Congratulations! To those reading this chapter, you've made it to Arc 2 of Wheel in the Sky! Welcome to Arc 2! From here, the arcs will continue to darken until it becomes too dark to see your hands in front of your face. Ready? I know that I am. Oh, wait…we need background. This arc begins about three months after what we last read (meaning that it's been four months since Berk last saw Hiccup and Toothless). Not much of a time skip, but the time skips all shouldn't be too huge (at least I don't think so…)

Review Replies:

Jesusfreak (anonymous): I love that part too! It's so…not Astrid. I had to rewatch the trailer to be sure that it was actually her who said it! Here's the next update! Enjoy!

Ferdoos: Excellent question! For one thing, Toothless is about as dehydrated and out-of-it with sickness as Hiccup. Also, by the time they really noticed the riders, the rain had already picked up too much…and, as Gobber said, "a wet dragon head can't light its fire." If they hadn't been so dehydrated and hungry, Hiccup might have thought to have Toothless used his plasma blast as a flare.

kitty.0: Yes! So, so close!

aaquater: Yes, it was depressing. I may or may not have an idea how they will get off the island…or maybe I'll just let them… No, I could never do that to Hiccup and Toothless. Haha. I think the Hiccup-Valka meeting will be like the first trailer in the ice cave. I think they just used the same audio in a different visual scene for the new trailer.

Guest (anonymous): Either the Gods or a very sadistic writ—No, I don't hate Hiccup! I promise! Haha.

Next chapter starts…now!


Chapter 16: Never Lose Hope
Here Without You

*~Begin Arc 2~*

Three months had passed since Trader Johann brought the fateful letter to Berk. That very day, most of Berk's population took to the skies, searching for any signs of their lost heir. Hours later, just before dark, the last of the search parties landed again on Berk's lands. No one reported back any success resulting in a feeling of sadness and dread that hung over the heads of all living in Berk.

Astrid Hofferson was frustrated, to say the least. Her search party had worked well together, flying quite far out to sea. She remembered seeing an island, one she did not recognize, but that wasn't strange at all. She and Hiccup had talked before about exploring away from Berk, but they had not yet gotten the chance to do it. Anyway, they had just reached the outskirts of the island when the rain started. The day had threatened rain, but at this point the rain threatened the safety of the dragons and their riders so Astrid was forced to make the hard call to turn back and return to Berk.

Returning back, Astrid had kept close to the town center, waiting as the other search parties arrived back to Berk. As each group returned empty-handed with no words to say about the whereabouts of Hiccup, Astrid's heart had sunk lower and lower into her chest. The final search party to return back to Berk had been the one led by Chief Stoick. His party was made up of many of the adults: Stoick, Snotlout's father, Astrid's parents, and several others. The chief had no sooner touched down on the ground when he'd called all the search parties together to hear the results they had to report. Astrid had watched the creases in Stoick's face deepen with each report and she'd known that he'd felt the same way as she.

For months, the search parties would leave Berk every so many days a week to see if any new clues surfaced. However, each attempt finished just as unsuccessfully as the last. Hiccup and his loyal dragon were nowhere to be found. Astrid couldn't help to think back to her first dream. She had watched helplessly as Hiccup and Toothless had fallen into the waters and never resurfaced. Is that what happened to them? she had often wondered. If only there was a way to search deep under the waters. Unfortunately, though, the young riders had yet to train a dragon that could search thought the waters and Thornado seemed less than interested. He probably would've searched if his rider, Stoick, asked him to, but the chief, like most of the village, was losing hope of ever seeing his son again.

Astrid's frustration grew as she thought back on all the events leading up to this point, to the here and now, a present time in which most of those living on Berk had accepted Hiccup's absence. Sure, there were days when Stoick would still order search parties to patrol the skies, but those days were very few now compared to how it had been several months back. Today had been one of those days and, as always, the search returned nothing of worth. Astrid knew that the chief was hesitant to continue sending out search parties. The season of harsh storms was coming and Stoick did not want to risk the lives of more of his people even for his son.

Staring out of her window, Astrid looked out into the night air. The sun had just recently set and the air still felt warm; it would not stay this way, Astrid knew. There was no way that she would be sleeping, at least not yet. Her mind was wide awake and trying to figure out a way to find Hiccup. She couldn't explain the feeling that she had, but she just knew he was still alive and out there somewhere. Everyone else may lose hope, but she refused to do so. The moment she too lost hope would be the time when this would all feel too real. That would be when it fully hit her, when she truly realized that Hiccup was gone and that he might not ever return.

Knowing that she wouldn't be getting any sleep for a while, Astrid grabbed her axe (better safe than sorry) and crept quietly from her house and out into the silent village. Everyone else slept peacefully, but the recent events weighing on Astrid's heavy heart kept her awake. She walked to one of Berk's many cliffs before finally taking a seat and staring out in the direction of the dark waters that surrounded the island. It took a minute to realize which cliff she had chosen, but she did recognize this particular setting. This was the very cliff where she had found Hiccup during Bork Week. Here, he had told her how sad it made him that Toothless had no other Night Furies. The longer she sat up on the cliff, the more she understood why Hiccup liked it up here. Not only did she have an excellent vantage point of the surrounding waters, but if she turned just right, she had a view of the dark and quiet village of Berk. For a moment, she was able to relax and let her worries, doubts, fears, everything just ebb away. Unfortunately, though, that moment did not last. Her trained ears picked up on a very slight sound and, without even thinking, she whipped her axe from the holster on her back.

Looking closer, Astrid saw the wide-eyed and frantic gaze of Fishlegs as her axe was poised and pinned to his throat. Dropping her axe, Astrid took a seat on the cliff once again. "You really shouldn't sneak up on me," she told him as a quick warning, but her tone was a soft whisper.

"Well, I wasn't trying to," Fishlegs answered as he sat down nearby, close enough to hold a whispered conversation.

"Couldn't sleep either?" Astrid asked quietly, genuinely curious; she had thought she was the only Viking still awake.

Fishlegs sighed before answering. "No, I couldn't. I'm worried about Hiccup."

Astrid carefully picked her next words. "You still think he's alive?" Though she was confident that Hiccup was not dead, Astrid did not want to appear as if she did not believe in her chief. Hopefully, Fishlegs will give me a truthful answer. It would sure nice to have someone on my side, someone who still believes just as I do.

Fishlegs hesitated slightly and Astrid looked over, seeing his emotions written clearly on his face. He's choosing his words carefully too, she observed. "I know that the chief and most everyone else don't think he's still alive…" Fishlegs started, trailing off slightly. "But…I know Hiccup. He's determined. He'd never go down that easily, not without a fight. I do still think he's alive, but I don't have any proof to back up my thoughts."

"I never stopped believing that he's alive. I never will. Until I know for certain. If his….he is never found, then I will believe him to be alive," Astrid answered quietly, happy to know that she at least had Fishlegs with whom she could confide her hopes.

"Hiccup was the first friend I ever had who truly understood me," Fishlegs continued, picking blades of grass and letting them fall from his hands. "We were similar, me and him; both rejected by the others our age. Sure I hung out with you guys, but I still felt separated, different. Then, when I was paired up with Hiccup in training, we slowly came to understand each other. Even today, I'd still consider Hiccup to be my closest friend."

Astrid offered a small and sad smile at the thought. "Hiccup values you too, you know. He would tell me how grateful he was to have you in his academy lessons…and he did entrust the Book of Dragons to you. That's quite an honor."

A silence fell between them, but it did not last long. Astrid knew what she had to say next. "We will find Hiccup. I just know it." Inside, though, her confidence wavered slightly. At least, I hope so. I hope that we will.


Happy Easter to all my fellow Christians! Today is a glorious and wonderful day!

This chapter played out a lot different than I'd originally planned. The scene with Fishlegs was just something that kinda popped into my head. In fact, I had a whole other scene that was going to play out instead of the conversation with Fishlegs. However, it just did not feel right and so it became a deleted scene. I usually don't have deleted scenes in stories, so that is worth mentioning.

Coming Up Next: Things have not gotten any better for our favorite duo. The temperatures have dropped, fresh water is still not present, and food is scarce. How much longer do they have left? "Astrid…please, don't lose faith in me. I will make it back home to Berk. I…promise…"

Next Chapter: Just as a very shallow guess right now, I'm going to say that I'll aim for next Friday night after 10 PM US East Coast time.

Thank you all for reading and supporting Wheel in the Sky!

Posted: April 20, 2014