Okay, so this is my FIRST update today. Glad you all are hanging with me, and I'm sorry it took so long! My computer decided "I'l going to be rude!" and overheated twice, but I think I can do it now. :) Okay, so I got a request from a guest to, in an A/N at the beginning of each story, write what the time periods are in each story. So, I just wanted to tell ya that this is set during "Defenders of Berk." :) Meantime, shout-outs:

silverwolvesarecool: Mystery...misdirection...wonder...WHAT WILL HAPPEN!?

xFaerieValkyriex: I think I tend to do that kind of a lot. "THEY'RE COMING!" *thud* You know. The usual. Perfect way to start a mystery story. :)

AnimeAngel" Poor guy...but he's seen worse. I think...XD! I'm glad you approve of it so far! It was your idea, so...yeah. :)

Guest (#1): Yes, I will start doing it from this story and on. :) This story is set during "Defenders of Berk," so yeah. :)

Wanli8970: I'm glad you liked it! You did request it, so...GLAD YOU APPROVED! XD! I had SO MUCH fun with that story, you know! :) Thank you for requesting such a brilliant piece!

ScarletNightFury: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Is it wrong to say that was also me while I was writing the first chapter? XD! Seriously though! It pretty much was me...:)

Jesusfreak: WHAT IN THE WORLD!? HOW IN THE WORLD AM I SUPPOSED TO FIGURE THAT OUT!? XD! Okay, I HAVE NO IDEA WHATSOEVER! PLEASE GIVE ME THE ANSWER SO I CAN TELL IT TO MY FAMILY!

I sat outside of the Haddock house, waiting for Hiccup to wake up. See, I had a fair few questions for him, and it's easy to see why. He just barged into the Great Hall with an arrow sticking out of his shoulder and screamed "THEY'RE COMING!" before collapsing to the floor and passing out. Wouldn't you have a few questions?

[Oh stop glaring, Hiccup. You left me hanging!]

We were so worried about him it was almost funny. Fishlegs, of course, went off rambling about all the dangers of arrow wounds (thank you, Fishlegs Ingerman, but did we really need to know that sometimes the arrows are designed so that the arrowhead dislodges itself from the rest of the arrow and you need to cut it out of the skin with a knife?), while Snotlout paced recklessly and the twins went on about "He's so lucky. He'll have that scar for life!" Meantime, we had taken Hiccup to Gothi's, where the arrow had been removed, the wound bandaged. Then, we brought Hiccup back to his own house.

And that was how I came to be sitting outside the Haddock residence. There I was, waiting for something to happen. Toothless was being a little over-protective, obviously angry at himself for not being there with Hiccup when he was shot, and angry at us apparently for not being there, either. The only person Toothless allowed to see Hiccup was Stoick, and that's only because Stoick had threatened to throw Toothless out until further notice if he hadn't.

I had about a bazillion questions for Hiccup. Who was coming? Who had shot him? What had happened? Etcetera, etcetera. Pretty much everything. After a few moments, the front door opened and Stoick walked out. He explained to me that he needed to do some chiefting and asked if I would remain with Hiccup in case he woke up. Of course I said yes right away, bolted inside, and ran up the stairs.

Toothless growled at me warningly, but at that point, who cared? I didn't. Well, Toothless did, apparently. He stood between me and Hiccup, growling, his teeth unsheathed so he very much wasn't Toothless. More like Toothful.

"Toothless," I said calmly and sternly, "if you don't let me pass, I am going to make you eat eel."

Of course, I would never do that, really, to be honest. I remembered what had happened the last time Toothless ate eel; wasn't very good. He got the dragon version of Eel Pox...and it's better not to ask how that went, really. But Toothless seemed to take the treat, because he backed away and let me see his rider.

I mumbled a quick "Thank you" before sitting on the edge of the bed. Toothless sauntered over to the other side and crooned worriedly. I offered a sad smile and stroked the dragon's head gently.

And then Hiccup stirred and moaned. I looked down at him, seeing his eyes flutter until finally they opened. His emerald eyes were full of...what's the right word? Relief? Confusion? Well, obviously he was confused. He passed out in the Great Hall and woke up at his own house.

"Hiccup," I breathed, "glad you're alright. You really had us worried there for a while." I grabbed a chunk of ice from a bucket beside the bed and then pressed it to his shoulder. He hissed through his teeth and closed his eyes again. "What happened?" I asked him.

He opened his eyes again and stared straight at me. They were the eyes I had known for nearly three years (well, technically eighteen, but I didn't know him really the first fifteen), but there was something different about them. They were full of terror and confusion.

"Hiccup?" I asked.

"Should..." he started, "s-should I k-know you?"

I laughed. "Hiccup," I said, "this isn't funny. Stop fooling around."

"What do you mean?" he said. "How do you know who I am?"

I hesitated. Was he serious? Did he seriously not remember me?

"You...you really don't remember who I am?" I said. I felt majorly hurt when he shook his head. "I'm Astrid!" I shouted. "You know? The person who's always punching you?"

He looked straight at me. "I...I feel like I should know you," he stuttered. "I just...I can't."

I nodded. Toothless suddenly raced forward and licked his rider. At first, I panicked. If Hiccup didn't remember me, how on Earth would I expect him to remember how we made peace with the dragons?

When Toothless started licking him, Hiccup merely looked to me for help. He didn't cower, he just gently pushed Toothless away as easy as he could with his bad shoulder. Toothless seemed to understand, because he backed down almost immediately.

"You...you're not afraid of him?" I questioned.

"No," said Hiccup. "Why would I be afraid of him? We made peace with the dragons, didn't we?"

I sighed with relief. At least he remembered that much. I suddenly thought about his leg...oh man. How was he going to react to that? Or...did he remember? Did he remember anything other than his name and making peace?

"What happened?" he asked. "T-to my s-shoulder?"

His voice was shaking because he was clearly terrified. I knew by the unsurness in his voice that he truly did not know who I was or where he was.

"Someone shot you," I explained as calmly as I possibly could have. "With...with an arrow."

Hiccup turned to me, his eyes wide with either terror or pain, I couldn't tell at this point, which really worried me. I could always tell with Hiccup before this, but now it was as if he were an entirely different person.

"Who shot me?" Hiccup questioned.

"I...I don't know," I admitted. "You know, though. Somewhere in there-" I tapped his left temple- "you have the answer."

"I don't know what it is," said Hiccup.

"Me neither," I said. "Me neither."