There are two things everyone needs to know about Fearless Finn Haddock: first, that he never cried (crying is for girls). Second, he never thought very hard about his decisions. An idea would click in his mind and by golly, he was going act on it the second, nay, the millisecondthat it entered.

These traits caused him to make a decision that, perhaps, he should have thought over before acting on it. The decision in question led him to do what he called the dumbest thing he'd ever done... at least until he replaced it with something dumber when he was a teenager. Finn never responded well to being punished. He was soon to discover that consequences far outweighed short term punishments.

But no little boy is thinking about consequences of his own misdeeds when he's watching his beloved mother sobbing into her hands at the bottom of the staircase after an explosive fight with his father. His parents were breaking up. His mother was completely miserable. And all his parents had talked about was Addie this, Addie that. Did they even remember that they had a second child at all?

Finn could only take so much. And at this time, his limit had finally been exceeded. It was this fight that was the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. The little boy pursed his lips, gritted his teeth, and decided that he wasn't going to be a Haddock a second longer. No more worrying about being chief one day. No more fighting parents. No more being ignored because of a stupid, whiny little sister. No more feeling angry or upset. He was going to live on his own in the wilderness. It couldn't be that hard if bugs could do it. Bugs certainly weren't smarter than people!

As he tiptoed to his room, he thought about what he would take. Clothes. His wooden dragon toys. A few pieces of parchment and some charcoal. A cool rock he'd found the other day. A blanket. He lay these items on his bed and stared at them. There had to be something else he needed... oh yes. A little sand shovel. He never knew what he would dig up. And the wilderness didn't have outhouses so the shovel would serve a practical purpose as well. Always good to be practical. A little dagger was strapped to Finn's belt, mostly used to sharpen charcoal but occasionally to cut branches that got in his way while walking. That would be most helpful. As for food... he'd find berries or something.

Within a few minutes, Finn was prepared.

Throwing his items into a small satchel (which he tossed out his window), he tied his remaining blankets (and a few shirts) together and tied them to his bedpost. He tossed the end of the makeshift rope out the window and climbed down. It was dusk so there was plenty of time to get situated. He could find a cave in which to sleep. Burn some twigs he found along the way. This would be a fun adventure!

He crunched through the dead leaves and twigs and sticks, practically trembling with excitement, until he got to the ledge of a cliff. The sun was just falling below the horizon. Finn was mesmerized by the sight. He was used to sunrises, he loved them as well, but there was something hauntingly beautiful about sunsets. Lots of red hues. Red was his second favorite color after green. He sat down on the edge of the cliff to watch the sun finally descend below the end of the ocean. He didn't want to sail too far into the sea, no matter how much he wanted to explore, because he certainly didn't want to fall off the planet! But the sunset was nice anyway. Maybe he would get used to the sight when he was living on his own.

He was about to stand up when he faced his first major setback. His boots were new, given to him only a week or so ago, and they were a bit too big for him (his parents insisted he'd grow into them but he preferred his old boots because they were brown and these were black). One of the ugly black boots slipped off his foot and hurtled toward the ocean, where it landed on the rocks with a distant splashing sound. Finn's bare foot dangled for a few moments before he fully registered what had happened. He was going to have to make himself a new shoe... or...

His mind immediately made up, he stood up and hopped on one foot until he got into the forest, where he used the branches to steady him. He wished his foot was as tough as a dragon's. They didn't need shoes. Why were humans so soft on the outside? This question became less of a random query and more of a complaint when his vest snagged on a thorny bush. He waved his arms around in an attempt to tear the vest out of the bush but only managed to cut his arms badly enough to bleed. He bit his lip against the pain (boys don't cry) and took off the torn vest, allowing it to remain in the bush while he continued to walk forward. Blood dripped from shallow cuts on his arms for a few seconds before they clotted and left some nasty looking scabs. He thought briefly that Edgar would admire them when... no. He wouldn't be seeing Edgar again. He was a... a... what was that word for someone who lived on his own? A kermit? Something like that.

His boot would be in the water under the cliff. He was nearing it when his eyes met a sight that completely distracted him. A boat. No, more than just a boat but a little less than a ship. Or were they the same thing? His Poppy told him the difference once. Or maybe that there wasn't one. Did it really matter? It was a ship-boat he had seen before. A few times in fact. Several times a year. He furrowed his brows in intense concentration for a few seconds before the answer dawned on him. Trader Johann! That was it!

Yet another completely brilliant idea entered Finn's brain and immediately required action. He didn't have to live alone in the wilderness! He could just move to a new island entirely! All he had to do was stow away in Trader Johann's boat-ship and he would be on his way in the morning. At the moment, it looked deserted so now was the best time to act. Forgetting about his boot, he hopped over to the ship-boat and immediately descended into its depths.

The twinkle of metals caught his eye first. It was very dark down there but there appeared to be a collection of furs in the far corner behind what felt like a wall of various kinds of swords. Finn nearly cut his fingers inspecting them. But the furs didn't appear to be hiding anything sharp. They were soft... very soft. So soft, in fact, that they would be a wonderful place to sleep.

Well, Finn thought, this adventure was becoming more exciting by the minute.

Xxx

Trader Johann was many things: a traveler, a storyteller, a merchant, a rather good juggler... he was proud of his accomplishments and rather liked showing them off. But one of the things he certainly wasn't was a good navigator. It was that unfortunate trait, or lack thereof, that led him to Berk instead of Rune. The Ruthless Runions would surely wonder where he was but he liked Berk. He liked the pleasant demeanor of most of its residents, the Haddock family who seemed to improve with each generation, and, most of all, the amount of enthusiasm for the goods he was selling and trading. Yes, his best merchandise came from Berk.

However, the moment he docked, he was approached by several Berkians that told him that he, under no circumstances, was to stay there. Something about the Haddocks and fighting. The panicked voices nearly indicated that the Haddocks had started a war. Not wanting to walk in on a battle, the trader returned to his ship. He thought about his next stop. Rune was a day and night's travel (or two days if he decided to sleep). He knew how to get to Rune from Berk since he had made that journey a few times more than he had made the journey from Brawn to Rune, which was how he had gotten lost in the first place. As he saw it, he had two options: sleep on Berk and shove off in the early morning or sail until he got tired and then take a nap before continuing.

Rune was expecting him that afternoon. He supposed he might as well get going as soon as he could. So, after getting a quick meal with a few of the Berkians, who filled him in on the real conflict (though he simply couldn't believe that Hiccup and Astrid, of all people, were at each other's throats), he returned to his ship and shoved off. He took a deep breath as Berk grew more and more distant on the darkening horizon. It really was a nice place. Hiccup and Astrid would resolve their differences in no time. And then he would get his best merchandise once more.

What he didn't know was that the most valuable merchandise he had ever acquired on Berk was asleep in the belly of his ship. And that, with each mile he sailed, he was taking the boy on an adventure that neither of them would ever forget.

Xxx

"This is your fault." Astrid snipped as Hiccup concluded his impromptu meeting in the Great Hall.

"My fault? Addie never would have done anything this dumb!" Hiccup rolled his eyes as the Hooligan volunteers shuffled out of the Hall to search for the boy. "Looks like your suck it up and deal with it mindset wasn't so great for my son after all!"

"Oh so now he's your son?" Astrid huffed, placing her hands on her hips and giving her husband a penetrating gaze. "I'm the only one who has been putting any effort into raising him over the last two years!"

"Yeah and look how well that went!" Hiccup threw his arms up in irritation. "Since your methods led to this, he's my son now! Soon as we get him back, I'm going to protect him from you and your idiotic ideas that pretending he doesn't have any feelings whatsoever is somehow going to toughen him up!"

"You did not just... no." Astrid put a hand up to her forehead and winced, hoping he would take the hint and leave her alone.

Hiccup opened his mouth to retort but was cut off by Snotlout and Fishlegs, who stepped between the irate couple.

"And you're not going to search for him together!" Fishlegs said in a surprisingly firm voice.

"Yeah, you'll only slow us down. Hiccup, you're with me. I need to talk to you." Snotlout grabbed the man's shirt and came close to dragging him out of the hall.

"You're with me, Astrid. Ruff and Tuff can take care of themselves." Fishlegs waited for the stragglers to walk out of the Hall before continuing. "What's going on? Really?"

"Fish, I know I've confided in you in the past and I'm not sorry I did that." Astrid said, wincing as her headache worsened. "But right now, I want to find my son."

Fishlegs opened his mouth to protest but then shut it. If it was Gunnar or Bosley missing, he'd be just as stressed as she.

He nodded once. "Understood."

Xxx

Hiccup and Snotlout were very silent as they walked through the woods in search of Berk's heir. So silent that even the sounds of twigs snapping and leaves crunching beneath their boots seemed muted. Hiccup's mind was whizzing with darker thoughts by the second. His son was missing because his wife had put some of the most ridiculous ideas into his head. His daughter was stuck with Gobber because she was too young to come on a search like this. His wife was an idiot. Life could definitely be a lot better.

However, as with all facets of life, it could be a lot worse. And Snotlout wasn't shy about bringing forth bad news. After a few minutes of absolute silence, the Jorgenson stopped walking.

"What are you doing?" Hiccup growled, slowing his pace but not stopping.

"We need to talk."

"Now?" Hiccup rolled his eyes but stopped walking.

"Yes now. Before things get more out of hand." Snotlout crossed his arms.

"Well spit it out! We don't have time for-"

"First of all, you can stop talking to me like I'm one of your kids. Take yourself down a few pegs because you might be my chief, but we are equal. Back off."

Hiccup blinked. He wasn't used to being talked to in this manner by anyone other than his wife.

Snotlout wasn't finished. "Second, I don't know what the Hel is going on with you and Astrid these days, but it needs to stop."

"Believe me, it will." Hiccup turned to continue but Snotlout stood firm.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked.

"Figure it out." Hiccup took a few steps deeper into the woods.

Snotlout jogged up to his chief and stepped in front of him. "Oh no. I don't think so. You can't honestly-" he looked around and lowered his voice just in case anyone was listening, "you can't honestly think that divorce is going to fix this."

"So sticking with this miserable excuse for a marriage is the better option?" Hiccup hissed.

"I don't know, maybe if you got off your high horse and started being a real father and husband, things would be so miserable now would they?" Snotlout snapped, raising his voice a tiny bit.

"Back off, Snotlout!" Hiccup shouted. "You don't know what I went through and you are in no place to judge me!"

"Too right. I'm not. That is the issue! I shouldn't have to!" Snotlout growled back. Then he sighed and shook his head, concern taking over his features. "What happened at Brawn... It tore you up and we don't blame you. But taking it out in your wife and kids, and then your village, it's just too much!" Hiccup opened his mouth to respond but Snotlout continued. "I vowed to protect you! I vowed to stand by you! I've been willing since what happened at Brawn to stand by my chief and help him when he needs help because that is my job!" Snotlout sadly shook his head. "But this? I can't... I can't follow this! I can't stand by this! I can't support someone who is only tearing himself apart on the inside and is taking everyone around down with him. I can't do it. I won't do it, Hiccup."

"So why are you here?"

"I wasn't talking about Finn. I am saying that if you don't get your act together, I am no longer supporting you as my chief. And don't be so naive as to think I'm the only one."

Hiccup swallowed. So they were thinking about removing him... they were seriously considering it. But even then... he didn't find it in himself to care. Not one bit.

He stared into Snotlout's eyes for a few silent moments. Then he shrugged. "You have the choice to stand by me or not. If you don't want to support me, fine. I don't need your help anyway. But when it comes to my choices with my own family, I certainly do not need your advice."

"If you were anyone but my chief, I wouldn't bother saying a thing. But you are. You are tearing this village to shreds, destroying your heritage, and you don't even care! Hiccup, you don't care!" Snotlout paused for a moment, his eyes widening slightly, almost as if something new, something different had entered his mind. He sighed and lowered his voice. "And that, in all honesty, scares me! I fear for you, I fear for your kids, for Astrid, who has been a good friend to me since we were toddlers, I fear for my family and friends, how we'll be impacted by this. And then there's our village when we have to remove you from your position! Who is going to take over? What about when the other tribes hear about this? Have you even considered anything beyond your own selfish desires?"

Hiccup smirked. "You would be chief. Don't deny the fact that you have always wanted to be chief."

Snotlout shook his head. His eyes were full of sincerity as he reached up and poked Hiccup's chest. "That's where you're wrong. Once I recognized my true leader, I saw who I wanted to take orders from. I respected my father but it was hard to take orders from him. But you? I would go to battle for you! Do you know how many people would be willing to sacrifice for you and you're literally spitting us in the face for it?"

Hiccup stared back at him blankly. "Are you done?"

"No, I'm not." Snotlout snarled, the ferocity back in his voice. "I want to know what happened to the man who bravely saved this village from destruction from the Red Death, who kept his head on straight when his own daughter was kidnapped-"

"Kept my head on straight? Are you insane or did you not see me the night I went to pick up Finn?" Hiccup laughed humorlessly. "I didn't hold it together, I was a wreck the entire time and if you think that somehow makes me a better man-"

"Anyone would have reacted that way-"

"And when I shut down completely when we got her back-"

"Three days, Hiccup! You kept yourself together for three days! You didn't eat, you didn't sleep, you didn't stop moving or looking!" Snotlout pointed toward the village, "How many parents in this village would honestly, truthfully say that they could do better? The Hiccup who did all that for his child would be willing to do whatever it takes to make up with his wife and get his act together!" he growled angrily at the blank look on his chief's face. "What happened to that Hiccup?"

Hiccup stepped away and Snotlout could have sworn he saw a flash in his eyes, almost panicked. He quickly quashed it and fixed a blank expression on his face once more.

"That Hiccup is dead."

"Only if you choose him to be! You're choosing all of this for yourself and you are choosing it for your family and village!" Snotlout balled his fists and took a few deep breaths, trying to calm himself before he punched the man in the face. "This little disagreement between you and Astrid is nothing but a minor spat."

"A spat?" Hiccup laughed out loud at this. "The dissolution of my marriage is a spat?"

"Compared to what you and your family have gone through and seen, yes Hiccup, it is." Snotlout internally pleaded with Hiccup to see his logic. When Hiccup's expression remained unchanged, he continued. "When it gets right down to it, you're just too busy feeling sorry for yourself to put any effort into making it better."

"You're wrong."

"Am I? I'm married. I have three kids! And I wouldn't give up over something this trivial!"

"T... trivial?" Hiccup choked and stepped away, shaking his head. "You don't get it. You're no different than Astrid, you will never understand.

"On top of that, my daughter is the same age yours was when all that happened and I know I wouldn't be able to hold it together. You know who would be holding it together and making sure she was actually found in time? Old Hiccup!"

"What?"

"Yeah, you! The old you! You'd be telling us to get up, to stop panicking and think, encouraging us every step of the way and working tirelessly to make sure she came home safe!" Snotlout shook his head, his tone now almost depressed. "I know the old Hiccup is in there somewhere. I know exactly what he would do. He would make his wife a new weapon for the next right hours and give her a heartfelt apology. He would be playing with his kids and telling them every day that he loves them. He would be proudly leading his people as his father and ancestry did before him. And best of all, he would be taking your current self and burning him at the stake! Don't deny it because he would absolutely loathe what you have become!"

"That's where you're right."

Snotlout shook his head. "So why don't you change? You know you hate it, you know how different things could be! Why do you insist on acting like this?"

"Because it isn't acting! It's real! This is real, Snotlout! And Astrid? You give her so much sympathy, but you know what? Within two weeks of Brawn she was shoving me out the door and telling me to move on." Snotlout furrowed his brow but Hiccup continued. "I still can't get him out of my head, Snotlout. I have tried to move on, I have tried to let the past go. But I can't and that isn't good enough for her." he paused to catch his breath, placing his fingers on his temple. "I hate it. Everything. I hate that I feel this way and I hate that I want out of my marriage. But I've changed. And that's not going to stop and there's no point trying to relive the glory days because they're gone."

"Really? Gone? Then how come you still act like you around your daughter?" Snotlout asked quietly, his eyes boring into Hiccup's.

"Because she's... she's like me." he sighed. "And so help me, someone needs to not hate me."

"So that's it. You're kind to your daughter only because of what she can do for you. No wonder she's always stressed out."

"I'm there for her when no one else is!" Hiccup snarled.

"Yeah, because you need a little bit of hero worship from someone!" Snotlout snapped.

"You would do the same for Inga!"

"Not at the expense of my wife, my sons, and the village!" Snotlout growled angrily when Hiccup's expression remained unchanged. "And if you cared, truly cared, about her, you wouldn't burden her with all of your problems. You wouldn't stress her out and make her feel like she's the only one you trust. I hear her talking. We all hear her talking. Every decision she makes, she considers you first. And if it has even the littlest chance of hurting you in any way, she won't do it. The amount of times she's opted to stay home while all her friends went out to play? Did you ever notice that she only has one friend? And that she almost never goes to his house?" Snotlout sighed, knowing that this angle wasn't going to get through to his former friend. But another popped into his mind. "You know what I regret, Hiccup? I regret telling you and Astrid to your faces that I couldn't care less if Dagur had your kids. I regret that every day. But you know what, after Brawn you both forgave me. I could wallow in self pity until Ragnarok, but I don't because what is done is done. It's over. I can't change the words I said then, but I can change how I act now. It's no different!"

"IT IS DIFFERENT!" Hiccup bellowed, his face reddening with rage. "Dagur can't forgive me for killing him. The Berserkers who were loyal to him, his sister, they wouldn't forgive me for that. So yeah. I'm forgiven by the people who benefited from his murder. Big deal."

"Yeah, you regret killing him, so does this mean you wished for the other option to spare yourself a single kill? He would have your kids, Astrid, our village! How many of us loyal to you would have died?"

Hiccup smirked. "You weren't loyal to me."

"We were. We were just afraid. But we planned to go down fighting if you died. I swear on my grandfather's grave."

"Then I guess you would have died." Hiccup said in monotone.

"Yeah, I guess we would have. Pity the one person who put a stop to it doesn't care." Snotlout sighed deeply and shook his head. "We all imagine it every day. What could have happened because we were the ones to be left behind. I understand your view was different. So if only you could feel the fear we felt... what could have happened... maybe then you would understand." he paused, leaving a stunned silence in his wake. After a few seconds, he continued his thought in a voice scarcely above a whisper. "I wish... gods, Hiccup, I wish you could see what would have happened. Then maybe you'd believe me."

Hiccup rolled his eyes. "Well now we'll never know." he turned to walk away.

Snotlout watched him before stepping away and shaking his head. "I would have followed you to the end, Hiccup. And sadly, it doesn't look that far away."

"No. It doesn't." Hiccup marched away, his foot and metal leg crunching leaves and snapping twigs.

Snotlout watched him go and he felt legitimately sorry for his friend. The hunched, stiff shoulders, the dark circles under his eyes, the way his teeth gritted together when he wasn't speaking... all he saw was a broken man that had no more optimism left to give the world and was drowning in his own sorrows. His world was crumbling around him and he was so broken by it all that he didn't even care. Snotlout was upset by many things given the current situation, but that right here had to be the worst.

Xxx

As she stomped through the woods, Astrid thought hard about the events that had led her to this moment. Not just Finn running off, not even the fight with Hiccup or Adrianna... everything in her life that had led up to all of this. How Hiccup had caught her attention even before he managed to shoot down a Night Fury. How he had given her the privilege of being the second person to ever ride a dragon. How they had kept their relationship quiet for nearly a year before finally going public. How she had fallen completely in love with him and accepted his proposal. Their wedding day, their wedding night in which she had allowed him have complete control, the pregnancy that had resulted from their carelessness... everything in her life had been leading to this moment. And as she thought about every little detail that had brought her there, every single tiny event, something hit her.

She had been right. She hadn't wanted to have a baby so soon after her wedding because she feared that children would mess up their marriage. And as much as she loved both her children and could never ever regret having them, her fears had all come true. They had, through no fault of their own, destroyed her marriage. If they had waited, perhaps Stoick would have told them about Trista in the anticipation of children. Perhaps they would have been more careful with keeping them safe, whether they were in the womb, in their playpen, or sleeping in their bedrooms. It was a miracle both of them were even alive with such incompetent parents. And now their family was going to be torn apart. This was exactly what she had feared. And it had all come to pass.

But she couldn't blame them. They hadn't asked to be conceived. They hadn't asked to lose their innocence so early. They were merely pawns in the sick game the gods were playing with their lives. She knew, without knowing how she knew it, that they would watch one or both of their children die before they did. Their protections would inevitably crumble just like their marriage.

And now there she was searching for her lost boy. The boy who had taught her how to love again, who sometimes made her so mad she wanted to strangle him, who was enthusiastic about almost everything, who made her laugh when she felt like crying... she and Hiccup had driven him away. That was the most painful reality of all.

"Astrid!"

A jarring voice snapped her out of her reverie. She turned around to find Fishlegs inspecting a thorny bush. She furrowed her brow as he reached in and tugged out a ripped, bloody vest. Her heart stopped and her hands flew to her mouth in horror.

"It's his, isn't it?" Fishlegs asked gently. Astrid nodded. "This doesn't mean anything." he squinted at the sunlight pouring through the trees. "Let's keep going. I think there's a clearing coming up."

They marched through, both terrified of what they might find. It wasn't a clearing at the edge of the woods. It was a cliff. Fishlegs and Astrid exchanged glances before stepping close to the edge. Something tiny and black was lodged in the rocks below. Astrid got out a spyglass from her satchel and peered into the water.

There was no mistaking it. It was definitely her son's boot.

She turned to Fishlegs, tears brimming in her eyes. He put a hand on her shoulder and she collapsed into his arms, hyperventilating loudly.

"He's dead." she said in a trembling voice, clutching handfuls of the back of Fishlegs' shirt. "He m-must have gotten attacked and s-staggered up here and... and..."

He could feel her heart racing, her entire body shaking... fear had gripped her completely. Fishlegs had seen the Haddocks frightened many times and had often been a source for comfort but this time he could offer no consoling words. Instead he patted her back and hoped against hope that Finn was still alive. Unfortunately, hope was beginning to run out faster than water in cupped hands.

Xxx

Sun shone through the boards of the boat-ship, making everything on its inside look striped. Finn thought it looked strange and spent a minute or so staring at the stripes, marveling at the effect. The boat rocked a bit more than it had at the docks so Finn knew that they must be out at sea. He had finally escaped from Berk. He was on his own and he was free. He smiled triumphantly. This was the best day of his life.

He looked around at the different pieces of merchandise with which he had spent the night. He had been correct that there was a wall of swords in front of him. There were jewels and dining sets and books of all kids (some in languages he had never seen) and funny looking herbs... this was a treasure trove! Why, he could play with anything he wanted! The cool rock he had found was nothing compared to the hunk of gold on the floor of the ship-boat. And the wooden dragon toys looked rather crude compared to some of the exquisitely carved dragons lining one shelf. There was even one of a dragon he had never seen before!

As he stood up, expecting to have a day full of quiet playtime, he heard a horrible snoring sound come from above his head. Trader Johann was asleep. This meant that the boat-ship wasn't in motion. This was probably for the best because he was going to have to move a bit and if the trader was awake, he probably would notice a disturbance. But there really wasn't any other choice because Finn desperately needed an outhouse and he knew he was going to have to improvise. It took him a few minutes of searching before he found a small hole on the wall of the boat-ship, high enough that it wasn't going to sink it but low enough that it was just going to have to do.

When he was finished, he turned around to go back to where he had slept. He hadn't considered the fact that objects shifted when they were inside of a moving ship-boat (and he had been too preoccupied with his previous mission to notice the noises). He took a few steps and tripped spectacularly on a small statue of Loki. He fell on his face, rocking the boat far more than he would have liked and making a lot of noise. Trader Johann would certainly be awakened. He only had a few seconds to curse the god of mischief for tripping him up (he could have sworn he saw the statue smirk) before the trader had descended into the ship's depths.

Finn quickly hid behind a shelf of books but he knew it was no use. Trader Johann would find him any second and his adventure would end. He bit his lip as he heard the man inspect the merchandise in search of the source of the commotion. If he was caught, he didn't know what was going to happen. But, he thought as his fist closed around the dagger on his belt, he was willing to do anything it took to avoid going back home.