Disclaimer: This rots

Author's Note: Here's the fight! Mwahaha. Team Hiccup. I feel kind of bad that I didn't include Hiccup's first experiences in front of everyone. If you read the books, you'll notice that he has quite a few. Enjoy! Review if you like.

He didn't feel nearly as nervous as when he had to break the truth about Toothless to his father. He hoped there weren't too many of these dragons. Training them all at once might be difficult. He knew Toothless better than he had ever known anyone, so Hiccup just had to jump on his back. He didn't know these dragons at all. If he triumphed, he was more likely to be revered as a hero than as a traitor: the Bog Burglars didn't seem as stupid as those on Berk.

Hiccup waited outside their arena alone. He had advised Toothless not to come. Maybe he would add him in as an element of surprise once he had calmed all the others.

The cheers of the crowd could be heard coming from all directions. It had gotten out that he was going into "fight the dragons" unarmed and it had created quite a stir. He wished more than anything that Astrid would be watching this.

"BOG-BURGLARS!" The voice of Camicazi's mother boomed throughout the stands. "WE ARE HERE TODAY TO CELEBRATE…" She paused dramatically. "…REVENGE!" The Bog-Burglars howled with excitement. "REVENGE UPON THOSE BLASTED HORRENDOUS HADDOCKS FROM THAT GODFORSAKEN ISLE OF BERK! LET'S SEE HOW THEIR HEIR GETS OUT OF THIS SITUATION!"

Hiccup stepped into the vast arena. He put up a hand against his eyes to block out the rising sun and scanned the crowd above for the familiar face of Astrid. The only faces in the crowd Hiccup recognized were Big Boobied Bertha looking smug and Camicazi sporting a worried expression. Why wasn't she tending to Astrid? Toothless was with her, though. Maybe she was getting better. He would most likely live through this. He would ask Camicazi later.

Directly underneath the towering figure of Big Boobied Bertha was the door to a cage. Hiccup could faintly hear over the crowd roars and scrapings coming from the other side.

Big Boobied Bertha boomed "RELEASE THE DRAGONS!" The door to the cage opened… Hiccup prepared himself for the worst. Out flew at least a hundred different dragons, some of which Hiccup could identify, others he hadn't even seen in the dragon manual. (No wonder the Bog-Burglars were so tough.) They all had the same hungry look in their eyes that Toothless had had after Hiccup had released him from his net.

"Oooh, look out, Hiccup, look ouuuuut…" Camicazi pleaded, hopping from foot to foot as if it were she who had been place unarmed in an arena of hungry dragons.

Hiccup calmly let the nearest Nadder approach him. Once it was an arm's length away, it stopped, wondering why Hiccup had not pulled a dagger or an axe out of his pants. Hiccup scratched the Nadder under its chin and it immediately dropped. Some of the Bog-Burglars gasped. Some dragons even did double takes.

Hiccup pulled some grass out of his vest pocket. (Since he discovered how dragons reacted to grass, he had kept an emergency supply of it with him as often as possible.) He held it in one of the faces of a Zippelback closing in. The dragon grew a tad closer and he used the grass to tickle its underbelly.

"How's he doing it?" demanded an enraged Big Boobied Bertha.

"He's brilliant," whispered Camicazi, "for a boy."

He took down many other dragons with similar tactics that he had learned from his time with Toothless. One Monstrous Nightmare was being particularly nasty. Hiccup approached him.

"Back, now!" He ordered sternly. This dragon was almost beyond hope. The red dragon slowly backed up. "Back into your cage!"

"No way!" said one Bog-Burglar audibly.

Hiccup led all the other dragons surrounding him on the stone floor of the arena back behind the door until he was the only one left. He locked the door with finality. He no longer heard the biting, roaring, and clawing. He put his ear to the door and heard them snoring softly.

With a proud smile, Camicazi got to her feet and applauded for Hiccup. The Bog-Burglars followed suit, cheering wildly. The only one who didn't join in was Big Boobied Bertha. She merely sat with her mouth hanging open, staring at Hiccup in amazement muttering, "I was wrong. I can't believe it. I was… wrong!"

Grinning with relief, Hiccup whistled for Toothless. Seconds later, a young Viking pointed up at a black dragon approaching and shouted, "Look! There's a person on its back!"

Hiccup looked again. There certainly was a person on Toothless' back! And it was none other than Astrid!

Toothless descended and Hiccup blustered, "Astrid! I can't believe- How-?"

She was definitely alive and well, her leg bandaged, her hair down, her cheeks pink. "Good morning, Hiccup."

All he could do was stare. She looked more beautiful than ever and it was hard to find words to express his gratitude and incredulity all at once. He finally managed to get out, "How on Earth did you do it?"

"That's not important," she said, "What's important is that I don't have to return to Berk on a Night Fury with news that you've been slaughtered by dragons of the Bog-Burglars."

Hiccup patted Toothless. "Thanks, bud," he whispered. He squeezed on the saddle in front of Astrid. Toothless flew to Big Boobied Bertha, who was still staring open-mouthed.

"I suppose the death by dragons didn't work out, huh?" said Hiccup.

The chief of the Bog-Burglars mumbled, "I suppose it didn't."

"I'm sorry about what my ancestors did. But I promise you, I don't mean you or your people any harm. As you've most likely noticed, I'm very… different." Hiccup explained.

"You're right!" she said, "How on Earth did you manage to take down all those dragons without harming a scale on a single one? And it appears as if this one- is trained?"

"I'd like you to meet Toothless." Hiccup said fondly, "This is what we need to do to stop the raids. We don't have to fight them. We need to talk somewhere private, Bertha."

"Of course."

Camicazi and Bertha headed to their house on foot while Astrid, Hiccup, and Toothless followed in the air.

"You know, Hiccup," said Astrid, "you're not the same awkward teenager who I strongly objected getting married to." And she hugged him around the waist.