A/N: I was going to do something funny for this author's note, because usually that's what I do, right? But, I figured that this one should be rather serious. Thank you guys so much for all the reviews; it means so much to me that I could acquire such a big number from less than forty chapters. I know that I hit a bump in the road and considered dropping this story. And when I came back, I expected nobody to still be watching for it. But you all stuck around and waited for me, and that means just so much. I can't even begin to explain my elation upon seeing that big number on my story. I am so proud. Thank you.

(~**~) (~**~) (~**~) (~**~)

Astrid couldn't move; her limbs were locked together tightly with a freezing cold feeling, the blonde only being able to let out a small whimper. She couldn't look away from the dragon's eyes, no matter which way she tried to twist. The scenery around her started to melt away like wax, the girl's blue eyes desperately trying to tear away from the stare boring into her, back over to Hiccup. Where was he? Was he okay? Or was something going on that she couldn't see? What was going on? Hiccup wouldn't be able to defend himself in the state that he was in! He needed her!

She could see her Viking standing off to the side out of the corner of her eye. The boy was staring at her desperately, slowly getting shorter and shorter. Was he falling, or was he just sitting down? Maybe ducking? Astrid couldn't tell, her vision immediately turning dark right before she heard the Viking mumble: "I hope so. Otherwise we're in a whole bunch of trouble." He sounded sorrowful, miserable and depressed. Something was defiantly wrong. Astrid tried to call out, but her voice stuck in her throat. Her eyes bored into the dragon's, and before she could do anything else, her mind exploded into a flash of pure green light.

She staggered from the sudden burst of glow, hand flying up to the side of her head as it throbbed in pain. The girl closed her eyes tightly, seeing light yellow spots dance behind her eye-lids as she waited for her head to stop rolling. When she finally became grounded, the girl's blue eyes blinked themselves open once more, though she instantly found herself regretting the action. She perked, finding herself on some sort of island, the darkness of night having obliterated the warm feeling of daytime. The blonde gasped sharply, turning around to try and find out where she was.

But she still couldn't move.

She opened her mouth, trying to cry out for help, though she wasn't sure how it would come to her. She didn't know the islands off the back of her hand like Fishlegs did; she only knew the ones around Berk. If she didn't know where she was, how would help come? But her throat blocked her windpipe at once, making it impossible for the Viking to say anything at all.

Panic threatened to rise up into her face, the feeling clawing rapidly at her heart as it tried to overcome her body. But suddenly, the scene changed, the pounding noise of rain drumming against her eardrums. Hiccup stood in front of her, looking ragged and beaten. His green eyes were shadowed over by his bangs, the boy not being able to see her. Astrid tried to jerk forward at the sight of him, alarmed at his new state. But she was still rooted to the now-muddy ground. She could only stare desperately over at the person she loved, unable to help him.

The Night Fury from before was standing in front of him, the wounds across her eyes looking more garish and nasty; it looked like the wounds were fresher. She was staring at Hiccup tiredly, as if she were worn-out. Astrid could hear the barking of dogs in the background of the pouring weather, distant, but close enough to worry about. As if on instinct, the Night Fury started to lean forward towards where Hiccup stood, claws unsheathing and digging into the ground. But she stopped herself from dashing forward at the last minute.

Hiccup looked up finally, but his green eyes went right through Astrid. He wasn't even fazed by her appearance, making it feel like she wasn't even there. But for the first time, Astrid wondered whether or not that was the truth of the matter. The boy's green eyes burned with pain both mentally and physically, but his voice was strong as he started to speak. "I was alone, too." He said fixedly, the dragon looking at him dubiously. "Everybody hated me. My own father did, actually. No joke." He hesitated a heartbeat before inching a little closer to the dragoness. Astrid tensed, expecting the Night Fury to leap for the boy's throat right as he came near. But she only stared back at him, as if waiting for him to go on. It surprised Astrid at how much pain there was in her eyes, too. Almost as much as there was in Hiccup's, it seemed.

Hiccup stopped a few inches away from her. He met her -…sightless?- gaze for a moment before ducking his head close to his chest. "No friends…no acquaintances. You could count the guy I worked with, but he would never be as close to me as I wanted somebody to be. And I thought that was my fate, my only road. To be alone and sad and miserable." Astrid bit her lower lip, feeling a tug on her heart and a sting in her eyes. Hiccup never talked about what things were like before Toothless changed his life. He never showed any signs of resentment, or grudges held against others. But it seemed like ever since this whole mess with the other dragons had started, he'd been thinking back to it a lot.

And that just made Astrid feel all the more guilty.

The scenery changed once more, spinning in a tight circle around her, colors blurring into new shapes. When it finally subsided, Astrid could see the dragon and Hiccup once more. Except Hiccup was crouching behind her, eyes wild with fright as he tried to cover up Ludi. The wild dogs that Astrid had heard before were now encircling the trio, snarling and barking with threatening growls. Nightflight had taken up a defensive stance, ears slicked back to her head as she snarled.

But her vision was too badly damaged. The Night Fury's head snapped back and forth with confusion, trying to pinpoint the nearest attacker. "Your left!" He shouted, a dog from the side suddenly dashing in to try and land a blow on the dragon. Nightflight reacted at once, spinning around and catching the dog on the ear, claws digging into its skin and throwing him across the clearing. It vanished into the thicket of the trees, yelping with pain. The dragon straightened, eyes gleaming with the small triumph. Hiccup's eyes widened with shock at the move, but a delighted smile slowly crept up across his lips.

The boy's voice echoed over Astrid's head, the girl unable to turn behind her and see what was happening. "And then…Toothless came into my life. He showed me that there was so much MORE. He showed me what I was…blind to. And because of that, I'm a whole different person now."

It changed once more. Astrid finding herself inches away from Nightflight, the dragon's teeth bared into an ugly snarl as she growled under her breath. Farther ahead, Astrid could barely see Hiccup, the boy curled up on his side. His eyes were screwed shut tightly; he looked to be asleep. Ludi was curled underneath him, but her eyes were wide open as she stared in the direction of Nightflight. A fit of barking broke out behind Astrid, paws thrumming across the slushy ground and echoing over to where she stood. Nightflight sucked in a deep breath, roaring out an earth-shaking roar in reply. Her wings splayed out threateningly, the dragoness tilting her head back and shooting up a beam of purple fire into the night sky. There was a whimper, then the stepping of paws as the dogs retreated.

Slowly, Astrid's eyes widened. She was protecting them?

"If you just let me…I can show you what you're missing."

She was on a cliff, the girl's blue eyes wide with shock as Nightflight threw herself onto Hiccup, dragging him away from a rouge Night Fury and hovering over him protectively.

"I can be the one to shed light on the subject."

She was back where she had started, mind swamped with questions and confusion. She watched with a new kind of lump in her throat as Hiccup crouched down to the ground with a pained grimace. He looked up at Nightflight, reaching out with his arm and extending it forward. He stopped a few inches from her face, ducking his head and closing his eyes. "Nothing will ever hurt you again. I promise."

And Astrid watched with amazement as Nightflight pressed her nose against his palm.

She stumbled backwards, movement flooding back through her body in a millisecond. She gasped sharply, air catching in her throat painfully as she did so. She felt herself falling, the girl too astonished by what just happened to try and catch herself. She remembered something that Hiccup had said a long time ago, back when Toothless had gone away from Berk. The female always used to give this weird-looking stare to Toothless, and then he would get all weird. That was right before he started to hate me. I don't think it's a coincidence. Hiccup had been right about that; did Nightflight do something to Astrid too? Was that was it was?

She could feel air whistling around her, could feel her feet start to meet the edge of the cliff. Terror clutched at her heart, and she opened her mouth to scream. But suddenly, there was a tight pressure on one of her arms, the girl being pulled upwards and back to safety. Her mind finally cleared, sensible thinking flooding back through her mind as she found her legs. She stood more firmly, staggering away from the cliff shakily as she gasped for air. Hiccup held on to her hand with his good arm, eyes wide as he searched the girl's face. He had a slight wince on his face, as if he was waiting for the blonde to punch him across the face. Or turn around and shove him off the cliff. Or kick him repeatedly and make sure that he'd never be able to have kids ever in his life.

Granted, those thoughts were indeed going through her head.

But she reached over, grabbing Hiccup and pulling him as close as close as physically possible. The boy choked, Astrid using all her strength in the firm embrace. And she had a lot of strength. Her eyes closed tightly, teeth grinding together painfully. "I'm so sorry." She sighed loosely, voice breathy and a little raspy. "I had…no idea…" Her blue eyes cracked open, going over to Nightflight slowly. "…did all that really happen?" She asked, drawing away from Hiccup and looking him over with a new, very concerned, look.

The deep gouges on the boy's wrist were marks from the dogs that Astrid had seen attacking them, as well as the ones that had been on his chest and shoulders. The new skinniness from he boy was from being marooned on that rainy island, which she was sure even Fishlegs didn't know about. The gash on his cheek came from the other dragon that Nightflight had saved him from, the wounds and bruises littering his body from the fight that had followed. He was so hurt. But it looked like Nightflight had saved him from any more injuries. Or possibly even…death.

The word caused a chill in Astrid's spine as she tried to think of Berk without Hiccup.

"When are you going to realize that I'm smarter than I look?" Hiccup teased.

But the light glow that had started to kindle in Hiccup's eyes switched off suddenly. The boy turned, gaze switching from the blonde as he turned back over to Toothless. The Night Fury looked stunned, blinking rapidly as if to clear his mind. He looked at Nightflight like he had just noticed she was there, stiff as a board and as quiet as one. Shadowclaw's eyes were narrowed with thought and confliction, eyes looking through every inch of the dragoness, trying to find something to help him come to a conclusion. Mistyeyes shuffled her feet nervously, blue eyes glinting anxiously. As if to prove what everyone had just seen, Ludi picked herself up, turning elegantly and leaping up onto the dragon's back. Nightflight didn't even blink at the new weight, twisting around to make sure that the cat was on securely.

Finally, Toothless spoke.

"Was that true?" He demanded. His eyes had a certain quality to them, like the look that a piece of prey got as it was cornered. He remembered the way that Nightflight used to be with her powers, and the memories obviously still haunted him. His eyes were hollow now as he looked at her, emotions warring inside his large orbs as he fought to get a handle on the situation. Nightflight flinched at his voice, cringing away violently.

Hiccup stepped forward, saving her from having to reply. "Yes." He replied, Astrid looking a little more confused as he responded to the dragon. Toothless turned, green eyes growing round with worry as they landed on his rider. "Nightflight has changed, guys." He said, putting emphasis on the word. "She deserves a second chance…which is just was Berk has for her." Nobody said anything, the doubt and tension in the air more than obvious. Hiccup sighed. "I owe her my life." He added. "I can't just send her out to fend for herself. She'd never make it alone."

Toothless's ears flicked back, looking over to Nightflight and taking in her eyes carefully.

"Ludi blinded her before we got to that island you saw." Hiccup explained, skipping over the part in the woods were Nightflight took him away. That point was irrelevant. "She can fly only when somebody is telling her how or where she needs to go. Kind of like somebody else being her eyes." He looked in turn to everybody around him. "She can't attack on her own, and she can't run very far or very fast. She's handicapped, and without somewhere to stay, she'll have little to no chance of surviving."

"The others will never accept her." Astrid said, though her eyes seemed to be a little softer.

"Then we have to make them." Hiccup replied firmly. "I'm not just going to give up on her so easily. Remember, Vikings used to be attacked by dragons all the time; we forgave them pretty easily." He said, Astrid twitched oddly at the word 'easily.'

But she merely sighed. "Hiccup, that was entirely different. The dragons had no control over it."

"We can make it look like it was the same thing." Hiccup pressed. "Besides," He turned around, looking back at Nightflight and narrowing his eyes thoughtfully. He titled his head, lips slightly pursed as he gauged the dragoness fully. "The others might not even recognize her from before. If we don't say anything, I'm sure nobody else will. They'll just think it's a coincidence." He smiled, head swiveling back to Astrid triumphantly.

But the girl was looking at him like he had just said the stupidest thing in the world. "You can't seriously think that, can you?" She asked, laughing slightly. "The whole village was in an uproar when she was here last. I think they would remember the only other Night Fury ever brought to this island by you. I doubt that they would be so clueless as to forget her face. Especially your father." She added as an afterthought.

Hiccup deflated noticeably at this, a frown pulling his lips down into a glum frown. Mistyeyes nodded over in the direction of Astrid, as if agreeing with her. Toothless still looked caught off-guard, eyes wide and round as he looked at Nightflight. The dragoness was hunched, eyes downcast as she fixed her eyes firmly on the ground. But her tail lashed back and forth anxiously, painfully aware of the male's eyes trained on her. Mistyeyes replied to this by merely rolling her eyes dismissively.

"Look…I get what you're talking about." Astrid sighed finally, Hiccup perking at once. "But." She went on, his face becoming grouchy once more. "It'll take a lot to persuade everyone about this. I don't even think it'll work if you show them…whatever just happened." Astrid said, trying not to linger on the event. It still made her dizzy to think about. "They'd take that just as another way of her trying to take over or something. We need to go forward carefully, otherwise we'll just be digging our own graves here."

"Too late." Hiccup sighed.

"I mean any deeper." Astrid snapped.

Mistyeyes blinked, getting side-tracked from the two teens' conversation as she looked over to Toothless. Glancing back at the humans, she pushed herself up to her feet, bounding over and coming to a neat stop beside the male dragon. She fixed him with a stern look, blue eyes expectant as they met his green ones. "Well?" She prompted, a little tartly. He looked away uncomfortably, changing his stare between Mistyeyes and Nightflight. The gray dragon rolled her eyes impatiently. "I think that you owe somebody here an apology." She snapped.

Toothless let out an embarrassed sigh, looking at Mistyeyes the way a grown-up would look at a pestering child. But the expression soon melted as he gave a small nod. "You're right." He huffed, drawing his tail tighter to himself. He tried to ignore the stare that she gave him in return. The: 'You're Darn Right I'm Right, You Stupid Excuse for a Dragon' stare. "I jumped to conclusions too soon. Although…I might still reserve some." He added, glancing over to Nightflight.

"It seems like all you're going these days is apologizing." Mistyeyes sighed airily.

"I guess it's because I make it too easy." He grumbled ungraciously.

The gray Night Fury did not reply, though. Instead, she turned her stare over to Nightflight, unconsciously getting a little softer at the sight of the pitiful dragon. "Well?" She demanded, forcing a little of her old hostility into her voice. She had no idea why, it just seemed like it was getting harder and harder to hate her. Which was something that Mistyeyes hated, in turn. Nightflight looked over in the direction of her voice, not exactly looking in her exact position; her eyes stared through the air right beside her. Mistyeyes blinked rapidly as she sidled over to where the green eyes had landed, feeling a little better as she did so. She cleared her throat, "Are you going to say anything at all, or are you just going to sit there and not say anything?"

Nightflight didn't open her mouth.

"You're just making it worse for yourself." Mistyeyes growled thickly.

"Am I?" She rasped, voice oddly weighted down.

Toothless's eyes narrowed. "Tch." He clicked. "You just did that…that thing with your eyes." He accused. "Obviously you haven't changed much." He reached up, rubbing an arm roughly across his face as he spoke. Like he was trying to wipe away a stain that Nightflight had left on him. But if the dragon caught the movement, she gave no heed. She only flicked her ear wearily, shuffling a little where she sat.

It was clear that she was uncomfortable without sight to guide her. Her paws kept sliding forward every so often, as if to make sure that the cliff wasn't crumbling underneath her. Her pale green eyes kept flickering around wildly, blinking a million times a minute, like she was trying to clear her eyesight. Every time that her tail would whisk over the edge of the cliff, she gave a small jolt, like she was surprised. All in all, saying she was a little jumpy would be a very sever understatement.

But she managed to get herself under control for the time being. She whipped her head around to Toothless, eyes landing dead-on the dragon this time. Mistyeyes wondered why the reason for that is, immediately flushing with embarrassment at the flash of jealousy that came with the thought. "I promised Hiccup that I would not do it anymore. Unless he told me to. And as you can remember, he was the one who told me to do it in the first place." She sniffed disdainfully. "I'd never do it if he told me not to."

Toothless looked at her oddly. "How come you changed your mind so suddenly?" He asked, voice suspicious.

"I know who I am now." Nightflight said coldly, turning her blind eyes away from the dragon. "Can you say the same for yourself?"

"How dare you!" Toothless flamed. "Of course I…know…" He said, ears flattening as he slowly trailed off. He turned, craning his neck backwards and down to his old red tail. His eyes flashed sadly at the sight of it, Mistyeyes's shoulders hunching at the sight. He looked confused for a heartbeat, mouth ajar as he searched for something to say in reply. Then he turned with a disgruntled look, giving a small shake of his head. "You expect me to give you a second chance." He murmured finally. He stared down at the rock between his feet, not even blinking. "You…Mistyeyes…Hiccup…even Astrid, now." He slowly looked up, eyes glistening with painful memories as he looked at the old enemy. "Everybody is ready to give you another chance. But…Nightflight…I'm not sure I can do the same."

Mistyeyes braced herself to charge forward, preparing to jump forward in Toothless's defense. But Nightflight only nodded once in reply. "I'm sorry." She said, sounding genuine. "I'm sorry you feel that way. And it isn't uncalled for. At all." She shuffled her feet closer to herself, giving a small, aimless shrug. "I understand."

Toothless's mouth went slack once more. "It's not even you anymore…" He mumbled, almost to himself.

Again. That stupid, rash feeling of jealousy. It clawed deep into Mistyeyes, the gray female digging her claws into the rock face painfully. Her eyes stung as she looked between the two, feeling herself start to bristle. Shadowclaw noticed this, eyes widening with a sudden realization as his eyes flickered from Mistyeyes and then back to Nightflight. It dawned on him in a sudden rush, the youngling's eyes widening to resemble dinner plates. But Mistyeyes didn't even try to pay attention.

She turned quickly, getting to her feet and stalking back over to Astrid and Hiccup. The blonde straightened at her new behavior, a crease appearing in her forehead as saw the female. "You okay, girl?" She asked warmly, reaching over and placing a hand comfortingly on the Night Fury's nose. Mistyeyes huffed out a snort, hoping that it would suffice for a reply. But as she saw Hiccup's suspicious look, she realized that it probably wouldn't.

Astrid came to her rescue first. "We have to tell Stoick." She said simply.

Hiccup immediately groaned, reaching up with his good hand and using it to smack himself in the head. "He'll be furious." He sighed ruefully.

"Most likely." Astrid replied, very chipper. Hiccup immediately glared over at her rather dramatically, expression souring in ten seconds flat. The blonde waved him off, rolling her blue eyes swiftly. "But he'll be the one that the villagers will listen to." She pointed out. "He's the leader of Berk. If we can get him to see the light in this whole mess, then I'm sure that he can get the others behind him as well. It only makes sense."

"Except for the 'see the light' part." Hiccup growled.

"I'll help you." She offered, reaching over and taking his hand down off of his forehead. She gave a small smile to him, but it vanished as she looked over to Nightflight. "But you'll have to tell me everything." She amended. "I can't help you if I don't know the whole story. And, Hiccup…" She paused a moment. "I can't tell you how this is all going to turn out. It actually sounds a lot like a suicide mission from where I'm standing. I'm only helping you because you wont shut up about it if I don't. Otherwise I'd have left."

"Right." Hiccup said briskly, snatching his hand away with a roll of his eyes.

Astrid crossed her arms, looking thoughtful. "We have to figure out what to say to your dad." She sighed, sounding tired and worn-out. "It'll take a whole lot of evidence to get somebody like Stoick the Vast to change his mind. Evidence and time." She flicked her head to the side, her bangs tucking themselves behind her ear with the movement. Her blue eyes flashed with both irritation and dread. "It isn't going to be easy. At all."

"But we'll do it." Hiccup said, sounding grimly sure of himself.

Astrid stepped forward, giving Hiccup another hug, this one much more gentle than the last as he minded his injuries. "I'm glad you're okay, though." She said fervently. She drew back slightly so that she could look at him. Her blue eyes flashed with a playful sort of light. "I always wonder how you can get so passionate about things." She said finally. "And why they're always impossible to do."

Hiccup grinned sloppily. "I like to aim high."

She rolled her eyes, but leaned forward to press her lips tightly against his.

Mistyeyes's ears flattened sorrowfully, blue eyes flickering away from the sight and over to Toothless and Nightflight. The two were staring at one another intently, having formulated a small, quiet argument, it looked like. But neither of the two seemed very angry. They were like two officials fighting over which would be a better way to contribute to Berk, or at least something along the lines of that. They both took turns pointing something out; the other would reply fairly to the question and then ask their own. They were a proper distance away from one another, no emotions in their voices whatsoever. They were probably talking over important events that had happened; Mistyeyes was most likely missing important points by being so far away.

But she couldn't bring herself to go back over.

She knew it was stupid, it was beyond stupid. And way past idiotic. A petty love triangle was the least of their worries right now, and yet it the most pressing thing on her mind. Why couldn't she be more like Astrid? Or maybe more like Hiccup? Their relationship was perfect. It was natural. It wasn't bumpy with arguments, or riddled with glares. It wasn't barred away by questions and it wasn't closed off by uncertainty. It was smooth, beautiful, fun, and deeply meaningful all at the same time.

She felt so whiny as the question came into her mind. She felt like a youngling that didn't get what she wanted, throwing a tantrum in response to try and achieve it. Why can't I just have that? She asked herself silently, eyed boring into Toothless's back. But he didn't even notice her, too fixated on the conversation he was having with Nightflight. Why can't I just have one day where everything doesn't fall apart?

She huffed angrily, revising her question. Why can't I have one minute where everything doesn't fall apart?

Ever since she had first seen Toothless come back to the Pack's Island, she had known something would go wrong.

But she had never imagined it would turn out so wrong.

(~**~) (~**~) (~**~) (~**~)

A/N: From March 11th, there will be an absence of updates for two weeks. I'll be spending Spring Break computer-free and chowing down over at Disney, and then right after that boarding a cruise ship. So I'll be a little stranded in the middle of the ocean ; )

So I'm sorry. If I have time before I leave at 4:00 in the morning on Monday, I'll try to update this story. Because I'm kinda not okay with this chapter. I'd feel a little sad in leaving you all with this one in reply to me reaching 600 reviews. It's a really good chapter, but I feel like you all deserve more considering we finally reached that beautiful number!

Seriously, guys, I love you. SO much. Thank you once again. ^^