part i

"Think of the most important thing in the world to each of you. Ask yourself honestly how far you will be willing to go to get it. What would you risk? The boy's life has been dragons. His life is dragons and will continue to be. We couldn't stop him from going if we wanted to. So we might as well support him."

Hiccup has always been a small boy. Maybe it was because Stoick the Vast was a big Viking and no matter how tall Hiccup had grown during his growth spurt, Hiccup would always be that small premature boy born on that cold winter night. Every time he looked at his son, he saw the same spirit as Val's; the spirit for adventure and trust in dragons.

"Go lad. Find whatever it is out there that's pulling on you. And when you find it, Berk will be right here waiting for you."

The light in Hiccup's eyes turned into a burning fire. Hiccup's expression was filled with so much excitement and love that Stoick didn't mind any more that his son was leaving the safe island of Berk. As Hiccup ran out of Great Hall, there was a spring in his step that Stoick hadn't seen for three years, not since before Hiccup lost his foot. It was as if Hiccup had never lost his foot, as if Hiccup never fought the Red Death, as if Hiccup had never befriended the dragon he had just whistled to.

The large Night Fury looked up at Stoick with more intelligence and emotions than Stoick ever thought was possible.

"You take care of my boy, dragon," Stoick said.

Toothless growled in a way that Stoick had heard him growled at Hiccup as if the two of them could actually communicate before Toothless grabbed the "Dragon Eye" and rushed after his best friend.

A couple of hours later, Stoick returned to his house just as Hiccup was leaving the house. "Hey, Dad!" Hiccup said cheerfully, fixing the strap to his Gronckle Iron shield over his shoulder.

"Hello, son, are you leaving now?"

"Yeah." He paused for a moment, looking down at the ground. Toothless beside Hiccup nudged Hiccup's side gently, crooning gently, and Hiccup looked up at Stoick with a small smile. "Dad. Thanks for letting me do this. You... you don't know how much this means to me."

"No. I do know how much this means to you."

Hiccup's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "You mean... Mom..."

Stoick nodded, looking over the village as he spoke. "You were just a small lad, so small, I could hold you in one hand. I searched everywhere for her. She's must be somewhere out there and someday, perhaps we can be family again. If you do search in places that no Viking has gone before... keep an eye out for her, would you lad?"

Hiccup's shield clattered to the floor as he rushed forward and threw his arms around Stoick's middle. Stoick chuckled and held Hiccup close, bending down to cover Hiccup's whole small figure. Hiccup's soft hair tickled his nose and Stoick could smell the smells that constantly hung around Hiccup; the leather from his armor that he had spent many nights making and repairing; the smoke from the forge's fires and his dragon's plasma blasts; the fresh scent of the sea and wind from the long night rides on Toothless; everything that made his little son, his heir, his pride, his Hiccup.

After a moment, Hiccup backed away, rubbing his eyes quickly, trying to hide his tears. "Thanks, Dad." Hiccup bent down and picked up his shield, shrugging it over his shoulder. "I'll send a Terrible Terror back when we find... yeah."

Jumping onto Toothless, Hiccup's prosthetic foot clicked into place and Hiccup patted Toothless' head once, ready to take off, but at last moment turned back to look at his dad, the tears fresh in his eyes. "I'll find her, Dad. We can be family again."

Stoick smiled as Hiccup turned back and he and Toothless shot into the sky. "Come back safely, Son. Find whatever it is out there that's pulling on you. And when you find it, I will be right here waiting for you."

part ii

It was a couple of weeks after Hiccup and his friends left Berk when the first Terror Mail came back. The sound of Sharpshot's cheerful squawk was never more welcomed (Stoick had come to resent that little terror for setting half of the kitchen on fire while Hiccup was trying to train him).

Hiccup's letter cheerfully recounted the adventures he was having with the other teenagers and Stoick could nearly hear Hiccup's voice echoing through the house, like the rare times that Hiccup took enough time to step off the dragon to talk to his dad.

After traveling for a day, we encountered a new place. It was so beautiful. Except for that dangerous Deathsong that inhabited the island.

We've encountered many islands filled with all kinds of dragons. There was an island with Whispering Deaths (fortunately no Screaming Death), island of boars (the twins named all of the boars by the time we left), island with Blue Oleander (we left that island quickly).

For now, we have found the perfect island. We've named it the Dragon's Edge. It's a bit over a day's ride from Berk. Astrid loves the place, she always says how perfect the defenses will be in the case we are attacked. Snotlout tried to insist that we have a 'S' shaped base. If we had done that, I would've left the gate to Ruff and Tuff's boar pit open. There are dragons on this island that we've called Night Terrors. Tuffnut tried to name them Smidvarg and the Gang. Unfortunately, the name has stuck.

Fishlegs and I are excited about the new dragons we are finding and everything that we're discovering in the Dragon Eye. There are so many dragons in the Dragon Eye and so much information to scribe into the Book of Dragons. Astrid is constantly scolding me for staying up late while I'm studying the Dragon Eye.

Every day we explore a new island. We still haven't seen Dagur since we have come out here. We still are looking while we're mapping out the area surrounding Dragon's Edge. Next time I come back to Berk, can I have the map of the Archipelago you have? I want to map the world that we're exploring.

Send for us any time you want. I'm sure that Sharpshot can find his way back to Dragon's Edge.

"Maybe Hiccup can help us with that pesky Scaldron," Gobber said as Stoick told him about Hiccup's letter. "It seems like we can't send a boat out without that Scaldron popping up."

"Perhaps," Stoick said. "It seems like he has his work cut out for him out there. Perhaps when he's less busy."

Never the less, Stoick was happy as he saw the familiar silhouette of the Night Fury carrying his son over the skies of Berk.

part iii

"Stoick! Stoick! Get this Terrible Terror off of me!"

Gobber came running forward, Sharpshot clawing on the top of Gobber's helmet, shrieking happily as he saw Stoick. Stoick barely had time to duck as Sharpshot flew towards Stoick's head. Sharpshot flew around in circles, crying out and constantly pecking at the two of them until Stoick managed to get a grip on the Terror and pull off the pieces of parchment off of Sharpshot's leg.

"Who is it from?" Gobber asked.

It only took a second for Stoick to recognize the handwriting – "It's Hiccup." – but there was something strange about the letter.

Dad.

There was an attack on Dragon's Edge. The Ryker's men attacked us in the middle of the night. We thought that we could defend the edge. We were doing well, but while I was talking to Ryker, Viggo lead an attack from behind us and

The next part of the letter was blurred with tears, the charcoal turning into a black smudge, alarming Stoick to no end.

"Stoick, what is it?" Gobber asked as he saw the panic flashing across Stoick's face.

Stoik cleared his throat and read the next part aloud. "The twins, Snoutlout, Fishlegs and I are okay, so are the dragons, but Astrid..." The rest of the sentence was smeared. Stoick had seen enough of Hiccup's drawings from when he was little and didn't know how to hold his hand so that the charcoal wouldn't smudge from his hand dragging across the paper. These charcoal smudges were so much more sinister than the innocent smudges from 15 years ago.

Astrid was hurt, she was hurt bad. Please come to Dragon's Edge. We need help. She needs help.

Dad, please hurry.

"We need to go now," Stoick barked. "Get Gothi and the Hoffersons! We leave for Dragon's Edge as soon as possible!"

It took 32 hours to reach Dragon's Edge. Stoick urged Skullcrusher to go faster because even through a letter, Stoick could hear the panic in each of Hiccup's words. He and Gothi were riding on Skullcrusher while Gobber and Astrid's parents rode behind them in a boat.

"There's Dragon's Edge," Stoick said to Skullcrusher. "Let them know that we're here."

Skullcrusher let out a loud roar and a couple of moments later, Hookfang and Snotlout came flying out from one of the huts on the edge. "Chief!" Snoutlout yelled in relief. "Come this way, Hiccup has been waiting for you. And Chief, you might want to talk to Hiccup. He hasn't ate anything since the attack and he's barely slept or talked to anyone."

Strangely, Snotlout looked... worried and that alarmed Stoick more than anything. Snotlout lead Stoick and Gothi to Astid's hut, calling a head of them, "Hiccup! Your dad and Gothi are here!"

Instead of Hiccup, Toothless' dark head popped out from the doorway and he roared at the arriving party before bounding back inside. The moment that Skullcrusher's feet touched the ground, Stoick hurried inside the hut, calling ahead of him, "Hiccup!"

Last time Stoick had seen his son was only a couple of weeks ago when Hiccup and his friends came to Berk to pick some things up. The moment that Stoick had seen Hiccup, he couldn't see the same cheerful young man who arrived on Berk on his dragon. This young man was different. His shoulders were slumped and grief and worry poured off of him in waves.

"Hiccup," Stoick called softly and Hiccup's head jerked up.

Now all Stoick could see was just... his little son. The same little boy who went hunting for trolls, the same little boy who was scared of that toy Nadder his mother made for him, the same little boy who could barely lift a sword, throw a bola or hit a target with an axe. This young man was only his little boy, whose eyes filled up with tears the moment he saw his father.

"Dad." Hiccup rushed forward and threw his arms around Stoick. It was clear that Hiccup was crying, the sounds of his sobs muffled by Stoick's big body. "There were too many of them and I just couldn't protect her. I thought I was doing the right thing, but they got her, Dad. They tried to kill my Astrid. She's hurt badly, Dad, I can't save her."

"Shhhh, it's okay, son," Stoick said softly.

"No, it's not. You don't know how much blood there was. Her heart stopped beating dad. I lost her for a moment. She was gone!"

Behind them, Snotlout and Gothi entered the hut and Gothi pushed them away with her staff, a clear message for them to get out of the room, so Stoick started to guide Hiccup out of the room.

But Hiccup started to struggle against his father's arms. "Astrid! No. Let me stay with Astrid."

"Hiccup, Gothi needs space to work. Fishlegs will help her. Trust them, they'll take care of her."

Still, Hiccup struggled. It was easy for Stoick to scoop his son up in his arms and carry him out of the hut, but the hard part was listening to Hiccup's desperate cries for Astrid. He brought Hiccup down to the Clubhouse and gently sat him down on a bench, keeping a firm grip on him as he struggled to return to Astrid's side.

"Son, listen to me. She's going to be okay. Gothi's here and she'll take care of Astrid," Stoick said in the most calming voice that he could muster. "She survived the Scourge of Odin. She can survive this."

"But that time I could save her!" Hiccup yelled, managing to get to his feet. "That time I could look for an impossible-to-find dragon to save her. That time I could fight Viggo and his armada to save her. This time, I can't do anything! This time all I could do was hold an hand over her wound and... and... and... I felt her heart stop under my hand! She died in my arms for a moment! What if I lose her today? I can't be in a world without Astrid."

Suddenly, Hiccup went limp and Stoick barely managed to catch Hiccup before he hit the ground. Hiccup was shivering as if it was freezing, tears flowing down his cheeks, his lips were moving quickly and Stoick strained to hear Hiccup's words.

"I can't be in a world without Astrid. I can't do this without Astrid. I need Astrid. I love her so much. I need Astrid. Astrid... Astrid... oh Gods, they can't take her yet. Please, Mom, don't take Astrid from me."

Stoick gently hugged Hiccup close to him, murmuring calming words into Hiccup's ear. They stayed that way for a long time until Hiccup's grief finally pulled him down into unconsciousness. Still, Stoick didn't move, just holding his little son protectively against him.

A couple of hours later, Fishlegs came into the Clubhouse, looking rather tired.

"Hey, Chief," Fishlegs said. "Is Hiccup okay?"

"He's just resting," Stoick said, shifting Hiccup slightly in his arms. "Snotlout told me that he hasn't slept since the attack."

"Yeah. He's barely moved from Astrid's side," Fishlegs said as he knelt down beside the Haddocks. "I think that we should get him changed. While he's sleeping that is. He refused to move, even to change his clothes."

Stoick had to swallow a gasp as he suddenly saw the dried blood in Hiccup's leather armor. "Oh, Son..."

"It's not his, Chief, don't worry," Fishlegs said in a rush. "It's Astrid's."

"That's why I'm worried. Whether it's from Astrid, one of you riders, one of the dragons, or even one of the enemies, every drop of blood that's spilled comes from Hiccup's own heart," Stoick said as he gently pulled off Hiccup's armor only to find Hiccup's tunic stained with blood as well. "How is Astrid?"

"She's fine... or as fine as she could be, she's resting now. Gothi's with her and said that Astrid will be fine."

"That's a relief," Stoick said as he slipped a soft green tunic over Hiccup's head. "Let Hiccup rest for now."

Hiccup slept for a couple of hours before lurching up in a cold sweat, screaming Astrid's name. He jumped out of the bed, but collapsed as soon as he did, unable to stand properly as Stoick had took off his prosthetic leg earlier. Clearly he was shaken up by a nightmare that he must have had, but still he insisted that he go to Astrid's side.

Again, he resumed his vigil beside Astrid's side, constantly holding her hand and talking to her. Stoick constantly checked in on the two of them. It was three days later when Astrid finally stirred and opened her eyes. Stoick stopped outside of her hut as he hear Astrid saying something to Hiccup.

"I saw everyone that went to Valhalla. My grandmother, my uncle Finn, my brother who died when he was a baby... all of the Berkians that live in Valhalla... everyone except for your mom."

Hiccup's breath caught in his throat and there was a moment of silence. "My mother..."

"She must be out there, Hiccup," Astrid whispered. "She must be waiting for you. You need to go find her."

"I'm not going anywhere without you," Hiccup replied. "You're going to be beside me every time that I fly out there."

Stoick smiled and quietly tiptoed away from the door into the night air. Looking up at the starry sky, he smiled.

"Ah, Val. Someday, I hope I'll look over the horizon of Berk and see you return home on the back of a dragon. If not, I'll see you when we sail into Valhalla."

i hope you liked this, please comment ^^v i might continue this at a later date.