January 2, 2048 9:45 pm

Hiccup closed his eyes and listened to the gravel as the black van pulled to a stop in front of the old abandoned diner. Even though the part of the van he was currently located in held no windows he didn't open his eyes, afraid to see what has become of a place that held some of his happiest memories. With a deep breath to calm his nerves he opened his eyes to see Sandy giving hm a questioning look. Smiling at the shorter man, he stood and exited the van. He made a point of keeping his back to the building and staring straight ahead to his friend.

Hiccup's thoughts drifted to his current predicament as he saw Astrid stand there with nothing in hand but a cellphone. She remained stone faced as they approached even though she was well aware of how critical this was. Astrid was excellent at keep her emotions in check even in the most dangerous of situations. She may have been unarmed, but Hiccup knew the others were hiding and in position to take out anyone who posed a threat to her or himself.

The wind rustled his hair with a light breeze as he stopped the two people next to him. They were quick to argue with him, but he silenced it after reminding them that Astrid wouldn't believe a word he said if they were hovering over him. Once they complied he continued walking up to Astrid and gave her a small smile that no one else could see. She returned the small smile with an upturn of the corner of her lips, but other then that stayed serious. When he reached her he nodded his head and whispered into her ear.

"Tell A that plan B Is called off." When he pulled back he saw amusement spark in her eyes. He internally groaned when he realized what she was thinking. Placing her hand on her hip her smile widened.

"You can't say you don't feel like your on pretty little liars too. I mean we call her A. I don't care how long ago that show was. It was a hit and I feel like I'm living it every time we call her A. Why can't we just call her by her real name, At-". Jokingly Astrid asked her friend only to be rudely interrupted by said friend.

"We don't say her name. You know that better then anyone Astrid. Now just call her and say the damn phrase." Hiccup ignored the glare that the blonde sent him as he scolded her. Astrid huffed and sighed at her friends stern tone. She didn't like being chided like a little kid who did something wrong.

"If not that then why not call her by her nickname-" Astrid tried again just to be cut off a second time. Her glare hardened as her friend spoke.

"That's as bad as saying her real name. Now just call her and say the phrase." Hiccup growled out at her. Astrid knew that this was a touchy subject for her friend and that if they didn't have to whisper, Hiccup would be shouting.

She rolled her sky blue eyes at him and brought her phone up. Hiccup's eyes followed the phone as it lite up and Astrid started dialing. Soft, almost nonexistent, rings filled the air as everyone stood still and waited. Astrid shifted from one foot to the other as she waited for the person to answer. Suddenly, the rings ceased as a voice took their place.

"Sorry I was making pasta." A feminine voice said causally. Smiling like someone handed her all her dreams, Astrid beamed at the phone.

"Pasta! Damn that sounds good. Hic can you make pasta? You better be able to cook fucking pasta because now I want it. Your making me pasta if you can." Hiccup glared at his friend. He mentally took back everything he said about Astrid being serious when needed.

"Hiccup is there? Can you tell him I say hi. Oh and I'm glad that you all made it into the resistance. Obviously you did since he's still alive." Astrid's smile fell as she looked to Hiccup. He had a pained look on his face. Almost as if he was loosing his leg all over again.

"Hey A. I'm here and uh yea we made it." Hiccup didn't even look at the phone when he spoke. His eyes were firmly glued to the ground as silence hung in the air for a few minutes.

"Well is someone gonna tell me the phrase or are we just gonna make me guess it's actually you." A's tone was joking, but it lacked any enthusiasm. Astrid laughed at that and had a teasing glint in her eye.

"The dragon still flys" Hiccup said in a serious tone. Astrid rolled her eyes once again at her friend. Ever since they were younger the boy would always obsess about dragons. It's an obsession that obviously hasn't gone away.

"Unless it's a downed dragon" A commented with mirth in her voice. Hiccup could picture her smiling to herself as she cooked her pasta.

"Wow A I still don't understand how I drew the short straw here. Your so positive, by I get stuck with the worlds fucking biggest Debby downer. It's unfair. You seem to perfect." Astrid wined into the phone. Jutting out her bottom lip, the female pouted at the phone as if A could see it.

"I know I'm just to perfect. Sorry to tell you though, but I'm straight." A teased the other girl. They both started laughing at each other.

"Yes I know your straight unlike Hic here." The mischievous glint was in the girls eye once more as her friend sputtered out an excuse.

"I'm n-not gay. Well I could be, b-but you don't know. I-I could be p-perfectly straight." Hiccup grumbled out as he glared at Astrid and the phone. The glare darkened when Astrid went to make a comment, but A beat her to it.

"Please Hiccup your as straight as a swirly slide. Plus I know you have your eyes on a certain white haired male in the resistance." A teased lite heartedly. A small smile came to Hiccups face.

"Sorry, North isn't my type." Hiccup said in the most serious voice he could muster. Astrid snorted at him and quirked an eyebrow as she peeked at the group of resistance members behind them. A group that Hiccup was glad was out of hearing range.

"Oh really I wouldn't have guessed. How about Jack then?" A's voice rang with sarcasm that she gained from hanging out with him when they were younger.

Hiccup felt his face burn red as his mind wondered to Jack. He would be lying if he said he didn't find the man attractive. Jack was only younger then Hiccup by a couple months and had snow white hair with dazzling blue eyes. His picture perfect smile made him quite the sight to behold.

"Well I know who I'm doing a background check on first. Alright well bye A." Astrid turned off her phone after A said a quick goodbye.

Astrid and Hiccup smiled and turned around. They headed back to the group of resistance members. Keeping his head down, Hiccup stole sideways glances at his friend. He needed a distraction from his thoughts, so he used Astrid. She walked with her head up and her shoulders squared. Her posture screamed that she wasn't messing around and Hiccup wished he had that air of confidence.

Lifting his head, Hiccup felt dread settle into his stomach as he stopped where he stood. He stared at the old building in front of him. The sign that once stood like a vibrant beacon now hung broken and rusted. It seemed like the only thing keeping this building together was a miracle. Hiccup stared at the building as memories came flooding back to him. One in particular stood out above the rest though.

Fun upbeat music played on the speakers as Hiccup colored. He was coloring a race car as he stuffed chicken into his mouth with a big smile on his face. His father, a big burly man, stood off to the side with his friend where he believed they would be unheard.

"I'm telling you Gobber. I have a bad feeling about them. I mean I've never heard of something like it. You can't say that isn't even a little messed up. They just sit there like it's all okay. Like someone they care about didn't just die." Stoick was is hysterics as he complained to his friend. He looked pale and shaken, an unnatural look for the man. Then again he just found out that his babysitter was killed while watching his kids. It wasn't even a natural death, but the kids were so unfazed and uncaring.

Stoick and Gobber looked over to were two kids were coloring and laughing. They weren't even talking just laughing. It unnerved him on how the two children were closer then most. They just seemed to know what the other was going to do before it happened. It was like this since this afternoon. Ever since he came home expecting to find that nice girl Catherine playing with the kids. He didn't expect to find her dead on the kitchen floor with a knife in her chest and a dozen beer bottles littering the floor.

He questioned the kids on what happened, but they claimed they don't know. In his gut he had a sick feeling that they did know what happened. Somehow their serious faces unnerved him more then the fact that someone died. He knew his children knew what transpired in that house, but why won't they tell him?

After his internal freak out, Stoick calmed himself enough to call 911. After some quick questioning, he and the kids went straight to Gobber's were he vented to his long time best friend. Said man was peaking around him to peer at the two children at the table. With a tired sigh, Gobber gave his friend a small smile.

"Stoick, personally I see no problem. I mean we are talking about the same two children who lost their mother the second they were born. They're use to loss and death." Gobber explained with a tired look. The haddock kids were a curious duo and everyone knew that. His attention shifted from the two kids and back to his friend who looked older then his age.

Stoick rubbed his forehead as he took in Gobber's words. It was true that the concept of death wasn't new to his family. First his wife and then the babysitter. Hell, the doctor even said that he could have sworn Hiccup's heart stopped at one point during his birth.

"I'm just scared that they're going to be keeping things from me that are important. I mean not telling me who ate my cookies is one thing, but not telling us what happened to their dead babysitter? They weren't even fazed Gobber. I don't care how much death you've faced, you don't become use to it that quickly." Gobber gave Stoick a sad smile and opened his mouth to speak. The voice that spoke wasn't his though.

"She wasn't a good babysitter. She deserved what she got." The two men twirled around to see a young girl standing there. She tilted her head at them as they gazed at her with troubled eyes. Her brother stood behind her staring intently down at his race car drawing.

"Sweet heart she may not have been about to win the best babysitter of the year award, but she wasn't that bad." Gobber tried to reassure the female twin only to recieve a hate filled glare. He felt like the girl would burn holes in him with her glare. Her brother looked up from his drawing and gave Gobber a slight frown.

"She was an alcoholic bitch who picked on Hariden and threatened us. She wasn't nice or kind or caring. She held a knife to Hiccup because he cracked her phone. The girl had bad anger issues. So I freaked out and stabbed her with a knife." The young girl stood there and stared at the two grown ups. It was almost like she was daring them to challenge her story. The six year old was not one to be persuaded when she had her mind set.

"Athena Haddock! We do not use that language! You are not having any dessert tonight." Stoick fummed at his daughter. He was less then satisfied with what came from the girls mouth half the time. Athena looked ready to talk back to her father, but a hand on her shoulder stopped her.

"Toothless lets just head back to the table." Hiccup said barely above a whisper, but Athena listened without hesitation. The twins slowly walked back to the table. Athena was a minute older then her brother and she saw that as a reason to take responsibility for him. At six years old she had lied to the cops and her father. She had never touched that knife. She didn't take her babysitters life. That was all Hiccup. At the age of six he took the first Superior life he ever took, it would be the first of many.

Their babysitter Catherine was no saint. She drank and used her telepathic power to threaten them. Eventually she attempted to take action, but Hiccup was quicker. He took her life and his sister made the quickest decision ever. She would always protect her little brother, so she would take the fall for this. They were close like that. If you would have told anyone that those same twins would fight a year later and not speak for eleven years they would have thought you were crazy.

"Hiccup? Hey Hic you with us?" The joking tone of Astrod brought him back from his trip to the past. She gave him a teasing smile and punched him in he shoulder."What were you thinking about off in lala land?"

He smiled at her antics as he bumped shoulders with her. This playfulness usually does well to subside the dull ache in his chest, but it seemed this time was different. His playful smile soon dropped and he heaved a sigh as he looked at his best friend.

"I was thinking about A." Hiccup looked at Astrid closely to see her reaction. He wasn't surprised when she stiffened and sucked in a breath. Him and A weren't a topic he liked to bring up or dwell on. It was one of those touchy subjects that he liked to keep locked up.

"You should be open with her like you were today. I'm surprised you even said a word. I mean she's your twin sister Hic. I know you two have a rocky background, but it's time to look past that." Astrid put a reassuring arm around his should we as he gained a contemplating look on his features. He seemed to be rolling her words around in his head before giving an answer.

"Yeah, rocky background." Hiccup muttered and he unconsciously rubbed the spot were flesh meet metal on his left leg. Astrid's eyes were drawn to the appendage and felt pity for her friend. Suddenly, that metal leg that he walked on for eleven years seemed to be heavier then ever before.