56. Aftermath

Hiccup felt numb. He didn't notice Drago leave, he didn't notice the Alpha taking control of the dragons again. He was rooted in place, his eyes not moving from the body that was just laying there.

"Hookfang!"

"Meatlug!"

Hiccup could hear the desperate voices of the gang as they tried to call their dragons back. The Alpha didn't spare a dragon, Drago made him take control of every dragon that the Alpha could take control over. Toothless fell into the Alpha's control again, his pupil's shrunk again as he tried to fly with the other dragons, but he couldn't, his tail wasn't locked into place. Drago saw the struggling Night Fury and laughed, he went over to the dragon and forced the dragon down, mounting and flying him by force.

"Storm…" Hiccup whimpered as his feet took him to her. He looked at her face, her nose was bloody, the cut from the battle on Berk was almost healed. He kept staring at her, not knowing what to do.

"GATHER THE MEN AND MEET ME AT BERK!" the madman's voice shook Hiccup from his frozen state. His head snapped up as he watched Toothless fly away with Drago on his back.

"TOOTHLESS!" Hiccup yelled at the retreating dragon, tears started falling from his eyes as he fell to his knees, his world was falling apart in front of his eyes and he couldn't look away.

"Hiccup…?" he heard his father's voice. His father, who was dazed, but alive, was looking at Hiccup's tear stained face with confusion. Stoick looked down next to him and saw Storm, his face took on the horrified look that rested on every ones face. "Oh no…"

Hiccup could no longer stop himself from sobbing as he laid his head on Storm's chest. The gang crowded around him, no one new how to console the heart-broken man, their hearts were weighted down by the knowledge that no one could survive that kind of blast without protection.

Valka just watched her son cry his eyes out with a heavy heart. Stoick couldn't help but feel guilty of how he had held onto his dislike for the girl. Astrid physically had to cover her mouth so that her sobs wouldn't be heard, she knew how much Storm meant to Hiccup and how much Storm had started to mean to her. Eret just looked on as tears threatened to spill, he couldn't accept that Storm was gone, she couldn't be gone… she couldn't.

The heart-ache was palpable. Even those who didn't know her as well were standing there with tears in their eyes. Hiccup continued sobbing, it was like he couldn't hear or see anything but Storm. He turned his head to look at her face again, his ear pressing against her chest. He heard something. Hiccup fell silent and pressed his ear closer to her chest. He heard it again.

A heartbeat. He heard a heartbeat. He heard Storm's heartbeat. He gasped and snapped his head up.

"Storm?" he asked in a hopeful tone as he gently placed a hand on her cheek, the others looked at him in confusion, finally Storm groaned, the simple noise bringing so much relief and happiness to them, "Storm!" Hiccup yelled his voice full of joy.

"Shhh…" Storm weakly shushed him, lifting her hand and placing her palm on his face without opening her eyes.

Hiccup laughed with relief, new, happy tears falling down his face. Soon, happy laughter filled the air as the simple fact that Storm was alive registered in all of their heads. Valka stood up from the ground and helped Stoick stand also. He was hurt, but he was alive, his biggest injury was the giant bruise he would have on his back and the headache that had started bothering him.

Astrid kneeled next to Hiccup and put a hand on his shoulder, he looked at her with a wide smile on his face. He looked at all of them, they all had smiles on their faces and it was all the proof he needed to know that he wasn't imagining it. Storm was alive, they all were.

"Why am I on the ground?" Storm asked in confusion, she opened her eyes only to shut them again in seconds, "And why is it so bright?"

"You almost died!" Hiccup chuckled as he held her hand, "You're bound to feel like shit."

"Makes sense," Storm sighed and winced as she tried to get up, falling back when she couldn't, she barely opened her eyes, "Help me up," she ordered.

"Are you sure th-"

"Yes," she interrupted Hiccup, "If you don't, he will," she pointed at Eret, who was looking at her like she just made a miracle happen.

"How did you survive?" Hiccup asked her as he slowly pulled her up into a sitting position, "That blast…"

"I'm insulted – " Storm winced as she leaned back on the ice wall behind her, " – that you would think I went in without a plan," she rolled her eyes and pointed to where she had been laying.

Hiccup followed her finger and his eyes widened. How did he not see that before? How did no one see that? It was her shield. It was cracked into pieces, but it was unmistakably her shield. The shield he helped her make, and it was made to withstand the strongest blows, like a fully charged Night Fury blast.

Hiccup let out a disbelieving chuckle which turned into a full blown laugh. Of course Storm would figure out how to stay alive and save his father. Hiccup hugged her close as Eret approached them and held out a piece of cloth, Storm took it with a thankful smile and brought the cloth to wipe the blood away from her nose.

"What's the plan now?" Stoick was the one who asked the question, reminding everyone that they were technically still in the middle of a war.

"I don't know," Hiccup sighed as all eyes turned to him, "Stop looking at me, the plan I had failed and it almost got Storm killed."

"Well no one actually had a plan then," Storm told him with a playful smirk, Hiccup stood up and looked at her with anger in his eyes, it seemed like every one of his failures came back to him full force.

"Don't you see that I mess everything up?" he asked in frustration, "You almost died."

"But I didn't," she told him as she raised her hand to silence Stoick who had been about to say something. Actually, her gesture was meant to silence everyone as they looked on.

"I don't trust myself with anymore decisions," Hiccup told her as he started pacing, "I have been making bad decision after bad decision," he ranted without stopping, "I left five years ago and got into a war, I come back and I get into a war and lose our dragons by trying to talk sense into a man who wants nothing but war – "

"Help me up," Storm said to Eret as Hiccup continued ranting. Eret quickly helped her stand and let her lean on him until she could confidently stand on her own.

" – before that, I almost started a war with the Wingmaidens and the Defenders of the Wing! And I trusted Johann with my identity which made Drago target Berk in the first place!"

"What about all the good?" she asked him and pushed herself from Eret, she shakily stood on her own two feet and breathed through the pain she felt, "What about saving the Dragon King's egg? What about the alliances we made? What about saving Ulf and Frida?" she asked and took another painful breath, "You are the one who can lead us to victory."

"Stop being so optimistic, Storm – "

"Optimistic? I'm being realistic," she interrupted.

"No, you're not," he exclaimed, throwing his arms up in frustration, "Everything you just mentioned was pure coincidence! I just got lucky!"

"Do not think, even for a moment, that I do not see things as they are," Storm growled, "Because right now, I see you giving up when you're on the edge of gaining everything back."

"What 'everything'?" Hiccup asked with a frown as he bit his lip to will his frustrated tears away.

"Saving Berk is the only thing you're missing from true happiness," Storm explained, "With Berk safe, you'll have your life back."

"I don't deserve to have my life back," Hiccup said as tears started to fall from his eyes again, he looked defeated as he gripped his head, "I mess everything up, I bring nothing but sadness with me…"

"Everything in my life was fleeing, but you persisted," Storm grimaced as she went over to Hiccup and brought his hands down from his head, "You were the only good thing in my life for so long, you were the one who turned my life for the better. You gave me the life I have, I will stand in front the gates of Valhalla before I give up on making you happy."

"What if I gave up on making myself happy?" he asked in a small tone as he looked down at their connected hands.

"Okay then," Storm sighed and dropped his hands much to his confusion, he watched as she turned to the group who had stayed silent during their conversation, "Valka?"

"Yes, Storm?" Valka asked as she wiped a tear away, the moment between the pair bringing tears to her eyes.

"Where's your highest cliff?" everyone looked at her in confusion, she saw those looks and slowly breathed in, hiding a pain filled groan, "I need to know, so that when I jump, my brain splatters on the ice," she exclaimed with a tight smile.

"What?" Hiccup cried.

"Oh?" she innocently gasped, "I thought if you're giving up, I should too."

"Storm!" Hiccup exclaimed in horror, she glared at him and he sighed, "I don't even know how we could get back," he finally said with a sigh.

"I think Shadow could help somewhat," Storm shrugged.

"Shadow…?" Hiccup asked, Storm's eyes widened in disbelief as she pointed behind the ice wall that she and Stoick had been throw against, "Shadow!"

The bleary eyed dragon growled in greeting and shook himself off. He slowly made his way to Storm and pressed himself against her with a small grumble and affectionately rubbed his head on her middle. She couldn't contain a groan of pain and the Skrill crooned in concern.

"I'm going to be okay buddy," she took Shadow's head in her hands and pushed her forehead against his snout, "And I'm glad you're okay."

"How?" Astrid questioned with her mouth agape, similar expressions were shared by the others.

"She's magic," Tuffnut decided.

"Why are they so cool?" Ruffnut whined, "I want to be magic!"

"I'm not magic," Storm laughed and winced as pain went through her.

"That's debatable," Eret and Hiccup said at the same time.

"I'm not. You just need to pay attention to your surroundings," she told them and leaned against her dragon, "I just know how to use our weaknesses to my advantage."

"Shadow fired at the Alpha…" Fishlegs started to piece everything together.

"And the few moments after a Skrill fires makes them disoriented, meaning – " Hiccup added.

" – That he was immune to the Alpha's control," Fishlegs finished.

"Yes," Storm agreed as she let her head fall back and closed her eyes, "And when I jumped from him, the combined force made him crash, knocking him out and stopping the Alpha from taking control."

They looked at her in wonder. She raised her head and locked her eyes with Hiccup, she could almost see the gears turning inside his head, she smiled. Hiccup looked away from her to the group.

"We're going back," he decided.

"And how are going to do that?" Snotlout asked him.

"Dragons," he simply answered.

"We only have him," Stoick pointed at Shadow, "And aren't all dragons susceptible to the Alpha's control?"

"Not all of them," Hiccup told them with a smile.