Alone

"It's a mess. You must feel horrible. You've lost everything: your father, your tribe, your best friend." Astrid said as she stared out over the vast sea. "Thank you for summing that up. Why couldn't I have killed that dragon when I found him in the woods? Would have been better for everyone." "Yep. The rest of us would have done it. But I guess you just never were one of us." "What? What's that supposed to mean Astrid?" "Face it Hiccup, it's better this way. That dragon is big, but they can beat it. Probably. Your father could." "And then what? They'll kill Toothless! I can't let that happen!" "He's just a dragon. You can't be friends with a dragon. You just can't. They're dangerous at best." "That's not what you were saying yesterday."
"Oh come on Hiccup. I was just blown away by the thrill of flying. I admit flying is pretty awesome, but it isn't worth it." "You just don't understand do you Astrid?" Hiccup looked at her with utter disbelief and left. "I'd tell you not to do anything stupid, but you've already tried that. And failed." She shouted after him. "Then how about something crazy?" He muttered.

"If you're planning on getting eaten, I'd definitely go with the Gronckle!" Fishlegs was standing in the bleachers. Hiccup ignored him and the others that had gathered around the training dome. "What an idiot." Snotlout said. "This is gonna be good." Ruffnut added. So much for his 'friends'. Hiccup pulled the lever to release all the dragons at once. Much to everyone's surprise, they didn't tear him to shreds or turn him to ashes. In no time, he was petting them and they were purring like a bunch of overgrown cats. And when he mounted the Monstrous Nightmare, their eyes almost fell out of their heads. "Come on guys, lets get you out of here." He opened the gates and they flew into to sky, leaving the village behind fast.

It didn't take him long to reach the nest. The battle had already begun. The dragon was chasing the vikings like a fox chases chickens. Gobbler and Stoick were trying to draw its attention. He needed to help them as soon as he could. But he would need Toothless for that. It wasn't long before he spotted him. He'd have to hurry. The ships were already ablaze from the dragon's fiery breath. The Vikings would have no way of escape.

The Monstrous Nightmare swooped down and Hiccup jumped on the burning ship. Toothless let out a happy growl. "Don't worry buddy, I'll have you out of here in no time." The locks were easy to open as they had been made to withstand a dragon's strength rather then human intellect. "All right, just one more." Hiccup was so busy releasing Toothless from his chains he didn't notice the mast giving way. It hit him on the back of his head and he fell to the deck unconscious.
The ship was already sinking. Toothless shot a fireball at the chains and broke free. He had to get Hiccup to safety. He heaved him onto his back and ran. He couldn't fly without Hiccup, but he was an amazing jumper. He jumped from rock to cliff and disappeared into the perpetual mist. Stoick followed them out of the corner of his eye.

Hiccup stirred in his sleep. His bed was much harder than it used to be. Slowly he opened his eyes and found himself face to face with his dragon companion. "Toothless!" He hugged the massive black beast. "Are you all right?" He nuzzled his head against Hiccups chest while making happy little cries. "Where... where are we?" Hiccup asked, finally becoming aware of his surroundings.
They were standing on a cliff. The sea came peeking through the fog. They were at the edge of Helheim's Gate. "The dragon! Dad! Let's go Toothless!" He climbed on top of the Night Fury and together they flew of to the nest.

When they arrived, it was deserted. Not a dragon or viking in sight. The remnants of torched ships and catapult were strewn around. The embers still glowed. The mountain had been demolished too. "What happened here?" They flew a few rounds around the island and the surrounding cliffs, but they were all alone. "Come on Toothless, let's go to the village. I've got a bad feeling about this."
When they cleared the mist, they could already see the smoke rising from Berk.

DGDGDGDGDGDGDGDG

"Wait here buddy. I'll be right back." Toothless gave him a concerned look and gently nudged Hiccup's back to convince him not to go. At least not without him. "Hey, it's all right. We saw people when we flew over didn't we? That's why it's safer if I go. I can't loose you again." Toothless stared down at his paws for a moment, but then he gave Hiccup a big lick. "Hehe. I love you too buddy. Don't worry ok? I'll be right back."

Hiccup ran through the woods. Branches scraped his face, but he didn't care. He needed to know what had happened. When he reached the edge of the village, it looked even worse. Not a single building was left in one piece. As a matter of fact, one piece was all that remained of most houses. He looked around for a familiar face amongst the weeping vikings. He had never seen such proud and fearless warriors in such despair. They didn't even notice him.
"Astrid!" The blonde turned around and walked toward him. "Oh Astrid, I'm so glad you're safe. What happened?" He was caught off guard by a fist to his face. "A-Astrid? " "How dare you show your face here again! You dragon-huggin' traitor!" "Astrid, what are you talking about? What happened to everyone?" Her shouting was drawing attention. "I'll tell you what happened." "Dad!" Hiccup said and ran to his father. "I'm so glad you're alright!" He wanted to hug the rugged viking, but Stoick pushed him to the ground. "Dad?"

"Don't you dare call me that!" He bellowed. "I have no son!" Hiccup lay on the ground, shocked. He saw that his father was missing an arm. "You want to know what happened? I'll tell you. You happened. All of this happened because you tried to be friends with a dragon! At the nest, we were completely crushed. We never stood a change. Only a few of us managed to paddle back on driftwood, only to find the village raided. Look around you Hiccup!" Stoick said, gesturing at the handful of people standing around them. "We're all that's left!"
Hiccup couldn't believe it! The dragons had raided the village. They had left nothing but a handful of humans. "The queen must have been hungry after the battle. If you had just killed that damn dragon none of this would have happened! Our blood is on your hands!" Astrid yelled. "You could have helped us. But you ran. You ran like a coward!" Stoick continued. "Well, at least you saved your precious dragon." "Dad, I'm..." "I HAVE NO SON!"
Hiccup felt tears stinging in the corners of his eyes. This couldn't be happening. Sure, they didn't always see eye to eye, okay, they never agreed on anything, but they were still a family. They always had been.

"Men!" Stoick called. "Prepare the remaining ships! We set out at dusk! There is nothing left for us here." He turned to Hiccup once more. "Nothing at all." He turned his back to his son and walked away. The others started calling him a traitor, a coward, a devil. He didn't hear them. He only heard his father's words ringing in his ears. Tears streamed across his face when a stone hit his head. Everyone picked up stones and started to throw them. He ran before they decided to switch to more lethal projectiles.
At the edge of the town he stoped for a moment. His father was walking toward the ships. He never even looked back. An ax buried itself deep into the tree next to him. He ran up the mountain, tears running down his face.

The sun slowly sank into the deep cerulean ocean, sparkling like a diamond. Hiccup watched the ships grew smaller with every passing moment. Something growled behind him. Toothless wasn't happy that Hiccup had not come back for him like he promised and now he had to walk all the way to the top of the mountain. Not to mention, he was worried sick. He growled at his friend. When Hiccup didn't respond, his expression became worried. Toothless walked up to Hiccup, only to find him staring out toward the vast sea. His face was blank, and his eyes were puffy and red.
Toothless raised his head and followed Hiccup's gaze. When he spotted the ships, he understood. He purred softly as he sat down and wrapped his tail around Hiccup. He softly nudged his head against Hiccup's face and licked the wound on his head. Hiccup leaned back against him, his gaze never leaving the ships. He kept watching long after they had disappeared from sight.

Night fell, and stars appeared in the sky. The boats had disappeared, leaving Hiccup alone with his thoughts. 'They're gone. All of them. I'll never see them again.' As reality sank in, he could feel the tears rising behind his eyes. Toothless felt it too, and rubbed his head against Hiccup's chest.
Hiccup buried his face in the dragon's tough neck and cried his heart out. "Oh Toothless, what have I done? This is all my fault. I-I deserve to be alone don't I?" Toothless growled as if he wanted to say 'No you don't. You don't deserve to be alone. You are the most wonderful person there is, and you deserve to be happy more than anyone. I'll never leave you.' "It's okay Toothless. I never belonged here did I? I guess this is what I get for trying to be something I'm not. Toothless realized he wasn't listening to him, so he spread his wing around Hiccup. The warm, comfortable embrace eased Hiccup and a sad smile spread on his face. "Thank you Toothless. I'm happy you're still here."

"Where should we go?" He asked to no one in particular. He looked up to a full moon, its brilliant light illuminating the world around him. "Where do we belong?" Exhausted from all the emotions, he fell asleep as soon as he closed his eyes. Toothless put his head down and went to sleep with him. They didn't even notice the moon becoming brighter, or the blizzard blowing in from the sea.

Poor Hiccup. I really feel bad about putting him through that.
But it had to happen. I guess.
Anyway, reviews make Toothless happy. And when Toothless is happy, so is Hiccup!
So reviews to make him smile again.

Chapter 2: New Horizons will (hopefully) be up soon.

UPDATE: Got the chapter beta'd! So can all thank happywanderer2 for fixing some of my (rather stupid) mistakes. :p
(S)?he will be the beta for all other chapters too.