Ta Da! I know this doesn't make up for the two years I missed out on it, but I hope it's a step in the right direction. I can't promise to update a lot of things right now, but maybe this summer I'll give you guys more stuff!

Chapter 21

The fire settled and soon all that was left was ash. Copious amounts of dust floated into the air before slowly drifting to the ground. The people of Berk shifted slowly from their huddled positions as they checked to make sure that everyone around them was okay. Hiccup was the first to recover from the shock. His head whipped around and he peered into the cloud of smoke as he tried to make sense of the dark shapes he was seeing.

"Astrid!" He called as he rushed forward; only to be held back by his father, "let me go!"

"Hiccup you can't just go running around blind! What if there's another rouge dragon out there?"

The smaller teen slammed his hands against his father's arm, "I don't care about that! Now let me go!"

He wrenched his arm from his father and disappeared into the gray cloud in front of him; all the while ignoring the calls from his father. For a moment Stoic feared that he had lost his son, until he heard a familiar voice screaming at the top of his lungs.

"Astrid! Astrid!"

At that moment Gobber pushed past Stoic before rushing in after the boy. The large man called out to the small teenager; who whipped around and ran to him.

"Gobber! What are you doing here?"

"We're going to find Astrid together Hiccup. I won't lose her too."

For a moment Hiccup was confused, but then he realized that he really shouldn't have been. Gobber had practically raised Astrid after her parents had died. When the world turned its back on her, Hiccup swallowed as he remembered how cruel he had been to her, Gobber had been there for her. Not to mention how Astrid seemed to bring a new light to Gobber's life; the blacksmith never married and as a result never had any children. The blonde Viking was his daughter; just like he was her father.

Hiccup nodded before turning around and calling out for his friend once more.

"Over there Hiccup!"

The red head whipped around to see Gobber pointing at a large black shape in the fog. As he focused more he was able to make out the outline of a Night Fury. Hope bubbled in his chest as he rushed forward with Gobber limping quickly behind him. When they reached Toothless Gobber was the first one to notice the wire that was twisted around the dragon's tail. His eyes swept over the Night Fury and his breath hitched in his throat. Toothless has his wings wrapped around himself, more than likely to absorb damage, but Astrid was nowhere to be found. He looked around; hoping to see her sprawled out on the gravel, but he couldn't see anything or anyone nearby. The large man sunk to his knees in despair as he thought about Astrid.

"No… Not my Astrid." He said in despair as he thought about the years he spent with the intelligent blonde.

The information caught up to Hiccup and his hands flew to his mouth as his legs buckled out from under him. His small hands bundled themselves into fists before they punched the ground in pent up anger and misplaced sorrow. He looked up when Toothless grunted softly and slowly opened his bright green eyes. The dragon blinked once before shifting his tired gaze to the two humans in front of him.

At that moment the fog cleared and a beam of sun fell onto the dragon. Ruffnut growled as she shoved a Viking out of the way as she and the others tried to make their way to the front of the crowd. When they saw Gobber and Hiccup her face fell as she started to expect the worst.

Hiccup took a shaky breath as he chanced a glance at Gobber. The man had a single tear running down his face and the red head was surprised when he felt something hot and wet pour down his cheek. A hand flew to his face and when he pulled it away he was shocked to see that his fingers were now wet with tears. He had been crying… Something he hadn't done since his mother died.

They were silent for a moment and Toothless studied the two humans closely. Gobber was the first one to break the silence.

"Thank you for being her friend dragon." Gobber said slowly, "and for keeping her safe until now."

The teen could only nod his agreement. Toothless gave them a scrutinizing stare before he, ever so slowly, opened his wings. There, nestled safely in his arms, was a bloody, bruised and unconscious Astrid. Gobber's eyes widened as he stared at the girl in shock before quickly scooping her into his arms. He took a moment to just stare at her before pressing his ear to her chest. There was a heartbeat, it was faint, but it was there and he let out a laugh of relief.

"She's alive." He cried out in happiness, "You brought her back alive!"

Toothless gave them a look that said 'did you expect any less?' Hiccup flew to his side as he peered over to gaze at her. The bruises couldn't hide her beauty and Hiccup resisted the urge to kiss her head; so he instead launched his happiness at Toothless. Mindful of his injuries the teen wrapped his arms around the dragons head as he let out a laugh of joy.

"Thank you so much Toothless…" He said just loud enough for Gobber to hear, "For bringing her back to us."

The dragon nudged him affectionately before groaning in sadness. His eyes wandered down to Astrid leg and the two males followed his gaze and both gasped in shock. Astrid's foot was completely torn off. There was nothing left of it and Hiccup winced when he saw how charred her leggings were; an indication that it had been burned off while they were falling. Gobber was the first to recover; he tightened his grip on the blonde before smiling.

"She's alive; that's good enough to me."

Gobber had a little trouble standing with Astrid in his arms so Hiccup took her from him and together they walked back to the others as Toothless limped weakly behind them. As they got closer the twins began to cheer loudly and the other teens and their dragons quickly joined in. The other Vikings, after realizing that the dragons weren't going to eat them, cheered as well and soon they were all chanting Astrid's name.

Hiccup chuckled as he smiled at the blonde beauty in his arms, "Do you hear that? It's all for you Astrid; all of it."

Even though she was unconscious; Hiccup could have sworn he saw her smile.

I know it's really short and I'm super sorry, but its 1:35 in the morning and I'm running on adrenaline and PewDiePie right now.