The Berkian ship was nearing Dragon Island as fast as any ship had ever sailed before. Though, to Astrid and the other dragon riders, it seemed like the ship was taking all the time in the world. They feared for Hiccup's life the entire voyage. If Alvin had him – if Alvin the Treacherous had the heir of Berk – then there was no telling just what he was going to do.

Alvin said, while they were on Berk, that he wanted the "Dragon conqueror." It didn't take a genius for them to figure out just who that was. Alvin wanted Hiccup, and Hiccup gave himself up for the other Berkians. Now, though, no one knew what Alvin really wanted him for.

He could have wanted him to train dragons, but now that he knew that the Dragon Conqueror was the heir of Berk, he could have used him for so much more. He could have forced Hiccup to tell him everything he knew about Berk; the best place to attack, the weakest spot of the island, the strongest spot, if there were any secret passageways…

And he could also use him for dragon training.

Astrid and the others hoped that they would make it to Dragon Island before it was too late.

…

Alvin shoved Hiccup off the ship, keeping his sword at the ready should Hiccup try and make a run for it.

"Is the sword really necessary?" Hiccup asked, putting as much anger into his voice as was possible. He was trying not to show the Outcasts how scared he truly was. What if something happened? Something…something bad? What if the Outcasts killed Toothless?

The Outcasts suddenly froze, and then gasped. There was a roar.

Speaking of said Night Fury…

Toothless growled and roared ferociously as the Outcasts tried to approach him, their weapons drawn. Alvin stared at the dragon in shock.

"Is that a…?" he asked partially, unable to finish his thought.

"-Night Fury," Hiccup cut in. "The unholy offspring of lightning and death itself."

As if on cue, the other Outcast soldiers drew their crossbows and aimed them right at Toothless. Hiccup felt a wave of terror wash over him suddenly. No, they couldn't shoot Toothless! He wouldn't allow it!

"Wait, stop!" Hiccup shouted, rushing in front of the Outcasts, his hands outstretched to them. "You'll…just make him angrier." The Outcasts lowered their weapons. Good, Hiccup thought to himself. Here goes nothing. "Watch…and…learn," Hiccup then turned, and approached his dragon.

"By all means!" said Alvin, his voice thick with amusement. As he walked away, Hiccup heard the Outcast leader whisper to his soldiers, "I hope you aren't squeamish. You're about to watch a dragon eat a boy!"

Hiccup couldn't help but wince. He knew Toothless would never hurt him, but just hearing the Outcasts talking about it – the edge to their voice that made it sound as if they were excited about dragons eating human beings – was enough to make him sick.

As he finally got to Toothless, the dragon pounced on the boy. Hiccup smiled as the Outcasts gasped. Toothless then licked Hiccup happily, and Hiccup pushed the dragon away.

"Yeah, I missed you too, bud," he said, his voice a whisper as he got to his feet. "Just…follow my lead." He glanced over his shoulder at the Outcasts. "You cannot defeat me!" he shouted, loud enough for them to hear. While they were gasping – boy, they did that a lot – in shock, Hiccup bent down and grabbed Toothless' saddle.

"I…am the Dragon Conqueror!" Hiccup said as he strapped Toothless' saddle to his back. Alvin noticed, and Hiccup growled under his breath.

"What are you doin' with that dragon?" the Outcast asked.

Hiccup merely mounted Toothless, and clicked his prosthetic into the foot pedal.

"Oh, and by the way," Hiccup said as if it were an afterthought, "it's not really Dragon Conqueror." He paused for dramatic effect. "It's Dragon Trainer!" Toothless then spread his wings, crouched low to the ground, and sprang into the sky.

"Get them!" Alvin shouted.

Hiccup looked back, just as the Outcasts started firing crossbow arrows at them. Toothless dodged all of these with ease, but then the Outcasts threw spears; three at once.

Hiccup's world seemed to go in slow motion. The spears coming straight towards him…a blinding pain in his abdomen...the scream that escaped him…And then they were falling. He and Toothless were falling. He was barely aware of Toothless wrapping his wings around him, before they hit the ground.

…

Astrid heard the scream, and instantly shouted, "Hiccup!" She and the other riders had found their dragons on the other side of Dragon Island. They had mounted them, and were just about to fly off when the scream echoed throughout the island.

"What was that…?" said Snotlout, but by the tone of his voice, he already knew the answer.

"Come on!" Astrid shouted. She was the first one in the air, flying towards the place from where the scream came. The other riders followed her almost instantly without question.

When Astrid got to the sight, she couldn't help but scream a little herself.

"HICCUP!" she shouted. "HICCUP!"

The sight of him made her want to scream even louder. Outcasts threw weapons at her and the other riders, but she ignored them all entirely. The rest of the dragon riders gave her cover as she instructed Stormfly to land next to Hiccup.

She jumped off Stormfly's back even before the dragon hit the ground. Toothless was standing over Hiccup protectively, growling at the Outcasts who tried to approach him and his rider. He let Astrid by, though. He trusted her. Besides, he knew Hiccup was hurt. He knew Hiccup wasn't going to survive if he didn't get help soon.

Astrid figured that Toothless had broken Hiccup's fall, if they fell out of the sky. Hiccup was lying on the ground, his eyes closed, his chest heaving as he gasped for air. His face was almost white, his freckles standing out painfully against his skin.

The worst part, Astrid learned when she looked down.

There was a spear prodding Hiccup's stomach.

"Hiccup…" she whispered as she sank down next to him. She cradled his head in her lap, brushing his hair out of his face as she tried to soothe him. He tossed his head slightly, moaning in pain and gasping for breath. Beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, dampening the edges of his bangs.

Astrid looked at the spear. She couldn't even see the blade part of it anymore; it was buried in Hiccup's skin. It was enough to make her sick, not to mention the amount of blood that stained his shirt, and the ground around him.

The battle around her was a blur. She no longer cared. Stormfly and Toothless were both attacking Outcasts that tried to assail them, and the dragons were winning easily. Astrid hardly even noticed them, though, her focus for Hiccup and Hiccup only.

"Okay, okay, Hiccup, sssshhh," Astrid tried to make him relax as he convulsed in pain, but it obviously wasn't working. "I have to remove the spear, Hiccup. It'll be fine, I promise. I just…" She wrapped her hand around the spear handle, but Hiccup lifted his hand at the same moment she did, placing it on top of hers and weakly pulling it away from the spear.

"If…i-if y-you p-pull it o-out…" he whispered, his eyelids fluttering. Astrid already knew what he meant, though. She wasn't dense, after all. She knew that the minute she pulled the spear out, the wound would bleed even more than it already was. Hiccup would bleed out before they even had a chance at stopping it. But if she left the spear alone, Hiccup would still die. He was losing so much blood as it was.

"You…you can't die," Astrid sobbed. "You can't. I have…I have so much to make up to you for, Hiccup. I have…I have all those years…all those years when I…I neglected you…I need to make it up to you! You can't die before I do that!"

Hiccup's breathing was labored, and now there was a wheeze to it that terrified Astrid. She repositioned him so that he was lying across her lap, his head resting in the crook of her arm. He was shivering and shaking like a leaf in an autumn wind, coughing slightly as he still fought to get enough oxygen into his lungs.

"Hiccup, let me take out the spear!" Astrid pleaded. "I…I can stop the bleeding if I do, but you have to let me try!" She knew it wasn't possible, though, but there was no way she was going to tell that to Hiccup. He needed her to be strong for him.

Hiccup coughed harshly. Astrid pressed her hand to the side of his head, shushing him gently.

"It's okay, easy, sssshhh," she soothed. "I need to take the spear out now, Hiccup, and it'll be okay."

"No…" he moaned quietly. His chest heaved, his breathing sounding as if he had run a marathon and was just now catching his breath. "No…no use, 'strid…"

"I can't let you die, Hiccup!" Astrid snapped. "If you die, I'll…I'll…you'll be in so much trouble, Hiccup! You can't die! I won't let you!"

He smiled weakly, and then instantly began coughing again. Astrid placed her other hand against his forehead, brushing his bangs away from his eyes as his coughing fit finally came to an end.

"Astr…id…" Hiccup gasped. His half-lidded eyes were becoming glazed over and unfocused.

"I'm here, Hiccup," Astrid promised. "I'm here." She knew she couldn't save him, but she was hiding her tears for his sake. He didn't need to see her crying. She wanted to throw her head back and scream, though, in anguish and anger both at the same time; anger towards the Outcasts, and anguish, because she was powerless as it came to life and death.

If Hiccup was going to die (she couldn't bear to think "since" in the place of "if"), then she was going to make sure he knew, at least, that she cared about him. She wanted him to know, indirectly or directly (however it played out in the end) that she really, truly loved him. She was displaying it towards him in just that one moment, holding him and comforting him, telling him over and over that she was there, and that it was alright.

Hiccup's breathing became even more ragged then before, if that was even possible. He wheezed painfully, moaning through clenched teeth and resting his head against Astrid's chest. Astrid continued to hold him in her arms carefully, her chin resting on top of his head, her arms now wrapped around him.

"Breathe, Hiccup," she whispered encouragingly, not that it was going to help in the end. "Just breathe…relax…it's okay. I'm here…just keep breathing…I'm sorry, Hiccup," she whispered, finally allowing her tears to fall. "I'm so, so, so sorry."

"Don't…d-don't be…s-sorry, Astrid," Hiccup said, gulping down a scream. Astrid didn't blame him. He was probably in more pain then he knew how to even express. The entire head of a spear was lodged into his abdomen. She didn't want to imagine the type of pain that came with. "P-promise me y-y-you won't b-blame yours-s-self for this."

"I…I promise, Hiccup," she said. "I promise."

Hiccup smiled at her one last time, until he moaned, going completely limp in her arms. Astrid gasped, tightening her grip around his motionless, lifeless body as she finally allowed herself to cry.

Around her, the Berkians were winning against the Outcasts until finally, they had Alvin and his soldiers on the run back to Outcast Island. Toothless turned around, and then roared in sorrow. The Berkians turned in the direction, and then instantly raced over. Astrid didn't care, though. She ignored them entirely, hiding her river of tears in Hiccup's scalp. She soaked his hair with her tears, but she hardly thought about it.

Hiccup had died in her arms.

She ignored the others as they ran towards them. She ignored Stoick as he whispered his son's name. She ignored Snotlout's question: Is he dead!? She hardly registered how Tuffnut had elbowed Snotlout in the ribs.

Hiccup was dead, the proof of him being so lying in her arms.

If only she had gotten there a little bit sooner.

Maybe, just maybe, Hiccup wouldn't have been killed.

Author's Notes:

Well, two words: I'm sorry. I really didn't mean to destroy you all with this one-shot (if I did destroy you all). By the way, that's all it is: a one-shot. There will not be any more to it now, and there will not be any more to it ever.

I just couldn't help but feel as though it were incredibly convenient that Astrid and the others arrived just in time to blast the spears away from Hiccup and Toothless. So, I couldn't help but wonder what would happen if they hadn't gotten there in time.

Well, I guess that kind of goes without saying, actually.

So, really, I hope you all enjoyed this, although it was really sad. :(

Until next story! I'm going into the forest to scream!

-BeyondTheClouds777