The grounds had been transformed. Banners and flags flapped in the morning sun. Surrounding the ring, a festive crowd had gathered. All of Berk had turned up for the event.
"Well, I can show my face in public again." There was laughter and applause. "If someone had told me that in a few short weeks, Hiccup would go from being, well... Hiccup, to placing first in dragon training... I would've tied him to a mast and shipped him off for fear he'd gone mad. Yes! And you know it! But here we are. And no one's more surprised..." Kara and Hiccup stood at the entrance to the ring, listening, looking burdened.
"... or more proud than I am. Today, my boy becomes a Viking. Today, he becomes one of us!" cheers and roars. Astrid approached Hiccup and Kara, some what awkwardly.
"Be careful with that dragon." She said.
"It's not the dragon I'm worried about." Hiccup said, looking at the crowd.
"What are you going to do?" Astrid asked, worried.
"Put an end to this." She eyed him, dubious.
"I have to try. Kara... If something goes wrong... just make sure they don't find Toothless." Kara grabbed him into a hug. "Make sure they don't find you."
"I will." Kara whispered.
"Just promise us it won't go wrong." Astrid added. Hiccup couldn't. Gobber approached.
"It's time, Hiccup. Knock him dead." Hiccup put his helmet on and entered the ring. Kara looked to the teens,hooting and hollering from the stands.
"Show 'em how it's done, my man!" Tuff yelled. Hiccup locked eyes with Stoick. Stoick nodded with a smile. Hiccup returned a half-smile and took a deep breath. He hoisted a shield onto his forearm and selected his weapon from a rack of many - a small dagger.
Hrmph. I would've gone for the hammer." Stoick murmured. Hiccup turned to face a bolted, heavy door and glance to Kara. She nodded, letting him know that it was going to be okay, that she was right there for him. He took a deep breath.
"I'm ready." He said. The door bolt was raised. The crowd grew quiet...
The doors blasted open with a stream of sticky fire... Followed by a Monstrous Nightmare, coated in flames. It tore out of its cave like an irate bull - as the crowd roared and jeered. It climbed the walls and chain enclosure like a bat, hissing at the provoking crowd and blasting fire.
It spots Hiccup and descends, leering and licking the flaming drool from its lips. The crowd grows silent, bracing for the big fight. With the Monstrous Nightmare's eyes locked upon him, Hiccup deliberately drops his shield and dagger stepping away from them. The dragon pauses, confused. ON STOICK, also confused.
"What is he doing?" Stoick asked. The dragon pressed closer, snorting. Hiccup extended his open hand. It snarled.
"It's okay. It's okay." The dragon continued to pace, focused on... Hiccup's helmet. Hiccup realized, then reached up and removed it. Taking a breath to acknowledge the point of no return, he tossed the helmet aside. It hit the ground. "I'm not one of them."
Gasps and murmurs raced through the crowd. All eyes turned to Stoick. He was welling with upset. Hiccup avoided Stoick's glare and remained focused on the Nightmare, holding his hand out. It paced around him, calming down.
"Stop the fight." Stoick announced.
"No. I need you all to see this." The crowd grew restless. "They're not what we think they are. We don't have to kill them."
"I said stop the fight!" Stoick whacked his hammer against the iron enclosure, rattling the arena with a terrible reverberating clatter. Spooked, the Nightmare snapped at Hiccup's outstretched hand. Hiccup yelped and sprung backward. The spell was broken. The Nightmare reacted to Hiccup's sudden movements and blasted another stream of fire. Hiccup screamed and barely dove out of reach. Hiccup scrambled around the ring. The Nightmare pursued, snapping and springing from ground to wall. Stoick pushed through the crowd, rushing to the doorway.
"Out of my way!" He yelled. Kara ran... away from the arena. She hid and she caught her breath before focusing on changing. But then she realized something. They'd take her away from Hiccup if she went in as a dragon. She would be breaking her promise to Hiccup. So she summoned all her strength... and screamed.
Stoick wrenched the grated door to the arena and jumped through. The Monstrous Nightmare was only a few feet behind Hiccup. Astrid was now in the ring.
"Hiccup!" She picked up a hammer and hurled it at the Monstrous Nightmare, hitting it in the head. It turned its attention to Astrid, and began chasing her. Stoick raised the arena gate, waving her toward it.
"This way!" Astrid made it through, but the Nightmare blasted the doorway, cutting Hiccup off. It pounced on him and prepared to finish him off. Suddenly, a terrible roar and a gut-wrenching scream, the scream of a Banshee, pierced the din. The Nightmare shook its head and backed off, eyes watering
"Night Fury! Get down!" Toothless bounded over the crowd and blasted a hole through the chain enclosure. He flew through it and disappeared in the boiling smoke. The Vikings rush to railings... in time to see a flurry of wings cutting through the dissipating smoke. And in time to see Kara slip through the chains. Toothless and the Nightmare tumbled into the clear, locked in a toothy, vicious fight. Toothless kicked the Nightmare off and planted himself between Hiccup and it. Kara stood next to him, snarling, ready to scream again if necessary. The Nightmare snarled, circling them. Toothless lunged and Kara screamed... causing the Nightmare to relent and back away. To everyone's shock and horror, Hiccup got to his feet and grabbed Toothless protectively. Kara stood between the dragon, holding the Nightmare off with short screams every time it drew closer.
"Alright, Toothless, go. Get out of here!" Hiccup pleaded. The crowd was gob-smacked, growing livid.
"Night Fury!" They yelled. Hiccup tried to shoo Toothless away in vain. Vikings began pouring in, clambering through the enclosure and dropping into the ring.
"Go! Go!" Hiccup yelled.
"Take it alive!" The vikings yelled. Stoick grabbed an axe and charged into the arena. Kara called out to him, panicked.
"Stoick no!" Kara exclaimed.
"Dad! No! He won't hurt you!" Hiccup explained. The other Vikings surrounded and attacked Toothless. He tossed them aside like rag dolls, his eyes focused on Stoick. "No, don't! You're only making it worse!"
Stoick raised his hammer as he charged for Toothless. Toothless ducked and pounced on him. They tumbled end over end.
"Toothless! Stop!" He pinned Stoick and inhaled. The familiar hiss of gas built. Everyone braced... "No!"
Toothless swallowed back the blast and turned to Hiccup, not understanding.
"Get him!" The crowd rushed him, piling on, and taking Toothless down. Astrid held Hiccup back. But Kara ran forward, throwing people away from Toothless. She protected him, shoving people away, knocking them out, doing everything she could to save the dragon from captivity, or worse, death.
"No! Please...just don't hurt him. Please don't hurt him." Hiccup cried. Stoick got to his feet, fuming, shaken. A Viking presented Stoick with an axe. He eyed Toothless a moment, then pushed the axe back into the Viking's hands.
"Put it with the others!" His burning glare turned to Hiccup and Kara.