I'm lost in thought, my head lays of a desk full of Toothless drawings. Burdened with the weight of the world. Suddenly, my dad appears in the doorway. I jump and quickly cover up my desk."Dad! You're back!"I say surprised as I skirt the bench, blocking my dad's view of Toothless, the prosthetic fin, and other drawings."Gobber's not here, so..."I say and strike an awkwardly casual pose, trying to cover up as much as possible."I know. I came looking for you."my dad says."You did?". "You've been keeping secrets."he says and my legs give out. I slide, dragging the table's contents with me."I...have?" I ask him."Just how long did you think you could hide it from me?"he ask stern."I don't know what you're..."I start but dad cuts me off."Nothing happens on this island without me hearing about it.""Oh?"I say."So. Let's talk about that dragon."he say and I feel the Blood drain from my face."Oh gods. Dad I'm so sorry. I was going to tell you. I just didn't know how to-"I say in hopes that he won't kill Toothless,but he starts laughing. Big, booming.I stare, baffled."You're not...upset?"I say in confusion."What?! I was hoping for this!"he says as he stops his laughing."Uh...you were?""And believe me, it only gets better! Just wait til you spill a Nadder's guts for the first time."he says proud. My elated expression sinks."And mount your first Gronckle head on a spear. What a feeling!"he continues as he laughs and smacks me on the shoulder, sending me into the wall."You really had me going there, son. All those years of the worst Viking Berk has ever seen! Odin, it was rough. I almost gave up on you!" I get back up, grimacing in the irony of it all."And all the while, you were holding out on me! Thor almighty!"dad says as he grabs a stool and sits. His massive frame nearly fills the tiny room."Ahhhhh. With you doing so well in the ring, we finally have something to talk about." I avert my eyes nervously. Stoick adjusts, awkwardly clearing his throat. After a long, uncomfortable silence...
"Oh, I... brought you something."he says and presents a horned helmet."To keep you safe in the ring."
"Wow. Thanks." I tell him and accept it, looking it over. "Your mother would've wanted you to have it. It's half of her breast-plate." Stoick says and taps his own helmet and smiles. "Matching set. Keeps her close, y'know?" I eye the mismatched helmets, grimacing. "Wear it proudly. You deserve it. You've held up your end of the deal." he says beaming with pride. I squirm and forces a yawn. "I should really get to bed."I say. "Yes! Good! Okay. Good talk. See you back at the house. We should do this again. I'm Great. Thanks for stopping glad I stopped by, I hope you by. And for the... the uh, like the hat. breast hat." both me and my dad say over each other. "Well..uh..good night."he say and leaves the room awkwardly, leaving me looking more burdened than ever.
A Gronckle hovers above the ring, hunting victims as the teen recruits scramble. Astrid ducks behind a barrier to find me already there. She forces her axe at my throat. "Stay out of my way! I'm winning this thing." she commands me. "Please, by all means." I answer and she darts off,closing fast on the dragon. The crowd above cheers her on. "You got it Astrid!" a viking shouts from the crowd. I stand and look around. Amidst the crowd of onlookers, dad watches keenly, beaming with pride. He locks eyes with me, giving him a nod of encouragement. I adjust my new helmet and forces a half-hearted smile. Unbeknownst to me, the Gronckle spots me and makes a bee- line toward catches her breath behind a barrier. She scowls, focused, determined. "This time. This time for sure." she tells to herself and with a fierce battle-cry she leaps from cover, axe cocked to throw And as she clears the barriers, she sees that I have already laid the Gronckle out. "No! No!" she shout and I shrug, as unhappy with the situation as she is."NO! NO! SON OF HALFTROLL RAT EATING
MUNGE BUCKET!" she yells angry. There is a loud clank from outside the ring. From the crowd above, Gothi, the village elder, steps forward, tapping her staff. Everyone lights up excitedly. "Wait! Wait!" Gobber says. "So, later."I say but Gobber snags me as I attempt to leave. "Not so fast." he says.
"I'm kinda late for-" I try to say as Astrid cuts me off "What? Late for what exactly?" Stoick holds out his hands to silence the jabbering crowd.
"Okay quiet down. The elder has decided." he says Thrilled, Gobber stands behind me and Astrid. He points to Astrid as the crowd waits in silent anticipation. Gothi shakes her head 'no.' The crowd 'Oooohs.' Gobber then points to me. The elder nods an affirmative 'yes.' The crowd erupts in cheers. Astrid turns a seething, deadly glare on me.
"You've done it! You've done it, Hiccup! You get to kill the dragon!" Gobber yells happy. "Ha, ha! That's my boy!" dad tells the crowd as I'm hoisted onto the recruits' shoulders and carried out to the cheering spectators... "Heh, heh. Oh yeah! Yes! I can't wait. I am so..."I say masking my panic
"... leaving. We're leaving. Let's pack up. Looks like you and me are taking a little vacation, forever."I say looking for Toothless, who is nowhere in sight. I set down my basket and open it up, my head clouded with troubles. SHINK! I look up to the sound of... ASTRID, sitting on the rock right in front of me, sharpening her axe. "Aggh! What the-"I say shocked but I recompose myself quickly "What are you doing here?" I ask. She hops off the rock and back me up, spinning her axe threateningly. my eyes dart around nervously, searching for Toothless. "I want to know what's going on. No one just gets as good as you do. Especially you. Start talking! Are you training with someone?" she tells me. "Uh...training?" I ask as she grabs me by my odd-looking harness. "It better not involve... this." she say pointing at it. "I know this looks really bad, but you see...this is, uh..." I stammer. They hear a RUSTLE coming from the other side of the cove. Astrid drops me to the ground and sets off to investigate. "You're right! You're right. I'm through with the lies. I've been making... outfits. So you got me. It's time everyone knew. Drag me back. Go ahead. Here we go." I say panicing and I put her hand back on my harness, getting her to 'drag me back.' Astrid bends my hand backwards, driving me down. "AAAUUGGGHHH! Why would you do that?!" I ask her. "That's for the lies." Astrid says and pounces the hilt of her axe off of my laid-out body. "And THAT'S for everything else." my yelp is answered with A GROWL, coming from the other side of the cove. Astrid looks up to see... A NIGHT FURY. Toothless pounces toward them, snarling. "Oh man."I say feeble and she dives onto me.
"Get down! Run! Run!" Astrid commands and pulls her axe, ready to take on Toothless. "No!" I say as I knock Astrid's cocked axe to the ground, out of reach, then stops Toothless short of crushing her. "No. It's okay! It's okay..."I tell Toothless. "She's a friend." I say calm to him but Toothless snorts in disagreement. Astrid is frozen. Toothless looks from her to me and back to her, confused. "You just scared him." I tell her. "I scared him!?" she asks confused as I make a be quiet motion. "Who is him?" she whispered intense. "Astrid, Toothless. Toothless, Astrid." I tell them and Astrid backs away, eyeing me and Toothless together with pure disgust. She turns and runs for the village. "We're dead." I say but Toothless turns away, satisfied with Astrid's departure. "Where do you think you're going?" I ask Toothless.
I race through the trees. A large shadow overtakes me and I'm suddenly SNATCHED into the air. I scream "Oh great Odin's ghost, this is it!". Hiccup and Toothless fly me to the top of a towering pine. It bows and creaks under their weight as I dangle a hundred feet in the air. "Hiccup! Get me down from here!"I say to him. "You have to give me a chance to explain." he tells me. "I'm not listening to ANYTHING you have to say!" I yell at him. "Then I won't speak. Just let me show you." Hiccup say as he extends a hand. "Please, Astrid." he plead as I eye him and the dragon, then the ground far, far below. After a moment, she swats Hiccup's outstretched hand away and reluctantly climbs over the pedal, lines, and harness. She settles behind Hiccup, avoiding as much contact as possible. "Now get me down."I said. "Toothless? Down. Gently."Hiccup says to Toothless, and Toothless leers mischievously. He spreads his wings slowly. With a WHOP, they fill with the updraft. Toothless releases the tree, tucks in his legs, and HOVERS in place.
"See? Nothing to be afraid of."he ssays to me, when Toothless suddenly LAUNCHES straight upward. I SCREAMS. The acceleration is tremendous. Every downbeat bucks the saddle, heaving them into the sky, doubling their speed like a rocket. I'm thrown backward. I SCREAM and hug Hiccup for dear life, squeezing the breath out of him. "Toothless! What is wrong with you?! Bad dragon!"he tells Toothless. "He's not usually like this."he says to me mortified "Oh no.." he says as Toothless ROLLS and PLUMMETS toward the coastline far below. Toothless rockets over the ocean waves, deliberately dipping them in the froth. "Toothless, what are you doing?! We need her to like us!"Hiccup says to the dragon as Toothless rockets skyward and begins tumbling head over tail. "And now the spinning. Thank you for nothing you useless reptile." I hear him say dry. I clamp my hand over my eyes.
"Okay! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Just get me off of this thing."I say defeated, my aggressive energy gone. Satisfied, Toothless relents. They level off and head up into the clouds. I open my eyes again, and looks out over a world she'd never dreamed of. I reach out and touch the clouds, pierces columns ablaze in golden hues, and floats over a vast, alien sky- scape. my terror is replaced by wonder. I grin, despite myself. Toothless rises above a blanket of clouds and levels off under a starry sky. we emerge from a blanket of clouds under the dancing Northern Lights, shimmering in ribbons across the vast sky. Below us, Berk's torches flicker in the inky darkness. The new perspective is breathtaking. I tuck my arms into Hiccup's vest, burying my chin into his shoulder. The moment is not lost on either of us. Hiccup smiles nervously. Toothless climbs past Berk's tallest peaks and heads out over open water, leaving the village lights behind us.
"Alright I admit it. This is pretty cool. It's... amazing. He's amazing." I say and carefully reaches down and pats Toothless' side. "So what now?"I ask Hiccup. It's a problem without an answer. "Hiccup, your final exam is tomorrow. You know you're going to have to kill..."I tell him "... kill a dragon."i finish whispering. "Don't remind me."he answers. A strange, unearthly din approaches. Toothless' ear plates suddenly stand on end. Panicked, he abruptly dives, dipping into cloud cover. "Toothless! What's happening? What is it?" Hiccup ask Toothless, who just BARKS at him. "'Quiet!'"Hiccup says ass Suddenly, out of the dense cloud, a Monstrous Nightmare emerges.
"Get down!"Hiccup commands and we duck. The Nightmare calls out. A Zippleback appears to the other side of Toothless, boxing him in."What's going on?"I ask. "I don't know."replies Hiccup. "Toothless. You've got to get us out of here, bud."he says to Toothless. Toothless HISSES.
Other dragons, previously invisible in the thick clouds, appear all around them. HUNDREDS of them, all carrying fish and game in their talons.
"It looks like they're hauling in their kill."Hiccup wispers as The Zippleback eyes us ravenously. "What does that make us?"I say. The dragons BANK and dive in formation, plummeting through the thickening fog and weaving between towering, craggy sea stacks. They emerge at the base of a massive volcanic caldera, glowing with rivulets of lava. The flock of dragons fall into rank, funneling through a crack, and zipping through a winding tunnel. It gives way to a vast, steamy inner chamber, tiered with pocky shelves. Dragons of all breeds lay about, nested in hordes. The arriving dragons fly in, dropping the fish and game into a central pit, glowing red and shrouded in mist. Hiccup is amazed. "What my dad wouldn't give to find this."Hiccup says. Toothless peels away from the procession, landing on a small shadowy shelf to keep a low-profile. we peek around, taking in the busy hive of sorts. we watch as the food continues to be dropped into the pit. "It's satisfying to know that all of our food has been dumped down a hole."Hiccup says. "They're not eating any of it." I remark.
Last to arrive is a dim-witted Gronckle. It hovers over the pit and regurgitates his paltry contribution - a pathetic little fish. As it falls into the steamy pit, a terrible ROAR rings out. The Gronckle tries to flee, but before it can, a gargantuan dragon head juts from the steamy pit and SNAPS it out of the air. Swallowing it back whole. Hiccup and Astrid recoil, terrified. "What is that?"I ask terrified. The monstrous beast SNIFFS the air, seemingly aware of us. It nears the ledge where Toothless is hiding... and ROARS. Several dragons take flight in fear." Alright buddy, we gotta get out of here. Now! Toothless" he says and Toothless takes flight, barely evading the monster's snapping jaws. The behemoth dragon lunges for them, snatching a Zippleback out of the air instead. Toothless disappears into the winged exodus as thousands of dragons flee the caldera in fear.
Toothless glides into the cove and touches down on the moonlit beach. "No, no, it totally makes sense. It's like a giant beehive. They're the workers... and that's their queen. It controls them."I tell Hiccup as I leap off of Toothless and runs toward the village. "Let's find your dad." I continue but he stops me "No, no! Not yet. They'll... kill Toothless. Astrid, we have to think this through carefully." I eye him, incredulous. "Hiccup, we just discovered the dragons' nest...the thing we've been after since Vikings first sailed here. And you want to keep it a secret? To protect your pet dragon? Are you serious?" I ask and Hiccup stands firm, resolute. "Yes." he says firm. I'm taken aback."Okay. Then what do we do?" I ask. "Just give me until tomorrow. I'll figure something out."he tells. "Okay." I say as I PUNCH Hiccup in the arm. "That's for kidnapping me." Hiccup looks to Toothless for support. Toothless SNORTS, dismissive. I grab him. He braces for another hit. I KISS Hiccup on the cheek. "That's for, everything else."I finish. In the awkward wake of the moment, I hurry off... leaving Hiccup RUBBING his cheek, stunned. Toothless hobbles up, eyeing him. "What are you looking at?"he says to the dragon.