Rejection

Hiccup stared at the patterns on the cobblestone ground made apparent by the sun melting through the chains atop of the arena. He took a deep breath and looked up from his position against the wall. For weeks he had been through training and although he'd never hurt a single dragon, he had still been chosen to kill this one. He could hear the crowd cheering and yelling, their voices echoing off the walls around him, causing his body to cringe inward. If only he hadn't performed those tricks on the dragons, he thought, he could have let himself run from their approaches and hide behind a shield, yet he didn't. All Hiccup wanted was approval; approval from his peers, the village and most of all, his father. He had spent years being labelled as the 'screw up' of the village that wouldn't amount to anything due to his lack of physical ability and farfetched thinking. Now, because of the techniques he'd learnt with Toothless to 'control' the dragons, he had been pinned as a great warrior and his father thought the world of him. His son was finally coming to terms with who he was; a Viking.

Stoick's voice broke the ramblings of the crowd, his booming voice carrying itself joyfully. Hiccup could hear it in his voice, he was completely ecstatic about the turnaround of his son. However, if Hiccup went through with his plan, the joy in his father's voice could turn sour and his emotions cold, but he had to try. He needed to help the village understand why the dragons were not a threat. If the vikings could see just what he had seen and realise that everything about them was the opposite of what they had accused them of being for generations, everything might change. For Hiccup had seen, he had come to understand the dragons due to his connection with Toothless. If he could help everyone else see what he could, surely it would make a difference.

"Well, I can show my face in public again." Stoick had a smile plastered on his face from ear to ear. The crowd applauded and laughed at their Chief's remark. Hiccup felt himself let out a small squeaking noise and shrink further into the wall feeling weighed down by this burden. He really hoped his plan would work, because if it didn't the number of possible scenarios where he ended up the victim was infinite.

"If someone had told me that in a few short weeks, Hiccup would go from being, well… Hiccup, to placing first in dragon training… I would've tied him to a mast and shipped him off for fear he'd gone mad." Hiccup could hear the crowd laughed at Stoick's playful jest.

After a short chuckle, Stoick composed himself, "But here we are. And no one's more surprised… or more proud than I am. Today, my boy becomes a Viking. Today, he becomes one of us!"

The crowd roared in anticipation, chanting Hiccup's name, yet he was still able to hear the distinct footsteps approaching from behind him. Astrid was the one other person who knew about Toothless and about how much this situation was weighing on Hiccup. Even though she knew, she didn't understand and luckily for her, she wasn't directly involved in the situation. This was Hiccup's problem and he was going to fix it, but it did always help to have support.

Astrid ran her hand along the wall which Hiccup was leaning on, "Be careful with that dragon."

He pondered for a moment before replying, "It's not the dragon I'm worried about." Both of their eyes followed the path the Chief took to his seat, with a giant smile on his face and his chest pushed out, he looked just as any proud father would.

"What are you going to do?" Astrid asked, brushing her fringe to the side. She was worried about him of course; he was heading into a situation unprepared. Throughout the weeks he had been "training" there wasn't much of a crowd to please, but now that the entire village was here, neither of them had any idea about the reaction Hiccup would bring.

"Put an end to this. I have to try." Blank faced, Hiccup stared at the metal doors which would soon burst open with a dragon, a dragon which hewas told he had the privilege of killing. Astrid eyed off Hiccup dubiously.

"Astrid," Hiccup turned toward her, "If something goes wrong… just make sure they don't find Toothless." He wasn't just going to do this for his own benefit, he was doing it to protect his dragon; his friend.

"I will. Just promise me it won't go wrong." She said in a concerned voice, scrunching her eyebrows together. Astrid had been hostile toward Hiccup in the build up to this event as he had taken away the glory she'd aimed for her entire life. This was until he had convinced her to come with him on Toothless. It gave her a brand new perspective on life. On the back of the dragon, she was able to experience things she'd never dreamed of before. She touched the clouds, felt the cold night air keeping her short of breath so high above the sea and had seen Berk covered in torches, beautiful against the darkness. This didn't mean she wasn't still weary of the creatures, but seeing Toothless and Hiccup interact and seeing the relationship they had built made her question… what if all dragon's were the same as he was.

Hiccup opened his mouth to reply but was cut off by Gobber, "It's time, Hiccup." He looked toward Gobber before sparing one last glance at Astrid; he was going to fix this.

"Knock him dead." Gobber moved into the area which cut off the arena to the outside and began shutting the gate.

Hiccup took a deep breath in and out before looking over his helmet and placing it on his head. With a concerned look on his face, his eyes scanned the crowd, looking toward his father first. He could hear the chanting of his name mix with the rushed thumping of his heart.

"Show 'em how it's done!" he heard Tuffnut call from behind him. The hollering and hooting only got louder the further he moved into the arena.

Slowly he moved toward the wooden rack placed in the centre which contained a variety of weapons and shields. Glancing over everything, Hiccup picked up a shied before selecting the dagger as his weapon of choice. Stoick, watching his every move with complete concentration, rubbed his thumb across his moustache.

"Hm," he commented to Gobber, "I would've gone for the hammer."

Hiccup lifted his shield to a higher part of his body. As he was unsure if what he was about to do would get him killed, this warranted him to have some kind protection, at least against the dragon. Hiccup turned toward the metal door and took a deep breath before sighing.

"I'm ready" he stated.

The door bolts began to raise and creak as everyone waited with bated breath for the dragon to come out. Hiccup tried to compose himself. This will work, he thought, if he stuck with what he knew he couldn't fail. If his techniques worked on each of the other dragons, it should work on this one too, hopefully. Hiccup's eyebrows pinched together as he tried to hold himself together, this would be the defining moment in his life so he had to make it count. The crowd was silent, waiting and watching.

A flash of sticky flames was seen as it burst out so suddenly and Hiccup could barely hear the collective sound of excitement come from the crowd as the dragon snarled; it was horrific. The Monstrous Nightmare quickly jumped to the right and ran around the arena walls, scaling the area. Hiccup was taken aback, his breathing became faster and all he could hear was his increasingly fast heart rate. Nothing else mattered but this moment. The dragon shot a blast of fire through the crowd, provoking them, only causing them to holler louder. The Nightmare ran quickly across the chained roof of the arena like a bat, losing its fiery exterior as it remembered there was no way out. Hiccup's eyes followed the creature as it ran, but then the dragon stopped and slowly, tilting its head upwards, made its first eye contact with Hiccup.

The glowing yellow eyes squinted as he hit the floor of the arena, tail sweeping from side to side. Hiccup took a slight step back, his eyes wide with the second thoughts he was having on the situation. The crowd gawked at the scene before them, giving Hiccup encouraging shouts as he gulped nervously. Hiccup noticed the dragon was slowly approaching him and so he began to lower his weapons. Firstly he sent the dagger clanging to the floor followed by the shield held in his left hand. Taking a small breath, he put both hands out to hover above the dragon's nose and slowly moved backward to let him know he meant no harm.

"What is he doing?" Stoick asked to no one in particular, his face full of confusion. This is when the crowd started to complain; they came to watch him kill a dragon, not this.

Astrid watched from the gates, holding the metal bars and waiting in anticipation. She didn't know exactly what Hiccup was trying to do but seeing the crowd's reactions did not help the situation. Hiccup meant well, but it could get him into some serious trouble.

The dragon snarled at Hiccup, "It's okay." He stated softly, "It's okay."

Even through Hiccup's efforts the dragon kept coming closer, snaring as it did. His eyes narrowed to slits and crept up to stare at Hiccup's helmet. Realising this, Hiccup carefully placed his hands on the helmet before sliding it off of his head. The dragon looked quizzically at Hiccup who could tell the dragon was confused about why he hadn't attacked it.

Quickly glancing at his father, Hiccup stated in an almost repulsive tone, "I'm not one of them."

He quickly threw his helmet to the side and it bounced upon impact. Hiccup's heart beat died down as he saw the realisation in the dragon's eyes, just in time to hear the collective gasps of disgust come from the village. The Monstrous Nightmares pupils began to expand as he spared a glance toward the viking, curious of his motives.

Stoick could feel himself becoming upset, outraged and devastated all at once. This boy, his boy, who he'd been informed of doing so well in the ring, taking down dragons, had just destroyed the happiness that thought had provided. Then the wave of concern rushed over him. Hiccup was in the arena, with a dragon, and he wasn't going to kill it.

"Stop the fight." Stoick said loud and firm, although whether he was speaking to Gobber or Hiccup, no one knew.

"No." Hiccup threw back quickly, "I need you all to see this."

Keeping steady and trying to keep an even breathing pattern, Hiccup let the dragon close to his hand to sniff. Out the corner of his eye he could see his father's hands tense on the chair he was sitting in, knuckles turning white as snow.

"They're not what we think they are." He spoke softly and reassuringly, "We don't have to kill them."

The villagers began muttering, either out of disgust or concern toward the boy. They didn't understand, nor did they want to understand what was happening before their eyes, this abomination. Everyone eventually turned to their Chief looking for answers. Concentration still fixated on Hiccup, Stoick hurriedly pushed himself out of his chair and grabbed a large hammer.

"I said stop the fight!" as he yelled the hammer came down, leaving a large dent in one of the metal bars in front of him. The noise it made echoed throughout the arena and by the time it reached Hiccup, it was too late.

Rearing in horror, Hiccup watched as the dragon's intelligent eyes turn from curiosity to fear. The dragon quickly opened his jaws and snapped at the boy, causing him to jolt back and run. The dragon built up the fire in its mouth before quickly aiming and projecting it straight for Hiccup. Even when running he could feel the heat burning his back which only made him push harder. Then the heat was gone and the dragon was running, chasing Hiccup to all corners of the arena. By dodging and weaving he was continuously missing the dragon's attacks, but knowing his lack of physical ability, he wouldn't be able to keep this up long. Panting, he spared a quick look back at the dragon; this had been a mistake.

Stoick acted a second after the dragon snapped, "Out of my way!" He pushed quickly through onlookers to the scene. After the build up to this event, Stoick had gone in a full circle. He was back to saving Hiccup, to saving his son from dragons; again.

Astrid pushed her head through the bars, "Hiccup!" she yelled, eyes full of concern. She flicked her head around and grabbed the closest axe she could.

She wedged the axe quickly underneath the arena gate, pushing it down with all her strength. Getting down on the ground, she slid herself underneath and into the arena to try to help the boy. Hiccup may have known a lot about calming dragons down, but she knew how to fight, and that is exactly what this situation was calling for. The Nightmare let out another huge gush of fire, barely missing Hiccup's head. He rushed towards the weapon rack in an attempt to arm himself. After taking a shield, the dragon instantly crushed the rack, causing Hiccup to drop it and cower away.

Stoick reached the first gate and threw it up before rushing down to the second. Hiccup was still running but Astrid could see he was beginning to tire. She quickly looked around and found a hammer lying near her and after kicking it up with her foot, spun and threw it at the dragon with grunt. It hit the dragon in the side of its huge head, exactly what she was aiming for. Although she threw it off-balance it quickly regained its stance and focused on its new enemy; her. Realising what she'd done had enraged the dragon even more; she spun on her heel and ran just as Hiccup had around the arena.

The Chief grunted as he pushed up the second gate, "This way!" he yelled, giving a large arm gesture as if it would pull the two young teens toward where he was standing.

Astrid flicked her head around and sprinted toward Stoick who pulled her behind him as soon as she was close enough. Both of their eyes were wide as they waited for Hiccup to reach them; Stoick stuck out his hand. Just as Hiccup was about to meet it, the Monstrous Nightmare shot a blast of fire toward the side of the gate, stopping Hiccup in his tracks. He turned quickly and ran into the centre of the arena again, darting his eyes behind him to see where the dragon was. By the time he saw, he had already been pushed to the ground. The dragon's claws caged Hiccup in like an animal and the dragons face came down towards his, almost in a mocking gesture. Finally, the viking was the one in the arena being caged, not the dragon. Over the chaos, the village people began to hear a familiar noise, one of which came from something they had never seen before. Gobber turned quickly to look behind him and to his astonishment; a black dragon bound hurriedly down the cliff stairs and shot a blast of fire into the arena.

Everyone was either looking around, into the cage or flattened on the ground from the force of the blast. The entire arena was filled with billowing black smoke and the orange glow of fire making impossible to see what was happening. The shock turned to fear quickly as they realised what was happening. Hiccup had been trapped underneath the Monstrous Nightmare and now he was most likely under attack of another dragon. He would surely be killed before anyone could act.

"Somebody get in there and help him!" a man yelled from the crowd. Citizens pressed themselves against the edge of the cage trying to get a better view of what was happening. No one was going to jump in before the smoke cleared, it could mean certain death, even for an experienced viking.

Hiccup saw Toothless burst in through the arenas caged top and as frightened as he was of the dragon pinning him down, his priorities shifted as soon as he saw the blast of fire. Toothless must have heard Hiccup or the dragon, maybe he merely sensed that his friend was in danger. It didn't matter now; Toothless was here, attacking a Monstrous Nightmare in a cage surrounded by vikings. The high hopes Hiccup held at the beginning of this event were now diminishing in front of his eyes. If the Night Fury saved him it would be great for Hiccup, but the question was what would the villagers do after they found out Toothless was there to protect him. He had no idea.

Wings flapped and roars were heard before suddenly the two dragons tumbled out of the smoke into view. Both of the dragons were savagely attacking each other using their claws to swipe and teeth to attempt a fatal bite on the other. This was when the crowd began to realise what the other dragon was. Of course, no one could be certain; they had never seen this dragon before. It was as black as the night sky and moved faster than anything anyone of them had ever seen.

Gobber looked down into the arena with a look of confusion and horror, "Night Fury."

Toothless batted at the other dragon's jaw, trying to push it away. This dragon was larger than the Night Fury but of course, the other dragon wasn't trying to protect his friend. He quickly hit the Nightmare into the wall with his back legs before rushing to protect Hiccup. The dragon roared with a vicious look in his eye and Toothless shot one back, eyes darting around to make sure he would not get past. Any advances the other dragon made Toothless would counter with a quick dart forward, swiping at the dragon's head each time. The crowd looked on in confusion as to why this unknown and dangerous dragon was protecting Hiccup from another dragon. Toothless let out a large roar in an attempt to scare the Nightmare off and it worked. The dragon slid itself back against the wall before running off along it. To the onlookers shock and horror, Hiccup got up from where he had been trapped on the ground and ran to Toothless, his mouth going dry.

"Alright Toothless, go, get out of here." He pushed the dragon's head but he didn't seem to budge. Hiccup knew he was trying to protect him but the villagers saw a Night Fury as a threat either way. The vikings then began to act, from all around them they leapt from their places into the arena, carrying their weapons and charging toward Toothless.

"Go, go!" Hiccup pushed into Toothless again begging him to leave. As the vikings kept advancing, Stoick decided to act. He grabbed the nearest axe he could before running into the arena.

"Stoick, no!" Astrid yelled from beside him, looking toward Hiccup.

"No Dad! Dad he won't hurt you!" Hiccup yelled at him from Toothless' side, trying to help him see reason before he used the axe. Still trying to make the dragon to move, Hiccup pushed harder on the side of his head.

Toothless decided enough was enough. He leapt away from Hiccup who protested as he did and began to hit away the vikings in a fit of anger so that he could reach the large man barreling toward him. Quickly he pounced onto the man and rolled him over until he pinned him to the ground.

"Toothless, stop!" Hiccup held his hand out as a new wave of fear washed over him.

Stoick tried to push the heavy dragons head to the ground but in mere seconds the dragon had its legs placed firmly on either side of his chest. He grunted and tried to roll out from under its strength but this didn't seem to work either. In a last attempt to get out from under the beast, Stoick's hands shot up to its legs, gripping them and pushing back hard. Stoick's expression hardly shifted as the beast began to charge up his fire.

Hiccup gasped, "No," but Toothless didn't stop. The gas which formed the plasma blast was being sucked into form. In a last attempt to stop him, Hiccup tried again, "No!" his yelling didn't sound as angry the dragon had thought it might, instead it was dragged out and sounded upset. Maybe this person beneath him was of some value to Hiccup, so Toothless decided to stop charging his blast.

He turned toward Hiccup with his pupils turning from slits to confused circles. Hiccup's face was full of concern for both Toothless and his father; he didn't know what to do so he blankly stared at the situation and watched it unfold. Stoick threw a punch to the dragon's face which caused it to roar so violently that all the vikings had to cover their ears. The pure projection of the noise caused the bars around the arena to hum loudly.

Hiccup was pained by the reaction and it caused tears to well in his eyes. Toothless knew he was still in danger and decided it was time for him to leave. He looked toward Hiccup who shook his head quickly and looked up before jumping from Stoick, narrowly avoiding the hammer swung in his heads direction. He made a sprint for the opening he saw ahead of him, the one the man had come from. The girl Hiccup had been with last night was standing there and he was certain she would not be one to harm him. He bounded past her with a grunt and quickly made his way back over to where he came from, avoiding as many weapons that came flying through the air at him as he could. He could hear the people yelling but he couldn't understand what they were saying, so he just kept running. If he made it to the water filled area where he and Hiccup always met then he would be safe, for now.

Hiccup watched as Toothless ran into the distance. He watched as most of the villagers pursued him with the weapons in toe, screaming statements like "destroy the monster" and "cut out its heart". Then he stood, face down, looking at the cobblestone ground now covered in embers and traces of blood. He really hadn't meant for this to happen.

Gobber quickly came down and helped Stoick up who was shaking his head and holding his helmet. The realisation of what had just happened kicked in and he instantly became enraged. His eyes flicked up to Hiccup who was staring at the ground before he advanced toward him and picked him up by the hem of his shirt. Hiccup gasped as Stoick lifted him and grabbed onto his giant hand, trying to steady himself. As he looked into his eyes, he couldn't see a father, only a Chief.

"What in Gods name just happened, Hiccup! That monster was protecting you, why? What have you been doing, what has been going on?" Stoick yelled at Hiccup even though they were inches away. Hiccup had to turn his head away for fear of having it ripped off. Stoick was wound up, angry and confused. He didn't know what to think anymore of what had just happened, or of his son.

Hiccup turned back, the fear clear in his green eyes, "I-I… I don't know what to tell you Dad, I'm so sorry. It wasn't meant to be like this."

"Then what was it meant to be like, Hiccup?" Stoick yelled back.

"G-gods," Hiccup stuttered, "I don't know, but Toothless wouldn't harm you, he didn't harm you! I told him to stop and he did. I thought for a second that I might be able to prove to you how harmless dragons are but-"

"But what!" Stoick's grip tightened on the small boys shirt, "You could have gotten us all killed. Do you understand that!" he spat the words out like venom, causing Hiccup to push away in fear.

"I was just trying to get you to understand." Hiccup spoke softly but this did not deter his father from becoming angrier.

Stoick released his grip on Hiccup and threw him to the ground, causing his arm to crack against the hard ground. He let out a sharp noise of pain and panted, looking back at his father who was now staring at the mess before him. Astrid watched everything happen from the gates and was going to stay out of the situation, but she had the information to back Hiccup up on this. As he was thrown to the ground, Astrid quickly acted and moved toward Stoick.

"I can prove that what Hiccup is saying is true. Yesterday I found them together in the woods and tried to run back and tell you but he stopped me. What he showed me was incredible. That dragon was tame and friendly and not once in that flight did it try to harm me." Astrid decided to leave out the beginning of the flight of course, that information would merely add fuel to the fire, "None of us can understand what Hiccup is able to because we haven't done anything but fight the dragons for generations. His way of thinking is incredible and because of it he has begun to understand more than we could have imagined. I know dragon's have killed our family and friends, I definitely still don't trust them, but isn't it time we try something different to what we have tried for years? It's not working anymore Stoick, I think you should try to understa-"

"Enough!" Stoick screamed, he turned around with such force in his arm it knocked Astrid clean off her feet and onto the ground by Hiccup.

Hiccup had watched the situation unfold in front of him and to the unlikely hood of the situation, Astrid had sided with him. The force Stoick used on Astrid was enough to have Hiccup's blood boil. Getting to his feet he opened his mouth to yell at his father.

"Don't do that, you've hurt her." Hiccup turned to watch Astrid sit up and realise her shoulder was pushed in the wrong direction and blood was dripping from the wound. Hiccup gasped and quickly knelt beside her, hands hovering, not knowing what to do. Stoick didn't seem to care however, his breathing was fast and his fists were clenched tightly shut.

Hiccup turned back to his father, "I was only trying to help you understand!"

"Understand?" Stoick said through his teeth, "Maybe it's time for you to understand how much of a disappointing coward of a son you have been your entire life. You are worth nothing to me any more. Siding with the beasts that have killed our people is the worst possible treason imaginable. The both of you are no longer welcome on Berk. You have until sunrise tomorrow to get off this island or so help me I will throw you into the ocean myself."

Hiccup stared wide-eyed into his fathers; it was not the response he had expected. He hurriedly blinked away the forming tears, trying to keep the look of anger on his face up for a moment longer.

Stoick turned from Hiccup and began walking out of the arena, "You're not a viking." He stated clearly. Turning back toward Hiccup one last time, he looked into those terrified green eyes, all he saw was a traitor.

"You're not my son."

With that response, Stoick left the arena, his eyes never daring to look back around. Gobber followed behind him slowly after sparing a look of sympathy to the two young vikings on the ground. As Stoick walked past, the remaining people began to follow him back toward the village, never looking back either. The mumbling slowly became faint as the crowd moved away and Hiccup was left with a hurt Astrid in the arena. What have I done, he thought. He looked around at the remaining people, hoping that someone would help them.

Hiccup stood up, "Please, anyone," his eyes shifted around quickly, "Help her!"

"She's badly injured, her bone is sticking out! Please! I don't know how to help her." Hiccup's pleas were met with disgusted and frightened looks, none of which seemed like they were there to help him.

Hiccup fell to the ground and turned back to Astrid who was barely awake. He tried as hard as he could to not hurt Astrid as he pulled her head into is lap. All the damage which had been done was because of him and nothing was going to change that. He could feel his face heat up and throat go dry as he tried to remember what had happened in that short amount of time. His eyes darted around, looking at the detailed destruction surrounding him. Clenching his eyes shut, he pushed his head into his hands. Hiccup didn't remember when he had began to cry, he only noticed once the sobs stopped and he squinted through a mess of tears. A small shadow was looming above him and the sun caused him to be able to see who it was on that bright day. He tried to focus on the blurry being above him, using his hand to block the extra light causing the lack of vision. His eyes came into focus, and when they did he was finally able to let out a relieved sigh.