The door to the forge was opened with a pulley system, the same that Hiccup installed on the Edge. Inside was hot and humid, wooden walls filled with sketches and schematics. All sorts of tools, big and small and obscure. The ceiling was high and contained hundreds of cogs interlocked, but stopped. The room was quiet, despite looking like it would be deafening.

Boat Hiccup was a step behind her, taking it all in. "This is…familiar."

She chuckled, "You're telling me. Wait, like you remember this place? You know what Schema this is?"

"Not exactly, but I feel like I've been here before. A lot even." He shook his head. "Doesn't matter right now. Keep going."

She weaved around half finished saddles and weird weapons with odd shaped blades.

Then she found him. This Hiccup was sitting at a large desk, a map sprawled out in front of him. He was mid-sentence, writing a list. But he was frozen, staring blankly at the paper. His skin was just as gray as the first, and his eyelids were drooped.

"Hiccup?"

He stirred slightly, raising his head. He wore a strange device on his face, like a series of lenses.

"A…strid…?" He asked slowly.

"That's right, I'm here, Hiccup."

"Did he say something?" Whispered Boat Hiccup.

"Yeah, my name, you didn't hear it?"

He shook his head.

Lens Hiccup looked back down at his paper and frowned.

"What's wrong?"

He slowly shook his head, like he didn't know. "I'm…stuck."

Astrid came over and looked over his shoulder.

He had a list written out.

1. Knife in sleeve

2. Bite mouth cover

3. Call for Toothless

4. Rock weight against

It didn't make sense initially, but the longer she stared at the paper, the more she began to see the big picture. Above the list was a map of an island with a gorge.

Lens Hiccup had fallen down a gorge when he was soul-trapped.

"Are you trying to make an escape plan?"

Hiccup sat up a little. "Yes. Yes I was."

"What does 'rock weight against' mean?"

"He was bound by ropes that were attached to these little stakes in the ground…"

"So you mean 'rock weight against ropes'? Hoping to knock them loose?"

"Y-yeah. Yes. That's it."

She smiled as he wrote out the rest of the sentence, and then another point before he stopped. He whirled around and looked at her, blinking several times. "Astrid?"

"Hi?" She chuckled.

He looked past her to Boat Hiccup, gave him a questioning look, and then looked back at her. "What are you doing here? I mean, welcome, but like…wait…" he looked around again, noticing that the gears weren't moving. "Is he unconscious?"

"Not…quite…" She winced. "Hiccup's soul was taken from him by a witch. Gothi made a potion out of the remnants, and had me drink it. So…we're in my body."

"Huh," said Lens Hiccup. "That's…weird."

"What's the last thing you remember?" Astrid asked.

Lens Hiccup glanced back at his map. "Well, I think you kind of know. Hiccup was captured by these weird empty zombie vikings, and this woman said she wanted Hiccup's soul. I started making an escape plan when…" His brows furrowed. "The whole room glowed blue, and I couldn't move. I remember looking at Hiccup's face, which I rarely ever see, and this wasn't a reflection. Then his thoughts stopped." He pointed up at the gears above. "They never do unless he's unconscious. Even when he's asleep…I was just stuck here for a while, not remembering what I was doing. And then you were here!"

Astrid gasped loudly, grabbing Lens Hiccup's shirt by his shoulder. "I've got it! Since you were making an escape plan, you must be Creativity!"

His eyes widened. His cheeks blushed and turned a healthy pink as a broad smile took over his face. The room itself started to look more vibrant as the sound of the forge grew again. The cogs up above didn't start moving, but Astrid assumed they wouldn't until this part was back in Hiccup's body. "Yes! I'm Creativity! I'm the part of Hiccup that devises plans, schematics, does drawings, even cooking! Whenever Hiccup creates something, that's me!" He got up from his chair and hugged her. "Astrid! You're a genius!"

She was beaming big too. "Glad to help!"

"Oh wow," said Boat Hiccup, "I can see and hear him clearly now."

"So what happened?" Creativity spoke as if he didn't hear Boat Hiccup. "How are you here? This is crazy! I've never spoken to you on this side of the eyes before."

Boat Hiccup found a pair of chairs and brought them over so they could all sit.

"The blue stuff you saw was apparently Hiccup's soul. You were removed from his body and put in a crystal. He escaped–"

"How?" He asked, eagerly.

"Toothless saved him."

Creativity snapped his fingers. "Okay, continue."

"So…he came home and he was all dull and emotionless. But he had the crystal, so Gothi was able to brew it into a tea. She had me drink it, so I would consume his soul, I guess? So I'm asleep right now and also here. To be honest, it's pretty confusing."

"How creative of Gothi! It looks like it's working!"

"Well…" She awkwardly played with her hair. "You're the first trait I woke up."

"What about him?" Creativity pointed to Boat Hiccup.

"I found him, but he doesn't know what emotion he is. I haven't been able to guess yet. He doesn't remember what he was doing before this."

"Oh…I see."

"Does he look familiar?"

Creativity adjusted his lenses and looked closer. "Now that is weird. His face is a blur to me. I know he's a trait or emotion of Hiccup's but I can't place it."

Boat Hiccup frowned.

"What is it that you need to do, again?"

"Gothi said I need to wake up the fragments of Hiccup's soul, but didn't say how. He and I," she gestured to Boat Hiccup, "figure that means I need to help them remember who they are. Like I did with you."

"Makes sense to me!" Creativity noticed that Boat Hiccup was turned and staring at a schematic on the wall. "Whatcha looking at?"

He walked over, took it down, and held it out to Creativity. "What's this?" He asked, though Creativity didn't hear him.

"Oh that damned thing? That's Inferno. It's one of my most creative ideas! But it's been stuck in the prototype phase that doesn't last very long…so for now I tacked it up with the other passion projects."

"Does it seem familiar to you?" Astrid asked Boat Hiccup.

"Hmm. I think it's cool."

"He says it's cool."

"That's an older schematic, if you want to hang onto it."

Boat Hiccup nodded in gratitude, folded it up, and tucked it into his pocket.

"I bet you can't help me out navigating to another Schema, could you?"

"What are you talking about?" Creativity chuckled, "Happiness is right on the other side of this door!" He went over and opened a door, though instead of whatever landscape he was expecting there to be, there was only water disappearing into whiteness. "Or not…"

"That's also part of the problem. The Schemas are all disconnected," provided Boat Hiccup, which then Astrid repeated.

Creativity knelt and touched the water. "By absent thought, of all things. This is pretty bad."

"So I guess…I better get to work?" Astrid winced.

"Yep! You're always welcome back here to rest. I don't leave my Schema though. I'm a trait, not an emotion. The emotions come to me and influence my work."

Astrid turned to Boat Hiccup. "You said you've been here before?"

"At least I think so?"

"You must be Happiness!" Astrid waited in anticipation for him to get his color back, but nothing happened.

"Hmm. No, that's not right either. Sorry Astrid."

She groaned. "No no, it's not your fault. We'll figure it out! Thanks for your help, Creativity!"

"No Astrid, thank you!"

Together, she and Boat Hiccup left the workshop to head back down the dock to the boat.

"Got any new clues?" She asked.

"Nothing you didn't see. I had no idea I wouldn't be able to probably see or hear him until you woke him up. Perhaps we'll have better luck at the next Schema? Though, if I'm unable to interact with them, then perhaps I'm more of a hindrance than help?"

"I wouldn't mind having company."

"Then I'm ready if you are."

The duo jumped back in the boat and Boat Hiccup pushed off into a new direction.

It really was rare that Astrid spent quality time with Hiccup and had nothing to talk about. She was beyond worried for his well-being, and this piece of Hiccup didn't possess all the qualities she loved about him. In fact, if she stumbled over Hiccup acting this way, she'd assume he needed some time alone. The urge to ask 'are you okay?' over and over gnawed at her, but she stayed silent.

"What if I mess up?" She asked herself, aloud.

"How would you mess up?"

"Like…Gothi said I could be woken up by loud noises and if I woke up before I was done, your soul, Hiccup's soul, would be damaged. What if I mess up? What will happen to you if I can't wake you up before I wake up?"

He shrugged, but didn't seem concerned. "Who knows? Best case scenario, I go back to Hiccup and become awakened later on. Worst case, I cease to exist. Will that change how you work? What will it accomplish to wonder about these things?"

"Are you Practicality?"

He stopped for a moment, to consider, and then said, "nope. Good guess though."

It wasn't long before they hit another Schema. This time, there was a large beach. The sea or lake that they traveled was shrouded in whiteness, like an incomplete haze. But this beach had fog. The air was cool and damp. She stepped onto a pebbly ground from the boat. This place was somehow familiar.

Of course, Boat Hiccup said most of the Schemas would be familiar to her. This was someplace she knew, just couldn't put her finger on it. She walked forward, her footsteps loud on the pebbly surface. She sank a little with each step. Berk was often foggy in the early mornings, and maybe something about a foggy beach made Hiccup feel a certain emotion. Even through the fog, she could see the rough shape of mountains.

Eventually, the fog gave way to a dilapidated shack. It tilted harshly to one side, only propped up from falling over by a piece of driftwood.

Boat Hiccup whistled lowly at the sight. "We should go back to Creativity and get some tools to fix this place."

"No kidding," she huffed.

She knocked first, out of habit, then realized no trait or emotion would be awake to respond. The door was unlocked, though she figured she could probably break through it if it wasn't.

The inside was dark and damp. The wood of the shack creaked with the breeze outside. There was a table and a chair, a bed, and little else. She began to wonder if anyone was here at all.

"Hello? Um, it's me, Astrid!"

She took a step forward, and as her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she saw a pair of legs under the table.

She almost screamed. "H-hello?"

Pushing the single chair out of the way, she saw the rest of the body. A young Hiccup, how she remembered him before Toothless was around. He still had two legs. He laid face down on the floor, unmoving. The only other thing of note was that he was wearing a gray-blue tunic, a color she didn't think she had ever seen on him before.

She couldn't see his face, but the skin of his hands looked pale.

"Hmm…" she poked him with her foot. "Are you…alive?"

"HmmmMmmm," moaned the emotion.

"Is that a yes?" Asked Boat Hiccup.

She didn't answer, but guessed all the same, "Are you Childhood Innocence?"

The emotion spoke with his face still flat against the floor so his words were mostly indistinguishable, but she heard something that sounded like, 'he's out there.'

"Okay," Astrid crouched and slid an arm under his shoulders and lifted. He was light, as Hiccup had been when he was little. She picked him up and sat him on the bed.

Like Creativity, his face was gray and his eyelids heavy. But his cheeks were wet and snot dripped out his nose.

"Eugh, gross." Astrid looked around for a handkerchief, but found none.

"What are you looking for?" Asked Boat Hiccup.

"Something to wipe his face with."

"Wipe his face?"

"He's covered in snot and tears."

"Check your pockets."

Miracle of miracles, there was a handkerchief in there now. This dreamscape was pretty convenient.

She used the cloth to wipe Blue Hiccup's face and then held it up to his nose. "Blow."

He did, a pathetic little honk, and then he looked up at her.

"Astrid?" He asked timidly, his voice that of a child.

"Hiya." She smiled. "Sadness."

The color came back to his cheeks as tears welled up in his eyes and he started crying again.

"Oh come on, it's okay." She adjusted him so he sat in her lap and could cry on her shoulder. She wasn't very good at this whole comforting thing, but she gave it her best. She petted his hair and rubbed his back. "There there, you're okay."

"I'm sorry," he sobbed, "this-this-this is my whole thing."

She chuckled. "I get it." In retrospect, she should have figured it out by the blue tunic, but such is hindsight. Patting her pockets, she found another clean handkerchief. "Here." She dabbed his cheeks again, wondering if this was going to be the entirety of her interaction with him. "Why are you here?"

"Wh-wh-what do you mean? This is my Schema, where I live."

"I meant—why are you living in a shack? This place looks like a stiff breeze will knock it down!"

"It has, and it will," he shrugged.

"That's kind of–"

"Sad? Pathetic? Yeah."

"Okay, I guess I walked into that one. But it can't be…I don't know, productive here? You're Hiccup's sadness, so shouldn't you be more stable or-or healing or something?"

He sighed, leaning into her. She assumed he was taking advantage of the close contact and allowed it. "I used to be a primary emotion for Hiccup, sadness is a core emotion for everyone, but I mean I was very common. Before the Great Switch, I was one of the main emotions in charge. Me and Fear, we had the most time in control. You remember, right? Being the smallest person in a village of angry, huge, blade swinging vikings and giant, fire breathing dragons? Not much time for anything else."

"The Great Switch?"

"Yeah…that's when the Ego switched things up. Fear and I were practically shunned. Happiness, Creativity, and Passion became primary. Self-Doubt started letting Confidence work in peace, and Denial and Self-Control started working overtime."

Astrid couldn't help but smirk. The little Hiccup she remembered was certainly sad and afraid, but was always doing what he could to impress. That meant weird inventions coming down the line every week. She would have assumed he had no self control.

"So since you're not a primary emotion, you get stuck in a shack? Who thought that was fair?"

"It's not about what's fair. It's about what Hiccup wants. And Hiccup doesn't want to feel sad anymore. In fact, I come with a heavy dose of guilt these days. I can't help it."

"That…can't be healthy."

Sadness shrugged. "He still has his moments. But he's not alone anymore. I don't really…come out around people. Like you, I haven't seen you in years." He tilted his head. "Why are you here? Surely not for me…"

"Well, I kinda am here for you. And all the rest of Hiccup's traits and emotions. There was—" she cut herself off as she looked at his face. He was awfully fragile. How helpful would it really be to explain the whole witch thing to him? Wouldn't it be better to just be vague? "Something happened, and now Hiccup and all of his pieces are in need of some help. And you know I'm always ready to help Hiccup!" She smiled at him.

His lips started trembling. "Y-y-you risked your safety and–and–and came here just to help us?! Astrid! I–I–I–!" Waterworks. Gushing down his face like a waterfall.

Looks like it didn't matter what she said to him. He was Sadness after all.

"Aww," said Boat Hiccup. "Poor kid."

Astrid just held him again. Though she knew better, seeing a young Hiccup, the boy she loved so much, sobbing his eyes out, made something pull at her heartstrings.

"I'm-I'm-I'm sorry! I'm getting your pretty dress all wet!"

"It's okay." She briefly looked at the dress. Why was she wearing it anyway? She didn't own one that looked like it. She'd have to ask a different emotion. One that didn't burst into tears at every sentence.

"Who's that?" Sadness asked, pointing to Boat Hiccup and wiping his face.

"Oh! This is another emotion of Hiccup's. I haven't figured out who he's supposed to be yet, so he's following me around."

"You don't know—? And he doesn't know—? Oh, that's so sad!" He blubbered.

"Yes, it can be. But we're going to find a solution. No worries!"

Sadness got up from her lap and went over to Boat Hiccup, holding his arms out.

Boat Hiccup shrugged and hugged the other emotion.

Now came the tricky part. Astrid knew they had to leave. Sadness would always be sad, and she had other emotions to interact with.

"Well," she started, as one does when trying to leave an awkward situation. "We should probably be moving on."

"Yeah, I guess…" said Sadness, letting go of Boat Hiccup.

Huh. This was working better than expected.

"It was nice to meet you, Sadness. I'll see if I can't get Hiccup to express you a little more, to be healthier."

"Okay," he stated as he sat on the floor and hugged her leg.

Oh, that wasn't good.

Astrid stood, hoping that would prompt him to let go. It did the opposite as he clamped on harder.

"You know, I need to leave, and you have to let me go." She took a step, dragging him across the floor.

"But-but-but-!"

"I know, but it'll be okay. Once we fix this, you won't be lonely anymore."

"That's not true! No one comes to visit me! And I don't influence many traits anymore!"

She figured that was pretty true, since how often did you create something out of sadness?

She looked at Boat Hiccup. "Can Sadness come with us?"

Boat Hiccup screwed up his face in thought. "I guess so. I don't know why not."

Sadness let go of her leg at that moment and scrambled to his feet. He then ran over to the head of the bed and grabbed something from under his pillow. Hiccup's toy dragon he owned as a child, apparently a gift from his mother.

"I'm ready," Sadness stated, buffing out his chest bravely, but taking hold of her hand.

Astrid couldn't help but laugh. "I bet you've been ready to leave this place for a while."

He nodded, a loud 'sssnnrrrkkk' coming from his nose. Astrid gave him the handkerchief.

Together, the three left the shack.

It wasn't foggy out anymore. In fact, besides over the nebulous lake, the air was clear, if only full of lazy drizzling rain. Now she was able to pinpoint this beach and what its significance to Hiccup was.

The colossal skull of a dragon sat on the beach, not too far away from the shack. The skull of the Red Death. They were at Hellheim's gate.

"Oh…" said Astrid, staring at the bones.

"Yeah," said Sadness, squeezing her hand. "That's why I'm here."

Astrid tilted her head. "I…I'm actually confused. I thought Hiccup was proud of the defeat of the Red Death. He saved the village, ended the war against the dragons…why would this represent sadness?"

"Does he ever talk about it?" Asked Sadness.

"Hm…now that you mention it…"

"I can't speak for Confidence, which is where Hiccup's Pride comes from. But I know he remembers that day with sorrow. The day he had to kill a dragon to gain the tribe's love and trust."

"He–" Astrid wanted to protest. She was there. She knew Stoick hadn't wanted Hiccup to go up against the Red Death. She knew all the other teens had his back from just his training. And she, the first, loved and trusted him from that romantic flight.

But the rest of the stubborn vikings? They probably had needed more convincing. For how many of them knew the truth? That Hiccup had been disowned by his father just before? How many of them knew that Hiccup had come to help of his own volition, and not because it was expected?

"It was fat, and angry, and gluttonous…but it was still a dragon. Just as much as Hiccup saw himself in Toothless, he saw himself in the Red Death."

Astrid looked to Boat Hiccup to see what he thought, but he just gave a little nod, like he agreed with it.

"How?" Asked Astrid. "That dragon was so evil! And Hiccup so isn't!"

"Hiccup grew up being told that he was a walking disaster. Everything he touched was ruined. But, he was the chief's son, with everyone watching him. Before Toothless, wouldn't the tribe be better off without him?"

Astrid shook her head sternly. "I don't agree with that. He had some rough spots, but everyone knew he'd work through it."

Sadness took her hand and started to lead her towards the skull.

"Where are we going?"

"I think…I need to show you something."

Hesitant, Astrid followed him as they drew closer and closer to the skull. It only got bigger and bigger, and she realized she had forgotten how big the monster had been. A Zippleback wasn't even a full snack for it.

Sadness led her right up to the skull, and around, where there was a hole in the jaw.

Inside the skull of this dragon, there was a ring of rocks. They were all different shapes and sizes, but the one farthest from her had writing on it. It was too far for her to read yet.

"What are these?"

"These are the things that make Hiccup sad. Memories of painful things. Things he's never forgotten, and never will."

Astrid tried to think if there were any moments in her life that she could attribute genuine sadness to, and came up with a few. Not as many as Hiccup had.

Sadness dragged her closer.

"I don't know if I should–"

"You should," said Boat Hiccup. "Look at how heavy those boulders are. He's holding them alone."

Sadness put the plush dragon in her hands. "I want you to see them, Astrid. I've always wanted to share them with you, but Fear and Denial and Self-Control wouldn't let me."

Astrid sighed and allowed Sadness to pull her forward.