Greetings, dear readers, as we arrive at chapter 10, were we see the extent of Artemaigne's evil machinations, Astrid and Hiccup share a very important day, and the nature of the disaster that causes the end of human civilization is finally revealed. This is also officially the longest story I have ever written on FanFiction! (Cue fireworks)

Thanks as ever to my reviewers; Backlash 42, madeline . kallis, GwyncanGirl0203, Remedy's Melody 109, CherryPika91, Aniwfolgirl, Riverat73, thedragon 1010 and Lightfury.

DISCLAIMER: The HTTYD series belongs to Cressida Cowell and Dreamworks Animation. On a totally unrelated note, my experiments into the genetic construction of an actual dragon have failed miserably, so unfortunately there will be no baby Furies from Santa this Christmas/Snoggletog. Sorry about that.

Lost to the Mists of Time

Whilst Daedalus and Artemis were philosophically discussing the fate of humanity minus the dragons, a fellow agent of theirs was infiltrating Artemaigne's dark citadel. None of the agents used their real names, and some of them had used their pseudonyms for so long that they had forgotten their real names. To the world at large, he was known as Dr. Phillip Monroe. Where had picked up that pseudonym from he couldn't remember for the life of him, but there it was. He was called Dr. Phillip Monroe, and considering the microscopic life expectancy of people in his line of work, it was very likely the name he would die with.

As an expert infiltrator, he had been assigned the particularly dangerous assignment of infiltrating Dolorous Garde, the black citadel that played host to Lord Artemaigne. They knew that Artemaigne was the focal point of the disaster that would eventually doom their species to slow extinction, and they had made several educated guesses that all suggested that the ball he was hosting this evening was the point in time when the series of events they were here to stop had been set in motion. Hence, why Dr. Monroe was perched on a rafter, looking down at the festivities below.

The party had been in full swing for a while now, when a servant called for silence to allow Artemaigne himself to speak. There was polite applause as he rose from his chair, graciously acknowledging his guests as he moved to the centre of the room. He wore an assured smile as silence descended, but Phillip saw right through that; he knew that he was about to witness the Fall, the event that began their demise, and so paid close attention.

"My dear friends," Artemaigne said, his voice as soft as silk, but with all the charm of a snake. "Tonight we stand on the crux of a new era in our history. As many of you well know, I have been preparing to conquer the rest of the Angles, as well as the uncivilised lands to the north and west of our fair kingdoms. Now, I am happy to announce that the time of conquest is upon us, for my soldiers stand ready to begin their glorious campaign and rid us of the Celtic barbarians once and for all!" A cheer resounded around the room.

He can captivate a crowd, I'll give him that. Phillip thought. Artemaigne signalled for silence once more.

"None of this would have been possible without your loyal support, and when I am king of all the Angles, you shall have your share of power, as you will be the lords and ladies of the cities and counties that will form our great empire. For it is an empire now. A short while ago, my vision was restricted to ridding our lands of the unwashed barbarian filth that contaminates our borders, and making this land whole under my rule. Our rule." He paused then, and the expression he wore was one that suggested that he had found a great secret, and that with it, the world would be his. "But imagine, if you will, that our domain does not have to stop there, that we can extend our power to the European nations, to Scandinavia and the Urals, even Asia and Africa!" He saw the looks of disbelief being shared among his guests. "I know, I know, even I didn't believe it at first, but then I made a new friend, a new ally, one who showed me power beyond my wildest dreams. Of course, I simply thought he was after a slice of the power we are about to gain, but no! Only revenge drives him, and that makes him a man after my own heart." The audience laughed, appreciating the dark humour. "I have been told that in the northernmost parts of Scandinavia, there are tribes of Vikings, no less, who have mastered the skill of taming and riding dragons. The menaces that stalk our land are their most trustworthy allies, it would seem. Who are we, the civilised people of the Angles, to be outdone by Viking marauders?" A murmur of assent ran through the crowd. "No longer will we have to bare such shame, however, for now we have that skill. We have among us a man who can show us this power!" Artemaigne turned to the door, and as if on cue, the guards opened the heavy oak doors, and in walked a man that Phillip really did not want to see. For into the hall walked a man the size of a bear, with black dreadlocks, one arm missing, and wearing a cloak of black dragon skin. "My dear friends, let me introduce you to my new ally, our own dragon conqueror, Drago Bludfist!"

Three Weeks Later

Hiccup looked in the mirror, and the face that stared back at him did not inspire him with confidence. It looked like an unfortunate combination of fear, Dutch courage and foolish pride, and gave off the unshakable air that it might, suddenly and without warning, scream loudly and collapse to the floor, gibbering and foaming at the mouth.

Hiccup laughed nervously. Valka had warned him this might happen, and also told him that he need not worry, that it was perfectly natural for him to feel like this.

He licked his hand and smoothed his hair back, taking a deep breath to calm himself. Luckily for him, it worked. He walked over to the door and stepped out of the cabin he was currently occupying on the Artemis. As he walked down the corridor, people he passed bid him congratulations, which he thanked them for with a nervous smile. Finally, he arrived at the cargo bay and disembarked down the loading ramp, where Gobber, Valka and Toothless were waiting for him. As he set foot on the ground, Toothless bounded over to him in excitement, nuzzling his head against Hiccup's chest. He laughed, hugging his best friend's head, secretly glad that Toothless had enough self-control to not start licking his ceremonial uniform. Gobber walked up to him, and place his hand on Hiccup's shoulder.

"You ready?" He asked gently.

"As ready as I'll ever be, I guess." Hiccup laughed nervously. Gobber simply smiled and squeezed his shoulder in encouragement. Hiccup scratched Toothless behind the ears, causing him to purr happily in his throat. "You'd better get going bud." Toothless warbled in agreement, before he turned and flew back towards their house. Hiccup watched him go, then turned to his mother, who was barely holding back a flood of tears. Hiccup reached his arms around her and pulled her into an affectionate hug.

"So," He said. "Today's the day."

"Yes, it is." Valka smiled back. "I only wish that your father were here to see it."

"He is, mom." Hiccup answered, before pressing his hand over her heart. "In here." He smiled, before hugging her again. They held each other, mother and son, until Gobber tapped him on the shoulder.

"It's time, Hiccup." He let go of Valka, and took a deep breath, before squaring his shoulders and walking through the village, his cloak billowing in the gentle winter breeze. He headed for the Meade Hall, taking care to avoid passing by his house, which was now a hive of activity. When he got there, a crowd was already beginning to form, but other than the odd congratulation, they largely ignored him. As he entered, Gobber hobbling along behind him, he saw that the preparations had been made; a feast had been laid out on the tables near the back, and the area in front of the fire had been cleared to form a makeshift dais, which Hiccup stood up on to wait. There, waiting for him, was Gothi, who simply smiled an encouragement at him. He smiled back, and then began the longest wait of his life, for today was the day that he and Astrid were finally going to become husband and wife. Today, they were going to be married.

Meanwhile, back at their house, Astrid was equally nervous, though she had a better way to hide it, for she was also ecstatically happy, and didn't care who knew. She looked at herself in the mirror for the fourteenth time that morning. Astrid had chosen to wear a simple blue dress that had once been her mothers, but now fit her perfectly. It hugged her body in all the right places, and Astrid was relieved that her pregnancy didn't really show yet. As well as the dress, she was wearing a silver girdle around her waist that was patterned to look like a leaf-laden branch, continuously weaving around in an endless circle, and her best, and softest, white fur boots, the cold weather making any other footwear impractical. She had let her hair flow free, instead of the usual braid she wore it in, and over it she wore a beautiful gold tiara, with an emerald sitting proudly in the centrepiece. Over her shoulders she had draped a wide white fur scarf, to keep the cold at bay. All in all, Astrid had never looked so beautiful, mostly because she never really tried. She wasn't the type of girl that really cared about her image, and Hiccup had assured her on many an occasion that she would never need to, that she shouldn't try to hide her stunning natural beauty, as he called it. But today was their wedding, so she had to at least try, and damn had she tried.

Her father walked into the mirror's frame beside her, a proud and happy smile adorning his usually rough features.

"You look beautiful, Astrid." He smiled at her. Astrid leaned into her father's arms, something she had found comforting ever since she was a child. "And never forget, that I am so proud of you. You deserve this day, Astrid."

"Thanks, dad." She smiled up at him, before he wrapped his arms around her in a tender hug.

"Now, then, I think we had better get you to the Hall." Finn opened the door for Astrid, who stepped outside to see Magnus, Toothless and Stormfly waiting expectantly. And although this was undoubtedly going to be the happiest day of her life, there was still a hole in her heart where her mother should have been. The day after they had announced their engagement, her mother had caught the pox, and never recovered. It was still raw, but she was determined to be happy, for her mother if no one else. As she walked towards the two, Magnus smiled happily at his sister, as she beamed back at him. When she reached Stormfly, she scratched her gently behind the ears. She cawed in delight, before crouching down, allowing her to climb up on her back, riding side saddle so as to preserve her dignity whilst riding with the dress she wore. Finn followed her out and took his place to the left of Stormfly, Magnus to the right, with Toothless flying above and together, the five of them made their way to the Meade Hall.

When Hiccup watched them enter, he almost forgot to breathe. To him, Astrid looked like a goddess, utterly resplendent in that smooth blue dress, the tiara making her look like royalty. Finn and Magnus were waiting at the side of the dais, not really wanting to interfere with the ceremony.

As Stormfly reached the dais, she knelt down to let Astrid dismount, whilst Toothless walked up to stand behind Hiccup. As he did, they momentarily glanced at each other, communicating their shared gratitude at having each other for their best friend. Then Hiccup turned to Astrid, their smiles so broad that, considering the festivities that had been set up, they might as well have finally succeeded in triggering the early onset of Snoggletog. Hiccup took her hands, squeezing them for reassurance, and then they turned to Gobber, who was conducting the ceremony as a translator for Gothi. He smiled proudly at Hiccup, before he cleared his throat and began.

"Friends, brothers and sisters and fellow Vikings, we are gathered here to witness the union of our chief, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, to this woman, Astrid Hofferson, in the most sacred bond of matrimony. If there are any here who have good cause or reason to believe that these two should not be wed, speak now and forever hold your peace." The silence was so profound that even the dragons stopped breathing. "Thank the gods for that." Gobber muttered. "Seems I didn't need this after all." He gestured to the mace head that was his current left hand, and the entire hall laughed jovially until he gestured for silence. "Hiccup, do you take this woman, Astrid, to be your wife, to love and protect her forever, in sickness and in health, in good times and in bad, for richer or poorer, for better or worse, until death do you part?"

"I do." He smiled at Astrid, who looked like she was barely holding back her excitement.

"Astrid, do you take this man, Hiccup, to be your husband, to love and protect him forever, in sickness and in health, in good times and in bad, for richer or poorer, for better or worse, until death do you part?"

"I do." She squeezed his hands, as he looked to be on the verge of tears.

"Then present your rings of unity to your partner, as symbols of your eternal love for each other." Astrid went first, Magnus handing her a simple ring made of platinum, one of a pair that Hiccup had made for the occasion, which she placed onto the ring finger of his left hand. Hiccup then turned to Fishlegs, who handed him an identical ring, which he then placed on the ring finger of her right hand, before kissing it affectionately.

Then, they held their ringed hands together, and kneeled down in front of Gothi, who stepped forward with a strip of gold cloth in her hands, with which she gently tied their hands together, before they stood facing each other again.

"By the authority invested in me, and on behalf of the village Elder, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Hiccup, you may kiss the bride." Holding their tied hands outwards from each other, Hiccup used his free hand to pull his wife close to him and gently kissed her, as the assembled crowd finally let loose the cheers they had been holding back for the entire ceremony. When they separated, she smiled at him, before saying, "I love you, Mr. Haddock.".

"I love you, Mrs. Haddock." He proudly replied, before they hugged each other tightly. They were interrupted when Toothless eagerly nudged at Hiccup's back, before kneeling down again. The couple laughed, before Hiccup picked Astrid up off her feet as best they could with their hands tied and carried her onto Toothless' back. As he stood up, he roared jubilantly, before taking flight and carrying them out of the Meade Hall and straight into the sky above Berk, where Stormfly was eagerly waiting for them with Hookfang, Meatlug, Barf & Belch, Skullcrusher and Cloudjumper, and as Toothless circled above the village, the dragons formed their own guard of honour, for their chief and their alpha.

Astrid settled herself into Hiccup's lap, their hands held out in front of them, and laid back into his shoulder, as Hiccup rested his head on hers, letting Toothless do all the flying for once. And as they flew above their home in a comfortable silence, they knew that they would never forget this moment, not for as long as they lived.