Hey, guys! I'm FINALLY back! Sorry, end of the year testing has come up… yuck. Yes, I know, THAT LIKE A WEEK AGO OR SOMETHING, I said, "the next chapter will be up tomorrow!" WELL, I WAS A HYPOCRITE. I'M SORRY.

Anyhoo, I HAVE AN ANNOUNCEMENT:

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT, PLEASE READ: In this chapter, HICCUP WILL BE ALIVE! I repeat, it's going to be a HICCUP!ALIVE chapter! But, it's going to sound at least a SMALL BIT cheesy, but I just wanted to make you guys satisfied with Hiccup still being alive and stuff. Well, enjoy!

Chapter Three: Renewal

Astrid was crying.

Well, that was an understatement. She was full-out sobbing as her heart throbbed in pain. Hiccup was gone, and he was never coming back. No matter how hard to yearned to see his face again, no matter how much she wished to share another moment with him, she knew, deep down, that Hiccup wasn't going to return.

Ever.

That only made her weep harder.

After a minute more of her breakdown, Astrid looked back up at the sea, where Hiccup's pyre still flamed. It felt a little comforting to know that he was still there; he wasn't lost to her forever yet.

"I-I'm sorry, Hiccup," she croaked. "I wished I-I could have s-saved you… oh, gods... I should have done m-more… maybe if w-we were a few seconds e-earlier…" She trailed off. It was useless talking about what she could have done. There was no going back now to fix her mistakes. She would have to continue living on without Hiccup, no matter how difficult it was.

Suddenly, her eyes were drawn back to Hiccup's pyre. It was sinking now, down into the blue sea. Astrid felt a few tiny raindrops splatter across her cheeks as the rain clouds broke loose, but she barely noticed because something else caught her attention.

On the pyre, though it was supposed to be vacant aboard except for Hiccup and some of his belongings, she swore she saw something moving.

Astrid cocked her head. No, that was impossible…

It couldn't possibly be… no… it couldn't...

The pyre's flames were finally doused as it sunk down into the water, leaving just flickering embers scattered about. Astrid frowned, and bit her lip when she saw something move again on the boat. What is that? she wondered.

Astrid stood up from her place on the ground, rubbing her puffy eyes to see clearer. The pyre was nearly submerged by water, and she could still make out the blanket which covered Hiccup's body.

And that was the thing that was moving.

"Hiccup?" Astrid gasped. But how…? How could he be alive? It had to be her imagination, or the wind. Hiccup was gone for good… Astrid hadn't felt a heartbeat when she pressed her ear against his chest... It wasn't just improbable that he was alive- it was impossible.

The boat at last went under, causing hundreds of tiny bubbles to ripple across the surface. For a moment, nothing happened. Some more rain drops fell, the sky remained dark, and the empty feeling that was in the air earlier was still there.

But then something jumped out of the water.

Wait. No. It wasn't a something. It was a someone.

Hiccup.

"Hiccup!" Astrid screamed, unable to hold it back. Even as far away as the pyre was, she could still see his shivering form sticking out the water. She almost fainted from surprise and relief at the sight, but soon regained her senses.

Hiccup… he was alive.

He was back.

He had returned.

But he also was sinking.

Astrid gasped in alarm. Hiccup must be too weak to float on his own, she realized, starting to run down the hill to get to Berk's docks. I have to save him. I won't let him down this time. Not ever again. She frowned, getting closer to reaching the bottom of the hill where the docks were. Hiccup… how are you alive?

When Astrid reached the docks, she saw that almost all the village was there there, gazing sadly in the direction of their fallen warrior. They all cared deeply for Hiccup, and were devastated to see him go. Astrid hardly noticed, though, as she jumped past them and stopped next to Stoick.

"I need a boat," she panted. "H-Hiccup, h-he's…"

Stoick looked confused, and the tears in his eyes shimmered. "You need a boat, lass? Why?"

I don't have the time for this, Astrid thought to herself, irritated. It was now or never to save Hiccup. So, with her decision settled, the girl leapt into the swirling seawater and started to swim towards her friend- well, maybe a little more than that, she had to admit to herself.

Each stroke she took was another step to Hiccup. Another step to her friend. Another step to a happy ending.

Astrid swam and swam as the rain began to fall harder on her. The sea was a cool gray, and the waves were picking up. Ordinarily, she would have been worried to be in the water at such a dangerous time, but she didn't think about all of that now. All she knew was that Hiccup was alive and he was in danger.

But now, she finally had the chance to save him.

"I'm coming, Hiccup," she coughed, sputtering as salt water entered her lungs. "I-I'm coming for you…" Her arms burned from the exertion of swimming, and she started to pant. No… I can't… give up… Hiccup needs… me…

Finally, after a seemingly unending swim to Hiccup, Astrid reached the spot where she had last seen the boy. She could faintly see his head bobbing in and out of the water as he struggled to stay afloat.

"I'm coming, Hiccup!" she yelled. The wind picked up, drowning her words, but Astrid didn't give up. She swam the last few strokes until she reached Hiccup, and clutched onto him for dear life. Hiccup was shivering all over, and he looked both dazed and fearful with the weather roaring around him.

"A-Astrid?" he muttered, his body trembling. "H-how a-a-are you h-here? Why…?"

Feeling her heart break, Astrid held him closer. "I should be asking you that question, you know. We thought you were dead!" She paused, the memories painful to recall from earlier that day. "After we pulled you out from your diving bell, you were unconscious, a-and… I didn't feel your heartbeat."

Hiccup coughed, wincing, and Astrid noticed a few burn marks on his cheeks. She felt concerned. The flames from the pyre must have grazed him. "I-I-I honestly d-don't know h-h-how," the boy said. "I-I remember b-being underwater w-with Toothless, w-when…" His eyes shot wide open. "T-Toothless! Is h-he okay?"

Astrid let out a half crazed laugh. "Hiccup, Toothless is fine. You're the one who was presumed dead- and still are… I just don't understand how you're back. But, I'm not complaining." And, just for the sake of it, she kissed him on the cheek, much to his surprise. "I'm never letting you go anywhere alone for the rest of your life, dragon boy. You and me will have to do everything together for now on, got it? You and me, me and you."

Hiccup raised a brow. "D-do I h-h-have to a-answer t-that?"

"Oh, nevermind. Now, our main problem is getting back to Berk." Astrid sighed, her legs rapidly kicking underwater. It took a lot of her effort to hold up Hiccup as well as herself. "We're too far away to swim back, and the weather is worsening."

"Hmm, I didn't notice," Hiccup said thoughtfully. "The rain is really hard to feel."

Astrid rolled her eyes, but was secretly relieved for him to have his regular sarcasm back. "Okay, okay… so, what do you suggest we do?" When Hiccup didn't answer, she looked down at him. "Hiccup?"

The boy's eyes were narrowed in thought. "Astrid, I might know why you thought I was dead," he started, glancing up at her.

"What? How...?"

"You said you tried to feel for my heartbeat," Hiccup remembered. "So, how'd you do that?"

Groaning, Astrid thought that his motives were unimportant. They were stuck in the ocean while a dangerous storm was going on, for Thor's sake. They could worry about Hiccup's past survival later. "Well, I listened for your heartbeat on your chest," she said, annoyed. "And there wasn't one."

"Did you take my armor off?" Hiccup asked. "It's pretty thick, and you wouldn't have been able to hear my heartbeat, even if there was one there."

Astrid sucked in a breath. "I didn't check."

"And you didn't feel for my pulse?" Hiccup questioned.

"It was all kind of rushed, Hiccup!" Astrid protested. "We all thought you were dead! We were too upset to… to think of anything else. You should have seen your father's face when we brought you back to him. He wouldn't let anyone touch you as he put you on your pyre and gathered up some of your belongings. I-it wasn't a very nice feeling…"

"Gothi d-d-didn't check me o-out either?" Hiccup stuttered.

"Well, as I said before, Stoick wouldn't let anyone touch you," Astrid said. "He also felt for your heart beat, just to be sure, but there was none. Besides, your chest wasn't moving! How were we supposed to know?"

"A-Astrid!" Hiccup groaned. "My chest b-b-barely moves w-when I'm alive! I-I'm not the s-strongest breather, y-you know."

Astrid nearly smacked her forehead in realization, but in order to do that she'd have to let go of Hiccup, and that was one thing she would never, ever do again. "I'm sorry, Hiccup," she apologized, drawing him in closer. "This never would have happened if we just felt for your pulse or really paid attention… and now we're stuck out here, and we can't get back to Berk in this storm… I'm so sorry…"

Hiccup held back a fit of shivering, not wanting to worry Astrid any more than she already was. "I-I'm fine," he assured her. "W-we can swim b-back. I-I can make i-it."

Giving him a dubious look, Astrid shook her head. "Hiccup, you nearly died from drowning earlier today, you got burned from your funeral pyre, you're shaking all over, and now we're in the ocean during a storm. It's highly doubtful that you'd be able to swim by yourself."

"W-watch me," Hiccup smiled, and pulled out of Astrid's strong grip. He began to paddle away, but suddenly he felt too heavy. His prosthetic made him begin to sink, and his arms felt like lead as he tried to swim.

"Hiccup!" yelped Astrid as the boy started to go under. She swam over and grabbed his chest, holding him above the surface. "Don't ever do anything like that again! You could have-"

Suddenly, she was interrupted by something- well, someone. It was the shout of a viking. And then she could make out something big coming towards them through the drenching rain.

Getting closer… closer… until it reached them.

"Dad!" Hiccup yelled, seeing his father on the approaching ship. He had never been more relieved to see his father in his whole life. Astrid patted Hiccup back, trying to calm him down. She couldn't have him going off and drowning again, now could she?

At that moment, Stoick's grim face morphed into a shocked one; his furry eyebrows shot up in surprise, and his mouth gaped open. "S-son?" he gasped, unable to believe it. "B-but you… you were dead, and…"

"He's not dead yet, Stoick," Astrid interrupted, slowly swimming her and the boy over to Stoick's small ship. She saw that it was full of other vikings, each of their faces full of hope and joy at the sight of them. "He wouldn't do that to us."

When they reached the boat, Stoick grabbed Hiccup from Astrid and placed him on the deck, being ever so gentle as if his son would shatter at any moment. Snotlout offered a hand to Astrid, and he pulled her out of the water. Astrid murmured a quick thanks before returning her attention to Hiccup, who was coughing out water and shaking.

Stoick helped Hiccup sit up, and rubbed his back. "There you go, son. Let it all out."

"I-I'm fine," Hiccup croaked, letting out another weak cough. "I-is everyone else-?"

"Hiccup, everyone's fine," Astrid interrupted, amused with his concern. "It's you we're all worried about. You almost drowned two times today!"

"Suppose I have a chance to make it one more?" Hiccup offered jokingly.

He received a whack in the arm.

"Ow!" Hiccup grunted, rubbing his shoulder. "What was that for?"

"That was for making me believe you died," the girl returned, pushing a wet lock of hair behind her ear. Then she leaned in and kissed Hiccup on the mouth. She pulled away a moment later, blushing. "And that's for being alive, dragon boy."

Hiccup smiled. "Thank you, milady."

Toothless suddenly hopped over, surprising Astrid. She hadn't even realized he was on deck. The dragon licked at Hiccup's cheek, elated with his rider being alive. "Heh, I'm happy to see you too, bud," Hiccup laughed, rubbing Toothless's head. "I'm sorry for scaring you."

"You're not the only one who was scared. I was terrified," Stoick grumbled, crossing his arms. "Son… we all thought you were dead. Now, how is it that you are alive?"

Hiccup and Astrid exchanged a knowing look, and both rolled their eyes before Hiccup began the story. "Well," he said, scratching the back of his neck. "Surprisingly, it was all Astrid's fault that-"

Astrid punched him again. "Hey!"

Chuckling, Hiccup shrugged. "Just make sure that someone's dead before you send them off on a funeral pyre."

Stoick's eyebrows shot up. "What… what's that supposed to mean, Hiccup?"

"Stoick," Astrid laughed, placing a hand on his arm, "you really do have a lot to learn."

YAAAAAY!

Oh! And sorry that the explanation might seem a little flimsy that he was alive. I mean, of COURSE they would check his pulse! But in here, let's just say they didn't. :) All right, at last we have reached the END OF THE STORY! Hope ya liked it (even though it obviously shed some tears…) Happy reading!

See you at the next story!

-thepurplewriter333