OKAY, OKAY, sorry about that last cliffhanger. Shout-outs soon! :D Enjoy this chapter! :D

"Hiccup…" Astrid said breathlessly, grabbing him by his shoulders before he face planted the dirt. Astrid sank to the ground with Hiccup, and in stunned terror, not fully knowing or thinking about what exactly she was doing, pulled him onto her lap, cradling him gently as if he would just shatter like glass.

Toothless roared and darted over to them, nudging his rider in concern and worry. When Hiccup just responded by moaning, Toothless growled, more worried than he had been previously, and tried nuzzling him again.

"Oh man…" Snotlout mumbled from behind them. His voice was thick, as if he had been crying, or was desperately near tears, or both. "How could this happen?"

"Astrid…?" Hiccup gasped, squinting up at her. She instantly looked at him, trying to keep her focus off the fact that he had an arrow lodged in his body. "Am...am I going to die?" His head lolled limply as he spoke, and whether he meant to or not, he was no longer looking at the girl.

"No," said Astrid firmly, turning his head again so he was forced to make eye contact with her. She determined at this point that he hadn't meant to look away. His body was limp, as if he had no control over it. "No you're not," said Astrid. "I promise."

"Funny thing, promises," Hiccup smiled weakly. Then, it turned into a frown. "Are you...are you crying?" Astrid nodded. "P-please," said Hiccup. "Please don't...please don't cry, Astrid, it's so weird…"

"What?" said Astrid, brushing some of her tears away with her free hand. "You didn't think Berk's toughest shieldmaiden could cry?"

"Not really…" Hiccup admitted.

"Well, she can," said Astrid.

"But...but if you're so sure…" Hiccup wheezed weakly, "...that I won't...won't die...then why...why are you crying?"

"Astrid," said Fishlegs before Astrid even started to answer, "I can remove the arrow...if you hold him down."

That was asking more than Astrid knew how to give, but somehow, she managed to nod in response. If Fishlegs didn't remove the arrow, Hiccup was going to die.

So, while Fishlegs stepped forward, Astrid tried not to look, but she still caught, with the corner of her eye, sight of the arrow that prodded Hiccup's abdomen. At that moment, she hated the Berserkers, and Dagur, and anyone else who ever followed that deranged maniac. What gave him the gall to do something like that? How dare he hurt Hiccup. How dare he.

"Astrid," Hiccup gasped, his breathing erratic and harsh. "I don't...I don't want to go…"

"Go?" Astrid said with a half-laugh, the tears in her eyes blurring her vision. "What do you mean go? Where would you be going?"

Hiccup shook his head. "You...you k-know what I me-an," he said.

He was right; Astrid did know what he meant, and she had known as soon as he started talking. Instead of replying to him directly, she grabbed his limp hand and held it so tightly she was sure she would break his fingers.

"You're not going anywhere," she said, squeezing his hand and staring straight into his piercing green eyes. "It'll all be okay, you'll see. I promise."

"Well, I'm...glad you feel that way," said Hiccup, pausing frequently as he spoke due to pain. "Confident...I-I mean. It's...g-good, but not necessarily...reassuring."

"Astrid," said Fishlegs, breaking both her and Hiccup from their thoughts, "if I'm going to do it, I'm going to have to do it now. I think the arrow was poisoned, so I need to move before it spreads to the rest of his body."

"Wait…" said Astrid, looking from Fishlegs to Hiccup, her breath becoming erratic as she feared the worst to come. "You mean...you mean Hiccup is going to be conscious...during this?"

"Astrid," said Fishlegs, "there's not another choice."

"Yes there is!" said Astrid, squeezing Hiccup's hand harder. "We could wait until we get back to Berk! We have to!"

"We can't!" said Snotlout. "We have to do it now, or Hiccup dies. He's already lost so much blood, Astrid. Any more, and it could end up being fatal!"

Astrid wanted to argue, but knew Snotlout was right, and kept her mouth closed because of it.

"Okay," said Astrid.

Fishlegs nodded. "Hiccup," he said, "this is going to hurt...a lot, okay? Try not to thrash, or it will hurt more."

"G-got it," Hiccup gasped, his chest heaving as he struggled to drag oxygen into his lungs. "Astrid…"

"Yeah?" Astrid replied.

"I'm...I'm scared…" Hiccup rasped, before a coughing fit gripped him violently. Astrid hugged him gently, making sure she didn't touch the arrow Fishlegs was working to remove. She hardly ever heard Hiccup actually admit he was frightened, especially in the face of danger.

"I know," said Astrid. "I know, I am too." She never would have admitted it any other day, but the thought of losing Hiccup truly scared her. Not many things frightened the Hofferson girl, but losing Hiccup was definitely one of them. "You'll be okay, though, Hiccup, I promise."

At this point, Astrid turned around to look at the other dragon riders. Ruffnut and Tuffnut were hugging each other in comfort, while Snotlout stared at his cousin with more worry and concern in his face than Astrid knew he possessed in his entire body. Fishlegs was kneeling in front of Astrid, working on the arrow, trying to decide what would be the best way to remove it.

"Ruffnut and Tuffnut," said Astrid, pointing to the twins, "go see if you can plunder a Berserker ship before they get too far. Don't destroy it, we'll need it if we're going to get back to Berk."

"Got it," the two Thorstons said in unison, turning and jumping on their dragon, heading out to do as Astrid had told them.

"Why can't we take the dragons?" Snotlout questioned. "It will be faster."

"None of us know how to fly Toothless besides Hiccup," said Astrid, "and he can't...for obvious reasons. A ship is our best bet, plus, dragonback would be dangerous for Hiccup, with his open wound."

"Astrid," said Fishlegs. "I'm ready...t-to remove the arrow."

At that moment, Astrid wanted to do anything but, but she knew, in the end, that it was necessary.

"Do it," she said.