Oh Gods, what am I doing? Haha. So, this is basically done. I'm still editing it, but the story is finished and I'll update it as I finish editing (once a week). Now that this is out of my head I'll be able to focus on my other story and get that finished too (one can only hope)
Anyway... this is set immediately after the season four finale. I hope you enjoy it. I enjoyed writing it.
Dragon's Edge was gone.
The island was nothing but a smoking wreck of charred forests and rocky outcrops. The outpost had been flattened by the pyroclastic surge that had exploded from the erupting volcano. The Dragon Riders had barely made it out, racing the against the flow of hot gas that obliterated everything in its path.
Hiccup was at least consoled by the fact that no dragons were injured during the eruption and that they could still make their home on the island. However, it was no longer a habitable environment for the Vikings. The thick ash plumes wouldn't bother a dragon, but human lungs were much more delicate.
"What do we do now?" Fishlegs had his hands resting on Meatlug's back, reassuring himself that his dragon was okay.
The group had landed on a small island to rest. Though Dragon's Edge was no longer in sight, the viscous smoke cloud could still be seen rising high into the sky. Occasionally there would be a flash of lightning from within the cloud, as though Thor himself had been angered by the loss of the island.
"We can't go back there." Hiccup turned away from the scene before him to look at his friends. Astrid stood by him, her fingers loosely linked with his in a show of support. "We should head back to Berk. We can regroup and decide what to do with the last of the Dragon Hunters, but with no one to guide them, maybe they'll disband."
Viggo was dead, possibly Ryker too. No one had seen him resurface after the Shellfire had gone down. Hopefully, this would be the last of the Grimborn brothers.
"Do you really think it could be that easy?" Snotlout strut forward, his hands on his hips.
"What about this has been easy?" Astrid asked. She flung her hand out to gesture behind her and Hiccup. The sun was going down, the brilliant reds and oranges setting fire to the sky as it set through the thick volcanic ash.
Snotlout didn't answer her. No one said anything. Instead, they stood and stared towards the island they had once called home. Each rider wondered if they would ever see it or the dragons who inhabited it again.
"Berk it is then." Fishlegs mounted Meatlug. The twins mounted Barf and Belch. Chicken was clutched protectively under Tuffnut's arm. Snoutlout grumbled but climbed into Hookfang's saddle.
"Hiccup?"
Only Astrid and Hiccup remained on the ground now. He'd stepped away from her to stand at the edge of the water, gazing into the distance.
"It's all gone Astrid." He felt Astrid come stand beside him. Her fingers twining with his once more.
"The buildings are gone," Astrid told him frankly. "And the Dragon Eye."
Hiccup grimaced. "If you're trying to make me feel better, this isn't helping,"
"What I'm trying to say, is that the work we've done, all the dragons we rescued from the hunters, that's not going away." She squeezed Hiccup's hand tightly in her own. "And we can still do that from Berk."
Hiccup turned to face Astrid. "You're right, of course." He used their linked hands to pull her close. "Thanks Astrid."
She leant forward, eyes closed. Hiccup followed suit.
There was a sound of a throat being cleared behind them. The two Vikings sprang apart, spinning to look at their friends.
"Um, are you guys going to make out every time you agree on something?" Ruffnut was sitting with her elbow propped up on Barf's head, her chin resting on her palm, enjoying the show. "Because gross."
"What do you think they'd do if they ever disagreed on something?" Tuffnut asked his twin.
"Hiccup and Astrid are a team," Fishlegs piped up. "They work together too well for that."
Flushing, Hiccup released Astrid's hand and they swung onto their respective dragons. "Uh, if you guys are ready," he said, "Let's go home."
()
"Okay buddy, give me a low flame."
Toothless opened his mouth, emitting a bright blue glow. The light shone through the device Hiccup held in his hands and splashed up on the wall of his work room. Hiccup propped the object on the stool so he could walk over to the wall and study the patterns that lit the wall.
There were no discernible shapes. No markings. No words. No dragons.
It didn't work.
"Ugh!" Hiccup picked up the gadget and slammed it down on his desk with a frustrated grunt. "It's still not working!" He plucked the lens out of his replica Dragon Eye and dropped it down with the others. They glittered on the table, mocking him and his inability to get them to show the images that the destroyed Dragon Eye had been able to produce.
Toothless leaned against his rider. Hiccup had been working non-stop since they had returned to Berk, only taking breaks when Toothless found Astrid or Stoick to come and drag him back to his house.
The dragon's ears perked up at the sound of someone entering the forge.
There was a cheerful, "Hullo," from Gobber in the background, then a pause. "Oh yes, 'e's bin in there all mornin'.
The sound of footsteps grew louder, until even someone without the Night Fury's keen sense of hearing could make it out.
Hiccup stooped over his desk, pulling his invention apart.
"Hiccup?" Astrid ducked through the doorway. "Your dad said you left the house before breakfast." She leant against the desk, watching Hiccup work.
"I needed to get an early start." Hiccup put the new Dragon Eye back together and replaced the lens. He spun on the stool, and stood, placing it down for Toothless.
"Did you even eat anything?" Astrid asked.
Hiccup didn't answer. He waited for Toothless to light the Dragon Eye and examined the wall.
Still nothing.
"I take it your whole 'rebuild the Dragon Eye' project is not going well." Astrid picked the device up off the stool to examine it. It lacked the intricate designs of the real Dragon Eye. Hiccup had gone for function over form, though it wasn't functioning yet.
"It's not." Hiccup came to stand beside her. "Despite all the time I had to examine it, I was never really able to work the thing out." He gestured to his messy desk. "Now we've got all these lenses and no way to view them."
Astrid placed the device down on the desk, turning to cast a scrutinising eye over Hiccup. "Why don't you take a break?" She asked.
"Astrid-"
She cut him off. "You've been working on this non-stop all week. When was the last time you and Toothless went flying?"
The dragon's ears perked up at the sound of his name and 'flying' in the same sentence. A flash of guilt passed over Hiccup's face. He fiddled with a pencil, twisting it through his fingers rather than respond to the question.
"This isn't fair to him Hiccup," Astrid scolded her boyfriend. "He relies on you."
Hiccup sighed. "I know. I'm sorry. It's just-" He dropped the pencil and ran his hand through his hair tiredly. "If I stop moving, I start thinking. About what we lost. About Viggo. About… about the way it ended."
Astrid stepped forwards and draped her arms around his neck. "That wasn't your fault," she told him.
Hiccup let his hands hang loosely by his side. "Wasn't it?"
"The cliff collapsed." Astrid shook her head, recalling Viggo Grimborn's last moments. "No one could have predicted that."
"I threw the Dragon Eye into the volcano," Hiccup argued. "He wouldn't have been standing there if I hadn't."
"You did it to save me," Astrid reminded him.
Hiccup's shoulders slumped. "No one had to die."
Finally, Astrid knew the real reason why Hiccup had buried himself in this project. He felt guilty over the deaths of Viggo and Ryker. And Astrid had let him hide away, thinking that the Dragon Eye had been his only concern. She had let him become obsessed with the idea of rebuilding it.
"Come on." Making up her mind, Astrid dropped her arms from Hiccup's shoulders. She took his hand and led him from the small room.
"Where are we going?" Hiccup blinked against the bright sunlight after spending so much time in his candlelit workroom.
"I'm not going to let you wallow in your own guilt." Astrid told him. "It's time to get out of here."
"Astrid-"
"No arguments Hiccup. We are going flying."
Toothless bounded over playfully, happy to be out of the cramped workshop. Stormfly was waiting for Astrid with the other Dragon Riders.
"The Dragon Hunters are gone. I don't get why we have to keep training," Snotlout was complaining from atop Hookfang.
"Viggo and Ryker are gone," Fishlegs reminded him. "The other Hunters could still be around."
"Yeah, like, what was up with that bounty hunter guy?" Tuffnut asked his sister. "All dark and mysterious under his hood. Hey, maybe I should wear a hood."
"Yeah," Ruffnut agreed. "And then we'd never have to look at your ugly face again!"
"Uh, we have the same face dummy-"
"We're going to keep training," Astrid cut in over Tuffnut. She and Hiccup climbed on to their dragons and the riders took off. They flew in formation around the island, before turning and heading out to sea. They practised their drills as they flew further and further from Berk.
"Uh Astrid," Hiccup called out to the blonde rider on his right. "We should turn around if we want to get back to Berk by nightfall."
Astrid grinned at him. "We're not going back to Berk tonight."
Hiccup's brows knit together in confusion. They were heading in the direction of Dragon's Edge, but it had only been a week. If the volcano was still erupting they wouldn't be able to land there. The only other island in this direction was-
"I sent a Terror mail to Mala and the Defenders of the Wing," Astrid was saying. "Apparently, the baby Eruptodon has grown quite a bit in the last week."
They flew on in silence, listening to the playful squabbling of Snotlout and the twins.
Hours later they landed in the village square.
Mala greeted the riders. "Hiccup, Astrid I heard about your island and for that I am truly sorry." She stood from her throne and stepped towards them.
"Thanks Mala. We're just glad the baby Eruptodon is okay." Hiccup climbed down from Toothless.
"Not only that, but it seems some of your dragons have made a new home for themselves here" Mala gestured towards the large dragon that had risen from the tree line. As it grew closer, Tuffnut was the first to realise it was actually a group of dragons.
"Smidvarg!" Tuffnut ran forward to greet the dragons as they their leader landed.
"They should be on the Edge, it was their home," Hiccup reminded the group.
"Hiccup, why are you being such a buzzkill?" Snotlout demanded.
Mala stepped forward to relieve the tension of the group. "They will return to their island, fear not Hiccup Haddock. Remember how the Great Protector's egg was hatched in the volcano's fire?" She nodded towards the baby dragon playing with Meatlug. "Fire brings new life, Hiccup Haddock, and given time your island will recover."
Later, when the rest of the group had made camp and gone to bed, Hiccup sat by Astrid on the beach.
"Thank you for today. I needed that."
"I know." Astrid gazed out at the bright sea. The moon hung low over the ocean, its light reflecting out over the waves. She turned to look at Hiccup. Even in the dark she could make out his grim expression. "Do you remember what you told me? Back on Dragon's Edge?" She asked.
Hiccup shook his head.
"You made me promise that I wouldn't stop telling you what I'm thinking." Astrid reminded him. "Well, that goes both ways Hiccup. I rely on you too. It's what makes us, us, remember?" She bumped her shoulder against his.
"I remember." Hiccup put his arm around Astrid. "And I promise."
()
Astrid marched through the woods looking for the Chief of Berk.
Despite his words on the beach, Hiccup had gone right back to his workroom the moment the group had returned from visiting Mala and the Defenders of the Wing. The first two days he had only spent an hour or so, tinkering with the blasted device, but Hiccup had already broken his promise to talk to Astrid about what was going through his head. Each day he had withdrawn more and more into himself, eating and sleeping less as he obsessed over this replacement Dragon Eye.
Astrid had tried everything, but she needed help. Hiccup had stopped coming out on training runs. He'd stopped agreeing to meet up with her away from the prying eyes of the village. Astrid was sure he was deliberately trying to avoid her.
Ahead she spotted Stoick. He had his back to the girl, a large axe in his hands. She called out.
"Chief, can I talk to you?"
Stoick turned from his task, giving Astrid his full attention. He'd watched her friendship with Hiccup grow over the last four years. Stoick liked the girl, she was good for the boy. She was smart and strong and level headed and he knew she had Hiccup's best interests at heart.
"Of course lass, what's wrong?" He asked. He took a seat on the log he'd just felled.
It took Astrid a moment to speak. "I'm worried about Hiccup."
"Ah, you've noticed it too?" Stoick patted the log beside him, inviting Astrid to sit.
"You'd have to be blind not to." Astrid took a seat. "He's been acting weird since we got back from Dragon's Edge. I've tried distracting him-"
Stoick smirked.
"I-I mean. I've found things for him to do, training runs." Astrid blushed and stumbled on. "B-but- there's only so much I can do."
"You want my help?" Stoick mulled it over. Hiccup had holed himself up in the forge since the Dragon Riders had returned from Dragon's Edge. It wasn't healthy for him to obsess over this project. He wouldn't even tell his father what he was working, keeping to himself and mumbling excuses about being tired on the rare occasions he actually came home.
Astrid nodded. "Before we left for the outpost, you wanted him to get more involved with the running of the village." She grinned. "He used to complain about it all the time."
"So you think I should start giving him more responsibilities around here?" Stoick raised a bushy eyebrow. "Normally, it's the Chief who gives the advice." He let out a bark of laughter at Astrid's face. "Oh, I'm just joking lass. It's a good idea."
"He needs something to think about other than the Dragon Eye and the volcano and he needs to stay busy, at least until he gets through this." Astrid stood from the log. "Thanks Chief."
"You're a good lass. He's lucky to have you." He chuckled at Astrid's blushing face as he waved her off.
()
The plan was working.
That afternoon, after Astrid had gone to see him, Stoick had stormed into Hiccup's workroom and insisted it was time for his son to resume his chiefly education.
Hiccup had grumbled and complained, but had put down his tools and followed his father outside. Together they had walked the village, listening to the concerns of the villagers, noting repairs that needed to be made before winter. After a week, Hiccup had even started making his own suggestions, ideas to help with the everyday running of the village. He seemed to be completely immersed in his new role, cheerfully greeting his people each morning, which was why Astrid was completely perplexed when she found Hiccup sitting behind his house one day, tearing at the grass and muttering angrily to himself.
"Everything okay?" She asked cautiously.
"It's my dad," Hiccup complained. He patted the ground, beckoning Astrid to sit beside him. "He's just- ugh! So frustrating!"
"I'm sorry." Astrid tucked her skirt around her knees as she sat. "You're going to have to catch me up. What has he done?"
"It's not one specific thing," Hiccup explained. "It's- I'm not ready to learn how to run the village. Look at what happened at the outpost. Look how well that went. I don't want to be a leader. I can't do this!"
"But isn't that the whole point of learning?" Astrid asked.
"Maybe, but right now… I feel like there are better uses for my time." Hiccup resumed his task of picking at the blades of grass, shredding each one into little pieces.
"You mean sitting in the dark, in your forge, obsessing over the Dragon Eye." Astrid tried to keep her tone light.
"Obsessing?" Hiccup gave a dark laugh. "Thanks Astrid."
Astrid's voice was tinged with concern. "Hiccup, we were worried about you. You were spending all your time in that cramped room, you were ignoring Toothless," she gestured to the dragon dozing in the sun.
"What? So all of this was just a… a distraction?"
Astrid sighed. "Yes and no."
"Which one was it?" Hiccup's voice was raised in irritation.
"It was both Hiccup!" Astrid's tone changed to match her boyfriend's. "You promised you'd talk to me but you keep pushing me away. You pushed your father away, you pushed Toothless away. Why are you so angry about this? Your Dad just wants to help you."
"I'm angry because he's wasting my time!" Hiccup complained.
"He's teaching you how to run the village. You're going to need to know this!" Astrid argued. "How is that wasting your time?"
Hiccup pushed up onto his feet, pacing across the little patch of grass behind the hut.
"I should be working on the Dragon Eye."
"The Dragon Eye is gone Hiccup!" Astrid stood too, moving to get in front of Hiccup, to stop him from turning away from her. "Viggo is gone! And you were beating yourself up about it."
"Because it was my fault!" Hiccup cried. "It's my fault! Someone died!"
"He was a bad person." Astrid let her voice drop. "He tried to hurt the dragons. He tried to hurt us! Many times!"
"You're supposed to be on my side!"
"I am on your side!"
They were both yelling now.
"Then why are you siding with my Dad over this whole 'running the village thing?" Hiccup asked, changing the subject away from Viggo and the Dragon Eye, but Astrid would have none of it.
"Because your Dad is right Hiccup," she countered. "Your obsession over rebuilding the Dragon Eye isn't healthy."
"Yeah well going behind my back isn't going to help things, is it?"
Astrid opened her mouth to argue but the words died on her tongue. She was so angry at Hiccup, at his attempts to push her away, at the way he was treating the people around him.
"You know what?" She said. "Screw you Hiccup Haddock! I care about you but you're not even trying!"
"Yeah, well, screw you too!" Hiccup turned to Toothless. "Come on bud, let's get out of here." The Night Fury stood, stretching out his muscles as his rider stomped over.
"Running away won't solve your problems Hiccup," Astrid called over to him.
"Not all of them," Hiccup agreed. "But it'll solve at least one of them." He climbed onto the saddle, leaving Astrid speechless with anger behind him. Clicking his foot into the stirrup, Hiccup urged Toothless into the air and away from the village.
They didn't fly far.
Hiccup was already regretting his words and the temptation to turn back was strong. But his blood was still boiling from the argument and he was afraid of what he might say if he returned. Hiccup could apologise to Astrid later, when they had both had a chance to cool down.
Hiccup directed Toothless to land. They had only flown as far as the end of the island.
"I really blew it today bud." Hiccup climbed down from the Night Fury. The dragon glared at his rider. "Yeah, I know. I shouldn't have said those things." Hiccup laid his hand on Toothless's back. "Astrid was right, they were trying to help. It's not that easy though. I can't just forget about what happened."
He sat down at the edge of the water. Toothless stretched out beside him.
"Maybe we should get away for a few days." Hiccup stared out to sea as he spoke. "I'm sure you could use the chance to stretch your wings. I can clear my head. I can apologise to Astrid when I get back."
Toothless warbled.
"Come on, Toothless, it'll be just like old times." Hiccup lay back on the grass, resting his head on his hands. "I'm not ready to go back yet," he admitted. "And we'll only be gone for a day or two. How's that sound?"
The dragon made another noise that Hiccup decided to take as agreement. "We'll sneak back tonight and pack a couple of things. And I'll leave a note." Hiccup glanced across at Toothless. "We could head west this time, see what we find. How's that sound?"
They relaxed in the weak sunlight, waiting until dark. Under the cover of night, they returned to Berk to collect some provisions and to leave a note saying they'd be back in a few days and before anyone noticed their presence, they were gone.