The lonely boat carrying Heather's body underneath a white sheet and her axe drifts off from New Berk's coastline as we all watch from a cliffside. My family and my friends (both human and dragon) are all assembled to grant my dad's greatest ally her proper send-off. A bow rests in one hand, an arrow in the other. The wind blows through my auburn hair, causing strands of it to get in my face.

"May the Valkyries welcome you," my father begins, standing in front of a small pile of wood. "and lead you through Odin's great battlefield. May they sing your name with love and fury, so that we might hear it rise from the depths of Valhalla and know that you've taken your rightful place in the hall of warriors. For a great woman has fallen. A fighter."

He turns to us as Grandma joins him, and Mom steps forward. "A sister."

Steeling himself, Nuffink walks up next to her. "A hero."

And lastly, I join my brother's side, my eyes never leaving the small vessel. Blinking once, I silently take a deep breath and let it out.

"A friend."

Leaving his own family, Toothless prowls up to the small woodpile and blows a small flame into it. A small explosion later, a fire is roaring and eating away at the wood. One by one, each of my family and friends walks up to the pile and light their arrow tips. After they form a line along the cliff's edge, my family raises their bows first, myself included.

We all nock our arrows, draw back… and release.

Our five arrows sail through the air, and several more arrows streak overhead to chase after them. One after another, they land on the small boat to spread their flames to every corner of it.

Once the last arrow touches down, Toothless turns to Windshear and grunts something to her. Bowing to her Alpha in understanding, the Razorwhip takes off and flies towards the burning boat. As soon as she gets within range, she blasts out a single blue fireball that straight up explodes when it hits. After taking one last look at the boat, she turns and flies back while the other dragons watch the inferno.

"May your soul rest in eternal harmony," Toothless says calmly. "And may you ride the everlasting winds in the skies of your new life."

"May you ride the everlasting winds in the skies of your new life." His mate and offspring repeat, with the other dragons letting out a low, calming bellow that I believe symbolizes serenity and peace. When it calms, the Light Fury turns to the Night Lights. "Know this," she speaks. "It is not only the life of one we must remember in the aftermath of this terrible conflict."

Twilight nods. "The Bewilderbeast."

Dawn glances to the ground in sorrow. "All those dragons… gone."

"Spark…" Dusk whines sadly. The look in his eyes and his voice tell me everything: he lost a friend during that battle… a good friend. Turning to her brother, Twilight nuzzles him comfortingly.

"She…" I mutter, turning to Dad. "She wanted to say thank you," the memory of her last words comes back to me at that moment. "For everything you've done for her…"

Dad puts a hand on my shoulder. "I'm sure she did… she was an amazing woman. She and your mother almost treated themselves like sisters. Well, more like sisters-in-arms."

I only smirk. "Nice. Those were her last words to me, and… I promised her I'd say that."

"And she'd be happy to know that you did."

I glance toward the portion of the crowd consisting of Berserkers and Defenders of the Wing. The look on Dagur's face must mean he's remembering those moments with his sister… even when they were enemies. His eyes turn to me and my father, who gives him a reassuring nod.

Mala and Nott, who brushes her face with one arm, never turn their gaze away from the boat… but something pops into my mind.

He's not here. And I even saw him. On Berserker Island and during the battle where he battled and single-handedly took out most of an attack ship's crew. He must have followed us here to New Berk.

I look everywhere in the crowd, hoping to find that figure… but nothing.

"Zephyr? Something wrong?" Nuffink asks me, noticing my expression.

"I… I thought he'd show."

"Who'd show?"

His answer comes not by words… but by another arrow soaring from way above us. Instead of watching the arrow's path, Nuffink and I turn to see where it came from. Another cliffside from above… and I see him.

As I've always spotted him, he's dressed in a light brown tunic and leggings, a hood and a facemask concealing most of his face… save for those green eyes that stare silently out to the horizon. Instead of a bow, which I saw him lose during the battle, there is now a short sword resting in a sheath on his left hip. He must have seen me out of the corner of his eye… because he turns his head down to look at me. Nuffink freezes up like he's been caught during a stealth mission.

He makes a gesture with his head for me to come to him, and I quickly glance at my parents. My mom nods, and I put down my bow and arrow and start heading up the path. A nervous Nuffink follows close behind. I'm surprised he doesn't remember him at all…

He's never moved from his spot once I reach the cliffside he's on. He doesn't turn around to look at me, and I can hear Nuffink lightly panting from the trek up here. I take a few steps forward…

"How long's it been?"

I'm unable to find an answer right off the bat, most likely because of the voice of someone I haven't seen in a very long time.

"Hard to say. Maybe… eight to ten years?" I reply, scratching the back of my head.

"I heard you've gotten yourself into quite a mess."

"I'm the daughter of a chief who's had major screw-ups over the course of his life. It had to be some time before trouble found me instead of him."

"And you still got yourself through it… just like your father."

"But I didn't get through it alone," I say. "I had my friends. My family."

"Speaking of family…" he says, slowly turning so that I see one eye. "Where's your brother?"

"Uh, he's…" I begin before Nuffink pushes past me.

"Alright, Mister Hidey Face!" he snaps. "I know you've been watching us, and I want to get some things straight! First off, who exactly are you?"

The figure turns around completely and lets out a small hmph. "You really don't remember me, do you, Nuffink?"

My brother is taken aback by the mention of his name. Shrugging it off, he replies calmly. "What can I say? I've met a lot of guys in the past few days. Some good, but… mostly bad."

"Of course you wouldn't remember. We were only kids and given how young you were, it was bound to happen. Your sister, however, is all too familiar with me. I saw how distraught she was on that day…"

He reaches down to his facemask and yanks it down before pulling back his hood, revealing scruffy black hair. His green eyes turn a little dark as he thinks back to that day…

"The day my mother died. Zephyr looked up to her just as I did."

Nuffink looks like he's about to pass out. "M…Mother?"

"Finky," I say, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Say hi to Jerek… Heather's son."

…

Nuffink's POV

Whoa.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!

What is going ON?!

I can hardly find the words I want to say. And when I do, it sounds strange coming out of my mouth.

"Heather… has a son?!"

"She had a son." The new guy- Jerek- corrects me with a stern look. After a brief second of eye contact, I step back. "Uh, sorry. About your loss."

"Why worry about my loss when yours were greater? Especially Zephyr's loss of hope."

I sneak a glance at my sister, who's rubbing her arm nervously at the memory. She shakes it off, both of us turning back to Jerek.

"So, ah… this might sound a little awkward," I begin sheepishly. "But… how did Heather have a son?"

He cocks an eyebrow at me. "You're seriously gonna ask me that?"

"Yes? No? Maybe?"

Jerek sighs, looking unsure of himself. "I… I don't know much about my father," he explains. "My mom hardly spoke of him. She'd only known him for several months. He was a good fighter, but… he died before I was born."

"It's kinda hard for him to talk about," Zephyr whispers in my ear. I only nod to her with a small hum.

"On another note," Jerek says, changing the subject. "Zephyr, I've moved on from that being that little boy you remember me as so long ago. Once I was twelve, my Uncle Dagur decided to train me to be a warrior like my parents, even pitting me with sparring lessons against my cousin Nott. While I still have much to learn, he taught me enough when Berserker Island came under attack by that Shieldbreaker enemy. Impressive as it might sound, I took out thirty soldiers on my own."

I whistle, impressed. "You gotta show me your stuff, man."

"Yeah," Zephyr adds. "I even saw you on that ship. You were… incredible, I'll say that."

"Perhaps some other time," he dismisses me. "But when I returned to my family, I found out I was too late. My mother lied lifeless with a bloodied chest and I noticed you rushing off towards the beach, with everyone else in pursuit. When all of you were gone, I slowly went up to her, knelt down and rested a palm on her forehead, silently wishing her farewell."

"And… then you saw us leave." I finish, with Jerek nodding at my words.

"You were both distraught, your sister most of all. And I heard she handled it in the most… unpleasant way." Jerek says, eying my sister suspiciously.

She sighs. "Of course you'd know of that. It was only a matter of time before I did something that only my dad would do."

"I'm not upset," he counters. "After all, I'm sure your family's learned that you and your father went through had something in common."

"They do?" Zephyr and I reply at the same time.

"Yeah," Jerek continues. "No matter how many hits you take, no matter how hurtful your failures can be… you always find a way to come back from them. And the big problem? You keep going through all of it alone. And there's a reason you have each other and your friends. Don't ever forget that, Zephyr."

My sister only smiles. "After today… I never plan to."

"Great."

"So, now that this whole Shieldbreaker crisis thingy is behind us…" I say with uncertainty. "What are you guys gonna do now? Your family and tribe?"

"As I said, I still have a lot to learn," Jerek answers. "And I'm afraid my place doesn't rest with Berk."

From behind him, Windshear swoops up over the cliff and touches down close to him. Lowering her head, the silver dragon allows the son of her rider to rest his palm against her horn. Noticing my stare, Jerek turns to me.

"We ran into each other during the battle. Even with my mask and hood, she still figured out who I was because of my scent… my mother's scent."

Zephyr sighs happily. "Toothless found out about me the same way. Back when we first met."

"I should have known," he chuckles. "Seems like our parents' dragons hit it off with us."

Zephyr pauses for a moment, thinking about those words. "She… misses her, doesn't she?"

Jerek silently nods as Windshear croons sadly. "My mother found her when she was young. They've had something special ever since… so basically yes. But… at least she has me to remember her by."

"Heh," I say, trying to cheer him up. "At least there's that."

"I'm glad that, even after everything… your family still took the time to honor my mother and give her a proper send-off to Valhalla." Jerek tells us both. "When everything here is all settled with, each of the tribes should go on back to their respective islands."

"I suppose they will," Zephyr says, brushing her hair out of her face. "Well… it was nice catching up with you again, Jerek."

"And it was nice to meet you…" I add in, prompting a glance from the boy. "Uh, again."

"I don't think you two have changed a bit," he says amusingly. "Your people always say there's never a dull moment whenever you're around."

"They say that?" I whisper to my sister, who only nods like she's been asked this before. "Never a dull moment, indeed." She agrees.

"You know, I should probably meet up with everyone soon," Jerek says, glancing down to the assembled crowd below. "For all I know, my family's probably worried sick about me. That I wouldn't show."

"I… I was just thinking that myself. I was wondering where you were."

"So you were, hm? Glad to see you still care…"

"Heh… least I could do." She smirks.

Windshear lowers herself down, allowing Jerek to mount the Razorwhip. Before the dragon can fly back down to the crowd of humans and dragons alike, he turns back to my sister.

"One more thing…" he begins hesitantly.

"Yeah?"

He looks uncertain of himself. "Before this day is up… before everything in your life goes back to the way it was… it needs to be done."

Zephyr looks like she doesn't know what he's talking about. "Uh… what needs to be done?"

"I don't need to tell you, Zephyr. You know. Deep down, you know."

Zephyr still looks a bit confused, drawing her eyes to the ground… and it's only when I hear her draw a shocked breath do I realize what he means.

"It's what your dad would want… but I know it'll be hard for you. You know what you have to do, what's needed to fulfill your destiny and keep them all safe."

My sister looks up at him, her face etched with worry. "I… I don't know if I can do it."

"All you needed to defeat Keiser and the Shieldbreaker was all of us. All of your friends and family. So just like you needed them then… you'll need them to help you do it. Because if you don't…"

"They'll be in danger," she says quietly. "I know."

"It won't be easy, Zephyr… but I believe in you. You shouldn't doubt yourself anymore. Just remember… we're all here for you. And they'll always be with you in spirit."

Just as he delivers his final reassuring words, Jerek steers Windshear towards the cliff. The Razorwhip jumps off and transitions into a slow glide, circling around and heading back to the crowd.

…

Zephyr's POV

His words still hang in my head. I never even realized it had to be done until he brought it up. I try to deny it, that they'd always be with me since I got them back… but he's right. I know he's right.

It's just like Old Berk and what my father came to realize. If they stay here, we're a target. And that problem won't go away unless they do.

Three winged figures soar up into view, disrupting my thoughts. One by one, Twilight, Dawn, and Dusk all land where Windshear once stood. Each of them is still lingering about the recent funeral… until Dusk notices my expression.

"Is… is everything alright?"

I shake the feeling off, trying to hide my inner thoughts. "Yeah," I reply with a smile. "Yeah, I'm good. Thanks… brother."

"Okay. It's just that you were looking a little… wait, brother?" he realizes with shock. Nearby, Dawn snaps to attention, his mind presumably somewhere else. "But… but we're not related!"

"We are now," Twilight dismisses him. "Earlier, Zephyr decided to make the three of us honorary members of her family. So that way, we're always with her. A part of her."

"Yeah…" I mumble to myself, the realization of what needs to be done creeping back in. I haven't seen these three for nine years… and I just got them back… No. No. Don't think about that now. Just focus on what you have.

Twilight's eye catches my own. She seems to have realized something from what she had just said…

And then it hits me like my own trap. She knows, too. And she's hiding it just like me. Does that mean she knows I'm hiding it as well?

"So… is there anything about this island we should know about? Any areas of interest?" she asks us.

"Oh, we can show you, alright," I answer with my hands on my hips. "Maybe we can throw in a little race while we're at it?"

"Oh, yeah! Fine by me!" Dusk shouts excitedly, shoving past his sister. "Hope you're all ready to lose!"

"Ruffrunner…" Twilight groans.

"Maybe I should let Mother and Father know first," Dawn tells us. "Be right back!" With a running start, he leaps off the cliff.

"You're sure about this?" Twilight asks. "Ruffrunner isn't exactly one who plays fair…"

"Well, excuse me! It's who I am! And besides, races are downright boring without something to spruce up the action!"

Ignoring her brother, I nod to Twilight. "I'm sure! It'll just be the five of us spending some time together!" Agreeing with me, Nuffink gives Twilight a thumbs-up.

"Alright. I can work with that." Twilight says, just as Dawn flies back to rejoin us. "We're good!"

"Then what are we waiting for?" Nuffink shouts, running up to Dawn and mounting him. "You coming, Zeph?"

"You know it," I answer with a smirk, running over to Twilight and swinging myself onto her back. "Ready, girl?"

She smiles at me. "The real question is, are you?"

"Heh. Good one." I chuckle. "Now let's go!"

The three Night Lights ready themselves. Twilight gives out a call… and we all shoot off into the sky. Looping around in midair, we fly off across New Berk to parts of the island I've never even been to. As we speed and soar through the skies, pulling off all kinds of aerial stunts, my brother and I whoop and cheer in delight.

If only I could stay up here forever and touch the very sky itself…

…if only.

(A/N: You all know what's coming next. It's something that needs to be done before this story ends. I've been thinking about it for some time now. I would say "I know what I have to do, but I don't know if I have the strength to do it.", but I won't. Just a warning, though: Prepare for feels and tears.

Next: what must be done)