Part 1 ~ Chapter 6

"Be careful with that dragon." Astrid said as she handed a shield to Hiccup.

Hiccup took it and secured it to his arm as he glanced out of the arena entrance to where his father was giving a speech before the final actually started. "It's not the dragon I'm worried about."

"What are you gonna do?" Astrid asked, some worry coming through with her words.

Hiccup looked back at her with a determined look. "Put an end to this."

She gave him a skeptical look and he sighed.

"I have to try. Astrid, if something goes wrong…just make sure they don't find Toothless and Kala. Please."

She nodded with a worried look. "I will. Just…promise me it won't go wrong."

Before Hiccup could answer, Gobber came into the entrance and rested his hand on the boy's shoulder.

"It's time, Hiccup. Knock him dead." The blacksmith said as he ushered Hiccup into the arena.

Hiccup took a deep breath and adjusted the helmet atop his head as he walked to the center of the arena, taking a dagger from the weapon's rack.

"Hrmph. I would've gone for the hammer." Stoick commented from his seat outside of the ring.

Hiccup looked up at the crowd with a determined look. "I'm ready."

A couple Vikings then unlocked the cage that the Monstrous Nightmare was locked away in and the cage burst open as the dragon rushed out. Its body was ablaze as it darted about the arena, then it climbed on the dome and snapped at the crowd. It then spotted Hiccup down in the arena and dropped down from the dome and began to stalk towards him growling.

Hiccup then tossed away his shield and dagger and raised his hands to show he was unarmed as he slowly approached the Nightmare.

"What is he doing?" Stoick asked as he leaned forward to get a better view.

"It's okay. It's okay." Hiccup soothed, then he took his helmet off as the dragon growled and tossed it aside like the shield and dagger. "I'm not one of them."

The Nightmare calmed down and gently pushed its snout into Hiccup's stretched out hand, purrs forming in its throat as the scent of Night Fury reached its nostrils. Hiccup smiled and rubbed its snout soothingly.

"Stop the fight." Stoick ordered.

"No!" Hiccup yelled. "I need you all to see this. They're not what we think they are. We don't have to kill them."

The Nightmare nudged him purring happily and Hiccup laughed and scratched its head.

"I SAID STOP THE FIGHT!" Stoick bellowed as he slammed his hammer against the arena dome hard.

This agitated both Hiccup and the Nightmare as they both growled from the noise and backed away from one another as the Nightmare's body became ablaze again, Hiccup clutching his head to get the ringing to stop.

"Out of my way!" Stoick ordered as he pushed his way through the crowd to get down to the arena.

The Nightmare looked at Hiccup worried. "What are we going to do?"

"Pretend to attack me.." Hiccup whispered just loud enough for the Nightmare to hear him.

The Nightmare nodded slightly then began to 'attack' the boy, who ran from it, no, from him to keep the charade going.

"Hiccup!" Astrid yelled, very worried for her friend.

That worry dissolved not even a second later when she noticed that Hiccup and the Nightmare were just faking it and she stopped in her attempt to rush in and help him. She stayed in the entrance with a worried look adorning her features as she watched her best friend run from a dragon's 'attacks'.

'I hope this is all part of your plan Hiccup.'

Stoick then lifted the entrance gate when he got down there and motioned for Hiccup to run over to them. "This way!"

Hiccup went to 'run' out of the arena, but the Nightmare sent a stream of fire to block the path then pinned Hiccup to the arena floor with his talons. Hiccup yelped in surprise and scales formed around his eyes as his fighting instincts took over.

Astrid noticed this and grabbed Stoick's arm as he was about to run into the arena to help his son. "Stoick there's something you need to know about Hiccup! He's turning into a Night Fury!"

Stoick looked at her shocked, then looked back at his son and took notice of the black spots that began rapidly appearing on the boy's face. "Oh, Odin help us.."

Not even a minute later there was a high pitched whistle and a blast was heard. Smoke then began to fill the arena and sounds of dragons fighting could be heard.

When the smoke cleared, three dragons could be seen, two of which were fighting. The two that were fighting were a white dragon that looked very similar to a Night Fury and the other was the Monstrous Nightmare. The third dragon was a Night Fury that was cowering away in a corner, not wanting to have any part in the fighting.

"Night Furies!" Gobber exclaimed, not realizing that the cowering dragon was his apprentice.

As Vikings began to hop down into the arena to fight the dragons, Astrid rushed into the arena with her axe in hand and got in front of the Night Fury.

"You're not going to lay a hand on him!" She yelled furiously.

Hiccup whined and shrank down even further as Vikings began to fight his friend. Stoick noticed how scared his son was and he took a deep breath and stormed his way into the arena.

"ENOUGH!" He bellowed, which got all the fighting to come to a pause, the white dragon and Nightmare included. "Lock up the white dragon and Monstrous Nightmare, but leave the Night Fury be!"

"But Stoick!" A Viking tried.

"Leave the Night Fury out!" Stoick ordered with a glare.

The tribe then did as told, not wanting to get on their chief's bad side. Stoick then looked at his son and left the arena.

Hiccup crooned softly and got up, following his father out of the arena warily. Astrid followed right behind the two Haddocks, glaring at anyone who even looked at the young Night Fury as they passed.

~~~HTRYNF~~~

Stoick paced back and forth in front of his son and Astrid in the Great Hall.

"I should have known. I should have seen the signs." He said as his hands balled up into fists.

Hiccup crooned at him, but then cowered away as his father glared at him.

"We had a deal!"

Hiccup shrank away from the man whimpering and Stoick sighed and ran a hand down his face.

"How is this possible son? Is this some kind of punishment from the gods for your actions? And all those things in the ring…a trick? A lie?" Stoick asked, upset but also very worried for his son.

Hiccup looked at Astrid for help and she nodded at him in understanding and looked at Stoick.

"It's complicated chief. No, this transformation isn't a punishment from the gods for his actions. It's just a failsafe that Night Furies have to keep their species from dying out. That baby Night Fury Hiccup saved made a bond between her and Hiccup. That bond is what made him transform into a dragon. Not the gods. As for the ring..he was trying to learn how to protect that baby dragon. Not harm any of her kind. He knows that he screwed up, but he didn't know what else to do. He didn't want to disappoint you." Astrid explained as calmly as she could.

"And what of that white dragon? What do you expect me to take from that, hm?" Stoick asked with crossed arms.

"She was just trying to protect your son! She's not dangerous." Astrid said, trying her best to not get upset.

"Oh, not dangerous? They've killed HUNDREDS OF US!" Stoick yelled.

"AND WE'VE KILLED THOUSANDS OF THEM!" Astrid shot back.

Hiccup backed away a bit, not wanting to get dragged into the argument even if he couldn't respond properly at the moment.

"They defend themselves, that's all! They raid us because they have to! If they don't bring enough food back, they'll be eaten themselves. There's something else on their island, chief…it's a dragon like–" Astrid began to explain, but Stoick cut her off as he grabbed her shoulders.

"–Their island? So you've been to the nest."

Hiccup whined and covered his face with a paw. 'Damn it Astrid..'

"Did I say nest?" Astrid asked as the realization of her slip up sunk in.

"How did you find it?!" Stoick asked.

"No…w-we didn't. Luna did. Only a dragon can find the island." Astrid said, but immediately regretted it as Stoick turned to leave the hall.

Hiccup noticed too and screeched out of fear and ran to block his dad. Stoick glared at his son.

"Move aside son. I don't want to harm you."

Hiccup huffed and stood his ground, determined to keep his father from leaving. Stoick sighed and pushed his son out of the way, but not harsh enough to hurt the young dragon. He then opened the hall door and exited.

"READY THE SHIPS!" He ordered as the door closed behind him.

~~~HTRYNF~~~