I do not own the How to Train Your Dragon franchise.

Awake-a-Thon

Tuffnut and Fishlegs hunched over a piece of parchment, reviewing the ideas they had brainstormed for the umpteenth time. "These are mean," Fishlegs said with a slight frown.

"You mean they're awesome!" countered Tuffnut. "Come on, we have to get someone else out. I want to be the reason for someone else's downfall!"

A sudden thought struck Fishlegs and he furrowed his brow. "Wait a minute…"

"What?"

"I just realized something. Astrid failed Ruffnut's dare, right?"

Tuffnut nodded. "Yeah. She got busted. I wish I could have been there to see Chief's face."

"But didn't she also fail the dare with the yaknog?"

"Yeah. So?"

The husky boy sighed in exasperation. "Then that would mean Astrid is out too. She failed two dares, which means she lost her two passes."

For a long moment, Tuffnut was silent. Fishlegs shifted awkwardly, uncertain if he was supposed to continue speaking or wait for his friend to come up with a response (which, admittedly, could take a while).

But then a large, positively wicked grin crossed Tuffnut's face. His eyes lit up with delight and a loud laugh tore from his throat. "Oh-ho-ho! Little Miss I-Win-Everything is out of the dare contest! And no one else realized it!"

"Well, it is kind of surprising," pointed out Fishlegs. "I mean, when does Astrid lose anything?"

Tuffnut sprang up, grabbed the parchment and shoved it into his pocket. "It's lunch, right?"

"At least for another hour."

"How far are we into their two weeks of punishment?"

Fishlegs frowned in confusion. "This is their last day. We're probably going to do the awake-a-thon tomorrow morning. We're getting them to go from five to five, right? A full day?"

"Yeah. Come on. We're going to the Great Hall. If I'm lucky, the rest of the gang will be there."

Bewildered, Fishlegs followed after his friend into the chilly afternoon. "Why?"

Tuffnut shot a smirk over his shoulder. "Someone has to break the news to Astrid that she lost. And I so want to be the one to be the messenger."

"You're cruel, you know that?"

Tuffnut ignored him and the two males made their way to the Great Hall. The skinny teen opened the door and peered inside. "There they are!" he said gleefully, spotting the rest of his friends sitting in the back of the hall.

"She's going to punch you," warned Fishlegs. "So try not to make it worse by being boastful."

"Please," snorted Tuffnut. "I'm going to enjoy this."

The two joined their friends at the table. "You guys don't look so good," said Fishlegs in concern.

"I hate farm duty," grumbled Astrid, stabbing at her meat in irritation. "It sucks and the animals hate me."

"Try working with Gobber nonstop for two weeks," returned Hiccup. His head rested against the table and his eyes were half-lidded. "I'm exhausted. The second I'm done tonight I'm going to sleep like a baby."

"Until five in the morning," said Tuffnut. "Then the fun starts."

Hiccup groaned. "I forgot about that. Thor. That's gonna suck."

"It's Tuffnut and Fishlegs," said Snotlout flatly. "For every horrible thing Tuffnut comes up with Fishlegs is going counter it with something nice and easy."

"Er…we've come up with some pretty mean stuff," admitted Fishlegs. "Sorry. But I don't think they're horrible."

"Thank you, for your reassurance," muttered Hiccup sarcastically.

"You're all going down," Astrid informed her competitors.

Tuffnut grinned, sensing his opportunity to deliver the bad news (for her, at least). "Actually, you won't be doing anything."

Astrid blinked and stared at the male Thorston. "What are you on about?"

"You failed Ruffnut's dare."

"Go me!" his sister whooped.

Astrid frowned in annoyance. "So what?"

Tuffnut crossed his arms. "You also failed the yaknog dare."

A stunned silence descended upon the table. Hiccup lifted his head, shocked realization forming on his face. Snotlout gaped for only a second before triumph formed on his features. Ruffnut grinned slowly. "Well, well. I forgot about that."

"Yeah, it's hard to keep track," agreed Tuffnut.

Astrid's eyes darted between the twins, her eyes wide and full of horror. "No."

"Oh yes." Ruffnut smirked.

"You're out," stated Tuffnut. "In other words…you lose."

The blonde opened and closed her mouth, but no sounds came out. Hiccup hesitantly reached out and patted her arm. "Hey, it's okay. It's not that big a deal."

She snapped out of her shocked state and glared fiercely at Hiccup, who recoiled. "Not that big a deal?" she hissed. "I lost. I lost before Snotlout!"

"This is the greatest day of my life," sighed Snotlout in contentment.

Astrid's fists clenched. "Guys?" she directed towards Tuffnut and Fishlegs. "How much have you planned out this awake-a-thon?"

"Er, we got some tricks-"began Fishlegs, but he was immediately cut off by Astrid.

"Scratch it all," she growled. "Because if I can't participate in this awake-a-thon, I'm going to make sure one of them, if not all, fails it."

Grabbing her fellow losers by the arms, she dragged them out of the Great Hall. Hiccup winced. "This isn't going to be good."

"Not in the least," said Ruffnut said cheerfully. "This is going to be fun."

…

The start of the awake-a-thon soon arrived and Hiccup dragged himself over to the Great Hall. When he reached the doors, he shoved the last of his bread into his mouth before going inside.

There were a few early morning Vikings already eating breakfast, though most of the tribe wouldn't arrive until six. He spotted Ruffnut and Snotlout already sitting at a table in the back. "Talk about a lot of food," he remarked, staring at the pile of food stacked on their plates.

"For all we know, they could starve us after mealtime is over," said Snotlout through a mouthful of eggs. "So we're preparing ourselves."

"We're also drinking as little as possible," added Ruffnut, pointing to her tankard of milk, which was a quarter full.

"Right. We can't leave for any reason." Hiccup dropped down beside his cousin. "Where are the others?"

"Don't know," said Ruffnut. "They'll probably be here soon enough."

Around an hour later, Astrid, Tuffnut and Fishlegs arrived. "Sorry," the husky boy apologized. "We had some…revising to do."

"So…what exactly can we do?" asked Hiccup. "Or rather, what can't we do?"

"You can't leave and you can't sleep," said Tuffnut.

"That's it?" asked Snotlout suspiciously. "There's nothing else?"

"Don't think it's going to be easy," said Astrid warningly. "I'm not going to rest until one of you gets a fail in this."

"We created a monster," said Ruffnut lowly, and Hiccup could not help but agree.

Breakfast came and went, and soon the Great Hall was empty. Ruffnut, Snotlout and Hiccup sat in silence for a moment, uncertain of what to do.

Trickle. Trickle.

The three turned to see Astrid slowly pouring water from one tankard to another. Ruffnut rolled her eyes. "We went before we came here. Nice try."

But the blonde was not deterred. She continued the process, going back and forth, the continuous trickle loud in the silent hall. Tuffnut soon joined her in the activity and the sound of streaming water increased in volume.

While Ruffnut had only drank a little bit of milk, the liquid was still in her system. She may not have needed to go, but after a while, watching the water go from one tankard to another was starting to get to her.

She squirmed in her seat. "You're evil," she informed her female friend.

Astrid smirked. "I know."

Another twenty minutes passed and Ruffnut finally shot out of her seat. She stormed over and knocked the tankards from Astrid's grip, sending the water flying all over the floor. Astrid only smiled. "Tuff?"

The boy obediently handed her his set of tankards. Astrid got up and stood on a table, so that she was out of Ruffnut's reach.

"Screw you," snapped Ruffnut. "Fine. You want me to go? I'll go!"

She stormed into the corner of the hall and removed her helmet. Astrid immediately stopped her torturous activity once she realized what the female Thorston was going to do. "Gross!"

The boys averted their gazes as Ruffnut relieved herself into her helmet. She then chucked the contents out the window and went back over to the table. "There. Happy."

"That is not what I wanted to happen," Astrid said flatly.

"Can't get rid of me that easy."

Tuffnut crossed his arms. "Next plan?" he asked.

Astrid pursed her lips. The first idea only worked on Ruffnut, but not in the way she wanted it to. She hoped she would send one of her friends running to the nearest outhouse…and not a corner. "Yeah," she answered. "But we'll do it after lunch."

"I don't like the sound of that," muttered Snotlout.

Soon the lunch crowed filed in, taking seats at the table. Gobber spotted the teens and made his way over. "Well, look who's still up and wide awake," he drawled, clapping his apprentice on the shoulder. "I thought you'd be sleeping the days away after all the work I put you through."

"Oh, you know me. Always out and about," returned Hiccup.

Gobber's nose twitched and his brow furrowed. "What's that smell?"

Ruffnut hastily ducked her head to hide her grin and the others resisted the urge to laugh. "Don't know," said Hiccup. "Probably some rotten food or something."

Gobber gave a nod, though his frown still lingered. He cast a glance at the teens before lumbering off to join Spitelout.

Tuffnut reared back and slugged his sister in the shoulder. "You're disgusting."

Ruffnut smirked. "I try. Come on, guys, let's load up on more food."

For the next hour Hiccup, Snotlout and Ruffnut stuffed themselves with ham sandwiches and cabbage salad. Astrid leaned towards Fishlegs and muttered, "You got the things?"

Fishlegs nodded. "Yeah."

"Alright. That ought to send one of them running."

Lunch passed by and once again the teens found themselves alone in the Great Hall. Snotlout crossed his arms and arched an eyebrow. "So, what's this new plan you guys were talking about?"

"I think it would be best if we just showed you," said Astrid mischievously.

She, Tuffnut and Fishlegs descended upon their friends, armed with feathers. Sensing their intentions, the trio attempted to escape but weren't fast enough. Astrid tackled Hiccup to the ground and assaulted his sides with her feather.

"A-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!" shrieked Hiccup, wriggling madly in an attempt to get away. "St-st-stop!"

Tuffnut pinned his sister to the floor and tickled her armpits with the tip of his feather. "Surrender!" he demanded.

"Ne-ne-never!" gasped Ruffnut through her laughs.

"Come on, Snotlout. Just say you'll leave and this will stop," persuaded Fishlegs, sitting on the Jorgenson boy's back and tickling his sides.

"N-n-n-no! B-b-but you're g-g-g-going to regret t-t-t-this!"

Fishlegs sighed. "Of course I am. But I've taken enough of your punches. A few more won't matter."

Snotlout's face turned green, and without giving a warning he threw up his lunch all over the hardwood floor. Cries of disgust echoed through the hall and Tuffnut and Astrid immediately scrambled off of their victims, not wanting to cause a similar response.

"Snotlout!" cried Fishlegs, moving as far away from the male as possible.

"Told you you'd regret it," muttered Snotlout, standing up and rubbing his mouth with the back of his hand.

"What was that?" demanded Astrid.

"He did eat three plates of food a few minutes ago," mused Ruffnut. "Guess it didn't settle completely."

Astrid put her hands on her hips. "First Ruffnut, now Snotlout." She glanced at Hiccup. "What disgusting thing are you going to do?"

"Depends on your next plan to try and get us out of here," said Hiccup wearily, massaging his aching sides.

"Ooh! Ooh! Can I do the next one?" asked Tuffnut eagerly.

"Sure," agreed Astrid. "You remember what to do, right?"

He nodded and sped off. Hiccup sighed and stared at the mess on the floor. "I'm not cleaning that up."

"Neither am I," stated Snotlout. "It's Fishlegs' fault."

"Someone clean it up before someone comes in and sees it," snapped Astrid.

Grumbling complaints under their breath, Hiccup managed to locate a wooden bucket and a cloth in the kitchen that adjoined the Great Hall. Snotlout filled the bucket with water from the barrel located in the corner of the hall.

"You made it, you clean it up," snapped Hiccup.

Snotlout scowled. "How about you clean it up and I won't punch your lights out?"

"Unless you want me to punch your lights out, I suggest you take the cloth," warned Astrid.

"Favouritism," muttered Snotlout, reluctantly taking the bucket and cloth from his cousin. He got down to his knees and scrubbed the bile from the floor.

By the time he finished Tuffnut returned with a pleased expression. "I did it!"

"Good." Astrid nodded in approval. "Now we just have to wait until tonight."

"What happens tonight?" asked Snotlout, picking up the cloth and bucket and going over to the window to get rid of the dirty water and soiled rag.

"You'll see."

"I hate it when she says that," sighed Hiccup.

Another couple hours passed by and they made it through supper without incident. Hiccup, Ruffnut and Snotlout eyed the three suspiciously. "What do you think the next plan is?" asked Ruffnut.

"I couldn't even begin to imagine," replied Hiccup.

Darkness fell and with the darkness came a torrential downpour of rain. Ruffnut stared out the window with a frown. "I could be getting this stuff out of my hair right now!"

"You could always wash it out," informed Hiccup.

"Nah. That seems kind of cheap. Besides, I'm not one for taking baths."

"I noticed," muttered Snotlout.

The doors to the Great Hall suddenly burst open and a sheet of rain sprayed into the hall. Stoick stood in the doorframe, not looking particularly happy. Hiccup shot his gaze towards Astrid, but she seemed just as puzzled by his father's arrival as he was.

"Uh…what's up, Dad?" he asked.

Stoick stared at the teens for a moment. "Have you lot been in here the entire day?"

"Kind of," admitted Hiccup, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "Just hanging out and stuff."

"Right. I need you home, son. There's a massive leak in the roof and Gobber and I need some help."

"What?" cried Hiccup and Astrid. The blonde shot a scathing glare at Tuffnut, but the boy blinked back in confusion.

"You heard me."

Hiccup floundered to come up with an excuse for him not to leave. "I'm not really good with making repairs-"

"Gobber will help. With me. Now."

Flinching at the low, dangerous tone, the lanky teen climbed to his feet and shuffled towards his father. "See you guys later," he mumbled. Stoick settled a heavy hand on his son's shoulder and cast a suspicious glance at the rest of the teens.

"Do you plan on staying in here all night?"

"We don't really want to walk through this weather," said Astrid.

"Fine. But stay out of trouble."

The two disappeared into the stormy weather and once the door slammed shut behind them, Astrid slugged Tuffnut in the shoulder while Snotlout and Ruffnut cheered victoriously.

"One down, two left!" cheered Ruffnut.

"What did you do?" snapped Astrid.

"I put a hole in his roof!" said Tuffnut.

"You were supposed to put it in Snotlout's roof!" groaned Fishlegs.

"Excuse me?" asked Snotlout indigently.

"Oh." Tuffnut blinked. "I didn't know. I just picked one."

"Why Hiccup's?"

The boy shrugged. "His house is the closest. I didn't feel like walking any further."

Astrid dragged her hands through her hair in frustration. "Well, now you're going to do Snotlout's house."

"What?"

"I'm not going out there. No way. Besides, Spitelout is probably there. I'm not getting busted."

"I'm not going out there either," said Fishlegs apologetically.

Astrid looked out the window at the pounding rain and sighed. "You are going to get it later," she growled to Tuffnut.

"How'd you know it was going to rain?" asked Ruffnut.

"Because I pay attention to the weather signs and patterns," said Astrid flatly.

For the next few hours, she hoped that sleep would claim the two. But with each passing hour it was clear they would not fall asleep. They were wide awake, their faces shining with boredom.

That's it. Time for the ultimate plan.

Astrid jumped up and stormed out the door. Snotlout arched an eyebrow. "I thought she didn't want to step foot in the rain."

"Maybe she's giving up," said Ruffnut hopefully.

A Deadly Nadder dragon call suddenly tore through the night and the duo froze. They could distinctly hear an answering call. "She wouldn't," breathed Snotlout.

"She would," said Ruffnut grimly.

"She's gonna go crazy, isn't she?" asked Fishlegs in fear.

Tuffnut grinned. "Oh yeah."

Stormfly soon arrived, and she cooed happily at her rider. Astrid rubbed her muzzle tenderly for a moment before mounting her. "Alright, girl. We have some chickens to scare out of here."

"Duck and cover!" screamed Snotlout.

Spikes and plumes of fire shot towards the fleeing teens. The attacks were close enough to scare, but not close enough to do harm. Tuffnut and Fishlegs flipped a table on its side and took cover behind it, peeking around the sides to watch the excitement.

"What's wrong with you?" screamed Snotlout, diving to the ground to avoid a small flame blast.

"This is cheating!" shouted Ruffnut, attempting to hide behind the table only to have her brother shove back out into the firing zone.

Stormfly, enjoying the game immensely, happily chased the duo around the room, using her spikes to cut them off and force the teens change direction. Astrid was determined to force them out of the hall.

"All is fair in a dare war!" she shot back, urging Stormfly to fire another volley of spikes to startle Snotlout a little closer towards the doors.

Boom!

Everyone jumped as the doors slammed open. Stoick stood in the doorway and he stared at the upturned tables, broken benches and collection spikes and burn marks. Ruffnut and Snotlout panted, trying to catch their breath. Astrid turned red and slowly slid off of her dragon. Tuffnut and Fishlegs climbed out from their hiding place.

"What. Is. Going. On?"

Astrid bit her lip. "Um…we were playing tag?"

"Yeah," rasped Snotlout. "We decided to make it a little more interesting."

Stoick rubbed the bridge of his noise in frustration and exasperation. "I thought I told you to behave."

"Sorry," they chorused.

"Clean this place up. I want it in top shape by breakfast," ordered Stoick. "Astrid, send Stormfly home."

"Yes, sir," muttered Astrid.

"I'll be back later to check on you." Stoick gave them all one last glare and stormed out of the hall, leaving the doors open, allowing the teens to see that the rain had stopped.

"Go home, girl," commanded Astrid, settling her palm on Stormfly's muzzle. "I'll see you later."

Stormfly purred softly before flying out. Astrid scanned the mess they had made and sighed heavily.

It would take the rest of the night to clean up, which meant that Ruffnut and Snotlout would win.

"Victory!" whooped Snotlout, high-fiving Ruffnut.

"Shut up," snarled Astrid, storming off to find some cleaning supplies. "I've still got dares to dish out. Just you wait. One of you will be joining me soon enough."

By Thor's hammer, she would not let Snotlout or Ruffnut win this contest. That was one blow her pride wouldn't be able to handle.

Next chapter: In which Snotlout dares Ruffnut.