REVELATION

Author's Note: (PLEASE READ) Okay, so not a lot of things make complete sense at first in this one-shot I wrote, but I promise, at the end, everything will come together. Anyways, the amazing author animalsarepeopletoo also helped me on this story, so some of the credit goes to her as well! :D Hope you enjoy!

"What's wrong with him now?" Snotlout asked, eyebrows raised in astonishment as he looked down at the scraggly figure of his cousin lying still in his bed. Even though he didn't care much for Hiccup, the thought of such a lively boy now so silent was unnerving. "He was fine a few days ago."

Stoick resumed his concerned expression. "Gothi doesn't know. He doesn't have Eel Pox or pneumonia, or even a cold—"

"He hasn't been stabbed, kidnapped, or working himself too hard lately, either," added in Fishlegs.

Astrid rubbed the back of her neck, just as worried as the others. "No recent dragons in need, maybe? You know how he always is with adventure."

Toothless rumbled in grief, setting his head down on Hiccup's bedside, eyes full of longing.

"Maybe he ate something bad?" Tuff suggested, his face scrunching up in a deep thinking process. "One time that happened to me, and, oh, believe me guys, it did not end well."

"I would know," Ruffnut cut in hastily from his side. "I had to deal with it for days."

"No." Stoick breathed out in distress as he sat in the chair by his son's bed. "He just... didn't get up yesterday."

All six pairs of eyes watched hopefully as Hiccup moved slightly in bed, his head shifting to the side, but he still didn't wake. Toothless looked even more defeated than before, if that was possible. "May I sit with him a bit, sir?" Astrid asked Stoick, almost pleadingly. "You look like you could use a break."

"Yeah, Chief." Fishlegs took Stoick's arm and coaxed him out of the chair, much like a mother hen would to her chicks. "Let's at least go get something to eat."

"Yes! Food!" Tuffnut cheered, and Ruffnut nodded eagerly.

Stoick rose, and Astrid was quick to slide into the chair before the Chief could have second thoughts. "I'll call you if there's any change," she promised him. "And don't worry- after all, it's Hiccup. He's always all right."

Stoick nodded wordlessly and allowed Fishlegs, Snotlout, and the twins to usher him from the room, and to the stairs. Toothless reluctantly followed the bunch after a quick nudge at Hiccup's foot.

Astrid slid forward in her seat once they were all gone, and brushed a few brown locks of hair from Hiccup's forehead. "What happened to you, Hiccup?" she asked softly. Her rough fingers trailed down his cheek, searching for any traces of fever. His smooth skin was cool, though- almost too cool. She took Hiccup's limp hand between his own, and found it ice cold. She frowned. "Let's see if we can't get you warmed up a bit."

She rose and unfolded the extra quilt from the foot of the bed, then pulled it to Hiccup's chin. She tenderly tucked first one, then the other of Hiccup's arms under the heavy covers, but jerked in surprise when she felt a sudden grip on her wrist. Her breath caught in her throat, but she didn't allow her hopes to soar too high in fear they would be crushed again. "Hiccup?"

Hiccup struggled to lift his eyelids, and Astrid could see he was having trouble focusing on the world around him. "Hey, dragon boy, it's time to wake up," she urged.

"Astrid?" The voice was barely a whisper.

She took a stronger hold on his hand, now feeling protective. "I'm here."

"Where . . ." Hiccup swallowed and tried again. "Where are they?"

"Stoick, Fishlegs, Snotlout, and the twins are downstairs. I'll go get them-"

"No." His head tossed restlessly on the pillow. "Not Dad . . . or the others. Them." His tone grew more urgent. "Where are they?"

"Where's who?" Astrid asked more forcefully, trying to get through to Hiccup's foggy mind. "Who, Hiccup? Who are you looking for? Tell me, and I'll go get them. Whatever you need, I'll do it for you, but you have to tell me, okay?"

Hiccup smiled faintly, his eyelids fluttering. "Knew I could count on you . . . you'd understand. Dad and the rest of the team try, but . . . it just doesn't happen as much for them. Please, Astrid… you have to help me. I'm not sure of how much more of this I can take."

Astrid felt tears prick at her eyes and blinked them back furiously. "Whatever you need, dragon boy," she choked out.

Hiccup took a stronger hold on her hand, and his voice gained strength as he fought to tell Astrid what he needed. "Find them for me, Astrid. They've all disappeared- I don't know why they've left us. Haven't you noticed? No new adventures, no new dragons, no new islands. Just training exercises, endless pranks of the twins, Viggo's useless attacks against Berk and the Edge- and nothing except that ever happens." His voice began to climb and he tried to sit up in bed, energy fueled by sudden determination.

"Hiccup, lie back down," Astrid pleaded as she pushed gently on Hiccup's shoulders. "Come on, please, work with me. You're sick."

"They've deserted us, Astrid," Hiccup managed out, falling back in bed. "You have to find them and make them come back. Please."

Sudden understanding lit Astrid's blue eyes, and she nodded. "All right, Hiccup. I… I think I know what to do now. Just settle down now and rest, and I'll take care of everything, don't worry. It'll all go back to normal soon."

Hiccup searched her face uncertainly, as if wondering if he should believe her.

She stroked the unruly pieces of hair from Hiccup's forehead again as she spoke soothingly. "Don't worry, I'll find them for you. Fearless Astrid Hofferson will take care of it, dragon boy, and you won't have to be troubled by this any more. Just sleep… rest."

Hiccup gradually relaxed and sank back into the pillows. His eyelids drooped, but he managed to ask her one last time, "You'll find them?"

"I'll find them."

"You'll make them come back?"

"I promise. I've missed them, too, you know."

Hiccup opened his eyes again, and a slight grin tugged at his mouth. "So, nothing happened in dragon training today?"

Astrid shook her head, smiling. "Nothing at all. Boring as one of Mildew's useless rants, actually."

Strangely, that seemed to reassure Hiccup more than anything Astrid had said. "All right. You find them, Astrid. You talk them into coming back."

"I will, dragon boy. I will."

She sat there a little longer, making her plans as she waited to be sure that Hiccup fell asleep again. When she was certain her friend was resting peacefully once more, she rose and silently left the room. She wore a thoughtful frown as she descended the small staircase, and only raised an eyebrow at the sight of Hiccup's father and the rest of the gang sitting in the kitchen, enjoying a warm stew, with an anxious Toothless at their side. She didn't join them, to their evident surprise, but headed for front door instead, grabbing her axe.

"Astrid?" Stoick set his bowl of stew down with a clink, rose and walked over to the young woman's side. "You're leaving?"

Astrid nodded as she tightened her hold on the weapon.

"But why?" Fishlegs pressed. "You going to desert Hiccup when he's sick?"

"I'm going to fix what made him sick," Astrid said with a determined grimace. She tested her axe's flexibility, and then smiled, satisfied with its strength.

Hope lit up Stoick's face. "You know what's wrong with him?" he asked hopefully, eyes shining. "You can make him better?"

"Yeah," she said, and when she looked up, they could see the rock-solid determination of a young woman who would protect her friend, no matter the cost. "I'm going to go find them and make them pay attention, make them fix it so this never happens again. I'm sorry, Chief, but you two don't know what it's like. Hiccup just can't take it, not like I can. I can last a while without them, but Hiccup… his heart pulls too hard for adventure. He needs action, new dragons, new things." She gazed at the top of the stairs for a moment, before returning her attention to the Berkian Chief. "I'll be back as soon as I can, sir. Make him hold on while I'm gone."

"But . . . but where are you going?" Stoick spluttered, still very confused.

Astrid paused with her hand on the door latch. "I'll go wherever they are, do whatever it takes to get them back. And when I do find them, they're going to either listen to me or be sorry."

"Get who back?" Snotlout asked, just as bewildered as the others.

"The writers. I don't know where they all went this summer, but they're going to learn they can't ignore us anymore." And she slammed out the door, a woman with a mission.

Tuffnut breathed out a sigh of relief, slumping back into his dining chair. "She will, too, I bet. When Astrid gets that look in her eye..."

"That very same look when we mess up big time," Ruffnut added in thoughtfully. "Well… I sure feel sorry for those writers now." Toothless warbled in agreement.

A weight lifted from Stoick's shoulders, and he managed a smile. "Yes, we can leave it in her hands. I trust her with this." He nodded at the other teams, gesturing to the stairs. "Now, let's go see Hiccup. After all, we've all got a big day ahead of us tomorrow, now don't we?"

The group chimed in with agreement, and started up the stairs to tell their friend the good news.

THE END

(maybe)

Betcha you didn't see that coming, huh? :D Well, now it makes sense. GO AND RE-READ IT IF YOU ARE STILL SLIGHTLY CONFUSED. IT WILL ALL MAKE SENSE THEN. *shoos you off*

Okay, IF you have re-read it again, you may continue on reading this. (Or even if you haven't, whatever.) *clears throat* I've noticed that HTTYD fanfics have been dropping lately. Updates are getting slower, authors are getting less encouraged- so I wrote this. (Also as an apology for my lack of updates for my own stories, lately. Sorry, guys, I've been so busy with camp for the last few weeks, but I'll be back in a boom very soon!) (whatever that means XD)

So, don't get discouraged that RTTE Season 5 isn't coming out until August, or that HTTYD 3 isn't coming out until 2019. Hold on- don't lose your inspiration! Start writing again! Or Astrid will get you, like she got me. ;D

Well, until my next story! Ta-ta, my fellow readers and writers! Hope this one-shot will give you some more courage to hold on! :D And I expect more HTTYD fanfics promptly coming in after this, so think upon that! :P

Stay cool, guys :)

-thepurplewriter333