The Dragon Master

Prologue

Hiccup is sitting alone, staring out to sea when Astrid comes up behind him. "It's a mess. You must feel horrible. You lost everything. Your father, your tribe, your best friend."
Hiccup gives her as close to a scathing look he can manage in his sorrow. "Yes, thank you for summing that up." He sighs to himself. "Why couldn't I have killed that dragon when I found him in the woods? It would have been better for everyone."
Astrid nods. "Yep. The rest of us would have done it. So why didn't you?"
Hiccup shrugs. "I don't know. I couldn't."
Astrid shakes her head. "That's not an answer."
Hiccup stands, becoming agitated. "Why is this so important to you all of a sudden?"
Astrid doesn't retaliate. "Because I want to remember what you say right now."
Hiccup becomes mildly twitchy. "Oh, for the love of... I was a coward, I was weak! I wouldn't kill a dragon!"
Astrid smirks. "You said 'wouldn't' that time."
Hiccup grows exasperated. "Whatever! Three hundred years and I'm the first Viking who wouldn't kill a dragon!"
Astrid takes a few steps towards him. "First to ride one though. So?"
Hiccup starts seeing her point and calms down. "I wouldn't kill him because he looked as frightened as I was. I looked at him, and saw myself."
Astrid looks out to the ocean. "Bet he's pretty frightened right now. What are you going to do about it?"
Hiccup shrugs. "Probably something stupid."
Astrid continues. "Good, but you've already done that."
Stoick's voice speaks in Hiccup's mind. "You've thrown your lot in with them. You're not a Viking. You're not my son."
Determination settles on his features. "Then something crazy."
Astrid smiles. "Now that's more like it."

On the Viking ship, Stoick is taking charge. "Sound your positions. Stay within earshot."
Various Vikings call out their positions while Gobber walks up next to Stoick, seeming nervous. "Listen Stoick, I was overhearing some of the men just now and, well, some of them are wondering what it is we're up to here. Not me of course, I know you're always the man with the plan, but some, not me, are wondering if there actually is a plan?"
Stoick's gaze never leaves the horizon. "Find the nest and take it."
Gobber nods. "Ah, of course. Send them running, the old Viking fall back. Nice and simple."
Stoick suddenly looks up. "Shh. Listen."

There's a wing beat, then another. A Monstrous Nightmare suddenly swoops down out of the fog and lights the side of the ship on fire, sending the Vikings scrambling to put it out. Before the crew could extinguish the flames, a Deadly Nadder shoots its spines at them from above, forcing them to take cover. A Hideous Zippleback flies over the ship and let's loose its gas, further disorientating the people aboard. A Gronkle simply drops from the sky like a rock and uses its jaws to free Toothless, and the Nadder flies down to pick him up. Stoick just manages to see the retreating shadows through the gas and pushes through the panicking crew. "No!" He tries to throw a bola, but the dragons have already flown too high and have left the damaged Viking ship in their dust.
Gobber sidles up nervously next to his chief. "So, what now?"
Stoick glares in the direction the dragons flew before signing in defeat. "Turn us around." Unknown to him, many Vikings sighed in relief.

Back at Berk, the Vikings all head home to their families, except Stoick, who is intercepted by Astrid. "Chief, it's Hiccup."
Stoick sighs in exasperation. "What's he done now? Released the dragons from the arena?"
Astrid looks up at the burly chief. "He's dead."
Stoick's eyes widen in shock, as well as Gobber's, who's stuck close by. "Show me."

Astrid takes the chief and Gobber (who refused to stay behind) to the arena. "He said he was going to prove he was right or die trying. He got what he wanted." She shows them the arena doors, all open and empty, as well as the scorched outline of a familiar Viking. One of the large Vikings looks at the wall with deep sadness, the other looks on with an expression harder than the stone the wall was made of. "It doesn't matter."
Gobber turns to his chief in surprise while Astrid freezes. "It doesn't matter? Stoick he was your son."
"Anyone who chooses those beasts over their own kind is no son of mine!" Gobber steps back in mild fear of the slightly larger Viking. "He chose his side."
The chief leaves the arena, his blacksmith friend following behind after giving the wall one last look. Astrid looks to the sky sadly, knowing.

Hiccup flies with Toothless, the Gronkle, the Nadder, the Zippleback and Noghtnare he frees from the arena following behind the duo, the Terror who loves there sitting on Hiccups shoulder like a reptilian parrot. "Come on bud, let's finish this." He dumps the makeshift mannequin into the ocean below them.