How to Be a Dragon Star 1

Chapter Twenty-One - The Denouement

Estrella saw none of this happening. She expertly avoided the tail club and swooped triumphantly into the open air, shrieking triumphantly. She had performed a fair amount of loop-de-loops before turning back and not seeing Hiccup.

"Hiccup?" she called in Dragonese. "Toothless?"

With a sense of foreboding, she scanned the area, but flames were everywhere. What if they...

No.

Estrella shook herself. "TOOTHLESS!" she called. "Where are you?"

The smoke was too foggy from above. Estrella dived down through it and saw the outlines of the backs of many vikings. She soared toward them and landed beside Astrid.

Astrid turned to her. "What happened?" she asked. "Where are Hiccup and Toothless?"

Estrella looked at her with fearful eyes. Astrid swallowed.

"They didn't—?"

Stoick came up to them. "Where are they?" he asked urgently. "Where is my son?"

"We need to search the grounds," Astrid told him. "Estrella will search in the air." Estrella took off.

"Hiccup! Toothless!" Astrid hollered, peering through the smog as they entered it. Estrella repeated the calls in Dragonese, and the other vikings echoed them as well.

They had searched for several terrifying minutes before Estrella's keen dragon eyes picked up a lump of black. She screeched and bulleted towards it, horrified.

Estrella landed. "HERE!" she screamed in Dragonese, hoping the vikings would get the message. "I found them— I—" Her sentence lurched to a stop as she realized what she was seeing.

Toothless. The magnificent black dragon lay sideways on the ground, unmoving. His scales were burned and dusty.

Hiccup wasn't there. Estrella's nostrils flared, but she couldn't catch a scent. Humans aren't fireproof!

Estrella nosed Toothless. His wings were curled forward, hugging his body in front of him. "Please," she whispered, and began to cry. "Please, Toothless. Please wake up."

Toothless didn't respond.

Estrella howled, dropping her head and pressing it to Toothless's.

Below her snout, she detected a pulse.

Estrella abruptly fell silent and nosed him again. Yes, he was breathing. Unconscious, battered, injured... but breathing.

She heard a gasp from behind her and turned to see Stoick running toward them, his face stricken. "Oh, no," the chief breathed. "Oh, no."

The other vikings weren't far behind. They formed a silent wall behind Toothless, not coming too close but simply watching, wordlessly mourning.

Astrid pushed through the wall and stopped immediately. Estrella could see the emotions passing through her face. She dropped her gaze and nudged Toothless again.

Yes, he was still breathing.

"Oh, son..." Only Estrella could hear him clearly. Stoick had fallen to his knees and pressed his palms against them, his shoulders sagging. "I did this."

Toothless opened his eyes, but there was no fight left in them. He surveyed Stoick, the watching vikings, and Estrella, who nuzzled him.

Stoick could barely meet Toothless's gaze. "I'm so... I'm so sorry..." he whispered, his eyes wet.

Toothless watched him, his face guarded and tired. Then, the dragon uncurled his wings to reveal what he had been hugging close to his chest.

Hiccup.

Stoick gasped and reached forward, gently pulling the boy out of Toothless's grip. Hiccup's face was very pale and streaked with soot. The edges of his clothes had been burned off. Blood, both crusted and wet, pooled on his battered body.

Estrella tried to detect a scent of life coming from his body, but it was hard to distinguish what she was looking for from the ash that covered everything around them, the blood, the sweat and fear, and the smell of death from the massive dragon that now lay defeated.

Stoick frantically took off his helmet and pressed the side of his head to his son's chest. He held still for a moment or two before lowering Hiccup. Sweet joy shone out of his face like the sun breaking through clouds. "He's alive," Stoick said, louder so everyone could hear. "He's alive!"

The vikings sent up a cheer of relief.

"You brought him back alive," Stoick finished, his voice breaking. He rested a hand on the side of Toothless's head. Toothless dropped his head back to the ground again.

"Thank you," Stoick said sincerely. "Thank you for saving my son."

Gobber appeared from seemingly out of nowhere. "Well, you know," he shrugged, gesturing. "Most of him."

A/N: YAAAAY! Against all the odds, Hiccup, Toothless, Estrella, and everyone else survived the whole ordeal. When I first watched this scene (and, admittedly, all the times I ever watch it), I was so tense. And Gobber is so ominous in this last sentence.

Now, I'll bet you HTTYD fans are all betting that I'll do a big time skip and go straight to the final scene that we all love in the movie.

NOPE!

I'm the author, and these next chapters are what I think could've happened in that big time skip. Right now, the vikings have no ships, supplies, food, drinkable water, and nothing else useful, like tents or means of communication. Everything was burned. So... what can they do now?

You'll have to wait for the next chapter. See you there!

-Pepper9990