You guys are almost reviewing faster than I can post. Yikes. At this rate we really will have this all up by next week. But in case not, ten reviews or in a week.
Don't own HTTYD
EXT. HIDDEN COVE - DUSK
HICCUP ... leaving. We're leaving. Let's pack up. Looks like you and me are taking a little vacation, forever.
Sure enough Hiccup flinched and moved lower in his seat, trying to avoid his fathers piercing gaze.
Toothless is nowhere in sight. Hiccup sets down his basket and opens it up, his head clouded with troubles.
HICCUP (CONT'D) Oh..man...
SHINK! Hiccup looks up to the sound of... ASTRID, sitting on the rock right in front of him, sharpening her axe.
"Yep. Even more impressed he's alive." Snotlout said firmly to himself.
HICCUP (CONT'D) (SHOCKED) Aggh! What the- (RECOMPOSING) What are you doing here?
She hops off the rock and back him down, spinning her axe threateningly. Hiccup's eyes dart around nervously, searching for Toothless.
ASTRID 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?
"To be fair he was."
HICCUP Uh...training?
She grabs him by his odd-looking harness.
ASTRID It better not involve... this.
"And it did."
HICCUP I know this looks really bad, but you see...this is, uh...
They hear a RUSTLE coming from the other side of the cove. Astrid DROPS Hiccup to the ground and sets off to investigate.
HICCUP (CONT'D) (PANICKED) 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.
"You know, that wasn't a total lie. That harness was technically an outfit."
He puts her hand back on his harness, getting her to 'drag him back.' Astrid BENDS Hiccups hand backwards, driving him down.
HICCUP (CONT'D) AAAAUUGGGHHH! Why would you do that?!
ASTRID That's for the lies.
Astrid pounces the hilt of her axe off of Hiccup's laid-out body.
ASTRID (CONT'D) And THAT'S for everything else.
Hiccup flinched, rubbing his chest "That really hurt." he told the girl. The female viking just smiled which made him feel a tad worried.
Hiccup's 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.
HICCUP (FEEBLE) Oh man.
She dives onto Hiccup.
ASTRID Get down! Run! Run!
Astrid pulls her axe, ready to take on Toothless.
Stoick raised an eyebrow "Admitably I'm curious to see how you got yourself out of this one." he said.
Hiccup shrugged "Sabotage. Kidnapping. Blackmail. Threatening. Brute force. Take your pick." he said.
Everyone turned to him and he shrugged "You know I have a dramatic flair. Besides, she was going to tell the village. What else was I supposed to do?" he defended.
HICCUP No!
Hiccup knocks Astrid's cocked axe to the ground, out of reach, then stops Toothless short of crushing her.
HICCUP (CONT'D) No. It's okay! It's okay...
Toothless pulls up short and lands hard, SPRAYING Astrid with sand.
HICCUP (CONT'D) (CALMING) She's a friend.
Toothless snorts in disagreement. Astrid is frozen. Toothless looks from her to Hiccup and back to her, confused.
Toothless snorted before looking up, gazing intently at Astrid. Guessing the dragons thoughts she held up her hands "I swear I'm not after his life any more. Don't worry." she assured. Toothless nodded in satisfaction.
HICCUP (CONT'D) (TO ASTRID) You just scared him.
ASTRID I scared him!?
Hiccup makes a motion.
ASTRID (CONT'D) (INTENSE WHISPER) Who is him?
HICCUP. Astrid, Toothless. Toothless, Astrid.
Astrid backs away, eyeing Hiccup and Toothless together with pure disgust. She turns and RUNS for the village.
"See? No other choice."
HICCUP We're dead.
Satisfied with Astrid's departure, Toothless turns away.
HICCUP (CONT'D) (TO TOOTHLESS) Where do you think you're going?
"Seriously. Feeling all the love." Hiccup said dryly.
EXT. WOODS - MOMENTS LATER ASTRID races through the trees. A large shadow overtakes her. She is suddenly SNATCHED into the air. Astrid SCREAMS.
"Kidnapped."
ASTRID Oh great Odin's ghost, this is it!
Hiccup and Toothless fly Astrid to the top of a towering pine. It bows and creaks under their weight as Astrid dangles a hundred feet in the air.
"Sabotaged."
ASTRID (CONT'D) Hiccup! Get me down from here!
HICCUP You have to give me a chance to explain.
"Threatening."
ASTRID I'm not listening to ANYTHING you have to say!
HICCUP Then I won't speak. Just let me show you.
"Blackmail."
Hiccup extends a hand.
HICCUP (CONT'D) Please, Astrid.
She eyes 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.
ASTRID Now get me down.
HICCUP Toothless? Down. Gently.
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.
"I don't like that look."
HICCUP (CONT'D) See? Nothing to be afraid of.
Toothless suddenly LAUNCHES straight upward. Astrid SCREAMS. The acceleration is tremendous. Every downbeat bucks the saddle, heaving them into the sky, doubling their speed like a rocket. Astrid is thrown backward. She SCREAMS and hugs Hiccup for dear life, squeezing the breath out of him.
"And there's the brute force." Hiccup finished dryly, earning chuckles from the rest.
HICCUP (CONT'D) Toothless! What is wrong with you?! Bad dragon! (mortified; to Astrid) He's not usually like this. Oh no...
Toothless ROLLS and PLUMMETS toward the coastline far below. Astrid SCREAMS. Toothless rockets over the ocean waves, deliberately dipping them in the froth.
HICCUP (CONT'D) Toothless, what are you doing?! We need her to like us!
Toothless rockets skyward and begins tumbling head over tail.
HICCUP (CONT'D) And now the spinning. Thank you for nothing you useless reptile.
Everyone snorted in amsement while Toothless rolled his eyes.
Astrid clamps her hand over her eyes.
ASTRID Okay! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Just get me off of this thing.
"And success." Hiccup finished.
Astrid is defeated, her aggressive energy gone. Satisfied, Toothless relents. They level off and head up into the clouds. Astrid opens her eyes again, and looks out over a world she'd never dreamed of. She reaches out and touches clouds, pierces columns ablaze in golden hues, and floats over a vast, alien sky- scape. Her terror is replaced by wonder. She grins, despite herself. Toothless rises above a blanket of clouds...
Stoick couldn't help but sigh at seeing his son. He knew that Astrid was perfect for the soon to be chief.
DISSOLVE TO: EXT. SKY - NIGHT ...and levels off under a starry sky. They emerge from a blanket of clouds under the dancing Northern Lights, shimmering in ribbons across the vast sky. Below them, Berk's torches flicker in the inky darkness. The new perspective is breathtaking. Astrid tucks her arms into Hiccup's vest, burying her chin into his shoulder. The moment is not lost on either of them. Hiccup smiles nervously. Toothless climbs past Berk's tallest peaks and heads out over open water, leaving the village lights behind them.
Astrid leaned over, laying her head on Hiccups shoulder as she smiled, watching the moment that meant so much to them both.
ASTRID Alright I admit it. This is pretty cool. It's... amazing. (BEAT) He's amazing.
Astrid carefully reaches down and pats Toothless' side.
ASTRID (CONT'D) So what now?
Hiccup groans. It's a problem without an answer.
ASTRID (CONT'D) Hiccup, your final exam is tomorrow. You know you're going to have to kill... (WHISPERED) ... kill a dragon.
Valka glanced at her son, wondering how he intended on getting out of that mess.
HICCUP Don't remind me.
A strange, unearthly din approaches. Toothless' ear plates suddenly stand on end. Panicked, he abruptly dives, dipping into cloud cover.
HICCUP (CONT'D) Toothless! What's happening? What is it?
Stoick sighed "This is how you found the nest. Wasn't it?" he asked.
Valka frowned at that "What is in the nest?" she asked.
Hiccup frowned "A seadragonus giganticus maximus. The red death." he said softly, making Valka pale.
Toothless BARKS at him. 'Quiet!' Suddenly, out of the dense cloud, a Monstrous Nightmare emerges.
HICCUP (CONT'D) Get down!
Hiccup and Astrid duck. The Nightmare calls out. A Zippleback appears to the other side of Toothless, boxing him in.
Fishlegs stared in a combination of horror and curiosity.
ASTRID What's going on?
HICCUP I don't know. (BEAT) Toothless. You've got to get us out of here, bud.
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.
HICCUP (CONT'D) (WHISPERED) It looks like they're hauling in their kill.
The Zippleback eyes them ravenously.
ASTRID What does that make us?
Astrid shuddered "I was so sure we were dead." she commented.
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.
HICCUP What my dad wouldn't give to find this.
Stoick winced. He truely wished that he had listened to him.
Toothless peels away from the procession, landing on a small shadowy shelf to keep a low-profile. Hiccup and Astrid peek around, taking in the busy hive of sorts. They watch as the food continues to be dropped into the pit.
HICCUP (CONT'D) It's satisfying to know that all of our food has been dumped down a hole.
ASTRID They're not eating any of it.
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.
Valka flinched, terrified. Hiccup however just lowered his head, looking guilty.
ASTRID (CONT'D) What is that?
The monstrous beast SNIFFS the air, seemingly aware of them. It nears the ledge where Toothless is hiding... and ROARS. Several dragons take flight in fear.
HICCUP Alright buddy, we gotta get out of here. Now!
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.
Hiccup cringed, seeing the dragon take out a zippleback. Immediately Valka stood "That dragon has to be stopped." she said, her voice shaky.
Hiccup shivered "It was." he whispered.
She looked down at him in shock and for the first time she really looked at her son. Including the missing foot. She had noticed it before but now... She shakily slid in her seat, terrified for what she was going to see next.
EXT. HIDDEN COVE - NIGHT - LATER Toothless glides into the cove and touches down on the moonlit beach.
ASTRID (her mind reeling, talking Hiccup's ear off) No, no, it totally makes sense. It's like a giant beehive. They're the workers... and that's their queen. It controls them.
She leaps off of Toothless and runs toward the village.
ASTRID (CONT'D) Let's find your dad.
HICCUP No, no! Not yet. They'll... kill Toothless. (BEAT) (MORE).
Stoick shook his head. His son lived for that dragon.
HICCUP (CONT'D) Astrid, we have to think this through carefully.
Astrid eyes him, incredulous.
ASTRID 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?
"Yes." Hiccup whispered.
Hiccup stands firm, resolute.
HICCUP Yes.
Astrid's taken aback.
ASTRID Okay. (BEAT) Then what do we do?
HICCUP Just give me until tomorrow. I'll figure something out.
Astrid snorted "Because that turned out so well." she said sarcastically.
ASTRID Okay.
Astrid PUNCHES Hiccup in the arm.
ASTRID (CONT'D) That's for kidnapping me.
Hiccup looks to Toothless for support. Toothless SNORTS, dismissive. Astrid grabs him. He braces for another hit. She KISSES Hiccup on the cheek.
ASTRID (CONT'D) That's for, everything else.
Hiccup couldn't stop his blush as he rubbed the back of his neck.
In the awkward wake of the moment, Astrid hurries off... leaving Hiccup RUBBING his cheek, stunned. Toothless hobbles up, eyeing him.
HICCUP What are you looking at?