His world was a world of pain; not just physically, although that was a big part of it, but mentally, too. His best friend had been killed, and now, he was dying himself.

"Hang on, Hiccup," Astrid whispered to him. "Everything's going to be fine, just-"

"Astrid…" he cut her off weakly, coughing afterwards.

"W-what?" Astrid sobbed.

"I'll…I'll be o-okay," Hiccup gasped. "T-Toothless...he'll...he'll take care...of me…"

"No, no, Hiccup, don't say that," Astrid pleaded. "You're going to be fine, see? I just need to remove the arrow, and-"

"Astrid...it's too...too late," Hiccup made out, just barely, though. He was dying, and he was dying fast, he knew it. "Astrid...t-take c-care...of...of the Academy…"

"I will," Astrid promised. "I will, Hiccup, and you'll be there, too. I'll be your assistant teacher, if you want me to, but you have to stay alive…"

"Astrid," said Hiccup. This was it. The last of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third. "I...It's t-t-too late. I...I l-love you, Astrid."

"Oh, Hiccup," said Astrid, her tears falling more freely than they had been before. "I love you, too."

Hiccup, despite everything, smiled. "Well," he said. "It...it looks like...like I'm...on my last leg…"

Then he closed his eyes.

Another instant later, he woke up. He looked around. This was strange. He didn't feel the pain from his wound, and he didn't feel nor see Astrid anywhere.

However, he did see someone else.

"TOOTHLESS!" Hiccup shouted.

Toothless turned towards Hiccup, and then smiled gummily, racing towards his rider, the grin never leaving his face. Hiccup took off running towards him as well, and once they met each other, Hiccup threw his arms around the dragon's neck and hugged him, never wanting to let go.

"Hey, buddy!" Hiccup said. "I missed you so much, Toothless!"

...

Astrid held his cold, limp, lifeless body to her chest and stayed there for a long time, crying silently into his scalp. At length, she finally picked herself up off the ground, scooping Hiccup into her arms afterwards (he was almost weightless from the lack of nourishment his body needed) before she began her trek back to the village.

Hiccup had jumped in front of Dagur's arrow to save her. He had sacrificed himself to protect her just as Toothless had sacrificed himself to protect Hiccup. She didn't know what Dagur had been doing on Berk, but she could have easily guessed. He had come back to torture Hiccup by memories of his friend, and then probably would have captured him to use as a tool for training dragons.

None of that went down, though, because now Dagur the Deranged and Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third were both dead.

To say the village was shocked when Astrid carried the limp, battered, bloody body of their heir back was an understatement. She had explained to everyone what had happened, with Dagur, and how he was dead, and how Hiccup himself had died (even though with the arrow sticking out of him, there was little need for an explanation).

Everyone said Hiccup died a hero, which he did. He died to save Astrid from Dagur's arrow, giving his own life up in the process.

The hardest part was, probably, the funeral.

Stoick had fired the first arrow at Hiccup's pyre, followed quickly by the other Berkians.

"I'm sorry, son," said Stoick. "You deserved a better father than me."

Astrid heard Stoick's voice crack, and then took a step up to speak.

"Hiccup was...the greatest friend I could have ever asked for," she said. "He...he was kind, selfless, brave, willing to give his own life that someone else may have theirs. And...and...I wish I could have told him how much he really meant to me, as a friend, and as...as a best friend, too. He...he...he saved my life, and for that, I am forever grateful. He changed my life, put color in the darkest situations, and even brought peace between Berk and dragons. And...and Hiccup...I...I love you, Dragon Boy. I'm sorry I only got to say that once."

Then, Snotlout stepped up.

"Hiccup was my cousin," he said. "I treated him terribly while he was here, for his whole life, before, and also after he showed us the truth about dragons. I wish he were here right now, so that way, I could apologize. I want...I would tell him, and thank him for everything he ever did for me. I would tell him I was sorry, for treating him like he was dirt under my feet...and...Hiccup, I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry I couldn't have been a better cousin to you."

No one else had much to say, really at too much of a loss of words from shock. Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third was gone, forever.

Astrid bumped into Snotlout after the funeral. He looked distraught and full of sorrow, which, he probably was. There were tears in his eyes, some of them making their way down his face.

Astrid looked at him sadly, tears pouring from her own eyes as she spoke.

"Don't worry," she said. "Hiccup is with Toothless."

THE END

Author's Notes:

I know...what you're going to say...guys. How could I have done this? Kept you in suspense, all this time, and why didn't it have a happy ending?

Well, what sign did I give you that the characters would live happily ever after? That anyone would?

(Slightly quoting Valka there, if any of you caught it).

THAT was a depressing fanfiction with kind of a happy/sad ending. Actually, really, not a happy ending at all, but...ugh, I don't know what I was trying to do with this fanfiction. I'm sorry for making you guys sad.

This is just a headcanon of mine, and this story means nothing when it comes to my other ones. It is not related in any way, shape or form to any of my other fanfictions that I have written now and that will ever be written.

I am sorry for this fanfiction, but in the end, I really loved it. It was sad, but sweet. You saw how much Astrid cared for Hiccup, and how much Hiccup cared for her, taking an arrow for her to save her life. And Toothless and Hiccup's bond, what they would be without each other; nothing. So, in the end, I think it is sweet. :)

With lots of sadness added in.

-BeyondTheClouds777