I'M BACK WITH ANOTHER STORY! *giggles and waves* So, this was requested by FanWriter02 (THANK YOU, KAT!) If you haven't read her work yet, READ IT LIKE RIGHT NOW. YOU'RE MISSING OUT ON TOO MUCH.

Well, enjoy the story! BEWARE OF THE HICCUP!WHUMP! Oops, did I say 'beware'? *bats eyelashes innocently* I meant WELCOME the Hiccup!whump! Enjoy!

After a bit- well, a lot- of Stoick's insisting that Hiccup should take a break from guarding the Edge for at least a week, the Riders had returned to Berk to rest up. Unfortunately for Hiccup, he still didn't quite get the concept of 'resting.' In fact, over the past few days, he had become obsessed with making a new design for Toothless' tail fin.

"It'll make him fly smoother, faster, and much better at air acrobats," Hiccup had explained one night at the Edge to Astrid. "And that's good, since we need to up our game with Viggo still out there."

So as soon as the Riders arrived at Berk, it was no surprise that Hiccup's first stop was at the forge. Gobber was already there, hammering away at making a new sword, and he looked up in shock when Hiccup came in with Toothless trailing with him.

"Hey, Gobber," Hiccup greeted, sliding past the towering man. "How are you?"

"Hiccup?" Gobber gaped, lowering his hammer. He wiped off drips of sweat from his forehead, and blinked in confusion. "Shouldn't you be with your father, or with the other riders?"

Smiling, Hiccup patted Toothless on the head, and the dragon gave an approved rumble. "Nah. At least, not yet. I think I'm onto something big with Toothless's tail fin this time."

Gobber made a show of rolling his eyes, and set his stiff shoulders back. "Ah, I see. Working on another something for your dragon, eh?"

"Yep!" Hiccup maneuvered around some of Gobber's other inventions- all useless, but the older Viking didn't have the heart to throw them out-, and he arrived at his old workstation. Seeing it made Hiccup feel a lonely pang in the chest. He hadn't been here in years, and yet everything still looked the same.

There were old sketches of Toothless's tail fin hanging on the wall, each detail carefully marked into the parchment with such concentration. Even old crumples of paper Hiccup had forgotten to get rid of were still there. It was like he had never left. Touched that Gobber hadn't moved anything since his last visit, Hiccup smiled to himself.

"So," Gobber drawled, beginning to hammer again. He raised his voice over the steady pounding, "What are you up to this time, Hiccup? Just another tweak to the bending rod?"

Hiccup brushed aside some of his old papers, replacing them with a few news ones he was holding. "Not this time, Gobber," he announced, biting his lip as the inventive wheels in his mind started to turn. "I'm working on a completely new prototype for the tail. Toothless will fly much better and faster than before."

"Sounds interestin'," Gobber chimed, pounding with his hammer on the large sword that laid below him. "Does your father know about you staying here at the forge today? He did invite you back to Berk, after all, so I'd imagine he misses you."

Hiccup grimaced. "Y-yeah, of course I told him!" he lied, distracting himself by studying his papers a bit too much. "He's totally fine with it… oh, and Gobber, is it okay if I stay overnight here? I'm afraid I'll lose my ideas if I go to sleep…"

Toothless grumbled, swishing his tail around with anxiety. It was almost as if he was telling Hiccup he was going too far, and he wanted him to stop. Gobber even paused in the swinging of his hammer to send a pointed look at the boy. "Overnight? Hiccup, do you remember the last time you stayed overnight at the forge?"

Sighing, Hiccup looked up from his papers, not yet wanting to face the man. It was true- the last time Hiccup had stayed at the forge hadn't ended well. He had fallen asleep right where the still-burning furnace was, and if it wasn't for Toothless's quick thinking, Hiccup could have rolled right into the fire.

"It's not going to be like that, Gobber," Hiccup promised, waving him off. "I made sure to get plenty of rest at the Edge before I came here. Now, I'm rested up and ready to go." Another lie. He hadn't rested at all recently, what with Viggo's frequent attacks on wild dragons or the Edge itself.

Hiccup yearned for a good night's rest in his old home, but he felt that if he did, his inspiration would vanish. "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few," his father had told him a few months back. If Hiccup completed Toothless's tail design, he'd get even more ahead of Viggo than he currently was. But if he slept, that'd ruin the whole purpose of Stoick's beliefs. And he hated disappointing his father.

"Eh, just don't over-do it," Gobber sighed, returning to hammer the sword on the table beneath him.

Hiccup smiled nervously, turning around. "Sure. Great! I'll get started." He looked over at Toothless with a hopeful glance. "See, bud? You'll fly much better in no time. All it'll take is a couple days work, and then you and me can-"

"A couple days?" Gobber interrupted, his eyes widening. "Hiccup, you just said through tonight!"

"Well…" Hiccup struggled to find an excuse, but nothing really came to mind. "I'll work on the tail fin for as long as I need to. All right?" He rolled up his sleeves- he had taken his armor off before coming inside, knowing that it'd just get in the way while he was working- and rubbed his hands together.

"Now, to begin."

The rest of the day went by in a blur for Hiccup. It had taken only a short while to get Toothless's tail measurements, and just a bit longer to locate the pieces of metal he needed.

Unfortunately, the task deemed itself to be harder than he had thought it'd be. First of all, Hiccup just couldn't seem to get the piece of metal for Toothless's fin to bend right. Of course, it was a tail fin, and it wasn't exactly supposed to bend that much, but he wanted to master those tight turns that Toothless couldn't yet make.

And then there was Gobber. Halfway through Hiccup's forgery, he had started to sing catchy but monotonous viking songs, and every word of them made Hiccup want to flinch. It was too distracting for him to get anything at all done.

Well, I've got my ax and I've got my mace

And I've got my wife with the ugly face

I'm a viking through and tttthhhhrrrrooooouuuuggghhh!

Gobber laughed heartily as he finished the verse. He stopped pounding with his hammer a few seconds later, and inspected the sword he was working on. It was still a dull red from the last time he had dipped it in fire, and with all of Gobber's work, it seemed just as sturdy as Gronkle Iron- and that was saying something.

Hiccup's empty stomach clawed desperately for something to eat all of the sudden, but he ignored it. If he wanted to finish this tailfin by tomorrow afternoon, he could have no breaks.

Hiccup panted as he dipped a piece of metal for Toothless's tail fin into a barrel of water, where it began to steam. It was already burning hot in the working forge, and he was afraid he'd faint if he stayed in this kind of heat for too long.

Gobber began to sing another tune, making Hiccup cringe.

I've blacked a thousand eyes

Of a thousand angry gales

Watch me knock the cockles off

The biggest bluest whales

I've given a walrus nightmares

Who thought that were strong

I've marooned a huge typho-o-on

Off an island off Hong Kong

Gobber's stomach growled, and he laughed patting it. "I'd best be off to supper at the Great Hall," he told Hiccup, placing his sword carefully on the table. He cocked his head, turning to the boy. "You should come, you know. It's not healthy to keep working like this."

Hiccup frowned in disagreement. "No, no, you go ahead. I'm not that hungry, anyway." He prayed to the gods to not look too tired, and Gobber seemed to buy the act.

"Well, all right, but I'm sure your father won't be happy with you skipping meals!" Gobber chuckled as he headed towards the exit of the forge, starting to whistle happily again.

"Yeah, sure… whatever you think…," Hiccup muttered, already getting back to work with Toothless's tail.

It would be a long night.

A few hours passed, and Gobber didn't return. Hiccup assumed the man had retired to his home, which he was grateful for. The boy wasn't certain how much more of Gobber's singing he could take.

Night soon came, and the village fell silent except for the constant shuffling of feet of Hiccup's, and the occasional murmuring of, "Can you light up the fire again, bud?" Hiccup enjoyed the quietness of working with Toothless at his side. The forge had cooled to an almost pleasant temperature, making it seem all the more welcoming.

Hiccup wiped the thick layer of sweat from his brow, taking a quick swig of his water jug to replenish himself. His face was covered with traces of black soot, and his hands were covered in welts and burns. But it seemed to be normal to the boy as he continued working. Before the Berkians had made peace with the dragons, he had spent most of his time in the forge, and had gotten more than his fair share of sleepless nights and calluses. It wasn't out of the ordinary at all.

As Hiccup worked, he didn't notice the tall, stringy figure standing outside, watching him from the open window. The figure- a man- had a long gray beard, a viking helmet pressed against his skull, and a twisted scowl that would scare off any child within a thirty foot radius.

Mildew had returned.

After clearing his throat, the old man walked over to the door of the forge, which was slightly open. He knocked, and waited for an answer.

Inside, Hiccup heard the knock, and he frowned. It was too late for any of the other Riders to come by, and none of the villagers wouldn't have been here either. Was it Gobber? He gulped. Was it his father? Having either of the men there wouldn't be good. They'd chide how he was overworking himself and make him go home. But Hiccup wasn't going home tonight. He planned only to work.

"Come in!" the boy said, dropping the piece of metal he was holding on his area of forgery.

The door opened, and in came…

Mildew?

"Oh, hey, Mildew," Hiccup greeted, very surprised to see the man as he wiped grime off from his face. "I haven't seen you in years! So, what have you been up to lately?"

Mildew rolled his eyes, seeming annoyed with Hiccup's harmless question. "Nothing much, except avoiding the village as usual. Ever since the Dagur fiasco and the Whisperin' Deaths, I haven't been welcome over here. I don't know why, though."

Hiccup crossed his arms with a tired sigh. He still had a buried grudge towards the old man after all these years- and who wouldn't? Mildew had betrayed him and all of Berk countless times, constantly plotting against them. But, like Dagur, he had changed. Hopefully. Hiccup still didn't know what he was up to.

"So…" Hiccup trailed off, unsure of what to say next. "What brings you here this fine night? If you need any weapons, you'll have to talk with Gobber in the morning. I'm just working on a little something special for Toothless tonight, and won't be much help."

He looked over at his dragon who was lying on the floor, his lips curled at the sight of Mildew. Toothless had never liked that human, as he had tried to banish him a few times before for absurd reasons. And he never forgot that his rider being struck by lightning was all Mildew's fault, either.

Mildew looked around, his eyes full of disdain. "Oh, yes. You're still working here, are you?"

"Not really," Hiccup returned, a little irritated with the man's behavior. "I live at Dragons' Edge, remember?"

Cocking his head, Mildew looked lost. "Dragons' Edge?" he repeated. "Is that somewhere else on Berk?"

Hiccup held back an amused chuckle. Mildew must have not been at the village for quite some time to still not know that the heir of Berk wasn't there. "No, it's just somewhere near the edge of the archipelago… anyways, do you need anything? I'm trying to get Toothless's new tailfin done by tomorrow afternoon, and I need all the time I can get to work."

Mildew started to walk forward, glaring deeply at Hiccup. "No, that isn't the reason, boy. I still haven't forgotten what you did to me. You shamed me in front of the whole village, and now I'm practically an outcast from my own people."

Toothless let out a warning growl, getting to his feet. He sensed trouble.

Hiccup let his arms drops to his sides where his hands balled into fists. "If you remember, Mildew, you did try to kill us all that one time. Or two times, was it? Now, please, if you don't need anything, I really need to work on this."

Mildew shook his head, a sneer coming on. "Still the same prideful boy as always, aren't you, Hiccup? Well, I've come here on… let's say… old business." Suddenly, the old man grabbed a bundle of dragon nip grass from his pocket, and shoved it in Toothless's face.

The dragon instantly fell to the floor, groaning with delight.

Hiccup backed away, alarmed. "Mildew, what are you doing?" he asked, eyes widening. His hand went to his side to feel for Inferno, but it wasn't there. He remembered he had taken it off while he was making Toothless's new tailfin, and nearly cursed himself as he looked up at the approaching Mildew. "I don't know what you want, but we can talk about this. Whatever angry feelings you might have towards me, they're not worth giving into. Please."

Smirking, Mildew shook his head. "I don't think so, Hiccup."

With that, he grabbed the boy's left arm with surprising agility, dragged him to the ground, and tossed him to the side-

Right where the flaming fire of the forge was.

Hiccup, yelping, rolled closer and closer to it… and then he fell right on top of the burning embers, where his tunic started to smoke.

At first, Hiccup's eyes only widened in pain, but he miraculously had enough strength to turn his head in Mildew's direction and whisper, "Why…?" Mildew was about to return with a nasty comeback- after all, the boy didn't seem injured as much as he hoped, which meant he could take it-, yet something stopped him.

Because that was when Hiccup started to scream.

He felt that he was burning all over, his back feeling like it was being sliced open by flaming swords… the very flames of hell were eating him alive... no mercy at all for anybody of any status… pain was the only thing that existed… that was truly real...

It was too much to handle. With a gasp, Hiccup clutched at his chest, praying for relief.

And all he knew next was that the blackness had finally come to take him away.

*winks at everyone while posing*

I threw a cliffie idea in the well

Don't demand me, I'll never tell

I read reviews as it fell

And now cliffies are in your way

Trade my cliffies for a dark wish

Characters hurting like this

Everyone's waiting for a Hiccstrid kiss

But Hiccup's hurting all day

Heh, sorry I had to do that:D! But yes: CLIFFIES! *dances about* Did you REALLY expect me to NOT do a cliffhanger? REALLY? *puts hand on hip* Nuh-uh! But next chapter, there won't be one, 'cause it's the last chapter. I told you- it's a two shot!

Anyway, please fave, follow, and review! I'd like to see what you all think so far!:D

Thank you all for reading! Look out for Chapter 2! (which could be up tomorrow, or within a couple days. With my schedule, it's impossible to tell!)

Have a great week!