A year had passed since the dragons left their viking friends for the Hidden World. Hiccup decided to stop by the cliff where he said good-bye to Toothless and watched him fly away after all the other dragons. It hadn't been that long, but he already missed his best friend dearly. Nonetheless, he remembered that he would be happy with the Light Fury and safe from anyone who wanted to hurt him.

"Someday, bud," he said to himself. "Someday, we'll see each other again."

"Like he'd even remember you if you ever did," said a familiar voice.

Hiccup was shocked to his core at what he just heard. It couldn't have been. He watched him fall to his death. It was impossible for Grimmel to survive that fall. Hiccup drew his sword and lit it up.

"How?" asked an astonished Hiccup.

"I figured I'd pay you a visit from Helheim," Grimmel answered smugly. "After all, I couldn't resist making sure you knew I won the war."

"No you didn't," insisted Hiccup. "All the dragons are safe where no one can hurt them. You failed."

"That may be true, Chief," admitted Grimmel. "But they've all left the human world, yes? And how many casualties have there been since they left, huh? You may think it's them who are better off without us, but it's us who're better off without them. With the beasts gone, the world can truly live without fear. You have me to thank for that, boy."

"They'll be back one day," replied Hiccup defiantly. "The world's only going to get better and grow more united when the rest of you are gone."

"Oh, really?" asked Grimmel sarcastically. "As if you can stop people like me from existing, or people like you eventually waking up and seeing the light, like you for instance. You and I already have a lot in common as it is."

Hiccup was infuriated. There was no way that could possibly be true.

"I'm nothing like you!" he shouted.

"On the contrary," said Grimmel. "You and I both have brilliant minds, and we use that gift to make our own fancy contraptions to get what we want without having to use our fists, which just so happens to be our common weak spot. Really, the only difference between me and you is you didn't have the guts to slay the night fury when you first saw it. If you did, you would've gotten the respect you desired sooner, and you'd have more than one leg right now."

Hiccup was by no means convinced Grimmel was right, but for whatever reason, part of it made sense. He wasn't going to let Grimmel make him look vulnerable without a fight, though.

"You're crazy," he said. "You're a monster, a murderer. I try to protect dragons. You kill them for fun. All you care about is yourself."

"And you don't have anyone else to care about," replied Grimmel, who pointed in the direction behind Hiccup.

Hiccup turned around to see New Berk completely up in flames, just like Old Berk before they left it behind.

"No!" yelled Hiccup as he turned back to Grimmel.

But before Hiccup could say anything, what he saw scared him like nothing he had ever seen before. Grimmels face had morphed into an exact copy of Hiccup's. All Hiccup could do was gaze at Grimmel with his own face as New Berk continued to burn to ash.

All of a sudden, Hiccup found himself jolting awake all sweaty and shaken. He turned to see Astrid sleeping peacefully at his side. While it was just a nightmare, it felt so real to Hiccup in more ways than one. As relieved as he was, he was still left with some uncertainty in his mind.

Hiccup couldn't fall back asleep, so he decided to have a couple of early morning cups of tea. About two hours later, Astrid had woken up and made her way to the kitchen.

"Morning, milady," greeted Hiccup.

Astrid was surprised to see Hiccup awake before her. Usually, it was the other way around.

"You're up early," she said as she took a seat next to Hiccup. "Did you get up to take Toothless flying and forget he's not here anymore?"

"No," answered Hiccup," I think Loki messed with my head last night."

He then told Astrid about his dream of Grimmel.

"You don't actually believe that, do you?" she asked. "You do know how crazy that is, right?"

"Not completely," answered Hiccup. "I know I'm not an exact copy of him, but the way he worded it makes it seem I was one choice away from becoming just that."

Astrid put her hand over Hiccup's to soothe him.

"Even if that's true, you don't know that for sure. There's no telling you would've lived as long as you have if you did things differently. Besides, it's not your skills that make you who you are, Hiccup. It's what you do that makes you you. Grimmel killed dragons. You keep them safe. That's all you need to know to see that you're not another Grimmel."

Hiccup felt good knowing Astrid made pretty much the same point he tried to make to Grimmel in his dream. That was all he needed to be completely sure of himself.

"You're right," said Hiccup as he leaned his arm around Astrid's shoulders for an embrace.

"Aren't I always," answered Astrid teasingly.

Hiccup rolled his eyes, but smiled. If Grimmel ever visited him in his dreams again, he wouldn't be worried. They were only dreams after all.