40. Finding Hiccup

Stoick felt like he understood Hiccup much better now.

Which is ironic, considering he was nowhere to be found.

Only when his son was gone, did he realize what he’d done wrong. Did he realize what was happening here.

Stoick was a man capable of many things. He could take on an army of dragons alone, and fell them all with just his fists. He could point his axe at one man, and have an entire armada fleeing for their lives. He could give a mountain a funny look, and it would split in two.

But he could never claim to be the master of parenting.

But now, after a lot of thinking, Stoick knew why.

He realized just why Hiccup ran away with that Night Fury. Why he’d side against his own tribe, for a dragon.

The realization hit him just the night before, as he was heading to bed.

Hiccup was rebelling.

It all made sense. After years of being bullied, beaten, and ignored, Hiccup was rebelling against his village by running away and allying with his sworn enemy. The dragon.

Despite the fact that his son was still in some unknown location with that demon, Stoick allowed himself to breathe a small sigh of relief.

For weeks he’d asked himself why Hiccup would join those monsters, and now he knew the answer. If he wasn’t such an abysmal father, and supported him when he needed it, the boy wouldn’t feel the need to lash out like this.

It was a classic teenager move.

A bit drastic, but adolescents weren’t known for their rational choices.

He would find his son, and apologize profusely. Apologize for every time he’d ignored the boy’s mistreatment. Made him feel unloved. He’d promise he’d be a better father, from there on out.

And then he’d ground him. Just for a few weeks. Out of parental necessity.

Then, together, they’d slay the dragon the boy was currently using to defy him. Berk’s first Night Fury kill, executed by both father and son.

And all would be well.

He felt a burst of pride from within himself. Already, he was being a more understanding and compassionate parent!

Though…he wished Valka were here. She’d know how to handle this better than he ever could.

He shook his head to clear his mind of such thoughts. There was no time for that, he had two tasks to focus on.

1: Head to every nearby island, and plead with them to assist Berk in its time of need.

2: Find his son, and make things right.

As his ship approached their first destination, Stoick bristled with determination.

He had his missions.

And he would accomplish both of them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He’d accomplished one of them.

Over the last few weeks of sailing, he’d visited every island Berk had a peaceful relationship with. He’d told their chieftains of their plight, and effectively begged for any food they could offer. As well as permission to hunt wild animals in their forests.

He’d gotten scraps from their pantries, and just a few wild boars in the process. It wasn’t much, but it was more than he expected. And it’d get them through the winter, which was what truly mattered.

By all accounts and means, his first mission was a success.

But he hadn’t found Hiccup.

He’d searched every island, top to bottom. Every village, every forest, every shore. The boy couldn’t be found anywhere. No one he asked had seen him, either.

Asking people if they’d seen a Night Fury felt a bit silly.

As soon as they arrived on Berk, he was tempted to immediately start sailing again. To get back out there and find his son. But he had a village to oversee.

The dragons tended to ease their attacks during the winter season. They didn’t stop, of course. They never stopped. But they wouldn’t appear as frequently, and the raids would be in much smaller numbers.

The long winter, cold and bitter as it may be, offered a brief respite for the Berkians.

They took this time to properly rebuild their village from the ground up. It took a while, but after about two months, every hut was standing proud. They’d been improved as well, with metal plating to prevent them from being burned to cinders so easily. And more pointy bits, to dissuade dragons from perching atop them.

Gobber, now seemingly lifted from his funk, got back to work. They now had a surplus of functional weapons, ready for the next raid.

The Vikings rejoiced, all throughout the island there was drinking and dancing and much merriment. Everyone was elated to have their village restored, that they didn’t have to live in that stuffy hall anymore, and that they had actual methods of self-defense again.

For the first time in what felt like forever, Berk was in proper shape.

This made Stoick very happy, but for a different reason.

The village was doing well, meaning he could confidently leave it in Spitelout’s hands while he made another outing to find his son.

And that’s exactly what he did. Several times. Each trip taking longer than the last.

He searched every island within reasonable distance he could find on the map, from massive pillars of land to uninhabited little chunks of rock.

He made these trips alone. He had to, to prove he was worthy of his son’s forgiveness.

Soon, it became a rarity to see the chief of Berk on Berk. Very young children began to mistake Spitelout for the chief, which only seemed to inflate his ego.

The people were getting concerned. Wondering just where the chief was going and why he was gone so long.

After this had gone on for nearly four months, throughout the entire winter, he’d returned to Berk very briefly to restock before heading back out. Single-mindedly pursuing his quest.

Seeing an opportunity to get some answers, Spitelout approached him.

“Er, chief?” He spoke, walking down the docks towards him. “The people want to know exactly what it is you’re doing out there? I personally couldn’t care less, but y’know…”

Stoick was moving some boxes onto his ship, and he didn’t stop as he simply replied. “Looking for Hiccup.”

That got a laugh out of Spitelout. “After all this time? Sheesh, maybe they should have called ya Stoick the Vindictive!” He elbowed the chief in the ribs, chuckling. “Ya won’t rest until you’ve got the little traitor drawn and quartered, eh chief?”

His chuckling ceased when he felt the powerful hand clutching his shoulder. “That ‘little traitor’ is my son.” Stoick said, quiet tone betraying his rage.

“U-Uh, didn’t ya disown him?” Spitelout sputtered.

The rage in the chief’s eyes was replaced with a deep sadness, and his grip on the shoulder weakened. “…Aye…that I did. And I regret it every day.” He returned to his boxes, more sluggish than before. “That’s why I’m out there, looking for him. I’ve got to bring him home.”

Spitelout was dumfounded. “What the-Are ya serious!? He’s not some missing child! He’s a traitor, Stoick! Or did ya forget that he flew off with a Night Fury!?”

“He did that because of us…” The bearded man grumbled. “He’s angry and confused right now, but I’ll talk some sense into him…”

Spitelout scowled, and crossed his arms. “…So you’re wasting time ya could be spending on your duties as chief, to go and chase after your deserter of a son? Is that what I’m supposed to tell the village?”

Stoick turned, and regarded the man with a monstrously piercing glare. One that left no room for further questioning. One that left Spitelout with a chill down his spine. One that would cause a weaker man to break down into tears.

“Yes.” He sharply responded, before resuming his work.

With a huff of frustration, Spitelout stormed back into town.

Stoick rolled his eyes, as he finished his preparations.

He didn’t care if Spitelout didn’t like it. He didn’t care if the whole village didn’t like it.

Hiccup was coming back. And this time, they’d treat him right. He would make sure of that.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“The chief has lost it!”

“…Or at least, that’s what my dad tells me.” Snotlout spoke, signature smug grin present on his face.

In the Great Hall, sitting at a table with the twins, he recounted to them what his father had told him.

Tuffnut looked horrified. “This cannot be!” He exclaimed, before turning to his sister. “The chief can’t go crazy! We’re the crazy ones on this island! He’ll jeopardize our brand!”

Ruffnut looked just as fearful. “We’re gonna lose all our marketing deals!” She cried.

Snotlout glowered at the usual Thorston nonsense happening before him, and then pounded his fist on the table. “Would you two listen!?” He demanded.

Now that he had their attention, his smirk returned.  “Word on the street is, those long trips Stoick’s been taking? He’s looking for something…”

“I just thought he had to poop…like, a lot…” Tuffnut droned, earning him a weird look from his sister.

“No, my fecal-minded friend. That’s not it…” He leaned forward, pausing for dramatic effect. “He’s looking for Useless!”

Tuffnut looked confused, more than usual. “If it’s useless, then why’s he looking for it?” He asked.

But Ruffnut caught on. “He’s looking for Hiccup?” She gasped.

Snotlout’s grin increased. “Bingo. Dad says he’s out there trying to bring Useless back home! Tch, like we need him here! Not only is he a big fat traitor, he’s a big fat loser!”

He leaned back in his seat, and propped his feet on the table. “But hey, I say let him do it! Eventually he’ll tire himself out, cry some wimpy tears, and get over it. He’ll realize he never needed Useless, and he’ll make me the future chief! As I always should have been!” He shouted, obnoxiously.

Snotlout continued to rant, while the twins squabbled over inane things.

What they didn’t know, is they were being listened to.

In a corner of the Great Hall, sat a tubby boy and a blonde girl.

“Did you hear that? The chief’s looking for Hiccup too! Maybe he can help us?” Spoke Fishlegs, softly.

Astrid shook her head, and replied. “No. We can’t tell him about the nest, remember?”

He reluctantly nodded. “…You’re right, but our searching hasn’t been very successful. It hasn’t been successful at all, actually…”

She sighed, as she knew he had a point.

When they decided they needed to find Hiccup, they hadn’t accounted for just how hard it would be while still being discreet.

They were teenagers! They couldn’t exactly just take a boat and search the archipelago for him. Their parents would definitely notice.

Despite Fishlegs’ suggestions, she still refused to tell Stoick about the nest. Not yet.

She’d taken her Nadder out to look for him, but if she was gone for long periods during the day, it’d arouse suspicion. So these outings were always brief, and they never accomplished much. And there would be no use in searching at night, Night Furies were virtually invisible in the dark.

Fishlegs put all his knowledge on Night Furies and Hiccup to the test, trying to deduce where they could be hiding. Unfortunately, he was lacking in both subjects.

For months, they’d meet up to brainstorm on this dilemma. Only to come up with nothing useful.

They needed to find him, and end this war. But how?

Fishlegs sighed, slumping on the table. “If only you still had that Deadly Nadder…”

Astrid nearly spit out her drink.

“…W-What did you say?” She asked, nearly whispering.

The chubby boy seemed off-put by her reaction, but he’d never deny the opportunity to spout dragon facts. “Nadder’s have a highly advanced sense of smell. Incredibly advanced! One could track its prey for perhaps hundreds of miles! If you still had the one you tamed, we could maybe use it to track Hiccup’s scent!” His geeky smile fell. “But you don’t, so…”

The shieldmaiden was making an incomprehensible expression.

It only served to make Fishlegs nervous. “Uh…Astrid?”

She didn’t respond outwardly.

But inwardly, she’d already made her decision.

She was going to do something crazy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As Gobber was sharpening a sword, he began thinking.

Months ago, his friend made a promise. A promise to bring Hiccup home. A promise to make things right.

It inspired him. It lifted his depression, just a bit. He was back to work again, though not as happily as he once was. He missed the boy’s small presence in his forge, dearly.

Despite that, he kept his head up. Confident that his friend, chief Stoick the Vast, would make good on his word. And return his apprentice to him.

But now, as the winter melted into spring and they approached a year since Hiccup’s disappearance, Gobber felt that confidence waning.

He truly respected Stoick for going out there for months at a time, coming back with nothing, and heading straight back out again.

But the dragons would be back soon, as they always were when things started to warm up. If they raided with the same ferocity they had last year, Stoick would be needed here.

It pained him to realize it, truly and deeply. But if Hiccup couldn’t be found, perhaps it’d be best to stop looking for him.

At least for now, while there were more pressing matters.

They had to look at the bigger picture, there was a village of people to protect. The search could start up again once things calmed down a bit.

But he knew Stoick. He wouldn’t give this up until he’d achieved his goal, or died trying.

Once again, it was up to Gobber to smack some sense into him.

With a sigh, he left the forge and made for the docks.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fishlegs took it better than she was expecting, honestly.

Sure, he was initially terrified to learn that she was harboring a fire-breathing lizard in the forest. But after she explained her story, he’d calmed down.

And when the Nadder started sniffing him and nudging him, while making those cute little chirps, he really seemed to take a shine to the creature.

His natural inquisitiveness took over, as he began examining the creature from all over. Rambling about stats and numbers she really couldn’t understand.

When she plucked his helmet from his head, and started running around with it, he frantically chased after the dragon. And Astrid could tell he was really enjoying himself.

“It’s astounding…” He said, helmet now firmly placed back on his head. “This dragon doesn’t seem violent at all!”

She could only shrug. “…Maybe not all dragons are evil. I’m not really sure.”

He glanced to her, excitement building. “You realize what this means, don’t you? We can use it to find Hiccup!” His smile dropped as another realization hit him. “Wait, why didn’t you tell me this months ago? We could’ve saved so much time!”

Astrid responded with an agitated glare. “I had to keep her secret, keep her safe. I didn’t know if I could trust you…” Her glare softened, just a bit. “I do now.”

He seemed a bit taken aback, not used to seeing the girl imply they were friends in any way.

They both stood in the shade, watching the Nadder preen herself.

Astrid huffed, speaking without turning away from her dragon. “We could use her to find Hiccup, but we still can’t just…leave. Our families would notice we were gone.” He nodded, as he knew this already.

“But…if they knew what we were doing, if we had someone backing us up, we could look for him for as long as we needed to…” She continued.

Fishlegs looked back to her, confused. “W-What are you saying?”

She met his gaze, determination sparking in her eyes. “We need to tell the chief.”

The boy was stunned. “B-But I thought you said- “

His sputtering was cut off, as she continued. “Not about the nest! We need to tell him this dragon can help him find Hiccup! If we do, we can go with him. Nothing would be stopping us from finding him!”

“B-But wouldn’t Stoick k-kill your dragon?” asked a trembling Fishlegs.

She hesitated, considering the possibility. “…Not if we play our cards right.” A plan was already formulating in her mind. “If he thinks this is the only way to find his son, he won’t kill her. At least…not yet. I’ll figure out the next part later. But right now this is our best shot at ending this war, we have to take it!”

Reluctantly, he agreed. Though he still looked quite fearful.

With that matter settled, Astrid pondered the next step.

How was she going to introduce Stoick to her dragon, and not have it beheaded?

She tried to work this out in her mind, as she and Fishlegs made for the docks.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gobber found him, still preparing to set sail.

“Morning, Stoick!” He greeted, as he hobbled forward. “Planning another little trip, I see?”

Without stopping his work, the bearded man nodded. “Aye. First thing tomorrow.” Was all he said.

Gobber sighed, knowing this was going to be the hard part. “Right, about that…”

“Chief, ye’ve been looking for the lad all winter. Don’t get me wrong, I want him back too! But…the spring’s almost here, and that means the dragons are almost here.” He pointed out.

“Yes, and?” Stoick responded.

Gobber felt a twinge of annoyance at such flippancy. “Ye saw how crazy those beasts got, didn’t ye? If they start attacking like that again, we’ll need all-hands-on-deck!”

Stoick stopped, and glared at his old friend. “I need to find my son.”

The one-legged man nodded. “I know ye do, but ye also need to protect your village. And it’s gonna need a whole lotta protecting real soon!” He exclaimed.

For a moment, Stoick tried and failed to find an argument. Some reason that Gobber was wrong…but he couldn’t.

The chief released his own, heavy sigh, as he realized his old friend was right.

“…One last trip.” He said, almost begging. “I’ll make one last trip, and be back by winter’s end. If I don’t find him then, I’ll postpone the search until next winter…”

Gobber nodded, satisfied. “On one condition.” He stated.

He held up his hook, and gestured to himself. “I’m going with ye! Ye couldn’t find a Yak if it was standing in a flock of sheep, let alone a lad as clever as Hiccup! Ye’ll need some real brains to assist ye!”

He held out his hand, and Stoick took it. Smiling gratefully.

Just then, they heard two voicing shouting as one.

“CHIEF! CHIEF!!!”

Looking back towards the village, the two men saw Astrid and Fishlegs running towards them. When they finally arrived, Astrid looked fine. But Fishlegs was doubled over, gasping for breath.

“Chief Stoick, we um…We heard you were looking for Hiccup?” Astrid asked, tentatively.

The bearded man turned to regard them. “You heard right.” He grunted.

This only seemed to make the girl more nervous. “Well, uh…w-we um…”

“Come on, lass! Out with it!” Gobber prodded.

Shaking off her worries, Astrid spoke. Clearly and confidently.

“We may have something that can help with that.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The chief took it better than she was expecting, honestly.

Her dragon wasn’t dead.

She led them through the forest, trying to keep herself from quaking in anxiety.

“Are ye gonna tell us what it is any time soon?” Gobber asked, crankily.

“It’s better if you see it for yourself. Just…don’t freak out.” She spoke.

The two men shared a confounded glance, then looked to Fishlegs. The boy shrugged, nervously smiling.

Finally they arrived at her secret spot, the cove.

They entered the area, admiring its natural beauty. Before the two men looked back to Astrid, expectantly.

She walked into the middle of the cove, glanced up towards the sky, and whistled…

…

And had to move with incredibly fast reflexes to stop Stoick from chucking his axe at her dragon, once it landed.

“Wait, chief! Please!” She pleaded, standing in front of the dragon defensively.

“Please…put your axe down…” She begged.

He halted, and looked at the scene in front of him.

A teenager, defending a dragon from him.

He didn’t like how familiar it looked.

“Explain. Now.” He demanded in a cold voice.

She nodded shakily, and began the story they’d prepared. “W-We heard you were looking for Hiccup, and I just so happened to remember something that Fishlegs told me. You know how he is with dragon facts.”

“IT’S TRUE!” Fishlegs screamed anxiously, earning him odd looks form everyone present. Including the dragon.

It was meant to be a casual joke, to ease the mood. Instead he only made them look more suspicious.

Nonetheless, she continued. “He told me that Nadders had a really good sense of smell. So I thought maybe, if I captured a Nadder, we could use it to track Hiccup down.”

Stoick looked shocked upon hearing this, the possibility of anything aiding him in his quest for his son sending waves of adrenaline through his body.

Gobber was still skeptical. “And where did ye find this dragon?”

Astrid tried very hard to keep a straight face. “I found it in the forest, while I was training. W-What a coincidence!”

He narrowed his eyes at her. “And why’s it look exactly like the Nadder we had in the ring? The one that broke out?”

“M-Maybe that’s why it was here! It didn’t know where to go?” She tried.

“…And if it’s captured, why’s it walking around like a free dragon?” He asked.

“Because…B-Because…” As she struggled to think of an answer, Fishlegs intervened.

“Because she captured its mind! She broke its spirit, now it listens to her without the need for chains!” He said. Astrid nodded with his impromptu explanation, feverishly.

Gobber looked incredibly unconvinced, regarding the teens with a look that screamed “Are you kidding me?”

But Stoick seemed…hopeful.

“You’re telling me this…creature, can find my son?” He asked, softly.

“Y-yes, chief. We’d just need something with Hiccup’s scent on it.” Fishlegs stammered.

“And we’d need to come with you. It only listens to me, and Fishlegs is the one with all the details.” Astrid stated.

She conveniently left out the part where they needed to be there so they could tell Hiccup about the giant killer dragon.

Stoick considered their words. He glared at the dragon, mistrustfully. But then he seemed to be remembering something, and his gaze became very remorseful.

"...Why?" He asked the teens. "Why do you want to find Hiccup?"

Astrid and Fishlegs shared a nervous glance, and then Astrid tentatively spoke. "...This village really needs him."

The chief seemed surprised by their answer...but pleasantly so.

Finally, he nodded. “Very well. We leave first thing in the morning. I’ll talk it over with your parents. We may be gone for weeks, I suggest you prepare.” He turned, and stomped out of the cove. “Come, Gobber.” He called out.

Before leaving, Gobber gave the teens one last scrutinizing glare, before he hobbled after the chief.

Now alone, Astrid and Fishlegs waited until the adults were out of earshot…

And released massive sighs of relief.

It had worked.

Not only was her dragon still alive, but they were finally going to begin their mission.

Finally.

They were going to do what they said they’d do months ago.

They were going to find Hiccup.

…For real, this time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Wait, WHAT!?”

Spitelout winced, ears ringing from his son’s shouting. “Ya heard me, boyo. Stoick, the sentimental fool, says he’s got a surefire way of finding that traitor son of his. And he’s setting sail tomorrow. Honestly, would it kill ya to listen..”

As his father grumbled his way to another part of their house, Snotlout stood immobile. Eyes wide, jaw agape. Shook.

“If Stoick finds Useless, that fishbone will be the heir again…”

“And if he becomes the heir again, I won’t be the heir!!!”

He couldn’t allow that to happen.

He had to think of something, anything, to secure his spot as future chief of Berk.

His face scrunched in concentration, he was sweating, his teeth were grinding together, his knuckles were white from how hard he was balling his fists…

Just when it seemed he’d pass out from the effort it took to generate a single thought, it hit him…

The perfect plan.

He’d go with them.

He’d join their little adventure.

And once they’d found whatever dump Useless was hiding in, he’d kick his scrawny butt right in front of the chief.

After seeing how incredibly awesome he was, and how incredibly NOT-awesome Useless was, Stoick would have no choice but to declare him the future chief.

And Astrid would totally smooch him.

It was foolproof! There was no conceivable reality where this plan went wrong!

“Gods…handsome, smart, AND humble? I really am the total package…”

With great excitement, he scampered to his room to begin preparing for the journey ahead.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Morning arrived.

Clear skies. Decent breeze. Perfect for sailing.

It was time to go.

The villagers watched, puzzled, as Stoick walked from his house towards the docks. Along with Gobber, Astrid, Fishlegs…

And a dragon.

Many Vikings moved to attack the creature Astrid was gently pulling along with a rope, reaching for spears or axes or an excessively sharp spoon, but Stoick put an end to it with one shout.

“STOP!”

Everyone quit moving immediately. “I am going to use this dragon to find my son. No one will harm it. Is that clear?” He asked the crowd, and they knew from his tone that they could only answer yes.

Murmuring, and eyeing the dragon warily, the crowd dispersed.

Astrid tried to soothe the spooked Nadder, muttering sweet whispers to it and softly rubbing its neck. She stopped when she noticed the odd look Stoick was giving her. “I-I was just threatening it. Reminding it who’s boss…” She stammered.

He eyed her for just a moment more, before silently turning back around. At least there wouldn’t be any more interruptions-

“WAIT UP!”

The whole group turned to see Snotlout rapidly approaching. “Hold up, guys! I’m coming with!”

Astrid grimaced, as Gobber looked confused. “And why are you doing that, exactly?” he asked.

Snotlout suddenly looked very distraught, perhaps overly so. “I just…I’ve been so worried for Useless-uh-I mean-Hiccup!”

Astrid crossed her arms and scowled. “Weren’t you the one who threw a party when he left?”

The stout boy briefly regarded her with a smug smirk and a wink. “We all cope in different ways, babe.” He then returned to his miserable state. “If there’s a chance, no matter how small, that little Hiccy is out there…I have to take it. We’ve got to bring the baby boy home…” He ended his speech with a dramatic, shaking fist.

Stoick and Gobber watched his performance, not buying it for a second. They knew full well that he was the main perpetrator when it came to bullying Hiccup.

But they did need someone to swab the deck…

“We’ll just throw him overboard if he gets too annoying…” Stoick grumbled, as he nodded for Snotlout to follow.

“So in about three minutes?” Gobber joked.

Astrid groaned as the short teen got way too close. “You. Me. On a boat. Pretty romantic, huh?” He asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

Before she could punch him, the Nadder beside her starting growling at him. Thoroughly intimidated, Snotlout skittered back towards the front of the group.

Chuckling, Astrid gave the dragon some appreciative scratches. And they continued on their way.

Ruffnut and Tuffnut watched them leave, with mild interest.

“You think they’ll find him?” Tuffnut asked.

“Nah, he’s probably dead.” Ruffnut replied.

The male twin seemed to be thinking for a moment.

“What do you think Hiccup’s corpse looks like?” He wondered.

Ruffnut turned to her brother. “...You wanna find out?”

And then they smirked.

The twins hurried after the group, to join their quest as well.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They were now on the docks, readying the ship.

Stoick took in a deep whiff of that salty air. “This is the one, Gobber…I can feel it.” He spoke, while gazing out into the horizon.

“I hope so, Stoick. I hope so…” Gobber sighed.

As Astrid was guiding the Deadly Nadder onto the boat, Gobber hobbled over to her.

“Hold on, lassie! Let’s get that beast chained up!” He began to try and wrangle the creature, but Astrid stopped him.

“A-Actually, it can track better if its snout isn’t muzzled. And if it isn’t tied up…” She explained.

“You expect me to allow a dragon on my boat, unrestricted?” Stoick asked, almost threateningly.

Fighting the urge to break under his glare, Astrid pled her case. “It’ll listen to me, it won’t hurt anybody. I promise.” The she tried something she knew she probably shouldn’t have, but did so anyway. “Please...for Hiccup.”

That seemed to catch him off-guard, as he paused for a moment. Wide eyed.

Eventually, he grew a stern look. “Fine. But if that thing moves one talon out of line, it’s dead. And you’re in big trouble.” She nodded her agreement.

She guided her dragon onto the boat, just as they’d finished preparing.

“Do you have something with Hiccup’s scent on it?” Fishlegs asked Stoick.

Wordlessly, he retrieved something from within his cape. A small Viking helmet.

He handed it to Astrid, handling it as if it was the most precious thing in the world. “Find my son.” He asked of her, softly.

Astrid held the helmet up to the Nadder, who immediately began sniffing it with zeal.

Now that it had the scent, it began to tromp around the ship. Smelling for a trail. The Vikings present ducked and dodged out of the way as it did so.

Everyone watched in anticipation as it frenetically sniffed the air. Until finally, it settled on a direction.

It squawked triumphantly, its sharp snout pointing westward. Its crown of spikes fully raised in excitement.

“I-I think it’s found something!” Fishlegs exclaimed gleefully.

Heart swelling with both joy and fear, Stoick began piloting the ship according to the dragon’s direction.  Steering the ship in sync with even the slightest movement from the Nadder.

He was on his way now. He could feel it.

It was only a matter of time.

He would find his son.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They’d been sailing for two weeks, and the teens were starting to lose it.

They were incredibly irritable, always starting fights and tussling with each other. Even the normally meek Fishlegs. Currently they were arguing over who’s turn it was to guard the gold.

They didn’t have any gold.

It was only funny to watch for about a day. Now it was just annoying.

The only ones unaffected were Stoick and Gobber, who were experienced sailors, and the dragon. Still pointing it’s nose this way and that.

“Today’s the day.” Gobber suddenly spoke. When Stoick faced him, a question in his gaze, he elaborated. “It’s the one-year anniversary of Hiccup leaving.”

This made Stoick sigh, disheartened.

A year. An entire year since he’d seen his son. Their last moments were him disowning the boy, instead of him trying to understand his son’s problems.

This only served to invigorate him more. He would fix this.

They were in the middle of the open sea, not a patch of land in sight. The only things breaking up the endless blue were a few scattered sea stacks.

With nothing else to do but steer, and certainly not wanting to listen to the youngster’s bickering anymore, he let his mind wander.

He thought of his son. How much he missed him. How desperately he wanted him back. How he wouldn’t allow himself to enter the gates of Valhalla and reunite with his wife, until he’d made things right with their boy.

He thought of just how…lost he felt. How lost and broken he felt without his only child. How his home didn’t even feel like a home, without him.

He thought of how frightening it was, not knowing where he was. If he was okay, or even alive.

He tried to fight the lump in his throat.

“Please…” He thought, to anyone who would listen. “I just want to see my son…”

Just then, out of nowhere, lightning struck.

Which made no sense, as there wasn’t a cloud in the sky just a moment ago.

Shocked out of his lamenting, Stoick looked at the positively massive storm that was approaching in shock and fear.

“I should’ve packed more undies…” Gobber gulped.

“W-what are you waiting for? Get us away from that thing!” Snotlout shouted at the chief.

Stoick began to try and steer the ship away, but he stopped as he noticed the Nadder upfront was moving erratically.

It was squawking loudly, and it kept gesturing to the hurricane. Astrid tried to calm it down, but it wouldn’t stop pointing at the clouds.

“What? Do you want us to go into the storm!?” Astrid yelled, exasperated.

The dragon chirped in affirmation. And pointed right back at the mass of thundering clouds.

And Stoick understood.

Hiccup was in there.

Brow furrowing, he turned the ship back on course for the storm. “BRACE YOURSELVES!” He shouted.

Everyone present, drenched in rain, looked at him like he was a madman.

The seas were becoming unstable, dangerously so. “STOICK, ARE YE SURE ABOUT THIS!?” Gobber asked over the howling winds.

The chief turned to his old friend, and wordlessly nodded.

Despite how precarious the situation was…the heavy rains, the ship rocking about wildly, rolling barrels and a fumbling Fishlegs to-and-fro, Gobber couldn’t help but smile.

There was that Haddock recklessness he’d come to expect.

“HIT THE DECK!” He shouted to the teens. At Gobber’s command, they all dropped to the ground. Hiding under anything they could.

Tuffnut tried to hide under Ruffnut, but she punched him in the stomach.

The Nadder stomped over to Astrid, and covered her with its body. Stoick couldn’t help but think just how odd this behavior was…

But as a massive wave rocked the boat, he knew the time for thinking was over.

He boar-headedly persevered, steering the ship directly into the hurricane.

Thunder rumbled from above, heavy winds threatened to carry him off, rain beat down on him, the oppressive darkness disoriented him.

But he kept pushing through. He’d come too far to let an overblown drizzle keep him from his son.

He grit his teeth as the storm became almost too much to bear. But he had to keep going. They were almost there, he could feel it.

Finally, he reached the eye of the storm.

And it was unlike anything the Berkians had ever seen.

A swirling mass of clouds surrounded them, all golden in color. With golden lightning sparking throughout the cyclone. The light reflected off the waters, making it appear as if they were sailing in a sea of gold.

It was confounding…and beautiful.

No one said anything, no one could find the words necessary. Everyone gazed up in wonder and amazement, it was indescribably amazing.

No one noticed when lightning hit the boat.

…

…

…

When Stoick awoke, it was very warm.