I got the idea for this story one time when I thought about "There were dragons when I was a boy...". I`ve been thinking about what they could do with that for the third movie. Lately I´ve been thinking about that phrase and got some ideas for a new story.
The story will take place during HTTYD and HTTYD 2. Some scenes will be similar to the movies, but not exactly the same. This is not a "rewrite of the movie fanfic", more of a story of a time when there were dragons. Like in the books, Hiccup is narrating, but telling the story in third person.
There were dragons when I was a boy. So many of them. Different shapes and colors and different abilities. They attacked us. Dragons burned down our houses, dragons got killed, our people got killed, and they took our livestock. We spent years fighting them and trying to survive. We captured some of them and trained our young in killing dragons. But one day everything changed. One action changed everything, and nothing would ever be the same.
Hiccup ran to the forge and slammed the door behind him to shut out the fire from the dragon that had followed him. The dragons were back. His heart was pounding and he was breathing fast from running. The dragons were back. Both his heart and his breathing started to slow down as he began to calm down a little. Maybe he would have a chance this time. To prove that he wasn`t as useless as they all thought. Prove that he could kill a dragon.
He opened the door but quickly closed it again when he saw that the dragon was still right outside. Maybe not right this second. And maybe he could use something, a weapon. He couldn`t just walk out there empty-handed again. This was the forge, there were plenty of things to use.
It took him a minute or two to choose, but when he had chosen a sword, he opened the door again. No dragon. He walked out and closed the door behind him and started running. But he didn`t come as far as he hoped before someone grabbed his shoulder and stopped him.
"What are you doing out here?!" It was Stoick. "This is not the place for you right now!"
"But I… I can… I want to…" Hiccup said, trying to say a whole sentence, wanting to say something that would convince his father to give him a chance.
"You are just gonna get yourself killed! Or everyone else killed! Go home!"
"But I can help. I can, just give me a chance!"
"No! Now you listen to me. I have enough to worry about, I don`t want to worry about you or what you will do, so go… Gobber! Follow Hiccup to the forge and make sure he stays there!"
"Aye" Gobber said. "Come here, Hiccup. You know you can`t be out here right now."
Hiccup sighed and started walking after Gobber towards the forge. Suddenly Gobber pulled him in front of him and he lost balance. The fire missed him by a few inches. He heard Gobber yell at the dragon while he fought it and defeated it.
When they came to the forge, Gobber pushed Hiccup inside.
"What did you think you were doing? You`re not even supposed to be outside when the dragons attack."
"You sound like my dad."
"Then maybe you should listen."
"Did you notice there are dragons out there, attacking us?" Hiccup looked at him with raised eyebrows and tilted head. "And I´m the only one who is not out there helping."
"Because you´re not exactly helping" Gobber said. "We always have to clean up your mess."
"But we are Vikings, we fight dragons. I need to kill a dragon. Then maybe they wouldn`t hate me. Then maybe. I could get a girlfriend."
Gobber looked at hm. He felt sorry for the short and skinny boy, much smaller than the rest of them. But Hiccup wasn`t like the rest of them, he didn`t belong in the fight with the dragons. It would only get him killed sooner or later. Probably a lot sooner.
"Just stay here. You hear me? Stay here, and don`t move." He turned around half way and then turned to Hiccup again. "Stay."
"I`m not a dog."
"Then maybe you should learn to listen."
Gobber left him and ran towards a dragon and screamed. Hiccup sighed. They really didn`t think much of him. Not even his father and Gobber. Especially not his father. His father never thought much of him; he had always been a disappointment. Not the tall, big, strong and brave son he always hoped for. No. What he got was a failure. But he was going to show them.
He walked to the doorway and watched the chaos. People and dragons fighting, houses burning. He looked up at the sky and saw something black move across the sky. Night Fury. A Night Fury. If he could kill a Night Fury they would respect him, they would cheer for him. And he might just get a girl.
A bola thrower. That was perfect. He could hit a dragon with a bola. It was on wheels and he just had to pull a lever, so he didn`t have to throw it himself, and it would be easy to aim.
While he was running through the village with the bola thrower, no one stopped him, but many wondered why he was outside and not in the forge like he was told. Hiccup just told them he would be back in a minute. He ran up to the hill and looked for the Night Fury. There it was, just a black spot in the sky. He followed it as it moved across the sky, aiming to get a good shot. When he fired he held his breath. He heard the dragon scream and saw a black spot fall. He hit it! He hit a Night Fury!
"Ha ha!" Hiccup danced around with his arms in the air. "Did you see that? Did anyone see that?"
He suddenly stopped. A big Monstrous Nightmare was standing right in front of him.
"Except you". Hiccup said.
The dragon growled. Hiccup shook his head, like he woke up, realized he should run. He turned around and started running for his life. His heart was pounding and he would be lying if he said he wasn`t scared. He wasn`t the fastest runner in the village and the dragon was a lot bigger than he was. But that didn`t take much.
"Hiccup, what the hell are you doing?" Astrid yelled.
"Running!"
"Chief, your useless son is gonna get us all in trouble!" someone yelled.
Stoick looked around and saw his son run, chased by a Monstrous Nightmare. Why couldn`t that boy just listen and do what he was told? It always ended in disaster. He started running towards Hiccup and the dragon, hoping it wouldn`t barbeque him before he got there.
Hiccup hid behind a pillar. The dragon was about to breathe fire on him when Stoick came running and slammed a hammer on its head. The dragon breathed fire on Stoick, but the flame wasn`t big enough to reach him and when he tried again no fire came out of his mouth.
"Ha! Need to recharge? Not when I`m here."
Stoick fought the dragon, and since it couldn't breathe fire for a while it wasn`t as superior as it would have been if it could breathe fire. Before Stoick defeated the dragon, it flickered its tail and hit Hiccup who flew into the pillar. On top of the pillar was an enormous bowl with fire. It fell to the ground and rolled through the village.
"Oh, that`s great Hiccup." Snotlout said. "Trying to burn down the village. Like the dragons need help."
"It wasn`t my fault" Hiccup said. "And I hit a Night Fury."
"Right, and I told a Zippelback to sit and it did" Tuffnut said.
"I did hit a Night Fury, I caught it" Hiccup said. "If we go look for it, you`ll see."
"You are not going anywhere but home" Stoick said. " And this time you listen, you hear?! I need to take care of the damage you created."
He looked so disappointed that Hiccup couldn´t look at him. He looked at the ground.
"That wasn`t my fault…"
"Why can`t you do as you are told? Not go outside when we are under attack."
"We are Vikings, I`m a Viking, so I just have to kill a dragon" Hiccup said while gesturing with his hands.
"You are many things, but a dragon killer you are not" Stoick said. "Gobber, take him home."
Hiccup followed Gobber to the Haddock house. Gobber talked, but Hiccup mostly listened. He was a disappointment, but that was nothing new. Nothing ever went his way. Nothing he ever did was good enough. His father hated him.
"He doesn`t hate you" Gobber said,"he`s just disappointed."
"Yeah, he wanted someone tall and strong and brave, not a talking fishbone. He hates me."
"He doesn`t hate you, he`s just disappointed. You need to be less like you, all of you."
"Gee, thanks" Hiccup said and rolled his eyes. He put his hand on the door knob, but turned to Gobber again. "I just want to be one of you guys."
He walked inside and closed the door. Yeah, he just wanted to be one of them. To belong somewhere.
He waited awhile to be sure that Gobber had gone and then walked to the back of the house and opened the shutters. He got out through the window and ran towards the woods.