Clouds pressed in around Berk, smothering it in dusty light. High above, a circle of crackling lightning provided the only illumination.

Loki's Gate.

Slipping off of Stormfly, Astrid removed the dragon's saddle for the last time. This was it. Hiccup and Toothless landed nearby. His eyes were on the sky. Except for the two dragons they were riding all the other dragons were in the sky, headed for the Gate.

This is good-bye, she thought as she watched Hiccup dismount.

"This is too soon," he said. Her husband was already on the verge of tears.

Please don't cry, Hiccup, she thought. If he cried, she would cry and this was already impossible.

"I just needed a little more time," he yelled at the sky. "Was that too much to ask?" Shoulders sagging, he turned to her.

"Toothless has to go, Hiccup," Astrid said. "They all do. You know that." They had tried. Oh, they had tried to make this a world that was safe for dragons. They had failed. And now, if they wanted their dragons to be safe, this was their only chance. "And he can't go without you."

She knew him so well. And she knew that he hated that. She'd seen the decision in the set of his jaw. And she saw how the unease in the angle of his head and the tilt of his shoulders. If she asked, he would stay.

"He's the alpha," she whispered. Astrid wrapped her arms around his waist, pressing her cheek into the soft skin of his neck. Astrid wrapped her arms around his waist, pressing her cheek into the soft skin of his neck.

He spoke softly, "If I just had a little more time, I could make a new tail. He could fly without me."

"I know," she said. "But what if that got broken and he was grounded again? He can't survive without you." And I can.

He'd shot Toothless down and changed Berk's destiny. Hiccup had bound him the dragon that day. Toothless would not survive without him. It was his responsibility to make sure that Toothless did survive. And the other dragons were Toothless' responsibility.

He touched his forehead to hers, fingers digging into her shoulders. "Come with me."

"I can't," she said. "Who else is going to look after Berk? Snotlout?" Astrid tried to laugh.

Had they been building up to this all along? Were all those "almosts" supposed to be preparation? Nothing could have prepared her for how much this hurt.

She knew it was true, but she wished it wasn't. She grabbed his face, kissing him hard. Wanting the impression of his lips on hers to last for however long she had to live. A crowd was gathering, but Hiccup didn't hesitate to pull her closer, hands sliding over her. Memorizing her the way she was memorizing him.

The sky cracked.

"Go," she said.

"I love you," Hiccup said. "If I can get back…"

"I love you, too." Astrid pushed him away. Something bumped her elbow. She turned to find Toothless, sniffing her and looking at her with big eyes. "You watch out for him, bud. Don't let him do anything too stupid." She scratched him under the chin.

Hiccup took one look over the crowd before swinging into the saddle. "Tell my mom…" His voice broke off.

Astrid nodded. "I will."

Stormfly had followed the other dragons at some point when Astrid had be caught up in Hiccup. They all waited in a massive, moving cloud. Toothless whined. Hiccup patted his head.

"We have to go, bud." Leaning down, Hiccup kissed Astrid again. He held Astrid's hand as Toothless took off. Their fingers brushed apart as the dragon gained lift. Hiccup focused ahead of him. He did not look back as Toothless and the rest of the dragons flew through Loki's Gate. Astrid hoped that whatever they found on the other side would be exactly what they were looking for.

Footsteps ran up behind her. Valka.

"He's gone," Astrid said. She couldn't see Toothless in the cloud of dragons anymore.

The older woman put a hand on her shoulder. "Does he know?" she asked.

"He already felt guilty enough about leaving," Astrid said. "Why give him one more reason to stay when he couldn't?" She rested her hand on her stomach. The life she had chosen would be hard, but she was a Hofferson by birth and a Haddock by marriage. This was something she could do.

"Good-bye, my love," she whispered.

Finally, she allowed herself to cry on her mother-in-law's shoulder.

So...my brain did a thing. And I was like, "Why? Why brain? Why would you come up with such sadness?" I thought I was crazy fora few days and then I realized that this wasn't the end of a story, but the beginning of one. So don't worry, I'm gonna fix it.

Wait until you see what I've got in store for these two. Mwahahaha.

Also, as far as I know, there is no mythological basis for Loki's Gate. It is just something I made up for the sake of this story. My Norse mythology is not nearly solid as my Greek.

Let me know what you think.