So, yes: HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO MEEEEEE, whoop de doo – and, in celebration, here's another fic for you all! Hoping you enjoy it.

In case of confusion, it's set shortly after the RTTE S6 finale, after all the riders go back home to Berk. I figured that the danger wasn't over yet… at least, not while I had a chance to change it. *cracks knuckles* You're welcome, Hiccup.

"Ugh, it's so hot out here, I feel like I could melt."

"Stop whining, Snotlout. It's not that bad."

"Says you."

"And what? My opinion isn't as good as yours?"

"I'm just saying, maybe you aren't as reliable as the other riders are," Snotlout explained, flexing his arms to release the stiffness in them. He eyed Astrid. "Besides, aren't you all-extremes all the time? You shouldn't be comparing people in the first place, it's not fair."

"Not fair? You were the one moaning and groaning in the first place…"

"Yeah, well, at least I'm not a girl!"

Hiccup closed his eyes at the bickering and did his best not to tear his hair out. The heat wave that had just settled over Berk was getting the best out of all their tempers, especially Snotlout's and Astrid's. He'd done his best to make sure the others were spending their time in the shade to avoid further arguments, but it seemed that some feuds just couldn't be avoided.

A headache pulsed against his skull as he opened his eyes again, and he sighed. He couldn't listen to this anymore, having heard more than his share of fighting these past few days. With a grunt, he pushed himself up from the Great Hall table. "I'm going out with Toothless," he announced. "We'll... we'll scout the perimeter for any Dragon Hunter ships that still might be around."

Nice excuse, Hiccup. What a way to lie to your friends.

Astrid blinked, looking confused. "Hiccup, why would you want to go out in this heat?" She gestured to the open door behind them, where the sun's powerful rays burned down from the sky. "No, no, you should stay here. Stoick doesn't want us going out, anyways."

Hiccup sighed, the urge to escape growing even stronger now. "I'll be fine. I'll only be gone for a few hours, at most. I-I just need some time to myself." He motioned for Toothless to follow him as he started for the Great Hall's exit, but the sight of his dragon curled up asleep under the table stopped him. The heat was affecting them all in different ways and, for dragons, it was sleepiness. It was rare not to find a dragon asleep this time of day.

"Oh, well. It's for the best," Fishlegs offered, fanning himself slightly as he looked up at Hiccup. "It's way too hot out there to go scouting."

Hiccup was already beginning to feel a little cranky, but this seemed to only double his efforts to get away. "No. I'll walk. I could use the exercise, and I haven't seen Berk on foot in years. This'll be good."

Concern flickered across Astrid's face. "Are you sure? It's a long walk to the beach and back."

"I'm sure, milady. Be back soon." With that, Hiccup turned away and made his way out the Great Hall's doors. It was only a moment before he was feeling the blistering heat of the mid-day sun, scalding his skin in mere seconds. His throat almost immediately turned dry and his thirst for water increased, but he only shook his head.

He was a Viking. He could handle a little extra warmth if need be.

As he walked, the sun almost seemed to grow bigger in the blue sky, its shimmering rays shining down on everything around him. The walk down the Great Hall's steps hadn't seemed long before, but now the distance itself was almost daunting. By the time he reached the bottom, he found himself out of breath.

"Why didn't I bring water?" he whispered, now finding it incredibly foolish he hadn't thought to do so before.

But looking up at the long way back to the Great Hall, he figured it wasn't worth it. Besides, the others would only laugh at him and he wasn't in the mood to deal with their usual antics today. It'd be a quick walk to the beach and back, he reasoned, and then he'd be ready to face them again.

And so began his long, hot treck to the warm waters of the sea, where he was almost beginning to stumble as he neared the shoreline. The sun soaked up whatever energy he had before, and he wondered when he'd be drained completely.

Doubt started to fill his mind. Maybe he should stop, turn back before it was too late. It really was getting hot and he didn't want to be out much longer.

But still, as usual... Hiccup kept walking.

"That's the third one down today," Stoick sighed, looking down at the poor Viking lad who lay feverish on Gothi's bed, a wet towel laid over his brow. "This heat is taking out our numbers quicker than a battle would."

"Aye, it's a nasty one this time," Gobber agreed, swathing another patient's forehead with water. "We best tell everyone else to stay inside until it cools off a bit. Wouldn't want anyone out in this heat- they'd be down and out before they knew it."

Gothi nodded her agreement, and Stoick cringed. Another long walk to the Great Hall in this heat- something he didn't look forward to. He straightened slightly before he made his way over to the door, calling, "I'll make an announcement in the meantime. Come let me know if these three get any worse." Shaking his head, Stoick opened the door, and as he stepped into the heat outdoors he found it on the other side of bearable.

Wouldn't want anyone out in this heat- they'd be down and out before they knew it, Gobber's words echoed in his mind. He grimaced. "Youth these days. They think they're invincible."

As he walked towards the village, it never occurred to him once that Hiccup might so happen to fall into that group.

This wasn't hot anymore, Hiccup thought to himself as his legs trembled to keep him standing upright. This was scalding.

Every particle in the air shimmered with heat, encasing him in a bubble of fire that he couldn't escape. His clothes were soaked with sweat and smelled of salt, but he welcomed the wetness, for it was the only thing that kept his skin from burning to a crisp.

The short walk to the beach had become endless miles. He almost forgot why he'd even come there in the first place as he looked. Dragon Hunter ships? Why would there be Dragon Hunter ships? he asked himself. As hard as he tried to concentrate, the answer wouldn't come to him. His mind was swimming and everything was moving around him, making his stomach lurch. He just wanted to go back home.

His eyes returned to the sea, and he blinked slowly as he scanned for ships. No, there were none that he could see, and no dragons approaching him, either. The beach was vacant, and he didn't think Dragon Hunters would try any sneak attacks in this heat. If there were Dragon Hunters at all, he reminded himself. Something told him that it wasn't real.

"Time to head back?" he murmured, trying to think if there was another reason he had come. But all he could think about was how much he shouldn't be here, and he needed to find someplace to rest as soon as possible.

Looking down at his skin, he saw that it was a blistering red and dry. Sweat had stopped leaking out and found that it was becoming harder to find his breath. The small headache he'd had earlier was now magnified even greater and was growing by the minute. Vaguely, he wondered if there was something wrong before shaking his head.

Focus, Hiccup. Get back to the Great Hall and then you can have something to drink- that'll make you feel better. It's less than a mile away, you can do it.

"Can I?" he asked aloud. It certainly didn't feel like it. All he felt like doing was rolling over and passing out, where the blissfulness of unconsciousness awaited him. "No. I need to get to the Great Hall," he whispered, and closed his eyes as he turned to trudge his way back home.

He didn't realize he was only travelling across the beach, instead of away from it.

"So stay indoors!" Stoick boomed, holding up a warning hand as he looked around. "We've got three men down from the heat today and we don't want it to get any worse. Take a day off and relax- this will all be over soon, I promise you! That's all."

His speech ended, Stoick stepped down from where he stood and turned back to the other riders, smiling. At least they weren't running off into this heat. "It's a relief to have you all back," he said sincerely. "For a time, I wondered if Hiccup would ever come home. He liked the Edge well enough."

Fishlegs squirmed in his seat. "Yeah. About Hiccup. He… he, well…"

"Ooh, is this the three guesses game?" Tuffnut asked eagerly. "I call next!"

"No fair," Ruffnut protested, "I didn't even know we were playing."

The twin's bickering was silenced when Stoick shot them a glare. His attention returned to Fishlegs. "What about Hiccup? He's only been back for a week now. I'm not sure he could've found himself trouble already…" But as he trailed off, he realized that Hiccup was clearly not there with the rest of them. Looking around, it seemed that everyone but Hiccup was there. Even Toothless.

"Chief," Astrid said hesitantly. "How bad is this... heat sickness you were talking about?"

Stoick darkened. "It's bad, lass. Nothing to be played around with, I'll tell you that. Like Gobber said earlier: no one would want to be out in this heat- they'd be down before they knew it."

At this, the riders seemed to pale and shrink back into their seats.

Stoick looked concerned. "What is it?" he demanded. "What does it have to do with Hiccup?"

"Nothing. Yet," Snotlout added. Even he was growing worried for his cousin, who had been gone for longer than he should've. "He left a little over an hour ago for the beach, saying something about checking for Dragon Hunters. Of course, there's not going to be any, but he left anyway."

"Said he needed some time to himself," Fishlegs offered.

Stoick's head swerved around as if searching for his son again, before he realized he was still not there. He ran a panicked hand through his hair.

Astrid suddenly jumped up from the table, blood draining from her face as she gasped. "Oh, my gods. He's been out there for all that time, and we didn't even look for him. He doesn't have water, either. Gods. What if he's hurt?"

The rest of the riders seemed to grow alarmed and stood as well.

"Someone go fetch Gothi," Stoick demanded, already rushing towards the Great Hall door without pausing. "We need to find Hiccup- now."

Hiccup stumbled for the umpteenth time in the sand before catching himself again, panting and wishing for something to slake his extreme thirst.

Everything appeared to be glowing or shining around him, a sign he did not like. Things that hadn't stood out before now did. His thoughts were slow and sluggish, but he did his best to keep moving forward. Even after all the times he stumbled or fell, because he knew he needed to get back home. If he could just get there, everything would be alright.

Suddenly, the sound of someone shouting his name broke his thoughts. Looking up, he saw a group of figures huddled together on a small hill nearby before they all started running in his direction. Hiccup blinked, trying to make out who they were but couldn't see well enough to do so.

As they neared, the world around him started to darken and Hiccup wondered if this was just another one of his illusions or if it was real. Hesitantly, he tried to take another step forward, but it seemed like his body was at its strength's end.

His legs buckled beneath him and before he knew it, he was falling headfirst into the sand.

"Hiccup!" Stoick cried out as he watched his son stumble, before he lost all footing completely and tumbled down into the sand. After a horrible moment, he realized that he still wasn't moving.

"No!" Astrid yelled, and almost seemed to double her speed as she raced towards her betrothed. She could barely feel the heat against her skin anymore. All that mattered was Hiccup, and making sure he would be alright.

He had to be.

Sliding down next to the unconscious boy in the sand, Astrid urgently felt for a pulse in his neck. It was light, but it was fast; maybe too fast. He was almost paler than the sand he'd crumpled upon, and as her fingers brushed across his sunburned skin, she noticed that it felt dry, like wrinkled paper. That wasn't good.

Panicking, she could only watch as Stoick and the others reached her, all red-faced and puffing from their run there.

"Is he alright?" Snotlout panted out, hands clutching his knees.

Astrid shook her head, eyes burning. "Of course he's not alright! He just collapsed!"

Stoick wasted no time before he took Hiccup from her arms and laid him down in his own lap, patting the boy's cheeks as he tried to get him to wake. Hiccup moaned, but otherwise didn't stir. The chief looked at the riders and their dragons and sucked in a breath. "He's burning up. Let's get him to Gothi's, quickly." Scooping up his son like a limp rag doll in his arms, Stoick began to race towards the village, leaving a trail of panic in his wake.

They'd rescued Hiccup, but at a terrible cost. Now, Gothi might not even be able to fix the condition he was in.

"I don't know. The ice might not be enough, Stoick… his fever's high and still climbing."

"Then get more cold rags. Anything. I'm not losing him to this heat!"

Gothi's hut bustled with activity as people rushed to Hiccup's aid, pressing ice against his sides and bathing his forehead with cold water. Even Toothless licked his rider's hand, unable to do anything else. Throughout it all, Hiccup didn't make a sound, the fever raging in his skin too strong to fight against.

Maybe that was the part that worried everyone the most.

"Will it be enough?" Astrid demanded, following Gothi around as she tended one patient to the next. When the old woman still didn't answer, Astrid grew only angrier and more concerned. "Will he even survive?"

But still, Gothi didn't turn to her, keeping her eyes low and head lower as she busied herself on treating the others.

Astrid looked over at Hiccup, feeling powerless against the way things had become. They were just supposed to be sitting back and relaxing in the bright warmth of summer, their only worries about battling a heat wave that was a little worse than usual.

But now, they were battling so much more.

*Sorry for any error in medical facts about heatstroke. I researched the best that I could, but the web can only get you so far, haha.

Part Two will be up soon (though it was originally supposed to be one part, but it got too long), so hang tight until then! Thanks so much for reading. :) Please fave, follow, and review for what you'd like to see next chapter!