42. Washed Up

The first thing Stoick noticed upon waking up, was that it was very warm.

The second thing he noticed, was the distinct taste of sand in his mouth.

He rapidly spit it out, grimacing at the disgusting feeling of it sticking to his tongue. And now he was fully awake.

Using a mighty fist to push himself up, Stoick the Vast ascended from his facedown position. Wiping the sand from his beard, he examined his surroundings.

It was early in the morning, the sun just beginning to peek over the horizon.

He was on a beach, a shore unknown to him. Patches of greenery were strewn about the sand. In the distance, he could see what looked to be a strange forest. And even farther still, he could make out the peaks of what looked like mountains.

All around him were the scattered bodies of Gobber, the teenage Berkians, and the Deadly Nadder. All breathing, thank Thor.

He turned, to examine the ship’s damage. Oddly enough, their boat was completely intact. Not even a scratch on it. It was settled snugly on the sand. They could cast off right now, if they wanted.

But…Stoick felt there was more to see here.

They’d gone into that storm, the one the dragon said Hiccup was in, only to wake up here…

If there was even the smallest chance that his son was here, wherever here is, he had to take it.

But first…

Stomping over to Gobber, Stoick nudged the man’s round belly with his boot.

He groaned, rousing from his sleep. “Ugh…I’ve got sand in places it definitely shouldn’t be…”

“Come on, help me wake this lot up.” Stoick spoke, as he helped Gobber to his feet.

Together, they awoke all the teens. They were disoriented, and wobbling on their feet, but they were alright otherwise.

“So what do you think?” Asked Stoick, as he and Gobber scrutinized their environment.

“Doesn’t look like any island I’d recognize.” Gobber replied.

Stoick sighed. “I was afraid you’d say that…” They’d checked the ship, but they couldn’t find their map anywhere. It seemed they were lost.

“Now this? This is a disgrace…” Tuffnut complained, while glaring at their vessel. “How can we call this a shipwreck, when the ship isn’t wrecked?”

“We can fix that!” Suggested Ruffnut, as both she and her brother began chortling maniacally.

Their scheming was put to an end when Astrid appeared behind them, smacking them both upside their heads.

“Knock it off, you two!” She huffed. “We need to figure out where we are!”

As she moved to assist the Nadder, who was starting to stir from all the noise, Stoick nodded.

“Astrid’s right. We need to determine our location, so we can make our way back to Berk.” He huffed. “Once we find Hiccup, of course.”

Snotlout groaned. “Hiccup, Hiccup, Hiccup! It’s always about Hiccup!”

“Well yeah. Th-that’s why we left in the first place…” Fishlegs pointed out. The tubby boy flinched as Snotlout raised his fist to him, chuckling at his fearful reaction.

“How do we know if he’s even here? We’re in the middle of nowhere!” Asked Snotlout.

Just then, the drowsy Nadder suddenly perked up. Full of energy. Stamping around and sniffing the air once more.

“Looks like he’s here.” Fishlegs snarked, much to Snotlout’s displeasure.

Astrid watched it, trembling in anticipation. “Come on, girl. Find him! Find him for me!” She urged.

The dragon finally seemed to settle on a trail, and quickly began stomping towards the forest. The Vikings scrambled to follow it.

They ran through the beach, struggling to keep up with the dragon’s abrupt turns. Eventually it had to stop, to ensure it was still being followed.

Gobber plucked a large leaf from a tree, and used it to fan himself as he caught his breath. “Thor almighty, is it hot out here or what?” The smell wafting from his sweaty body caused Ruffnut and Tuffnut to double over in repulsion.

The dragon slowed down, to accommodate the winded Vikings. They now casually strolled through the Jungle, still following the reptile’s lead.

Fishlegs looked around in wonder. “This is incredible! I’ve never seen plants like this! Perhaps the trees grow so tall as a reaction to the increased sunlight- “

“Wow! That’s crazy!” Snotlout interjected with a phony smile, before dropping it. “Nobody cares.” He’d successfully soured Fishlegs’ mood.

As they continued their expedition, the clear day suddenly became very foggy. Overwhelmingly foggy.

The twins stumbled around, blindly. Gobber tried waving the mist away with his hands, to no avail. Astrid, perturbed at the obstacle, tried blowing the fog by twirling her axe rapidly. That didn’t work either.

Seeing Astrid beside him, Snotlout tried to show off. “You guys are weak, I could walk through this fog with my eyes closed!” He proclaimed.

And he did just that, shutting his eyes and proudly strutting his way through the forest. Willfully ignoring every tree he bumped into, and every root he tripped over.

Upfront, the Nadder continued unobstructed. Letting its nose do the seeing for it.

Stoick kept marching onwards. Determination never faltering. “Nothing is keeping me from my son…NOTHING.”

As he thought this, the fog began to clear a bit. Giving them all a view of what lied in front of them.

The Vikings stopped, looking upwards in awe and fear. Fishlegs even began backing away.

Except Snotlout, still walking blindly. “This is nothing!” He snickered.

His snickering was interrupted by a loud “OOF!” as he slammed face first into a rock.

A very, very big rock.

As Snotlout fell flat on his back, the Berkians continued to gape at just what he’d knocked into.

A positively gigantic mountain, that seemed to stretch impossibly high into the air.

It was unscalable. There was absolutely no way anyone could climb this mountain.

So of course, Stoick was going to climb it.

Cracking his knuckles, the chief stomped forward and gripped the rock. Trying to storm his way up.

Gobber rolled his eyes, mumbling something about him being a muttonhead.

Now having a firm grip, the bearded man began his ascent. Gritting his teeth as he pounded the rocky surface with his fists.

However, this would soon prove unnecessary.

“Uh…chief?” Astrid spoke. Looking down to her, he saw that she was pointing back to the dragon.

Instead of walking towards the mountain, it was walking around it. The other Vikings were already following it.

Stoick was admittedly a little disappointed. He wanted to show that he’d conquer a mountain for his son…

But that’s just how it is.

Hopping down, he and Astrid followed the group.

The Nadder led them around the massive mountain range, and it truly was massive. It took them hours to pass just two of them. Fishlegs, Snotlout, and the twins were lagging behind. The long walk and the heat getting to them. Astrid tried to look strong, but it was obvious that she was beginning to struggle too.

Stoick looked upwards. The sun was now settled firmly in the sky, a physical representation of just how long they’ve been out here.

He could keep going for hours, days if need be. But the young ones couldn’t.

“We’ll stop here.” He declared. Everyone immediately slumped over, relieved that they could finally relax. “We may be searching for a while, let’s make camp.”

Everyone then groaned, as it seemed it wasn’t quite time to relax.

Astrid felled a tree, and cut it into logs. Some were used for seats, and one was used to dry their fur clothing. Still dripping with sea water, even in the hot sun. Their bags were wet as well, so they placed them on the grass.

But before anything else could be done, they noticed something odd.

The Nadder was acting erratically again. Its nose raised high in the air, sniffing feverishly. And chirping loudly.

“Astrid would you shut that thing up?” Snotlout demanded. He earned a punch in the arm instead.

Astrid approached it, trying to calm it. It rejected her attempts, and instead gave an echoing squawk that made everyone’s ears ring a bit. After that, it flapped its wings and flew into the skies.

They all watched it take off, surprised. “It was acting…different than normal…” Fishlegs noted.

He then looked to Astrid, wide-eyed. “You don’t think…?”

Without waiting for him to finish, she darted in the direction the dragon had flown. Fishlegs following soon after. Their previous fatigue, forgotten.

Gobber glanced at Stoick, then the teens, then back to Stoick. He shrugged, and hobbled after them.

A jolt of adrenaline shot through Stoick’s body at the implication.

Had the dragon…found Hiccup?

Bristling, he faced the remaining teenagers. “Snotlout, Ruffnut, Tuffnut. Finish setting up the camp.” He ordered. With that, he ran after the others.

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

It didn’t take long to catch up to them.

He followed their trail into the forest, and found them standing in a large river.

They were looking around, for the dragon. “I don’t see it anymore…” Astrid sighed.

“How did we lose sight of a ten-foot flying lizard?” Gobber grumbled.

Silently, Stoick observed the area. Checking for any sign of the creature.

The river was shimmering beautifully in the sunlight, and an abundance of butterflies were flittering about. They were surrounded by those oddly tall trees, and he could hear birds singing their songs in the distance.

But perhaps the most striking thing here, was the mountain.

Just like the rest of what they’ve seen of this strange land, there was a gargantuan mountain right in front of them.

But this one was different.

It had a crack in it.

The hunk of rock had a massive split in it, big enough for even someone as Vast as Stoick to walk through with ease.

And so he did.

As Astrid, Fishlegs, and Gobber were ogling the crack, Stoick marched ahead and walked right through it.

“W-Wait, we don’t know what’s on the other side!” Called a nervous Fishlegs.

Gobber regarded him with a raised eyebrow. “Ye think that’ll stop him?” He asked.

They followed him, through the mountain trail. The two imposing halves of rock surrounding them making them feel rather claustrophobic.

Soon enough, they arrived on the other side. The Nadder was still missing, but they found it’s big, round footprints in the dirt. So they followed the dragon’s trail.

They trekked through even more forest. Stoick was starting to get annoyed by the greenery.

Were forests and mountains all this new land had to offer? Not even a hint of civilization? Was it some kind of uninhabited island?

He grumbled from his place at the back of the group, wondering just how they were going to find their way back to Berk.

If this island was unpopulated, there was no way for them to get a map, or directions, or even the name of their location. They’d have to hop back in their boat, and pray.

Nevertheless, he brushed these thoughts aside. Their first objective was to find Hiccup, he could worry about the rest later.

“Er…Stoick? You’re gonna wanna see this…”

At Gobber’s call, he was broken out of his inner monologue. Seeing the others had gone ahead of him, he quickened his pace to meet them.

They were standing at the edge of the tree line, gazing at something he couldn’t quite make out. Looking down, he saw that the dragon tracks ended where they stood. It probably flew off again.

He joined them, pushing Fishlegs aside to stand in the middle of the group. He shielded his eyes briefly, as they were assaulted by the bright sun.

But once he opened his eyes back up, they were as wide as dinner plates.

This was not an uninhabited island.

Before them, in the middle of the mountains, stood a village.

A bright, vibrant village filled with bright, vibrant people.

Going about their days with bright smiles, and skips in their steps.

Like suffering and hardship weren’t even concepts in their minds.

And if Stoick really listened, he could swear he heard music…

He heard a whisper from left. “He’s down there.”

Stoick, Gobber and Fishlegs turned to Astrid. “You saw how the dragon was acting, Hiccups down there. He’s gotta be.”

“Uh, are you sure?” Fishlegs tentatively questioned. “Hiccup had a habit of…affecting the village with his inventions. This place seems perfectly intact!”

The rotund boy cowered under the chief’s glare. “N-N-No offense!”

But Fishlegs did have a point. Hiccup tended to leave his mark wherever he went, several marks. From what they could see, none of his tell-tale signs were evident.

From what they could see.

If they wanted a better view, they’d have to enter the village.

Stoick’s hands balled into fists, and his brow furrowed, as he glared at town below..

The islands he’d searched before either belonged to allies, or were unoccupied. He hadn’t tried the islands housing Berk’s enemies, as he figured Hiccup was smart enough not to go to those places.

The son of chief Stoick the Vast would fetch a pretty penny, after all.

“We don’t know this land, and we don’t know it’s people…” Spoke Stoick, harshly. “If Hiccup is here, and they learn who I am, and they learn he’s my son…They may hold him captive, looking for a ransom.”

“W-Would they really do that?” Fishlegs gulped.

“It’s a possibility.” Replied the chief. “A possibility we have to account for.”

Gobber waved his hook around, aggressively. “Just let them try and kidnap my apprentice! I’ll tear them limb from limb!”

“So will I…” Astrid hissed, gripping her axe.

She did not like the thought of her going through all this trouble to bring Hiccup back, only for a bunch of strangers to try to keep him here.

“NO!” Stoick shut down their urge to battle immediately. “We are not here to start a fight. Once we enter that village, we are travelers. We just so happened to arrive here, and are simply exploring. We look for Hiccup discreetly, understood?”

He received three nods, and he nodded as well. Satisfied.

Deciding not to waste anymore time, the Vikings entered the strange village.

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

Everything was colorful here.

Everything.

The Vikings traipsed through town, in a tight huddle. Trying to ignore just how out of place they felt while trying to be keep a low profile.

Everyone here wore colors as bright as the homes they inhabited, and there were no spikes or skulls or anything remotely threatening.

They hadn’t seen a single horned-helmet. Not one.

They garnered a lot of odd looks, as they walked. It was to be expected, considering they stuck out like sore thumbs.

Stoick simply ignored them. Gobber tried to ease their fears, by waving or greeting them politely. Astrid seemed to grow wary, hand on her axe at all times. Fishlegs tried to do what Gobber was doing, but his perennial awkwardness meant he just made everyone uncomfortable.

“I like what they’ve done with the place.” Gobber noted, cheerfully.

“It’s weird…” Astrid spoke apprehensively, as she eyed her surroundings. “There’s no torches, no guard towers, I haven’t even seen anyone with a weapon…how do they expect to defend themselves?”

“Maybe they don’t feel the need to?” Fishlegs prompted.

This only made Astrid’s glare increase. “Or maybe they’re stupid…”

“I dunno about that…” Gobber interjected. “They’re pretty hidden, out here. And these mountains are impenetrable! They probably don’t get attacked too often.” He scratched his chin with his hook. “Makes ye wonder how they managed to build this village in the first place…”

The conversation continued from there, but Stoick wasn’t listening. He was looking everywhere, for any trace of his son.

…And trying to ignore just how small everyone seemed. He was used to being the biggest man in the room, but this was ridiculous.

Maybe it was the lack of pointy hats.

The seemingly carefree villagers just…watched them walk by, giving them a wide berth. Like they’d never seen any new faces before. A woman, completely focused on eyeballing them, lost her grip on a fish bowl and dropped it.  As the goldfish flopped around, she gave the group a dirty look.

It was unnerving, he’d have preferred if they’d just approached. But they were never interrupted.

He’d gone through the trouble of making them all a fake backstory, too.

He frowned, as he continued scoping the area. There weren’t any signs of Hiccup, at all.

“Perhaps the dragon was wrong? Perhaps we’re wasting our time?” Stoick thought.

…No, he couldn’t think like that. Hiccup was here. He had to be.

As they walked further into town, Fishlegs stopped. Inquisitiveness taking over, he waddled up to a wall. “Check this out, guys!”

Indulging the boy, the other Vikings joined him in viewing the painted wall.

It was a mural, with twelve people depicted on it. An assortment of colors, appearances, and personalities. Each one totally unique.

Gobber’s face lit-up as he looked at a young woman in the painting, with a hulking figure and rippling muscles. “Now that’s a warrior!” He laughed, jovially. “What I’d give to have her in my class, she’d turn those dragons into slippers!”

Stoick noticed a young boy on the mural, with a devious smirk. A smirk that was a bit too similar to a pair of smirks that’d been a pain in his backside for fifteen years. His blood ran cold at the thought of another one being out in the world, and it ran colder when he realized he’d brought the first two here.

“The three must never meet…”

“Who do you think they are? Gods?” The geeky boy asked, eager to learn about this new culture. “Or maybe a royal family of some kind?”

He began examining each person depicted, while doing one of his favorite things. Attributing stats. “She’s definitely attack 20…this guy looks like a 15 in stealth, maybe 16…I’d have to bump the little one’s speed up to 12, with the big cat equipped…”

Astrid groaned. “Fishlegs, we don’t have time for this…”

She glanced at the mural once more, and her eyes settled on a girl. With curly black hair, bright green glasses, and a wide smile.

And she glowered.

She didn’t know why, she didn’t even know if this girl was a real person or just some myth…

But she pissed her off.

“Uh, Astrid? You coming?” Snapped out of her trance, she looked to see her group was already leaving. And she hurried to catch up with them.

As they turned a corner, they just missed the scrawny teen who was approaching the mural…

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

“We should ask someone.”

“No.”

“We’re getting nowhere!”

“We’ve got to lie low.”

“Oh, okay! We’ll lie low, and find the boy in about ten years!”

Stoick sighed as Gobber continued his complaining.

They were all standing outside of a building, one who’s structure was quite strange to them, and discussing their next course of action. Around them, people still gave them odd looks. But they were never given any issues.

Gobber was right, they’ve been searching for half an hour and made zero progress. But they couldn’t risk putting Hiccup in danger, not after all they’d done to bring him home.

“Pardon me, chief. But I think Gobber’s right.” Astrid spoke. “We’ve been looking all around, and there’s nothing pointing to Hiccup. Maybe he just decided to stop inventing?”

“No.” Stoick shot the idea down, immediately. “Not my boy. He’ll be making machines until the day he dies, I know it.”

“…Okay, but that still doesn’t solve our problem. We need to talk to someone, see if anyone knows him or something.” She continued.

“M-Maybe there’s a way to ask around and be discreet?” Fishlegs proposed.

Stoick was about to retort, when they heard a small voice.

“How long is Hiccup gonna be busy? I wanna fly!”

They all froze. No one moved a muscle.

Their eyes all darted to each other’s, asking the same silent question.

Did that kid just say what I think she said?

“Hiccup said he was helping with the wedding. Mama says wedding planning takes a long time…” Sighed another child.

All four Viking hearts began beating wildly.

They’d definitely heard right.

They were talking about Hiccup.

Hiccup was here.

It took every fiber of Stoick’s will to not immediately stomp over there and demand an answer from the children. Instead, they sent their least threatening unit to question them.

Fishlegs crept towards them, as they seated themselves on a bench. He looked terrified to even approach them. After a harsh shove from Astrid, he finally greeted the children.

“Uh, h-hi kids! Great weather we’re having, huh?” He was talking perhaps as awkwardly as humanly possible.

The children looked off-put, but still responded. “…Yeah, Pepa’s really happy.”

“Pepa? Who’s- “A rock thrown at the back of his head, courtesy of Astrid, kept him on topic. “So um, I was looking for someone named Hiccup. You wouldn’t happen to know where I could find him, would you?” He asked.

The children glanced at each other, a bit disturbed. “Um, he lives at the forge. You can maybe find him there.” Stated one.

“Though he’s been hanging at Casita way more.” Smirked the other.

“Oh? And what’s a Casita?” Before his question could be answered, he was pelted with another rock. “I-I mean, where can I find the forge?”

Instead of speaking, they both simply pointed to the right.

“That way, got it!” He then leaned in closer. “Now perhaps you could tell me a bit about your local fauna?”

He was suddenly yanked back, as Astrid grabbed his collar and dragged him towards the given direction. Followed by Stoick and Gobber.

The two children watched them as they left.

“You think we should’ve told him Hiccup was in the church?” One asked. “Lying is bad…”

“Yeah, but those guys looked scary. I don’t want them hurting him!” The other huffed.

As if on cue, a scrawny teen emerged from within the church. The children cheerily waved to him, as he wandered in pursuit of a needle…

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

They’d arrived at the forge. Gobber could recognize a fellow blacksmith’s dwelling anywhere.

Stoick led the way, but right before entering, he hesitated.

For a year, he thought of just what he’d say when he finally reunited with his son

At first, he’d envision furious words full of hatred and disgust. As time went on, he imagined himself speaking through tears. Apologizing profusely for even the most minor of slights.

Each time, it was different. The words he spoke to his boy were never quite the same.

And now, as he approached their reuniting becoming a reality, he found himself at a loss for words.

What would he say? How would he say it? How could he show that he’d changed?

How would Hiccup react? Would he be angry? Scared? Happy that they were together again?

He didn’t notice the three other Vikings eyeing him with various levels of concern, he was too wrapped up in his own thoughts.

He did notice the deep voice coming from in front of him, though.

“Are you guys gonna come in, or are you gonna keep standing in my doorway?”

A dark man was standing in the forge, holding a broom. He was large, though significantly shorter than Stoick. And quite portly. Hair was all over his body, from his arms to his full beard. Except for his bald head.

Now back in reality, Stoick led the Vikings inside.

“Welcome to my humble forge!” The man spoke, grinning widely. “The name’s Ignacio! What can I do for you?”

Stoick shook his hand, and began to answer. “Well, we- “

“Hold it!”

Astrid’s voice cut through the building, as he looked around the smithy. Shocked.

“Where’re the swords? Where’re the axes? The maces, the spears, the bolas?” The shieldmaiden now looked quite distressed. “Where’re all the weapons!?”

“Uh, we already saw that nobody had weapons…” Noted Fishlegs.

“This is different!” She proclaimed. “It’s one thing if people don’t carry weapons with them, it’s another if there are no weapons at all!”

The man known as Ignacio chuckled at her reaction. “We don’t need any of that stuff here, kid! The Encanto’s a paradise! Ain’t no violence here!”

As Astrid cradled her axe protectively like someone was trying to take it, Fishlegs considered the man’s words. “So this place is called the En-Kahn-Toe, hmm…”

Gobber inspected the forge, nodding as he did so. “Nice place, ye got here. Not as nice as mine, of course. But very nice!”

“Why thank you!” Grinned the fellow blacksmith. “I’d like to take full credit for it, but Hiccup’s been improving the place recently.”

There it was.

That name again.

“Actually, that’s why we’re here.” Stoick spoke, fighting to keep his composure. “We’re looking for Hiccup.”

This seemed to amuse the man. “Of course you are, everyone comes in here looking for him these days. He does more smithing than me!” He then sighed. “I don’t blame them though, the kids a genius! Definitely better than I was at his age…”

“Is he here?” Astrid asked, more forcefully than intended.

Their hopes fell when the man shook his head. “Nah, he’s at the church. He’s helping the Madrigals get ready for the wedding tomorrow.”

They may not know what a church was, or what a mot-tree-gull was, but now they had a destination. A definitive answer as to Hiccup’s location.

They were so close.

Quickly nodding, Stoick thanked the man. And they all began to leave.

Stoick was last in line, but before he could exit, Ignacio called to him.

“Hold on, big guy!” He approached the red-haired man, like he was looking for something. “Have we met before? You seem kinda familiar…”

“This is our first meeting.” Stoick gruffly answered, a bit perturbed at having been stopped.

The man seemed like he was thinking…

But he soon shrugged. Smile returning. “Oh well! Have a good one!”

We waved as they left the forge…

And waved again as they ran back in.

“Where’s the church?” Asked Fishlegs.

“And what’s a church?” Asked Astrid.

The blacksmith pointed to the left. “Big building with a bell on top, you can’t miss it.”

He waved as they left again, this time staying gone.

“Wonder what they wanted Hiccup for?” He pondered aloud, as he resumed his sweeping.

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

They never got to the church.

As soon as they were a few paces away from the forge, they heard the sounds of screams. And saw villagers all running from one location.

They then heard a loud, familiar squawking.

Astrid jolted with surprise. “STORMFLY!” She cried out.

At the odd looks she was getting, she sputtered. “Th-The Nadder! That was the Nadder’s cry!”

“And what was that about storms?” Gobber asked.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about…” Astrid denied.

Stoick frowned. He knew it was only a matter of time before the dragon showed its true colors.

But like it or not, it was currently his responsibility. He’d brought it here.

And now he had to stop it from terrorizing this town.

Brow furrowing, he ran off in source of the commotion. Gobber chasing closely behind.

Astrid and Fishlegs shared a fearful glance, and followed as well.

After a short while, it seemed they’d arrived at the scene. They pushed through the frenzied crowd, not being able to hear anything but their terrified yells.

Finally, they arrived at the village square…

And it was empty.

They all looked around, looking for some sign of the prior chaos. But they found nothing.

No more screaming villagers, and no dragon.

It was as if nothing was happening at all.

“It’s quiet…” Gobber whispered, suspicious. “Too quiet…”

Then they heard it.

A scream, from above.

A scream Stoick knew by heart.

A scream he hadn’t heard in a year.

His son’s scream.

Hiccup’s scream.

They all glanced upwards, surging with adrenaline.

Their Nadder was flying through the sky…

And in it’s talons, was a scrawny teen.

Even from all the way up there, seeing his son for the first time in a year nearly brought Stoick to his knees.

“Can it be...?” Gobber whispered, in disbelief.

“W-We found him!” Fishlegs stuttered in excitement.

“That’s my girl!” Astrid grinned, brimming with pride.

“…My…My Son…” Stoick’s voice was almost impossible to hear.

They all gazed at the distant form of the dragon in awe, knowing that their journey had ended. They’d accomplished their task.

Gobber would get his beloved apprentice back.

Astrid and Fishlegs would tell him about the nest, convince him to help end the war.

Stoick would make his family whole again.

It was all going to work out.

For as happy as he was, Fishlegs had to raise a question. “But…where’s it taking him?”

No one had an answer.

They all scrambled to look not where it was, but where it was heading.

And it seemed it was flying towards the cracked mountain.

Where their camp was located.

Clever girl.

“This way!” Stoick shouted, as he began running as fast as possible in the same direction as the Nadder.

Their mission accomplished, and their prize acquired, the Vikings hurried to leave the Encanto.

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

When Stoick arrived at the camp, panting from the exertion it took to run as fast as he did, the scene before him was quite strange.

There was Snotlout, and the twins…

And Hiccup.

Hiccup!

His son! His son was here! Right in front of him!

He looked a little different. He was wearing strange clothes, and his hair was longer, and was he a bit taller?

But it didn’t matter.

It was his son!

He was going to reunite with his son!

He was going to bring him home!

It was Hiccup!

Hiccup!

…

…And about twelve other people.