The penultimate chapter is upon us. Same 'ol sorry for being late spiel but college is hard sometimes. Good news is I'm finally done with my second year so only two (hopefully) more to go and I'll be getting my degree! With a newly declared writing minor :)

Anyway, here you go!

Chapter 12:

He died after she left. It didn't take long after his frantic decline. Having nothing to fight for anymore he had no will to keep his head above the water. Within the hour he had given up. Toothless curled up next to him and protectively cradled him in his wings. Valka held his hand and begged him to stay, tears flowing freely from her eyes. With each breath it got harder to breathe. He drew further and further away. He thought he saw his father. He called out for him, questioning if he was truly there. Valka sobbed, Toothless curled him tighter. But with a great effort he inhaled once more. His soul left his body in the form of a word. On a low and slow exhale, "Astrid" eased its way out. As the "D" sound trailed off everything stopped. His heart no longer beat and his pulse didn't race. He was dead.

That's what Astrid imagined as she stared into now empty room.

All she found herself doing was standing in the threshold of the door. She couldn't bring herself into the room. It was hauntingly empty- not even a dragon in sight. It was calm and quiet but it screamed out to the heavens. He had died and nothing else. To Astrid, that was the only explanation. He was dead.

The energy trapped in the room played the pictures in her mind. Maybe they weren't real or maybe they were. But Astrid saw them clearly. She did as all objective spectators do- she watched closely. She needed to watch it until she knew every last detail. Then she could place herself there. She'd know so much that it was like she was there to begin with. She needed to place herself. Over and over the images played but over and over she just watched. Each time the words "he was dead" resonated in her mind.

He was dead. He was dead. He was dead.

"So the rumors are true." A soft voice rang out from behind her. Astrid didn't even bother turning around to see the source. She just thought: he was dead. He was dead. He was dead.

"Astrid really is running through the streets of town with a blood stained wedding dress. Are you okay?" A hand reached out to touch her. To this she reacted by flinching. But she still thought: he was dead. He was dead. He was dead.

"Are you hurt?" The voice made its way around Astrid, keeping a hand on her shoulder. The figure of Eret came into view as he walked in front of Astrid. He broke her gaze from the empty bed and thus broke her train of thought and the pictures. He brought her back to reality.

Suddenly she realized it wasn't a dream or even a memory. He wasn't dying. He was dead. This revelation hit her and hit her hard. If not for Eret's hand on her shoulder she would have collapsed right there.

"He's dead isn't he?" She asked Eret, looking into his eyes.

"Astrid, you need to tell me if you're okay first. I don't care to know why but this is cause for alarm."

"I'm okay. He's dead." She answered for herself.

"Look," Eret started with a heavy sigh.

"I knew it, I knew it." Astrid said, breaking away from Eret's grip and rushing over to the bed. Still standing, she grabbed the messy blankets that had been left behind and clung to them. They were warm.

Eret slowly walked toward her and remained tentative in his movements. He was probably not who Astrid wanted to see right now considering he was the one who gave her hope in the first place. Another life ruined on his account.

Eret just happened to be nearby when he heard whisperings of Astrid being back in the village running madly and covered in blood. After she loudly announced her divorce from her doorstep she had been a hot topic on Berk. It had only been one night since so she was still fresh in people's minds. Now even more so that she reappeared the way she did.

Eret decided to go in and see her. After all, she did need the news broken to her. Astrid wasn't the only hot topic on Berk- Hiccup was too. Someone had to tell her. Eret just dreaded the fact that it had to be him.

He beckoned Astrid to sit down but just his mere touch on her was enough to send her spiraling. The dam had begun to crack and break quite on the verge of bursting. The water wasn't flowing yet but one more hit and it would go.

Astrid collapsed on the floor near the bed taking the blanket with her. She brought it up to her and clutched it to her face. This is the blanket he died in.

Eret followed her down and attempted to lift her face to meet his. She broke away but he tried again.

"Astrid, look at me." She didn't obey. "I have to tell you something and I need you to look at me." She still didn't obey. "Please?" He asked softly, brokenly. The break in his voice broke Astrid and she compiled, merely brining her eyes to his and nothing else.

"Okay," Eret started. "Now I need you to promise me something." He said.

"Okay," Astrid began. "But I'm no good at keeping them, obviously." Eret of people understood that.

"Promise me this. It's simple," he sympathetically assured. Astrid nodded and he continued. "Don't freak out when I tell you what I tell you?"

"What?" Astrid tilted her head a bit in confusion.

"Don't freak out." Eret explained simply.

"Okay." Astrid agreed, tired of all that was happening around her.

"Okay." He took a breath in and out before he spoke. This was going to be harder than he thought. He took Astrid's hand in his for moral support albeit mostly for himself.

"He's gone." Was all Eret said. He said it in a matter-of-fact tone that made it seem like he just up and walked out.

Astrid made a small whimpering sound and tensed up. She wasn't allowed to freak out. Eret felt this and held her hand tighter. It was all he could do and he needed to explain.

"This is it?" Astrid asked, interrupting.

"No, you don't understand-"

"That's all I get? That's just.. it? He's gone and this is it? It just seems like he left to go out ..but... this is it?"

"Astrid, he's gone." Eret said more sternly this time.

"I know, please." She almost broke but remembered she couldn't.

"No, I mean he's gone. Like gone gone."

"Huh?"

"He left. I think sometime early this morning or maybe last night. But when Valka woke up-"

"What!" Astrid shouted, shooting up. Eret shot up to meet her.

"Don't freak out! Remember!" She remembered and despite her urge to just bolt out the door she locked eyes with Eret. That's all she could do to keep from running and taking him with her.

"Explain. Now." Was all Astrid said.

"Last night, after you left, it was bad. Really bad. We didn't think he'd make it the night really. Valka had the healer stop by and give him something to make him sleep. He was just in so much pain. He slept so Valka went to sleep herself. But when she woke up this morning he was gone. He wasn't in bed and his dragon was missing. Not an hour earlier this occurred.

We don't know where he went but his mother is out looking. Whole town's damn near dropped it all and started searching. Well that is till you showed up. We assume he went to-"

"Follow me. And stop me." Astrid's heart beat right out of her chest and all she wanted to do was go. But she made a promise and didn't intend to break it. Not again.

"Aye. But if you're here then..."

"He didn't make it."

"We don't know when he left. But if you didn't see him in your journey then-"

"So you're telling me," Astrid stated. Talking was all she could do to keep from running. "That my hus-... ex-husband is not actually dead but he's out there somewhere, sick and dying or dead already, stranded and lost or on Outcast Island with a pissed off Alvin risking his already condemned life to try to get me back while I'm here for him?"

"That would appear to be the case, yes." Eret said plainly after taking in all she said.

"Can I freak out now?"

"Two things first. Valka is out looking for him already. She's searching surrounding islands and the water. It's more than likely that he crashed on the way."

"And?"

"Take the healer with you. He'll know what to do when you find him."

That was two things.

At the reassurance of Eret's gaze Astrid took off.

"I'm dead"

Was the only thought to run through Hiccup's head. It was the only thing doing any moving for that mater. The immense amount of effort it took just to simply breathe was enough to kill. His entire body ached so much that he couldn't even decipher one spot that hurt the most. If it hurt this bad, then maybe he wasn't dead after all. That thought gave him the strength he needed to push on.

He had attempted to follow Astrid to Outcast Island shortly after she left. He wasn't asleep very long before his burning pain woke him up again. When he did, he immediately hopped on Toothless and took off. However, about halfway into the flight, a coughing fit up in the air caused him to lose control and spiral out of the sky. He detached from Toothless and they both hit the water- hard. Hiccup shortly washed up on the shores of a small Island but Toothless couldn't be found. The only way Hiccup knew he was still alive was the sorrowful dragon cries he head in the distance.

Hiccup remained on the sand for what was left of that night and into the day. Slowly, he attempted to drag himself away from the aggressive waves. He managed to make it off the shores and into the start of a small forest. However, any further seemed like a feat too daring for him. He felt the drops of blood forming on his face from scraping against harsh rocks and shells. He felt the sticks and pokes of twigs and branches only causing him more pain. He saw the red stained sand and dirt in front of him. He felt parts of his body contorted in unnatural ways. He felt his broken bones break even more. And he shivered with the remnants of cold, harsh seawater on him.

Still, despite all of this, Hiccup dragged himself on. If he could just get back to Toothless then maybe everything would be okay. If Toothless wasn't able to get him to help then at least he'd be able to die with someone familiar nearby. Hiccup continued to pull himself through sand and dirt in an attempt to simply live. In doing so, he felt a jagged rock impale his cheek and form a deep gash as he moved his body. He gasped in pain and brought his hand up to the afflicted area. He brought it back to find more crimson blood on his fingertips.

"Toothless." He whimpered. He needed his dragon more than anyone now. Astrid had gone, his father was dead, and his mother had been absent from his life for nearly 20 years. But Toothless was always by his side, through thick and thin. If he was going to die, he wasn't going to die alone. He needed the only one who kept him living all these years by his side now.

"Toothless!" He yelled louder, the strength needed to do so nearly killing him right there. In response, Hiccup heard the guttural roar of his best friend. At least he was alive and had made it to the island. That's all Hiccup needed to go on.

He slowly tried to lift himself to a standing position only to fall right down- hard again. His good leg, which appeared to be broken, couldn't support the rest of his slim form without buckling. He moaned lowly and decided to lie in the sand as he tried to stifle his pain. He closed his eyes and took in deep breaths, one after the other. Before he knew it, he was drifting.

He wavered on the brink of consciousness. His mind slipped further away into the deep. He thought he saw his father. And he heard a voice calling his name, a female voice. This voice was familiar yet soothing- a voice he knew well. It almost sang his name and beckoned him toward it.

"Hiccup." The voice sang.

"Hiccup."

"Hiccup!" Astrid yelled as she ran toward him. Somehow, she and Halvard had found him quickly. Maybe the Gods showed her the way or maybe it was fate but either way, Astrid didn't care. She hopped off Stormfly before she even hit the ground causing her to waver in her balance and land on her hands in the sand. Quickly recovering, with Halvard following closely behind in his own red and white Singetail, Astrid stumbled toward Hiccup and dropped to her knees beside him. Halvard and his dragon, which he named "Ambie", lingered behind.

Astrid slowly and carefully started to turn Hiccup's barely conscious frame around and supported him on her legs. She shifted so he lay perfectly in her lap while she cradled his head in her arms.

"Hiccup." She whispered slowly. She shook him lightly a few times and tapped his cheek. His shallow breathing and barely discernible heartbeat were the only indicators he was still alive.

"Hiccup." She said with a little more force. This seemed to jolt him slightly and he began to peel open his eyes with great effort.

"Ast..." He began but was quickly quieted by a shush.

"Shh. It's okay, it's okay. I'm here. I shouldn't have left, I know. It was stupid. But I'm here now, okay? I'm not going anywhere. I love you." Astrid slowly lowered Hiccup diagonally so he could see her. She matched accordingly until they were both nearly in the sand.

"Tooth..." Hiccup started again but was too pained to finish.

"Toothless," Astrid confirmed. "He'll be alright, I'll find him and I'll get him back. I promise. Oh, Hiccup." Astrid choked back tears as she took in his current state. To say he was bruised and battered would be a grave understatement. Seeing him like this, in so much pain, killed Astrid just the same.

"Oh, Gods," she began. "No, no! Please," she turned slightly to face Halvard who solemnly watched the exchange with his head bowed. "There must be something you can do, anything. You can't let him die! I... I can't... lose him. Please." Halvard raised his eyes to match Astrid's gaze and numbly shook his head. There was nothing he could do.

Astrid knew this but the affirmation made it clear. She bit back a cry and slowly turned back to Hiccup who was looking at her with such pleading eyes. She knew what he was pleading for- an end. Neither wanted to admit it but it's what needed to be done. As long as Astrid was there Hiccup would hold on until he couldn't and die in agony- just as she's imagined. Astrid wouldn't let that weigh down on her shoulders for the rest of her life. She thought back to Ragna and how she clung to life waiting for the okay to let go. She also remembered the relief on her face and her solemn excitement to be reunited with her family. Hiccup must have longed for his father now. Who was Astrid to keep him any longer?

With great pain, she caressed his face with the back of her hand and slightly cupped it for support.

"Hiccup. It's okay. You can go now. It's all over. I'll be okay. I... won't be alone. See, I won't be alone." Astrid gently took Hiccup's hand and placed it on her midsection. She smiled through the tears that ran down her face.

"Ba..by?" Hiccup asked, understanding.

"Yes," Astrid giddily laughed. "A baby. Our baby. So... it's okay. He'll know his father loved him. And I won't be alone. So you can go now. It's okay to go." Hiccups' expression seemed to relax a little as his breaths became more shallow. This was it.

"Astrid..." he said so softly it was almost inaudible. "For everything else." With the little effort he had left he stretched his neck toward Astrid. With tears in her eyes, she brought him close to her and allowed him to use all the strength he could muster to delicately brush his lips on hers. Upon making contact, she deepened the kiss ever so slightly and with an angelic gentleness.

She wanted to remain locked like this forever. In the space between Heaven and Earth where no one was alive nor dead. Where time stopped and you could truly just be. But this moment was short lived. She soon felt the slow parting of lips followed by a heavy weight gliding down. Opening her tear stained eyes she lowered Hiccup to the sand and brushed away a stray hair from his forehead. He was cold but no longer shivering. He was broken but no longer in pain. He was bloodied but no longer bleeding. He... was dead.

He was dead.

It wasn't long before Astrid was at the mercy of her emotions. The reality of the situation set in and her dam finally burst. Astrid collapsed onto her late husband and simply wept. She wept for what the world had lost- a hero and humble soul. She thought about the lonely nights ahead and the times she knew she'd forget only to realize all over again. She dreaded having to tell her child that their father would never be with them. She cried a little more as fact itself really hit her for the first time- Hiccup wasn't coming back.

She felt as though a piece of her had died with him. Ragnas' words echoed in her mind:

You give away so much of yourself to someone else and when they're gone they take it with them. Now there's no more of you left to give to even yourself.

How she was right. Astrid had given so much to Hiccup that he had become a part of her- and vice versa. The two couldn't function separately. Only when they were together did everything work in harmony. Now that he was gone, Astrid felt a gaping, empty hole in her heart where Hiccup used to be.

But she knew she needed to move on for her own sake. She couldn't wallow in her misery forever as Ragna did. What sort of a life was a life spent waiting to die? Astrid had a child to think about now and damn if she let her sorrow ruin their life. She had to pick up the pieces of her that were left and try and carry on. Although there would always be that hollow part that death took from her.

"Astrid," Halvard stated, breaking the fluidity of her weeping. "Lass?"

"I feel empty. Is that how you're supposed to feel?" Astrid weakly responded with, one hand still placed on her husbands un-beating heart.

"Astrid come along, its time." Halvard placed a gentle hand on her shoulder but Astrid recoiled and clung to Hiccup.

"No, no just give me a minute please." Although she was ready to let him go she wasn't ready to put herself back together yet.

"Okay." Halvard took a step back and allowed the girl to continue her lamenting. Silently, she whispered to her husband in a tone so gentle and sincere it could have moved the Gods themselves.

"What am I going to do without you? I don't know." She wiped another stray tear from her eye. Astrid wouldn't be the same now with her husband no longer beside her. Who would she be? A warrior again? A mother? A leader? She didn't know. Perhaps it was a part of picking up her pieces again. She had the power to mold them into what she wanted. Limited in number of course, she could still build around the parted pieces and shape her heart to her own desire.

"We aren't guaranteed tomorrow," she said after realizing. "We aren't even guaranteed the rest of today. All we have is the now. So now, I live. Until death do me part."

One final time, she caressed Hiccup's face and gave him a gentle kiss to the cheek. In doing so, the jeweled bride crown that knotted its way into her matted hair fell out and onto the sand beside her.

Halvard saw the crown fall and curiously went to pick it up, holding the jewels up toward the sun. The smaller diamonds sparkled when hit with light but the larger center piece refracted it, breaking the light beam into another one. Halvard viewed it from all angles yet was haunted by a sort of striking familiarity. The jewel was unlike the others yet one he has seen before. His attention weaved its way to figuring it out instead.

"What's this?" He asked.

"Huh?" Astrid sat up, brushing hair away from her face and drying her eyes to get a better view. "Oh, my bride crown. For my wedding. Take it, I don't care. Consider it a payment." Astrid began to get up, pushing into the sand to help support her.

As she began to aimlessly walk away, Halvard inspected the jewel closer until he finally understood what it was. He nearly dropped it when he did.

"Do you know what this is?" He yelled rather than asked. He grabbed Astrid's arm to stop her from going any further.

"A diamond, does it matter?" She blankly responded.

"Yes," Halvard let her arm go and quickly ran over to the nearby rocks at the start of the forest. "Because, Astrid, this isn't a diamond... it's.. spar!"

Oh Gods. No. Astrid realized it too and nearly feel to her knees in the sand. Despair threatened to break her again but then she remembered the pieces. She could mold them, change them.

"A diamond." She shot back. Halvard didn't listen, however, as he began to barbarically grind the jewel against the rock, degrading it into a fine powder.

"No it's-"

"A diamond," Astrid interrupted. "Because if you tell me that's anything but a diamond you're telling me I had the power to save him this whole time and I didn't!" Halvard didn't respond, he merely kept grinding. The sheer force of manually grading the jewel caused Halvard's hands to scrape and bleed but he kept going on despite.

Astrid was frozen where she stood, unable to move to even stop him. Guilt wracked through her system as she fought to try and defend herself. This was not how she was going to rebuild.

But the guilt slipped through the cracks and through her missing pieces. She realized that Ragna switched crowns on purpose because Astrid told her about the spar. She must have had an escape plan to get Astrid out so she didn't have to ruin her life by marriage. But she died before she could make it known. And Astrid was the cause. She killed Ragna. She killed Hiccup.

"You're telling me I killed him." She said almost to herself, realizing. With this, she did drop to her knees.

"Oh Gods, oh Gods. I did. I killed him. I killed him. I killed my husband." She began to sob again. Not a lamenting weep but a cry of desperation and dismay. She'd never be able to pick up the pieces now, they were too far gone for anyone to even try.

Through all of this, Halvard continued to prepare the potion. He wasn't going to let the boy die when the power to save him was there. He didn't understand why Astrid was so dismissive when he could be saved. Maybe it was a part of the grieving process?

Halvard finished painfully grinding and dusted the power into his open canteen of water. Mixing them furiously, he made his way over to Hiccup but found a collapsed Astrid was blocking his path.

"Please, let me." He asked as he tried to soothe the girl.

"Don't come near me!" Astrid shouted back as Halvard got to close. He backed away a bit but didn't stand down. Instead he went around her.

"Astrid please."

"I'm a murderer!"

"You're only a murderer if you don't let me save him." To this, Astrid responded by leaping up and meeting Halvard's gaze.

"Spar is a sham!" She shouted at him. "It's the Outcasts way of conning people into thinking it saves lives but it's only an antidote for what killed him."

Now Halvard understood. He understood it all. But the doctor in him refused to believe that this crystal wouldn't heal. He took a personal oath as a healer and that was to exhaust all options until no more remained. Otherwise death was his responsibility too. So regardless of the truth about spar he still needed to try.

"That may be," he replied after a brief moment of thought. "But Astrid you need to move. Now!" He forcibly pushed her aside, but not enough to make her fall. However she did just that on her own.

Halvard knelt down to meet the body of the boy and aligned him straight. Carefully and with surgical precision, he parted his lips enough so that the canteens contents could enter. Wasting no time he tipped the canteen, administered the cure and made sure every last drop was utilized.

He sat back and waited for a response with Astrid, wide eyed, by his side. But nothing happened. They could both hear their hearts beat.

Nothing.

Astrid shouldn't have gotten her hopes up and shouldn't have passively allowed Halvard to try.

They waited a while longer, but nothing.

"Oh, Gods." Astrid choked out, placing her hand over her mouth.

"Oh, Gods."

Just as Astrid was about to sink into unadulterated panic... a huge intake of breath broke the silence. That was followed immediately by gasping and very rough coughing. Instinctually, responding to the noise, Astrid looked down and everything else froze. Hiccup's chest rose and fell.

Innately, Halvard responded quickly to the action and lifted the boy in his arms. As Hiccup coughed and sputtered, Halvard eased him along and allowed him to react as his body turned itself back on. All the while he offered soothing words but didn't know if they'd help much.

When the worst was over, Halvard laid Hiccup back in the sand. His head lulled to the side but his chest rose and fell steadily. Astrid only watched this exchange with utter disbelief in her eyes.

"Hiccup?" She asked, weakly.

"He's alive." Halvard responded to her.

"Hiccup?" She said once more, distantly and directed toward no one.

"He's still hurt but... Astrid he's alive."

"Hiccup!" Halvard's affirmation seemed to rejuvenate Astrid and she made her way over to his husband. She reached a hand out to touch his chest so gently, as if she was touching newly made glass. She felt the steady rise and fall and heard the distinct thumping of his heart.

"Oh, Gods you're alive." He is. He is alive. Astrid couldn't help but smile as she choked back cathartic tears. She cradled his head once more and watched as his face made microscopic twitches and movements.

He'd be in pain for a long time to come. Spar didn't heal all and he was still covered with a host of injuries. But Astrid would help him through because it's who she was. With his decent back to life her heart was again full. There was no need for her to reinvent; there were no more missing pieces.

As Astrid cradled his head she couldn't help but feel relief. It was over now. She thought it was over when he died but fate had one last trick up its sleeve. If anything, this journey reaffirmed Hiccup and Astrid's mutual true love. Not even death could part them.

"I lived in a world without you." Astrid said suddenly as she thought. "I didn't want to but I did.

"You took all those pieces with you, those pieces we shared. The ones you gave me and I gave you. So I was alive, yea, but dammit it wasn't whole. Not until now. Not until those pieces were back. And not until death do us part."

Astrid couldn't help but laugh as she reflected back on the events of the past. She realized they were the actions of not a broken heart but an incomplete one. To function wholly, they needed each other. Astrid laughed and smiled a freeing smile. Now it was over- truly over.

She placed a hand on their growing child and looked toward the future. She saw all the boundless possibilities that lay ahead of her. Her smiled widened from ear to ear as she felt Hiccup's hand searching for hers. Removing her hand, she took his and, without hesitation, held it as tight as she could.

The past sank behind them as they built each other up. Their two hearts beat as one, in perfect time, in perfect harmony. The future looked bright, and very much alive with endless days shining ahead. No piece was left askew as love molded them perfectly into place once more.

For her husband wasn't dead. No.

He was dead.

But with new life, they continued on.

Until death do them part again.

Holy Toledo! I apologize for any feels I may have caused but it's what I do. This chapter took an obscenely long time to get just right but because of its importance I wanted to really focus on it.

Good and bad news is that there's one chapter left and it's a simple one so I should have it out fairly soon.

Thanks for your constant support and reviews and opinions! I never thought this story would reach the level it but y'all made it possible. I appreciate everyone so much.