I do not own How to Train Your Dragon. Quotes that are directly from the movie will be in bold.

Be Careful What You Wish For

As Hiccup and Sunset hurried into the forest in search of the fallen Night Fury, Stoick was in the Great Hall with the majority of his tribe. "We need to end this now!" Stoick snapped. "If we don't finish the dragons off first, then they'll finish us. All we have to do is find the nest and destroy it."

"Is that all?" Gobber drawled.

Stoick ignored his friend. "We'll set out on one more search before winter strikes."

"But no one ever makes it back from those searches," one Viking complained.

Stoick shrugged. "Being a Viking is an occupational hazard. Now who's going to volunteer?"

Everyone avoided eye contact. Stoick crossed his arms. "Fine then. Those who want to stay behind will look after Hiccup and Sunset."

Immediately every hand shot up. Stoick smiled. "We sail right at dawn. I suggest you all pack the necessary supplies."

The Vikings filed out and Gobber took a sip from his mug. "And what makes you think we'll find the nest this time?"

"This area is the only place we haven't looked," Stoick answered, gesturing towards the crudely drawn map in the middle of the table. "And while I lead the search, you will stay here and train new recruits."

"And who's going to watch the stall while I'm gone?" Gobber asked. "Hiccup, the boy who is known to hurt himself around sharp objects? Or Sunset, the girl who has a deep loathing over all weapons? And you know one never does anything without the other, so I'm sure having both of them run the stall won't end in disaster."

Stoick sighed and collapsed on the bench beside Gobber. "I don't know what to do with him."

"I do. Put him in training."

The tribe leader shot Gobber a disbelieving glance. "You're joking."

"I'm not."

"The second you let the first dragon out into the arena he'll be killed," Stoick snapped.

"I'm sure that won't happen"

"I'm sure it will."

Gobber shook his head. "And I'm sure it won't."

Stoick sighed in exasperation. "Gobber, you know Hiccup's always been different, ever since he was a wee lad. I try to take him fishing and he wants to go looking for trolls."

"Who, by the way, do exist," Gobber said firmly. "They steal your left socks."

"Even Sunset worries me," Stoick continued, ignoring Gobber's remark, "and you and I both know her father has long since given up on her. Ever since she was old enough to be able to learn how to use a knife she's refused. We've known the girl since Hiccup met her when they were wee toddlers. She's like family. And knowing that neither of them is going to last long in the world is a little worrying. You know, when I was young-"

"And here we go," Gobber muttered.

"-I was told by my father to bang my head against a rock. And even though I thought it was crazy, I still did it. And do you know what happened?"

"Your skull cracked?" Gobber asked sarcastically.

"The rock split in half," Stoick said. "That one moment showed me what a Viking could really do. At that moment I knew what I was to become." He let out a sigh. "That boy is not Hiccup."

"You're not always going to be around to protect him, Stoick," Gobber pointed out. "You can't stop him from doing what Hiccup does, you can only prepare him. The same goes for Sunset. As much as she'll hate the idea, she needs this. They both do."

Stoick nodded slowly. "Alright. I still think it's a bad idea, but I'll put them both in."

"I'm sure they'll be overjoyed." Gobber grinned slightly. "Especially Sunset."

...

"Oof!" Sunset grunted as yet another branch caught her across the face. "Hiccup, do you have any idea where you're going?"

Her friend drew quickly in his notebook, attempting to pinpoint their position before giving up and scribbling over his make-shift map in frustration. "How is it possible for someone to lose an entire dragon?"

"It's just our luck." Sunset shrugged. The two came upon and gorged and peered hopefully over it. But nothing was there.

Hiccup groaned. He kicked a tree trunk in frustration and pain immediately shot up his ankle. "Okay, bad idea."

As he hopped around holding his injury, he noticed that the tree trunk was snapped. He turned around slowly and spotted a trail of upturned earth along with some fallen tree branches. "Does this mean what I think it means?"

"I don't think it can mean anything else," Sunset remarked and the two raced along the possibly dragon-made trench. They climbed up a hill and spotted the Night Fury tied up in the bola resting at the foot. It didn't appear to be alive.

"Okay, I'm just gonna wait here," Sunset muttered, feeling a little sick. "Try not to make him suffer."

"I won't," Hiccup promised and slid down the slope. He stood over the dragon with a dagger in hand. "This is it!" he said in excitement. "This is going to fix everything."

He put his foot on the dragon in victory.

The dragon moved.

Hiccup jumped and moved back a few steps. He thrust out his dagger and nervously moved around the Night Fury so he could get a better look at its face.

The Night Fury was glaring at him, no sign of fear within his gaze. Hiccup swallowed and approached the dragon once more. "This is it, dragon. I'm going to kill you. I'm gonna cut out your heart-"

"No you're not!" Sunset interrupted, peering over the edge of the hill and glaring at her friend. "We'll show your father the Night Fury. You're not cutting anything out!"

Hiccup sighed in exasperation. "Okay, okay! Fine." He took a deep breath and raised his dagger. "This is it! I am a Viking!"

"I can't look." Sunset pressed her hands over her eyes.

Hiccup stared at the dragon, and the dragon did not flinch. The Night Fury's breathing was laboured, and after a moment the Night Fury closed its eyes and prepared itself for the deadly blow.

The boy suddenly found that he couldn't do it. Now that he was in the position he dreamed of for so long, he couldn't go through with it. Hiccup lowered his dagger and sighed heavily. "This is my fault."

"What?" Sunset cautiously peeked through her fingers. When she saw that the dragon was still alive, she carefully climbed down the hill towards Hiccup. "You're not going to kill it?"

"No."

Sunset hugged him. "Oh, thank you! Now we can let the poor thing go."

Hiccup nervously glanced at the Night Fury. He knew he couldn't leave the beast there, but he also knew there was a good chance the dragon would kill him if he set it free. "Leave."

Sunset blinked. "Why?"

"This dragon might kill me when I free it. In fact, there's a very good chance that it will."

Sunset crossed her arms. "I'm not going anywhere."

Hiccup sighed in frustration. "Will you at least hide at the top of the hill then? I don't want you getting hurt."

"What about you?" Sunset asked in concern.

"This was my stupid idea," Hiccup said grimly. "And I'm going to fix it."

Sunset nodded slowly and hurried back up the hill. Hiccup went to the dragon and started cutting through the ropes. The Night Fury opened its green eyes in surprise and watched as the boy cut the ropes that were binding it.

As the last rope snapped off the Night Fury pounced on Hiccup, pinning him to the ground. Hiccup froze in terror as the dragon stared intensely at him. Very slowly, the Night Fury drifted its gaze to the girl, who was staring at her friend in horror. She gave the dragon a pleading glance.

The Night Fury snorted and stared once more at Hiccup. After a few seconds it opened its mouth and roared in Hiccup's face.

Immediately after the roar the dragon took off, flying clumsily through the sky. Hiccup rolled over and slowly got to his feet. Sunset raced to his side. "Hiccup! Are you okay?"

His knees buckled and he collapsed in response. Sunset let out a sigh of relief. "He's fine."

...

"That was possible the scariest thing I've ever had to face. Other than my father, of course," Hiccup said as he and Sunset walked to his house.

"I think we should just avoid dragons for a little while," Sunset suggested. "Or maybe forever."

The two walked into Hiccup's house to see Stoick waiting for them. The tribe leader leaned against the wall and stared at them. "Son. Sunset."

"Hello, sir," Sunset greeted nervously.

"Dad." Hiccup swallowed. "I have to talk with you."

"And I need to have a word with you."

The two spoke at the same time, the topics of which they wanted to talk to the other about becoming mangled together. Hiccup scratched his head. "Uh, sorry. You can go first."

Stoick nodded. "You get what you want, son. You and Sunset will start dragon training tomorrow morning."

Sunset's eyes widened. "But I don't-!"

"You need to," Stoick said firmly. "If you don't learn how to defend yourself you'll be dragon food. I won't have that. You're going to dragon training, and that's an order."

"Okay, I probably should have gone first," Hiccup said frantically as he placed a steadying hand on Sunset's shoulder (the girl looked like she would faint at any moment). "You know, I was thinking about it and I decided that I'm probably more suited to be bread maker rather than a-"

"You're going to need this." Stoick held out two axes. Sunset shrunk back and Hiccup shook his head.

"Okay, Dad, listen, I realized I don't want to kill dragons."

"Of course you do," Stoick said.

"Let me rephrase. I realize that I can't kill dragons," Hiccup tried once more to make his father understand.

"I don't kill dragons," Sunset piped up, spooked by the very idea.

"You will."

"Are you even listening?" Hiccup cried in exasperation.

"Hiccup, this is it." Stoick forced the axes into the teens' hands. "When you two carry those axes, you're carrying all the Vikings with you. You will be a Viking. Not...this." He gestured at Hiccup and Sunset.

"But you just gestured to all of us," Hiccup pointed out.

Stoick crossed his arms. "Do we have a deal?"

"No," Sunset squeaked.

"I'm starting to think my opinion isn't being taken into account," Hiccup added.

Stoick stared sternly at the two. "Do we have a deal?"

Aware that he had no other choice, Hiccup nodded.

Satisfied, Stoick grabbed his bag and helmet. "I expect the both of you to train hard. I'll probably be back."

"And we may or may not be here," Hiccup responded.

Stoick nodded and left. Sunset held out the axe with disgust. "I can't do this, Hiccup."

"It was a direct order," Hiccup pointed out. "You know the consequences of defying a direct order from Stoick the Vast."

Sunset shivered. "At this point, I'm not sure which is worse-having to harm dragons or facing said consequences."

...

The following morning found Hiccup and Sunset walking nervously into the large stone arena behind the other recruits. Tuffnut scanned the place with an approving nod. "I better get some burns out of this."

"Or some mauling," his twin sister, Ruffnut added. "Like on the lower back."

"It's not as much fun unless you get scar out of it," Astrid Hofferson agreed.

"Who doesn't love pain?" Hiccup voiced.

The other teens turned around and groaned upon seeing Hiccup and Sunset. "Well, at least the dragons will have a tasty snack today," Tuffnut remarked.

"Quiet down!" Gobber called as he entered the arena. "Now, the best recruit will have the honour of killing their first dragon in front of the village."

"Since Hiccup already killed a Night Fury, does that disqualify him?" Snotlout asked.

"And why not disqualify Sunset right now?" Ruffnut added. "Before she impales herself with a sword."

Gobber patted Hiccup and Sunset on the back in support. He moved them away from the laughing teens. "The dragons won't see you as much of a target like the other Vikings. They'll think you're sick or insane and leave you alone."

"I don't know how I feel about that," Hiccup remarked as Gobber pushed them in line with the other teens. Sunset stared at the closed gates, the bellowing of dragons making her knees tremble.

"There are dragons of different species behind these gates, all of which you will learn to fight."

Sunset whimpered. Hiccup squeezed her hand comfortingly.

"There's the Deadly Nadder," Gobber listed.

"Speed eight. Armour sixteen," Fishlegs Ingerman said eagerly.

"And there's the Hideous Zippleback-"

"Plus eleven stealth. Times two."

"-and the Monstrous Nightmare,"

"Firepower fifteen."

"And of course the Terrible Terror."

"Attack eight. Venom twelve."

Gobber whirled around and glared at Fishlegs in exasperation. "Will you stop that?!"

Fishlegs went silent.

"Finally, there's the Gronkle," Gobber finished.

"Jaw strength eight," Fishlegs muttered under his breath.

Gobber yanked on the lever, the iron gates rolling up.

"Hold it!" Snotlout shouted. "You haven't taught us anything yet!"

Gobber smirked. "I believe in learning from experience."

A Gronkle charged into the ring, snorting madly. The recruits scattered.

"What's the first thing you're going to need?" Gobber asked the group of scrambling teens.

"A gravestone?" Hiccup and Sunset cried, diving out of the way of the charging Gronkle.

"We need shields," Astrid called, her posture tense in preparation for a possible attack.

"Good. Now go get them."

Hiccup and Sunset raced towards two shields. Hiccup struggled to lift his and Sunset helped him out. "I don't think I can do this," she moaned.

"We're not harming it," Hiccup pointed out, getting a better grip. "We're just protecting our faces from being burned off."

"That's true," Sunset agreed, oddly feeling a little bit better.

The sound of a fire blast caused the two to jump in surprise.

"You're out, Ruffnut and Tuffnut," Gobber called.

"Okay, maybe we should keep moving," Sunset said nervously. Hiccup nodded and they backed into the corner of the arena where the other teens were.

"Those shields are good for another thing," Gobber informed. "Use it to make lots of noise to throw off the dragons aim."

The teens took his advice and started banging on their shields. The Gronkle blinked and looked around wildly, unsure of where to fire.

"And how many shots does a Gronkle have?" Gobber asked.

"They have six!" Fishlegs shouted.

"Perfect." Gobber nodded. "That's almost one for each of you!"

"I really don't think-" Fishlegs started to say but was cut off by a blast from the Gronkle. His thrust his shield up and the fire blast blew the shield from his hands.

"And you're out," Gobber called. He glanced around the arena and frowned when he did not spot Hiccup and Sunset. He spotted them cowering behind the shield rack. "You two! Get in there!"

"I'm not cut out for this!" Sunset cried as she and Hiccup reluctantly climbed from their hiding spot.

"Maybe we can fake sick tomorrow," Hiccup suggested. "I think Gobber will take pity on us."

"Snotlout, you're out!" Gobber hollered suddenly.

"We're almost done," Sunset breathed just as Astrid rolled over to them. She jumped to her feet, bouncing on her heels and prepared to dodge another attack.

Hiccup swallowed thickly. "Hey, Astrid. What's-?"

"A little busy here," Astrid snapped and dove out of the way as the Gronkle fired.

Gobber frowned as the blast struck Sunset's shield. He relaxed when he noted that the attack didn't injure the girl and only sent her off balance. Sunset yelped as she toppled backwards into Hiccup, accidently knocking the shield from his hand.

"Sorry!" she cried.

"Sunset, you're out!"

The redhead shot Hiccup an encouraging smile before racing towards Gobber. Hiccup chased after his shield, the Gronkle running after him. Before Hiccup could grab his shield the Gronkle knocked him against the wall.

"Watch out, Hiccup!" Gobber shouted. He jumped into the arena and wrenched the Gronkle's head to the side just as it fired. The blast missed Hiccup by inches.

Gobber dragged the Gronkle back to the cage. "Alright, get in there, you beast. You can try again tomorrow."

Sunset hurried over to Hiccup and helped him to his feet. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"I'm fine," Hiccup muttered.

Gobber turned to study the recruits. "No matter what, dragons will always go for the kill. Training resumes tomorrow. Now get out of here."

The teens filed out of the arena, chatting about the recent events. Sunset walked beside Hiccup and noticed that he was deep in thought. "What's up?"

Hiccup looked at her. "If dragons always go for the kill, why didn't the Night Fury?"

Sunset didn't have an answer.