EXT. HIDDEN COVE – DUSK
Hiccup:
… LEAVING!
All but Hiccups: WHAT?!
Hiccup: I didn't want to kill a dragon.
FH: Exactly.
They continued to watch.
Hiccup:
We're leaving. Let's pack up. Looks like you and me are taking a little vacation, forever.
[Toothless is nowhere in sight. Hiccup sets down his basket and opens it up, his head clouded with troubles.]
Hiccup:
Oh… man…
[SHINK!]
[Hiccup looks up to the sound of… Astrid, sitting on the rock right in front of him, sharpening her axe.]
Hiccup:
Aggh! What the- What are you doing here?
They were all startled minus the Future Hiccup and Astrid.
[She hops off the rock and back him down, spinning her axe threateningly. Hiccup's eyes dart around nervously, searching for Toothless.]
Astrid:
I want to know what's going on. No one just gets as good as you do. Especially you. Start talking! Are you training with someone?
Hiccup:
Uh… training?
AT: If training with a dragon counts, then yes.
Hiccup: What the future Toothless said.
[She grabs him by his odd-looking harness.]
Astrid:
It better not involve… this.
Hiccup:
I know this looks really bad, but you see… this is, uh…
[They hear a rustle coming from the other side of the cove. Astrid drops Hiccup to the ground and sets off to investigate.]
Hiccup:
You're right! You're right. I'm through with the lies. I've been making… outfits. So you got me. It's time everyone knew. Drag me back. Go ahead. Here we go.
[He puts her hand back on his harness, getting her to 'drag him back.' Astrid bends Hiccup's hand backwards, driving him down.]
Hiccup:
OW! Why would you DO that?!
Astrid:
That's for the lies.
[Astrid pounces the hilt of her axe off of Hiccup's laid-out body.]
Astrid:
And THAT'S for everything else.
Everyone grimaces.
FA: Sorry, babe.
FH: It's fine. Plus, I got paybacks anyways.
They were confused and continued to watch.
[Hiccup's yelp is answered with a growl, coming from the other side of the cove. Astrid looks up to see… A Night Fury. Toothless pounces toward them, snarling.]
Hiccup:
Oh man.
[She dives onto Hiccup.]
Astrid:
Get down! RUN! RUN!
[Astrid pulls her axe, ready to take on Toothless.]
Hiccup: Do you want me to get down or run? I can't do both.
Hiccup was still with the dragons and Astrid glared.
Hiccup:
NO!
[Hiccup knocks Astrid's cocked axe to the ground, out of reach, then stops Toothless short of crushing her.]
Hiccup:
No. It's okay! It's okay…
[Toothless pulls up short and lands hard, spraying Astrid with sand.]
Hiccup:
She's a friend.
Astrid: Friend?
Hiccup: I was protecting you from Toothless and Toothless from you.
They continued to watch.
[Toothless snorts in disagreement. Astrid is frozen. Toothless looks from her to Hiccup and back to her, confused.]
Hiccup:
You just scared him.
Astrid:
I scared him?!
[Hiccup makes a "be quiet" motion.]
Astrid:
Who is him?
Hiccup:
Astrid, Toothless. Toothless, Astrid.
[Astrid backs away, eyeing Hiccup and Toothless together with pure disgust. She turns and runs for the village.]
Hiccup:
Da, da-da! We're dead!
Everyone laughed.
[Satisfied with Astrid's departure, Toothless turns away.]
Hiccup:
Where do you think you're going?
Toothless: Anywhere she isn't. She's gone and that's fine by me.
AT: Not anymore.
They wondered what changed.
EXT. WOODS – MOMENTS LATER
[Astrid races through the trees. A large shadow overtakes her. She is suddenly snatched into the air. Astrid screams.]
Astrid:
AH! Oh great Odin's ghost, this is it!
Snotlout: WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!
FH shrugged.
FH: Convincing Astrid by kidnapping and bribery.
They all looked at the Future Hiccup stunned, even past Hiccup, never thinking he was capable of such a thing. Then continued to watch.
[Hiccup and Toothless fly Astrid to the top of a towering pine. It bows and creaks under their weight as Astrid dangles a hundred feet in the air.]
Astrid:
Hiccup! Get me down from here!
Hiccup:
You have to give a chance to explain.
Astrid:
I'm not listening to ANYTHING you have to say!
Hiccup: Classic.
Astrid: WHAT?!
Hiccup: Just no one listens to me except Toothless.
They were all stunned but continued to watch.
Hiccup:
Then I won't speak. Just let me show you.
[Hiccup extends a hand.]
Hiccup:
Please, Astrid.
[She eyes him and the dragon, then the ground far, far below. After a moment, she swats Hiccup's outstretched hand away and reluctantly climbs over the pedal, lines, and harness. She settles behind Hiccup, avoiding as much contact as possible.]
Astrid:
Now get me down.
Hiccup:
Toothless? Down. Gently.
Toothless: Heck no! She's rude! I'm gonna teach her a lesson.
AT: It works out.
Everyone was nervous now, especially Astrid.
[Toothless leers mischievously. He spreads his wings slowly. With a whop, they fill with the updraft. Toothless releases the tree, tucks in his legs, and hovers in place.]
Hiccup:
See? Nothing to be afraid of.
[Toothless suddenly launches straight upward. Astrid screams. The acceleration is tremendous. Every downbeat bucks the saddle, heaving them into the sky, doubling their speed like a rocket. Astrid is thrown backward. She screams and hugs Hiccup for dear life, squeezing the breath out of him.]
Hiccup:
WHOA! TOOTHLESS! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?! BAD DRAGON! (Mortified; to Astrid) He's not usually like this. Oh no…
[Toothless rolls and plummets toward the coastline far below. Astrid screams.]
[Toothless rockets over the ocean waves, deliberately dipping them in the froth.]
Everyone paled at this.
Hiccup:
Toothless, what are you doing?! We need her to like us!
[Toothless rockets skyward and begins tumbling head over tail.]
Hiccup:
And now the spinning. Thank you for nothing you useless reptile.
[Astrid clamps her hand over her eyes.]
Astrid:
Okay! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Just get me off of this thing.
[Astrid is defeated, her aggressive energy gone. Satisfied, Toothless relents.]
Nino: That was crazy.
FA: It was a little fun. I mean, I do stunts on Stormfly.
They were surprised.
FTwins: Dragon race! Dragon race! Dragon race!
Eliza: Not indoors and we are watching a movie. Now let's get back to it.
They turned back to it.
[They level off and head up into the clouds. Astrid opens her eyes again, and looks out over a world she'd never dreamed of. She reaches out and touches the clouds, pierces columns ablaze in golden hues, and floats over a vast, alien sky-scape. Her terror is replaced by wonder. She grins, despite herself.]
[Toothless rises above a blanket of clouds…]
They were amazed by the beautiful sight.
DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. SKY – NIGHT
[…and levels off under a starry sky. They emerge from a blanket of clouds under the dancing Northern Lights, shimmering in ribbons across the vast sky.]
[Below them, Berk's torches flicker in the inky darkness. The new perspective is breathtaking.]
[Astrid tucks her arms into Hiccup's vest, burying her chin into his shoulder. The moment is not lost on either of them. Hiccup smiles nervously.]
[Toothless climbs past Berk's tallest peaks and heads out over open water, leaving the village lights behind them.]
The show was interrupted by a squeal while past Astrid and Hiccup were blushing mad. They looked towards the back where the squeal came from.
Eliza: Sarah?! What are you doing here?
Sarah: Sorry. But you didn't tell me the characters from Danny Phantom, HTTYD, and Miraculous Ladybug was here. Then you just watched the most romantic flight ever! Now come on. Let' continue to watch.
She went over and began watching with them.
Astrid:
Alright I admit it. This is pretty cool. It's… amazing. He's amazing.
[Astrid carefully reaches down and pats Toothless' side.]
Astrid:
So what now?
[Hiccup groans. It's a problem without an answer.]
Astrid:
Hiccup, your final exam is tomorrow. You know you're going to have to kill… (Whispered) … kill a dragon.
Hiccup:
Don't remind me.
[A strange, unearthly din approaches. Toothless' eat plates suddenly stand on end. Panicked, he abruptly dives, dipping into cloud cover.]
Everyone but the future Hiccup, Astrid, and all the dragons were startled.
Hiccup:
Toothless! What's happening? What is it?
[Toothless barks at him. 'Quiet!']
[Suddenly, out of the dense cloud, a Monstrous Nightmare emerges.]
Hiccup:
Get down!
[Hiccup and Astrid duck. The Nightmare calls out. A Zippleback appears to the other side of Toothless, boxing him in.]
Danny: What's going on?
Marinette: Looks bad.
Stoick: Obviously nothing good.
They continued to watch.
Astrid:
What's going on?
Hiccup:
I don't know. Toothless. You've got to get us out of here, bud.
[Toothless hisses.]
[Other dragons, previously invisible in the thick clouds, appear all around them. Hundreds of them, all carrying fish and fame in their talons.]
Hiccup (Whisper):
It looks like they're hauling in their kill.
[The Zippleback eyes them ravenously.]
Astrid:
What does that make us?
Both sets of twins: LUNCH!
FA: No it doesn't.
They continued to watch.
[The dragons bank and dive in formation, plummeting through the thickening fog and weaving between towering, craggy sea stacks.]
[They emerge at the base of a massive volcanic caldera, glowing with rivulets of lava. The flock of dragons fall into rank, funneling through a crack, and zipping through a winding tunnel.]
[It gives way to a vast, steamy inner chamber, tiered with pocky shelves. Dragons of all breeds lay about, nested in hordes.]
[The arriving dragons fly in, dropping the fish and game into a central pit, glowing red and shrouded in mist.]
[Hiccup is amazed.]
Hiccup:
What my dad wouldn't give to find this.
FF: It's the nest!
They were all stunned.
FH: That isn't the most surprising bit.
They were curious and continued to watch.
[Toothless peels away from the procession, landing on a small shadowy shelf to keep a low-profile.]
[Hiccup and Astrid peek around, taking in the busy hive of sorts. They watch as the food continues to be dropped into the pit.]
Hiccup:
It's satisfying to know that all of our food has been dumped down a hole.
Astrid:
They're not eating any of it.
FA: Here comes the surprising bit.
They continued to watch as the future gang already knew what was in the nest.
FT: You're both dead.
FA and FH: WE'RE RIGHT HERE!
They continued to watch.
[Last to arrive is a dim-witted Gronckle. It hovers over the pit and regurgitates his paltry contribution – a pathetic little fish. As it falls into the steamy pit, a terrible roar rings out.]
[The Gronckle tries to flee, but before it can, a gargantuan dragon head juts from the steamy pit and snaps it out of the air. Swallowing it back whole.]
Everyone but Future Astrid, Hiccup, and Toothless, all jumped.
[Hiccup and Astrid recoil, terrified.]
Astrid:
What is that?
Future twins: RED DEATH! AWESOME!
The dragons, Eret, future gang, and dragon warrior all glared at the twins since everyone was in shock.
FT: Not awesome?
FA: Definitely not.
They continued to watch.
[The monstrous beast sniffs the air, seemingly aware of them. It nears the ledge where Toothless is hiding… and roars. Several dragons take flight in fear.]
Hiccup:
Alright buddy, we gotta get out of here. Now!
[Toothless takes flight, barely evading the monster's snapping jaws.]
They all were stunned and relieved.
[The behemoth dragon lunges for them, snatching a Zippleback out of the air instead.]
[Toothless disappears into the winged exodus as thousands of dragons flee the caldera in fear.]
EXT. HIDDEN COVE – NIGHT – LATER
[Toothless glides into the cove and touches down on the moonlit beach.]
Astrid:
No, no, it totally makes sense. It's like a giant beehive. They're the workers… and that's their queen. It controls them.
[She leaps off of Toothless and runs toward the village.]
Astrid:
Let's find your dad.
Hiccup: NO WAY! HE'LL KILL TOOTHLESS!
Hiccup:
No, no! Not yet. They'll… kill Toothless. Astrid, we have to think this through carefully.
[Astrid eyes him, incredulous.]
Astrid:
Hiccup, we just discovered the dragons' nest… the thing we've been after since Vikings first sailed here. And you want to keep it a secret? To protect your pet dragon? Are you serious?
FH: Not pet but best friend.
FA: Obviously.
They continued to watch.
[Hiccup stands firm, resolute.]
Hiccup:
Yes.
[Astrid's taken aback.]
Astrid:
Okay. Then what do we do?
Hiccup:
Just give me unil tomorrow. I'll figure something out.
Astrid:
Okay.
[Astrid punches Hiccup in the arm.]
Astrid:
That's for kidnapping me.
[Hiccup looks to Toothless for support. Toothless snorts, dismissive.]
[Astrid grabs him. He braces for another hit. She kisses Hiccup on the cheek.]
Astrid:
That's for, everything else.
Everyone but vikings awwed at the two as young Astrid and Hiccup blushed.
[In the awkward wake of the moment, Astrid hurries off… leaving Hiccup rubbing his cheek stunned.]
[Toothless hobbles up, eyeing him.]
Hiccup:
What are you looking at?
They all laughed.