Hello! I'm back again. I just couldn't stay away. This was SUPPOSED to be a one-shot, but... well, I can really drag things out! And, plus, I think this particular story would work better as a multi-chapter.

I'm thinking this is going to be about three chapters that are all pretty short. I'm not sure if I'll be able to post tomorrow, but I'm pretty sure in two days!

A Day Without Dragons is based on this generation's reliance on technology. Phones. Computers. iPads. Everything. When the power goes out... *shudders* Gosh, we all think the world is ending or something! So, I thought I'd incorporate that into this for laughs.

Well, enjoy the story, everyone! Thanks for viewing!

Chapter 1

Hiccup swiped his brow, then adjusted his goggles. "Alright; light it up, bud."

On his rider's command, Toothless shot a low plasma blast at Hiccup's metal creation. When the thing was hot enough, Hiccup picked it up with a pair of prongs and dipped it inside a water barrel. He heard a familiar hiss as the water embraced the sudden heat and tried to neutralize it.

He smiled at Toothless. "Thanks, buddy. Hopefully, this time will work…"

Hiccup had been trying to work on a new invention for days. This contraption was supposed to be able to soften dragon-proof metal so the Riders' dragons could melt chains in case they needed to. That was one of the biggest problems the teens faced when they were up against the Dragon Hunters. Hiccup called the metal thing the Alleviator- something that would soften something as harsh as dragon-proof metal.

He pulled his invention from the water again. It was still sizzling, and he had to set it on a towel to not burn himself.

"Well, I'm going to have to get Meatlug's Gronckle iron to finish this," said Hiccup, turning to the exit of his hut. "Fishlegs will be excited to hear about this. You want to come, bud?"

At Toothless's rumble, Hiccup smiled and opened the door. He was surprised at what he saw.

"For the love of- guys!" he yelled, pointing at a pile of boulders in front of his hut. "Who did this? Ruff? Tuff?"

He heard cackling from above him and looked up to see the twins laughing at him from their dragon.

"Your face was like, woah!" chortled Tuff. "And then it got all mad and stuff, and it was really funny. But, I must admit, it wasn't all my sister and I's doing…" He patted Belch. "These guys helped. A little."

Barf and Belch squawked indignantly.

"Fine," said Tuff in a mocking voice. "You moved the boulders. Big deal!"

Hiccup heard a gasp, then a groan. Fishlegs waddled up, looking aghast at the ruins he took in.

"Ruff! Tuff!" he cried, making crazy motions with his hands. "I was working here on some very important designs! And you- you crushed it!" Fishlegs huffed again. "Meatlug! Daddy needs you to help move these rocks." He glared at the twins, not even bothering to hide his distress.

The Gronckle came up to his rider and started to eat a few of the boulders. Fishlegs allowed a tiny smile as the rubble cleared. "Thanks, girl." He hugged his friend, then stepped back so she could work.

"What's going on here?" Astrid's voice said. Hiccup pivoted to see the girl and her dragon landing.

"Another one of Ruff and Tuff's pranks," he replied.

Astrid sighed. "Another one? Do they ever give up?" She shot a glower towards the culprits of the mess, then said, "Stormfly, spineshot- but just to scare them."

Stormfly cawed, then aimed her tail towards Ruff and Tuff and fired. The spine embedded itself in a building right next to Tuff's face. He let out a cry as he saw that he had nearly avoided being impaled.

Astrid smirked at Tuff's alarmed expression. She scratched Stormfly's chin in acknowledgement. "Good job, girl." Hiccup, however, was not as happy. Though he was just as irritated at Tuff and Tuff's antics, he didn't think that the solution to this was violence.

The door to the Clubhouse opened, and Snotlout strode out, Hookfang trailing behind him. The boy was gnawing on a chicken leg and seemingly oblivious to the world.

Tuff nearly fell of his dragon. "No… no… Snotlout, how could you?!"

Snotlout froze, just realizing that he wasn't alone. He swallowed a bite of meat. "How could I what?"

"Don't play innocent with me!" said Tuff dramatically. "You know what you did! And it is an insult, you hear me? An insult! You're luck Chicken isn't here right now, or I'd rip off your leg!"

Snotlout held his hands up, eyes wide. "Hey, I didn't mean any harm! And, well- I didn't cook it! Hookfang did! Blame him!"

His Nightmare growled at him, clearly wanting to set his rider on fire.

Soon, everyone was bickering. Meatlug was almost done with removing all of the rocks from Fishlegs' work, but he was still angry and yelling at Tuff. Astrid had Stormfly shoot another spineshot near the twins, and Snotlout was trying to convince everyone that everything was Hookfang's fault.

Hiccup realized something. The Riders were getting very dependent on their dragons. Too dependent. Ruff and Tuff used Barf and Belch to wreak havoc on anything and everything when they used to just do it themselves. Fishlegs didn't even bother to try and move the rocks himself, calling Meatlug to help instead. Astrid would've usually threatened people with her axe, not having to rely on Stormfly to scare people away instead. And Snotlout forcing Hookfang to cook even just a little something… well, this was getting out of hand.

And Hiccup had had enough of their arguing.

"QUIET!" he managed to shout, quieting the teens. They all looked surprised to see the Rider yell and actually capture their attention without Toothless's help.

"Guys, do you even hear yourselves sometimes?" he continued. "Fighting over the littlest things! You can be so- so immature at times! I've noticed something else, too. Look at you all, using your dragons for every tiny thing. Do you remember that time before we befriended the dragons when we had to do everything ourselves? No immediately cooked meat. No spine shots. No free rides. Guys… I hate to say it, but… we are getting too dependent on the dragons."

He was met by dead silence. Toothless stared at him with wide green eyes, and Hiccup felt a pang of regret.

"Okay. Riders, I've made a decision," said Hiccup. He didn't want to come to this, but there was really no choice.

"What do you mean, decision?" Astrid spoke up. She was still a little miffed from Hiccup's claim that she had to constantly rely on Stormfly. She was tough, and brave, and strong… she didn't need to depend on anybody! Never… didn't she?

Hiccup sighed. "I mean that I'm going to try and fix this. I suggest… I suggest that- starting tomorrow- we have to live without our dragons. Think of it as- as a training exercise. Say one of us is kidnapped by Ryker or Dagur, or even Viggo. We're not going to have our dragons with us then, so we need to prepare for that situation. We've never before" He looked around. "So, what do you say?"

Snotlout crossed his arms. "I don't depend on Hookfang. I don't need anybody!" He took another bite of his chicken, then spat it out with a look of disgust. "Hookfang! This is freezing. Heat it up."

Hiccup gave Snotlout a pointed look. "See? That's what I mean, right there."

"Hiccup," said Astrid, "are you sure that this is a good idea?"

"What, you don't think you can manage without Stormfly?"

Hiccup was only teasing, but Astrid's face reddened, and she scoffed, "No! I can! You know what? Fine, let's do it. One group of dragons, one of Riders. We'll just try and avoid each other."

Toothless nudged Hiccup's side.

"Bud… I'm sorry," Hiccup apologized, scratching the Night Fury's head. "But we need to prepare ourselves for these kind of situations. Plus, do you really want to keep living like this?"

He gestured to Snotlout, who was demanding that Hookfang cook his chicken, then to Astrid, who had made Stormfly shoot another spineshot at Ruff and Tuff. He gave a disdainful look at Fishlegs, who was watching Meatlug eat the rocks or drag them away without helping.

Toothless snorted, dismayed at his fellow dragons' behavior.

"I know, I know. At least we're not like that… right, bud?"

Toothless flapped his tailfin, and Hiccup sighed. "Well… that's… fine, you win. Toothless… I also need your fire for my inventions. Hey- when we split up into the groups, I won't be there to fly you. So how about I give you the mechanical one? You know, the one I tried to give you a few Snoggletogs ago?"

The dragon seemed upset at the memory, but nodded. Hiccup smiled at him, then turned back to the Riders.

"Alright, gang!" he called. "Tomorrow is going to be different. We're going to need to be tough again. Resilient. Smart. Tomorrow… is going to be a day without our dragons."

Snotlout shrugged, unfazed at what Hiccup had just sentenced them all to. "Fine. We don't need them for everything. After all, what could possibly go wrong?"

Yeah, Snotlout! What COULD go wrong?

I hope you guys like this so far... I know, I know, slow start. But this is going to be a very funny story, so hang in there!

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Thanks for viewing, guys! See ya next update!