Gone but not forgotten

Hiccup at a snail's pace opened his eyes. He felt like he'd just been hooked by his navel and yanked from that spirit cavern by a flock of uncontrollable dragons. It was like they'd flown at such a high-speed he didn't have time to breath or even taken in the scenery. And then he'd been forcibly slammed headfirst into his own body. It was again one of the weird and wonderful sensations he'd ever felt. His head was still spinning fast like a whirlwind. It also made him slightly sick and he proceeded to vomit over the right side of the bed. Wiping the vomit with the back of his hand he looked around for a second time.

The first thing he noticed was his best friend ever Toothless was sleeping on his nearby bed. He hadn't yet been aroused by his best friend's sudden returned to the land of the living. But it brought a tear to Hiccup's eye to see Toothless again. He went to sit up and his helmet nearly fell into his lap. He quickly set it on his bedpost and looked at his left hand and smiled. It was his mom's gift, that toy dragon. When he saw that precious gift of love, he hugged it close to his heart and kissed it, before putting back in the curve of his headboard. He then pinched himself to make sure he was solid and really back home. He let out a tiny yelp of pain and realized he was indeed back in his body.

Slowly he got out of his bed and walked over to Toothless's sleeping form. He tripped and fell face first on top of the ebony colored dragon. This woke up Toothless immediately and he leapt up and began to fawn over the return of his best friend. He was nuzzling and licking him and wrapped him up in his wings and hugged him tightly.

"It's good to see you too, Toothless. You won't believe where I've been! What day is it? How much time has passed?" he asked even though Toothless being a dragon couldn't reply a verbal answer. He just kept holding him tight as if he was afraid of loosing him again. Hiccup hugged tighter then he'd ever done before.

"Don't worry, buddy. I'm not going anywhere. I'm home to stay! Yet I still need to keep a few promises to a special little girl. But first, let's go tell everyone I'm home!" and with that Hiccup yanked open the front door and came running out into the village. At the top of his voice he was screaming out the names of family and friends. "Dad! Dad! Dad! Astrid! Gobber! Guys! Where is everyone? Dad! Dad! I'm home! I'm home!"

At first Hiccup was afraid he'd been the spirit cave too long and that everyone else was gone. And that he'd never see his loved ones again, even though Toothless was here, he thought for a moment he'd return too late to his body. "Dad?! Dad?! Astrid?! Hello! Guys? Anyone home?!"

Stoick, Gobber, the Riders, as well as pretty much all the village were all in the Great Hall looking positively miserable, and trying to eat some smoked salmon and honey glazed yak steaks. At first they didn't hear Hiccup's voice calling out. They all looked too heartbroken in addition to dishearten to take notice of anything happy or hopeful. Then just as Stoick was about to try and down his sorrow with another drink, he heard it. Faintly he heard someone say "Dad!" At first he couldn't believe what he was hearing. He was strongly thinking he was so desperate to hear his son's voice that he was merely imagining it. But then one by one all the other Vikings glanced up and dared for a moment to look hopeful. Then clear as a shot in the dark a voice they'd hadn't heard in over a week drifted through the open window.

"DAD?! DAD WHERE ARE YOU?!"

"Hiccup!" everyone cried out and everyone bolted out the two huge doors. Holding their breath everyone looked up at the path from the chief's house and saw an outline of someone extremely scrawny and with the soft tap of his metal foot. It was Hiccup! There was no mistaken it. Everyone was cheering louder then when he'd defeat the Red Death!

"My son! My son! Oh, Hiccup!" cried Stoick with tears gushing down his face as he ran and bear hugged his child. Hiccup didn't mind for a few minutes that he couldn't breathe. But then remembered he wasn't a misplaced soul, any longer.

"Dad, I need to breath!"

"Sorry, son," he apologized as he put Hiccup down. It was obvious that Stoick hadn't been this happy to see his son since he almost lost him to the Red Death, which would've been partly his fault for not listening to his son's warning. At that moment it looked like Stoick would never let his son out of his sight again.

Hiccup took a deep breath and smiled. Everyone was mobbing him and all shouting apologies to him. He smiled and gazed at the periwinkle skies and felt the warmth of the copper sky fire. He then saw Astrid and ran right into her arms and kissed her passionately. She didn't even beat him up. She just held onto him tightly and kissed him back. Before they'd both stopped breathing he let her go. Her face was red and tearful but she just hugged him tightly.

"Hiccup! You've no idea what's it's been like without you here! Everyone was so lost without you!"

"I wouldn't say that, Astrid. We managed okay without you for a few days, didn't we guys?" Snotlout remarked but the other Viking teens looked at him and Hiccup could tell he was lying. Then all of sudden Snotlout broke down and cried. "Oh whom I trying to kid? We all are lost without you, Hiccup!"

"Thanks for that bit of news, guys. I've missed you all too!"

"So where have you been all this time? I'm sure it's a great tale to tell! We can get a fire going and give you a proper welcome back feast. Then you could really tell us a tale of what in Thor's beard you've been all this time!" Gobber suggested kindly.

Hiccup merely looked at his friends and family. He'd been gone for so long all he wanted to do was hold them tight and never let go. Yet he remembered he still had a promise to keep. And he wasn't gonna let anyone stop him from keeping that promise.

"The feast and tale I've got to tell will have to wait a little bit. I've got a few promises to keep to a very special little girl. So here's what we're going to do. Snotlout? I need you and the twins to get a funeral pyre and boat prepared Fishlegs? I need you to write some poetry for two souls, a girl and a boy's. Gobber I need you to get me some lilac silk and make it into a blanket that is if you haven't done that yet. Dad? I need you and Astrid along with our dragons to follow me. And bring some shovels. We're going to have to dig a bit."

Everyone looked at him like he'd lost his mind now, instead of his soul. Why was he making such strange demands? What the in the name of Thor was going on? No-one had a clue what he was talking about. Yet they didn't question him. Everyone just did as they're told. It turned out Gobber did have a lilac silk blanket, two actually. He'd made them from some silk he'd gotten from Trader Johann. He was a bit sad he couldn't keep his nice cozy blankets but he willingly made that sacrifice. All the others did as Hiccup had told them too do. The rest of the village kept busy by either helping with the ship or preparing a feast. Nevertheless one and all were full of activity and doing their damn best to do it right.

Hiccup led the way to where both Boden and Una's remains would be found. It took two hours to unearth Boden's remains. Astrid freaked a bit when she'd hit the skull of the dead teen. She actually had to run behind a tree to vomit. Hiccup just smiled and wrapped up the bones in one of the lilac silk blankets. He then approached the spirit cavern.

"Hiccup! I don't want you to go back in there! That's where we lost you once! I won't let that damn cave take my son again!"

"Dad, I've got too! Una's still in there or at least her remains are. I promised both her and Boden I'd give them a proper sendoff. I'm not gonna let my little sister's remains be trapped forever in the dark again!" he shouted back at his father with such conviction Stoick knew it was pointless to argue.

"Okay, but I'm going in with you! I'm not loosing you a second time!"

"Thanks, Dad. Come on!"

The trio of Vikings caution entered the cavern. Both Stoick and Astrid were weary of the cave, yet Hiccup could tell the spiritual energy wasn't there any longer now that Una's soul had been freed. He led the way to the spot in the cave. It freaked him out a bit when instead of seeing Una's spirit self he found her bones laying amongst the lilacs with a few pieces of her lilac hair embedded within the crystals. Still he wrapped up his little sister's remains and had Astrid pick all the lilacs. He did also take a few of the crystals for himself.

Stoick took Boden's remains and flew them back on Thornado's back. Astrid carried all the flowers and Hiccup keeping his promise to Una took her remains with him on Toothless back. So she could in a way fly on Toothless like he'd promised her. It was almost sunset when they'd made it back to village of Berk. As they flew over Berk everyone had gotten everything ready. It looked like for once that the twins and Snotlout did something amazing. The ship was beyond beautiful and everyone was waiting at the docks.

"Thank you all for coming here. I know I've got a lot to tell you about where I've been. Yet that isn't what important right now. What is important is keeping a promise I made to a little girl who is the closest thing I'll ever have as a sibling. So for now I think we should all bow our heads and pray to Gods that she and her brother make it to Valhalla alright. Dad? Can you help me place their remains in the ship?"

Father and son the laid the two lilac silk blankets side by side. Astrid then made a ring of flowers from the cave. Fishlegs began his poem as the ship was set ablaze and pushed out to sea.

"For we gather tonight, we remember not to be sad, yet remember that light is even brighter within the dark. For together we feel a bond so strong that nothing can break it. For now we go to the golden light of Valhalla and join in song for remember those who are gone, yet never to be forgotten. We thank Thor and Odin for their graceful ways and hope they bless these souls. Forever and eternally bound within the light of day and the hearts of many." Fishlegs read off his poem. It didn't exactly rhyme but it was still beautiful.

Hiccup gazed at the setting sun and remembered what Una had said, that dawn and dusk were the most beautiful times of the day. He reached into his pocket and pulled out one the crystal that had a single hair of his little sister. He had made it into a necklace which he planned to wear for the rest of his life. "Goodbye, Una. I won't forget you. May your soul and heart be at last at peace. And I promise I won't forget you. My little sister."

Night had fallen by this time and everyone went back to the Great Hall to eat and hear Hiccup tell his tale, but he stayed at the docks for a few extra minutes. Both his father and girlfriend looked at him in a concerned way. Even Toothless looked worried.

"You gonna be okay, son?"

"Yeah, Dad, I'm gonna be fine, eventually. I just wish I could hug Una one last time. It's an amazing feeling to have a little sister. I promised her I wouldn't forget her and I won't. I'll remember her forever."

"The ones we love don't ever leave us, son. They are always with us in our hearts. Like your mother is in mine and also your heart. I don't know who this Una was. But I can tell you loved her deeply. So she must've been special. Don't ever doubt that those we love are gone forever."

"Yeah, Hiccup. Once you love someone they never leave your heart. Furthermore like I said before with a heart so golden and pure like yours you'll make a great leader one day. So I don't doubt that. Come it's time to go eat. You must be famished!" Astrid said as she kissed his cheek and walked to the Great Hall.

"Coming, son?"

"Yeah, Dad! Be right there!" Hiccup said as he turned back to see the full moon and smiled. "See you later, little sister. I won't forget you!" he then turned to leave but stopped. He felt like someone was hugging him and then kissed his right cheek. Una's voice then whispered into his ear. "I love you forever, my big brother. I'll be waiting for you! See you later!"

Hiccup smiled and took off running to his home. He knew what he'd done was a great deed and soon he see his little sister again.

"Like I said before the past may be forgotten sometimes, but it never truly dies. And those we love never leave our hearts. This is very important that we never truly forget what has happened or those who've come and gone. For now I've got a special soul looking out for me. And you know what? I'm still looking out for her. Forever and for always I will protect and care for all that I love and whom I love."

The End