Chapter 1

(Hiccup's POV)

This is Berk. It snows nine months of the year, and hails the other three. Any food that grows here is tough and tasteless. The people that grow here are even more so. We've been through many things the last years and believe me, nothing is the same. We've made peace with the dragons and now we raise our lives with them. Although things were a little harsh at the beginning, at the end of the day everything ended up fine. We now raise dragons, ride them and even race with them! We even have our own Dragon Training Academy! That's something I would have never expected to happen. Whatever! The point is that dragons have ultimately changed our lives, they have improved it and, literally, I can't imagine my life without them…without my bud, without Toothless….

(Normal POV)

The sun has risen in the small village of Berk. Every Viking has set himself/herself for a day full of work, responsibilities, wrestling and of course…being a Viking. Hiccup has just woken up by the loud banging of Toothless on the roof and started preparing himself for the Dragon Training Academy.

"Bye dad", he said as he dashed through the wooden door of his house like a flash.

Stoick, who was trying to fasten his 'Formal Belt', didn't pay much attention to his son's rush. Besides, he had already got used to Hiccup's real self.

"Have…fun…son", he said as he was breathing in to make his big belly fit in the belt. "Oh! I hate special occasions!" he exclaimed in anger. "Where is Gobber when you need him?!"

Hiccup arrived in the arena, the new Dragon Training Academy. There were five teenage Vikings spread all over the place waiting for him.

"At last Hiccup!" exclaimed the blonde one. "We've been waiting for you for at least one hour!"

That was no one else but Astrid. The beautiful, headstrong, powerful, brave, strong female Viking of Berk. She happened to be his girlfriend, as well. "Isn't she perfect?" he thought for a moment as hegot lost in her big blue eyes.

"Uh…Hiccup?" she asked, "Shall we start? We're already late".

"Yeah, yeah sure" he said as he snapped out from his fantasy.

"So riders" he continued "I have something new for you today. We are going to improve our teamwork and trust"

"Ha" a sarcastic laughter came from the back. It was Snotlout, Hiccup's cousin (he preferred not to mention that in public). "Teamwork? Trust? Haven't we already done this crap before? I want some action!" he said as he clenched his fist.

"I didn't mean…"

Hiccup's words were interrupted by the village's nerd:

"Snotlout, teamwork and trust are two of the most important values of a dragon trainer and rider. We all should pay attention to today's class and especially you…"replied Fishlegs while hugging his Gronckle.

"Are you implying something Fishlegs?!" Snotlout answered back with an angry look.

"Guys ENOUGH!" shouted Hiccup. "As I was saying, today's lesson is about teamwork and trust. However, it has nothing to do with the dragons. It is about riders and how well you can collaborate to achieve a main goal"

Everyone was paying close attention to Hiccup's words. They sounded so interesting…even for the twins and Snotlout!

"Ruffnut!" exclaimed Hiccup.

"Yeah what?" replied the blonde-braided Viking.

"I need you to take the role of the victim" said Hiccup.

"The what?" exclaimed Ruffnut inquiringly.

"Listen carefully. We are going to act as if the outcasts attacked. Ruffnut will pretend to be helpless and injured, Astrid and I will be the bad guys, the outcasts, and Snotlout, Fishlegs and Tuffnut will come to her rescue. You have to work together to 'save' her. We have to test how well we collaborate together in different groups" he explained.

"But I don't want to be the helpless and injured female Viking. Take Tuffnut to do that!" Ruffnut cried.

"Yeah! Wait….what?" completed her brother, being doubtful about what his sister has just said.

"Guys focus please!" shouted Hiccup "I need to see if Tuff can ride both Barf and Belch in case something bad happens!"

"Okay then let's start already!" Astrid cried in joy.

Hiccup pulled a big piece of a trunk and placed it in the middle of the arena. It was pretty tall considering that it could barely touch the top. A big WOW came out of everyone's mouth indicating how stunning Hiccup's idea was. Toothless flew Ruffnut near the trunk and Hiccup tied her up really hard so that she won't fall. Fishlegs put some kind of glue at the bottom of this woody column in order it stays stuck and still.

Everyone got onto their dragons and prepared for the task.

"Is everyone ready?" asked Hiccup.

Everyone nodded positively. "GO!" he shouted and off he went to 'encounter' his 'enemies'. Snotlout commanded Hookfang to avoid Hiccup's attack and so he did. Then he flew straight ahead to where Ruffnut was 'held captured'. To Snotlout's bad luck, Astrid appeared in front of him. "Going somewhere Snotface?" she said moving her braid away from her shoulder. "Stormfly spikes!" she commanded her fearless dragon. "Woah!" Snotlout groaned and drove his dragon away from that living killing machine girl. "Hurray! Run Snotty, run like a chicken!" she kept shouting as Hookfang was flying away. Ruffnut rolled her eyes. "Are you gonna save me already? I'm supposed to be dying right now!" cried the blonde ruff teenage Viking. "Oh-oh I'm coming Ruffnut. D-Don't worry!". A low voice was heard from the back. It was Fishlegs riding his dragon, Meatlung. "Come on girl, let's do this!" he said trying to egg on his dragon. "Groaaaaar". "Oh no" he thought "A Nightfury!". "Toothless plasma blast!" ordered Hiccup. No sooner had Toothless had the chance to charge his plasma blast than Fishlegs left the arena panic stricken. "Poor Fishlegs" thought Hiccup. "We continue!" exclaimed the leader of the Dragon Training Academy.

Snotlout was sitting there, doing nothing. He was waiting for the appropriate moment to strike. Tuffnut, trying to control both heads, flew next to him.

"What are we doing now?" he asked.

"Don't you see I'm trying to think over here!" replied the bully.

"Uh…okay…I'll do that too" sighed Tuffnut. What did you say we're doing?" he asked.

Snotlout wanted to punch him right in the face but he couldn't. He had more serious things to worry about. For example, Astrid. He knew that it was just a training exercise but he had to WIN! He couldn't bare the evil sarcastic mocking grin on her face.

"Attack!" he commanded! Tuffnut dashed towards his sister but, unfortunately, he couldn't take control of both heads at once. Bark emitted gas….that was it! Snotlout's perfect chance to WIN! "Hookfang go!" he shouted. Hiccup wasn't able to make anything out because of Barf's gases. The same went for Astrid. Nevertheless, their dragons could. Snotlout was too close to 'rescuing' Ruffnut but to his bad luck, Tuffnut's dragon crushed on him. "Tuffnut! You useless…". Snotlout's words were interrupted by a crack. "That can't be" he thought. The trunk Ruffnut was tied on was about to fall.

There was still gas in the atmosphere. The dragons started to feel dizzy. As if that wasn't enough, Belch, because of his confusion due to Barf's gases, started to charge up…Small sounds of sparks filled the room and everyone's hearts began to beat…beat so quickly…especially Ruffnut's. "I don't wanna die like this" she thought as she got overwhelmed by fear.

It's wasn't until later that Belch finally light the whole arena on fire! Sparks and fire was everywhere! The trunk was burning and Ruffnut was now scared to death. "Help!" she cried out with tears coming out of her eyes like a flood as she was watching the fire coming closer and closer to her. No one could do anything since their dragons were either unconscious or not in a position to do a thing.

The situation got worse. Barf's gas mixed with fire's emissions created a sense of sickness and disorientation. The riders were coughing, no one was able to breathe and Ruffnut could now feel the flames touching her body. She blinked hoping that this whole thing was a nightmare she had to wake up from. Suddenly, something grabbed her. She couldn't tell if that thing was something or someone but she was happy she got out of this hell. When she finally managed to open her eyes, she was surprised to see Snotlout holding her in his arms in bride style and shouting "I WON, I WON! Well done Tuff! I ROCK!"

Few hours have passed since the 'Outcast Pretending Attack' occurred. The arena was free of any kind of gases, the dragons were peacefully sleeping in their dens and our teenage Vikings were cleaning the mess they created, all but Ruff. Gobber said that she had breathed more gases than anyone else so she had to rest for a while. She was sitting right next to the Hideous Zippleback, petting Barf's head softly and watching the others mop the floor of the arena. She was enjoying the cold afternoon breeze, as the sun slowly went down, thinking of Snotlout's reaction when he saved her. "Did he rescue me only because of the game?" she was wondering "Or did he really care about me?", "And if he did, why? Why did he do that? Why do I even care at all?!". Thinking of that, Ruffnut leaned towards Barf and let sleep drown her into the deepest sides of her brain…