THIRD TO LAST CHAPTER! THERE WILL BE TWO MORE AFTER THIS! :D SHOUT-OUTS NEXT CHAPTER! :D ENJOY!

The Berkians sailed on their ships and flew on their dragons, searching for any sign of Hiccup. They found nothing, however, and were getting worried. They had been searching for hours, now. They were certain that if Hiccup was alive, they would have found something by now.

However, there was nothing. They found nothing, and it was terrifying. It was absolutely and entirely terrifying.

Valka stood at the bow of the ship, looking out at the sea, her keen eyes scanning the waters for any sign of Hiccup. She knew, though, deep down, that if Hiccup was in the ocean, that he was dead, drowned. In the past two storms that they had recently, he wouldn't have been able to swim, especially if he was hurt.

She knew that she couldn't give up, though. She knew that she would keep searching for him until he was found. He was alive, somewhere and somehow, she knew that much. Or...at least she hoped that much, anyways.

She continued looking out, Astrid flying Stormfly above her, Snotlout, the twins, and Fishlegs flying alongside her as they searched for their friend. Astrid couldn't believe Hiccup was missing, and it was beginning to really scare her, the fact that he was gone, and no one knew where he was, or even if he was alive or not.

No, she wasn't thinking about that. He was alive. He wasn't dead. He couldn't die. And so, she and the others continued searching. They had to find him. They just had to. Astrid didn't know what she would do if they never did.

…

After a few minutes, I felt too woozy to sit up, and settled for laying down on my side, curling into myself as I tried to conserve body heat. It was sunny, but there was a freezing cold wind blowing in, and me, being ignorant, completely forgot to bring the supplies from the beach in my haste to leave the island.

So I was stuck, freezing, on a raft in the middle of the ocean, feeling too dizzy and weak to even so much guide my vessel. At that moment, I was completely under the mercies of the ocean, and the raft. If the raft suddenly didn't prove sturdy enough to hold my weight, and sank, then I knew that would be it. I couldn't swim at all at that moment.

Part of me was lucky that I didn't have my armor on, while the other part was wishing that I did. It would have been warmer that way, while at the same time, I would have been heavier, making the raft more prone to sinking.

I laid there for a few minutes, trying to ignore my headache, chest pain, leg throb, and newly discovered nausea. I had never had a strong stomach when it came to the ocean, and right now, I really hoped I didn't upchuck what little I had eaten the past few days.

Thankfully, I got my sea sickness under control before it got dangerous, and then managed to sit up, staring forward at the ocean ahead of me as I waited and hope that a Berkian vessel would come out of no where…

No, they weren't looking for me…

Were they?

There was no way for me to have known. I really hoped that, mainly, there was a ship out there looking for me. Maybe they found Toothless instead? That would have been wonderful. At least then he would be safe from the ocean and its threatening waves that wanted to drag him down.

Toothless was never actually a strong swimmer; he swam when he needed to, but normally tried to avoid it. He couldn't keep himself above the waves; he had no problem swimming as much as his problem was drowning in the process.

I tried to relax and take my mind off my problems, but it was impossible. I couldn't stop thinking about it, no matter how hard I tried. Poor Toothless. I really hoped that they found him. I really hoped they were at least looking for him somewhere. The dragon was probably scared out of his mind, if he hadn't been found yet.

I continued trying to rest and regain my breath, but it wasn't working. I laid on my back and stretched myself out on the raft, but not even that calmed my nerves. I felt terrible, but still needed to sleep. I knew I needed to sleep if I was going to get better. I was so tired, and so scared, out in the ocean by myself, only a raft between me and my death by drowning.

I thought about Astrid. Was she okay? How was she doing? What about Mom? The Academy? The Berkians? I was their Chief, and I was supposed to be leading them. If they found me, or when I returned to Berk myself, I was just going to put another burden on them. I knew I was very ill, and not to mention injured, my leg broken terribly, and in my condition, I was no use to anyone. I couldn't lead the Berkians, and I certainly couldn't protect any of them.

I knew I was a burden. I hated feeling weak, but it wasn't really my fault…

Oh, wait, yes it was. It was my fault. I was the one who went for that night flight after that nightmare of mine. I shouldn't have done that at all. If I hadn't, I would be on Berk right now, chiefing my village, protecting my people. But instead, I was on a raft in the middle of the ocean, not even sure of where I was.

A few hours passed, and the waves kept pushing me in one direction, until suddenly, I looked up, and squinted.

Was that...a Berkian ship?

As I looked closer, I realized that it was; not only that, even, though, but more than that. There were about fifteen ships...no, more. And...what were they doing?

This was great. Now that they were here, I could find Toothless.

Or...maybe they didn't see me?

That was terrifying. So, I sat up, and waved my hands back and forth, shouting, "HELP!" all the while. It wasn't very viking of me, I know, but what did you expect me to do? Crashing your dragon wasn't viking like either, but it still happened.

The ship turned in my direction, and I could have cried with relief. Now that they knew I was here, I could tell them about Toothless, and we would find him, and then get back to Berk.

For the first time since meeting Flara and leaving her island, things started looking brighter.