Disclaimer: Again, I own none of this! Everything in bold is from the movie/movie script, which belongs to Dean Debois and Chris Sanders.

A/N: I hope you like it! My goal was to show in-character reactions to everything happening in the movie and to make it as realistic as possible. It's supposed to be kind of like if you were to watch an old video tape of yourself, where you know what's going to happen and you can reflect as you go.

An image appeared on the white rectangle, and the audience members gasped in amazement. (It looked like they were soaring over the ocean at night, moving quickly through a low cloud. The island of Berk could be seen in front of them.)

"This is impossible," Astrid murmured again, wide-eyed.

Then, Hiccup's voice came booming from the image:

Hiccup: This, is Berk.

Everyone gasped again, most of them turning to look directly at Hiccup sitting in the audience. He was just as wide-eyed as everyone else.

Hiccup: It's twelve days North of hopeless, and a few degrees South of freezing to death. It's located solidly on the meridian of misery.

(A wave splashes up towards the screen). The audience members cringed, surprised that they didn't feel themselves get wet. (The image moves over the island, showing all the houses of the village nestled into the hillside.)

Hiccup: My village. In a word, sturdy. It's been here for seven generations, but every single building is new. We have fishing, hunting, and a charming view of the sunsets.

(The scene shifts to show several sheep grazing in the grass.)

Hiccup: The only problems are the pests.

(A dragon claw swoops down and suddenly snatches one of the sheep from the ground.)

Hiccup: You see, most places have mice or mosquitos. We have...

(The image changes to show Hiccup opening the door from inside his house, revealing a full-fledged dragon raid occurring outside. The on-screen Hiccup quickly slams the door shut again as a Monstrous Nightmare sends flames straight towards the door.)

Hiccup: "...dragons." (he looks straight out at them from the screen. He reopens the sizzling door and leaps off of the front porch.)

"This is so weird," audience Hiccup whispered to Astrid next to him. She shook her head in disbelief as well. It was the strangest thing for Hiccup to watch himself in the past.

Hiccup: Most people would leave. (Dragons set the ground aflame and stole away sheep.) Not us. We're Vikings. We have stubbornness issues.

(Vikings were shown fighting attacking dragons. One flew by in a brawl with a Gronkle. On-screen Hiccup leaves his house and weaves through the erupting mayhem. He runs through the chaos.)

Hiccup: My name's Hiccup. Great name I know. But its not the worst. Parents believe a hideous name will frighten off gnomes and trolls. Like our charming Viking demeanor wouldn't do that. (The boy is knocked to the ground, and the image shows one of the villagers leaning over him with an axe, letting out a war cry.)

"Woah!" Fishlegs exclaimed in the audience.

Viking: "Mornin'!"

(On-screen Hiccup continues to run through the battle, passing villagers that the teens all knew.)

Hoark: "What are you doing here?"

Burnthair: "Get inside!"

Another Viking: "What are you doing out?"

Phlegma: "Get back inside!"

Stoick: "Hiccup!" (Stoick appears on screen, snatching his son from the ground by his vest with one hand.) "What is he doing out agai- what are you doing out? Get back inside!"

"Oh man, Hiccup," Tuff laughed. "Your dad can pick you up with one hand like that? How much do you actually weigh?"

Hiccup winced, while the other young Vikings chuckled.

Hiccup: That's Stoick the Vast. Chief of the Tribe. They say when he was a baby he popped a dragon's head clean off its shoulders. (Stoick grabs a fallen cart and throws it at a flying Nadder.) Do I believe it? (Beat). Yes I do.

"Ha!" Snotlout exclaimed. "You actually believe that, Hiccup?"

"Well, when you look at how Stoick is now, it's not really too hard to imagine," Fishlegs justified.

Stoick: "What have we got?"

Viking: "Gronkles. Nadders. Zipplebacks. Oh, and Hoark saw a Monstrous Nightmare."

Stoick: "Any Night Furies?"

Viking: "None so far."

Stoick: "Good."

Another Viking: "Hoist the torches!"

(Massive flaming braziers are raised on poles, lighting up the night sky... and revealing swirling dragons of all types. Below, Hiccup crosses an open plaza and ducks into an open building with a tall chimney.)

"Wait," Astrid said to Hiccup next to her. "Is this the raid when – "

"Yeah I think so," Hiccup answered her unfinished question. He gave Toothless a scratch on the neck and the dragon hummed reassuringly.

(Hiccup crosses behind the blacksmith counter, where Gobber reshapes blades with a hammer and tongs appendage.)

Gobber: "Ah! Nice of you to join the party. I thought you'd been carried off."

(Hiccup dons a leather apron and starts to put away Gobber's scattered appendages.)

Hiccup: "Wha - Who me? Nah, come on! I'm way too muscular for their taste. They wouldn't know what to do with all this." (He strikes a bodybuilder pose.)

Ruffnut snicked. "Don't even try, Hiccup," she said.

"Yeah," Snotlout agreed. "It doesn't work on you at all. Me on the other hand…" he flexed his arms and kissed his biceps, winking at Astrid.

"Ugh," Astrid gagged, rolling her eyes.

Gobber: "Well, they need toothpicks, don't they?"

(Hiccup gets to work, transferring bent and chipped weapons to the forge as Vikings crowd the counter for replacements.)

Hiccup: The meathead with attitude and interchangeable hands is Gobber. I've been his apprentice ever since I was little. Well...littler. (He places the broken weapons into the forge and uses his entire body to blow air onto the fire.)

Stoick: "We move to the lower defenses. We'll counter-attack with the catapults."

(Armed men rush past, flanking others who carry sheep to safety. Stoick follows up the rear as, overhead, a dragon strafes the rooftops with Napalm-like fire.)

Hiccup: See? Old village. Lots and lots of new houses.

Viking: "FIRE!"

(In response, the fire brigade charges through the plaza - four teens, tugging a large wooden cask on wheels. From it, they fill buckets of water to douse the flames. One among them is a cute, energetic Viking girl. Hiccup leans out of the stall to watch her.)

Hiccup: Oh and that's Fishlegs, Snotlout. The twins Ruffnut and Tuffnut. And... (dreamy) Astrid.

(A slow-motion explosion erupts behind her, framing her in a sexy ball of fire. The others join her, looking awesome and heroic.)

All of the teens in the audience were laughing at this point, while Hiccup turned away and covered his face, blushing like a maniac. Astrid was blushing too, but smiled at the embarrassed Hiccup.

"Way to announce your crush, Hiccup," Tuffnut said.

"I know," Ruff agreed. "I don't think you can get any more obvious than that."

"Game on, Hiccup," Snotlout said, nudging Astrid suggestively. "Game on!"

Astrid punched him in the stomach. Hard.

Hiccup: Their job is so much cooler. (Hiccup tries to join them as they pass, but he's hooked by Gobber and hoisted back inside.) "Ah, come on. Let me out, please. I need to make my mark."

Gobber: "Oh, you've made plenty of marks. All in the wrong places."

Hiccup: "Please, two minutes. I'll kill a dragon. My life will get infinitely better. I might even get a date."

Gobber: "You can't lift a hammer. You can't swing an axe," (he grabs a bola) "you can't even throw one of these."

(A Viking runs by and nabs it out of Gobber's hand, hurling it at a dive-bombing Gronkle. The bola binds its legs, sending it into a heavy crash.)

The teens in the audience cringed at the painful cry of the dragon.

Hiccup: "Okay fine, but..." (He rushes to the back corner of the stall and presents a bizarre, wheel barrow-like contraption.) "... this will throw it for me."

(Hiccup taps the hinged lid of the device. An arm springs up equipped with twin bows. They prematurely launch a bola, narrowly missing Gobber... and taking out a Viking at the counter.)

Viking: "Arggh!"

Gobber: "See, now this right here is what I'm talking about."

Hiccup: "Mild calibration issue – "

Gobber: "No – Hiccup. If you ever want to get out there to fight dragons, you need to stop all..." (Gobber gestures in Hiccup's general direction.) "... this."

Hiccup: "But you just pointed to all of me."

Gobber: "Yes! That's it! Stop being all of you."

Fishlegs face-palmed. "What kind of awful advice is that, Gobber?" he moaned.

Astrid snickered. Snotlout snorted.

Hiccup: "Ohhhh..."

Gobber: "Ohhhhh, yes."

Hiccup: "You, sir, are playing a dangerous game. Keeping this much, raw...Vikingness… contained." (Beat) "There will be consequences!"

"Hell yeah there will be," Astrid smiled proudly at Hiccup next to her, who sheepishly smiled back.

"Raw Vikingness?" Snotlout snorted. "Seriously Hiccup, you need to look in the mirror."

Astrid punched him in the stomach again. Hard.

"Does someone want to switch seats with me?" He asked weakly, holding his stomach painfully.

(Gobber tosses Hiccup a sword.)

Gobber: "I'll take my chances. Sword. Sharpen. Now."

(Hiccup takes it begrudgingly and lobs it onto the grinding wheel. He stews... fantasizing...)

Hiccup: One day I'll get out there. Because killing a dragon is everything around here.

Hiccup heard Toothless let out a surprised hum next to him. It was hard to believe that he had ever fantasized about killing dragons. But now he was feeling guilty, and a bit nervous about how Toothless would react. The dragon hadn't known him when he was still so ignorant and desperate to prove himself. Obviously, Hiccup had changed his mind the moment he saw Toothless, but it was still uncomfortable to hear himself talk about dragons like that.

(Nadders land, gathering like seagulls around a seemingly vacant house.)

Hiccup: A Nadder head is sure to get me at least noticed.

Stormfly let out an alarmed squawk. She also was surprised to hear Hiccup talking about dragons in this manner. Astrid murmured soothing words to her dragon.

(The Nadders clamber onto the building, tearing the roof and walls apart. Sheep pour out and SCATTER. Elsewhere, hippo-like Gronckles pick drying racks clean fish and fly off like loaded pelicans.)

Hiccup: Gronckles are tough. Taking down one of those would definitely get me a girlfriend.

Meatlug gargled nervously at the prospect of being killed for status purposes. Fishlegs gave his dragon a loving hug.

(A Zippleback head peeks over a rooftop, breathing gas into a chimney.)

Hiccup: A Zippelback? Exotic, exciting. Two heads, twice the status.

"Yeah!" Ruff and Tuff both exclaimed.

"Still so true," Tuff said

"Two heads are way better than one," Ruff added.

The two of them butted helmets together.

(A second head pokes through the door and lights it. KABLAM! The two heads fly through the explosion, their necks zipping together to reveal a single body. It flies past Stoick as he climbs to the top of a CATAPULT)

"Barf, Belch," Tuff turned to their dragon. "You wanna try making an explosion like that after we finish watching this?"

"I'd rather you not," Hiccup eyed him in warning.

Viking: "They found the sheep!"

Stoick: "Concentrate fire over the lower bank!"

Catapult operator: "Fire!"

(Boulders are catapulted at the corralling Nadders… Just as a huge Monstrous Nightmare whips past, spraying the base of the catapult with sticky fire.)

Hiccup: And then there's the Monstrous Nightmare. Only the best Vikings go after those. They have this nasty habit of setting themselves on fire.

(It emerges from the flames, climbing the catapult with a leering, toothy grin.)

"Would you look at that," Snotlout said smugly. "Hiccup is admitting to how much better me and Hookie are compared to all of you. Uh!" He struck a muscle pose.

Astrid lifted her fist to punch him again, and Snotlout flinched away from her, holding his arms around himself protectively. She relented and settled for just shooting him an annoyed glare.

Stoick: "Reload! I'll take care of this."

(Stoick takes on the Nightmare, face to hammer.)

The audience members all cringed as they watched the harsh beating of the dragon.

"Oh gods," Astrid murmured sympathetically, struggling to even look at the screen.

Toothless let out a very quiet whimper, just loud enough so that Hiccup heard it. He shifted uncomfortably in his chair, knowing that what was coming was going to be much harder to watch.

Hiccup: But the ultimate prize, is the dragon no one's ever seen. We call it the –

Viking: "Night Fury!"

Another Viking: "Get down!"

(Suddenly, a LOUD BALLISTIC MOANING streaks overhead. The catapult crew ducks. Vikings everywhere take shelter. The moaning sound BUILDS. The Monstrous Nightmare suddenly stops fighting and takes flight. Stoick and Hiccup look skyward.)

Stoick: "JUMP!"

(KABOOM! The Catapult EXPLODES as though hit by an artillery shell... sending Stoick and the crew leaping for their lives.)

Hiccup: (looking eagerly out the window of the blacksmith shop) This thing never steals food, never shows itself, and...

(The sound recedes, leaving the crippled catapult in flames.)

Hiccup: ...never misses. No one has ever killed a Night Fury. That's why I'm going to be the first.

Toothless glanced back at Hiccup, who had a pained expression on his face. The dragon cooed, and moved to place his chin on the boy's knee. Hiccup rubbed the top of the dragon's head, feeling the guilt weighing heavily on his heart.

Gobber: (trades his hammer for an axe.) "Man the fort, Hiccup, they need me out there." (He pauses. Turns with a threatening glare.) "Stay. Put. There. You know what I mean." (He charges into the fray, HOLLERING.)

(WHAM! Hiccup pushes his wheeled contraption through a wall of clustered Vikings. He weaves through the ongoing mayhem, as fast as his legs can carry him.)

Viking: "Hiccup, where are you going!"

Another Viking: "Come back here!"

Hiccup: "I know. Be right back!"

(The Nadders have cornered the house-full of sheep. They close in, ready to spring upon them. Stoick suddenly appears, HURLING FISHING NETS over them. The surprised Nadders are caught. Stoick and his men rush in. A Nadder blasts a hole through its net. Stoick leaps onto it, clamping his thick arms around its head, forcing its jaws shut.)

Stoick: "Mind yourselves! The devils still have some juice in them."

All of the dragons in the room were now on edge. Hookfang unintentionally set himself aflame, causing Snotlout to catch on fire.

"Hookfang!" He scolded his dragon.

Hiccup felt the tension rising in the room. This was so much harder for all of them to watch now that they all knew the truth about dragons.

(On-screen Hiccup reaches a cliff overlooking the smoking CATAPULT and drops the handles to the ground. He cranks several levers, unfolding and then cocking the bowed arms of his contraption. He drops a bola onto a chamber and then pivots the weapon on a gimbal head toward the dark sky.)

Hiccup felt his heart pounding in his chest, unable to look Toothless in the eyes. He wanted to run from the room, and forget that he ever committed such a horrible crime as this.

(On-screen Hiccup listens, with his eye pressed to the scope, hand poised on the trigger. He hears the NIGHT FURY approaching... and turns his aim to the defense tower. It closes in for the final strike, completely camouflaged in the night.)

Hiccup: "Come on. Give me something to shoot at, give me something to shoot at."

Toothless could feel Hiccup shaking underneath his chin, which still rested comfortingly on the boy's knee. He nuzzled the boy lovingly. The dragon also was remembering that night, and it brought back memories of fear and loneliness and hunger. Constant hunger. The dragons never got enough food when they were under the command of that awful queen.

(KABLAM! The tower topples. The blast of fire illuminates the dragon for a split second. Hiccup pulls the trigger. KERTHUNK! The flexed arms SNAP forward, springing the weapon off the ground. The bola disappears into the sky, followed by a WHACK and a SCREECH.)

Hiccup let out an involuntary gasp at the sound of the Night Fury's wretched, painful cry. He turned his head away from the screen, and realized that there were tear stains on his cheeks.

Astrid noticed Hiccup's guilt-stricken expression and she reached her hand out to take his. He looked at her and swallowed. Toothless gently licked the boy's face, and then looked back at the screen. Even as he remembered how much the hit of the weapon had hurt, the dragon couldn't help but wonder how much worse things would have been for all of them right now if Hiccup had missed.

Hiccup: "Oh I hit it! Yes, I hit it! Did anybody see that?"

Hiccup felt sick to his stomach at his elated reaction to hurting the dragon. He hadn't known. If he had known he would never have done it in the first place.

(Hiccup's victory is short-lived. A Monstrous Nightmare appears, slithering up over the lip of the cliff)

Hiccup: "Except for you."

"Geez, Hiccup, you don't even look scared," Tuff commented. "Did you always used to talk to dragons like that, right before they were about to kill you?"

(Hiccup runs from the Monstrous Nightmare screaming)

"Typical," Snotlout smirked.

(ON STOICK, holding down the netted Nadders. He hears a familiar HOLLER and looks up to see... HICCUP running through the PLAZA, SCREAMING, with the NIGHTMARE fast on his heels. Alarmed, Stoick abandons the Nadders and runs off.)

Stoick: "DO NOT let them escape!"

(Vikings scatter as Hiccup dodges a near fatal blast. The Nightmare's sticky, Napalm-like fire splashes up onto buildings, setting them alight – Hiccup ducks behind the last standing brazier - the only shelter available. The Nightmare blasts it, spraying fire all around him. Hiccup peers around the smoldering post. No sign of the Nightmare. He turns back to find it leering at him, blocking his escape. It takes a deep breath. Suddenly, Stoick LEAPS between them, tackling the Nightmare to the ground. They tumble and wrestle, resuming their earlier fight. The Nightmare tries to toast him, but only coughs up smoke.)

Stoick: "You're all out."

(He smashes the Nightmare repeatedly in the face, driving it away. It takes to the air and disappears. Winded, Stoick turns to Hiccup.)

Hiccup: Oh, and there's one more thing you need to know...

(The burnt brazier pole collapses, sending the massive iron basket crashing. It bounces down the hill, destroying as it goes and scattering the Vikings who were holding down the netted Nadders. The freed dragons escape... with several sheep in tow.

Hiccup: "Sorry, dad."

(The escaped Nadders fly past with sheep in their clutches. The raid is over. The dragons have clearly won. The murmuring crowd eyes Stoick, awaiting his response.)

Hiccup: "Okay, but I hit a Night Fury."

(Stoick grabs Hiccup by the back scruff of his collar and hauls him away, fuming with embarrassment.)

Hiccup: "It's not like the last few times, Dad. I mean I really actually hit it. You guys were busy and I had a very clear shot. It went down, just off Raven Point. Let's get a search party out there, before it -"

"It's a good thing we didn't believe you at the time, Hiccup," Fishlegs said. "Toothless wouldn't have stood a chance if we had actually sent a search party."

"I guess that's something to be grateful for," Hiccup admitted darkly.

Stoick: "-STOP! Just...stop."

(He releases Hiccup. Everyone goes silent, staring expectantly.)

Stoick: "Every time you step outside, disaster follows. Can you not see that I have bigger problems? Winter is almost here and I have an entire village to feed!"

(Hiccup looks around. All eyes are upon him.)

Hiccup: "Between you and me, the village could do with a little less feeding, don't ya think?"

(A few rotund Vikings stir self-consciously.)

Stoick: "This isn't a joke, Hiccup! Why can't you follow the simplest orders?"

Hiccup: "I can't stop myself. I see a dragon and I have to just... kill it, you know? It's who I am, Dad."

"Why do I get the feeling that even you didn't really believe that?" Astrid asked Hiccup next to her.

"It was who I was trying to be, Astrid," Hiccup replied. "It was who I was expected to be, and I was trying to fit what my dad wanted me to be."

Stoick: "You are many things, Hiccup. But a dragon killer is not one of them."

"He sure got that one, right," Snotlout agreed.

"But now we all know that it's not a bad thing," Fishlegs added.

Stoick: "Get back to the house. Make sure he gets there. I have his mess to clean up."

(Stoick lumbers off in the opposite direction. Gobber leads Hiccup through the walk of shame. They pass the teen fire brigade as they snicker.)

Tuffnut: "Quite the performance."

Snotlout: "I've never seen anyone mess up that badly. That helped!"

Hiccup: "Thank you, thank you. I was trying, so..."

(Hiccup heads up toward a large house, standing prominently on the hill above the others.)

Snotlout chuckled. "You know, at the time it looked really bad," he grinned remembering. "Really, really bad," he laughed louder. The twins laughed as well.

Toothless growled at them and the others glared at the three clowns. They're laughter died when they saw their expressions.

Hiccup: "I really did hit one."

Gobber: "Sure, Hiccup."

Hiccup: "He never listens."

Gobber: "Well, it runs in the family."

Hiccup: "And when he does, it's always with this... disappointed scowl. Like someone skimped on the meat in his sandwich." (Mimicking Stoick) "Excuse me, barmaid. I'm afraid you brought me the wrong offspring. I ordered an extra large boy with beefy arms. Extra guts and glory on the side. This here. This is a talking fish bone."

All of the audience members laughed at Hiccup's impression of his father.

"You are actually really good at that," Astrid complimented him, and Hiccup gave her a half-hearted smile.

Gobber: "You're thinking about this all wrong. It's not so much what you look like. It's what's inside that he can't stand."

Fishlegs face-palmed. "Again! Gobber! What is it with him and awful advice?"

Hiccup: "Thank you, for summing that up."

(They reach the doorway.)

Gobber: "Look, the point is, stop trying so hard to be something you're not."

Hiccup: (sighing heavily) "I just want to be one of you guys."

(Gobber eyes him sympathetically. Hiccup turns and goes through the front door. And straight out the back door. He hurries off into the woods, determined.)

"So much for making sure he stays home," Ruff said.

Tuff grunted. "I know. And he thinks we don't listen," he rolled his eyes.

(The image shifts to the Great Hall, where Vikings are gathered around the war room table)

Stoick: "Either we finish them or they'll finish us! It's the only way we'll be rid of them! If we find the nest and destroy it, the dragons will leave. They'll find another home." (He sinks his blade into a LARGE NAUTICAL MAP, spread out on the table... the blade pierces the middle of an uncharted corner, swirling with painted sea monsters and dragons.) "One more search. Before the ice sets in."

Viking: "Those ships never come back."

Stoick: "We're Vikings. It's an occupational hazard. Now who's with me?"

(Stoick throws up his fist. No one follows. The crowds shifts in restless silence. Head scratches. Eyes averted.)

Stoick: "Alright. Those who stay will look after Hiccup."

(Hands jut into the air, volunteers galore. Enthusiastic murmurs of prep and packing fill the room.)

Phlegma: "To the ships!"

Spitelout: "I'm with you Stoick!"

Stoick: "Ah yeah, That's more like it."

"Wow, really nice, Dad," Hiccup grumbled. "Why are we watching this part? I really needed to be reminded of how much the whole village hated me," he said sarcastically.

(The Vikings rush for the door, leaving Gobber and Stoick alone. Gobber gulps back the contents of his tankard attachment and scrapes back the bench.)

Gobber: "I'll pack my undies."

Stoick: "No, I need you to stay and train some new recruits."

"That's us!" Ruffnut exclaimed.

Gobber: "Oh, perfect. And while I'm busy, Hiccup can cover the stall. Molten steel, razor sharp blades, lots of time to himself...what could possibly go wrong?"

"Everything," Snotlout chimed in.

(Stoick sinks onto the bench beside Gobber, his brow burdened.)

Stoick: "What am I going to do with him Gobber?"

Gobber: "Put him in training with the others."

Stoick: "No, I'm serious."

Gobber: "So am I."

(Stoick turns to him, glaring.)

Stoick: "He'd be killed before you let the first dragon out of its cage."

"Sheesh, your dad has no faith in you at all," Fishlegs commented.

"Tell me about it," Hiccup grumbled.

"None of us did," Snotlout reminded him. "I still don't," he added stubbornly, crossing his arms, which earned him another punch from Astrid.

Gobber: "Oh, you don't know that."

Stoick: "I do know that, actually."

Gobber: "No, you don't."

Stoick: "No, actually I do."

Gobber: "No you don't!"

"Wow," Astrid said. "Gobber really advocated for you. He must have convinced your Dad to let you train."

"Yeah," Hiccup replied. "Right in time for me to decide I really didn't want to fight dragons at all."

Stoick: "Listen. You know what he's like. From the time he could crawl he's been...different. He doesn't listen. He has the attention span of a sparrow. I take him fishing and he goes hunting for... for trolls!"

"When did that happen?" Tuff asked.

"Who goes hunting for trolls?" Ruff cackled.

"That was years ago," Hiccup responded defensively. "It happened once, when I was like six, and apparently Dad still hasn't gotten over it," he said angrily.

Gobber: "Trolls exist! They steal your socks. But only the left ones. What's with that?"

"What an idiot," Snotlout muttered.

Stoick: "When I was a boy..."

Gobber: "Oh here we go."

Stoick: "My father told me to bang my head against a rock and I did it. I thought it was crazy, but I didn't question him. And you know what happened?"

Gobber: "You got a headache."

Stoick: "That rock split in two. It taught me what a Viking could do, Gobber. He could crush mountains, level forests, tame seas! Even as a boy, I knew what I was, what I had to become. (Beat) Hiccup is not that boy."

Hiccup had never heard his dad tell that story before. He also hadn't realized how worried his dad had been about him. Hiccup had been really lost before meeting Toothless. He still didn't really feel like he knew exactly who he was. But the way that his father was talking about him made Hiccup feel a lot better about his relationship with his dad. Stoick may have acted like Hiccup was useless, but this conversation made it clear that he actually did always care and worry for his son.

Gobber: "You can't stop him, Stoick. You can only prepare him. Look, I know it seems hopeless. But the truth is you won't always be around to protect him. He's going to get out there again. He's probably out there now."

(Scene cuts to a drawn map of the island, covered in X's. Hiccup looks up from it and peeks over a gorge, expectantly. Sees nothing. He adds another 'X' to the page, then scratches his pencil over the whole map in frustration. He snaps the book closed and pockets it.)

"Oh this is so exciting!" Fishlegs exclaimed quietly to the group. "Is this when you find Toothless?"

"Yeah," Hiccup smiled, scratching his dragon under the chin.

Hiccup: Oh, the gods hate me. Some people lose their knife or their mug. No, not me. I manage to lose an entire dragon.

(Hiccup WHACKS a low-hanging branch. It SNAPS back at him, hitting him in the face.)

The twins and Snotlout let out loud laughter.

(He looks up to see a snapped tree trunk. His eyes follow it to a long trench of up-turned earth. He follows it to a downed, black dragon, its body and tail tangled in a bola. It appears dead.)

Toothless cooed in anticipation, and looked back at Hiccup. Hiccup gave the dragon a small smile.

Hiccup: (approaches the dragon, beaming.) "Oh wow. I did it. I did it. This fixes everything. Yes! (He strikes a victory pose, planting his foot on the fallen Night Fury) I have brought down this mighty beast!"

Toothless gave Hiccup an annoyed grumble and shot him a dirty look. Hiccup grimaced sheepishly back. "Sorry," he whispered.

(The dragon suddenly shifts.)

Hiccup: "Whoa!"

(Hiccup springs back, terrified. He turns his blade on it. Rattled, Hiccup creeps along the length of the weak, wounded dragon, dagger poised to strike. As he reaches the head, Hiccup finds the Night Fury staring coldly at him. Hiccup tries to look away, but he's drawn back to its unnerving, unflinching stare.)

"Oh my gods," Astrid breathed next to Hiccup, completely engrossed in the moving image.

(With the dragon safety tangled in the ropes, Hiccup jabs with his dagger, puffing himself up with false bravado.)

"I'm going to kill you, Dragon." (Beat) "I'm gonna cut out your heart and take it to my father. I'm a Viking." (Beat) "I am a VIKING!"

Toothless let out a soft moan, and Hiccup gently rubbed his head. "I'm sorry for scaring you, bud," he murmured. "You know I was really scared too."

Toothless cooed again, and put his head back in Hiccup's lap.

(Hiccup raises the dagger, determined to prove his Viking-ness. The dragon's labored breathing breaks Hiccup's clenched concentration. He opens an eye, uncertainty leaking through. The dragon holds the stare. Something profound is exchanged. Finally, the Night Fury closes its eye and lowers its head, resigned to its fate. Hiccup tries to go through with it, holding the dagger aloft... fighting himself... until finally lowering it with a frustrated sigh. He looks over the dragon's chaffed rope wounds.)

Astrid shook her head in awe, staring wide-eyed at the screen. All of the young dragon riders had their eyes glued, unblinking at the screen. "That's just amazing," Astrid murmured quietly to Hiccup. "I never, ever would have had the strength to do that."

Hiccup turned his head to look at Astrid next to him, surprised. Strength. She thought his refusal to kill Toothless was strength. Hiccup had believed for so long that what he had done was weak and cowardly. He had given into his weak cursed heart, and he didn't have the strength to just kill the beast when he'd had the chance. But Astrid watched what had happened and immediately saw strength and bravery. Hiccup smiled, for the first time feeling really proud. Astrid thought he was strong.

Hiccup: "I did this."

(He turns to leave. Pauses. And glances back at the dragon, chest heaving. Hiccup GRUMBLES. He checks over his shoulder to ensure that no one is watching... then hurries back to cut the ropes. The Night Fury's eye shoots open. With the dragon watching his every move, Hiccup hurriedly saws through the bola ropes.)

"Hiccup you are absolutely insane!" Tuffnut exclaimed.

(As the last rope falls free, the Night Fury suddenly POUNCES! In a blur, the dragon is upon him, pinning Hiccup down, grazing his neck. Looking like it's about to kill him.)

Everyone in the audience except Hiccup gasped loudly. Snotlout hissed out a low curse word.

(Hiccup is paralyzed. The dragon's breath ruffles his hair. Hiccup opens his eyes to find the Night Fury's wolf-like stare boring into him. The exchange is intense, profound. The dragon draws a deep breath, as though it's about to torch him, then lets out an ear-piercing scream instead. It turns and takes flight, flapping violently through the canopy of trees. It bashes against a nearby mountain side, recovers, and drops out of view some distance away.)

"Oh my gods!"

"I can't believe he didn't kill you on the spot!"

"That actually happened?"

"That was incredible!"

All of the young Vikings had now turned to look at Hiccup and Toothless at the end of the row. Hiccup smiled at all of their reactions and just shrugged. "Lesson number one: if you don't kill the dragon, he won't kill you."

"I guess we know that now," Fishlegs said, "but you didn't know that at the time. It's pretty incredible that you reacted to the dragon the way you did."

"It's true, Hiccup," Astrid agreed. "None of us would have looked into his eyes and felt sympathy the way you did. It was such a risky decision to set him free."

"But it worked out," Hiccup smiled at Toothless. "And it was worth all the risk in the world."

The dragon licked the boy's face in enthusiastic agreement.

"Gaah!" Hiccup exclaimed, wiping away the slobber with a smile.

(Winded, Hiccup struggles to his feet, staggers a few steps, collapses to his knees, and faints.)

Snotlout burst out laughing. "Whimp!" he called.

"Oh like you would have reacted any differently to almost being killed," Astrid defended Hiccup.

Everyone laughed.

A/N: What do you think so far? Please let me know in the reviews!