Here we are then, at the end, at last.


Epilogue

Step after step, Hiccup dragged himself further and further up the stony slopes, his physical form throbbing with the aches and pains of an arduous journey.

Astrid had initially insisted on coming with him, but had been easily dissuaded once Hiccup had described the fundamentals of his relationship with Toothless a little more deeply and emotionally.

After that, she had accepted fully that this was something that the young man needed to do alone.

The trouble was, Hiccup wasn't even sure that it was the right thing to do any more.

His legs might have been ready to give way at any moment, but his mind was racing as fast as the winds around him, with thoughts chasing each other round so fast as to create a twister of contorted logic strains and demented notions.

However, in spite of everything he told himself, and everything he then thought to convince himself otherwise, there was once constant in the whole mix.

Hiccup would do anything to keep his best friend.

It was that simple.

Ceasing his steady plodding, the young man leaned against a large boulder and stared back down the scree slope and off into the distance.

The northern horizon was pure white with Odin's ice, and the far ocean faded slowly from blue to grey, before finally becoming one with the majestic infinity of Valhalla.

Much nearer lay the town of Berk, with countless plumes of comforting smoke rising from many fewer chimneys...

The smoke of dragons was far purer than that released by the impure combustion of old trees, and rose up as isotropic, grey streamers to mingle with the sooty remnants of Viking comfort.

Hiccup's mind was going berserk.

Never before had he mentally described a scene with such wordy complexity.

All the more reason to find Toothless and put his aching skull at rest, the boy thought wearily.

Many times over had the past showed him the dangers of excessive thinking.

Clambering up to stand atop the smoothly spherical stone which sat so lonely on everlasting slopes, Hiccup paused to place his burden down to one side, before sitting atop the great boulder.

This were surely as good a place as any to await his friend's return.

And wait he did.

As the Sun rose higher and higher in the sky, her intense rays beating down upon the land with a ferocity almost unheard of for even the later springs months, Hiccup simply sat, pondering life's mysteries.

The young man had, during his seven year exile, had plenty of time to consider the universe and everything that resides within it.

Toothless had been there, to usher him further and further, gently guiding his thoughts down the right paths, until finally the young man had the whole of the existence laid out before him in the form of nothing but ideas – simple words.

Thought experiments combined with fact and observation to produce a functional, yet still beautiful model of the physical realm, which was then introduced to life's emergent qualities; emotions, opinions, ethics, and morals.

Suddenly, everything had been redefined, right before his very eyes.

Actions which, in the past, had seemed right and just, were now immoral and cancerous – and, of course, the complete opposite was suddenly true for countless scenarios, too.

Only religion lay beyond his grasp – the realm of the Gods was too difficult to justify to himself, yet too difficult to simply let go; and why should he?

The journey of discovery which he and Toothless had shared now meant more to him than almost anything else in the whole world – and Hiccup wanted that back.

He needed it.

Finally, around midday, as the heat grew to intense levels, the young man's patience was rewarded.

A lithe black form was spotted winding its way up the mountain slope, darted from rock to rock, making no effort to conceal itself.

Hiccup stood up, his face stretching into an uncontrollable smile.

His best friend.

As he neared his rider, the Night Fury's pace slowed to a steady plod, until finally he reached five metres from the boy at nothing more than walking pace, and simply stopped, and sat back on his haunches.

His ears were pricked, his deep, emerald eyes were wide and curious, and his head was tilted very slightly to one side.

And in that moment, Hiccup was taken by the memories...

This was exactly the face that Toothless had made when Hiccup had approached him in the clearing off Raven's Point for the very first time, all those years ago.

There was apprehension, true, but it was dwarfed by the curiosity of a dragon seeking company.

"Hey bud," Hiccup spoke, still smiling, and Toothless did his very best to mirror his master's grin; the young man could barely constrain his laughter.

"I've got something for you," he continued, stooping down to retrieve this most prized possession from the warm stone upon which it lay. "It's...well, you can see, can't you? "

As Toothless' snout moved forwards to examine this new contraption, Hiccup held it up to shield his face, the guilt raging in his heart now soaring to almost unbearable levels.

Very soon, they would breach the walls of their emotional prison, and Hiccup would snap once more.

"Are you wondering how it works?" the young man spoke with a grimace, and Toothless cooed softly, before pressing his nose to his rider's hand.

"I am." A simple enough answer.

"It's...it's a remodelled tailfin. I completed the designs for it a few years ago, after having watched the way you flew for long enough for me to understand the mechanics.

It..." Hiccup paused, and shut his eyes tightly before continuing. "It should allow you to fly alone. You'll no longer need the harness...or a rider."

Toothless drew back, his eyes still wide with curiosity.

There was nothing malicious there, no hint of anger or regret.

He then turned just enough to present his tail to the man upon whom he relied for so long to fly; the Night Fury now wished to be set free.

Now shaking a little, Hiccup bent down and fastened to prosthetic fin to the black dragon's tail, slotted it into the familiar position, and closed the additional straps which would allow self-regulated flight.

Straightening back up, he took several steps back, and simply stared at his friend.

Toothless' reaction was to be expected, for only a few seconds after he was reunited potential to fly, the Night Fury blasted off into the sky as fast as he could possibly go.

Hiccup was almost knocked back off the boulder by the sheer force of the air currents generated by the black dragon's vertical takeoff.

Sitting back against the baking warmth of the stony slope, the young man watched his steed go wild once more.

The small black dot that was Toothless was now so high up...Hiccup could see him twirling and whirling through the air, his patterns as erratic as his mind must be.

Free at last.

Hiccup closed his eyes, and began to cry.

But only a minute later, a sudden crunching sound and the rush of air that accompanied it told the Viking that his dragon had landed once more, very close by.

This was not expected.

Quickly picking himself up off the ground, Hiccup wiped the tears from his eyes and stared curiously at the Night Fury.

Toothless had landed back right where he had been before, but now his face was different.

The dragon's eyes were soft and bulging, and it only took Hiccup a second to realise that his best friend had also been crying.

"T-Toothless?" he stuttered, stumbling a little as he walked forward.

The Night Fury bowed his head and closed his eyes, before taking a single step forward and meeting Hiccup's embrace.

And there they stood for some time, human and dragon, forever friends.

"It did not feel right," the black dragon intoned at length, and Hiccup chuckled. "Flying, free from the physical burden that is you is one thing...but flying happily is something else entirely. I cannot believe that had ever thought about leaving...and even now that you present me with this gift, that you grant me free flight once more, all I want is to share that joy with you."

"Then we'll be free together, then?" Hiccup asked, hold the Night Fury's saddened gaze.

"Together," Toothless replied simply, before trying once more to smile.

Hiccup burst out laughing.

"You're never going to stop trying to get that right, are you?" He spoke, moving backwards and wiping his eyes once more.

His laugh was returned by the Night Fury's own deep guffaw.

But then the black dragon lowered himself down to the ground, and a rush of excitement took Hiccup's breath away.

"Time to fly," he breathed, before stepping forwards and climbing up onto the dragon's neck.

This was intense; never before had he flown upon a dragon without having to steer it.

A second later, and they were off, screaming up through the air.

The Night Fury's long, enforced abstinence from flying had done nothing to his fitness or prowess, this much was obvious.

Hiccup hugged the scales and held on tight, staring around with joy.

This was it.

As Toothless finally alighted back where they had taken off, Hiccup slid from his back and sank to his knees, breathing heavily.

It had been so long...too long.

"Wow," he spoke at length, staring at the ground, his heart pounding ferociously, "I didn't expect that to be quite so – Toothless, what are you doing?"

The Night Fury's behaviour had suddenly changed.

Having brought it round in front of him, Toothless was staring intently at the tip of his tail, his eyes now filled with suspicion and anger.

Hiccup knew exactly what he was thinking, and what was about to happen...and he was neither able to, nor did he want to do anything to stop it.

For the first few seconds, the Night Fury did nothing but scrape his tail across the stones.

But then, with a few short, sharp whacks, he shattered the metal frame, tore the woven leather, and finally flicked his tail so hard that the ruined prosthesis soared a hundred feet before smashing down upon the stones of the mountain slope.

And that was that.

Hiccup sighed.

"I'll get to work rebuilding the old one then, shall I?" he chuckled, before walking up to place a hand upon the smug dragon's nose.

"It might take a while..."

"I can wait," replied Toothless simply.

Turning back to look down the rugged slopes and back towards the Viking village of Berk, something dawned on Hiccup.

"Toothless," he said irritably, "couldn't you have waited until we were back at Berk before smashing that fin?" The Night Fury's apologetic gaze now carried only one message – "Oops."

Hiccup sighed once more.

"Come on, bud, let's go home."

"Home," the Night Fury chimed in happily, before the two of them set off down the stony mountain side and back towards Berk, best friends once more.


Well, my friends, I hope you enjoyed the journey, for it is now at an end.

I had plans to do some sequels to this, and have almost layed the foundations already...but my willpower has drained somewhat since those ideas first came up. I'm now deviating into all kinds of other fanfiction, from Avater: the Last Airbender to Doctor Who to Stargate to Warhammer 40K to a mish-mash of my own from various sci-fi universes.

I was hoping that someone with a bit of talent would be game enough to take up with this story where I've left off...I can send this person all of the material I have - that includes a full plan for the first and primary sequel, as well as numerous sheets of notes on what to remember within each chapter.

Any takers? At all? If you're interested, get in touch!

But for now, tschuess to all!

Lumpyness.