My THIRD update today, and the last chapter of this story! Enjoy! Snout-outs:

Wanli8970: I LOVE the idea of a mystical Ghost dragon, although I don't know how to write stories about people getting possessed, and I think it would be kind of creepy. BUT BEFORE YOU GIVE UP ON ME, how about THIS: Hiccup gets captured by a mystical, evil Ghost dragon with ghost like abilities? ;) If you don't like it, it's cool, I just don't really like to think of Hiccup getting possessed, if you know what I mean, but if he got captured, I could SO do that! :) And about the updating...I honestly have no clue. :) I just always have this HUGE urge to update that I can't fight. :)

midnightsky0612: Yeah, no kidding. I kinda feel bad for the guy in a way, though...I want to see Alvin get what he deserves, yeah? :D

Enjoy the FINAL chapter to this fanfic. Any questions, comments, suggestions, or requests, go ahead and throw 'em at me. :)

"HICCUP, NO! IT'LL KILL YOU!"

"YOU HAVE TO! IT'S THE ONLY WAY YOU GUYS HAVE A CHANCE OF GETTING OUT! YOU HAVE TO LISTEN TO ME! LISTEN TO ME! PLEASE!"

"NO! I WON'T LET IT HAPPEN!"

"DO. IT! YOU HAVE TO DO IT! TUFFNUT, TELL BELCH TO SPARK!"

"BELCH, SPARK!"

"HICCUP! HICCUP! NO! NO!"

Astrid shuddered as the memory met her mind. Man, she hated that flashback. She still couldn't believe she had actually allowed Tuffnut to ignite the gas, causing the massive explosion.

Toothless nudged her, and Astrid offered a smile, although it was fake, and both she and the dragon knew it. It had been one day since the events of her flashback, only it seemed to have occurred so long ago.

Had it seriously only been yesterday?

She was sitting on a stood parked beside where Hiccup was laying on his bed. His forehead was done up in tight bandages, as were his arm and shoulder. His arm was in a sling, resting limply in it.

Astrid sighed. How had she let it come to this? It was her fault, she felt. Why hadn't it been her instead? And how did Hiccup get all the dragons to listen to him? Well, of course, he had trained each one himself before the battle with the Red Death, so they obviously had a tremendous amount of respect for him specifically, but how in the world had he taught each dragon that command without the owner of said dragon figuring it out?

Astrid hadn't the slightest clue. Hiccup was always doing stuff like that, Astrid thought, while recounting the time he had hid Toothless from the entire village without them knowing for weeks before they were friends with the dragons. He was mysteriously mysterious at times, and it got slightly on her nerves. He would have to tell her how he managed to do it when he felt up to it. She would make sure of that.

She had been sitting for about five minutes so far. Stoick had left just a little while ago to help some villagers with a shipwreck, asking Astrid to remain behind. She didn't even really need to be asked. She would have done it automatically.

As she sat there, Astrid felt every single memory she had ever spent with Hiccup coming back. Going after the treasure of Hamich the Second, laughing at the Great Hall while adding new pages to the Book of Dragons, laying on the grass in the night while finding each constellation in the starry sky, watching the sunset, training dragons, racing, chatting, laughing, just enjoying each other's company.

She was brought out of her thoughts when she saw Hiccup's eyes flutter. A second later, they opened. He squinted from the light, but then smiled at Astrid.

"Hey," he said. "How are you doing?"
"How am I doing?" Astrid repeated. She shrugged. "Okay, I guess. How are you doing?"

Hiccup shrugged as best he could with his bad shoulder. "Can't complain, can't complain," he said half-heartedly. His mind was a blurry sea of mixed and mashed images; him shouting to Astrid and Tuffnut to set the explosion, then waking up for a moment, finding himself with Astrid on the back of a dragon, and then screaming when someone did something with his arm...what happened exactly?

"What happened?" asked Hiccup.

"You don't remember?" asked Astrid.

"I remember some," said Hiccup.

"How much?" asked Astrid.

"The explosion," said Hiccup, "and that's about it."

"Mmm," said Astrid. She paused, thinking. "Makes sense," she said matter-of-factly. "Gothi said you hit your head pretty hard." She recalled earlier that morning, Gothi coming over to re-check Hiccup's injuries and giving her that insight, thanks to Fishlegs who translated.

"Yeah, no kidding," said Hiccup, rubbing a hand over his bandaged forehead. He sat up and looked forward, wincing and rubbing his bad arm with his good one. "How are the others?" he prompted.

"Them?" asked Astrid. "Fine. None of them were harmed during the explosion, thanks to you and your little trick." She sighed. "Of course, if it weren't for another one of your little tricks, there wouldn't have been an explosion."

"You know I had no choice, Astrid," said Hiccup. "It was either I risk getting killed, or we all get killed. The choice seemed pretty obvious to me, don't you think?"

"You could have at least told us what you were planning," said Astrid.

"But then you would have never let me done it," said Hiccup.

"Exactly my point," said Astrid. "We could have thought of another way-"

"You can't look for another way when there isn't one, Astrid," said Hiccup. "You of all people know that."

"I know, I know," said Astrid. "Just next time, no explosions, please?"

Hiccup whistled. "I can't promise you that," he said. "You know me."

"That's what worries me," said Astrid. "Promise me at least you'll tell me before you go all 'Hiccup Haddock Daredevil' on us."

"Um...I would hate to break it to you, Astrid," said Hiccup, "but I am always going 'Hiccup Haddock Daredevil'. All the time."

"Fine," said Astrid. "Can't argue with that. How's your arm doing?"
"Ah, you know, pain," said Hiccup, rolling his eyes slightly "Love it."

Astrid laughed, and Hiccup joined in. At that moment, Fishlegs, Snotlout and the twins bolted up the stairway.

Fishlegs dwindled his fingers together nervously, the others doing the same.

"What?" asked Hiccup. "What is it?"

"We...we wanted to say..." Fishlegs started, "um...Ruffnut has something she wants to say."

"WHAT!?" exclaimed Ruffnut. "Um...okay...uh...Tuffnut has something he wants to say!"

"Hey, no fair," said Tuffnut. "Okay...Snotlout has something he wants to say!"

"HEY!" shouted Snotlout.

"What is it?" asked Hiccup.

"Uh...fine," said Snotlout, almost growling. "We wanted to say that we're...sorryaboutthecomtestthing," he said, coughing awkwardly into his fist.

"What?" asked Hiccup.

"We're sorry, okay!?" said Snotlout. "Sorry we didn't listen to you. Sorry we never listen to you. Sorry about the contest thing. We've agreed not to do it again."

"That's...great!" said Hiccup. "And...thank you guys, too. For saving me."

"You seriously think you need to thank us?" asked Astrid.

"I don't see a problem with it," said Hiccup.

"Never mind!" said Snotlout. "Are you guys coming for training, or not?"

Hiccup and Astrid exchanged glances before both standing up and following the others out of the Haddock household.

Training couldn't wait.

THE END