EXT. TRAINING GROUNDS - MORNING
GOBBER (O.S.)
Today is about teamwork. Work
together and you might survive.
ON A DOUBLE-WIDE DOOR. Gas seeps through the cracks.
It BLASTS OPEN. A cloud of smoke engulfs the ring, swirling
around the paired-up teens. Astrid with Ruffnut. Snotlout
with Tuffnut. Fishlegs with Hiccup. All carry buckets of
water, poised to throw them.
GOBBER (CONT'D)
Now, a wet dragon head can't light
its fire. The Hideous Zippleback is
extra tricky. One head breathes
gas, the other head lights it. Your
job is to know which is which.
The smoke encircles them, cutting them off from each other.
The teens LISTEN and WATCH for any sign of the dragon.
FISHLEGS
(muttering to himself)
Razor sharp, serrated teeth that
inject venom for pre-digestion.
Prefers ambush attack, crushing its
victims in its...
HICCUP
(TENSE)
Will you please stop that?
"It's really not helping," real Hiccup added in the same tone.
"I thought you were being friendly with dragons now," a Viking accused, and Hiccup turned to glare.
He backed out, and some Viking realized they'd actually expected him to be a mellow person, despite the rebellious actions. Of course he wouldn't be, he's a Viking after all, thought Zero.
ON SNOTLOUT AND TUFFNUT
Moving nervously through the fog, back to back. Snotlout is
singing to himself to calm his nerves.
SNOTLOUT
If that dragon shows either of his
faces, I'm gonna-
(spotting an approaching
shape, terrified)
-There!
Snotlout and Tuffnut HURL their water into the fog.
Hiccup scoffed, already knowing it couldn't be the doppelganger dragon. Hopefully anyway... He was no Fishlegs after all.
ASTRID
Hey!
RUFFNUT
It's us, idiots.
Astrid and Ruffnut are soaked.
TUFFNUT
Your butts are getting bigger. We
thought you were a dragon.
SNOTLOUT
(TO ASTRID)
Not that there's anything wrong
with a dragon-esque figure.
Astrid ELBOWS Snotlout in the face. Ruffnut DROPS Tuffnut
with a PUNCH to the throat.
Hiccup and Ruffnut let out a laugh, while the older Vikings worry over the future of Berk.
ASTRID
Wait.
They FREEZE. A tail SWEEPS out of the fog, taking them down.
Their buckets spill.
The teenagers complain. They weren't even close to taking out that Zippleback!
"And Useless still surpassed me!" Snotlout remarked, earning a scowl from Hiccup. This Useless took down a Night Fury, he wanted to say. Toothless wouldn't like that though...
ON FISHLEGS AND HICCUP coming across them. They see the
puddles of spilled water.
TUFFNUT
Oh, I'm hurt. I am very much hurt.
Again, laughs from Ruff and Hiccup, joined by Snotlout and some dragons (or at least Hiccup recognized it as a laugh).
FISHLEGS
Chances of survival are dwindling
into single digits now...
"That's reassuring," Hiccup said, a habit when he was in a tense situation (such as low chance of survival against a Zippleback situation).
HICCUP
Look out!
Some of the Villagers tense, not sure what to think of this. Where was Gobber anyway? This was clearly dangerous and only the two least capable were left. Not that anyone would ever question Fishlegs' strength, but that was honestly his only Viking attribute.
A Zippleback head emerges out of the smoke. Fishlegs hurls
his water at it, completely dousing the head. It leers and
opens its mouth, spewing gas into the area.
FISHLEGS
Oh. Wrong head.
GAS FLOWS around their legs. Fishlegs flees in a panic.
GOBBER
Fishlegs!
Beat. A clicking sound comes from behind them. Sparks flash
in the smoke.
GOBBER (CONT'D)
Now, Hiccup!
The other head sweeps out of the smoke. Hiccup hurls his
water with all his might. It arcs and drops short of the
dragon's sparking mouth. The dragon grins, savoring the kill.
HICCUP
Oh, come on!
"I'm dead." Hiccup states. Damn, I should've brought the eel with me.
GOBBER
RUN, HICCUP!
Gobber COVERS his eyes.
Yeah, parents (Stoick most of all) were starting to disapprove of some teaching methods... Stoick held his breath, afraid for his son's life (who wouldn't be?).
(Ugh. Sorry. 'Nother one-shot tid-bit. Not canon)
(Gobber was meanwhile dreading seeing the boy who called him 'Uncle Gobber' before he turned eight get burnt to a crisp. He also hid behind his hand.)
GOBBER (CONT'D)
Hiccup!
Beat.
The Zippleback hesitates. SNIFFS. Then retreats.
The teens get to their feet, watching transfixed. Gobber
peeks through his fingers to see...
Huh? That's one way to describe the crowd's reaction.
The Zippleback backing away from Hiccup. He stands and holds
his hands out, as if controlling it.
Eyes widen. What was Hiccup doing?! Was he conquering it? Would he be the hero of this 'movie' after all?
HICCUP
BACK! BACK! BACK! Now don't you
make me tell you again!
Zero scoffed at his tone. So fake. The Vikings seemed to have been fooled however. He turned around to look at Hiccup, who was cringing. Even he thinks he sounds fake.
The Zippleback retreats through its door and into its cave,
hissing.
HICCUP (CONT'D)
Yes, that's right. Back into your
Cage.
Hiccup slyly OPENS his vest, revealing the spotted smoked EEL
from earlier. He TOSSES it inside the door, then SLAMS it
Shut.
The dragons growl. That was downright horrible! Ewewewewewew. Didn't he know the sicknesses those things gave dragons?
Probably not, but still.
The Vikings are meanwhile questioning this new method. Many could see it as an easy way out or cheating. Either one was bad to be honest.
HICCUP (CONT'D)
Now think about what you've done.
Hiccup turns to the teens and Gobber. They stare, slack-jawed
HICCUP (CONT'D)
Okay! So are we done? Because I've
got some things I need to...
Hiccup jogs out of the ring, past the speechless group.
HICCUP (CONT'D)
Yep...see you tomorrow.
Astrid SNEERS. Something's going on.
And she's mad... I am so dead.
"Dude, does Astrid look mad to you?" Tuffnut asks no one in particular. Astrid elbowed him.
Very dead.
EXT. WOODS/COVE - SUNSET
BEGIN MUSIC MONTAGE
INT. BLACKSMITH STALL - HICCUP'S CLOSET - CONTINUOUS
"Huh. Music," Hiccup muses. This was the second time he's actually noticed it, but he'd been pretty speechless when watching his Forbidden Friendship unfold before his eyes.
...
How the Hel am I going to be the hero of this story?
Hiccup cuts and stitches leather, draws and shapes steel. He
works by candlelight. An overhead shot reveals what he's
building: a harness, complete with handles and foot pedals.
"Maybe he should be a blacksmith," Gobber comments. It was obvious that he couldn't kill dragons, so might as well make the boy do that. It wasn't a bad job (Gobber was the chief's second and one of the best fighters of Berk, even as a Blacksmith) though not as great as a dragon fighter.
Stoick took it under consideration. "Once this whole mess is over with and that Night Fury dies," he says, pretty loudly considering Gobber's in the middle row and he's in the back. Strangely, the front row consisted of only two empty seats, but he didn't dare question a witch or newly arrived wizard(?).
EXT. COVE - DAY
Hiccup appears before Toothless, holding the new prosthetic.
Toothless runs off as Hiccup chases him down.
HICCUP
Hey!
Laughter fills the theater. A dragon running away from Hiccup of all people?
The dragon's however recognize it as a game of tag.
And so did Hiccup. "Huh, never played tag before," He whispers to Toothless, and Stoick overhears. "Unless you count Dagur hunting me through the woods as tag." Stoick frowns. (Still not canon, but let's be honest. Dagur probably has hunted Hiccup down before)
EXT. COVE - DAY
Toothless and Hiccup are zooming over the ocean.
HICCUP
Yeah!
Their eyes widen.
The tail breaks free sending Hiccup flying.
Whoa!
They laugh.
Only Zero found himself wondering where they landed. (*sweatdrop*)
INT. BLAKCSMITH STALL - LATER
Hiccup adjusts the harness and uses a metal clamp to affix
himself to Toothless' saddle.
EXT. SKY/FIELD - DAWN
Hiccup and Toothless zip through the air - his rudimentary
harness and tail controls are working, barely. They crash-
land in an open field.
That had to hurt, Hiccup winced. He thanked the gods when he saw he was actually quite alright.
"I'm probably used to falling by now," he said dryly. He wasn't sure if that was good or not.
Hiccup recovers to find Toothless still rolling around in the
tall grass. Hiccup discovers that it's a patch of 'dragon-
nip.' Toothless writhes on his back, tongue wagging, in
complete bliss.
Hiccup laughs.
"Cat," a child yells out, and he laughs harder along with some children. Toothless snorts indignantly.
EXT. TRAINING GROUNDS - MORNING
Hiccup grabs the head as instructed, then discreetly pulls a
fistful of 'dragon-nip' and presses it up to the Gronkle's
nose. It immediately stops struggling and goes weak in the
knees. Hiccup drops the handful of dragon-nip to the ground.
The Gronkle goes down with it, whimpering and blissful.
From Gobber and the recruits' point of view, Hiccup is
controlling the Gronkle with no more than a limp arm.
Again, they find themselves wondering if he should be scolded or not.
Then again, he was Hiccup. He was always doing something that deserved scolding.
EXT. WOODS - AFTERNOON
The recruits walk home together, surrounding Hiccup and
BOMBARDING HIM WITH QUESTIONS.
FISHLEGS
Hey Hiccup, I've never seen a
Gronkle to that before.
TUFFNUT
How'd you do that?
RUFFNUT
It was really cool.
He squirms and invents an excuse.
HICCUP
I left my axe back in the ring.
He turns and hurries back.
HICCUP (CONT'D)
You guys go on ahead and I'll catch
up with you.
Astrid watches, suspicious.
The teenagers watch, almost offended by being ditched by Hiccup of all people.
"He didn't come back," Zero added 'helpfully'.
EXT. COVE - LATER
Hiccup rubs Toothless behind the ear, causing him to relax
and fall over.
"Aww," the children crooned. Hiccup looked at Toothless curiously.
Toothless noticed and responded with a look that meant 'try it and I will hurt you'. No matter how friendly, his friend was still a dragon, so Hiccup backed away (figuratively. They were seated after all).
EXT. TRAINING GROUNDS - LATER
An angry Deadly Nadder approaches Hiccup. Just as Astrid
moves in to strike, Hiccup performs his special rubbing
technique, which sends the Nadder down. Astrid and the other
kids look on from the sideline in amazement.
Okay, definitely bad. It no longer seemed like Hiccup wanted fame and glory (he was obviously running away from those).
He was protecting the dragons.
INT. MEADE HALL - CONTINUOUS
Hiccup sits down at a table to eat. The other recruits notice
him and move over to his table to talk to him - leaving
Astrid alone.
FISHLEGS
Hey Hiccup!
SNOTLOUT
What was that? Some kind of trick?
What did you do?
TUFFNUT
Hiccup, you're totally going to
come in first, there's no question.
Hiccup pales, feeling claustrophobic despite not being surrounded by the teens in the movie.
EXT. COVE - LATER
Hiccup is using a mirror-like object to create a patch of
light on the ground. Toothless claws and chases the light
patch like a cat chasing a laser pointer.
Toothless stiffens. He'd seen that bright creature before! He didn't question what Hiccup was doing with the hammer, ignoring it and hoping his movie-self would finally catch that damned thing.
Hiccup chuckles next to him and Toothless turns to him in confusion.
EXT. TRAINING GROUNDS - DAY
A beam lifts from the door of another dragon pen.
GOBBER
Meet the Terrible Terror.
A tiny, pint-sized dragon steps out and moves toward the
Recruits.
Some of the Terrors in the front rile up in excitement, and Toothless scoffed. He hated them.
TUFFNUT
Ha. It's like the size of my-
Tuffnut is taken down in a blur.
"Thank Odin he didn't finish that," Hiccup says, and many people agree.
TUFFNUT (CONT'D)
Get it off! Get it off! Oh! I'm
hurt, I am very much hurt!
At this, Ruff cackles.
Hiccup stops the Terrible Terror with the same light-patch
trick he used earlier with Toothless. The tiny dragon
retreats back to it's cage. The teens approach him yet again
as Astrid looks on with suspicion.
TUFFNUT (CONT'D)
(TO ASTRID)
Wow, he's better than you ever
Were.
Astrid socks him.
CUT TO:
EXT. FOREST - MOMENTS LATER
Astrid furiously hurls her axe at a nearby tree. She notices
Hiccup walking by in the distance, carrying one of his
trademark harnesses. She quickly tries to follow, but he
loses her in the woods.
She HUFFS, frustrated.
EXT. COVE - LATER
Hiccup straps a newly designed harness onto Toothless. With
Toothless tied to a nearby post with a rope. Hiccup rides him
in the air - while stationary. Toothless looks like a giant
kite tied to a tree stump. This harness seems to work.
EXT. SKY - MOMENTS LATER
The rope breaks and the pair CRASH into a tree. Hiccup's face
is red.
HICCUP
Oh, great.
The teenagers and Gobber laugh. How was he getting out of this one this time?
EXT. BERK - NIGHT
The streets are empty save for a lone Viking who crosses
Hiccup's path.
They stop laughing. He didn't...
VIKING
Hiccup.
Hiccup nods, trying to look casual.
Again, Hiccup cringes at his acting skills. He'd work on those...
Once the coast is clear, he covertly steers Toothless into the
Blacksmith's stall. Toothless PRESSES himself inside, rooting
through stuff and making a racket. Astrid, walking nearby, is alerted.
ASTRID (O.S.)
Hiccup?
Hiccup FREEZES. Then frantically tries to pry the ring off
the saddle hook. It won't budge.
"Wuh-oh," Hiccup mutters. Was he finally going to get caught? Would he lose Toothless?
ASTRID (CONT'D)
Are you in there?
Too late - she's right outside.
ON ASTRID walking along the outside of the Blacksmith's.
Hiccup JUMPS OUT the window and CLOSES the shutters behind
him. Hiccup's harness line is stretched through the window,
still attached to Toothless' saddle.
"That can't be good," Gobber comments. Hiccup feels his ears getting red in both irritation and embarrassment.
"So I noticed."
HICCUP
Astrid. Hey! Hi Astrid. Hi Astrid.
Hi Astrid.
Can I get any redder?
Toothless looked at him worriedly. He was changing colors... Was that normal behavior for a Viking?
ASTRID
I normally don't care what people
do, but you're acting weird. Well,
Weirder.
Toothless spots a nearby sheep and makes a move toward it. As
a result, Hiccup is suddenly PULLED TIGHT against the window
shutters. He STRIKES A POSE to compensate... then gets PULLED
THROUGH the shutters. They snap back in Astrid's face.
Astrid reopens them and finds nothing but an empty stall.
In the distance, Toothless and Hiccup slip off unseen.
"Awkward," Tuffnut sings from the middle row. Astrid decides the loss of her boot is worth it and throws it at Tuff's face.
Yep. These are not morals, but whatevs. Hiccup living two lives. Sweet, aye?
See ya, I guess
