HTTYD "Reboot" (alternate timeline)

Chapter 11: The Finalists

Berk, Hooligan village

Ruffnut had spent the last three weeks subtly sabotaging the other kids during training. Sometimes, even intentionally. On top of Hiccup using what he learned with Toothless, he was starting to become the crowd favorite. This, of course, irritated Astrid, who was raised by her aunt to be the star. She was the warrior training since she could walk. She was fearless, unstoppable and undeniably the best. Or so she told herself. With her father only being a presence later in her life because of the many hunts for the nest, her aunt's manipulations and terrible parenting left lasting effects. Always told that she is not good enough, the damage done to Astrid's psyche by her aunt left her a fragile, insecure coward desperate for approval. She wasn't a coward in the usual sense though. She was not afraid to give her life for the village. Her aunt constantly bellitling her achievements, lies of grandure and promises of a future befiting a hero of a saga, Astrid fell victim to her aunt's glory seeking. Simply put, Astrid is terrified of being shown up, of someone doing something better. She's terrified of being forgotten. Something that was playing out in front of her eyes as Hiccup progressively did better and better. The last three training sessions, of the whole crowd, only her father cheered for her. Everyone else? Everyone who cheered her on, who gave her praise for her deeds in the arena at the start of training? Forgot all about her, they only cared about Hiccup. She was left behind by everyone as Hiccup kept winning. Like when a single punch stopped a Gronckle in it's tracks and knocked it out. Astrid however noticed something in his hands. She knew it, he must have been cheating. But she couldn't get any proof. All she could do was finally track down Hiccup's secret place in the woods.

On the other hand, Hiccup was feeling good about his and Toothless' progress. Slowly, they managed to fly higher and faster. Inbetween, Ruffnut also tried to fly Toothless several times as well. This resulted in her becoming a much better swimmer than she was before, as they crashed into the lake again and again. After a while, Toothless just knocked Ruffnut off as soon as she got on. But he DID enjoy playing various games with her while Hiccup worked on new maneuvers or ideas for how to improve the tail. It seems Toothless trusted and even liked Ruffnut as long as she wasn't in the saddle. Hiccup also came to notice Ruffnut's intelligence is surprising. While she has trouble forming her thoughts into anything more than, well, thoughts, and has the attention span of a sparrow on a sugar rush, when she actually manages to focus on something enough to really think it through, she can come up with brilliant ideas. Such as using a mix of steel and silver in Toothless' tailfin, making it tougher in the parts where pressure is applied to it while making it lighter than just iron as Hiccup used before. Hiccup noticed Toothless was much happier with the lighter tail, and was even noticeably faster. Hiccup theorized that Ruffnut might just be the smartest viking in the village, she just has a hard time actually applying her monumental intellect due to her attention span, lack of patience and love for mayhem.

Berk, Kill ring

It was time for one of the three final challenges. In the first of the three, the kids would, for one last time, practice teamwork. The eight stood ready as Spitelout unleashed the Snaptrapper, whose intimidating size and terrifying visage sent shivers down the spines of even some of the adults watching. Everyone collectively gasped in fear when the four heads screeched in unison, the ungodly cacophony of screeching and snarling deafening the spectators above it's cage. When the beast looked at the kids, Hiccup saw something terrifying. This dragon wasn't like the others. It wasn't like Toothless. There wasn't a thought behind it's eyes, only one thing on it's mind: lunch. The dragon screeched a second time from the head that seemed to be the leading one as the beast charged, jaws clicking at the teens. In the chaos as it chased everyone around, Hiccup saw an opening. He remembered how he took down the zippleback the second time. Sneaking to the creature's side, a light blow between the necks seems to stun the zippleback. Hopefully, it works on a snaptrapper too.