A.I.: Orphans of Terra (HTTYD)

20

Chapter 20

"Shhhhh" Hiccup mumbled as he continued to hug Astrid. She had her face pressed into his chest as he whispered "Everything is going to be alright."

"Statistically speaking that would be impossible," She mumbled with a sort of self-deprecating giggle.

"Does your programming tell you that?" Hiccup asked quietly. Astrid gave a short stiff nod and he could feel her arms hugging him closer.

"What does your heart tell you?" Hiccup asked. "I'm guessing you want to find out what's really going on."

"When everything's said and done......" Astrid's shoulders sagged "I am still just hardware and software. I don't have a heart."

"Of course you do!" Hiccup exclaimed. "Astrid, you see, you feel, you're happy, you're sad. Never say you don't have a heart." He looked into her eyes when he said the following "You are more human than anyone could ever dream of."

"Hiccup if you keep sweet talking like that you're going to have a hoard of A.I.s after you one day." Astrid joked before she got serious again. "Are you sure you want to get further into this? It could get dangerous."

"Yes, of course." Hiccup said as he held her hand. "I don't think I can look at this facility with rose-tinted glasses any longer."

"Alright," Astrid nodded. "If we are going to do this then we are going to do this right. But first it's time for you to wake up." Astrid whispered the last part as the virtual reality started to fade away. When he opened his eyes again he was looking at the dark ceiling above his bed. Hiccup quickly got out of the bed after knocking back the covers. "Astrid?" He asked as he looked at the room.

"Yes Hiccup?"

"Are you alright?" He asked with a bit of worry.

"I'm....... As fine as I can be." Astrid told him. "I am currently cross-referencing more logs with each other. A plan should be ready before tonight."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Hiccup asked.

"For now just keep a low profile Hiccup." Astrid spoke into the device.

"Well I'm not doing anything today," Hiccup said. "Gobber gave me the day off."

"Can you meet me in the Bio-nanotechnology laboratory in a few hours?" Astrid asked.

Hiccup gave a nod and then decided to take a shower and get ready for the day. He still couldn't believe the turn their date had taken and what they might discover later. When Hiccup stepped out of the apartment half an hour later he hadn't expected to come face to face with the twins.

"What are you-HEY!" Hiccup shouted as the twins suddenly each grabbed an arm and started dragging him towards the elevators.

"Don't you worry Hiccup we know." Tuffnut said as all three entered the elevator.

"YOU KNOW!" Hiccup's mind nearly came to a screeching halt as he thought that whatever Astrid's plan was, was already in jeopardy.

"Yeah man," Tuffnut said as he dragged Hiccup into a hug. "And I just want to say that we are here for you."

"Wait what?!" Hiccup was now totally confused.

"My sis here tells me you're having a hard time with the whole Chief-thing." Tuffnut said and Hiccup looked at both of them. Mentally he let out a relieved sigh. "So we decided to give you a surprise!" When Tuffnut said that the doors of the elevator opened to reveal that they were in the Biodome.

"Stop with the melodramatics butthead and lead the way," Ruffnut rolled her eyes as the trio exited.

"Who you calling a butthead?!" Tuffnut shouted as he poked his sister.