I do not own How to Train Your Dragon. Direct quotes from the movie will be bolded.

Something Crazy

The door to Hiccup's house slammed open, rattling violently on its hinges. Hiccup grunted as he was thrown to the cold floor. Slowly, he glanced up at his father, who was looming over him with an expression of pure fury on his face. "Dad-"

"I should have known something was wrong," Stoick said angrily, cutting off Hiccup's meek plead. "The sign that should have tipped me off is when Gobber told me Sunset was the second-best student!" He paced the length of the room, attempting to process the recent events. "Hiccup, we had a deal!"

"I know, Dad, I'm sorry. Things just got out of hand and I didn't know how to tell you." Hiccup ran a hand through his hair.

Stoick glared. "So everything you and Sunset did in the ring was a trick?"

"Everything we did in the ring was never intended to be used to harm the dragons," Hiccup said finally. "And we screwed up. But please, punish Sunset and I, but don't harm Toothless."

Unbelievable. Not only did he name the beast, but he's worried about it. "What about the people you nearly killed, Hiccup?" Stoick demanded. "You should be more concerned about them than some dragon!"

"Toothless isn't dangerous," Hiccup exclaimed. "He was only trying to protect me."

"Protect you?" Stoick roared. "Those beasts have killed hundreds of us!"

Hiccup stood up straight and glared heatedly at his father. "And we've killed thousands of them! Every time they steal our food, it's because they need it to defend themselves! If they don't bring enough food back to their queen, then they'll die."

Stoick froze. "Their queen? If you know those beasts have a queen, then you must have been to the nest."

Hiccup closed his eyes, aware that he had revealed too much. "Dad-"

"How do you know where it is?" Stoick demanded.

"I don't! Only a dragon can find-"

Sudden determination shone in Stoick's eyes. The Viking leader shoved Hiccup aside and strode for the door. Desperate, Hiccup grabbed his arm. "You can't! You have no idea what you're dealing with, Dad! It's nothing you've ever seen before!"

Stoick refused to listen to him. The village leader threw Hiccup to the floor. An icy silence filled the room. Finally, after a moment, Stoick spoke in a hard voice. "You've already showed that you're with the dragons. You're not a Viking. You're not my son."

Hiccup slumped to the floor, feelings as if someone had punched him in the stomach. Stoick stormed out the door, a flurry of emotions swirling inside him. "Get the ships ready!" he hollered, with a small crack in his mighty voice.

Sunset peered out of her hiding spot from behind the bushes. She waited until Stoick was well off in the distance before carefully pushing open the door. Hiccup glanced up as she walked in, his gaze almost lifeless.

"I'm sorry, Hiccup," Sunset whispered, crouching beside him.

"And to think all of this started because I wanted to kill a dragon to make my father proud of me," Hiccup muttered, sitting up and burying his face in his hands. "Instead, I made him disown me."

"You didn't make him do anything," Sunset said firmly. "He could have listened to you-everyone could have listened to you. But they refused to open their minds to something greater. None of this is our fault."

Hiccup turned to look at his best friend. "Did your father...?" He swallowed, unsure if he should ask such a personal question.

A tired smile crossed Sunset's pale face. "As of five minutes ago, he officially disowned me. Apparently, the greatest sin in the world is befriending dragons."

Hiccup snorted softly. "We messed up big time, Sun."

"Yeah. But it also means we have a big clean-up job to you." Sunset helped Hiccup to his feet. "Your father told the others to get the ships ready. Is he...?"

"He's going after the nest," Hiccup said grimly. "And nothing we say or do will stop him."

"We need to think of something, Hiccup."

"I know." The boy glanced out the window for a moment before sighing heavily and breaking into a run. He burst out the door and raced off, Sunset right on his heels. The two kids scrambled up the sides of the rocky cliffs until they reached a section that curled over the water. From there they had a clear view of the ships prepping for the ultimate battle.

"Toothless," Sunset whispered as she watched the dragon being lowered onto the head ship. The Night Fury was chained to a wooden pallet and muzzled.

Hiccup swallowed past the lump in his throat and stared down at the ships. His father's gaze flickered up to meet his, and after a moment Stoick turned away. Sunset watched in dismay as the ships set sail. "Seriously, Hiccup. We need a plan right now."

"What are we supposed to do?" Hiccup demanded.

The two lapsed into silence, feeling powerless. Astrid climbed up to where the two were standing and approached them. "Well. This is pretty bad."

"You're telling us," Sunset muttered.

"Everything is about to be lost-your fathers, the tribe, and your best friend. You must feel terrible."

"Thank you, for reminding us of the situation," Hiccup said dryly. He rubbed his forehead. "Oh, why didn't I kill that dragon when I had the chance? None of this would be happening."

"Any other Viking would have done it," Astrid agreed. "We all know why Sunset wouldn't do such a thing. But why didn't you?"

Hiccup shrugged, not really having an answer. "I just...couldn't, I guess."

Astrid shook her head. She knew there was more to it than that. "That's not it."

Hiccup frowned. "Why is this suddenly so important to you?"

Astrid stared firmly at Hiccup. "I want to remember what you say, right now."

Hiccup ran his hands through his hair in frustration. "I was weak, okay? I wouldn't kill a dragon!"

Sunset smiled slightly at the change in wording. Astrid grinned. "You said wouldn't this time."

"Does it matter?" Hiccup exclaimed, throwing his arms in the air. "I'm one of the two Vikings in three hundred years that wouldn't kill a dragon."

"You're the first to ride one, though," Astrid pointed out.

Hiccup blinked in realization. "Yeah..." He glanced at Astrid, who was watching him expectantly. "I wouldn't kill him because he was as frightened as I was. When I looked at Toothless, I saw myself."

"He's probably really frightened now," Sunset said softly, glancing out at the open sea. The ships were mere specks in the distance.

"What are you two going to do about it?" Astrid prodded.

Hiccup and Sunset glanced at each other as the same idea struck them. Sunset grinned. "Most likely something stupid."

Astrid smirked. "Well, that's good, but you've already done that."

Hiccup smiled softly. "Then we're probably going to do something crazy."

The two friends raced down the cliff. As they ran they relayed their ideas off of the other to make sure they were on the right track. Astrid watched them go with a smile. "That's what I'm talking about." She took off towards the village with the intent of rounding up her friends.

Hiccup and Sunset were going to need a little help.