Sorry if this is short… I'm not sure… *sniffs* I'm not sure if there's going to be a lot to say about our protagonist, Hiccup Haddock.

*bows head* Enjoy.

Chapter One: Breathe

Hiccup looked over at Toothless from inside of his diving bell, feeling the cold ocean water rise up to his chest. He smiled at his dragon, holding onto the glass. Only seconds ago he had told Toothless to leave, save himself, but of course, the dragon refused. Even though Hiccup didn't want Toothless there with him at the bottom of the sea, he couldn't help but feel some kind of relief from his presence.

Smiling, Hiccup sucked in a breath. "I know, bud. I wouldn't leave you either."

Toothless gazed sadly at his rider, his neon green eyes filled with regret. He wouldn't leave his rider for anything in the world. Hiccup smiled, cocking his head. It was nice to know that when he died, he'd still have Toothless there to watch over him.

As the water went over his head, the boy was prepared to close his eyes and let fate take its course. Then, suddenly, something startled him to alertness.

There was something coming up to the diving bell… something big…

...and it was headed straight for Toothless.

Hiccup's eyes widened when he realized just what the thing was. It was the Submaripper dragon- probably coming to kill them. "Toothless, look out!" Hiccup shouted, forgetting about the water. He quickly learned that it was a big mistake to do so, and moments later….

He couldn't breathe.

Toothless shrieked and blew a plasma blast at the sea dragon. Unfortunately, it didn't even seem to faze it, and the Submaripper only swam faster on his course to meet them. Toothless swam out of the way right before the Submaripper crashed into the diving bell, and it began to swim to the surface with the contraption in its teeth. Hiccup's lungs were bursting, and he found blackness cover his eyes…

Slowly…

Slowly...

Until he passed out.

Toothless paddled after his rider, too frightened for Hiccup's life than his own. The Submaripper swam upwards until it broke the surface, and then it leaped up out of the water, hovering over the Dragon Riders' ship. Everyone on board was filled with horror when they saw what the dragon had in his mouth: Hiccup's capsule.

With a groan, the Submaripper dropped the device onto the deck of the ship, and dived back into the water, seeming as it were never there in the first place. Toothless soon jumped out of the water as well and clawed himself up on board. But the Riders were too distracted to see how Toothless was doing…

Because Hiccup was inside the diving bell, and he was unconscious.

Or worse.

"We need to get him out of there!" Astrid yelped, looking at Hiccup through the glass. Gods, he looked so pale… what had happened down there?

"How? It's dragon-proof," Fishlegs reminded, eyeing the diving bell nervously.

"We got this!" Tuffnut said, and he and Ruff stuffed a metal rod in the capsule's frame. "Barf! Belch!" The two-headed dragon twisted its heads in order to press down on the metal rod, and it resulted in removing one of the diving bell's legs, which cleared a passageway to get Hiccup.

"Now pull him out," Fishlegs stuttered, gesturing to Astrid. "Quickly!"

Without a moment's hesitation, Astrid dragged the limp boy out of the diving bell's interior, but Hiccup still didn't move. He didn't flinch. He didn't blink. He didn't do anything. Astrid gently laid Hiccup on the deck, unable to look away from the boy. Thor, he looks terrible, she realized, her eyes wide with worry. Is he-? No, he can't be… Just thinking about the fact Hiccup was… gone sent a wave of terror through Astrid.

"Oh, no, Hiccup…," she murmured. "Please, breathe. Please breathe."

But Hiccup did not. His face was a pale sheet of white, with tiny droplets of water splattered across his cheeks like pieces of glass. Hiccup's auburn hair was soaking wet, making it seem all the darker against his light skin.

The boy's chest did not rise.

Toothless ran over to his rider, whining. He licked at Hiccup's cheek- that always seemed to do the trick to wake Hiccup up from these situations, and Toothless believed it to be true. But Hiccup didn't flinch at Toothless's touch like he usually would. His face remained impassive and peaceful.

The dragon whimpered and licked harder. Still, Hiccup didn't move.

"Toothless… stop," Astrid whispered. She knelt over Hiccup, and put her ear to his chest, searching for a heartbeat.

She was met with a cold silence.

"No, Hiccup," Astrid murmured, her cheeks suddenly becoming damp with tears. "Hiccup… please don't leave me..."

"Agh!" Snotlout growled from nearby. "This wasn't supposed to happen!" He kicked the side of the deck, causing the boat to shake. "Viggo's going to pay for this!"

"Guys, he's Hiccup," Fishlegs squeaked. "He can't be… he can't be… oh, Thor…"

The twins looked genuinely concerned and studied the unmoving Hiccup. "Come on, Hiccup," Tuffnut snapped, his brow furrowed. "Just wake up from that little nap of yours… I know you want to sleep in, but it's time to get up!" He paused and faked a distressed tone. "Ahh! Hiccup! I, Tuffnut Thorston, have been captured by Viggo. Save… me!" He winked at Astrid. "It always works."

But Hiccup remained still.

"Hiccup," Ruffnut threatened, "if you don't wake up right now, I will… I…" She thought for a moment and crossed her arms. "Well, I haven't decided yet! But I can assure you, Hiccup, you're not going to like it!"

Hiccup didn't flinch.

Astrid stiffened, raising her head from Hiccup's chest. Her eyes were a swirl of pain and sorrow, and teardrops fell like rain down her cheeks. This couldn't be happening. This shouldn't be happening. Hiccup had risked his life to save all of Berk and the other riders. He shouldn't have been punished like this.

"Please breathe," Astrid murmured, looking down at her friend while a horrible feeling sunk through her. "Please breathe… please breathe.. come on, I need you, Hiccup. More than anything right now, I need you. Please, come back to us."

A whole minute passed while an icy silence filled the air, coating everyone in its ominousity.

"Astrid…," Snotlout said gently, placing a hand on the girl's shoulder. "I don't think he's… well..." His voice was thick with sadness, and anyone who was listening closely could tell he was hiding tears.

"No!" Astrid shouted. She covered Hiccup with her arms in an attempt to protect him. "Hiccup is fine. He's going to be fine. W-we just have to get him back to Berk, and then Gothi can-"

Fishlegs shook his head, stopping Astrid mid-sentence. "Astrid, let me look at him."

"No."

"Astrid…"

"No. Hiccup, he's…" Tears coated Astrid's eyes. "He's going to be fine. Just wait and see."

And so she remained sitting there, waiting for Hiccup to finally wake up.

But in the future, she'd know that he never would.

Don't kill me, guys! Death fics are death fics, and… and… *breaks down into tears* Okay. Okay. *breathes in and out* I'm cool. I'm collected. This is just a story. Anyways, review if you can… yep. *wipes tears away* Alright. That's a wrap. This story has ended. Now we're moving onto… Hiccup's funeral. *sobs* Oh, yeah! If you guys want, I could make this a two-shot and write Hiccup's funeral next chapter. I have plans! *cackles* Huh, any takers? Come on, you know you want to do it! Hehe, well, let me know what you think.

With many tears and deep regrets,

-thepurplewriter333