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

A Fight With Death

Just as Astrid was beginning to think the worst, she spotted the streak of black speeding towards them. Elated, she turned to her friends. "Guys! They're up! Someone get Snotlout off of that thing!"

"Got it!" Ruffnut and Tuffnut shouted, pausing in their beating of each other (because not even a deadly battle with the dragon queen could prevent them from fighting) and flying to rescue Snotlout.

The boy gripped the Red Death's scales and glanced up to see the Zippleback coming towards him. He took a deep breath and charged down the length of the dragon's head and up the horn, leaping off the tip and sailing through the air. Ruffnut and Tuffnut swooped in and caught him.

"That actually worked!" Snotlout exclaimed.

"That was pretty awesome," Ruffnut complimented, helping her brother steer their dragon to a safe distance.

The Red Death snarled angrily. It spotted Astrid just as she flew above its head and inhaled deeply. A vortex was created, slowly sucking Astrid and her Nadder towards the dark depths.

Gobber watched helplessly as the girl got caught in the suction. A sudden, familiar whir reached his ears and he glanced behind him. "Get down!" he hollered, diving to the pebbly ground just as the Night Fury flew over him.

"Plasma blast!" Hiccup ordered. Toothless obeyed, sending the shot right at the side of the Red Death's head. The swirling vortex disappeared and Astrid was blown from her Nadder, sailing towards the ground. Toothless rushed towards her, catching the girl before she struck the ground.

"Did you catch her?" Sunset asked frantically, craning her neck to see below.

Toothless peered down at the blonde, who smiled. He beamed happily back and set the girl gently on the ground with the other Vikings before circling back to face the Red Death. Astrid watched them leave, her throat tight. "Be careful," she whispered.

"Alright Hiccup, what's the plan?" Sunset asked as they rocketed towards the dragon queen.

Hiccup squinted. "Do you see what I see?"

Sunset quickly scanned the dragon. "Does that thing have wings?"

"It does," Hiccup confirmed with a grin. "How about we see if it can fly?"

"I'm down with that," Sunset agreed. "Get that thing mad, Toothless."

The Night Fury grunted in understanding. He let loose a powerful blast that caused the unprepared Red Death to fall to the ground with a massive thump. Furious and fed up, the Red Death unfurled its beat-up wings upon seeing its attacker hovering high in the sky.

"That did it," Sunset said.

"Come on, bud, let's go!" Hiccup called, directing Toothless over the sea. They weaved between the sea stacks, attempting to slow down the Red Death. But the monstrous dragon was too strong and sent every sea stack it came into contact with crumbling into dust. The Vikings watched with growing anxiety when it became apparent that the Red Death was not tiring out.

"This isn't working," Sunset called. "Any other ideas?"

Hiccup frowned. He glanced up at the misty clouds above. "Yeah, I do. Make us invisible, Toothless."

The trio entered a steep climb. Sunset grabbed her helmet to keep it on her head. The sound of hissing gas caused her to whiten. "Hiccup-!"

"I hear it!" Hiccup jerked Toothless to the side just as the Red Death shot a torrent of flame. The attack missed the group by inches.

"We're almost there," Sunset assured Toothless as the Night Fury began to breathe heavily from the steepness of the flight.

Just as the Red Death was about to close in on them they disappeared in the clouds. Irritated, the Red Death roared. It scanned the sky, frantically searching for a sign from its prey.

Swoosh!

Toothless flew past the Red Death, but not before unleashing a fire blast. The attack tore a hole into the Red Death's wing, but before it could retaliate the kids and the Night Fury were gone again.

This method of attack was repeated a few more times, the blasts lighting up the grey sky. The wings of the Red Death were almost torn completely. Furious, the Red Death unleashed fire in all directions. Sunset yelped as she spotted the glow of the attack. "Look out!"

Hiccup directed Toothless out of the way, but not before the prosthetic tailfin caught on fire. "Yeah, I think this might be a problem," Sunset called.

"No kidding." Hiccup muttered, "Alright, fun's over. Let's see if this works."

They flew right in front of the Red Death's face. "You can do way better than that," Hiccup taunted.

"It's like you're not even trying," Sunset added.

Toothless sneered at the beast. Hiccup sent Toothless into a jackknife dive and the Red Death was quick to follow. "Are we doing what I think we're doing?" Sunset asked as they picked up speed.

"Probably," Hiccup said. "How's the tail doing?"

Sunset cast a quick glance behind her. "It's falling apart and the Red Death is approaching fast."

"Tell me when it's about to attack," Hiccup ordered.

"Got it."

The Red Death closed the gap and caught the trio within its sight. It opened its mouth and the gas began to gather, preparing for ignition. "Do it now!" Sunset hollered.

Hiccup spun Toothless around and the Night Fury unleashed a fire blast. The attack went straight down the Red Death's throat, igniting the gas and causing the monster to flare up from within. A chain of eruptions caused the beast to slowly start burning up.

Sunset winced. "This is nasty."

"But effective." Hiccup grinned.

He flew Toothless out of the way of the falling beast and over it. The Red Death struck the ground head-first, a series of bursting explosions consuming the beast. Hiccup, Sunset and Toothless weaved around the massive back plates, wings and trembling legs of the dragon. The burning fire was rapidly approaching them as they attempted to outrun the fireball.

"Hiccup!" Sunset shrieked.

Hiccup snapped his head up to see the Red Death's tail come crashing towards them. He tried adjusting the pedals, but the tail had disintegrated completely. There was nothing to control.

Sunset clung to Hiccup, knowing exactly what would befall them. Hiccup gave Sunset's hands a squeeze. No words needed to be exchanged. They already knew how much the other meant to them.

The tail struck them, sending the two kids flying off of Toothless and towards the fireball. Knocked unconscious from the impact, they fell limply towards their death. Toothless cried out and desperately tried to reach them, twisting madly as the inferno swallowed them all up.

The Vikings observing below cried out in horror. A sheet of ash covered the island, preventing anyone from seeing the fate of Hiccup and Sunset.

"No!" Stoick roared, running in the direction where he had seen the kids fall. He stumbled over pebbles, squinting through the ash and calling out desperately. "Son? Can you hear me? Hiccup? Sunset?"

He spotted Toothless slumped on the ground and raced for the dragon. Toothless was beaten up, but he was still conscious. Stoick stared blankly at the empty saddle. He dropped to his knees, grief running rampant. "This is my fault," he whispered. "I did this."

The other Vikings slowly gathered round, tears welling up in their eyes. Astrid swallowed back a sob and placed a hand over her mouth. Gobber closed his eyes and lowered his head, shaken. The dragons gathered behind the crowd, sensing something terrible had happened and keeping silent.

Toothless tiredly turned his head and glanced at the broken Stoick. "I'm sorry," Stoick whispered. "If I had listened...I'm so sorry."

The Night Fury understood now that this man was Hiccup's father. It was why his boy had protected him even though Stoick had wanted to harm Toothless. And it also seemed that Stoick understood Toothless, as well.

All they wanted to do was protect Hiccup.

Toothless unfurled his wings. An unconscious Hiccup and Sunset tumbled out, their faces streaked with ash and burns. Stoick gasped and gathered Hiccup in his arms, checking for his heartbeat. He only allowed relief to course through him when he was sure that Sunset was alive as well. "They're alright!" he shouted with laughter. "They're alive!"

The crowd roared with cheer. Astrid gaped happily and Gobber beamed.

"Thank you," Stoick said sincerely to Toothless. "For saving them."

Toothless cooed softly before resting his head once more.

"Most of Hiccup, anyway," Gobber remarked, coming to stand beside Stoick and studying the two teens intently. Stoick cast Gobber a glare before eyeing the mangled and deformed leg of Hiccup. Noting Stoick's worried frown, Gobber smiled. "Oh, don't worry. I'll have him fixed up in no time. Besides, if can defeat the most terrible dragon in the world, than he can handle this. And with Sunset by his side, he can definitely handle it."

A dark frown suddenly crossed his face. "Speaking of which, I'm going to give Moonlight a piece of my mind."

"Please do," Stoick growled. "I'm going to tend to these two. Spitelout! Start working on a way to get us back to Berk!"

"Sir, I think I have just the solution." Astrid smiled and walked up to her chief.

Gobber did not hear the exchange, as he was intent on finding Sunset's father. The large, silver-bearded man was leaning against an outcropping of rock, a bored expression on his scarred face. "Does it interest you at all to know that Sunset is alive?" Gobber asked flatly.

Moonlight scowled. "I disowned the girl. Whatever happens to her is of no interest to me."

"She risked her life to save us and that's all you can say?" Gobber demanded, growing angry.

"I will not have a daughter who coerces with dragons!" Moonlight growled.

"Then I don't think there will be a reason for you to live on Berk anymore!" Gobber snapped. "Look around you, Moonlight."

Moonlight did so, and was less than pleased to see that his fellow Vikings were cautiously interacting with the beasts. "Fools, all of them."

"No, you're the fool," Gobber snapped. "For many years you've punished Sunset for something that was out of her control."

Moonlight bristled. "Don't you dare-!"

"I'm daring!" Gobber poked Moonlight angrily in the chest. "Have you ever thought that Dawn left because of you? Thor, it baffles me that Sunset hadn't disowned you first!"

"She can't-!"

"She should've," Gobber said firmly, not giving the man a chance to finish a sentence. "I think we've all realized that Sunset and Hiccup were always the ones who had things right. We've accepted it, so why can't you?"

"It's not the Viking way!" Moonlight roared, furious. "And what makes me any different from Stoick?" he demanded, knowing very well that the man had disliked his son's ways as much as he disliked his daughter's.

"Stoick always loved Hiccup," Gobber said firmly. "And that's more than I can say for you. And since you're too close-minded and stubborn to admit your faults, I will make sure that Sunset is looked after."

"By who?" Moonlight sneered. "Who would want that lousy excuse for a girl?"

Gobber paused. He had never actually considered who he would get to take care of Sunset. All he knew was that the poor girl had been through enough and the last thing she needed was to live alone. As much as Stoick would like to take the girl in, he already had his hands full with Hiccup and the duties of being chief.

He had known Sunset since she was a toddler. Since the day she met Hiccup they were inseparable. She was always in his forge, ever since Hiccup began his apprenticeship. She always helped him with any odd tasks that needed to be done and he always had to chase her down when she attempted to save the animals doomed to be their dinner.

"I will," Gobber said determinedly, knowing what he was committing to would be a challenge.

Moonlight roared with laughter. "Good luck. After a few weeks, you'll see exactly what I see when you look at the girl."

"I doubt that," Gobber said coldly. "I hope you can adjust to this new life with dragons."

And he left before Moonlight could retort.

There were two teens that needed his attention at the moment-and they were a lot more important than Moonlight.