==Okay...so here is chapter 13. I actually just finished an actual plot line... hooray! Well here you go! Hope you like it!==

Chapter 13

Hiccup groaned as Toothless took to the sky once again. It had been almost an entire afternoon since the search party had begun their search. So far there hadn't been even a sign of any wreckage. No mysterious storm, not even floating carcasses.

"Toothless, I'm worried. What if there isn't anything left? What if there is no one left?"

Toothless grumbled loudly below Hiccup, his eyes slitted. Dragons did have better eyesight than humans, but so far even Toothless wasn't sensing anything.

Astrid flew to the right of Hiccup, Stormfly beating her wings steadily. Snotlout was to Hiccup's left, Hookfang scanning below with giant, regal head sweeps. Ruffnut and Tuffnut flew behind Stormfly, Barf and Belch were scanning for movement from the sides. Fishlegs was on his Gronkle, Meatlug, behind the Monstrous Nightmare. Meatlug was mirroring the Zippleback's movements. From below, they looked kind of like a giant "V" in the sky.

None of the teens spoke, except Hiccup.

"Okay. Now we have the Northwest islands to check. If we keep up with the blanks like this, we'll beat Jack to Death Island by a whole day."

Jack. Hiccup's heart squeezed a little tighter thinking about the white haired boy. His heart beat a little faster. Hiccup wondered how Jack's part of the mission was going. It was a mission, a rescue mission. It just was not the traditional type. He almost regretted telling Jack that he wouldn't wait. Maybe it would have been better. No one spoke.

All Hiccup could hear was the steady wing beats of the dragons, and the uneven beat of his own heart. He swallowed hard, gazing even harder at the churning ocean below him. It was hard to focus with his mind thinking of Jack.

But…

He really wished Jack was there. Jack would probably be laughing as he flew, or talking about something silly. If Jack was there, at least Hiccup could have been talking to someone. The crew of teens were too silent. Yes, it was a serious mission, but this silence was making him uncomfortable. They weren't even trying to make fun of him for being with Jack.

Jack. Hiccup squeezed again, and Hiccup sighed quietly. He missed Jack. The familiar cool he had grown used to feeling beside him hadn't been there the night before. Toothless was acting a bit strange as well; like he missed Jack being around too.

Suddenly something glinted in the water. Just as Hiccup saw it, Toothless dove. The four dragons followed the leader, causing all the teens to cry out in surprise. As Toothless got closer to the glinting thing, Hiccup noticed the long horns of a Viking Helmet. Toothless scooped it up in his big mouth and rose back into the air, searching for nearby land.

He spotted a small island nearby, which seemed to be mostly rock. Gracefully, Toothless landed on a small circular clearing, Hiccup leaping off of his back seconds later. The other teens landed moments after Toothless did, getting off their dragons and walking quickly to where Hiccup stood.

Toothless dropped the helmet on the ground in front of his rider, his already big eyes widening as he looked down at it.

Hiccup gasped.

Stoick's helmet lay at his feet, the fading sunlight glinting off of the headpiece.

Hiccup felt a lump rise in his throat as he stared at his father's helmet. He kneeled down slowly, his shaky hands reaching out for it. As he felt the cold of the bone horn in his hand, Hiccup let out a small gasp.

A giant dent sat in the middle of the helmet. Hiccup ran his finger over the dent, wondering what could have done it.

Toothless warbled quietly as he stared at the helmet and swished his tail.

"Hiccup… Is that?" Astrid asked, not daring to finish the question as she walked up beside him. Her eyes were locked on the helmet in his hand.

"Yes Astrid. My dad's."

It was quiet for a moment as the teens looked at the helmet. Hiccup's heart was squeezing hard now, an overwhelming feeling of loss flowing through his body. The lump grew a little bigger as Hiccup blinked the tears away from his eyes.

"He could still be alive Hiccup. His helmet probably got knocked off when the ships crashed. I'm sure that wasn't the only one to get knocked off."

The other dragons made slight grumbling noises, as if agreeing with Astrid. Toothless warbled a little louder, nudging his head into Hiccup's lap.

Hiccup sighed and nodded weakly. His stomach churned uneasily. Oh, how he hoped Astrid was right.

"That is a possibility. But I can't help feeling like something truly terrible happened." His voice was just a little bit shaky. "We need to keep going."

"Ummm, Hiccup? Just where do we go from here, exactly?" Fishlegs asked, scanning the rocky terrain nervously. The sun was even lower in the sky; soon it would be completely dark. Even though he was the biggest Viking teen, Fishlegs was the most easily frightened. It almost made Hiccup feel sorry for him, but at least Fishlegs wasn't a reject like he was.

Hiccup sighed and pulled out his map. He put an "O" in the approximate area where they had found the helmet, and quickly glanced at the multiple "X"s that dotted the parchment. This particular island hadn't been searched yet. It was small, so it wouldn't take too long to do.

"Let's sweep here, and then continue to the Northwest islands. If we make it before dark, we'll try to sweep an island. If not, we'll make camp for the night."

Everyone nodded, most turning back to go mount their dragons. Hiccup rose slowly, placing the battered helmet on his head. It was still a bit big for him, and the helmet willing slipped forward over his eyes. Toothless let out a laugh, swishing his tail happily.

"Yeah, yeah bud. It's hilarious."

Astrid smirked at Hiccup, stifling a giggle. She turned to Stormfly, who cooed impatiently to her rider. The other teens were already on their dragons and beginning the sweep.