It had to be a trick. An illusion. The vast man's features were blurred with the amount of tears in Hiccup's eyes and try as he might, he could not make them stop. There was an ache in his heart, a desperate longing for this to be true, to be happening.

And then it hit him. It was a dream. Hiccup tended to remember his dreams and often had great fun telling them to his children. But lucid dreams were rare. And this... this was definitely a dream. He could almost feel Astrid's body pressing up against his... but he could also feel the hand on his shoulder. See his father standing next to him.

Stoick reached down and lifted Hiccup to his feet. He was wobbly and something felt distinctly... off. But he couldn't figure out what it was because he wouldn't take his eyes off of his father's face. It was exactly how he remembered it, the wild red hair, the twinkling grayish blue eyes, the wrinkles he had developed in age... Stoick the Vast was standing before him, reaching out from beyond the grave.

How was he supposed to react? He was angry at his father for leaving him just before everything fell apart. He was joyful to be in his presence again. He was completely beaten down yet feeling every bit as hopeful. His conflicting emotions finally bubbled to the surface and he let out a laughing sob and collapsed into his father's arms, not at all caring that this was a dream.

"If I'd have known you'd have this many feelings, I wouldn't have come." Stoick quipped, giving the young man a bone crushing hug that almost hurt as much as the ones he'd received when his father was alive.

Hiccup chuckled weakly, wiping his eyes with his sleeve. He wasn't wearing his night shirt. He appeared to be in his green tunic. And as he looked down, he realized with a jolt that not only was he barefoot, he had two feet again. He lifted his left leg and wiggled his toes. It was a bizarre yet oddly familiar sensation.

"Well... that's different." he remarked before turning to look at his father once more. "Dad, I... you're not... how..."

"You needed me." Stoick replied, his voice every bit as gruff and manly yet kind and gentle as always.

"But... this is a dream." Hiccup sniffed and blinked away the last of his tears.

"Yes, son, it is. But whether or not it's a dream doesn't matter. Sometimes all you need to do is say the words you needed to say, whether or not anyone is listening." Stoick kept a reassuring hand on his son's shoulder.

Hiccup wanted to cry again. He wanted to blurt out everything he had been feeling and thinking over the last few days, Hel, the last few weeks but the words wouldn't come. All he could do was stare at Stoick, mouth hanging open. It was like performance anxiety. Like he knew exactly what he would say if he could see his father again but now that he did, his mind was blank.

He looked around at their surroundings. They were in the cove. It was a warm, sunny day, tranquil and peaceful. Probably late in the afternoon. He took a few steps forward, enjoying the sensation of the sand between his toes. All ten of them. Finally, he sat down on a log and stared into the pond. He could see a few fish hopping out of the water, causing ripples on its skin that collided with each other and created tiny waves on the bank. Toothless would love it there but he was nowhere to be found. Hiccup picked up a stick and began to absentmindedly doodle in the sand.

Finally, he looked up at his father, who was now seated next to him. "Why?" he asked, his voice trembling slightly. "Why did you have to leave me?"

Stoick patted Hiccup on the back, somehow managing to remember that the young man didn't appreciate being thrown forward into his own doodles. "Sometimes things happen for no reason."

"But I didn't even get to say goodbye." Hiccup muttered, blinking rapidly to push down more tears.

Stoick laughed. It was a wonderful sound that filled the cove and gave Hiccup a tiny spark of pure joy. "It's all right. Goodbyes, they're not all they're cracked up to be."

Hiccup shook his head. "Still... I would have liked to have given you one."

"I know. That's one reason I came." Stoick replied thoughtfully.

Hiccup paused for a moment. "Are you real?"

"I don't know." Stoick stroked his beard, something he only did if he was deep in thought. "Either this is an elaborate dream from your own mind or the gods are being generous. What do you think?"

"You've never been so mysterious, dad. Are there rules in Valhalla against giving straight answers?" a small smile tugged at the corners of Hiccup's mouth.

"You're one to talk. Sometimes getting a straight answer out of you took most of my mental energy!" Stoick smiled widely.

There was a long silence. Hiccup continued to draw on the ground, his arm moving almost automatically. The moments of sitting in silence with his father had always bothered him when he was young. He had so dearly wanted to say something, wanted a conversation that wouldn't be shut off after a few sentences. But now they were comforting. He felt less tense but there was a conflicting feeling in his heart, half joy and half terrible sadness.

"You're doing the right thing, son." Stoick said after a few minutes, patting Hiccup on the back again. "It may not seem like it. But you know it's what I would have done."

Hiccup turned to face his father again. Stoick had said things like this before but there was something deeply genuine in the way he said those words. Like he had come back from the grave just to say them. Just to tell his son to stop doubting himself.

"Why?" Hiccup asked. "Even I don't know what I'm doing or all the reasons why... I just feel like this is the right thing to do. Even if no one else does."

"You always were crazy enough to do what you wanted regardless of what anyone thought." Stoick chortled. "But it's not so much about the kids as it is about the integrity of Berk itself."

Hiccup was confused for a moment... but then it clicked. His father wouldn't have fought just for the safety of Finn and Adrianna. He would have done it to show that Berk would never back down. No matter what the cost. He would have fought because it would discourage others from trying to take down the whole tribe. If Berk wouldn't stand up for its most vulnerable and helpless, how would it ever stand up for anything?

"I have to win." Hiccup mumbled, his eyebrows furrowing and his hand tightening around the stick. "Everything rides on this. I can't let them down."

Stoick looked down at the drawings in the sand. "You won't." he said, pointing to them and looking back up at Hiccup. "And I think you know that."

Hiccup followed his father's pointer finger with his eyes and finally caught sight of the image in the sand. Without knowing it, he had drawn two young adults, one man and one woman, standing next to each other and looking up at him. The woman was slim, beautiful, but even the portrait in the dirt showed that she was happy, joyful, calm, and collected. The man was confident, tall, proud but handsome, strong, and brave. Hiccup almost felt like he knew them... and then he realized that he did. The woman had his eyes, Astrid's hair, tiny hands... she was his little girl all grown up. The man looked like a much younger Stoick but the round eyes were Astrid's while the hands were shaped more like his. This was his son, his little man finally becoming what he had always knew that he would be one day. These portraits in the dirt were almost the gods telling him that it wasn't hopeless... His kids could grow up to live happy lives one day. If he succeeded.

"She has your eyes." Stoick remarked fondly. "And he looks very familiar."

Hiccup chuckled. "That's because he looks like you. Seems your genes skipped a generation."

The young father continued to stare into the face of his grown-up children. In the passing moments, he saw more details, such as the roundness of the woman's face and the way the man's hair stuck up like Stoick's would sometimes when he let it down. He thought of the little children he had left behind. Could they grow into these people if he wasn't there? If he didn't teach them how to tame dragons or nurture their hidden talents... would they be strong and fearless without their father? No. Astrid had grown up without a father's love and as much as Hiccup loved her, he could still see the longing in her eyes. The desperate desire for a love she would never receive.

"I need to win." he repeated, gritting his teeth in fierce determination. "For them. For Astrid. For Berk."

Stoick's smile widened. "That's the man I raised."

Hiccup suddenly felt something warm yet oddly jarring on his chest. There were muffled sounds coming from somewhere other than the cove. Sniffles and quiet sobs. A woman was crying. For a moment, father and son listened to the sounds in silence. And then Hiccup felt his father's hand on his shoulder again.

"It's about time you went home. She's your family now." Stoick gestured to the drawings in the dirt. "They're your family now."

"But... you're here. There just isn't enough time." Hiccup sighed, feeling guilty for wanting to stay.

"You don't need me anymore, Hiccup. I told you the last time I saw you that I was proud of you. And I am. I always will be." Stoick gently pushed Hiccup so that he was standing up now. "A day will come when you'll be saying something like this to your children. And when it does, I hope that you'll be as confident in them as I am in you."

The cove was beginning to dissolve, Stoick's voice beginning to echo like a long, half-forgotten memory. Hiccup's heart constricted as he felt himself being pulled back into reality, into a world without his father.

"Give Dagur my regards." Stoick continued, winking as his face began to disappear. "And tell my grandchildren I love them."

"I will. But... what if Dagur kills me? Does it hurt?" Hiccup asked, voicing the question he had contemplated for most of his life.

"Death? No. It's like falling asleep after a long, grueling day. But if Dagur does win, you'll be getting all that time with me that you wanted a minute ago."

"No offense," Hiccup said, smiling at his father's steadily fading face, "but I guess I don't want it yet."

As the cove and Stoick disappeared, the young man could still hear his father laughing. He opened his eyes, the smile still on his face. True, he was nervous, even terrified, about the outcome of the duel. But he also knew now that he was doing the right thing. Even if his father really was a dream, a creation of his subconscious mind, he knew that was exactly what Stoick would say to him if he did return, if only for a short while.

Astrid, as usual, had awakened before he had. He could feel her arms around him, her face buried in his chest, her body heaving with quiet sobs. It seemed that she had finally realized what he had the previous night. That this may well be his last day. He had never heard or felt her cry like that. Like she was expecting her heart to rip into pieces in a few hours' time. He shifted and she pulled away slightly to look at him. He gently lifted his hand and wiped away a few of her tears with his thumb.

"It's going to be okay." he whispered.

Astrid sniffed. "You don't know that."

"Yes I do. You're Astrid. You can make it okay." he brushed her bangs out of her eyes. "I love you."

Astrid leaned forward and kissed him, savoring the softness of his lips and the warmth of his body against hers. It ended far too soon.

"We have to get up if we're going to get to the arena by dawn." Hiccup muttered, his heart beginning to flutter uncomfortably.

Astrid nodded and slowly rolled over so that she could rise from the bed. It made a creaking noise as the couple stood up at the same time. Toothless woke up, his wide green eyes darting around the room almost like he knew his human was in danger. Hiccup stepped forward and stroked the dragon's snout. The Night Fury cooed concernedly as, behind them, Astrid changed into her day clothes. She put a hand on Hiccup's shoulder.

"I'm going to go make breakfast." she whispered, kissing him on the top of the head.

"You don't have to do that." Hiccup said, lovingly looking up at her.

"Yeah... yeah I do. I'll see you in a few minutes." she immediately left the room, clearly in need of some time alone.

Hiccup patted Toothless' head one last time before turning around and changing into his flight suit. As he slid on the leather riding suit, Mr Gobcup nearly slid out of it onto the ground. He tucked it back in and secured it over his heart. Then, seeing one of the smaller practice axes lying on the ground, he picked it up and strapped it to his leg underneath his pants. He was ready to go, except for a thin coat made of leather he would put on over the upper half of his flight suit for a little extra protection. As he secured the small axe to his leg, his fingers lingered on its hilt.

"One day you won't need me to protect you, little man." he whispered fondly, picturing his son's face. "I'm going to show you how to protect others. The village, the dragons, everyone. One day it will be you standing up to our enemies. And I'm going to be so proud of you. More than anything, I want to watch you become the strong man I know you will be."

He sat up straight and put a hand over the doll strapped to his chest, firmly picturing his daughter's face this time. "You are the most fragile gift I have ever received." he gently patted the strap containing the doll. "One day you won't be so fragile. Until then, it's my job to protect you. I want to show you how to use that incredible compassion for the good of the village. I want to watch you turn into the beautiful, confident woman I know you'll be one day."

His heart felt uncomfortably heavy as he stood up and put on his leather coat. He wasn't quite used to it yet but he needed an extra layer for protection and because he simply didn't want Dagur to see his daughter's doll. It was odd but it felt like it was his way of protecting her and Finn even from far away. He wondered if they were sleeping now. Adrianna would probably have tossed and turned most of the night but she tended to fall asleep before dawn no matter how miserable she felt. Finn was probably asleep but not for much longer. The young father wanted to check on them one more time. To pull up their covers so that they were warmer, to watch them sleeping peacefully, Adrianna clutching Snowy and Mr. Gobcup and Finn snoring quietly... he just wanted more time. Each minute he spent with them was precious and even now, he feared that he had spent them all. He was thankful that he had gone out of his way to spend as much time as possible, to rock them to sleep and bandage their cuts, to wipe their tears and hold them tight when they were feeling scared. And now he would either kill or be killed for them in a matter of hours.

He shook his head, trying to clear his mind. Right now wasn't about how things should have been or what ought to have been what might have been. It was about what things were, the reality that Hiccup was likely to be slain. He hoped that, at the very least, he would bring Dagur down with him.

He finally decided to go downstairs to see his wife again. When he and Toothless were at the bottom of the stairs, they caught sight of Astrid sitting at the table, holding Sigrid and watching Kara and Frederik prepare a far too extravagant meal for an ordinary day. They were nearly finished when Hiccup arrived and the four of them ate in complete silence, the Hooligan chief occasionally tossing his dragon a fish.

As they got up from the table, Kara turned to face Hiccup. "I read over the laws again this morning. They're pretty standard, that the duel cannot begin until the gong is sounded and how no one is allowed to help. But there is one that is sort of alarming." she sighed deeply and put a hand on Toothless' snout. "Animals are permitted in the duel as weapons but they're not allowed to be used unless they're necessary. I guess it's something about wanting the chiefs to show their skill without any assistance before allowing them to use their animals. Or maybe it's just to keep things simple. I'm not entirely sure. Toothless and the Skrill won't be allowed into the arena unless one or both of you are rendered incapable of walking on your own."

Hiccup looked down at his dragon, who was eyeing him with concern. The bottom seemed to drop out of his stomach. "So I have to injure Dagur's leg so I can use Toothless?"

Kara nodded."That's the idea. Or let him injure yours."

The Hooligan chief looked down at his remaining foot. "I guess I could get used to not having feet."

Kara smiled at Hiccup's apparent decision to remain optimistic. Astrid walked up to her husband and grabbed his hand. She didn't let go until they had arrived in the arena.

Xxx

The Meathead arena had once played host to numerous dragon killing events. Now that the dragons were welcomed on Brawn, it didn't get nearly as much use. However, the bars separating those on the outside with those on the inside remained strong and immovable. Even if they wanted to, the Hooligans and their dragons would not be able to enter the arena until the duel was over. The dragons were placed in separate pens, a Hooligan and a Berserker standing guard on the inside, ready to open it if they were needed. Toothless put up a fuss at being separated from his human but eventually was shoved into the pen and shut in with a councilwoman named Runa. A Berserker whose name Hiccup didn't know was placed with the Skrill in the pen across the arena. Both council members had their hands on a rope, ready to pull on it to let the dragons out at a moment's notice.

The moment Hiccup arrived, a hush fell over the crowd of Berserkers, Meatheads, and Hooligans. The sun's rays were barely visible over the horizon but dawn was nearly upon them. Astrid let go of Hiccup's hand for a moment so that he could secure his weapons to his flight suit. Gobber wordlessly helped him with this task. When they were finished, he put a hand on the young chief's shoulder.

"Your father would be very proud of you, Hiccup." he said solemnly. "And so am I."

"Thank you." Hiccup allowed himself a tiny smile.

Gobber patted his shoulder. "Knock him dead, Hiccup."

He walked off as the chief put on a helmet to prevent his head from cracking open if it was pushed down on the hard floor of the arena. He turned around to see Snotlout standing in front of him, not quite making eye contact and wringing his hands in front of his stomach.

"Look, about what I said at the meeting... I didn't mean... I just don't... I'm sorry, okay?" the man's voice was trembling but his expression remained firm.

All the residual anger Hiccup might have been feeling left him at once. "I understand. I don't like what you did but I get why you did it."

"You just... you have to win. Because Dagur's cool and all but he'd make a terrible chief for us. And those kids..." he sighed. "They don't deserve that. They're good kids, you know?"

Hiccup nodded. "Yeah. They're good kids."

Snotlout smiled for a split second and then immediately walked away and sat down on the outside of the arena with the rest of the council. All but one.

Astrid had waited until the others had said their last words to Hiccup, walking by and patting him on the shoulder or shaking his hand. Not one of them, except for Gobber, looked hopeful. Once the others had settled in, she walked up to her husband, tears spilling down her face.

"Hiccup..." she choked out before he pulled her in for a hug. He could feel her trembling against him, clutching his flight suit the way Adrianna had before they left. "You are not going to die."

Hiccup pulled away slightly so he could look into her eyes, keeping his arms tightly wrapped around her waist. She was still crying quietly, the tears streaming down her face and onto her shirt. He leaned down and kissed her tear stained cheek, relishing the softness of her skin and the taste of salt that remained on his lips when he pulled away. He gently reached up and pushed her bangs away from her eyes.

"I love you." he whispered, kissing her forehead now. "Don't you ever forget that."

She shook her head. "Don't." she replied in a voice barely over a whisper.

"I will always love you."

Astrid let out a small, stifled sob. "Please don't do this."

"Astrid..."

"You're going to be okay." she assured him, tightening her grip on him.

"Tell them I love them too. Every second. Until they get tired of hearing it. And then tell them again." he murmured softly.

Astrid lightly shook her head. "You tell them. Because you're not going anywhere."

"Listen," Hiccup reached up and cupped her chin. "If Dagur kills me-"

"Don't say that!"

Hiccup kissed her on the forehead again. "Let him marry you. And then kill him. You'll be able to take back Berk. You'll be chief over Berserker Island. You have to do this for me."

"No. You're going to kill him. I know you will. For Berk. For us." she reached up and stroked his cheek with the back of her fingers. "Because if you don't, I'm never going to be able to move on."

"You will because that is what you have to do. You are the most focused, most brilliant, most diligent woman I have ever met. For our babies, you can do anything. For me, you can do everything." he whispered, leaning in so closely that his warm breath brushed up against her hair and tickled her forehead.

Suddenly she stopped stroking his cheek with her hand and lightly punched him in the stomach. He grinned widely, his eyes beginning to burn uncomfortably.

"That's for the suicide mission." she said, a tiny smile on her lips.

They both knew what was coming next. Hiccup placed one hand behind Astrid's head, threading his fingers through her impossibly soft hair. The other he kept on her waist, drawing her in closer. She put both her hands on his face, her thumbs wiping away the fresh tears beginning to rain from his emerald green eyes. They both leaned in and felt their lips meet in a gentle caress which caused tidal waves of shivers to sweep through their bodies. The salt from their tears moistened their lips but they did not break apart, would not allow anything to come between them. Astrid felt her body weaken, a soaring feeling deep within her from the passion of the embrace but her heart squeezed in agony at the thought of allowing her husband to let her go. Hiccup held her up as he felt her weight shift slightly. He couldn't let this moment end. But end it did as they finally broke apart, her hands moving down his chest and back to his waist and his remaining where they had been, one gently stroking her hair and the other pulling her closer.

"That was f-for..." Astrid paused, her voice strangled as a waterfall of fresh tears poured down her face. She forced her voice through. "...for everything else."

Hiccup chuckled softly through his tears, not bothering to try to stop them. He could hear a hush fall over the arena as the time for the duel came closer. He knew he had to let her go. He knew it was over, that the only way he would have her back in his arms would be to win, to kill Dagur. He would emerge from this either dead or a changed man. This was his last moment with her as he was, as someone who valued life enough to spare it at all costs. But not today.

The sun's rays were beginning to produce a dim light in the arena, casting strange shadows across its floor and its occupants. Hiccup and Astrid could hear Dagur strutting into the ring behind them, sighing loudly in anticipation.

The time had come for the couple to break apart. The time for the duel was upon them.