Omg, I wrote something. It's the end of the world!

Anyways, first HTTYD fic. Inspired by a dream and personal headcanon. Based off a shot in the HTTYD 2 trailer. Hiccstrid. It probably sucks but I haven't written fiction in a while...so yeah.

Warning: Character Death

I do not own HTTYD, Dreamworks does.

Enjoy! Read and review!

The Cost of War

His heart hammered against his sore chest. His ears ringed and his eyesight could not pierce the thick cloud around him. No matter how high in the sky he was, Hiccup could find no trace of her. Bodies, alive and dead, human and dragon, littered the beach in a confusing mass of dots surging every which way. The term needle in a haystack came to mind.

"Astrid!" A cough sliced into his shout as debris still floated in his throat.

The explosion had sent everyone into a delirious frenzy as well as tons of sand and rock into the air. The battle had already started going downhill rapidly for the Hairy Hooligans by then. Not only had Drago's army successfully ensnared any dragon they could with their enormous metal traps but had also introduced some new form of explosives to conquer Berk and the Archipelago.

The dragon riders tried to diffuse as many explosives as they could with as little damage as possible, but with fire breathing dragons, the task proved difficult. The twins and Snotlout already had to fall back while Fishlegs escorted them behind the battle lines. Only Hiccup and Astrid remained, but their luck wore thin.

Hiccup had dabbled into explosives a bit as an inventor but found its power too difficult to control. They found some explosives left abandoned by Drago's men after an assault from Toothless and their instinct was to attack. Hiccup barely realized with horror the ceramic balls were stacked together in a dozen crates before Astrid instructed her Deadly Nadder, Stormfly, to fire.

The fireball that ignited consumed the air around them with the heat of a hundred suns and the force of an earthquake.

They had no time to fly away.

The explosives were filled with shrapnel and Hiccup felt the pieces lodge into his armor, but luckily not pierce his skin due to the thick leather. Toothless did not fare as well and nearly fell from the sky in shock and pain. From what he observed, Hiccup noticed the Night Fury's side seemed slick with open wounds, but the riding gear protected his chest. The dragon shook his head, but proudly continued flying and refused to give in to the mild throbs.

His rider suddenly stiffened. Then twisted and turned in his saddle.

"Astrid?"

The Deadly Nadder and her rider were nowhere to be found. The thick cloud of dust and smoke obscured their view but the familiar beat of wings only came from them. Hiccup urged Toothless forward to where the Viking shield maiden and Stormfly had attacked the enemy's supplies, but found not a trace of blue scales or a red shirt. The young heir of Berk began to feel his breathing accelerate as his stomach twisted. Astrid had to be all right. She always was. She could handle herself, but where in Midgard was she?

A collective uproar below captured his attention. Drago's army broke through the right flank of the Hairy Hooligans and proceeded to storm the iceberg, but not before a masked Valka and her dragon halted their advance with a wall of fire. What caught Hiccup's attention though was a few enemy soldiers veering off to the edge of the battlefield, behind a catapult destroyed in the explosion. Curious about their intentions, Hiccup directed Toothless to follow them and nearly choked when he saw them surround a blur of blue and red.

"Kill 'er."

"G-get…away…"

Astrid, only able to stand on her knees and shaking held her arms out against her assailants. Her axe lied several feet away and no knife to save her. Stormfly lied rigid and still behind her. She made one last feeble stand in the only way she knew how, by glaring death in the face.

"Yer life is mine now." A soldier claimed and raised his sword to strike.

"Not if I have anything to say about it!"

Violet blasts rained on the ground around the soldiers and left them scrambling while momentarily blinded. Toothless' signature shrill soon had them cowering.

"Night Fury!"

The dragon swooped down and picked up one of the soldiers before flinging him yards away. The others took that cue to rush back toward their army as violet blasts erupted from behind them.

"You better run!" Hiccup called as Toothless landed where the soldiers just stood.

The heir of Berk stood tall on his dragon with a smirk, finally glad to take some sort of control over the battle.

A heavy breath broke him from his reverie. Remembering his situation, Hiccup quickly leapt off his saddle and turned toward Astrid, only to find her with Stormfly. The shield maiden wrapped her dragon's head into an embrace and buried her face into the blue scales that started turning a dull grey. Her shoulder pads shook and her body language screamed despair. The Nadder remained motionless.

Hiccup swallowed hard and watched the scene for a moment before forcing himself to walk forward. Even before he got too close, he noticed the red streams trailing down Stormfly's side and onto her white underbelly. Several large shards of shrapnel protruded from her chest and her wings donned huge rips. Hiccup hesitated before placing a hand on the Nadder's underbelly and closed his eyes at the touch. The heat that radiated from the dragon's inner fire had gone cold.

Toothless slowly approached and sniffed his dragon companion before a somber expression spread across his face. Turning to his rider, the Night Fury warbled solemnly and bowed his head. Hiccup clenched and unclenched his fists as he turned once again to Astrid. Her body continued to tremble and he heard the sobs she desperately tried to muffle to maintain her resolve, but resolve be damned. She just lost her connection to her dragon, one of the most precious companions in her whole life.

Carefully, Hiccup placed his hands on her shoulders and pulled her away from Stormfly. Astrid had no energy to fight him and willingly fell into his embrace. The shrapnel embedded into her arm and side barely compared to the agony of loss raging through her nerves to her very core. Her mind became a whirlwind of blame, regret, and sorrow that began to drown her. Yet, she clung to her sanity and stubbornness to show emotion when her hands clung to Hiccup's armor. The tightness of his hold was the only thing keeping her from falling to pieces; his warmth the only thing telling her she was not alone.

"Let's get back to my dad." Hiccup whispered softly in her ear. "We'll come back for her, I promise."

No one understood a dragon rider's bond with his or her dragon more than Hiccup. Astrid refused to leave her dragon dishonored, to rot among the enemy, but Hiccup knew that and he would not allow it either. She felt eternally grateful for that understanding as well as his love.

Sniffling a bit, she pulled back and gave a small nod as she took a deep breath. Calloused fingers wiped away the few tear on her cheeks before grabbing her own and pulling her to Toothless. Yet, she could not help but stare at Stormfly as she climbed onto the saddle, her instincts crying for her to stay. She had no time to consider the feeling before Toothless shot into the air at breakneck speed. Grabbing Hiccup around the waist, she leaned her cheek against his back as another tear slipped unbidden down her face.

The whole way back, they tried to focus on the hands they clasped together and not the terrible costs of war.