How?

Okay, I just knowyou guys are gonna love this chap.

I know I love it.

Lots and lots of flashbacks... And some info on what happened BEFORE we found Astrid.

So it wouldn't be too confusing.

And with that, enjoy!

"And remember when you fell off the Nightmare and you almost hit the ground, but then Hiccup swooped down to catch you?"

"And then when you tried to do a loop, and ended up almost crashing into the rock?"

"And when-"

"Or what about-"

"THAT WAS AWESOME!"

Two girls giggled and fell onto a makeshift bed. Sighing, they looked up at the ceiling. They were quiet for a few minutes. Then one spoke up.

"It was awesome. But we're in a bit of trouble right now, 'Mouse."

"Really Mary?" The other girl, 'Mouse, sat up. "Like what?"

"How are we gonna get home, for one." Mary replied after a few seconds. "Our parents must be worried sick."

"Yeah." Her friend sighed and looked out a small, badly made window. "I mean, this has been great and everything, but I really miss my mom. Even if it has been only a day since I last saw her."

"Lucky you." Mary whispered sadly, following 'Mouse's gaze. "If you're right I've been gone for weeks." She too sighed, and then refocused on her friend. "But that's not all. I think Astrid's on to us."

The other girl stared at her in slight alarm. "What makes you say that?"

Mary groaned and flopped face-first into a pillow-like contraption. "Well, when I first met her, I almost told her we didn't have dragons in the you-know-where, and then, and I completely forgot about this until now, I asked her if the Bog-Burglar and Meathead Tribes really existed, and I told her I was a tourist, not a Viking. Plus, she was looking at us kinda funny when we came back from the woods."

"Well," 'Mouse giggled a little here. "You did go running off in a flurry."

"Yeah, I know. But still. I feel like she knows something." Mary told her friend.

"That's ridiculous. I mean, what person in their right mind would think that two seemingly normal girls come from another dimension where their whole world is just an extremely popular story?"

Mary bolted up and tackled 'Mouse. "Shut up! Do you want someone to hear you?" She got off her friend and looked her in the eye. "We can't let them know yet."

"Fine, fine! Calm down, sheesh!" 'Mouse said, getting up and heading for the door. "Anyway, I gotta go to the bathroom. Be back in a jiff."

She opened the door, and accidentally knocked someone back. "Huh?" Hearing a yelp, she looked behind the door to see Astrid sprawled on the ground, face pale and body shaking. "Oh, shoot. Um, Mary? Yeah, you might wanna get out here."

That had been just 5 minutes ago. Now the three girls sat in Mary and Silkmouse's room, staring at each other. Finally, Silkmouse cleared her throat.

"So... obviously, you heard something." She said to the Viking. "Our question is how much you heard."

Astrid gulped and opened her mouth. "Ev - everything after you said that you thought I was onto you."

The girls sighed. "Crap." Mary said. "Well now what?"

"I think we owe her an explanation. We knew it was coming, anyway."

Astrid stared at the two girls suspiciously, wondering what they were getting at.

"Let's see." Silkmouse muttered to herself. "How can we say this gently?"

"We're from a different dimension." Mary told Astrid.

"Mary!" Silkmouse exclaimed.

"Sorry!" Mary told her friend. "But if we had done it your way, we never would have gotten around to it! I mean, how you can say 'we come from a whole other world' gently?"

Silkmouse opened her mouth to retort.

And then closed it.

And then opened it.

And then closed it, shaking her head in frustration.

"Fine, you can't, but can you at least try to have some tact?"

"Hey," Mary shrugged. "It's not like they taught it in school."

"What is... skoool?" Astrid asked quietly and nervously from the corner.

Both younger girls looked back, as if surprised to see Astrid there.

"Oh." Mary said, pulling a face.

"Well," Silkmouse told her, face contorted with concentration. "It's... kinda like your guys' lessons for dragon riding and stuff. In the morning, we have to wake up early (on what we call weekdays) and then we go to this big building that we sat in for about 6 hours, which is about a quarter of the day, and we learn about things like writing, and math, and history, and drama, and music and gym, and-"

"Now what was it you were saying about tact?" Mary chided, noticing that Astrid looked very overwhelmed. She turned to the Viking. "Basically, we go there and learn a bunch of skills they think we'll need in life."

"Oh." Astrid's face pulled into a look of confusion. "Who are they?"

"Um..." Mary said.

"They!" Silkmouse butted in with a smirk. "You know, the all powerful?'I-will-rule-your-life', remember him? They will come after you!"

Astrid stared at her in slight fright. Mary sent her a withering glance. "You're not helping, 'Mouse."

She sighed and turned back to Astrid. "Don't pay her any attention. She's insane. Now then, let's start with the night I left..."

Flashback

Mary Penelope stood silently in her room late on a Saturday night. It was really late, and she was extremely tired, but she had to go somewhere. But before she did, she walked over to her computer (I don't really have a computer in my room, but for the story's purpose, I'm saying I do) and typed something in it.

Then she grabbed her backpack, filled to the brim with notebooks, pencils, some money, and a change of clothes and underwear, and quietly slipped downstairs, and out the back door of her house.

Now, she lived in a complex, so it wasn't very easy to navigate around the collection of houses without being seen. Still, she managed to do it. She walked up to her school, only a few minutes' walk away from her house, and headed for the dark forest behind it. Stopping just at the entrance, she paused and said three words;

"To the Guide."

Then she stepped into the forest, but... it really didn't look like one from the inside. Mary had appeared in a large, messy room, absolutely covered in strange books with strange titles. Being the avid reader she was, Mary was curious, but she had more important things to think about.

"Hello?" She called. "Is anyone there? It's me, Mary Penelope. I'm supposed to meet the Guide."

"Ah, yes." A quiet voice came from a corner. Mary spun around to see a wrinkled old man in a blue robe standing behind her. "Miss Penelope. You came here for a reason, I presume?"

"Yes." She stood up boldly, trying not to be intimidated and failing miserably. "I've heard a lot about you, Guide. I want to know if it's possible for you to send me to the How to Train Your Dragon universe."

The old man raised an eyebrow. "It is possible, of course. But why would I?"

"Because," She informed him confidently. "You seek an apprentice. And if you allow me to travel there, I'll be it."

The old man seemed slightly amused. "And just why do you think you are fit for the job? You are young, inexperienced. You want to believe, but you do not see the truth."

Mary pondered this for a few moments. "You are correct, of course. But I think you'll take me on. If not for any other reason then I'm willing."

The old man stared at her for a second, and then made a rumbling noise in his throat, that gradually turned into loud laughter. "You are a cunning one, I'll give you that." He notes as he wipes tears of mirth from his eyes. "I'll tell you what. I'll send you back, just this once, as a test. If you pass, you will become my apprentice. If you don't, your mind will be wiped and you will not remember anything. Agreed?"

The girl thought about it, and then nodded firmly. "Agreed." She reached out and shook his hand.

"Now then," The Guide told her, snapping his fingers to make a bed appear. "Sleep. You have much to do in the morning."

The next day, after waking, eating, and gathering her things, Mary stood in front of the Guide.

"Are you sure you're ready for this?" He asked her seriously.

The girl stood tall and stared him in the eye. "Yes."

"Then close your eyes, have a great trip, and remember to believe."

And with that, she was gone.

End Flashback

"Wait, wait, wait." Astrid said, shaking her hands in a 'stop-right-now' motion "You actually expect me to believe that?"

"Well…yeah." Mary replied.

"But it's impossible!" Astrid cried.

"Said the blond Viking chick." Silkmouse said "Who, not too long ago, despised Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the third and thought that dragons were blood thirsty monsters that should be killed on sight."

"Silkmouse!" Mary cried "What are you saying? We kinda need her to like us right now!"

"Right, I'm sorry but I couldn't resist." Silkmouse shrugged.

"Let's just skip to the part where you came in 'Mouse." Astrid interrupted "What exactly happened?"

"Hmm." She mused "Well let's see, it was a maybe a week after Mary left; in our world anyway, in this world it might have only been a few hours. And I remember I was wondering why she hadn't answered my last message."

Flashback

Silkmouse opened her computer and immediately logged onto her fanfiction account.

"It's been awhile since I last heard from Mary." She said, checking her story traffic "I wonder what happened to her? I hope she's okay, and not dead or anything." Then she noticed that she had one unread message in her inbox.

Opening it up, she realized it was from Mary Penelope. Excited, she began to read:

"Hey 'Mouse. Sorry I haven't messaged you in a long time, but I've been really busy. Also, I need to tell you something. This is important, and NO ONE can know about it, so memorize it and delete the message.

First off, I'm gonna be gone for a while, so don't worry if I don't PM you. I'm fine.

Next, if you want to help when it seems like I'm gone forever, remember the movie that brought us together, gather anything you want to have with you for a while, and head for the nearest forest to you. When you get there, pause before entering and say 'To the Guide.'

Well, I gotta go. I'm running late. TTYL!

Penelope, over and out!"

"I'm running late?" Silkmouse repeated, confused "Running late for what?"

She reread the message again before deleting it. Running into her bedroom, Silkmouse grabbed her backpack and emptied out the contents. Looking around her very messy bedroom, she began to pack.

"Hmm let's see, I got enough clothes to last me a couple days, my binder (my binder holds every drawing or scrap of paper that is dear to me) a box of pencils, an extra eraser, my bag of colored pencils, some pens ,my cell phone, my house keys, and about $15 I've saved up... I think that's everything."

Tying her pink hoodie around her waist, and lacing up her white star sneakers, Silkmouse slung the backpack onto her back and headed toward the door.

"Where are you going?" one of her younger brothers asked her.

"Out." She replied "If mom asks where I went, tell her I'm at the park across the street."

Using her keys to lock the door behind her (because heaven knows when she'd be back) and started off.

Since Tucson was in the desert, Silkmouse didn't really know of any forests that might be around, but she did know a lot where there was enough growth to be similar to one.

When she got there, she hesitantly stepped forward "To the Guide." She said.

Suddenly she appeared to be in what she thought looked kind of like a messy library.

"Hello?" She called out "Hello? I'm looking for 'The Guide'."

"Yes?" a voice said.

Turning around, Silkmouse saw an old man in a blue robe "Hi, um, are you 'The Guide'?"

"Yes, and what is it you require?" he replied.

"I'm looking for my friend, Mary Penelope. She told me to come here when she had been gone for a while, and it's been about a week or so…"

"Ah yes, Miss Penelope. She came through here, alright. And what might be your name?" he said.

"Um it's Silkmouse, or at least that's what my friends call me."

"Well Miss Mouse, I would be glad to reunite you with your friend, if you know where you're going that is."

'The movie that brought us together.' Silkmouse thought 'How to Train Your Dragon! Duh!'

"Did you by any chance send her to the How to Train Your Dragon world?" Silkmouse asked.

"I did." He nodded.

"Well then I'd like you to send me there too…Please?" she added.

"Very well Miss Mouse, I will send you to the universe you desire. But remember one thing; if Miss Penelope fails, you will both lose any recollection of being there."

"Fails what?" she asked him.

"That isn't important." He answered "Now close your eyes, and remember to believe."

And then everything vanished.

End Flashback

There was a long silence.

"So..." Astrid slowly began. "If... that's how you got here, then, well, how are you gonna get back?"

Wow. I think that may have very well been our longest chap yet. Nice job on your flashback, by the way 'Mouse.

Thanks Mary, I liked your flashback as well, it was cool.

All that aside, I need to go change a few things before this will work properly...

Yeah, I noticed that too.

Oh, and review!

Reviews are good! (As I'm sure you all know) So don't hesitate to press the little blue button down there.

Penelope, over and out!