The next day was Hiccup's last full day in the future. For most of the morning, he watched Vinr teaching some young dragon riders in the ring, while also going over the new-and-improved dragon manual one last time. He noticed that instead of fancy maneuvers and practicing aim like with the older riders, they were mostly working on team-building exercises.

In the meantime, the older riders wrote the letters to their past selves, as the Chief wasn't entirely sure that some would leave it to the last minute. Fortunately, there were no problems, as Astrid and Gobber were willing, Fishlegs was enthusiastic, the twins were eager to prank themselves, and Snotlout just went with it.

Hiccup smiled to himself when he saw that one of the young riders was with the yellow Nightmare he had befriended, and another was with the Zippleback.

He then looked at the twins apprehensively, as they were snickering to themselves as they wrote their rather long-looking letter. "You're not telling your past selves how to prank me, are you?"

"Don't worry, Thirdandahalf," Ruffnut replied.

"We told us not to prank you for a while," Tuffnut added.

"But we are giving us a rather inspirational list of pranks we've done over the years."

"Believe it or not, Andahalf," Snotlout said, rolling up his scroll, "We're not out to get you again."

"I didn't mean it that way," Hiccup said quickly.

Snotlout shrugged. "Either way… We're- I mean, I'm really sorry about how I treated you and teased you. You're a great person, and I didn't see that. I know the Chief's forgiven me, but I hope you can too."

"Uh, no problem," Hiccup said, surprised and a little touched. "Thanks, Snotlout."

"Don't mention it," his cousin replied, going a little red and looking at the ground.

"We're sorry, too," said Tuffnut.

"We told us to take it easy on you," added Ruffnut.

"Thanks… Don't you prank the Chief, though?"

"Of course we do," Tuffnut said.

"But what matters is why we prank people," continued Ruffnut.

"We prank the Chief because we're his friends."

"Some people we prank because they happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"And some people like Mildew deserve it sometimes."

"But we pranked you for the wrong reasons."

Hiccup was a little surprised, he hadn't realized that Snotlout and the twins had felt that way, or that the twins had a method to their madness and apparently had their own boundaries. Maybe they had just grown up. Either way, Hiccup appreciated it, and he gave them a smile.

They continued to watch the training while finishing up their letters, which they handed to Vinr, who had a bag to put them in.

Hiccup followed Vinr around until late afternoon, when they had an early dinner. They had plans to go down to the forge afterwards so Hiccup could see the drawings for some of the new inventions around the village.

Astrid joined them, and the rest of the dragon-riding gang sat down with them soon after. Hiccup tried to avoid the pleading eyes of a Terrible Terror as he ate, as he could see five more perched nearby and really didn't have enough to feed them all. But the problem was soon solved when Tuffnut accidentally dropped a drumstick and was swarmed by the Terrors instead.

One of the dragons hopped up next to Hiccup anyway, and he recognized it as the same Terror he had fed on his first day there. It felt like a lifetime ago. Hiccup smiled fondly as he snuck a piece of chicken for the dragon while the others continued to assault Tuffnut. That was one thing he was going to miss- the people and dragons here. The people, he supposed, he would technically see again in five years or so, but he didn't know about this Terrible Terror, or the purple Nadder and the yellow Nightmare. And he would miss Vinr, though he would technically also be him in five years.

And, when he returned, he would again be alone. But that would change, if all went according to plan. Hiccup almost envied his counterpart, who had likely not felt as if he had an almost impossible weight on his shoulders to end the war, instead just going along with everything and trying to keep the Night Fury in the woods a secret. But Hiccup was truly grateful to be forewarned and forearmed with everything he had learned and had been taught.

Hiccup was jolted from his thoughts when Gustav came running in. "Chief! Chief! We're under attack!" he cried.

"Slow down," Vinr said, standing up from the table, a grin slipping from his face. "What do you mean? What happened?"

"I was flying down south with Fanghook when we saw seven ships coming towards Berk, they were armed and had catapults and stuff."

"Did you see their sails? What tribe are they from?" Chief Hiccup asked calmly but seriously.

"I think on the sails there was a green Monstrous Nightmare with an axe and a spear crossed behind it."

"Rough Ruffians," Hiccup muttered. He glanced at Vinr, who nodded in confirmation.

"Oh, the dog tribe," said Tuffnut understandingly.

"What?" Snotlout wondered.

"Ruff ruff," replied Ruffnut. Hiccup bit back a snicker.

"How far out?" the chief asked, ignoring them.

"Half an hour by dragonback."

"How was the wind?" asked Fishlegs.

"From the south, strongish and steady," Gustav replied.

"They'll probably be here an hour or so after nightfall," Vinr decided, after checking with Fishlegs. "My guess is they felt like raiding someone and they don't like us because of our dragons, but if it's only seven ships like you say, it shouldn't be too hard to fight them off."

"Should we fly out to meet them?" Astrid asked.

"No, we don't have enough skilled riders and dragons to take on that many fully-armed ships, especially going against the wind. They could pass by us, but if they don't, we'll let them come. Then our dragons will have the cover of night and we'll have the home advantage and our own catapults, and the dragons without skilled riders can defend as well. We might get a peace treaty out of them if they surrender."

"What do you want us to do?" Snotlout asked.

"Astrid, Snotlout, go find some men and make sure our defenses are ready. Ruff, Tuff, Fishlegs, help get the women and children into the Mead Hall. Gustav, gather the A-Team and have someone patrol around the island, to the south and near the village. I'll have Toothless talk to the other dragons, and I'll help Gobber fix more weapons and shields in the forge. If the ships are spotted from the village, find me. Hiccup, come with me."

Hiccup jogged after Vinr as they hurried to the forge.

"I think you might have to go home a bit ahead of schedule," the chief said once they got there.

Hiccup nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I'm not much help in a fight. But if you guys are going to attack on dragonback before they make landfall, do you think I should watch that?"

Vinr considered. "If you hurry to the cave as soon as they land, you should be safe. For now… it doesn't look like Gobber's around, so help me out here."

Hiccup grinned- now this was something he knew how to do. While the chief started up the forge and spoke to Toothless, he took weapons from the 'dull' pile and began sharpening them.

The two of them were soon joined by Gobber and they worked for an hour or so, the Chief often pausing to answer the questions of some villager and give orders. A few more warriors came in to get their weapons fixed and sharpened, but between the three of them, they were soon done.

Gobber went out to help direct and organize people, and Vinr turned to Hiccup.

"I don't know when else I might have anything resembling a break, so I'll give this to you now." He handed Hiccup the bag with the letters in it and ducked into the back room. He came out holding a shield that was a soft silver color and a folded piece of paper. "And here- this shield is plated in Gronckle Iron, so it's strong and light. I thought about painting a Night Fury on it like mine, but I figured that would raise too many questions, and you can do it yourself later."

"Wow, thank you," Hiccup said, taking the shield and hefting it. It did indeed feel lighter than other shields he had held.

Vinr slapped a hand to his forehead. "Shoot, I forgot to give you the formula for Gronckle Iron. Hand me your sketchbook."

Hiccup fumbled with it for a moment in his vest pocket and gave it to him. Vinr quickly jotted the formula down on an empty page and handed it back.

"Now, this," the chief opened the folded piece of paper to reveal a large map, "is a map of everywhere I've traveled. It's not the original, as that's made of a bunch of smaller papers. Maybe you can add to it someday."

Hiccup was overwhelmed by the vastness of the map, and by the generosity of the Chief- he had to have spent time copying out every detail on the map, and making the lightweight shield. "I don't know what to say… Thank you, Vin- ah, Chief Hiccup."

"It's no problem. What were you about to call me?" the Chief asked with a confused frown.

"Uh, Vinr. It was easier to call you something other than 'Hiccup' in my head," Hiccup admitted.

Vinr smiled when he remembered the meaning of the word. "We're all going to miss you… I'm going to miss you. It's been like having a little brother."

Hiccup realized that he was right- Vinr fit perfectly into the role of older brother, if he had had one. "I'm going to miss you too. Do you think I'll ever see you again?"

The Chief knew he didn't mean the people he would be with in five years. "I don't know. I guess that's up to the will of the gods." He put a hand on Hiccup's shoulder. "And remember- you're Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third-and-a-half. I'm only the Third. You can become even more than I am if you choose to."

Hiccup just nodded, his throat thick with emotion.

"Chief! The ships have been spotted coming around to the village!"

Vinr stepped outside into the now dark night, and Hiccup followed, and found the rest of the main riders and their dragons waiting.

"Will you be going tonight?" Astrid asked, spotting the shield and map Hiccup held.

"Yeah. Probably safer for everyone," but he smiled, to show he didn't really mean it.

"Then I suppose it is time to say goodbye. We have gifts for you as well, young Thirdandahalf," Tuffnut said.

"Though it pains us to do so, we are giving you one piece of blackmail on our younger selves," Ruffnut said, handing Hiccup a folded piece of paper.

"Uh, thanks," Hiccup said. It was the oddest gift he had ever received, but he could see it being useful.

"Don't lose it," Tuffnut warned. "You should probably destroy it after you read it."

"I will," Hiccup said with a chuckle.

Fishlegs pulled out a leather bag and opened it to reveal a few different pockets. "This is a sort of dragon emergency bag- there's a vial of Monstrous Nightmare gel, a vial of Zippleback gas, a packet of dragon nip, jars of healing and burn salve, and a small mirror."

"Thank you. This is incredible," Hiccup said, slinging the good leather bag over his shoulder.

"Snotlout and I both worked on this one," Astrid said next. Hiccup was a little surprised, but didn't comment. She pulled out what looked like a multicolored bracer, but Hiccup wasn't sure in the dim light. "We tracked down all the dragons you've befriended- these five, the four you trained, and the Terror, got scales from all of them, and Snotlout-"

Snotlout interrupted with a small cough.

"-And it was stitched together," Astrid finished. She handed it to Hiccup and he saw that it was indeed a bracer made of shed dragon scales.

"Thank you," Hiccup said, admiring the colors in the torchlight, and more importantly, that they had thought to give him a reminder of all of them and the dragons.

"Chief!"

"We really do have to go now," Vinr said. "As soon as the Ruffians set foot on Berk soil, get down to the cave and cut yourself with the Lightning Bolt."

"I will," Hiccup said, fingering the cord around his neck as the other riders and dragons took off. "Goodbye, Vinr."

"Farewell, and may the gods be with you, Thirdandahalf."

Hiccup's face twisted into a smile as Toothless leapt into the air, roaring a challenge to the Vikings that dared to attack his home.

Hiccup hurried to the cliff edge nearest to the invading ships in time to hear the scream of a diving Night Fury and to see a blast of blue fire punch through the deck of the leading ship. The other dragons followed, setting aflame and disabling the catapults on the ships within a matter of minutes.

But the invaders fought back, and Hiccup flinched as he heard the pained cry of a Nadder whose wings had been pierced by arrows. The battle continued, waves of dragons flying over and then retreating as they reached their shot limits. Hiccup wasn't sure in the darkness, but he thought the Chief and the Alpha remained circling above the ship, firing an occasional shot and shouting orders and encouragement.

Hiccup watched fearfully as Snotlout and Astrid landed on the decks of ships, defending their dragons as they shot spikes and set themselves aflame. Hiccup spotted Cloudjumper as well, firing at ships and then diving to land on one hard enough that the force of his weight rocked the whole ship.

But when the ships came near the cliffs, a few archers started firing up at the onlookers, and when Hiccup narrowly avoided being skewered, he decided it was time to go. He turned and ran to the arena, then past it into the forest on the other side, panting as he reached the beach with all the extra stuff he was carrying. He stopped. What if all his new stuff didn't come with him? He thought it would… after all, his clothes and his sketchbook had come with him there. He guessed the most immediately important thing he had with him was the designs for Toothless' tail and saddle, which was written in the sketchbook… Surely the book would come back with him and not leave the future ink on its pages behind.

Hiccup checked one last time to make sure he had everything and stepped into the dark cave. He put on the bracer and shield, tucked the papers and sketchbook into his vest, and held on to the dragon bag and bag of letters slung over his shoulder with one hand for good measure. He pulled the stone out of his shirt and tugged off the sheath with one hand, then awkwardly pressed his palm onto the sharp edge, cutting it. Nothing happened.

Hiccup frowned. Maybe he had to let his blood drip onto the floor of the cave… he let go of the stone and let it hang around his neck, then bent to touch his bleeding palm to the floor.

Hiccup collapsed and the world went black.

A/N: Thank you all! If you feel so inspired, please press the little button below to leave a review!