Chapter 20:

When we left off, Mortem lost control of his fire breath, and accidentally hit Stormfly and shot her down. Are Astrid and Stormfly okay? Let's find out!

Hiccup steered Toothless in the direction where Stormfly went down. Please, Odin, let Astrid be okay, he said in his thoughts. It didn't take long for them to find the crash site, as the ground was torn up by something skidding against it. Hiccup directed Toothless to land near the torn-up ground.

Mortem was following, his heart heavy with guilt. I didn't mean to hurt anyone, he said in his thoughts, please let them be okay.

When Toothless landed, Hiccup jumped off of his back and began to search for his friend and fiancée. "Astrid! Stormfly! ASTRID!" But there was no sign of his loved one, or her dragon. Hiccup sank to his knees, tears welling up in his eyes. "No...please...please, no." By that time, Mortem had caught up with them and landed next to Toothless. The juvenile Red Death cooed sadly. Mortem and Toothless looked on as the rest of the dragons joined them.

Hiccup didn't try to hold back his tears. The one person that he had truly loved was gone forever. "I'm sorry, Astrid," he said, "I could've done something to help. I didn't want it to end like this. I'm so sorry I let you down." he trailed off, tears falling down his face and onto the hard ground.

He remembered her first flight with him on Toothless, the two of them battling the Red Death together, their first kiss, the winter holiday with dragons that was also the first holiday they had ever truly spent together, the making of the Berk Dragon Academy, meeting Heather, the Thawfest games, and all the rest of the adventures they shared and the battles they fought.

Wait.

There was a noise. And it was coming from in front of Hiccup. He looked up to see a dark shadow coming toward him. As the shadow got closer and closer, he realized that it was Stormfly. The Deadly Nadder was covered in burns, and was limping badly. But she would be okay, as long as she got plenty of rest.

Hiccup couldn't believe his eyes. "Stormfly?" The Nadder crouched down on the ground, and looked behind herself. Hiccup then noticed that there was something on the Nadder's back. And he nearly had a heart attack when he realized what it was. "Astrid!" He got up and ran to the dragon. Astrid didn't move, her body was covered in scratches and burns, draped over Stormfly's back. Stormfly had managed to survive the blast and the fall, but could the same be said for Astrid?

Hiccup took Astrid's body in his arms, desperately looking for any signs of life from her. "Astrid, can you hear me? Please, wake up!" But Astrid didn't move. With tears in his eyes, Hiccup embraced her wounded body. "Please, Astrid," he whispered in her ear. "I don't know what to do without you."

The dragons all watched as Hiccup continued to embrace Astrid, and Mortem was the most depressed. If she was dead, he and Hiccup would never forgive themselves. Mortem thought that it was all his fault. If he hadn't used his fire breath, maybe things would have turned out okay.

As for Hiccup, he didn't know what to do now. He kept waiting for any signs of life from his loved one, and he kept hoping that maybe, maybe she was okay. It was then that he suddenly felt Astrid's arms lifting up to hug him back. Was he imagining things? Just then, he heard her voice. "Hiccup?"

He pulled out of the embrace and saw Astrid's eyes beginning to open. "Astrid?" He couldn't be imagining things, he just couldn't. Astrid smiled when she saw him. Hiccup was overjoyed. She was alive! "Astrid!" He embraced her once again.

Astrid was stunned, but she hugged him back. Hiccup's eyes filled with tears. Tears of happiness. "Astrid I...I thought I lost you," he said, trembling. "I don't know what I would've done without you."

Astrid didn't bother holding back her tears. Who cares if Hiccup saw her crying? She was here, with him, and that was all that mattered.

Realizing that Astrid was okay, Mortem roared triumphantly. The other dragons joined the celebration. The Outcasts had turned back, Berk was safe, and they had all survived the battle.

Starlight walked up next to Toothless. "I guess this means that everything has finally turned out," she said.

"You can definitely say that," Toothless said.

Starlight laughed. "Wouldn't expect anything else from you...Toothless."

It took Toothless a minute to realize that Starlight had called him by his nickname. "Thank you, Starlight," he said, "You're an amazing dragon." He turned to Mortem. "And so are you." Mortem would've blushed if he could.

Starlight shook her head. "Neither of us are as amazing as you," she said to Toothless. She then gave him a dragon kiss, which he gladly returned.

Meanwhile, Astrid and Hiccup were still locked in the embrace. It felt like forever before they finally pulled apart. Hiccup looked up at Stormfly, who was watching them with a mix of tenderness and amusement. "I can't thank you enough," Hiccup said to the dragon, "You saved her."

Hearing this, Astrid suddenly sat up and began to look over herself to see if she had been injured in any way. She sighed with relief when she saw that all of her limbs were intact. Hiccup looked back at her. "Are you okay?"

Astrid smiled and punched his shoulder. "Much better, since you're here," she said.

Hiccup smiled through the pain of what he was sure would be a bruise. "We should probably get back," he said.

Astrid's eyes widened. "Hiccup, isn't today supposed to be our wedding?" she asked.

Hiccup's eyes went as wide as dinner plates. "We should definitely get back," he said. That wasn't a suggestion.

Both Hiccup and Stormfly helped Astrid stand up. Knowing that Astrid and Stormfly were in no condition to fly, Hiccup realized that they had to get to the Great Hall on Toothless, with Stormfly riding on Mortem. Stormfly climbed up onto Mortem's back as Hiccup helped Astrid mount Toothless. Once they were all ready, both Toothless and Mortem took off, heading for the Great Hall.

At that time, Stoick was beginning to wonder what was taking them so long. The wedding was to begin in five minutes, and yet the two of them were nowhere to be seen. "What in Thor's name is taking those two so long?" Stoick said impatiently.

Suddenly, the doors to the Great Hall swung open, and there stood Astrid and Hiccup. Stoick ran over to them. "Where have you two been?!" He nearly yelled. He then noticed Astrid's condition. "What happened?"

"Alvin and the Outcasts happened," Hiccup said as he brushed himself off.

Stoick sighed. "At least you two are okay," he said.

Hiccup nodded. "So can we get on with it?" he asked.

Stoick shook his head. "Hiccup, you really want to do this in the condition that you two are in now?"

Hiccup shrugged. "Well, we've already gotten ourselves on a head start." He gestured to the rings on his and Astrid's fingers.

Stoick sighed. "Alright, go ahead."

The wedding went off without a hitch, even though the couple were wed in their everyday attire rather than formal clothing. They didn't really have time to change before the ceremony. When the time came for the couple to kiss, Hiccup took the initiative. All of the Vikings in the hall cheered. Their cheers filed outside the Great Hall, where the dragons were waiting. Hearing the cheers, the dragons also began their own celebration, roaring with joy at the top of their lungs. None of the other dragons' roars were louder than Mortem's. His roar spread everywhere, all across the island.

The way the wedding turned out may not have been exactly what many of the Vikings had expected, but it was what Astrid and Hiccup had wanted. The newlywed couple couldn't have been happier. But their happiness quickly faded when they realized what they had to do. It was the tradition for the newlywed couple to have witnesses, especially if one of them was the offspring of the chief.

Mortem was the first to notice the two feeling very uncomfortable, and decided that he could try to do something about it.

Hiccup dreaded each step they took up to the newly built house for him and Astrid. The witnesses were behind them, and he was definitely NOT looking forward to what they had to do with them watching. But it was tradition, and there wasn't anything that he could do about it.

When they all finally made it, Hiccup was the first inside. The house wasn't as big as the chief's but it was certainly large enough for both of the humans and their dragons to fit in there. Except for Mortem, that is. They had arranged for him to sleep outside. Astrid soon entered and walked up to her new husband. Hiccup turned to face her. He immediately wished that they weren't there, but again, there was nothing he could do about it.

Just then, there was a low growl, and Mortem walked out of nowhere, and then he lay down and made himself comfortable right in front of the doorway to the house. The witnesses couldn't see a thing past the giant dragonet.

Hiccup looked at where the doorway was blocked. He smiled, and Astrid noticed him. "What?"

Hiccup looked at her. "The witnesses are here," he said, "And they can't see anything. But that's not our fault, is it?" Astrid then smiled and held Hiccup in her arms.

Outside, the witnesses assumed from what they heard that the newlyweds were doing what they were supposed to, but due to the Red Death lying in front of the doorway, they couldn't see anything. Of course, Mortem had planned to lie down in front of the doorway. It was his way of giving the newlyweds the privacy they needed. He could hear everything going on, and he decided not to look, since they needed their privacy.

It felt like hours, but it was really only around twenty minutes or so, when Hiccup called Mortem off. The dragonet moved from his spot, and the witnesses filed in. The newlyweds were lying on the bed, fully clothed. "Should we make them do it again?" one of the witnesses asked.

"I don't think so," said a voice. Everyone turned to see Stoick standing in the middle of the room. "Everything nearly went according to tradition," he said, "Except for the dragon. But, it wasn't necessarily their fault that the dragon got in the way. The witnesses may leave now."

As the witnesses filed out, Stoick muttered to Hiccup, "You're cleaning the sheets. I'm not touching them." Hiccup only smiled as they all left.

As soon as the room was empty, Astrid and Hiccup got off the bed. "Do you think we did the right thing?" Hiccup asked.

Astrid shrugged. "You're the one who went with Mortem lying in front of the doorway," she said.

"And you think that we should've called him off?" Hiccup asked.

Astrid shook her head. "I'm actually glad that we have him for a son," she said, "He's already proven that he is of some use around here."

Hiccup nodded in agreement. Then he sighed happily. "I never would've imagined being here like this," he said, "With you as my wife, and a dragon for a son."

"Of course you wouldn't," Astrid said. Hiccup shrugged. "But I'll admit that I'm sure that things are going to get better around here. Especially with you guys beside me." Astrid's smile widened, and she hugged Hiccup tightly.

Hiccup didn't hesitate to hug her back. Everything was perfect. He was finally with the girl he loved, his best friend had found a mate, and he had finally proven to the entire village that Mortem was a good dragon. He heard Astrid sigh in the embrace. Hiccup started to lean down to kiss her when the moment was interrupted by Toothless, Stormfly, and Starlight, all roaring as they arrived. The three dragons walked inside the house, looking around. Mortem peeked in from the doorway, smiling.

Hiccup and Astrid both laughed. Mortem continued to look in through the doorway, giving them his version of a smile. Hiccup smiled back at his son before turning back to Astrid. "I love you," he said.

Astrid smiled at him. "I love you, too." Then she grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him in for a kiss, which he gladly returned.

Mortem, who was still looking in, now knew that he was right where he belonged. With his family.

Like I said before, life on Berk is never dull. And to think that I would end up having a dragon for a son. But still, Mortem is a part of this village. And he's a part of this family.

Me, I'm finally with the girl I've loved since the day I met her. Toothless has finally found a mate. And I'm sure that Stormfly is happy to be close to her, well, closest friends. And Mortem? He finally has a family.

We're his family. And we always will be.

Well, that's the end of my first story! And I've really enjoyed writing it! You're last reviews will count for these last chapters. And don't worry, there will be a sequel for this, so stay tuned. Review, follow, and/or favorite!