This story seems set to out-do my previous longest story, Losing Your Nut! Wow! And nearly 5000 views makes it all worthwhile. Thank you all very much!

Hiccupisnotuseless: Thank you! I'll see if I can centre a story around Fishlegs, but he's not an easy character to make interesting.

Guest: What do you mean? What went too quick? I know, I really loved the movie too. My excuse is that I have to go twice because I have a lot of friends who haven't seen it yet!

The sudden freezing cold of the ocean forced the breath from Snotlout's lungs as he was engulfed. He felt himself being pulled further and further down by the force of his fall, watching the light of the surface grow dimmer. Panicking, he tried to get his numbing limbs to co-operate as he struck out for the surface. He should have held his breath, he knew that now. Full lungs would have helped him get to the surface. His muscles burned as his chest tightened and his throat gaped. His body fought against his will, his desire not to drown. All the while, one thought buzzed through his head. What did she mean?

His body was beginning to shut down. The light grew brighter as he neared the surface, but it wasn't enough. His whole body was a pulp of pain, his teeth tightly clenched to try to prevent himself from taking a breath. It was too far, he couldn't reach the surface. He couldn't do it. His lungs rushed as they filled with water. His sight blurred. He couldn't make it. He was going to drown here. His final thought threatened to be; Who is she?

Suddenly, through the dull blackness descending, he felt someone grab the back of his shirt. He was pulled higher and higher, until finally, he broke the surface. Gagging and coughing the foul water from his lungs, he gulped down air as if it were the wine of the gods itself. His arms spattered through the cold wavelets, his legs dangling numb below him. Loud, choking coughs reverberated through his whole body.

"Come now, Snotlout, I thought I told you to hold your breath?" Kat was floating beside him, looking him over carefully. Her eyes were cold and blank. "You could've died then."

"Yeah, you'd like that, wouldn't you?" He croaked, his eyes narrowed to slits. His heavy clothing was threatening to drag him down under the water again. His legs kicked frantically, but they were numb and slow. His whole body quivered painfully.

"Actually, I wouldn't. But you might." Kat reached back behind her head to release her hair from it's tight plaited bun. She then washed her face clean of the mud, paint and grime. Snotlout watched her with bemusement plastered on his face. What in Odin's name was she doing? However, as she looked up, his face dropped like a lead weight.

It was Sophie. Staring back at him, wide-eyed, a slight smile on her lips. The black was washed from her copper-brown hair, the mud from her pale skin. Snotlout's muddled, cold-numbed mind couldn't quite comprehend how she had got there. One minute, there was Kat, the next, his love was floating beside him. Something just wasn't clicking.

"Sophie?" He whispered, reaching out for her cheek. His hand was roughly brushed aside.

"No. I'm Kat. I always have been. You were just too dull to realise that we were the same person. Is it not overly convenient that there just happened to be two young girls on the island, both with the same accent and never seen in the same place together? Could you not have realised that we were one and the same?" There was none of the usual aloofness in Kat's eyes, just a cold, cruel heartlessness that rested all too heavily within them. "Sophie was never real. But if she was, I doubt she would have loved you anyway."

Her arm rose like a pinnacle from the ocean, pointing straight up into the air. With a screech, her dragon came barrelling down from the cliffs to her rescue, lifting her and carrying her away, up and up and out of view. Snotlout stared after her, his heart hammering in his chest. He felt as though it were breaking in two, like he could feel the physical pain. He was suddenly struck by the overwhelming feeling that there was nothing left for him to live for. Tears slid down his cheeks, masked by the water that he was slowly sliding into as he lost the will to live.

"Snotlout!" The call punctured his melancholy, bringing him back to reality. Where was it coming from? His legs began to kick again, his arms sweeping through the water.

"Snotlout!" He scanned the horizon, the cliffs, everywhere for a sign of who's voice was calling. Suddenly, he spotted her, jumping up and down and trying to wave to him from the dockside.

"Over here!" It was Ruffnut. Somehow, the sight of her made him feel less isolated, less alone. It relieved the crippling pressure on his chest, lifted the weight from his shoulders, stopped the pressing feeling that he should just let himself slip under the water and drown. He couldn't quite see the look on her face, the approaching twilight and distance masking her features, but he knew that she would probably be scowling, yelling for him to get out of the water before he froze. Slowly, achingly, painstakingly, he began to swim through the water towards her, forcing his limbs to obey his command.

It took him a surprisingly long time to get to the docks. Maybe it was the mind-numbing cold. Maybe it was the heavy weight that sat in his chest. Perhaps it was just that he was perceiving time so very slowly. However, once he was there, it didn't seem like very much time at all. Ruffnut reached out to him, grabbing hold of his hand and helping him up onto the slippery, soggy wooden planks. Without the energy to stand, he simply flopped down onto the side of the raised walkway and stared at his reflection in the glassy ocean. Ruffnut sat beside him. She trembled slightly, her lips moving as though she was trying to speak but had nothing to say.

Finally, she managed some words. "What was all that about?" Her usual brash, gravelly tone invaded what was meant to be a calm and collected voice.

"She was Sophie. She tricked me." He mumbled softly, avoiding her gaze.

"Who's Sophie?"

"I met her in the woods. She was alone and... and she was beautiful. She was my everything."

"Whoa, whoa, slow down a sec," Ruffnut scowled, not understanding. "You met someone in the woods? How long ago was this? And what does it have to do with Kat?"

"It was the night after Kat's first attack..." Snotlout began. His whole story came pouring out in a stream, a torrent of words. Meeting after meeting, every day since the first; all the time, the relationship blossomed. After every attack he would go to see her because she made him calm and happy once again. She was his rock, his comfort like no-one else had ever been. He cherished the times they spent together.

All the while, Ruffnut sat listening, determined not to miss a word, not to switch off as she usually did. She stared intently at him, blue eyes blazing with curiosity. Her hands softly played with one of her long, dangling braids, the platinum-blond strands coursing through her fingers with practised ease. It was watching this that kept Snotlout focused on the present and stopped him from fading into the past, like those glinting little strands were a rope that he could cling to for his sanity.

"...And all this time, it wasn't Sophie at all. It was Kat, playing a trick on me. Oh, I was so stupid! If only I'd seen that, I could have stopped everything. You and Fishlegs and Astrid wouldn't be hurt, Gustav wouldn't have..." He paused, the memory too painful, "But I didn't. I didn't because..."

As he trailed off, Ruffnut looked down, blinking at the swirling water beneath the docks. "Because what?" She pressed as gently as possible. Her hand found his shoulder, warm and comforting against his freezing skin.

"...Because I loved her!" He cried suddenly, his face crumpling. Ruffnut started; she had no time to pull away before his cold, wet arms wrapped around her in a tight embrace. His head buried into her shoulder, his hands clasping at her soft fur coat, the hug pulling on the stitches running down her back so that she had to bite her lip to hold back a cry. But, despite all this, she couldn't blame him. She found herself pulling him close to her, arms around his neck, patting his shoulder as her mother had done to her many times.

"You know..." She began softly, closing her eyes miserably, "Mother always used to say that the best cure for sadness is a good night's rest. When I was little, whenever I got upset, whether it was you teasing me or my brother calling me names, she used to send me to bed. Not because I was naughty or because I got on her nerves, but because everything seems just a little bit brighter in the morning. I think that's what you need. I think you need to have a rest and think about this again when it's a little less raw. Okay?"

She felt more than saw him nod against her shoulder. His arms released their grip a little, though he seemed reluctant to fully let go. Ruffnut, on the other hand, was rather looking forward of me to it. Removing the obvious awkwardness of the situation, it was also leaving her in quite a lot of pain. Gritting her teeth, she gave his shoulder what was meant to be a playful shove.

"Come on, let go of me!" She smirked, as jovially as she could manage. His arms fell away and he looked up to her, eyes shining. The corners of his mouth turned up ever-so-slightly as she smiled at him, and then she took his hand and helped him stand, leading him away.

This is not a pairing. Repeat, this is not a pairing. Not for me, anyway, not in this story. Just Ruffnut trying to help out, showing her softer side for once, which I find very rarely comes out, but I know it's there. Somewhere.

Anyway, sad chapter. That's the connection between Kat and Sophie, if you hadn't already realised from the last chapter. Poor Snotlout. You must feel sorry for him...