Chapter Twelve: Good-byes are too tough for the Toughest

Matt folded the straps around the leather chest plate of his armor. Setting it reverently in a chest, he stared at the folded equipment. Alone in Hiccup's room, Matt stood there in his slightly torn Levi's and a new pair of Viking styled fur boots. His upper body was wrapped in bandages, because his burns opened back up from the fighting he did two days ago.

"Has it been that long?" he whispered to himself, looking out of the window. Two days ago was a day he never wanted to live through again. Thinking about how he almost lost his life again, Matt shook his head at the thought. Then another thought came into his head that ran chills down his spine. He almost lost Hiccup, Toothless, Heather, Astrid, and his best friend Wasatch; not to mention the rest of the riders whose lives were in danger.

Shaking his head from the thought, Matt grabbed his helmet that was lying next to the chest. Staring at the black and purple helmet, he could see hundreds of scratches and dings in it. Sighing, he then placed it in the chest with the rest of his armor. Closing the lid, Matt then threw on a fur coat that Hiccup gave him. With his wounds opened up, a shirt was almost impossible to put on. Grabbing the chest with both hands, Matt limped out of the room. Walking down the stairs, he saw both Hiccup and Valka sitting on some chairs waiting for him to come down.

"Hey, let me help with that." Hiccup said, grabbing the chest out of Matt's hands.

"Thanks…" Matt whispered, not looking at Hiccup's face.

Standing there for a few moments in silence, Hiccup broke the awkwardness by saying "I wish you didn't have to go…"

"We both know I have to." Matt replied, finally looking at his friend. "I've been gone for 10 days. During which the ski season started and no one can rent or buy any boards. I'm sure I already have the FBI looking for me now…"

"FBI?" Hiccup asked in confusion.

Laughing quietly, Matt grabbed Hiccup's shoulder and spun him around. Walking with him towards the door he answered simply "People who look for other people."

"Wait a second Matt" Valka's voice called behind them.

Stopping, Matt turned to see Valka walking up to him. "Thank you for all you've done to help Hiccup." She said quietly. Rubbing her hand down Matt's cheek, she added "It's good to know that our descendants are as brave and strong as we are. Perhaps stronger."

Smiling weakly at Valka, Matt grabbed her in a hug. "Thank you Valka. I'm glad that I got to meet you personally."

Separating from each other, Matt turned and followed Hiccup out of the door. Eyes adjusting to the brightness, Matt saw the entire Dragon Academy sitting on Hiccup's porch, as well as all their dragons. Wasatch was also there, laying on the ground with Toothless. Though they both were hurting from the battle, they were recovering fine. Even Wasatch's partially torn out back.

Looking at the crowd, Matt fought hard to hold back the tears.

"Well…I guess this is it…" Astrid said, walking up to Matt "Thank you so much for coming."

Forcing a laugh, Matt replied "I'm so glad you came by to pick me up." Grabbing her arm, he added "Next time you come visit though, please do it when Berk isn't in trouble. Or when Hiccup isn't in mortal danger."

Laughing, Astrid lightly hit Matt's shoulder. "Guess I won't be coming to visit at all with those rules."

Smiling, Matt was approached by the twins, who both extended their hands to him. Shaking both their hands, he said "By the way. You asked how I shocked Dagur when I first came here." Pulling out his sword, he said "This is how."

"Told you it was magic." Ruffnut said, glaring at her brother.

Shaking his head, Matt saw Eret and Fishlegs follow them. "You always leave super early." Fishlegs said with a disappointed look on his face. "I have so many questions about Wasatch!"

"Well…maybe you can find them out yourself!" Matt said with a smile "I'm sure Wasatch will be staying here for a bit after I leave."

Smiling back at Matt, Fishlegs added "Thank you for coming back…"

Nodding, Matt turned to Eret. Extending his hand out, Eret said "I've only met two people that showed more courage and bravery in battle. Stoick and Hiccup." Letting the compliment sink in for Matt, he continued "I can see that you are related to them just by the way you act."

"Thank you Eret." Matt said, grabbing the hand "Thank you for letting me recover on your ship…and for fighting with Hiccup."

Only smiling, Eret stepped away, letting Snotlout walk up to Matt.

Snotlout immediately started to say "So…since you're leaving, who's going to be taking care of Heather? I mean, I am the man for the job obviously, but..."

Frowning, Matt was about to say something until Heather appeared from behind Snotlout. Shoving him away, she said "I can take care of myself Snotlout."

"Can you?" Matt asked softly, a small grin appearing on his face. "Last I remembered, I had to save you twice…no wait, three times. I forgot that I found you on the island all alone."

"Shut up…" Heather said, trying to hide her smile.

Both Matt and Heather looked at each other, not wanting to let the moment pass. Leaning down, Matt kissed Heather, who in turn wrapped her arms around him. Holding each other, they never let go.

Astrid walked next to Hiccup with a small grin. Ready to pull a fast one on him, Astrid was surprised as Hiccup turned and grabbed her. Pulling her into him, he kissed her. "I forgot to tell you how much I love you." He whispered, pulling Astrid closer to him.

"I love you too Hiccup Haddock." Astrid replied with a smile.

Finally separating, Heather said "I'm going to miss you Matt." She looked down at the ground, unable to look at Matt in the eyes.

"Please don't make it harder than it already is…" Matt replied, choking back on his tears and moving her hair out of her eyes "I don't want to go…I just…I'm not supposed to be here…"

"I know…" Heather replied, forcing a smile on her face. Lifting Matt's chin, she said "Go. Remember that I told you that."

"You're always behind me and my choices huh?" Matt whispered back, this time the tears were flowing freely down his face. Looking to Heather's eyes, he choked out the words "I told you good-byes are too tough."

Smiling, Heather also let her tears run down her face. Taking a step back from him, Heather mouthed "I love you."

Sobbing, Matt mouthed back "I love you too."

At that, Heather turned and ran from the crowd. She couldn't stand it anymore, knowing there was a good chance that she would never see Matt again.

Watching her leave broke his heart. Matt was sobbing like a little kid who scraped his knee. Putting his hand over his eyes to try and stop the tears flowing, he couldn't stop feeling the guilt that he broke her heart as well.

"Matt…" Hiccup's voice sounded.

Sniffing his nose, Matt turned to see Hiccup next to him. "Yes Hiccup?"

"I can come to the cave with you…" Hiccup said quietly, walking closer to Matt "I can help you get your stuff sorted out."

Shaking his head, Matt replied "No. I don't think I can handle another good-bye." Reaching, he grabbed Hiccup and pulled him into a hug. "It's going to be hard enough to say bye to Wasatch."

Nodding, Hiccup began to cry as well. At that moment, a feeling came over the group. It was a feeling like someone had died, or was dying. It was an inexplicable sadness.

Pulling away from Hiccup, Matt whispered "Take care Hiccup. Don't let Dagur get the jump on you."

Forcing a smile, Hiccup said "Don't worry about me Matt…I'm already thinking of how to counter Death Killer and Dagur himself."

Nodding, Matt whispered "Good-bye Hiccup."

With that, Matt picked up the chest and limped to Wasatch. Wasatch, seeing Matt come up to him, lowered his head so that Matt could get on.

Sitting on Wasatch's neck instead of standing, Matt looked at all his friends. Waving good-bye, they all shouted different things in their own way.

"Take care Matt!" Fishlegs shouted.

"Don't worry about Heather!" Snotlout added, waving his arm frantically.

"Be safe Matt…" Astrid shouted, trying to keep herself from crying with Hiccup.

Hiccup didn't say anything. All he did was stand there and wave.

Sobbing uncontrollably, Matt flew Wasatch up into the air. Soaring above the village, Matt made way to the cave up in the main mountain. The wind on his wet face made him shiver with the cold. Ignoring it, he continued to fly towards the cave. Not saying anything to Wasatch, Matt let him land softly at the edge of the entrance. Dismounting slowly, Matt stumbled with the chest in his arms. Limping into the cave, he gently set down the chest and tucked it away in a small crevice. Looking up, he saw what he expected. The cave was open and ready to allow him back to where he came from. Staring at it for a second, he then walked over to Wasatch who almost looked at him like he was pleading with Matt not to go.

Reaching under the Skrill's neck, Matt began to unstrap his bindings off of Wasatch. "I'm sorry boy…" Lifting the bindings off, he continued "I'm so sorry that I couldn't ride you more than we wanted too…"

Wasatch just looked at him. Even though he couldn't speak, his eyes were saying a thousand words to Matt.

Sobbing, Matt pulled the dragon's head into his chest. Holding him for a second, Matt was shocked by the Skrill. Smiling through his tears, Matt drew his sword and tapped Wasatch a few times; shocking him back.

Sobbing, Matt stepped back from his friend. Turning around, he opened the chest and set the sword in it. Closing the lid, Matt then laid Wasatch's saddle over the chest. Sobbing, Matt turned to look at Wasatch who just stared back at him.

"Good-bye Wasatch." Matt whispered, starting to walk backwards.

The dragon roared back, replying to Matt's parting words.

Staring at the dragon, Matt walked backwards; not wanting to leave Wasatch. Finally, Matt was able to rip his gaze away and began to limp into the bigger cavern. Entering the cavern, Matt collapsed on his knees. Tears were flowing down his face like small stream. Screaming as loud as he could, Matt vented his frustration out. Falling on his hands, Matt kept on sobbing uncontrollably. Looking up, Matt began to crawl farther into the cave, fighting everything in his mind and body too not turn around.


Heather was sitting on a snowy hill, overlooking the ocean. Tears were still flowing down her face. Hearing something land behind her, she turned to see Hiccup and Astrid dismount from their dragons. Walking towards her, Hiccup asked "Heather…are you going to be ok?"

Forcing a smile, Heather replied "Ok? Yeah I'll be fine. The question is will I be the same? Not a chance."

Both Hiccup and Astrid sat down on both sides of her. Hiccup's face still had some tears on his face, while Astrid had a straight face, but had tear stains running down her cheeks. Staring at the ocean, Heather asked "Do you think he'll come back?"

Shaking his head, Hiccup replied "I don't know. I hope he does, but this could be the last time we see him." Turning to Heather, he added "Maybe he'll come back in another 6 years."

"I hope sooner than that." Heather responded, looking up into the overcast sky. "A lot can change in 6 years."

"But not the way you feel about each other." Astrid said with a smile "Trust me…you'll never forget the feelings you had with each other."

Nodding, Heather started to resume crying. Astrid then pulled her closer in a hug, trying to comfort her. Staring at the two, Hiccup then turned to look into the ocean below them. Staring at it blankly, Hiccup thought to himself "I guess he's really gone. I hope he has a normal life after what happened to his back…"

At that thought, Hiccup smiled and said out loud "Matt would be so mad at us right now."

"How do you figure?" Astrid asked, looking at Hiccup. Heather also turned to Hiccup.

"Look at us!" Hiccup said gesturing to the entire group "Matt would want us to move on! He'd be furious if he knew he was the reason we stopped exploring, training our dragons, living life." At that, Hiccup looked back at the ocean "We all know that he would want us to start living our normal, everyday lives…"

"If you're trying to make us feel better, it's not really working." Astrid said with an annoyed tone "But…I see what you mean. Matt would want us to do something that would take our minds off of him."

"So…who wants to fly to the cove?" Hiccup asked with a more natural smile "For Matt's sake."

"Only if I can come." A voice shouted above them.

Looking up in shock, the three stared in disbelief at what they saw.

Matt was riding Wasatch and slowly gliding in a big circle around them. He was wearing his armor and helmet. Letting Wasatch land in front of the group, the dragon roared with happiness. Letting Matt step off of him, Wasatch then radiated with lightning; unable to control his happiness.

"Matt!?" Hiccup shouted, staring at the approaching and limping friend "What are you doing? I thought that you were going home!"

Stopping a few feet from his surprised friends, Matt looked at all three of them.

Nodding, he said "There are a few reasons why I'm staying." Holding out his hand, he began to number them "First off. You guys would be lost without me. I mean look at you right now! Already falling apart." Looking at Berk, he added "I mean seriously. What would you do without me?"

Raising a second finger on his extended hand, he continued "Secondly. I'd lose my head the next time I came here. Last time it was my leg and now it's my back. I better play it safe and stay here." Looking down slightly he added "I also have no idea what I'd say to explain what happened to my back. I mean the leg was believable last time, because people break legs snowboarding all the time. But people getting hit by lightning and having burns all over their backs isn't as common as you might think when it comes to snowboarding." Sarcasm was rich in his voice, causing the three to chuckle a little.

"Third." Matt kept going "Wasatch. I owe him a lot more than just the few days of riding I put on him. He saved my life twice now, was thrashed by Death Killer because I made him fight when he was exhausted, and I didn't want to go and look for him again if I came back."

"Fourth." Matt added, breathing a little heavier "I want to stay. This is my home. Technically, I died six years ago when I had to leave here the first time. I never wanted to go back since this is my home now."

Holding out all five fingers on his hand, he finally said "Fifth and last reason. I can't leave here knowing that Dagur is still out there with Death Killer. Even though he really has no fleet to invade Berk, he will still come and try to hunt you all down. I can't leave knowing I'm not helping with the mess I created."

"Matt." Hiccup stepped in "Are you sure you want to stay? I mean, what about your family and friends?"

"They're right here." Matt said gesturing towards the three standing in front of him. Grabbing Hiccup's arm, he added "I'm sure Hiccup. I want to stay here. I want to live with you guys." Looking down slightly, he then asked "Hiccup, will you let me be a Viking here?"

Laughing, Hiccup hugged Matt and lifted him up in the air. "Matt! You've been a Viking! We've accepted you when you saved me from Alvin!"

Crying now, Matt broke free from Hiccup. Wincing in pain, Matt grabbed his helmet to pull it off. The tear stained face was now beaming with happiness. "Thank you Hiccup. This means more to me than anything!" Turning to Heather, he asked "I hope you don't mind tending my back for a few more weeks do you?"

Trying to stop the crying, Heather ran up to Matt and hugged him. Stifling the tears, she said "To see you shirtless again? Any time."

Smiling, Matt hugged her and spun her around. Saying out loud, he said "And I almost forgot! Your reason number six for me to stay."

"Well…" Astrid said, walking up to the couple "Want to go for a quick ride then? To celebrate?"

Shaking his leg with the brace still broken, Matt nodded. "My leg can hold out for one more ride." He then turned to Hiccup and asked "Mind if we go to the cave instead? I have something I'd like to do real quick. I would have done it before I came down, but I wanted you guys to be there when I did it."

Looking at him curiously, all three of them nodded and mounted their dragons. Matt quickly strapped in his bindings and then grabbed Heather. Pulling her up, he let her stand next to him. Holding onto her, he gestured Wasatch to fly.

Slowly rising into the air, Matt braced himself against Heather so that she would stand straight up; which almost caused his leg to give out. Carving left and right, Matt let Heather steer Wasatch. Laughing Heather held out her arms like she was flying on her own. Holding her, Matt whispered "I love you Heather…Thank you for everything…"

"Thank you Matt…Thank you for coming back…" Heather replied, turning to look at Matt in the eyes.

Smiling, Matt then shifted his bindings, guiding Wasatch land in the cave. After helping Heather step down, Matt then unstrapped himself from the bindings. Hiccup and Astrid both landed behind them. Dismounting, Hiccup asked "So…what did you need to do?"

"This." Matt said, grabbing his snowboard that was leaning against the cave wall. Walking out to the ledge of the cave, Matt stood in the snow. Looking at his three friends, he started to say out loud "Today is the day I die. I left my old life and take up this new one." Slamming the snowboard into the snow, he let it stand straight up and down in the snow. Stepping back from the snowboard, he continued. "I'm not a snowboarder anymore. I'm a dragon boarder!"

With that he walked back to the cave. Looking at his friends, he said "I know that was more dramatic than needed; but I had to not only let you know that I'm walking away from what I had, but it was so that I could tell myself that."

Hiccup smiled and said "You sure you don't want your board?"

Nodding, Matt said "I'm positive. Besides, it got busted when I was going down the avalanche; got cracked down the center of it. It's pretty much useless to me now."

Smiling, Hiccup said "We'll put a sign up here, just as a reminder to all of what you've done for Berk as well as your choice to stay here."

"If they get up here at least…" Matt said with a small smile. Walking to Wasatch, Matt suddenly stopped in his tracks. Staring to the back of the cave, Matt just stood there, not saying or pointing to anything.

"Matt?" Heather asked walking up to him slowly. Looking at what he was looking at, she gasped. Where there was once an opening, was now a solid wall.

"Well…I guess that does mean you're staying here." Astrid said, standing next to Matt.

Nodding, Matt then said "And you know what? I feel good about it." Looking at Hiccup who was standing behind him, he added "And that feeling means more to me than anything right now."

Smiling, Hiccup grabbed Matt in a hug, whispering "Welcome home Matt. Welcome home."


Can't believe the story is already done! This one was a lot of fun to right. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did creating it! I do plan on making a third story, but I need to work out the plot line. Well, thank you for the support! Those that reviewed the story and PM'd me, an extra thank you. It helped me keep going, with a knowledge that you guys genuinely were interested throughout the story. Thank you.

Special thank you to dreaming-about-dragons, who helped me come up with a plot line for my next story that I plan on releasing in a month or so.

Well…until I write again!
-Dustnblood