Hello everyone ;) Another update to HTTYD2 for you all.

Thank you so much for all the support, favorites, follows and reviews. The story is almost done but please don't stop supporting it.

And for the Guest who gave me a great review and suggestion on my story…the part where Zenna is captured by Drago…sorry to say it, but I don't plan to do that. My reason is that I want to stay as close to the movie's original plot as possible. Plus, the chapter after this…it's going to be one heck of an emotional chapter between our new alpha couple (You guys already know who I'm talking about)

In the meantime, read, review and stay awesome ;)

Note: I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING

Chapter 14: Stoick's Ship

As bland the commodities were, we were all determined to give Stoick a proper Viking funeral. We found a boat that was wrecked, but still salvageable, and placed Stoick's body on an elevated platform. I watched as Valka covered her dear husband's body with a white sheet before Hiccup, with tears still running down his face, placed his Dad's helmet on top. Once the pyre was set, the boys pushed it out to sea while Gobber readied our bows. He gave Hiccup a sympathetic pat as he handed him his bow while he gave me a look that clearly said that he needed me to be right next to Hiccup, so I can provide him some small measure of comfort.

I stood beside Hiccup, clutching my bow and arrow, as Gobber delivered the eulogy.

"May the Valkyries welcome you, and lead you through Odin's great battlefield. May they sing your name with love and fury, so that we may hear it rise from the depths of Valhalla…and know that you have taken your rightful place at the table of kings. For a great man has fallen. A warrior…A chieftain…A father…A friend…"

I felt tears well up in my eye, but I tried hard not to let them come out. But a single tear slipped down my face as Hiccup and I set our arrows on fire on some glowing coals and aimed at the ship. As I prepared to fire, I looked up at the skies and made a silent wish to my brother.

'Give Uncle Stoick a warm welcome up there, will you, Eli?' I thought as Hiccup and I let our arrows loose together. No sooner had we done that, I found myself holding Hiccup's hand. And he was gripping onto mine like a lifeline. I was suddenly reminded of Elias' funeral. Hiccup had held my hand during my brother's funeral…Now I was the one holding Hiccup's hand at his father's funeral.

I glanced back at Valka, Astrid and the others as they fired arrows at Stoick's ship shortly after my and Hiccup's arrows hit their mark. When all the arrows had been fired, we all watched the pyre burn up in the distance in silence. After a few minutes, Hiccup let go of my hand and took a step forward and gazed at his father's ship in the distance.

"I'm sorry, Dad…" he apologized quietly. I found myself sighing at his apology. I guess he was thinking that it was better to apologize to his Dad late than to never apologize to him for all his screw ups…I listened as my brother continued speaking.

"I'm not the Chief that you wanted me to be, and I'm not the peacekeeper I thought was. I…don't…know…" Hiccup managed to say before heaving a sad sigh, unable to say anything else. I wanted to go and say something to make him feel better, but Auntie Valka beat me to it. She went to Hiccup and gently ran a hand through his auburn hair.

"You came early into this world. You were such a wee thing, so frail, so fragile…I feared you wouldn't make it. But your father…he never doubted." Valka told him as she faced him and gently placed her hands on his shoulders. "He always said you'd become the strongest of them all. And he was right." She said, her gaze soft and reassuring.

That's when I remembered the time I had gotten mad at Stoick for disowning Hiccup. I called him a horrible father but I had no idea that…that, all along, Stoick had faith in Hiccup. I had been so wrong about Stoick at that time. I was lucky enough to make amends with him, but I was still overcome with guilt…for not being able to save him…

Valka continued and gently placed her hand on Hiccup's chest. "You have the heart of a Chief, and the soul of a Dragon. Only you can bring our worlds together. That is who you are, son." She said firmly.

Okay, now you all are probably wondering if I felt left out when Auntie Valka said that. I am also one of the reasons why Berk was now at peace with the dragons and Hiccup's surrogate sister, after all! But like I've said before…Hiccup is the true hero of the story. While I've always been there for him, I always knew that Hiccup was the one who always came up with a plan, always leading me and everyone else on the right path. In the end, it was always him. Hiccup was the only one who could do this: stop Drago from taking the dragons of Berk and lead our people into an era of peace with the dragons.

Hiccup…my best human friend and brother…will forever be the true hero.

I watched as Hiccup looked off into the distance. I couldn't see his face, but I knew that he was still in an emotional turmoil even as he spoke.

"I…ah…I was so afraid of becoming my Dad…Mostly because I thought I never could. How do you become someone that great, that brave, that selfless?" he said haltingly. I managed a small smile. 'You try, Hiccup…Try and try until you succeed…' I thought. And, as if he had heard my thoughts, Hiccup said, "I guess you can only try…"

And when he turned around to face us, Hiccup now had a face set in determination. "A Chief protects his own. We're going back." He told us. As good as the idea of returning to Berk to save it was, we still had a slight dilemma…

"Uh, with what?" Tuffnut piped up. "He took all the dragons." Ruffnut pointed out. Hiccup smiled a bit. "Not all of them." He replied. My eye lit up as I realized what he meant. "The baby Scuttleclaws…They weren't taken by the Alpha." I spoke up. "Because they listen to no one! All of you, follow me into the Sanctuary and hurry!" Valka instructed us. Following her, Astrid, Gobber, Eret, Snotlout, Fishlegs and the Twins ran to the Sanctuary while Hiccup and I decided to stay behind. Nobody objected. They knew that the two of us needed time to talk.

I took a deep breath and sat down along with Hiccup, the two of us watching Stoick's pyre burn into ashes. I glanced at Hiccup, whose face had become subdued and withdrawn. Even if he had tried to show his confidence, I knew that he was still in deep pain…Now I really needed to say something to him…and hope that it would make him feel better.

"I-I…I guess I should apologize to you now…Sorry…" I said quietly. Hiccup looked at me, confused. "Zen, what're you saying sorry for? You didn't do anything…" he managed to say before I just decided to say it. "I failed, Hicc! I failed to be the great doctor I promised I would be! You know what doctors do! They save lives! And I failed this time! And the worst part of that…was that the one life I had failed to save was…was that of your father's, Hiccup…I failed you…That was the one thing I was most afraid of…failing you…Hiccup, I am so, so, so…so sorry…" I blurted out, tears slipping down my face. Hiccup stared at me, stunned, for a few seconds. Finally he gently brushed my tears away and said softly, "Zen, you didn't fail me. You didn't fail anyone. If anyone has failed…it's me. If I had just listened to my Dad and hadn't gone off to find Drago, this whole thing wouldn't have happened…It's my fault my father is gone…It's all my fault…"

I saw the tears filling Hiccup's eyes and firmly shook my head.

"It's not your fault, Hicc. Not Toothless', not Stryka's and, most certainly, not yours. Drago Bludvist…is the one at fault. He's the one who murdered Stoick. You know that Hiccup. I know and your Mom knows…we all know that this is Drago's fault. And you have to realize that it's not your fault at all…Please, Hiccup. You need to stop blaming yourself for everything that goes wrong. It's…It's time for you to become the Chief we all know that you can be." I told him. Hiccup looked at me with a look of pure grief on his face. "Come here…" I said softly, opening my arms so he could go into my embrace. Hiccup wrapped his arms around me tightly and buried his face into my right shoulder as he cried, his tears soaking the right shoulder pad of my armor.

"I'm scared, Zen…I'm scared…What if I can't be the Chief Dad wanted me to be? I'm all alone…Why did he have to leave me? Why…?" Hiccup sobbed, his whole body shaking. "He died to protect you, Hiccup…And you're not alone…Your Mom's here with you now…And all of us as well…You're not alone, Hicc. We're here…we're right here for you…" I said soothingly, gently rubbing circles on his back. We stayed there for a while until Hiccup stopped crying and we pulled away from each other.

That's when I remembered something important…

"The day I came home, I…had a chat with your Dad…" I began as I recounted to Hiccup what had happened on that very day…

(Flashback starts)

'Stryka and I had just returned from the Cove with Hiccup and Toothless that evening. No sooner had we landed in front of the Haddock house, we heard Stoick hollering for Hiccup. "Oh Thor, give me a break…" Hiccup groaned as his Dad came out with a big smile on his face. "Ah, son, there you are! Come on, just one more lesson in Chiefing before we turn in for the night." Stoick called out. Toothless promptly yawned and went inside the house to sleep while Hiccup turned to me with a desperate look on his face.

I was about to laugh and wish him good luck with the lesson, but then I saw Stoick look at me. He thoughtfully put a hand to his chin and stroked his beard before saying, "On second thought, Hiccup, you go on and have a good sleep. Zenna and I need to have a talk in the Great Hall."

Hiccup and I looked at Stoick first before at each other in confusion. Finally Hiccup shrugged and went inside his house while Stoick stepped out and went over to me. Honestly I felt a little nervous. First day back home and was I already in trouble or something?

"Shall we, Dr. Fiersome?" Stoick smiled jokingly at me. I managed a slight nod and we headed off to the Great Hall. Once we were inside, Stoick led me to the center table. I began to fidget as Stoick stood across the table and looked at me with serious eyes. I was just about to ask him why we needed to talk when he said, "Zenna, I need to talk to you about Hiccup."

I stood straight at those words and nodded, a little surprised. "I'm sure that Hiccup's told you already on why he doesn't want to become Chief." Stoick began. "Uh…yeah…he said that he and Toothless still want to go out into the world and explore…and…there's also the pressure of starting a family…" I said awkwardly. Stoick laughed a hearty laugh at my last sentence. "Well, can you blame me? I'd love to have some grandbabies to look after while he's busy with Astrid. If you know what I mean." He chuckled and winked. "Okay, Chief. I get it. Spare me the mental images, please." I laughed, pretending to look horrified. Then Stoick's face turned gentle as he sighed. "What you said about Hiccup still wanting to explore…that is true, but…there's one other reason. He's never told me about it…but, as his father, I didn't need to ask…because I know…" he said quietly.

My ears perked up and I tilted my head curiously to the side. "Know about what, Sir?" I asked. Stoick locked eyes with me and sighed again. "He's afraid of becoming me, Zenna. Afraid that he will never measure up to me as Chief." He told me. I was slightly surprised, but I managed to shrug. "Well I have to admit, Sir, you've set the bar pretty high. So, it's pretty understandable that Hiccup would shy away from accepting the position given the high standards." I pointed out. Stoick nodded and then walked over to me saying, "I suppose you're right, Zen. And since you're my son's closest friend, next to Toothless of course, I need you to do something of utmost importance for me…"

Placing his hands on my shoulders, Stoick looked into my eye with an imploring look.

"If anything ever happens to me, Zenna…I want you to tell Hiccup that if he ever doubts himself when he becomes Chief…he need not doubt…for he has already proven to me that he is a greater Viking than I am. He has surpassed all my expectations and more. And I know, just know…that Hiccup will be the greatest Chief Berk has ever known…Promise me, Zenna, that you will tell him that when the right time comes…"

I was silent for a moment to let Stoick's words sink in. Then I nodded and stood straight and tall with confidence. "You can count on me, Chief." I replied. Stoick smiled and ruffled my hair. "That's my girl! And, if it's not too much trouble for you, I want you to be the first person to officially pledge loyalty to my son when he becomes Chief." He laughed. I laughed as well. "I better start working on my speech then!" I said as our talk ended and we left the Great Hall…

(Flashback ends)

When I stopped talking, I anxiously looked at Hiccup for his reaction. He looked shocked, amazed and confused all at the same time. I smiled a bit and placed my hand on his shoulder. "See, Hicc? Even your Dad knew that you're more than cut out for Chiefdom. He believed in you…as much as I do…" I said softly before taking a deep breath. I knelt down in front of Hiccup and took another deep breath to calm my nerves.

Now was the time for me to do it. Swear my allegiance to my beloved brother…and Chief.

"You are my best human friend, my brother, my Chief and…I will follow you faithfully until the end of my days, Hiccup. I swear on my older brother's, Elias', name, on your father's name and all the gods and goddesses of Valhalla that I will forever remain loyal to you. Even when Ragnarok itself comes and goes, I will always stay by your side and always have your back no matter what…" I solemnly promised to him, before standing up and extending my hand.

"…Okay?" I asked him. Hiccup stared at me for a few seconds before a small smile made its way across his face. He took my outstretched hand in his, before pulling me into a tight embrace. "…Okay…" he whispered. I smiled and gently kissed his forehead. And, just like that, I fulfilled my promise to Stoick and to myself. Hiccup was my Chief now and I will follow him to the very end.

As we headed back to join the others, Hiccup glanced at me. "Zenna…there's something I need you to do." He told me, his face serious. I grinned. "For you, my Chief, anything." I said readily.

But what Hiccup wanted me to do…wasn't for him…

It was for me…and Eret…

Next chapter…prepare your tissues. Especially you, forestsashow!

-GuardianDragon98