Hiccup found himself in a strange dream; he was sitting on top of the Wall, and looking down at him was Clueless in his Titan form. However, unlike the other times he encountered him, the left half of his face was nothing more than a skeleton, and he appeared to be in pain.

"It hurts," he said. "It hurt so badly."

Hiccup wasn't sure what to make of any of this and saw tears forming in his eye.

He then suddenly sat up and found himself on top of the Wall, completely shirtless and wearing nothing but a Scout jacket. It appeared to be the middle of the day, so he tried to think back to the last thing he remembered, and that was Clueless transforming above them. He had to assume that he had been knocked out cold in the blast, and it looked as if the battle was long over.

"Clueless?" Hiccup blinked.

"It hurts," said a voice next to him. "It hurts so badly."

He turned and saw Ruffnut sitting next to him; clearly, in his dream, his subconscious used those words in conjunction with Clueless.

"Wait, are you…" he then leaned over and lifted the sheet slightly and saw her injury. "Ruffnut, you're in horrible shape. What happened to you?"

"You're up," said Ragnar rushing over to him.

"Astrid?"

Astrid then quickly rushed over to him and then punched him in the shoulder. "That's for scaring me!"

"Ow!" Hiccup yelled, rubbing his arm. "Wounded soldier here. I mean, if this is how you're going to treat—"

then to his surprise, Astrid then kissed him on the lips, and he found his brain-melting in his skull as he tried to remember his own name.

"—I couldn't get used to it," Hiccup shrugged.

Eret then landed on the Wall. "About time."

"Captain?" Hiccup frowned. "What happened? I saw Clueless transformer, then everything gets kind of blurry. Did we fight them off? Is everyone okay?"

"It sounds like your recent memory was just about wiped out," said Eret pulling out a flare gun. "Astrid, tell him everything."

He then fired a jet of green smoke.

All the other Scouts were searching the perimeter for any survivors, though none of them were surprised to find any.

Astrid began to explain everything to Hiccup, who just sat there listening. When Astrid was finishing just sat there stunned.

"Okay, are you up to speed now?" Eret asked.

"We won," said Hiccup simply. "But out of the Scout Regiment, there are only 15 left alive. The 15 of us."

"That's what it looks like," said Fishlegs. "The fighting ended four hours ago; we've been searching for survivors but no luck—"

"Not that we expected to find any," said Heather. "My brother and Mala were nearly killed when the beast Titan attacked, and it was only sheer luck that Floch and Wartihog survived the charge."

"Not to mention the only reason your mother didn't get incinerated was that there was a well beneath at the time," said Gobber.

"So to be clear, we resealed Berk's gates, securing Wall Maria, Dogsbreath, and the Beast Titan escaped along with the quadruped. You managed to capture Clueless, and then both my father and me wounded you had to choose which of us to give the injection to. And you did. I transformed into a Titan and killed Clueless."

He then immediately began to throw up; Ragnar couldn't blame him as he had an almost similar experience when he realised that he had eaten his mother.

"Here," said Snotlout handing him some water.

Hiccup began to drink it down, but he still looked as if he were in shock.

"I still don't understand; why did you pick me?" Hiccup asked. "No matter how you look at it, my father is the one humanity needed the most. Captain, why do you give me the injection?"

"I fought. I told you to tell him everything, Hofferson," said Eret looking at Astrid. "There was a short debate; your friends here argued that you were the one needed to revive. And when I disagreed, they staged a little mutiny."

Hiccup looked at them perplexed.

"It's true," said Ragnar. "You can precious as you will."

"You certainly will be disciplined for your insubordination," said Valka. "But getting punished is not the same as making amends."

"I know," Ragnar nodded.

"Personally, I don't know this was the right decision or not. I guess time will only tell," said Gobber. "Though one cannot deny it was certainly a hard choice."

"It was still my decision to revive you in the end," said Eret. "Though your father made a very strong case for you and even ordered me not to give you the injection. He traded his life for you as any father would have done for their son."

"Sorry, I just don't understand," said Hiccup.

"Because he believes that a parent should not outlive their children," said Valka.

"Still, how are the Scouts supposed to survive without him?" Hiccup asked.

"If I was in Stoick's position, I would do the same thing, but from where I was standing, I agree with you," said Valka. "You may have been my son, but with the fate of humanity on our shoulders, it's of little consequence. It's a shame that we had to choose in the first place. What's done is done, Stoick told Eret to use the syringe as he saw thought best and Eret chose to use it on you. Stoick's life in the power of a Titan both rest on your shoulders; no matter what anyone says, that's the truth. Your father wouldn't do this if he knew you couldn't handle it."

"So what now?" Hiccup asked.

"I don't know, but just make sure that none of us regrets this," said Eret. "Not me…" He then placed his hands on Astrid and Ragnar's heads. "…nor are little mutineers here, nor anyone else and especially don't regret it yourself. Consider that your new mission."

"Shut the hell up," said Ruffnut, and everyone turned to look at her.

Valka laughed. "Yep, that our Ruffnut. She's always been one to speak her mind. You know, since Stoick chose me to succeed him as commander, I am more or less in the same boat as you so. We'll just have to grit our teeth and bear it while doing what we can."

"I'll try," said Hiccup.

"Good," said Valka and rose to her feet. "Now that we know that Hiccup's all right, this check out that cellar. Hiccup, Astrid, Ragnar, Fishlegs, the four of you come and guide me and Eret. The rest of you stay for any hostiles here on the Wall."

"We got it," they nodded.

"Ragnar, do you still have the key?" Valka asked.

"I do," Ragnar nodded. "Let's do this."

The six of them then made their way down into the district, and everyone began remembering the day that Stoick asked the recruits. He said they had made it to Berk and found the secret beneath the seven that he could bring the end to the Titan's 100 years reign. Back then, it felt nothing more than hope, but now it was becoming a reality.

In the past few months alone, they had learned more about Titans than they had over the past hundred years. Additionally, the possibility that they might discover that humanity had not gone extinct as they believed might actually come to light.

Hiccup, in particular, was feeling rather anxious; his entire family had been working up to this moment now he could see there were complete. However, when they made their way into the ruined city, it brought back memories of happier days.

"Well, take us to your house," said Eret.

Valka looked at Eret. "Give them a moment; I'm sure this place brings back memories. I myself never spend too much time here in Berk, but even I can see a few ghosts."

"Don't worry, it's fine," said Ragnar. "My house should be this way."

They began making their way down the streets, and to Hiccup and his friends, it felt like walking through a ghost town, and they could see the ghosts of everyone who lived there. They could even picture themselves playing the streets, running around and having fun.

They soon passed the marketplace, remembering all the food that was being sold. Next, they came to the Plaza where Finn and his friends had been drinking and gambling. Even their chairs and the crater used for tables was still there.

Astrid herself could see the ghost of her mother walking around buying food as she turned around the corner towards their house. Images of the attack then began to feel their minds as they saw people panicking in all directions, something crushed by the rubble.

Astrid knew that they were on a mission, but she couldn't help but look at the remains of her house where her mother died. She looked at it, and tears began to form in her eyes and then she felt Hiccup placing a hand on her shoulder. She grasped it and placed her head against his shoulders before they carried on down the street.

They eventually came to Ragnar's house, which seemed to be the only house not damaged. They went inside despite the fact that it was covered in dust and plant life was starting to grow. It looked all right.

"Luckily for us, the fire snuffed out before they got this far," said Valka as she examined the place. "Still, I'm amazed that this house remained standing."

Ragnar then began making his way to the floor rug and began to move it. Directly beneath it, they could see a trapdoor that would lead to the cellar.

"This is it; the stairs to the cellar are beneath this door," he said.

"All right," said Eret.

They opened the trapdoor, and indeed it led to a series of stairs below the house. Valka held out the lamp at Shauna down the stairs, and they seemed to be in perfect condition.

"That's a relief. I was worried the place would be flooded by now," said Valka.

"When I was a kid, I would want to go down here," said Ragnar.

"Guess now's your chance," said Fishlegs.

They began making their way down there. They could see a door that led to a secret room.

"Do it, Ragnar," said Eret.

"Right," said Ragnar pulling out his key.

He then moved it towards the lock, but it wouldn't fit.

"You okay?" Valka asked.

"What's wrong?" Astrid asked.

"You having problems with the lock?" Hiccup asked.

"Hurry it up," said Eret.

"Maybe you should try jiggling it," Fishlegs offered.

"I can't open it; the key doesn't go to this door," said Ragnar.

"What?" Valka stared.

"That doesn't make sense," said Astrid.

"Unless it was never the key to the door in the first place," said Hiccup folding his arms.

"What do you mean?" Fishlegs asked.

Hiccup looked at Ragnar. "Did your mom actually ever said that this key was to the cellar door?"

Ragnar's eyes widened; Hiccup was right. His mother never actually said that this key was the door to the cellar. He had always assumed that.

"Step aside, I'll open it," said Eret as he moved forwards.

"Wait? What?" Valka stared.

Eret then kicked down the door with all his strength.

"That'll do it," said Valka.

They made their way inside the room, which was completely pitch black. The first thing they did was light the lamp on the table, and it illuminated the room. Inside it looked like a study filled with books and chemicals, the sort of place you would expect for a doctor.

"It almost feels like a laboratory down here," said Valka as she examined the contents in the room.

"My mum was a doctor, so she was always down here missing medicines," said Ragnar.

"That makes sense," said Valka and began to examine the bottles. "Actually, if we assume that all this is labelled accurately, most of it seems to be widely available, and all the books on hand relate to medicine. This looks like a normal doctor study; there isn't a single thing here that would rouse my suspicion. Which I'm sure your mother intended."

"Right," Eret agreed. "If you want to hide something from the Interior Police, you want to be sure not to give them any leads." He then looked at the others who were just standing there. "Don't just stand there. Get to work. Stoick's hunches are rarely wrong."

"Right," they nodded.

So they began searching the contents of the room, but no one had any real idea what to look for. Those searching the place from top to toe wouldn't take so long since the room was small.

Hiccup started his search by searching the desk, but the main draw was completely empty. He then bent down in order to examine the desk itself and found a keyhole in one of the drawers.

"Ragnar… I found a keyhole," he said.

Everyone approached him, and Ragnar pulled out his key.

"Give it a try," said Valka.

Ragnar nodded and inserted the key into the keyhole. The key fit, and then he gave it a twist, and the sound of a lock unlocked.

"That got it," said Ragnar.

He went open the drawer, but it was empty.

"It's empty?"

"Look closer," said Eret as he began feeling the base of the draw. "There's a false bottom."

He then pushed down on the bottom of the drawer, and indeed there was a false bottom. He removed the plank of wood, hiding the contents, which were three books wrapped in a cloth. They removed the books from the drawer, and Valka examined the cloth.

"The cloth smells like peppermint oil and charcoal," she said. "I guess she was using these to wade off moisture and bugs."

"So she was looking to preserve these books," said Fishlegs.

"People were looking for exists, then we found it," said Eret.

Everyone around Ragnar to the honest to open the first book.

"After all this time, mum might finally explain herself," said Ragnar.

He then opened the book.

Meanwhile, the commanding officers of the remaining regimens, along with Zachary was still waiting for news from the Scouts. It was now the second night since the Scouts took off, so they expected to hear from them soon, and they were all a bit anxious.

To pass the time, Spitelout told them about Stoick's theory of humanity.

"Stoick then raised his hand and asked the strangest question," said Spitelout. "'How can we be sure that there aren't any other humans living far away from the Walls?' His thinking was is that we have never been able to search really beyond the Walls we had no way of confirming that the rest of humanity have been wiped out by Titans completely."

He began thinking back to when they were cadets, and he tried to share his theories with him when they were having lunch.

"And yet that's exactly what our historians would claim," said Stoick. "Think, if our history books claim to be unbiased, the phrasing should be that it's believed that the rest of mankind was killed."

"If I'm being honest, I feel like you're just splitting hairs here," said Spitelout.

"I'm not! This was a deliberate choice that they made! These books are commissioned and issued by the government itself. Get it? Their intent is to make us believe that we are the only humans left."

"Maybe they just assumed, aren't you reading a little too far into this?"

Of course, now, it was clear Stoick was right all along about everything.

"Back then, I made fun of him of his theory, but he may have been right," said Spitelout.

"If he is, you'll just have to apologise to him," said Zachary.

Alvin looked towards the rising sun. "Look there, the sun is rising. If our heroes are going to return, it should be soon."

Then as if on cue, the door then swung open, and Rosa entered. "Hmm, pardon. But the Scouts came back a moment ago, they did it! They reclaim Wall Maria!"

All the people of Trost then cried out in cheers as all the surviving Scout stood on top of the Wall. In her arms, Valka carrying the books they had discovered in Freida's study.

When they had opened the books in the study, the first thing that caught their notice was a picture of Freida with a young girl sitting on her knee and a tall man standing over her.

"Is this a painting?" Ragnar frowned.

"Let me look closer," said Valka and Ragnar gave her the picture. "No, this is far too detailed to be drawn by human hand."

"Hey, there's writing on the back," said Astrid.

Valka turned the picture around and began to read the writing. "'This is no illustration; it was made by gathering the light reflected off the subject and burning it into an image on special paper. Looks quite nice, right? Where I'm from, there are many amazing technologies like this. Mankind isn't gone; beyond the Walls, countless humans living comfortably with refinement. I pray the person who finds this book would be a fellow patriot.'"

"Hurry, Agnar!" said a little girl. "If we're not fast, we'll miss it!"

"Wait up, Freida!" said a little boy.

"Not so fast," said a voice behind them and their mother approached. "Come here." She then placed a band over their arms. "Don't forget again. You can't go outside without armbands and Freida; you must go past the walls for any reason."

The moment his armband was on, Agnar ran off.

"Hey, wait for me!" Freida yelled, chasing after him. "Don't worry, Mum. We'll be good!"

"Yeah, we'll see you later, okay!" Agnar waved and then turned and looked at his sister. "So, where to?"

"This way. Come on."

They began running across the street, chasing after an airship in the sky.

'When I first considered how best I should start my story, my thoughts turn to that day once.'

They were forced to come to a stop when they reached the wall and the airship glued to the other side.

"Ah, it's leaving," said Agnar looking disappointed. "I love it. When I'm rich, someday I want a ride in an airship exactly like that one."

Freida frowned at him. "What are you talking about? There's no way that either of us can get rich."

"I know," he said, looking at the ground. "But it's nice to pretend. I wonder what we all could see from up there?"

Freida watched as the ship disappeared on the other side of the wall.

"There it goes," said Agnar.

In front of them was a checkpoint, where two guards were stationed, checking the papers of all those coming in and out. Freida then suddenly grabbed Agnar's hand, and they ran towards the checkpoint.

"Come on, Agnar!" she said.

"Wait, where are we going?" he asked.

"My teacher told me something; he said that the airship landed in a place nearby. Let's go and watch."

"Really? But mum said we shouldn't leave the walls no matter what."

"It'll be fine; we'll just be gone for a minute."

They then ran past the checkpoint before anyone could stop them.

'The fateful day that I, a naive youth, was made to face the truth of this world.'