Hi everybody :D I hope you've all been well :) For those of you who read 'Big Brother', don't panic, the next chapter should be done within the week; but I've just really wanted to write/publish this.

Just a warning, this is a lot darker and more depressing than my other works, just letting you know - but I've always been an angst lover at heart, along with a fluff lover. I've been re-reading 'The Northern Lights' lately, and I read a certain scene that inspired this rather sad little work of fiction. I did say I was planning to write a sad one-shot... and here it is :(

So, read on and enjoy! ... or not, now that I think about it :/

A Downed Dragon

Astrid had been there on the worst day in Berk's history.

She had been there when the initial war horn had sounded. She had been there when their Chief announced that the Berserkers'' fleet had been spotted. She had been there when the Dragon Academy saddled up and prepared with nervous, flipping stomachs for the approaching battle. She had been there for the fight.

Everyone had been there when the Armada stormed the shores. Everyone had their own place in the battle. Everyone managed to spill blood – fatal or not. Everyone yelled. Everyone screamed. Everyone fought tooth and nail to defend their homes. To defend the Beserker's sole reason for coming in the first place.

Their dragon trainer. Their whisperer and his brother of the skies.

Astrid had tried with all her might to protect the duo and keep her sights on them all night; but they had evaded her for the last hour of battle. Scorching and blasting the fleet with the signature banshee screeching being the only indication of their presence. They had been invisible for the longest time – blended with the night sky and shadows; moving like one.

It had been Dagur to uncover their blanket of stars first. It had been Astrid the first to witness.

She had screamed for them to look out. The Night Fury only screeched his own response and his rider complied; both preparing the final blow to end the war once and for all.

A shot for a shot.

It was only then Astrid had not been a lone witness.

Everyone had seen.

They had seen the plasma blast collide with the young Beserker Chief. But they had also seen the crossbow.

They saw the bolt.

They heard the screams.

They watched both boy and dragon plummet, with a suspicious trail of liquid following their descent.

Berk had seen the end before it had begun.

"Hiccup!" Astrid screamed, madly dashing to the place where the young rider had fallen a little ways from his dragon. Neither of them had moved since the crash, and everyone had panicked. The crowds split in two, some rushing towards their fallen heir and some towards the Night Fury. One of them had been hit by Dagur's stray bolt, that much was clear.

Stoick was the first to reach Hiccup, followed closely by Astrid. With a grunt, the Chief slid to his knees before flipping the boy onto his back, searching for any signs of life. Astrid gave a sigh of relief upon spotting the steady rise and fall of his bird bone chest. He was alive; and as far as she could see, unhurt except for the nasty looking gash on his forehead.

"Hiccup? C'mon, son. Wake up!" Stoick urged, giving Hiccup a light shake, but the boy only flopped limply in response. Astrid kneeled close by, taking her boyfriend's hand and clutching it tightly, suddenly fearing for the worst to come.

There was a low grumble and groan from within the second crowd, and Astrid knew that Toothless must be awake. The sound gave her a sense of comfort. Perhaps she had misjudged the arrow? They were hurt, downed, but both rider and dragon were fine.

As if in response to his best friend, Hiccup gave a groan of his own and his eyes flickered open ever so slowly. There was a collective sigh of relief all around, but none were as loud as Stoick's.

"Oh, thank Odin! Yer all right, son," he said, lifting Hiccup up into a sitting position.

Hiccup groaned again, and slowly shook his head. "Wha' happ'nd?" he slurred, his green eyes completely out of focus. Astrid's brow narrowed in concern. He had a concussion. She could only hope it was not as serious as it seemed.

"Dagur must've nicked you and Toothless after you shot 'im," explained Stoick. "You both fell, but yer okay now."

Astrid turned to the second crowd to see if anything similar was occurring there, or if Toothless had gotten back on his feet yet. When she found that Snotlout had turned back to face the crowd around Hiccup, her blood turned to ice. She had never seen the burly boy look so shaken up, nor so pale. Confused and terrified, she sought out the responses from the rest of the crowd. She was alarmed to find that the twins slouched and Fishlegs' entire form shaking. She became nearly petrified hearing the crowds mumbles.

"Oh Odin..."

"Can we do something?"

"Is the boy awake?"

"Don't let 'im see!"

Once again, Astrid locked eyes with Snotlout, begging for an explanation. For once, he was entirely speechless, but the slight shake of his head was all she needed.

Oh gods...

"Toothless?" Hiccup murmured, sitting up a bit straighter. "Is he okay? Where is he?"

Astrid desperately looked up at Stoick, and judging by the look of shock and fear in his eyes, he had seen Astrid's alarm. Something was wrong. Something had gone terribly wrong and Astrid did not want to know how or why at all.

"Hiccup, you're hurt," Stoick tried to distract his son and lift him up a bit more. "We'll take you back home and get yer head checked and-"

"Toothless! I want to see Toothless!" Hiccup begged, struggling to escape his father's arms. The second crowed spun around, surprised to find that the young heir had awoken; but much to Adtrid's horror, in their distracted states, they had parted ever so slightly. Just enough to see...

Hiccup went limp for the briefest of seconds. "T-toothless...? TOOTHLESS!"

Astrid was nearly flatted when Hiccup suddenly shot past her and barreled through the crowds. "Let me through! LET ME THROUGH! TOOTHLESS!" He screamed and fought against the protective crowds with all his might. Snotlout tried to make a grab for him, but the skinny boy evaded him at the last second and dodged through the several pairs of arms before reaching his destination.

Astrid cried out, seeing the way he stumbled back for a moment. "No... No! Gods no!"

No longer seeing any reason to build a human shield, the villagers stepped back, allowing everyone to see. Astrid wanted to be sick. She wanted to scream. There was so much blood...

She only caught a glimpse of the wound before Hiccup had collapsed beside his dragon; she had seen the arrow embedded deeply in Toothless' throat, pouring with a never ending onslaught of blood. There was so much... It was a miracle the Night Fury was still even alive.

Toothless groaned softly and crooned, trying to nuzzle Hiccup. The boy choked back a sob and leaned in as close as he could to his dragon's head and cradled it in his lap.

"Shh, shh, it's okay, bud, it's okay. You're okay, you're okay," he whispered as his trembling hand stroked the top of Toothless' scaly head. The Night Fury crooned and relaxed, leaning into his rider's touch. His loud and uneven breaths were becoming more unsteady by the second.

Desperately, Hiccup looked up at the surrounding villagers. "Do something!" he screamed, his eyes blazing and wild with fear. "He's hurt! Do something!"

No one moved. There was no use. Even Astrid could see the dragon was a lost cause, and she let a tear fall. Toothless was going to die.

Hiccup released an angered scream and cradled Toothless' head closer and pressed their foreheads together. "C'mon, bud, just hang in there! Just hang in there! You're gonna be fine! Please, Toothless! Please!"

Toothless released his weakest croon yet and lightly licked the bottom of Hiccup's chin affectionately. He was saying goodbye, and they all knew it. Even Hiccup.

The boy sobbed and hugged his best friend tighter. "I love you, bud..." he cried, his voice trembling and his shoulders shaking.

Toothless gave a quite moan before his eyes slowly slid shut and his entire form stilled and went limp.

"Oh no," Astrid whispered. Tears were rushing down her face, from grief for the loss of a magnificent creature she had come to acknowledge as a friend, and from fear for the loss she knew was going to be even more worse from her other dear, dear friend.

"Toothless?" Hiccup whispered, lifting his head in terror. He looked as though he were going to be sick; his eyes were wide and shocked, his whole body began to tremble. "Toothless?" He whimpered again in disbelief.

Slowly, one by one, the villagers lowered their helmets.

"No... No! No! NO! TOOTHLESS! TOOTHLESS! COME BACK! NO! PLEASE!" Hiccup screamed, burying his face against Toothless' forehead again, sobbing and screaming as though his heart had been ripped right out of his chest.

Astrid stood on her shaking knees and slowly made her way over to the other riders. She was not the only one in tears it seemed. They were all crying, and she knew it was for the same reason. The greatest and closest bond between dragon and rider was being shattered before their very own eyes – it was utterly heartbreaking to watch their leader break down over his best friend's body, screaming for the gods to bring him back.

It was too much. Astrid broke down into her own sobs, utterly distraught with grief. She was shocked when Snotlout wrapped an arm around her shoulders, but she did not punch his jaw. This was not a flirtatious attempt. This was a friend comforting another friend, sharing the grief and loss they were both experiencing.

Although she knew that whatever they were feeling was nothing – absolutely nothing in comparison to Hiccup.

Slowly, Stoick had made his way through the crowds and sat behind his sobbing son, placing a comforting hand on his shaking back. Hiccup sobbed, and hiccupped several times before speaking, his eyes never leaving Toothless. "Bring him back," he moaned, rocking back and forth. "I want him back!"

"I want to, Hiccup," said Stoick, still rubbing small circles across Hiccup's back. "Believe me, son, I want to; but I can't. I'm so sorry..."

Hiccup weakly screamed again and broke down into another fit of sobs, whimpering, "Bring him back. Bring him back. Bring him back!"

They all stood around the fallen dragon, paying their respects and struggled not to join in with the boy's despairing sobs. Eventually, they started to leave, one by one and clean up after the war that had laid waste to Berk. Soon, it was only the teens, Gobber and Stoick left with Hiccup and Toothless – not wanting to leave the broken-hearted rider.

Gobber was the voice of reason to them all. "We should leave the lad," he said softly, only earning the attention of Stoick and the teens. "He needs to grieve on his own fer a while. Let's just help the others fer now..."

And that was what they did. Astrid glanced back for just long enough to watch Stoick pat Hiccup's shoulder before the boy shrugged him off. As though in a semi-conscious state, he lifted one of Toothless's arms and settled himself within the dragon's limp clutches and wrapped his skinny arms around the neck, ignoring all the blood. He looked at home, but so far from it at the same time.

Astrid would never forget the heart aching picture before her.

They left Hiccup alone with his fallen friend until dawn, which was several hours later. It was only when the sun peaked when Stoick and Gobber concluded that it was time to begin the dragon's send off along with the other fallen warriors; he would receive and honorary Viking funeral. He deserved it. He deserved to enter the Halls of Valhalla.

Astrid went with them to collect Hiccup and take him home; she wanted to be there for him, she wanted to let him know that he could rely on her for all the grief he was suffering.

Hiccup was quiet, his sobbing finally having ceased. Astrid could not tell whether he was asleep or not. Stoick must have been wondering the same thing, for he slowly approached the Night Fury's corpse and shook the boy's shoulder. "Son?"

Hiccup remained still.

"Hiccup, it's time," said Stoick.

Hiccup moaned. He was awake.

"Come now; we'll send him off to Valhalla with our other fallen. We have to get him ready. It's time to come home..."

Hiccup only buried himself deeper against Toothless' body, refusing to let go.

Astrid stepped forward. "Hiccup, please," she said softly, "let's go..."

"No..." Hiccup moaned. "Can't leave him..."

"You've done all you can for 'im, Hiccup," said Gobber. "He'll understand."

However, when Stoick moved to lift Hiccup away, it seemed the boy had other ideas.

"NO! I CAN'T LEAVE HIM! DON'T TAKE HIM AWAY FROM ME! TOOTHLESS!" Hiccup screamed, thrashing against his father's grasp.

They all paled at the reaction. Hurried and alarmed, Gobber ushered hurriedly with his hook. "Get 'im out of here. He needs to leave before he goes insane!"

Astrid privately thought it was far too late for that.

"TOOTHLESS! TOOTHLESS! TOOTHLESS!"

Astrid watched the scene before her with a sickened gut and a fresh wave of tears. Several Vikings approached them and made hast to remove Toothless' body to prepare it for his funeral, but they did it with feverish alarm to stay away from the screaming and thrashing boy in the Chief's arms. Hiccup screamed and cried, crying out for Toothless as if his life depended on it; he was going wild. Thrashing. Kicking. Hitting. Howling. Astrid started sobbing again when Stoick was resorted to lock his son in a sleeper hold to knock him out – there was no way to calm him.

Astrid should have seen it there and then that Hiccup was long gone too.

"How is he?"

Astrid had almost been too afraid to ask that morning, but the question had been eating her alive for a while now.

Stoick looked as though he had aged by several years. She had never seen him so tired and ragged, with dark bags underneath his eyes and spotting with new grey hairs. Then again, she could not blame him in the least for losing so much energy. None of the villagers had a very decent nights sleeps for a while, let alone Stoick.

They could all hear the screaming every night.

"I'm not sure, lass," Stoick confessed, rubbing a hand over his exhausted face. "He's quiet again, but he's too quiet. He's not right in the head."

"He's upset and grieving, Chief; I'm sure all he needs is a bit of-"

"No, it's more than that," he mumbled, interrupting Astrid's rushed suggestions. "It's… like he's not even there. He's stopped sleeping; the nightmares won't stop coming, and sometimes he just breaks down into fits of terror. He won't eat. I can't get him to drink. He just… lies there. I don't know what to do anymore."

Astrid remained silent with worry and glanced up the stairs towards her boyfriend's loft, realising just how much worse everything had become.

It was barely a week ago since the battle, barely a week since the funeral, but Astrid could still remember everything so clearly. They had waited until Hiccup awoke from his unconscious state before sending the fallen off to Valhalla; after all, he had been the one closest to Toothless, he had to be the one to fire the arrow if the dragon was to be ensured a safe and happy journey. Astrid had never seen such a disheartening sight until the moment Stoick had led the shell shocked teen out to the docks along with the other Vikings – he had looked as though he were sleep walking, like Stoick had said, as though he was not even there. The other Berkians who had lost their loved ones took their bows and arrows solemnly but determinedly in order to give the dead a chance to enter the Halls of Valhalla, but Stoick had to spend a minute to get Hiccup to even clutch the weapon without trembling to the point of dropping it. Despite his grief, however, his aim had been true. Astrid had held his hand tightly throughout the entire ceremony, half the reason to let him know that she was there for him, and the other half to somewhat keep him grounded to reality. He could not stop shaking, and his eyes, normally once such a beautiful hue of forest green, were pale, sickly, glassy and overall empty – as though his soul had been ripped out by the devil himself.

Astrid rarely saw Hiccup after that day, but she heard him. She heard him every night from her house, just like everyone else. She heard the tortured screams, the impossibly loud cries of despair and horror. Stoick was right. It was so much more than simply grieving. Something was terribly wrong with Hiccup.

"Can… can I see him?" she asked, eyeing the stairs rather nervously.

Stoick shrugged. "Be my guest. I don't know how much you'll get out of him though. He's… well, you'll see. Gothi was around earlier, and Gobber translated something about severe shock and depression. He's just not there… like I said, he's not right in the head."

Swallowing back her nerves, Astrid climbed the stairs. "Hiccup?" she softly called, peering in.

It was so wrong to see a room so empty. Normally Toothless would occupy the corner or his stone, filling up most of the loft. It was just so dark and cold without the dragon there, and it broke Astrid's heart. It was so wrong and horrible; she had to blink away the tears.

Hiccup was there, lying in his bed, but his back was to her. He made no movement or sound to indicate that he had heard her. Briefly, she wondered whether he had fallen asleep.

"Hiccup?" She called out again softly, now making her way around the bed to face him. She gave a small moan of sympathy upon finally seeing his face – wide awake, yes, but very much empty of everything that she had known Hiccup to be.

Astrid could now clearly see that he had indeed stopped eating and sleeping – his cheeks, once filled with baby fat, were now thinning to the point his bones were beginning to poke out through the skin, and his pale eyes were rimmed with black instead of the despairing red of his cries. He looked so sick…

"Hey, babe," she whispered, hoping to get a reaction. She was disappointed when he did not even blink or meet her gaze. "You awake?" She had to ask. Even with his eyes wide open she still was not too sure.

Hiccup's eyes flickered ever so slightly, much to her relief. He could hear her.

Astrid forced a smile on her face, though she knew it must have looked so pained and fake, and took his hand which had been resting by his head. "Come on, lazy bones. Have you been in here all day? It's time to get up!"

At last, his eyes met hers, and she nearly gasped. These were not his eyes. These were not the luscious, rich, warm, forest green pools she had come to fall in love with. Rather, they were lumps of cold, hard emerald, washed out of colour by years of harsh ocean and trapped behind thick, cloudy glass. What happened to him…?

"…strid?" He croaked so softly, she almost had to lean in to hear him properly.

She gave a genuine smile this time, just happy to hear something. "Yeah, it's me. I'm here to get you up. Come one, let's go for a walk! It's a lovely day!"

It really wasn't. The day was rather cloudy with potential rain and hail, but she was desperate to get him on his feet and moving. No one had seen him for so long, the majority of the village was genuinely worried about their heir, especially the other teens (even Snotlout had admitted his concerns to her the previous afternoon). She just needed to get him into the fresh air; surely it would do him some good?

Hiccup only stared at her, his eyes striking nothing but despair and worry deep into her soul.

Astrid tugged on his arm softly. "Come on, let's go. We've all been waiting for you!"

Slowly, very slowly, she managed to seat him up to the point where he did not collapse against the pull of depressed gravity. It took her a while to figure out why he had not moved – he was now staring at the slab of empty stone, and she could feel his hands trembling in her grasp.

She bit her lip to prevent her own out-pour of grief showing and forced another smile – this time, one of comfort and reassurance. "It's okay. Let's go. Everyone's waiting on you, lazy bones!"

It was such a lie. Nothing would ever be okay. His best friend, more his soul-mate than she could ever be, was gone from the world; meaning that not everybody was waiting for him. One significant being was missing amongst them on Berk, and it was never going to be the same again.

Eventually, much to her relief and joy, they were walking down the stairs; well, more so Astrid was guiding Hiccup down the stairs, as he was leaning heavily on her. She did not mind in the least – he barely weighed anything, for starters, and she was just glad that he was up and about. Stoick spotted the pair, and his eyes widened in surprise (and Astrid caught a glimpse of hope).

"Yer up!" He called, struggling to hide his relieved smile.

Hiccup only gave a small nod of acknowledgement and did not turn to meet his father's eyes. Astrid's brow narrowed in concern – he was still so… out of it. Asleep, but not asleep at the same time.

"We'll be back soon," she told Stoick, and gave him an encouraging smile. Baby steps… one at a time…

At long last, they made it out of the hut and out into the village, although still rather slowly – even though Hiccup had picked up the pace just ever so slightly. Astrid noticed with a worried glance that many of the villagers had stopped their work and were now staring at him – too many concerned, judging eyes. She tried to glare at each and every one that they passed by on the way down. Everything had to be absolutely normal if there was any chance of slow recovery; meaning no unusual treatment.

"Where're we going?" Hiccup mumbled after a long period of walking in silence.

Astrid smiled at the sound of his voice, even though it was incredibly dull and quiet – at least it was there. "I thought we might go down by the cliffside, you know? The once overlooking the beach? The others are waiting for us there."

At least she hoped so. She had tried to organise a get together in the late hours of the previous afternoon, urging for them all to be there and do their best to distract him in as good a way as possible. She was astonished when Snotlout had suggested the cliffside as a gathering space – a place they had all played together as children, even scrawny, little, out-of-place Hiccup, because it had once been a forbidden and dangerous area for them. They had loved the excitement of breaking rules. Astrid dearly hoped they could bring some of it back.

So they made their way to the spot, where Astrid spotted the other four teens. Fishlegs was standing just off to the side, twiddling his thumbs nervously, the twins were in the middle of a Thor-knows argument about horns and helmets, and Snotlout was pacing with his arms tightly crossed over his chest with an unusual frown etched across his face. She gave a particularly loud scuff of her shoe to alert them of hers and Hiccup's arrival. The reaction was almost instant – Fishlegs straightened, the twins froze and Snotlout quickly moved to untangle their helmets from each other.

"Hey, you finally made it, slowpokes!" Snotlout cheered. "We were waiting for you!"

Astrid smiled encouragingly. Besides her, it had been Snotlout who was most eager for this morning in hopes to bring Hiccup back. Despite his tough demeanor, she knew he had a soft heart. Unfortunately, she realised, Hiccup still did not seem eager. He barely gave a hum of greeting. He just kept on walking beside her, his eyes not focused on anything in particular.

"Well, we're finally here," said Astrid, turning to Hiccup. "Wasn't this a great idea? We're all back here! Wow, it's been ages!"

Hiccup shrugged slightly. "Yeah…"

Oh boy…

"Anyway, I just had the greatest idea ever, better than yours," announced Snotlout.

"This'll be good," snorted Ruffnut, and Tuffnut cackled.

Astrid's smile grew. Perfect, perfect, just keep acting like this and everything will be fine…

"It is good! It's my idea, so of course it is!" Snotlout yelled, turning back to the twins. "Let's play truth or dare!"

"Uh… remember the last time we played? It didn't end so well," said Fishlegs, raising his hand to bring attention. Astrid winced. It had actually gone pretty bad towards the end. As far as she recalled, Snotlout had lost his pants somehow, Ruffnut had been sick, Fishlegs had fainted, and by an extreme dare, Hiccup had been drunk. No, that did not turn out so well at all… even though it had been one of the greatest and funniest nights of their young lives.

"Well, it won't be like last time then! What do you say to that, Guppylegs?"

"I say bring on the dare!" Tuffnut cheered.

"Let's go sit," Astrid suggested, taking Hiccup's hand and dragging him to sit in the circle.

"I go first! My idea, remember?" Snotlout boasted as they all sat.

Astrid rolled her eyes. "Just go already!"

Snotlout smirked. "Okay then… let me see… Hiccup! Truth or dare?"

It was quiet for a very long time, and Astrid turned to see what was keeping him so long. Her heart clenchexd painfully when she took in Hiccup's miserable image – his knobbly knees drawn tightly against his chest and his glassy eyes staring into nothing and empty distance. Concerned, she gave him a nudge, but he barely moved. "Hiccup," she urged softly. "Truth or dare?"

No one seemed to be breathing. They were all counting on him to say something… anything, really. Despite most of their toughness and dull state of mind, they were all deeply worried about their friend. Even the twins glanced at each other in worry, voicing their mental concerns in silent conversation.

Hiccup sighed heavily. "…truth."

Snotlout grinned. "What is your favourite colour?"

Astrid raised a brow. Favourite colour? Really? Then she realised Snotlout's plan. Just the basics… nothing too extreme. He too was working on baby steps to bring Hiccup back to his normal self. She smiled gratefully at the burly teen, and he sent her a hopeful smile back.

Unfortunately, Hiccup remained completely and utterly silent once again. Astrid realised upon further inspection that there was no use in getting a reply out of him – he had travelled off into his own, dark little world once again. There was no way to easily bring him back.

Snotlout must have realised this, because he soon gave a hum and improvised. "Playing it close to the chest, are we? Clever tactics… I'm going to have to pick off the weaker ones before we really start playing, eh, Hiccup? Alright, Tuffnut! Truth or dare?"

"I'm not weak!"

"I said: Truth or dare?"

"Dare! Bring it!"

"You have to do a handstand for five more turns!"

"Done!" Before their very eyes, Tuffnut flipped himself over and managed to adjust himself into a perfect handstand – although his helmet quickly fell off at the sudden change of gravity and his clothes followed in similar suit, causing them all to laugh. Well, Astrid realised sadly, not everyone…

"Ruffnut! Truth or dare?" asked Tuffnut as his face slowly began to turn red with the blood rushing down to his head.

"Dare!"

"For the rest of the game you have to his yourself with that rock every time someone picks truth!"

"Fine. Fishlegs! Truth or dare?"

"Uh… truth?"

"You weren't supposed to say that!" Ruffnut groaned while the others laughed as she was forced to whack herself in the head with a nearby stone.

Astrid was feeling unusually giddy with the turnout of events – it was extremely different from what she had been feeling for the past week. They were all together, and Hiccup was out with them. They were having fun. Laughing. Smiling. This was what they all needed, especially after the loss of Toothless. They needed a reason to be happy again. If only she could get Hiccup to see the same sort of silver lining she could right now; but even she knew that was pushing the limits. They may have lost a comrade in the skies; but he lost a best friend…

"Who's prettier? Me or Astrid?"

Fishlegs' face turned almost redder than Tuffnut's. "I- what? Wh- Why would you-?"

"Answer the question, Guppylegs!"

Fishlegs stumbled and stuttered for a very long time, to the point where they were all in tears of laughter. "Fine!" he eventually yelled. "I think you are! Happy?"

Astrid would have been lying if she said she was not shocked; she had certainly not been expecting that answer, and neither had Ruffnut, judging by the look of pure surprise on her face. Tuffnut's face darkened; and Asstrid was not too sure whether it was from the pull of gravity or something else.

"What?" the male twin inquired further, his brows scrunched in confusion.

"Uh, Snotlout!" Fishlegs quickly hurried onto the next turn, his face still a brilliant shade of red that could have rivaled Hookfang's scales. "Truth or dare?"

"Dare!"

"Yes!" Ruffnut cheered.

"Eat a handful of dirt!"

Snotlout's face fell. "What? What kind of a dare is that?"

"You chose dare!" Fishlegs persisted with a teasing and drawling tone. "Eat up!"

Snotlout groaned, but followed through with the dare, causing them all to laugh at the look of his disgusted face. Astrid was beaming ear to ear, the day just could not get any better than this.

"Still better than some things I've tried," wheezed Snotlout, coughing up some of the dirt that he did not manage to swallow properly.

Astrid raised an eyebrow when Ruffnut made a suspicious cough, mixed in with a word that sounded a lot like: "Yaknog."

Tuffnut suddenly gave a confused glance to something just outside of their circle. "Hey, who dared Hiccup to jump off a cliff?"

Astrid's giggling suddenly ceased. "What?"

Sure enough, when she spun around to the spot beside her, it was empty. She further turned only to gasp in horror. For indeed, just like Tuffnut had spotted, the missing teen had perched himself just on the edge of the cliff, the front ends of his boot and prosthetic just scuffing slightly over the edge. His arms were raised slightly, as if he were about to take flight with the smallest of adjustments. Astrid was still in shock. She had never even noticed him leaving.

Then Hiccup raised his prosthetic over the edge…

"Hiccup!" Astrid screamed, instantly dashing over to drag the boy away from the edge. He fell back limply against her chest when she tugged, and his lack of response nearly send her toppling. It was like trying to step on an invisible stair.

"Woah!" Snotlout cried out, racing over as well to make sure Astrid gained her footing properly so that she would not end up toppling over the cliff edge too. Fishlegs and the twins (Tuffnut now sitting upright) just sat there stunned by the unfolding events.

"What were you thinking?" Astrid screeched, shaking the practically unresponsive boy. "You could have killed yourself! What in the name of Thor were you-?"

"Toothless…"

Astrid froze up in shock and confusion. "…Huh?"

"Toothless… he'll catch me… he always catches…"

As if the past half hour never even existed, Astrid's heart crumbled and shattered all over again. He barely even seemed to be awake, even though his eyes were so wide open; they did not even meet hers, they were still staring into a non-existent distance.

"Oh, Hiccup…" she whispered, her voice cracking ever so slightly. "No, Hiccup. Toothless… you need to understand; he-"

"I think we've had enough excitement for one day, huh?" Snotlout quickly cut in, wrapping a large arm around Hiccup's bony shoulders and laughing forcefully. "Whew! What a crazy time! We should probably get back, huh?"

Astrid and Snotlout locked eyes briefly, but practically screamed at each other. Astrid knew her eyes must have been screaming at Snotlout to allow her to bring Hiccup back to reality, but his own steely blue were screaming back just as loudly to not break their friend any further than he already was. In the end, his screamed the loudest. In the corners of the match ring, however, she knew they both held bright red flags of alarm and fear for their friend.

"Toothless…"

"C'mon, buddy, let's get you back home."

"…bud?"

"Hey, we knocked out one of the weaklings! Tuffnut never succeeded his dare! I told you, didn't I? I said…"

Astrid watched with a saddened heart as Snotlout began to escort Hiccup away from the cliffs, blabbing about everything and anything to distract the broken teen. She knew it would never work. If this had not done anything to help, then hardly anything would.

Unless they could bring back Toothless from the dead, of course; but even the gods were not that kind to their heroes…

"You should have just let him go."

Astrid's heart froze before she whirled around, feeling as though her whole body was blazing with red, hot, fury. "What?" she hissed.

Tuffnut shrugged. "Would have been quicker. Now he's just going to have to wait even longer."

Fishlegs' squeaked in horror, and Astrid nearly threw up boiling lava. "Quick- How. Dare. YOU!? HE WAS ABOUT TO JUMP OFF A CLIFF WITHOUT KNOWING WHAT HE WAS DOING!"

"Well, he's right," added Ruffnut. "I mean, he's already dead. Now he just needs his body to catch up."

Needless to say, Astrid did not walk away from the cliffs without delivering black eyes to each of the twins, and not without seething to the point her seams were about to burst with anger and disgust. They were wrong…. They were so, unbelievably stupid, ignorant, moronic, brainless, half-trolls and they were so wrong!

Only days later, Astrid realised how much she underestimated the duo. Yes. They were stupid; but when it came to the dot, they really knew their stuff in their own weird fashion. They certainly knew more than she…

They deserved more credit for their philosophy.

One day passed.

Astrid heard nothing from Hiccup.

Two days.

The screaming started up again. Louder and more tortured than before.

Three days.

Astrid could not even stand to be in the Great Hall when Stoick practically dragged the shattered teen in for lunch. He just looked so sick. A skeleton shell of the boy she had fallen in love with, with matted, faded hair, black shadows and almost transparent eyes.

No one had judged the Viking girl when she ran out, struggling to hold back the tears.

Four days.

Silence. Unusual, cold and empty silence that sent chills down her spine.

There were no nightmarish screams of horror and loss that night.

Astrid had a sudden craving just to hear the sound. Any sound really to reassure her that he was… well, there.

She did not sleep that fourth night.

The silence was too thick.

It was five days before Stoick had run out to the village, calling for search parties.

"Snotlout, what's going on?" Astrid had demanded from the first teen she spotted. She was all ruffled, she had not even put her shoulder amour on and her plait was a mess. She had only woken up, what she guessed, to be about five minutes prior after having heard Stoick shouting to 'look everywhere!'

Snotlout was unusually pale. "Hiccup went missing some time last night," he murmured, already walking around and barely looking at her. "He's not in his room, the Great Hall, Academy or forge. Stoick and Gobber already checked."

Astrid felt her heart stop for a few beats. Missing…?

"Oh gods… we have to find him!" Astrid cried out determinedly, spinning around as she tried to gather her thoughts and ideas together. Hiccup was missing. Her dear friend was missing. Her broken beloved was missing. What if he had gone to the cliffs again in attempts to fly? What if he had hurt himself and could not reach for help? Too many 'what if's' circled her mind. She was in a state of panic.

"The others have already gotten their dragons, they're searching the outskirts," said Snotlout rather thickly, and she knew in a heartbeat he had the same fears and thoughts about the cliffs.

"We should get ours, he could be anywhere!"

"You stay here and keep looking. I'll send Stormfly to you!"

Before Astrid could protest or reason further, Snotlout had already run off at a desperate sprint. Keep looking? There was almost no point for her presence – the entire village was looking under every single pebble as it was under Stoick's orders. At the thought, she made her way over to where she could see the large Chief and his blacksmith friend conversing by his and Hiccup's hut. Just like his son would do, his hands were flying around in feverish panic and worry as he spoke to Gobber, almost coming close to smacking the disabled Viking several times.

"... he's never done something like this!" Astrid heard Stoick grumble rapidly as she approached. "Even before when… you know; he would always leave a note! It's not like him! It's-"

"I'm sure we'll find 'im, one way or another, Stoick," Gobber replied with a rather dead-panned tone that clearly neither Stoick nor Astrid liked.

"What are you saying, Gobber?" Stoick growled.

Gobber gave a heavy sigh. "The boy's been sick fer a while now, you and I both know tha'. And yer right; he hasn't been the same since Toothless… well, yeah. Really, Stoick, I think we've both seen this comin'…"

Stoick's expression turned into a thunderous storm that had even Astrid back off a couple of steps. "Don't you dare even suggest- No… You're wrong. He's probably just gone off fer a walk… yeah… a walk…"

Astrid watched as the Chief rushed off, waving a dismissive hand in Gobber's direction, but she had already seen the extreme amounts of fear and sickening foreboding that had clouded his eyes. Her stomach dropped several levels. No… Gobber would not have really suggested that… would he?

The blacksmith sighed heavily again as he watched his friend run back up to the Great Hall, calling out for his only son desperately. "I did always say a downed dragon was a dead dragon," he murmured very quietly as he turned around and resumed his own search for his missing apprentice.

Though not quietly enough. Astrid had heard him and wanted to scream. How long ago had it been since she heard those words? That crucial piece of information that led to a dragon's downfall? One thing was for sure, they now filled her with so much fear she was about to burst at the seams. She could even remember that very night; how she and the teens were all gathered around the campfire and drinking up all the stories late into the night – save for Hiccup, who she later found out had run off to create the tail for his own downed dragon in the…

Astrid wanted to smack herself. It was so obvious!

She jumped at a sudden squawk and spun around, only to find her beloved Deadly Nadder preening her shoulder affectionately. She gave a warm, but strained smile as she rubbed the dragon's snout. "Hey, girl," she murmured softly. "We've got to do something really important now, okay? We need to go to the Cove, quick as possible. I hope you've been eating your chicken."

Stormfly squawked again and lowered herself, allowing Astrid to clamber atop the saddle. With a flick of ankles and wings, they were in the air, speeding over Berk's dark woods.

Dark.

Cold.

Empty.

Nothing.

Gone.

He was gone.

He could not find him.

Blood…

He did not come back.

Death…

He had to find him.

Astrid's eyes scanned over the dense tree tops, keeping a look out for Raven Point. They had to be close now…

The Cove.

He had to be playing in the Cove…

Useless reptile. Didn't he know how much it worried him when he was not in their bedroom?

He had to find him…

"Son…"

He had to be out there, somewhere.

"He's gone, Hiccup. Okay? Please, why can't you see-"

He could see the Cove now…

"There!" Astrid cried out, spotting the only clearing close enough to the Cove for her to land in. Stormfly chirped in acknowledgement and changed her path, descending rather quickly. Once they hit ground, Astrid jumped off the saddle immediately and rushed along the trodden path towards the Cove.

Stormfly made haste to follow, but suddenly stopped with a loud squawk. Astird ceased her sprint and looked back worriedly. "What is it, Stormfly?"

The dragon only ruffled her scales in distress and screeched, sensing an unnaturalness about the area and tasting the odd air. Something was wrong. Something was terribly wrong. Astrid gave a particularly hard swallow and pushed forth, leaving her worry-stricken Nadder behind without a second glance.

Something was wrong.

He hurt.

Everything hurt.

It was too cold now. Much, much too cold. Perhaps he should have waited until morning when the air was warmer. Deep down, though, he knew nothing could ever warm his core.

With a gasp, he collapsed against the boulder and burst with a coughing fit. He could barely keep his eyes open…

Toothless…?

Where was Toothless?

He blinked once, feeling sleep tug at the back of his eyelids.

The never-ending pain in his little, reluctant heart made it all the more tempting…

He blinked twice. So tired and cold… He wanted to be home.

He wanted Toothless.

He wanted his best friend.

His first friend.

His brother.

He wanted Toothless…

Three more slow, painful blinks…

And there he was.

He nearly gasped in glee at the sight of his beloved dragon playing around at the lake's edges, teasingly snapping at the cod that flickered around.

He was there.

They had all been wrong.

He was back.

Those big, green orbs rose and met his own.

Shakily, still so painfully and so, so very tiredly, he rose his hand. "T-tooth…Toothless?"

Despite the weak sounding croak, the Night Fury never looked happier. Within three bounds, he was directly in front of him, and he wanted to cry.

He was back.

His palm met with the dragon's snout… and in a rush of warmth, all his pain and heartache disappeared…

"Hey, bud!"

"Hiccup?"

Astrid shivered as she called out, wishing she had brought a cloak along. Although she was not too sure whether the morning air had been the reason for her chills. She was just beginning to understand Stormfly's antics. Something felt so wrong with the Cove… off. It felt off.

Astrid wanted to bolt away from the place and never look back.

"Hiccup?" She called out again even louder this time around, looking around.

Nothing was out of place. The white shield was still there… There was no wind… The lake was still as glass… It was almost eerie.

"Hic-"

She caught a glimpse of an outstretched boot.

"…Hiccup?"

With even more trembles, Astrid moved around the boulder and nearly choked on her own gasp and strangled cry.

Yet she could not bring herself to do either.

She had found him at last.

For a second, Astrid foolishly believed that Hiccup was just sleeping. It seemed it was the truth. He looked so peaceful. He was sitting upright, his head titled slightly from the pull of gravity, his shadowed eyes closed softly, his palm outstretched on the ground before him.

It was the smile that made her see otherwise.

Shakily, Astrid fell to her knees before the body of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third, and could not help but give a smile of her own even as the tears poured rapidly down her face.

"You found him… you found each other…"

Along with a sob torn between grief and relief, she pulled the cold, tiny body into a tight hug, and refused to let go for a very long time…

It had been chaos and tears all round when Astrid returned, cradling Hiccup close to her torso.

They all knew what had become of their hero in a heartbeat.

She barely held him for a minute upon her return before Stoick had torn him from her grasp, desperately searching for the non-existent heartbeat. He had taken the longest to realise the truth, long after they had all lowered their helmets for the second time.

There was nothing more to be done other than to send him off, and pray that they both found their eternal paradise a last. Back together, the way they should and always would be.

And when Stoick had let the flaming arrow fly; every single Berkian swore later during the celebration feast that they had heard a cheerful whoop.

Astrid certainly had. Along with the gust of powerful wind. This time, she found no reason to shed tears of loss and sadness.

Hiccup and Toothless were downed no longer…

So yeah, a bit sad, but I was pleased with how this turned out. Truth be known, I cried writing the first segment.

Please let me know what you think in the reviews, and favourite if you enjoyed. It would mean the world to me!

(p.s., as a depressing side note, I sort of found myself listening to 'Safe and Sound' whilst imagining this all in Toothless' POV... in case you wanted something more to cry about. I'll let you think on that)