Author's Notes: I'm going to ramble on a bit here. Uninterested parties should skip down to the actual story.

As I mentioned in the beginning of the story, Dreams was designed as a side-story dealing with how Hiccup picks himself up after Astrid's death (and obviously some attention paid to Nestor and his problems). I felt it was a moment that deserved more attention than it would have gotten if I had attached the plot thread to the final story in the arc. So I did it here. It certainly was not the happiest of stories, but I do promise that the next one will not have the same flavor. I do think good writing requires all emotions to be at play and that you have to take risks at times if you want to make a story truly memorable.

The other objective was to test-drive a few possible characters and plot devices not for the final story, but for future endeavors. I'm always thinking ahead even though I technically haven't finished the final story, and I thought it would be good to use this side-story to introduce some new elements and see how it went. So if a plot thread appears wrapped up in this story, you shouldn't expect it to show up in the next.

To be honest, this story officially ends at the conclusion of this chapter. The next chapter, titled "Four Final Details," lays the groundwork for the future… except one of the "four details" I talk about is important to the final story. I will leave it up to the reader to determine which "detail" matters – I'm sure it's fairly obvious. As for the rest, I don't know how, where, when, or in what order these elements will show up after The World Needs Champions, but if you were intrigued by a character or situation, let me know.

As always, I thank all you readers who have stuck with my interpretation of the Dragons universe. I hope you have, and will continue to, enjoy it. I still have plenty of material in me, and while I think hyperbole is a dangerous thing, I mean it when I say I plan on making the last story in this arc as epic as possible.

Onwards.

Chapter Ten: Figuring Out How To Go On

Hiccup had sworn off sleep until they could find a new place to camp, but sleep hadn't sworn off him. It was why he felt so alarmed when the last memory he had, where he was polishing his myssteel riding armor for no real reason other than to stay occupied, didn't quite match up with the experience of getting bumped groggily to his feet by an excited Night Fury, Toothless raising his back in expectation of a new threat, or perhaps an old one come around again.

Don't let this not be another mind-screw, he thought as he stood, his armor and rag sliding off his lap. Gods, how could he allow himself to fall asleep again? Every time he woke up in the cave, something crazy happened, and it looked like this time was no different.

He could hear what had set off Toothless – a crunching noise, like rocks being ground apart in a mill, close by the cave. Interspersed within the crunching were heavy footsteps that grew louder as time passed. Somebody was coming this way from off to the left of the cave entrance.

The daylight was waning, the sky darkening in preparation for sundown, but it hadn't gotten there yet. The mated pair of Skrills shouldn't be back, and Hiccup didn't think your average Skrill would be walking up when they could fly in. But if not the Skrills, who else would be showing up?

He saw that Lothar was gone from his napping spot, and he had to put a hand to his mouth to stifle a moan. Perfect. What could be so important that Lothar would leave him without warning right before they were about to flee the Desolation? If the Skrills really had returned early, there'd be no sweet-talking them out of a fight without the Hyperion present.

The first indication that it wasn't a Skrill approaching was Toothless, the dragon lowering his back slightly and tilting his head as if less agitated and more curious or confused by the footsteps. Hiccup didn't know what to make of his dragon's behavior – it was like Toothless recognized the footsteps as belonging to someone he knew, but couldn't quite accept that they were here in this land. The dragon's confusion made Hiccup's pulse rev up in anticipation.

The second indication that it wasn't a Skrill was when a fat human face furtively peeked around the side of the cave, biting his lip and staring into the shadows with timid eyes.

"Anyone in here?" called out Fishlegs in a hesitant tone. "If you are, please don't be hungry and annoyed."

Hiccup could scarcely believe it. In fact, he couldn't believe it. After the monstrous mind game he'd just been through, this seemed like another cruel trick, another malicious game that Valha had set before him. Plucking more memories from his mind to mess with him. As such, he didn't answer or move when Fishlegs called out into the cave again. This was too unreal, even for…

Toothless did the moving for him, bounding out of the cave so quickly that Fishlegs shrieked in surprise and fell back on his fanny while the Night Fury licked him in greeting. The oversized Viking's shriek turned to relieved laughter as he got back up and patted the dragon's snout.

"Yay, you're where Lothar said you'd be," he said. "But where's Hiccup?"

"Legs?" Hiccup found his feet taking over the conscious decision-making, moving him toward the entrance while his brain wrestled with this new development. Toothless was certainly acting like Toothless, and Fishlegs was definitely acting like Fishlegs. If this was another mind screw, Valha was doing a better job of it.

"HICCUP!" The overjoyed mini-giant raced over to Hiccup and bear-hugged him so fiercely that Hiccup was sure all his ribs were reduced to bone splinters by the end of it. The hug certainly felt all kinds of real.

Unable to wipe the dazed look off his face, he looked past the cave entrance and saw Chomps eagerly biting down on the loose boulders around the rock formation, grinding them up between her molars. That explained the crunching. Gronckles were fond of eating rocks for some enigmatic reason, possibly because their teeth were always growing and it was a good way to wear them down. Chomps gave Hiccup a friendly dragon smile before resuming her stone diet.

"Sorry, she likes to try out new rocks on foreign soil," explained Fishlegs. "Hope she didn't scare you."

"I'm okay, Legs," he said, finally banishing his shock. He felt a smile coming on. As insane as this was, it all felt very right. "Legs, how did you…?"

A dragon cry from behind Fishlegs drew their attention. Two very familiar dragons were flying in from the west, one Nightmare and one Zippleback, and their riders whooped in delight as they came in fast and incautiously. Barf-Belch took the landing somewhat ungracefully, not used to the loose sand of the desert, and its two riders went spilling onto the ground. Ruffnut and Tuffnut were quite used to the abuse and they were up on their feet and racing to Hiccup, embracing him between them. Fishlegs was so caught up in the moment that he proceeded to squish them all in a new bear hug.

Fenrir came down more gracefully and let his rider dismount without incident. Snotlout didn't race to Hiccup like the others, but he did have a sincere smile on his face.

"I can't believe Fishlegs beat us here," he commented to the group-hugging Vikings as he walked up, trying to look cool with all of this. "It's all this darn wind and sand BLARGG!"

Snotlout wandered too close to Fishlegs and was immediately grabbed up by beefy arms and pulled into the hug. He tried to complain about it as not being "manly" but he finally quieted and let things be for a few happy moments.

When the hugging was done, Hiccup stood before his old Dragon Squad with the first real smile on his face in days. Seeing them all was the best thing that could've happen to him right now. It was also the craziest, and he asked Fishlegs, again, how they were standing here right now.

"Well, we had a little help," said Fishlegs with a smile. He nodded off to the west, where two more dots in the sky were quickly shaping into two more dragons…

No, not two dragons. One was definitely a dragon, and Hiccup was thrilled to see the spiky Skrill named Lothar had not left him at all. He was about ready to give Lothar the credit for somehow getting his friends here because he still didn't recognize the other thing. It shined in the fading sun like it was made of polished silver, but it had no real shape to speak of…

Hiccup's heart was having a difficult time with all the constant revelation-based surprises. It was a Guardian, of all things. Its body was shaped like a crab shell, and someone was riding on top of it like it was a dragon, but it couldn't be anything else but a Guardian. That didn't make any sense at all.

Then he recognized the rider. Things didn't make that much more sense from the latest surprise, but it made things that much better.

Lothar and the Guardian landed near Fenrir, the rider jumping off before touchdown and landing in the sand with a blast of orange. Hiccup walked out to meet him halfway, feeling like he could cry.

Dirt-covered, exhausted, and looking like he had tangled with an army of wild boars, Nestor walked with a warm, relieved smile on his face. One more friend saved from the grip of death. One more hope rekindled.

They walked into each other and embraced like two long-lost brothers, unable to get anything out more than an occasional laugh, unable to verbalize their trials and tribulations for now. It was like an ocean voyage through a hurricane, riding out a hundred horrible moments where your ship threatened to sink under you, only to finally make it out from under the storm, where the sun was there to greet you and your loved ones.

Except…

Hiccup was taken aback by how quickly it came over him. The wall he'd been building within him, the one he sought to erect to get him through the trying days to come, was cracking in several places. It was Nestor's smile – friendly, relieved… and strained.

Nestor knew, and he was trying not to show it. Nestor knew, and he was trying not to say it. And somehow it made it all come crashing down on him again. His embrace grew stronger as his grief bubbled up, and he felt Nestor's grip tighten in response.

"Nestor…" he got out, before the tears robbed him of his capacity to speak.

"I know, Hiccup," Nestor quietly replied, choking up. "I know."

Lothar approached from Nestor's back and bowed his head. "Zey do not know yet, do zey?" he quietly asked.

"No," said Nestor. He knew who zhey were, Hiccup's friends looking on in confusion, sensing the sudden change in mood. "But they need to."

They didn't stay confused for long.

In many ways, Lothar was proving to be the anti-Arc of Hyperions. The more he interacted with Hiccup and Nestor, the more his people-skills began to sharpen. Lothar helped to explain to Hiccup's friends the terrible news. It hadn't taken much convincing; Hiccup's tears had done most of the convincing for him.

Hiccup leaned on his always-faithful dragon while the others sat in a circle on the hard sand, taking the news of Astrid's death as well as could be expected. His wings folded behind him, the Skrill stood as a consoler and offered perspective where he could, though all the perspective in the world couldn't dull the sadness of losing a good friend.

Fishlegs had his knees drawn up to his chest and tears running down his thick cheeks. Ruffnut kept her hands on her face in a futile attempt to hide her own tears, her brother with his arm around her shoulders and an expression of surprising sympathy. Snotlout just looked… angry. Wordlessly, inconsolably angry.

Nestor kept his distance, along with Proto. He felt too guilty to join the circle, not after lying to them about Astrid's fate. It made sense at the time to hold off on the revelation until the time was right, but most folks didn't take kindly to being led on or lied to. Besides, they weren't his team. They were Hiccup's, and it was Hiccup's role to lead them through this trying time.

What is this gathering, Human Nestor? asked Proto, his voice casual and unemotional.

It didn't surprise Nestor that Proto would ask such a question, but the simplistic inquiry disturbed Nestor. "They're mourning a friend, Proto," he replied in a low tone. "That's what human organisms do when they lose another human organism they care about."

Did the human organism have a designation?

"Astrid."

Astrid's location unknown?

"No, Proto, she's dead. Do you understand what death is?"

Proto paused, no doubt searching his command structure for the definition. Death defined as permanently nonfunctional.

"Sounds right. It's one of us becoming permanently nonfunctional." Nestor tried to keep calm as he talked, but this conversation was rubbing him wrong. Any intelligent being, human or dragon, understood pain when they saw it. To not understand it marked you as psychotic or dangerous. Proto could research the definition of death, but it may not ever understand it. You had to have emotions to understand.

429 is also permanently nonfunctional, observed Proto.

"Yes, it is." An obvious thing to say, but he didn't have sage wisdom to give that was machine-appropriate.

This unit and 429 were designed to act in tandem, cohabitate, work together to maintain Transition Site. This unit not prepared for 429 to be… nonfunctional. This unit… will have to compensate for 429's absence in the Transition Site.

Nestor looked at Proto with newfound amazement, surprised by the machine's statement. That was how people dealt with death in the end – figuring out how to go on. When his own parents died, he had to learn that lesson himself. It was a bitter lesson indeed. Now he felt bad for judging the machine as harshly as he had. It did understand death… all too well, it seemed.

Then it occurred to him that Proto was still set on returning to that miserable cave, to fulfill his ancient duty, and that struck him as… well, unacceptable. Without Proto, he wouldn't have made it very far. He might have been marooned on that inhospitable island until he starved to death, and he certainly wouldn't have gotten the T-Node back, or have saved Hiccup's Dragon Squad from Alvin. He owed Proto for his help. More than that, he liked Proto, even if conversing with the machine for long gave him headaches.

Proto didn't deserve to go back to that cave.

"Proto, do you want to go back to the Transit Site?" he asked bluntly.

Proto's head-tentacle weaved to face him. Question not understood.

"If you had a choice, if left up to you, would you return?"

A longer pause this time. Proto, who was in a constant state of analysis every second of its existence, must not have ever considered such a question. It is this unit's duty to…

"Proto, they're all gone," interrupted Nestor. "The Artisans are gone, permanently nonfunctional. There is no more reason for you to be there. Chances are good that if you go back, you'll get as corrupted as 429 eventually."

Valid reasoning. What is alternative?

Nestor opened his arms wide. "You have plenty of alternatives. There's a whole world of choices out there for you, if you want them. The question is, what would be your choice?"

There came the longest pause yet from Proto, and for a moment Nestor feared he may have erred by giving the machine a choice. Maybe it wasn't designed to make its own choices. Decisions were hard. Most people were bad at making decisions, so why would a machine designed to obey rules react any better?

This unit… chooses to stay with Human Nestor, Proto answered, if Human Nestor finds this choice acceptable.

Nestor had a feeling Proto would choose to stay with him. A Guardian needs his engineer, and he was the closest thing Proto had to one. But he still felt warmly touched by Proto's words. On a day full of thoughts about lost friends, it was always good to gain a new one.

"It is… acceptable, Proto," he said.

Seeing the others in tears soon grew too much for Hiccup, and he excused himself before another dark cloud could suck him in. He just couldn't be by them right now. He was just barely under control as it was.

Yet he couldn't take his eyes off them, even after walking over to Nestor and asking him to tell his tale of enigmatic Guardians and old enemies. Such was the allure of grief, especially when you were grieving as well. He listened to Nestor's story, but his heart was with his squadmates and their pain, and he heard only half of it at best.

The squad's dragons were meandering nearby, trying to find things to nibble on or chase down other than rocks and dirt. Outside of Chomps, they weren't having much luck. Toothless kept to Hiccup's side, the dragon protective of his rider in the presence of Nestor's new friend, the Guardian named Proto, who stood near Nestor like the world's least-inspired statue. Hiccup might have been alarmed or fascinated with the machine ordinarily. Right now, he was too numb to be curious.

"… and then Proto tells me there's enough power left in the T-Node to take all of us here," continued Nestor, talking to Hiccup's backside without any hint of irritation at being somewhat ignored.

"You shouldn't have brought them," said Hiccup, still focused on his friends. "You didn't know what you were bringing them into."

"Actually, I did," countered Nestor solemnly. "Proto 'read' the T-Node that was left here, connecting himself to the Network, or what's left of it. He described the environment, and though it didn't sound like a great place to build a summer home we thought it was safe enough to come through together. They wanted to find you, Hiccup, just like me. Besides, I couldn't exactly stop them. Your friends aren't real good at obeying authority."

No, there weren't. But he loved them anyway.

"Proto also listed the most recent teleports to go through, which was you and me. The best guess we have as to why we ended up in two different locations was that the lack of a control system sent us on random journeys. That, or my barrier field messed things up. Or it could be the anomaly Proto mentioned."

Hiccup turned around and gestured at Nestor to elaborate. "What I got out of Proto's explanation was that there had been an unsuccessful teleport at some point in the past that Proto hadn't detected until now. Apparently, if you use a T-Node improperly, it's possible to get trapped between destinations, in something Proto called The Fold. An object, or person, gets stuck in limbo until someone comes along and fixes the problem. We were lucky that it didn't happen to Toothless, Nestor, and me, but it did happen to somebody… or something."

"Something?" Hiccup hated that word. It was almost as bad as it.

Nestor shrugged. "No idea. Proto couldn't tell how it got in the network. Proto then tells me that we had to clear it out or it might interfere with our travels again. So before we came here, Proto tried to bring it to our location, to force out the unsuccessful teleport. If it was hostile, we'd have the dragons deal with it. If it was useful or friendly, we'd take it with us. But much to our surprise, there was apparently one more active T-Node on the network. Somehow, the teleport went there instead. Proto couldn't tell us why. "

It was Hiccup's turn to shrug. "Maybe it's for the best. We really didn't need any more problems than we already have. So is the T-Node safe to use or not?"

Nestor nodded. "We now have the control we need to use the T-Nodes one last time."

Hiccup found himself staring at Proto and the pyramid-shaped device sticking out of its back. According to Nestor, this T-Node was the one previously buried in the sands of the Desolation. Upon teleporting into the desert, Proto immediately sniffed out the artifact Lothar had spent days searching for and dug it out of its sandy resting place so they could access it later. The one Proto had been tasked with maintaining for eons was back on Last Gasp. The T-Nodes can't teleport themselves, but they can be carried around to different locations without ill effect. That was why they were kept in sealed chambers for the most part. How this particular T-Node came to be left out in the Desolation was a mystery that Hiccup couldn't care less about.

Lothar had been sound asleep when the T-Node activated, and his Hyperion-enhanced Skrill senses had gone off like a thunderclap in his head – his words. Seeing that Hiccup had fallen asleep and not wishing to disturb Hiccup from a peaceful slumber, Lothar took the initiative and went investigating. He later apologized for leaving as he did, but it all came out good (or as good as it got). He ran into the gang while they were flying circles over the desert, unsure of where to start their search. Lothar recognized Nestor from conversations with Arc (the dragon couldn't stop talking about "his boy," it seemed) and he directed the group to Hiccup's campsite in the cave.

In the process, Lothar had reassured Nestor that Arc was alive. Hyperions were connected together by their essences, and Lothar would've felt Arc's demise if he had perished in the Repository. Nestor had been overjoyed at the news, and not just for Arc's sake. If his dragon mentor had survived, there was a good chance Saga and the others had as well.

"One last time?" asked Hiccup. "Are they out of power?"

"Almost," said Nestor. "The T-Nodes were all experimental, and apparently they drain powercores at an insane rate. Proto estimates that we have enough fuel left for one safe teleport. After that, you'd have a better chance of survival getting swallowed by a great white shark."

"Maybe it would be better if we all went back to Last Gasp. It might be closer to Riki Poka than this place."

"So you're pondering what I'm pondering. Going back to Riki Poka."

"Right, to find Arc and the others. Hopefully they have the same idea."

Nestor nodded, then gestured in Lothar's direction. "Lothar is an expert at navigation. I chatted with him during our brief flight together and he said that we're in Northern Africa and not all that far from the coastline. We could possibly reach Riki Poka in less than two weeks, as the dragon flies. From your home, it'd be closer to three weeks."

"So I get to see more of this wonderful desert. Whoopee." Hiccup's sarcasm came out thick enough to eat with a fork. "But at least we can send the gang home."

"We can send everyone home, Hiccup," clarified Nestor.

Hiccup narrowed his eyes once he caught the gist of Nestor's words. "You're doing it again, you know."

"Doing what?"

"Trying to convince me to stay home. I thought we were past all that."

"Hiccup…" Nestor shook his head, frustrated. "You need to be with your friends and family now. You suffered a loss, a big one. No one can ask you to go any further. I can't ask you to…"

"You're not asking!" blurted out Hiccup. "You've never asked. That's the point. My reasons for coming with you haven't changed."

"Hiccup…"

"Do you think the fight's over? Tell me you think the fight's over, and I'll go back home. Tell me honestly." His words were harsh, his eyes all but daring Nestor to lie to him.

Nestor sadly shook his head again. "You know I can't say that."

"And I can't go home until this is over." He pointed a finger at his own chest. "Remember, Viking? Stubbornness issues and all that?"

"If you're trying to prove something…"

"I'm trying to stand for the one thing worth standing for," said Hiccup. "Astrid stood for the same thing, and I know she would want me to keep fighting."

Nestor could see the determination on Hiccup's face. This conversation was a lost cause, and he knew it. "Okay, then this is the last time I try dissuading you. You're right – we're past this. I just want to say…"

"Don't," said Hiccup.

"I was going to say…"

"You don't need to. But right now… I really need to change the subject," pleaded Hiccup. "Please."

Nestor nodded, seeing the pained look in Hiccup's eyes. He understood all too well. Talking about something didn't always make it better, especially when the wound was as raw as this one was.

"How about we talk about Alvin?" suggested Nestor.

Hiccup groaned at the mention of his chronic adversary. "I honestly thought he was done with me, that he contracted scurvy or something and was laid up on Outcast Island. I hadn't dealt with him in over six months."

"Yet you never mentioned him once," pointed out Nestor. "Why?"

"I asked my dad that after the first time I tangled with Alvin. Dad had kept him out of our bedtime stories, so I didn't know much about him until he tried invading Berk a while back. Dad said guys like Alvin live to be recognized and remembered. They live for their reputation. The best way to defeat them is to act like they don't exist… along with banishing. That part's important."

Nestor eyed Hiccup suspiciously. "That's it? Most people trumpet their victories over two-dimensional villains like Alvin, but they're quiet about the bad things, the things they aren't proud of."

"Well…" Hiccup shifted his feet, hesitating.

"C'mon, Hiccup," insisted Nestor. "I had to fight one of your enemies for a change, and I almost died in the process, I might add. The least you could do is give me the whole reason why he was persona non grata in your stories."

Hiccup didn't appreciate the guilt trip, not in the mood he was in, but he couldn't deny the fact that Nestor had walked blindly into a fight with one of the bigger threats in his life. He sighed, secretly kicking himself for asking for a change of topic without being specific.

"You have to understand the Alvin's goal is to figure out how to turn dragons into weapons, and he was so determined that we had to train more and more dragons not because it was a great way to travel or because they were part of our lives, but to become exactly what Alvin wanted them for – weapons. It got bad enough that after my last battle with Alvin we had half the village rallying for a counterattack. I'm talking scorched earth – reducing Outcast Island to embers and ashes. People were tired of Alvin and they wanted a final solution.

"I remember feeling horrified at the idea. I helped train a lot of those dragons that would be going out to destroy all those Outcasts. I had to argue long and hard to convince my dad to stand up to the crowd, and he did. It helped that he agreed with me, that he believed there was a line you crossed before you became just like Alvin and we were right up against it. So there wasn't a full-scale attack and we went back to a more peaceful lifestyle. It helped that Alvin disappeared for a time, though obviously he wasn't done scheming."

"Sounds like it all worked out okay," observed Nestor.

"Yeah, except that the Gunnarr got wind of some of our exploits and it put them on war footing," said Hiccup. "We traded the somewhat incompetent Outcasts for the far better organized Gunnarr. You know the rest."

"So that's why forming a Dragon Squad was such a big deal to you," asked Nestor. "You were afraid of crossing that line between who you are and who Alvin is."

"Silly, right?" said Hiccup.

"Hardly," Nestor said softly, a wistful look in his eyes. "I almost blew past that line myself today, and with Snotlout of all people."

Hiccup chuckled once at mention of Snotlout. "Yeah, he can bring out the worst in anyone if he tries hard enough."

Nestor chuckled as well, satisfied with Hiccup's explanation. Then his face grew serious again. "Lothar mentioned you had some kind of mental battle?"

"That's something I want to save for another day," insisted Hiccup. "It hit a little too… close." He patted above his heart to get the point across, and Nestor nodded his acceptance.

The sun was touching the horizon now, the heat fading with the daylight. Night would be on them soon, Hiccup realized, and they couldn't linger any longer at the watering hole without inviting trouble from the resident Skrills. There would also be worried adults back at Berk, anxious for their wayward and troublesome youth to come home.

He hated leaving things like this, giving his friends a heavy dose of heartbreak and then sending them on their way, but their time was up. All that was left was to say their goodbyes again… and hope that their goodbyes weren't final.

The Dragon Squad Vikings must have noticed the lateness of the hour and had risen to their feet as Hiccup and Nestor approached, their expression only slightly less devastated than before as they awaited Hiccup's orders. Snotlout avoided eye contact with everyone, too angry or too miserable to interact, but he was the exception.

Ruffnut provided the last big surprise of the reunion. She didn't even give Hiccup and Nestor the chance to open their mouths before she opened hers and uttered the most surprising thing she'd ever said, topping all the other surprising things coming out of her mouth lately.

"I'm coming with you guys."

The others weren't sure they heard her right. Tuffnut appeared to be having a brain malfunction, his lips moving unintelligibly. Nestor took the declaration the calmest, half-expecting something like this thanks to his prior conversation with her. Only Lothar and Proto, the other members of the group who had the means to voice their opinions, had no reaction. They watched the ensuing discussion passively and curiously.

"Ruff, this better be a joke," said Tuffnut, getting his lips to work properly.

"Why would you think it's a joke?" she shot back, wiping a few lingering tears off her face.

Tuffnut, never one for entertaining complex thoughts, was in over his head. "Because… ah… guys, help me out."

"Ruff, if this is about Astrid…" started Hiccup.

"It is," she admitted. "You better believe it is. But you need the help, and this is the last chance I'll have to give it. Unlike you guys, I was paying attention when Nestor was talking to Proto. If we go home, we won't be able to come back… and I'm not staying home when I can do something to help."

"Maybe we should sleep on this," said Fishlegs. "Talk about it tomorrow?"

"How about a week?" said Tuffnut.

"We can't stay any longer," said Hiccup. "We decide this now." He adopted his best Dragon Rider face, the one that supposedly exuded authority but usually elicited laughter from his friends, and looked Ruffnut straight in the eyes. "It's a good offer, Ruff…"

"What?" exclaimed Tuffnut, before his sister's fist found his stomach and silenced him again.

"It's a good offer," repeated Hiccup, "but on your own, I'm not sure what you could do."

"I'm not on my own. I'll take Barf-Belch." She waved to the Zippleback behind her, whose two heads were watching the heated discussion with rapt interest.

"WHAT?" Tuffnut dodged back before receiving an elbow to the chest. "You can't be serious!"

"You can hitch a ride with Snotlout or Fishlegs," explained Ruffnut.

"Not the point. He's our dragon. Do you even know how to fly him alone?"

Ruffnut opened her mouth to reply, then closed it when she realized her brother had a good point. "Okay, there'll be a learning curve…"

"You do realize we're going up against some serious threats, Ruffnut," stated Nestor calmly. "Enemies that make Alvin look as dangerous as a chipmunk."

"Not to mention you're leaving me behind," added Tuffnut. "ME! We're Ruffnut and Tuffnut! Guys, you're not doing a real good job of changing her mind."

"I'm not trying to," said Hiccup. "Ruff, honestly, I don't want to put any more of us in the line of fire. But I'd be crazy if I said we didn't need the help, and a hypocrite to boot. If you want to do this, I won't stop you."

"This is crazy," Snotlout remarked morosely. "But crazy seems to be the order of the day."

Realizing that she really only had one person to convince, Ruffnut turned to her brother, who stared at her with genuine fear. But instead of insults or fisticuffs, she put a reassuring hand to his shoulder. It was possibly the warmest gesture shared between the siblings that didn't ultimately lead to violence.

"Tuff, this is important," she said. "This is bigger than you and me. I've been kicking myself ever since I watched Hiccup and Astrid fly off together. I wanted to go with them, and I didn't have the guts to say anything until now. I want to be more than just a pain in everyone's behind, and I think you do as well. You always boast that you're the deadliest thing in the air. Don't you think it's time to prove it?"

"Yeah, but I never meant doing it so far away from home that we can't sleep in our own beds afterwards."

Ruffnut sighed. "I get that. You love Berk too much to leave it. So I'm not asking you to go. I'm asking you to let me go instead."

Ruffnut's words, as earnest as she'd ever been with her brother, didn't seem to be helping reduce her brother's fear. "And if I lose you like we lost Astrid?" he said, confessing the true source of his fear. "What do I do then, Ruff? You can't promise me everything's going to be okay."

Ruffnut shook her head. This was harder than she realized it was going to be. Even after years of reciprocal torment between the two of them, she felt like she was asking her right arm to stand still for an amputation. "No, I can't. But I still have to do this. If Hiccup and Astrid can do it…"

"All right, all right." Tuffnut could only take so much touchy-feely business. "I get it. But there's one catch, sis… I'm coming with you."

Ruffnut's eyes widened. "What? Idiot, I just got done saying…"

"We're a team, sis, and that's never going to change. So if you feel this strongly about it, then you're going to need my help. That way, if you fall to your death down the road, at least I get to watch."

Two smiles emerged on two faces who normally only smiled when something was exploding dramatically. Then the craziest thing happened – Ruffnut reached out her arms and hugged her brother, who looked around helplessly while flailing his arms, unsure about what to do with them. He settled on giving Nestor a dirty look.

"I blame you for this, you know," he said. Nestor had to look away so not to show Ruffnut his widening smile.

It was Snotlout who ruined the moment by letting out a gigantic groan. "Well, that's just great. So now I have to choose between going home with Fishlegs and trying to explain all this to everyone back home, or volunteering to go with all of you."

"I'd volunteer myself," said Fishlegs, "but my parents need me to shovel the snow off our roof…"

"It's okay, guys," said Hiccup. "You two need to go back and tell my dad what's happened. You also need to take the artifact on Last Gasp away and hide it somewhere no one's going to find it."

The relived expressions on Snotlout and Fishlegs were hard to miss. Privately, Hiccup was glad Snotlout and Fishlegs hadn't decided to join their quest. Fishlegs didn't have the stomach for battle, and Snotlout was more talk than talent. They were perfectly brave when it was required and they were defending their village, but in a foreign land against obscenely powerful enemies, Hiccup wasn't certain they'd fare well.

And then there was Ruff and Tuff, who had ceased the hugging and had somehow gotten into a brand-new argument, the twins now stuck in a mutual headlock, their helmet horns grinding against each other as they hurled petty insults.

As Snotlout and Fishlegs left to mount their dragons, Nestor moved closer to Hiccup and waved a hand at the arguing Twins. "Is this actually a good idea?"

"I really don't know," said Hiccup.

"I hope zey know how to hunt," commented Lothar, his reptilian face at ease with all the insanity, as if he accepted these developments as the way humanity worked. "I have not enough jerky to go around."

We watched Snotlout, Fishlegs, Fenrir, and Chomps disappear into a sphere of swirling light not long after the conversation ended, Proto used the T-Node mounted on his back to turn my friends into energy or dust or whatever you become when you get teleported. We waited for Proto to give us the word that they had made it safely to Last Gasp, all the while watching for our territorial Skrills to arrive any minute. Nerve-racking to say the least, and I don't think I breathed at all until we got confirmation a few minutes later that Snotlout and Fishlegs made it back in one piece.

I hope they'll be okay. It's not easy to be the ones left behind, even if it might save their lives.

After the teleporting was done, Proto absorbed the artifact into itself and told us that it would fulfill its duty by keeping the T-Node safely encased in its myssteel body. Since the T-Node doesn't have enough power to be useable, I guess that's that.

I can't say I trust the Guardian yet, and I'm not alone. Lothar gives Proto a skeptical eye from time to time, like he expects it to try to kill at any moment. Lothar mentioned in passing how he had never met a Guardian that he didn't have to destroy eventually. I hate to say it, but I've had the same experience. Still, Nestor trusts Proto, and I trust Nestor, and I'm willing to give Proto the benefit of the doubt.

By the way, the Skrills never did show up again, at least not while we were at the watering hole. Thank the Gods for small favors.

Lothar leads our formation. The group's pretty quiet right now. Nestor is asleep on top of Proto, snoring like an irritated wild boar. I'd say he deserves the rest.

Ruffnut and Tuffnut are behaving themselves on Barf-Belch. I think the enormity of what happened to Astrid and their decision to come with me has hit, and their usual antics are curtailed for now. I wonder if I was smart to let them come along. It probably wasn't smart, but I feel better having them around. I feel like home isn't as far away as it used to be.

We're flying at a higher altitude now, above all that endless sand and zipping wind, a white half-moon lighting our way. It's a poor substitute for a hot sun and it's getting chilly, but I can handle chilly.

Toothless seems in better spirits now. Night flying is his specialty, after all. Wish I could say the same.

I feel numb, equalized, the good feelings offsetting the bad ones. I know that I have friends willing to leave their homes with me, travel with me, fight with me. We have new allies, a destination, and my heart tells me that we'll find our missing friends in time. I have a lot to be thankful for…

But always there's Astrid… and…and…

Astrid.

I hope you know I love you, Astrid. I wanted to build a life with you, have a family with you. You were my friend, the one that I needed when I felt insecure or defeated, the one I could count on to kick my rear when it needed kicking. You were all I needed to stay the man I am, to become the champion I need to be.

That was all taken from us, all of it… and it drives me to the brink when I think about it.

But here I am, doing what I know you'd want me to do. I'm finishing this, Astrid. I know there's a big battle down the road. The Alchemist is gone, but her power remains, and we have to stop those who would wield it, before they tear this world apart. For Berk, for all my friends, for your friends, for everything we believe in, everything that's worth fighting for, we have to win.

I still have the myssteel ring I made for you, the one I didn't get a chance to give you. I find myself taking it out of my pocket and palming it, like I'm deciding on the best time to chuck it, let the Desolation hide it away forever. Yet I always put it back… because of the dream I can't shake.

It's not a sleeper's dream. It just a daydream, a foolish dream. It's the one where you're waiting for me farther down my path, armed with a beautiful smile and your axe strapped on your back. You're waiting for me to catch up to you, and you've been waiting a long time.

That's why I have to keep the ring – so I can give it to you when we meet again.

Like I said, a foolish dream, but right now it's the only dream I have left.