(AN) - This oneshot is dedicated to those who have been taken and to those who have lost someone to cancer. In particular, this has been written for Brooke, the original sneakycatgirl.
"Remember me for centuries..." - Centuries by Fall Out Boy
He had lived a good, long life.
Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the III, Chief of Berk, Dragon Master, father and grandfather, and a good husband.
He was also his friend, brother, and other half. In his final moments, he gave him an automatic fin so he would not be grounded for the rest of his time on this earth. "I'll see you in the sky, bud."
Toothless never forgot him. He never forgot the others, too. Astrid, Snotlout, Fishlegs, Ruffnut and Tuffnut, Barf and Belch, Meatlug, Hookfang, and Stormfly.
After all, he was now the only one left. Generations had passed, but the dragons never left their human friends, their family.
Astrid, despite her love, her strength, her will, was the first to fall. Not in battle, but in time. Stormfly had been devastated, but they supported her and she went on to help Toothless with the Haddock line.
Fishlegs also died peacefully, as Meatlug was there. While she too had been hurt, she was the one who went through the best.
Snotlout was the only one to die in battle. In what had been the final battle caused by Dagur the Deranged (how he managed to live that long was beyond anyone), he took a poisoned bolt from a crossbow that was meant for his cousin. That was one of the few times Toothless or any of the others had seen the Monstrous Nightmare drop his prideful attitude and break into grief.
Tuffnut supported his sister from that point on, rekindling their sibling love. He even took Snotlout's place at his second niece's wedding. But as they had done so much together as brother and sister, they did so with their parting gifts. Everyone found them sitting side-by-side in the center of the village, Barf and Belch around the two, Zippleback gas leaking out of several homes.
In time, in the decades and centuries that followed, it was their turn. Having been the oldest, Meatlug went to sleep for eternity first, now hopefully reunited with Fishlegs. She was a mother to all of them, and they never forgot her sweet voice.
Hookfang left sometime after, the adult grandson of Snotlout and Ruffnut Jorgenson on his neck. He said that they left to explore the already gargantuan world available to them. That was the last they saw or heard of the two. He never forgot his boasting or his hidden kindness.
Barf and Belch followed next, as the dragons of the world slowly, quietly moved on, disappearing. Just as with their original riders, and just as it was with all Zipplebacks or Snaptrappers, they left peacefully, in each others embrace. He never forgot their joy or their love for fun.
Stormfly was the last one. They had been together for so long, side-by-side as their friends, their family passed away. He had been there, next to the last Deadly Nadder alive when she shut her eyes, never to open them again. He had known this would happen eventually, as it did to all living things. But that knowledge did nothing to stem the flood of grief. He cried himself to sleep as he lost his last connection with the past.
He was now the last one. The last dragon on Earth. Alone. They had passed into myth.
But he never forgot them. He never forgot Stormfly, Barf and Belch, and Hookfang.
He never forgot Ruffnut and Tuffnut, Snotlout, Fishlegs, and Astrid.
He never forgot Hiccup. His other half, his brother, his friend. He was the last one alive, and the responsibility had fallen on him. It would die with him.
It had been centuries since her death, almost a millennium after his, when he came. Toothless, the only Night Fury in existence, the Last Dragon, gratefully took the potion offered to him. He drank it slowly, his eyes drooping with each sip. When he had consumed the last drop, he went to sleep.
When he woke up, it was a bright day. The sun had joined the fluffy white clouds in filling the sky. The village was as lively as ever. The Night Fury looked around, seeing Meatlug with Fishlegs, Hookfang with Snotlout, Barf and Belch with Ruffnut and Tuffnut.
Astrid with Stormfly.
And Hiccup running up to him and hugging him. Both brothers cried at their long-awaited reunion, and held each other in their embrace.
"It's so good to see you, bud." That voice. It was just as he remembered.
"And it's so good to see you, brother."
After a long while, they stepped back from each other. Hiccup had his leather and dragon-scale flight suit on, while Toothless was wearing his saddle. Both had their prosthetic body parts, forever being one yet two. "What say we brush up on our flights, Toothless?"
Toothless had no excuses for the question and quickly got Hiccup onto his back. The metal foot clicked, and the dragon-scale bound leather extended. As Toothless stood high, they watched as the rest of the dragon-riding village followed their lead, mounting their companions. Hiccup patted his friend's head. "You ready?"
"Of course I am," the Night Fury said as he shook his head. They shot off into the sky, followed by the Berkians. As they flew through the village, the gang joined them.
They rose up into the daytime sky in formation; Astrid and Fishlegs on their right, Snotlout and the twins on their left. The dragons roared shouts of joy at being whole once again.
But the Night Fury, the Last Dragon, roared the loudest as he and his rider shot ahead and up.
They danced in the air. There was no floor, no walls, no ceiling. Only Toothless, Hiccup, and the clouds. They performed their barrel rolls, their twists and turns. But those weren't the best.
The best was the free fall.
"What do you say, bud? Want to give this another shot?" Hiccup asked, his voice muffled behind his mask.
"Can we fly?" Toothless asked in return. Before, he would always grumble, not liking the feeling of his best friend leaving his back in flight. Now, the two would always do what they couldn't before.
Hiccup unhooked his safety lines, and set Toothless' fake tail to match his own. "Ready?"
"Yes!"
With that, Hiccup leaned and fell off, yelling in joy as he dived through the air. Toothless quickly followed, diving alongside the rider. In that endless moment of freedom, they spiraled around each other, they connected.
They, while two, would always be one. Nothing would ever change that.
The brothers flew for eternity, their village and nest doing the same around them.
It was perfect.
But sometime, they would have to go back to the ground...
(AN) - Please leave a review. I'd appreciate it.
