiss before Steve came to them. "We have a kart ready for you. It will save you energy you need for the hike. You will have to start at the foot of the mountainpath, son." "Let's see if you can stand up." Ann said and helped him up to his feet.
After a few small struggles, Viggo was ready to take the small ride to the foot to start his challenge of being healed. Ryker was already brought to the path and waited for his brother to arrive. "And remember guys, none of us is allowed to touch you when going for the hike. Only you two can support each other." Steve said. "And also remember that this will make your bond stronger as brothers." Ann smiled at them.
Going arm in arm, Viggo throwing his right arm over Ryker's shoulder and Ryker holding his arm around Viggo's lower back, the two brothers made their first steps towards their goal and both of them seemed to be strong. Ann and Jake walked behind them and talked a bit. "You think they will make it to the top?" Jake asked her. "I have my doubts actually. Even though Viggo seems strong now, he will have to fight the most. This will break him mentally and physically as he is the worst injured of them."
Along the way, Ann had to encourage them both multiple times when they struggled the most. The toughest part for them would come two-hundred meters before the mouth of the volcano, as this part is the steepest. The men had already pushed themselves about a mile over the climb and Viggo was about to give up. He suffered so much of his injury that tears were in his eyes and fell to his knees as he could not stand on his feet anymore. Ann got to him and talked some more courage into her husband.
"Hey, don't give up now. I know this is the most difficult part of the road, but you must keep going. Just a couple of hundred meters more and you are there." "It hurts so much..." Viggo was actually shaking of pain.
"I know. Look at me, you can do this. You are almost there! Just keep going for that last bit, you already have the longest distance behind you. If you stop now, you will have to do this all over again! So don't stop now, soon you will feel no more pain. You are really strong for getting this far already, so keep going." Ann spoke to Viggo.
They locked eyes and Ann's determined ones brought the spirit back in Viggo's. He nodded and Ryker got him back to his feet. Walking the last few meters, which were the toughest they had ever done, the spirit around the Muzonian tribe got the brothers to the final stint.
As they slowly made their way to the end of a very exhausting and difficult hike, Ann and her father ran ahead to call for their Dragons. A rhythmic Dance of the Waves was performed and the Dragons surfaced from the depths, ready to receive anyone who needs healing. Ryker dragged Viggo on his own last strength while limping very badly, but they managed to get to the edge of the Waters.
Being told to stand on some plateau, the brothers stood separately on their own, squeezing every little bit of strength they had left while Ann and her father started dancing again. The ground beneath the brothers fell away and they landed in the water. Holding their deepest breaths possible, they were dragged down and got intense shots of pain in their specific area, the leg and the back.
Screaming their lungs out under water, they had gotten some water in their lungs. They were brought up to the surface just in time and coughed the water out and breathed for air. Supporting on the Dragons snouts, they reached the shore of the Water edge and climbed onto land. The Dragons returned to their rest while the islanders took care of the two brothers. Ann had Viggo's face cupped in her hands. "How do you feel?" "I feel amazing. I got you here." They smiled widely. "And I have no pain anymore."
Having heard that, Ann just embraced Viggo, knowing he was no longer suffering and they could finally be together as husband and wife. "Wait. Viggo, your scars! They're not gone!" Ann noticed. "Don't worry, baby. I begged the Dragons to keep the scars in my neck. You don't know me without them, and I would like to keep it that way." He smiled and Ann couldn't hold back from charging his lips. Viggo and Ryker were brought back to the house they were treated in to get some rest before they would leave for further Hunter business.