Author's Note: I'm sorry for the wait once again, school got a bit busy, and I had trouble trying to figure out how to do this one. Still I hope it's good. Also i'm sorry for the delay for the final Chapter of "Family Ties". That one is providing to be hard to write, but i'm working on it. I'll try to have it out soon. For now enjoy.

Chapter 13: Friend in Need

The Riders weren't sure what to do at this point, most of all if anything could be done at all. They all witness Hiccup basically breaking down and in a surprise turn, handing over the reins to Astrid, claiming that he can't do anything anymore, he can't be a leader, or basically anyone of use. This left them all stunned, shocked and very concerned for his wellbeing, but weren't sure how to go about it. After his outburst Hiccup just sat, looking at the fire in silence, everyone figuring that it wasn't a good idea to talk to him right now, well not entirely as they did try and get him to speak but he refused. They chalked it up to him needing time to just rest a bit and recover from the ordeal, but that didn't mean that they weren't concerned.

"So…what do we do now?" Snotlout inquired at the small group, all of them sitting a bit away from their leader, so they could converse without worry. A few hours had passed since Hiccup's break down and they decided to have a chat about it now.

"I don't know, this is way out of what we usually have to deal with," Fishlegs responded nervously. For being as knowledge as he was, no ideas were coming to mind, he was at a loss.

"Well, at least he's doing ok at the moment," Ruffnut said, looking past them, which prompted them to look as well. Hiccup sat, back against a large protruding rock but all their dragons were around him, giving him somewhat sympathetic looks, from what they could tell.

Hookfang's head rested on the ground near the one-legged teen's lap, Hiccup's hand petting along his snout gently, and small circles. Meatlug is on the teen's opposite side, giving him a nice small nuzzle, which was enjoyed. Barf, Belch and Stormfly standing behind, giving affectionate nudges to him, which was greatly welcomed. Hiccup started to feel a bit better as this happened, loving the attention the dragons were giving him. Oh, how he wanted this attention, yet it wasn't enough to make him truly better. As he had all these dragons around him, it only made him remember Toothless. Only his Nightfury could help him in a time like this, not that he wasn't appreciative of their comfort. He is worried about his best friend and wanted to know what is happening with him. Is Dagur doing anything to him? Is he alive at least? So many questions, all of the outcomes grim in his eyes, and enough to bring his mood down.

The others turned away from him, looking back at one another in a small bout of silence. It was good he was showing some responsiveness but it wasn't enough. "Either way we need to do something," Astrid said.

"But what?" Tuffnut asked in concern, before looking at Astrid. "Hiccup gave command over to you."

"I know," the blond nodded, still in disbelief at how Hiccup handed things over to her just like that. Not for the rescue but for good. In the past when bad things befell them Hiccup always managed to stay positive and hopeful, despite what the situation was or what plagued them. She was chosen as his second in command for a reason, but she never thought it would be for something like this. She could lead them, but not forever…not like this. "We have to help Berk…but we need Hiccup for this."

"He's out of it, I don't know if there is anyway to snap him out of it," Snotlout responded back softly, looking back at his cousin and feeling sorry for him. All these years growing up he never seen him look like this before, even when the twins and himself bullied him those initial years. Always his cousin managed to pick himself up and continue on, showing much resilience for all the torment he went through. He may have not being strong as a Viking physically, but when it came to the mind, he surpassed everyone with holding himself. That's one thing he always secretly admired Hiccup for. Whenever they came up against an enemy who is physically stronger than him Hiccup managed to pull a victory even when the deck was stacked against them. Still, seeing him like this is unnerving for him, it was like he had given up, something he has never been known for. "There has to be something that can be done."

"The best thing we can do is try and get him through this night at least. Maybe things will be better in the morning," Astrid responded, truly not sure what to do as that option was the only one she had.

"We can give it a try, but who knows if we can get Hiccup to open up any more than before," Ruffnut responded, making the group silent once more. During the last few hours after his breakdown no other words came out of their leader's mouth, opting to be silent like before.

Their chat had ended, as they decide to try talking to him again, getting up and going back to the fire, sitting down around it as they looked at Hiccup. They were surprised to see him pulling his bag close and beginning to riffle through it. They then saw him pull out a small piece of bread and then eating it down gently, paying them no mind. Then he grabbed his freshly filled water pouch and drank from it, sighing in relief as he took more than a small sip, which helped his thirst. All eyes were on the bag as the water pouch was put away, making the Riders curious as to what he held in the bag. They weren't sure if he had it to begin with, but from the outside it looked a bit bulky, so it must have been loaded up with items.

Being the closes, Fishlegs moved up a bit and held a hand out slightly towards the bag, "Um…may I?"

Hiccup looked back up at his friend before giving a small shrug before looking back down at the fire. They weren't sure what this meant, but Fishlegs figured that he was giving him the ok. Leaning in he reached out and slowly grabbed at the bag, freezing a bit but didn't see his leader stopping him. Everyone saw this yet Tuffnut was the one to ask, "You sure that's a good idea?"

"Well, he didn't say, or do anything," Fishlegs responded as he opened up the bag and started to look through it. Everyone watched in silence as the larger teen pull out the contents of the bag. They saw the rope, the flint and tinder, very little bread, a folded-up piece of paper and- "Oh Thor."

"What is it?" Astrid asked.

"The Book of Dragons," he pulled out the large leather-bound book, all eyes on it as it was still in pristine condition before being put down. Fishlegs then looked in and pulled out the stack of papers and small books, "A-And Bork's notes."

"What?! They're in there?!" Astrid commented, moving in and looking the items over, to confirm it to herself that they were real.

"Yes, they are."

Everyone was shocked upon seeing those items pulled out of the bag, not expecting for those two items to be in there. Yet this meant that Hiccup acquired both items in some way but weren't sure how so. Yet from experience they both knew that the items did have some weight to them, separate they were easy to carry but together it could slow someone down. But somehow Hiccup managed to have both of these in his possession, and it only made them curious as to how he did it.

"You had these all along?" Snotlout asked, turning to look at his cousin. "But…how?"

Hiccup looked up at them, silent and not speaking at all, even though his mouth opened some but then closed itself. Astrid sighed upon seeing this, getting a good feeling of what was going on, knowing he went through enough already and didn't have to add onto it, "You don't have to answer."

"I went back to the village during the aftermath of the attack, wanting to make sure these were safe. Big mistake on my part as it caused me problems down the road," Hiccup spoke up all of a sudden, in a low tone laced with sorrow, surprising the others into silence. Hiccup saw this and looked back at the fire remembering the memory of going back to the village for the items. That's how he got Sten on his back. Knocking him into the fire and causing him to pursue the teen, which of course led to him killing for the second time that night and setting up for the events of him killing Sten. His mind going back to stabbing him, over and over again until the left left him. He suddenly shook his head, ridding himself of the memories, even if it was temporary. Matter of fact, part of him was glad that his friends found both items, as he didn't have to carry that burden anymore. "I can't protect those items anymore…you guys can take over from here, as I know you all will do a better job than me."

Once again, they were shocked at the response, as it's another thing he's relinquishing over to them. It seems like their leader is falling further down the hole without the will to climb back out. It's only making them more concerned, but also worried at what else he would give up next. "H-Hiccup, don't say that," Fishlegs tried to reassure in a calming tone. "Not only did you manage to retrieve both of these items, but you kept them safe. We don't know the full extent of what happened but…after it involved killing…you still kept these protected. If anyone is more qualified in taking care of these, you proved yourself beyond a doubt."

"I doubt it, it proved more trouble than it was worth now that I think about it…." Hiccup ended up responding in the same tone, the weight behind those words basically told them that Hiccup is firmly set on this. Yet they were true as if Hiccup didn't go back to the village for those items then maybe all those kills could have been avoided, that or at least prevented one or two of them.

"Don't say that, you did a great job keeping these safe," Astrid tried to assure, once more, telling the truth in her words.

"Especially with all those weighing you down," Ruffnut added in, still amazed at that fact.

"They still held consequences to them, it would have saved me the sanity and two kills if I would have just listened my dad," Hiccup then said, making the others perk up at this.

"Y-You talked to Stoick?" Snotlout asked. All of them remembering him saying everyone was captured and he was all alone. This was something that raised more questions than answers as small slivers were being added to the cracks.

"Y-Yeah…I found him on accident, well he found me. He's being held within Berk's prison, he's being forced to stay there, but we talked. He told me I shouldn't have come for those items, that my life was more important, which now I see is true," Hiccup explained softly yet with some regret. Both eyes watched and listened to the crackle of the fire once more. The Dragons seemed to sense his distress on the matter and tried to help make him feel better by nuzzling him some more. It helped a bit, but not fully, still he showed his appreciation by giving them some pets.

"Come on don't think like that," Fishlegs responded, trying again and hoping to succeed. "You saved two crucial things of our tribe; you did a good thing. Not just anyone could do that, yet you managed to do so. That has to say so much about your actions."

"It has…but none of it is good," Hiccup responded back, truly feeling like his actions weren't good enough. All he did is runaway, and in the process kill eight people. The one time where he could have proven himself as a Viking in fighting an enemy, he failed at it as he broke down after killing, something a normal Viking wouldn't have done. They would have shrugged it off easily unlike him, this only brought him down even more, "I don't feel any good at all, nothing can help."

Another suspenseful silence filled the cave as everyone looked at their leader, trying to figure out what to do now. Despite being down in a pit, Hiccup seemed to counter every uplifting positive with something negative. Astrid thought of something and decided to try it out, hoping it could help in any way, even if small. Getting up, she moved closer and sat down a few feet away from him, "Ok, then talk to us. You tell us how none of us can help, but we're here now and it seems like you have a lot on your mind. Just talk to us. We never let you down in the past before, when it comes down to it, we always have one another's backs." Nothing else was said as Hiccup remained silent on the matter, but he heard every single word. Astrid looked back at the others, seeing if they wanted to try their luck.

"Yeah, we might not be able to relate but, we can still listen," Tuffnut then said surprisingly.

"Like bro said, you're not alone here," Ruffnut said next.

"Cuz, what they are saying is…that you'll get through this, you always manage to bounce back from worse things…you'll do fine, and we all know this will be another simple thing for you," Snotlout explained, the others each raised an eye upon hearing such kind words coming from him, but whatever works. Snotlout allowed them to think what they wanted; he didn't care right now as long as it helped.

Hiccup listened to them, a small part of him knowing they were wrong in this case…but a small part of him mentally smiled at their words, glad they had confidence within him. But right now, he didn't want to think about anything else on the matter right now, just having them here is helping, but not as much as he had hoped. His mind is a jumbled-up mess and wasn't sure how to process any of this. His head then started to drop some before he lifted it back up, making his system aware of the fatigue that is creeping onto him. That didn't go unnoticed as mostly everyone saw it.

"Are you ok?" Astrid asked in concern.

"T-Tired," Hiccup responded on reaction, not sure why he said that. His body feeling heavy due to the fatigue from before, while on the run, but for some reason it was at its apex, as he felt like there was no way he could resist it for that much longer. His body just refused to shake it off, after all he has been through today, apparently enough is enough and he needs to rest.

"Ok, we best get some sleep then, we need to be fresh for anything that comes our way," Astrid ended up saying to everyone else.

"Yeah, I agree," Ruffnut responded, stretching and yawning a bit.

"If only if it was under better circumstances," Fishlegs responded, reminding them of the situation, making another sullen silence in the cave, except for the crackle of the fire.

"I know," Astrid responded as she grabbed one of the logs Fishlegs collected and put it into the fire, keeping it alive. "We'll take turns doing watch, obviously Hiccup you're not going to be apart of it."

"Like that wasn't obvious," Snotlout couldn't help but comment.

Astrid gave the burly teen a look for a minute, not needing the snarky remark right now…but then a smirk broke out on her face as a new thought came to mind. "Thanks for volunteering for the first watch Snotlout."

"What!?" the burly teen exclaimed quickly with raised eyes. His mouth opened in an attempted to respond back, but apparently him "volunteering" seemed to register fully with the others.

"Thanks Lout, that's kind of you," Ruffnut said.

"Yeah thanks, we could use the sleep," Tuffnut said.

"But I Didn't…wait I…" he kept trying to argue over the sudden declaration but knew that they all were against him and wouldn't take the first watch now. Even Fishlegs started to move away, showing he's in agreement. Perfect. All he could do is just sigh in defeat, head tilting back as his hand smacked against his face. "Me and my big mouth…sigh….well at least it's you and me Hooky, we can-"

Snotlout look at his dragon but found him all curled up at one end of the cave, along with the other dragons, eyes closed and seeming to be asleep. "Hookfang, really? Come on you can't possibly leave me guarding by myself, can you?"

Astrid turned away from Snotlout as she went over to Hiccup, kneeling down by him, "Come on, you can sleep as much as you need."

Hiccup's body stiffened for a moment upon hearing the word sleep, his mind instantly going back to the nightmares that plagued him. Every single one of them about every single person he killed, and how they wouldn't leave him. How he can remember those cold, dead eyes peering into him, almost as if they were trying to pierce into his soul. Those chilling words leaving their cold bodies, sending shivers down his spine as they hit his ears. He didn't want to sleep, he wanted to reject the idea of sleep to spare himself the sanity…but for some reason he didn't. His head slowly looked up an saw his friends there with him, along with their dragons. A part of him, the one part that was there before all this tragedy happened felt welcoming of them being here.

All sense of arguing and fear of sleep left him upon seeing Astrid's outstretched hand. His own reached out and grasped the calloused flesh and without much effort he's helped to his feet, both of her hands helping guide him over to nearby flat surface of dirt, where the riders were setting up their bed rolls.

"Astrid," Snotlout called out, catching the blond's attention as the burly teen then tossed over his own rolled up bedroll, which she caught. "Since I'm stuck doing first watch, might as well let Hiccup use it."

"Thanks for that," Astrid responded back, as Hiccup looked back to his cousin, feeling a bit grateful for that gesture. He gave a small nod, the flicker of the flame's shadows showing it.

"You're welcome cuz," Snotlout gave a nod back, knowing that was a thankful nod, or at least that is what he thought. He might as well let Hiccup have some comfort for sleeping. Sntolout then settled down on one of the giant logs, knowing he has the next few hours to watch out.

Hiccup stood in place as Astrid unrolled and laid down Snotlout's bedroll, thankfully it's large and could more than fit his small frame. Astrid then ushered him to lay down, which he did. Crouching down he then laid down on the small, yet somewhat, soft surface, instead of sand. For a small moment Hiccup considered crying for this very reason. He actually had something resembling a bed that he's actually going to be sleeping on. No more hard, cold, dirt, bushes or a tree…he has something that is actually able to be slept on. And he didn't have to worry about being caught, as someone is looking out for him. He didn't have to look behind his back nor fear about being vulnerable while sleeping…he would be safe.

"Is…is this actually helping?" He thought to himself as he laid down on his left side, getting comfy. For a moment he tried to soak in this feeling and try to process it fully, yet his head perked up as he noticed he's surrounded by his friends. Astrid lying to his left, Fishlegs to his right, Ruff and Tuff above and below him. Heck, even the dragons seemed to have followed suit and laid down around him. He couldn't believe the formation they were in, it was as if they were forming a protective circle around him. He wasn't sure if they did this by accident or they did it on purpose, the desire to ask was there, but he didn't. To be honest, this felt nice, a feeling of….safety overcame him, which made his worries almost wash away….not completely but it was enough for the moment.

Astrid turned over so now the two of them were facing one another, and she saw him still awake. "Are you ok?"

"I'm…fine," Hiccup responded, wanting to say so much but that's all that would come out.

Astrid nodded, not buying it but decided not to pursue it, "Alright, but we're here if you need us."

"Yeah, you don't have to be afraid anymore," Fishlegs said from behind, Hiccup didn't need to turn around to see him.

"If anyone comes by you let us handle them," Tuffnut said, lying on his back, with his helmet covering his face.

"No one will get near you," Ruffnut added onto her brother, in the same position.

This really surprised Hiccup big time, his friend really were here for him and it seemed like they were serious in protecting him. They were going out of their way for him and he wasn't sure how to feel about it. Part of him felt like he was lucky they were here as he could finally rest…yet on the other hand he might be setting them up for disappointment when this is all over with, as he wouldn't be the same anymore. He felt bad for the latter, as the disappointment in his friends would be heart breaking as their efforts would be in vain. He didn't want to see the looks on their face when that happened. For now, he would just let it go for now.

He closed his eyes, and fell asleep, surrounded by a protective circle.

Astrid slowly started to come to as she awakened from her slumber. Both eyes fluttered open, showing a dimly lit cave ceiling. Her mind was a bit slow as to remembering where she was, allowing herself a few more seconds to let her mind catch up to her body before she remembered where she was, well where they were. Then she sat up instantly upon realizing the light was nearly gone. Looking towards the fire she could see it was just about smoldering, and nearby is Tuffnut…who is asleep!

She quickly looked around the cave, standing back up, but after a few seconds sighed in relief, as there were in intruders or signs of any, it was only them present. That was good, but now she's irked a bit, remembering last night. She could remember being awaken by Ruffnut, who had watch after Snotlout. Astrid took her turn and then woke up Fishlegs, so that meant Tuffnut had the last watch and apparently went to sleep at some point.

Shaking her head in disappointment, she walked over and then tapped the male twin on the head…hard.

"Ack! Where are they!" he suddenly stood up, senses alert and looking around. Yet, he stopped upon seeing Astrid looing right back at him, with folded arms. "Uh…hi?"

"You fell asleep," Astrid chastised.

"I did?" he scratched his helmet. "I can't remember doing it."

Astrid sighed and looked over at the entry way of the cave, seeing some light shining through. "Well, you got lucky, it's morning already."

"See, I did a good job," Tuff smiled, feeling proud of himself. "No one even got near you guys, which proves I'm good at guarding."

"Still despite the point you-" Astrid turned back to the others and froze in place, stopping mid-sentence.

"I what?" Tuffnut asked, but then followed her gaze, both his eyes widened as well as he looked upon his friends. They and the dragons were still asleep, but there is one thing that brought up major concern and alarm.

Hiccup was gone.

A/N: Hope you like, at least in this one Hiccup spoke up some more and his friends helped him some. He still has some doubts about himself but he's still hanging in there and is showing signs of being grateful for their presence. Still, the ending is throwing you for a loop? Well can't say more, all I can say is that the next few chapters will be good. I appreciate feedback as it helps down the road, and if you have questions feel free to ask. Till next time.