(Normal pov)

Astrid wanted to. But she couldn't.

She tried to leave the grove the night before, to tell Stoick what she'd found, but the girl simply couldn't bring herself to do it. Astrid had failed Hiccup. She had failed him miserably. He was there for her when her Uncle Finn was killed, and she returned that kindness with hatred, scorn and mockery.

"I'm sorry Hiccup." She moaned, tears freely flowing down her face as she clutched the petty dagger in her trembling hands. Astrid couldn't care less about her fearless reputation, or what everyone thought of Hiccup. His death was on her, and there was nothing she could do to take it back. The shield-maiden could feel the morning sun on the back of her neck— she hadn't slept at all last night. The addition of sunlight gave her a much better of the awful scene around her, revealing things she hadn't noticed earlier that night. The grass several yards away was littered with pieces of torn cloth— yet another thing once owned by Hiccup. Astrid choked back the few tears she had left, picking up the cloth and scrunching it in her hands. She also couldn't help but notice several smooth black objects next to the fabric. Astrid assumed they were Night Fury scales. The trembling Viking picked several of the scales and pocketed them, along with the torn cloth. She had to tell the chief about this, but how would she break it to him?

'Is there an easy way to explain how your son was killed' she thought, crawling under the shield and leaving the Thor-forsaken grove and preparing for the confrontation with her village. Astrid took a deep breath, as she climbed back up the pathway, thinking of how she would tell Stoick. 'I will not break down, not in front of the chief.' She told herself, before an image of Hiccup entered her mind. She saw his eyes— a deep shade of green, staring right at her with that hateful, saddened, and heartbroken look he gave her when she joined Snotlout and twins in beating him to a bloody pulp and yesterday night when he burst in on her, the chief and handfuls of others speak horrible things behind his back. Astrid's vision blurred once more, tears clouding her sight and emotion crushing her insides.

'Odin, give me strength'

(Great Hall)

Dagmal was always Gobber's favorite of the two meals of the day. He was certain there was nothing better than a huge bowl of food after a long night's rest, and it seemed that most of Berk agreed with the peg-legged man. The Great Hall was practically silent, with the only sound being the clinking of glasses and the complaining of Mr and Mrs Hofferson.

"We haven't seen her since last night. Stoick, someone told me they last saw her head into the forest!" Ansgar Hofferson pleaded, clearly worried. "Chief, what happened if she ran off after Hiccup? What if a dragon attacked here and we weren't there to save her?"

"You need not worry, my friend." Stoick laughed. "Your daughter is one of the fiercest warriors Berk has ever seen. Anything she runs into down there will regret meeting her!" The concerned man's brown furrowed, not yet convinced. "Okay, look. My son obviously couldn't have gotten far last night, if Astrid isn't home by the time she is, I'll send out a search party."

"Thank you Stoick." He nodded, relieved to have a plan in case his girl didn't show up. He and his wife returned to their seats, leaving Stoick and Gobber to themselves.

"Ya think she's all right?" Gobber asked, curious as to why the shield-maiden hadn't returned home that last night.

"The girl's been gone for half a day. I'm sure she's fine." The chief replied, looking at the teenagers quietly talking several tables away.

"Uh, not sure if you guys know this, but Gobber has offered us a few extra training sessions in the Kill Ring." Fishlegs said with a mouth full of mutton.

"That's... gross." Ruffnut shuddered, watching the large boy practically inhale his food. "But what's the point? It's not like we're allowed to kill the Nightmare."

"Maybe, that we don't get killed in the next raid?" Snotlout replied, rolling his eyes. "I don't need the training- 'cos I'm all ready as good as it gets, but you three do." He pointed at the twins and Fishlegs, his smug expression planted across his face

"Yeah keep talkin' Lout." Tuffnut grinned, "Why don't we go down to the arena after Dagmal and find out how-"

BANG!

Heads turned and all conversation ceased as the gigantic doors of the Great Hall opened ever so slightly. Murmurs broke out as Astrid entered the room, every Viking on Berk staring at her.

"What the Hel..." Ruffnut breathed, staring at her. Never before had she— or anyone seen the girl like this. Her hair was a complete mess, and her skin was alarmingly pale. There were huge bags under her eyes, implying she hadn't slept much. Her face was also a slight shade of red, something that left Tuffnut bewildered.

'Has she been... crying?' She thought, shifting her position to get a better view.

Stoick the Vast— evidently oblivious to her appearance rose out of his chair and greeted her with a booming voice.

"Well, if it isn't Astrid!" He chuckled, pointing at the girl's parents to his left. "Yer parents thought you'd run off with Hiccup last night!"

Hiccup.

That single word, along with the cheeriness of the man's voice, was what ruined the blond girl. Stoick raised an eyebrow at the girl as she remained frozen to the spot, incapable of speaking. "Astrid..? Everything all right?" He asked. Her bottom lip began to tremble, as if she'd been reduced to an infant. Then something truly shocking took place.

She began to cry.

Many of the Vikings— her parents and the teenagers included shot out of their seats as the girl fell to her knees, openly sobbing in front of the entire village. Berk had a tough policy regarding weakness and crying— they were Vikings after all, but none of that was considered for even a second. This was Astrid who was in tears, one of the best Vikings known. Whatever had happened, it was big.

"Astrid! What the Hel happened?" Her mother shrieked, trying to get her mess of a daughter back on her feet. Her crying only got worse as more and more people crowded around her, going from quiet sobs to bawling like a two year old.

"He's... He's gone." She wept, her voice echoing throughout the hall.

"Who's gone?" Stoick asked, alarmed by the girls state. "Astrid you need to calm down, who's—"

"Hiccup... He's dead" As wave of gasps surged through the people around her, "I... I found him. Where he was..." Astrid couldn't finish her sentence, by now she was crying so hard she felt light headed. Stoick felt his limbs so numb and his mouth go dry at the news. There was no way that his son had been killed; surely the Gods didn't hate him that much? The chief took a step back, having to lean against a table to stay on his feet.

"No... It can't be" He whispered, shaking his head and trying to reject the thought. Yes, Hiccup said he'd leave, but Stoick had thought his son was bluffing, and that he' sneaks back the following day. But... dead?

"Not Hiccup, not after Val..." Stoick reached down and grabbed Astrid, shaking her shoulders wildly. "Where! Where is he?"

"A-A grove." She managed to choke out. "In the forest. South..." The chief let go of the terrified girl and barged through the crowd, leaving the Great Hall in search of his son.

"Stoick, slow down will ye?" Gobber yelled, hobbling after the red haired Viking into the forest.

(Berks forests)

Stoick the Vast hurtled through the thick forest as fast as he could, calling out for his son to return, the same way Astrid did the previous night.

"HICCUP!" He roared, trampling small trees and sending rocks flying. He refused to believe that his son— his only son had been killed by a dragon, the same way his beautiful wife died all those years ago. Regret was beginning to gnaw the man insides out as he made his way to the grove he'd cast his son aside; deprived him of the love a father is meant to give to their son, and his last words of his only son were of shame. He should have never have gathered those people at his home last night, what kind of a father would let his people dump nothing but hateful words toward his son?!

"Hiccup, please come home!" Stoick was still in a state of shock and denial, he wasn't prepared to say goodbye to his son when things were so bad between them. And he didn't... he didn't even get to apologize or even make things up with him.

Soon enough the chief had located the entrance to the grove, having wandered aimlessly for a number of minutes. Stoick kicked the iron shield lodged in the stones, snapping it in two pieces that flew into the small lake before him. He didn't need to look twice to know that this is where it happened: bloodstains splattered the grove and Hiccup's dagger lay beside a small boulder.

Yet the boy was nowhere to be found.

"Stoick, there ya are!!" An exhausted Gobber hobbled his way into the grove to join his friend, taking a moment to catch his breath. "You need to just calm down and..." The one-legged Viking trailed off into silence, having looked up and taking in the gravity of the situation. "Son of Odin... what happened here?" The chief picked up the dagger and examined it, doing his best to remain positive.

'My son isn't here, perhaps he was just injured and somewhere else' he repeated over and over in his head. The blade in the man's hands was clearly Hiccup's, nearly identical if not for the murky red blood that coated it. Stoick gripped the tiny weapon tightly in his hands, before turning to face Gobber.

"We can't loose hope, maybe he's wounded and nearby" the chief stuttered before resuming his panicked yell. "HICCUP, where are you—?"

"Stoick, please no more." Gobber cut him off, shaking his head slowly in sorrow. "He's... Astrid was right... He's gone." The blond-haired Viking felt tears brim his eyes, as he finally accepted the awful truth. There was no way Hiccup could be alive with this much bloodshed. The man's words echoed inside Stoick's skull. "He's gone." The chief hadn't felt this way since his wife was taken; his hopes and dreams had been crushed under the weight of the world. For nearly fifteen years, the man had treated his son with next to no respect and hardly any attention. All Hiccup ever tried to do was prove his father that he wasn't a burden, and wanted to make him happy.

Hiccup's death was on him, and there was nothing he could do about it. Stoick wished he could talk to his son, tell him how being chief wasn't about proving yourself, but making good decisions and smart thinking— everything he was. Everything he used to be.

"No..." He whispered, staring down at the ground miserably "I did this."

(One hour later)

It had been nearly an hour since Gobber had ran off after Stoick into the forest, and Astrid had finally re-gained her composure. Many of the Vikings who were originally consoling her had left, and instead joined the search for Hiccup, leaving only the teens to talk to her in the Great Hall.

"We should have never treated him so poorly." Fishlegs felt awful about the news, he being one of Hiccup's only friends back when they were younger. The large boy remembered a time when he and Hiccup were the best of friends, but as time went on Fishlegs was bullied for being around the boy, and soon stopped talking to him. "I'd do anything to bring him back." Fishlegs said while trying hard not to cry himself.

"Yeah, like remember his ideas?" Ruffnut added. "I mean they didn't work, but they were still smart and stuff. And our jokes, I mean, they weren't that bad, were they?"

"He was different, and that's why we hurt him." Astrid breathed deeply, determined to not shed another tear. She buried her head into her hands. "And now he's gone. I should have been there for him like he was there for me when my Uncle was killed by the Flightmare."

"Don't do that to yourself, Astrid. You didn't know he would do something like this, nobody would." Fishlegs shook his head furiously, "Right guys?" Everybody nodded in agreement- all with the exception of Snotlout. The Jorgenson boy simply stared at the table he sat on; completely lost in thought and in his own imagination.

Though in his heart? He was overjoyed.

'No Hiccup' he thought, wanting to be sad at never seeing his baby cousin, but failing to see any negatives 'No screwing up, no escaping dragons, no lousy heir'

"Hey, you in there?" Tuffnut gave the stocky boy a light push, snapping him out his self-centered daze. Snotlout rose from his seat and briskly made his way out of the vast room.

"I... I need to think, I'm sorry guys" The black-haired Viking opened the huge wooden doors and left the teenagers to themselves.

"He must be taking Hiccup's... death, pretty hard." Astrid winced, still having trouble accepting that the boy was gone. "Though I do find that hard to believe. Considering he molested and nearly... raped Hiccup." Astrid spat that word out with disgust, remembering Snotlout being erect at the prospect of hurting Hiccup in that manner.

"True, but he was still family." Ruffnut said, taking the now vacant seat. "I'm sure he just needs some fresh air."

"Unlikely." Astrid muttered under her breath, she then felt a bulge in her jacket, and remembered the things she brought from the grove. "Fishlegs, I-I need you to do something." She pulled out the cloth and scales and put them in the boy's hands, giving him a moment to examine them.

"Are these..?" Fishlegs recoiled his hands in an instant, letting them fall to the ground as if they were poison. "No, Astrid please keep that away from me." Apart from Astrid, Fishlegs was the most traumatized about Hiccup's death, and seeing the burnt remainders of his tunic only made him feel worse.

"Please, Fish. I think a Night Fury killed Hiccup. But I have to be sure." Astrid let out a short sniff, picturing the grove she was in just hours ago. She bent down to pick up the scale and cloth, offering it to Fishlegs a second time. "Please Fish. For Hiccup." Astrid said sternly, the big boy gave a heavy sigh and nodded.

"I... okay, Astrid." Fishlegs could feel himself crying as he gripped the last remnants of his friend and sat back down, watching as the shield-maiden left the room.

"I need some time alone; I'll be back... probably."

(Unknown location— One week later)

One week after leaving Berk, Hiccup and Toothless flew the entire Northern Sea toward the West, the boy followed the way his compass was pointing, thankfully there weren't any storms, nothing clear skies and the cool breeze caressing both dragon and riders faces.

Hiccup was wearing black leather armor, black boots and a black hooded jacket. His dual swords were strapped to his hips, and during the time away from Berk, Hiccup gathered the resources he needed to set both his dual blades ablaze. Now, he can set both blades on fire on command; to control highly aggressive dragons and strike fear into the hearts of men.

After many hours, Hiccup noticed a pillar of smoke in the distance. "Um... Toothless do you see that over there?" He pointed towards the smoke, Toothless caught sights of the smoke as well, unsure what to make of it. Toothless growled softly, looking away from it and continuing to fly straight.

"Bud, what are you doing?" Hiccup was stunned at his friend's complete disregard toward the destroyed ship."Look, I know you don't want us to be discovered, and neither do I. But there could be people in trouble; I'm not gonna leaving them to die." Toothless rolled his eyes and reluctantly turned to head towards the smoke. The Night Fury knew he was a stubborn by dragon standards, but he paled in comparison to his rider. They began the descent down through the clouds and to where they could finally see the source of the fire.

It was a ship. Or at least it used to be a ship.

The duo descended lower and Hiccup squinted his eyes and saw people still on the ship. "Bud, there are still people on that ship." Hiccup said, the boy then urged Toothless to land. "C'mon bud, these people could not possibly be Viking, the ship doesn't look Viking design, it looks... foreign. Maybe belonging to people of the West." Hiccup said excitedly, he then patted Toothless's neck gently. "Take us down bud." He said, Toothless gave his rider an unsure look but nodded as they descended on the ship below them.

The people were Saxon, they had just barely escaped Vikings that had attempted to plunder their ship, but they managed to flee in time, but the Vikings pursuing them damaged their ship heavily. They'd been stranded at sea for hours, and as if... out of nowhere, a creature as black as night hovered above them, but what shocked the Saxons more was that there was a boy riding this creature! When the creature retracted its wings mid air, creature and rider landed heavily on deck and rocked the entire ship.

"Well..." Hiccup quipped, raising an eyebrow."...this is a nice mess you've got yourselves here."

"I-Is that a..." One of the Saxons stuttered, wide-eyed at the shadowy creature next to Hiccup.

"A Dragon? Indeed it is, good eye." Hiccup said sarcastically, surprised that these people understood Norse. "His name is Toothless, why don't you say hello to them, bud?" The Night Fury gave a guttural snarl, bearing his teeth at the horrified Saxons. His seemingly cheerful voice vanished, and was replaced by a deeper, more serious tone. "Throw any weapons you have overboard, and no harm will come to you." Hiccup said while drawing one of his blades out and pointing it toward the ocean.

"We're all unarmed, and we aren't lookin' for a fight."A big Saxon replied, doing his best to emphasize that they weren't a threat. Never in his life had he ever heard of someone capable of taming and riding a dragon. Though he didn't believe dragons even existed! It was a wild prospect, and one that truly scared him.

"Good to hear, I didn't come searching for one. I saw the smoke from miles away and figured I should check it out." Hiccup could see the relief fill their eyes, and smiled slightly. "Mind telling me what the Hel happened here?" He lowered himself onto one knee and ran a single finger through the soot at his feet. "Whatever it was, it gave you guys quite the thrashing."

"We were attacked. By Vikings." A smaller Saxon said, that news caused Hiccup to look up at the Saxons with a raised eyebrow. "What crest did they carry?" Hiccup asked, the Saxons looked at each other then back to the boy. "A spiked dragon on the sail, with lightning shooting out of its mouth."

Berserkers.

All the way out here?!

What interests would Oswald the Agreeable have this far outside of Viking territory?

Hiccup nodded at the Saxons answer and sheathed his sword back in his scabbard before looking up at the people of the West. "I can help you lot get back home. My friend over here..." gesturing to the Night Fury. "...can tow a large piece of the ship."

"Wha- really?" The big Saxon asked incredulously "Well, yeah. That would save our lives!" The man's prayers had been answered, it had been less than six hours and they were already being rescued. "My name's Irwin by the way," He pointed to another man, who had short blond hair "That's Godfrey. And that's Edgar." Hiccup nodded in acknowledgment to the three men.

"And what's your name?" Edgar asked, smiling ever so slightly. Hiccup smiled lightly and answered. "Hiccup. Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III." The three men were giggling at his name, Hiccup expected nothing less.

"Okay... Hiccup." Irwin walked up to the boy, ignoring the dragon's menacing growls and extending out his hand. "If you can get us home, we'll forever be in your debt." Hiccup hushed his friend and shook the man's hand, smiling back at the Saxon.

"Let's not waste any time, then."