A/N: Well, here we are again. This will be the third story I've finished (ever, including the many I've started in the past before coming to Fan Fiction (dot) Net). I have to say, I'm real proud of this story, it's probably one of my best. I'll have more to say at the end. However, first, so review responses.

Link_Fangirl01: Please don't be too upset. I personally am not a fan of a story where everyone comes out in the same state (whether physical or mental) as they went in. Makes things a bit too childish and makes me as a writer feel naive. As for how The Core was destroyed... read on, I'll explain it.

Toothless-the-nighfury: I've got an idea for Hiccup's fate. I'm glad you like how I handled a rather botched attempt by Hiccup at being a hero. Read on for the ending.


Blackness. Or, more accurately, nothing. A void of nothing, no light, no sound, no taste or touch. A place completely devoid of sensory information.

So this is what being dead is like. Hiccup thought to himself. Depressing. I thought there would be something...anything...This sucks!

Hiccup had no idea how long he spent in that void with nothing but his own thoughts to entertain him. He imagined what must be going on with his dad, Toothless, even Astrid. He thought about what he would say to his father if he had the chance, or to Toothless. He tried to remember what it was like to feel and see and hear. With every passing moment, it became harder to remember. Eventually he started running out of things to think about. He couldn't sleep, much as he would have liked to. He tried to talk to himself, but nothing came out that he could hear. He went back to working with his thoughts. He dreamed of the most complicated machines and inventions possible, but he found it hard to be inspired in such a depressing place.

Just when he thought he was going to go insane, his desperate mind caught something. The barest of whispers, just quiet enough that he couldn't make out the words. The dark didn't seem so dark, more of a gray color. He thought he could smell metal and oil.

That's it, I've gone 'round the bend. Hiccup thought to himself.

"Hiccup..." Called a voice, so faint he almost missed it.

Who's there?

"Hiccup..." The voice called again, louder.

Hello?

"Hiccup!" The voice shouted, sounding familiar.

"Who..." Hiccup groaned.

"He's awake!" The rough voice called. "Stoick, come quickly, he's awake!"

"Where?" Hiccup asked groggily.

"Hiccup, can you hear me?" Asked a new voice, one that brought images of someone special.

"Wha-where am I?"

"Hiccup, can you see?"

"No."

"Give me a second, it's a miracle we've got him hearing and talking this quickly." The original voice grumbled. "I'm still uploading the rest of the programming into memory."

"I thought I was-"

"Dead?" The second voice said. "Yeah gave it your best shot and for a while, we thought you were. Until that crazy Mech of yours convinced us that you were alive."

"To-to...Agh, I can't remember. It's on the tip of my tongue."

"Stop stressing yourself son. You've still got a long way to go before you'll be back to normal. Why don't you get some rest?"

"Son? You're my father?"

"Rest Hiccup."

Hiccup couldn't stop himself. He returned to the void and began wrestling with his unruly mind, trying desperately to remember anything other then the darkness. Eventually, he succeeded.

Stoick...My dad. Hiccup thought.

Encouraged by his ability to remember his father, Hiccup once again delved into the maelstrom that had become his mind. Slowly, he brought the fragments of memory together. From his earliest childhood, he began rebuilding his recollections. His youth, the years spent in school to become an engineer only to be forced into the military by his dad, the training, and finally, the events of the past few weeks. Feeling whole once more, Hiccup tried to wake himself. Slowly, the black faded to gray and then into an image. The ceiling of what appeared to be a tent. He could hear people nearby, some idling, others sleeping, and one very large presence that emitted a constant thrumming noise.

"Ugh." Hiccup groaned. He wasn't sore, but everything felt stiff and different somehow.

"Hiccup!" Cried Stoick.

"Dad!"

"Oh, you're alright. I thought I'd lost you."

"I'm fine dad. Just stiff."

"Aye, that'd be because I've frozen your servos." Gobber said from one side.

"What?"

"Hiccup, I'm going to free you to move. Just take it slow."

"O-okay."

Suddenly, the stiffness was gone. Hiccup brought his hands up to his face. They weren't flesh and bone but metal with three fingers, a thumb, and next to no palm. He moved his head, looking down at his chest. It was roughly human shaped, but made of black metal. Mounted in the center was a Heart. His legs were not human, but the switch-back style of a Mech with foot pads on the end.

Hiccup twisted on the bed and pushed himself into a sitting position. Carefully, he put each foot on the ground and stood. Somehow, it felt perfectly natural despite his mind declaring the complete opposite. He spotted a small mirror hanging from one of the tent supports and moved towards it with surprising grace. He picked the mirror up off its perch and used it to examine his face.

His head was looked human enough, except for the lack of a mouth and the red visor in place of his eyes. He stared at his reflection for several seconds before turning his head toward the sound of movement. Framed by the tent flaps was Toothless, crouched so he could look into the tent.

"Hey Toothless."

"Hey Hiccup."

"You can talk."

"Yeah. They reinstalled my Linguistic Processor."

"And your gyro?"

"No. There weren't any spares. Not that I need one. I have you."

"Wouldn't have it any other way bud."

"What I'd like to know," Cut in Astrid, "is how you destroyed The Core."

"I don't know. When the spike stuck into me, I was suddenly whizzing down a tunnel of code. I just started ripping chunks out as I went by. Eventually I was dumped into some sort of void."

"His conscious must have been aware enough to understand that he was being transferred through The Core into the Heart. The code he saw was The Core's programming. By ripping it up, he broke it and caused an overload. It's almost like how he disabled the hidden receiver in me."

"Wow." Astrid breathed.

"Aye." Stoick affirmed.

"Well, doesn't matter how, but you've done it Hiccup." Gobber said. "The Core's gone and we've made peace with the Romans."

"Yeah, and I've still got you guys." Hiccup said happily. "And I've got you Toothless."

"And I've still got you Hiccup."

Hiccup climbed into Toothless' cockpit, but this time there was no need for the interface. This time, Hiccup just connected with Toothless.

"Where are you going Hiccup?" Stoick asked.

"Me and Toothless are going to get some exercise."

"But you're both machines?"

"We may be machines, but we've got Hearts. And they need just as much exercise as yours."

"Be safe Hiccup."

"Don't worry dad, I've got Toothless."

"Take good care of my son Mech."

"I will."

/-/

Epilogue

In the years that followed the demise of The Core, Berk and Rome established good relations aided by Hiccup and Toothless. Eventually, the two nations merged. With the destruction of The Core, all Hearts were released from its control. They established their own nation. Hiccup and Toothless became the official ambassadors for said nation.

The pair lived long lives until, as all things do, they came to an end. When they're lives finally ended, all three nations gathered for a funeral. A statue was erected in the capital of each nation honoring the pair who defied tradition and paved a new road for the people of the world.

A/N 2: Well, that brings this story to a close. This is the longest story I've written to date, and the one I feel is best representative of my abilities as a writer. It was a blast to write and even more fun to read (I do read my own stories). The response has been overwhelming. The number of reviews, and the tone of them, is heartening.

I'd like to thank mohla(dot)mohla for his/her continued support and feedback. I'd also like to thank everyone who faved and subscribed, you people give me the drive to write ever better stories. Thanks to everyone who read the story, I hope you enjoyed it. Big thanks to everyone who reviewed, you people have been great at helping me improve.

I can't wait to see you all again in The Imaginarium Universia, the story series which I am now going to put all my effort into. I hope I can live up to the high expectations I've set forth with this story ;)

Unfortunately, final exams are about two weeks away. I'll be around, but I won't post anything since I don't want to leave you hanging while I do exams.

Final notes on Hiccup. I took elements of his design from several places. The legs are mechanical but are similar to Elites from Halo. The hands look like those of Atlas and P-body from Portal 2 (out this April). The chest and head (especially the head) look like the Nanosuit from Crysis.

So, until I see you again,

Wind under your wings, peace in your heart.

G'lek

EDIT: It's epilogue, not prologue. Thanks Link_Fangirl01. For those wondering, the gibberish spouted by The Core is to give the impression of its voice speeding up to the point of being incomprehensible. And yes, Coming Around is a reference to the scene in the movie. And yes, I'm not entirely happy with this ending. I MAY rewrite it later. Also, I'm sorry for not responding to PMs and reviews quicker, but FF(dot)Net is refusing to send me alerts about these things until a few days later despite everything appearing to be in order.