SO. MUCH. REVIEWS.

Suffering Scallops, I never knew people would want this kind of topic!


EXT. NORTH SEA/VILLAGE - NIGHT

We skim above a dark, wild ocean. The camera turns toward a lone island, Berk. It is a gigantic shard of rock jutting straight out of the water.

I nearly jumped in surprise when I realized I was in the sea. Instinctively I held my breath, holding perfectly still for the waves to come and swallow me.

But surprisingly I wasn't wet at all. The ground was flat and dry. Weird.

HICCUP (V.O.)

This, is Berk. It's twelve days North of hopeless, and a few degrees South of freezing to death. It's located solidly on the meridian of misery.

I almost had a heart attack. Was Hiccup here? Why was his voice so loud, bouncing off the dark corners all around me? I felt relief that I wasn't the only one in this mysterious place. But my surroundings were so dark, I couldn't see where Hiccup was. Anyway, his description of Berk confused me again. He was the chief, and it wasn't hard to realize he loved his home.

The camera drifts over rolling hills to reveal a small village nestled on an outcropping of sea mounts.

The village looked rather…. different. It was smaller, the houses less decorated, a bit shabbier and dark. Most of all there wasn't any dragons around. I began to panic. There was this tense quietness, like a calm before a storm. Something was wrong here. I crouched low, immediately in my defensive position.

HICCUP (V.O.) (CONT'D)

My village. In a word, sturdy. And it's been here for seven generations, but every single building is new.

The camera drifts closer, circling.

HICCUP (V.O.) (CONT'D)

We have fishing, hunting, and a charming view of the sunsets. The

only problems are the pests. You see, most places have mice or mosquitos. We have...

Sheep graze peacefully on a hillside. Suddenly one is snatched.

I flinched. It was just a quick moment, a split second of color, but I knew dragon claws from anywhere. Why would dragons steal sheep? Their main diet was fi-

A sudden thought dawned on me as I began to match the clues together. It couldn't be….

CUT TO:

INT. STOICK'S HOUSE - CONTINUOUS

A door is pulled open... as a DRAGON swoops directly toward it, BLASTING FIRE. The door is SLAMMED. The fire shoots through the slats of wood, illuminating HICCUP, a gangly teenage Viking.

HICCUP

...dragons.

I was silent in shock. That… Was Hiccup. That….. Was my son. Not the confident, tall, and brave man, not the great Chieftain of Berk, just... Such a small, gangly little boy, very much like the baby I had held in my arms 20 years ago, he looked… so fragile.

But this confirmed it. This was the past. I didn't know how long, but it was when dragons were still… a threat to Berk.

This, was when I truly got interested.

EXT. STOICK'S HOUSE

He reopens the sizzling door, as leaps off of the front porch. He weaves through the erupting mayhem as Vikings pour out of the buildings, ready for a fight.

More dragons swarm in, setting rooftops alight and hauling off sheep.

HICCUP (V.O.)

Most people would leave. Not us. We're Vikings. We have stubbornness issues.

And the stubbornness caused a bit too many problems. Some that I had been very disgusted about.

Vikings sound the alarm. Viking men and women pour out into the streets, axes in hand.

ON HICCUP darting through alleys, staying under eaves, making his way through the battle.

I had the urge to rush to the image and shield my son, he looked so vulnerable, he looked so wrongin this battle with the dragons. My son had the soul of a dragon. Surely HE couldn't be enjoying this battle? My heart sank as I saw the slight grin on Hiccup's thin lips as he ran throughout the battlefield. How much of my son did I truly know about? How much did I miss, these past 20 years?

HICCUP (V.O.) (CONT'D)

My name's Hiccup. Great name, I know. But it's not the worst. Parents believe a hideous name will frighten off gnomes and trolls. Like our charming Viking demeanor wouldn't do that.

I couldn't help lowering my gaze. Because it had been me who had named him Hiccup. All the stress of having a heir, the long hours of birth, the frail little baby that could crumble away in any moment- I don't think I was in the right mind at that time. I had needed somebody to blame for all of the pain, and that had been my only son. Hiccup. An accident. A disgrace. A disappointment.

What a useless excuse of a mother I was!

Dragons sweep back and forth, dodging axes and blasting the Vikings who throw them. A burly warrior gets tossed in an explosion, knocking Hiccup to the ground.

VIKING

(FIERCE)

Arggghhhhh!

(cheery, insane)

Mornin'!

Hiccup gets to his feet and continues to rush past gigantic men and women.

HICCUP (V.O.)

Meet the neighbors. Hoark the Haggard...

HOARK

What are you doing out!?

HICCUP

... Burnthair the Broad...

BURNTHAIR

Get inside!

HICCUP

... Phlegma the Fierce...

PHLEGMA THE FIERCE

Get back inside!

HICCUP

. Ack.

He passes a silent ox of a viking, picking his ear.

HICCUP (CONT'D)

Yep, just Ack.

More arrows of guilt stabbed my chest as Hiccup was pushed around by the huge, tough Vikings. They made him look even smaller and weaker, and the way they were treating him? I could have beaten them and yelled at them the way they treated him, but where had I been at that time?

Enter STOICK, the biggest Viking of all. He yanks Hiccup from the path of a strafing dragon and holds aloft to the crowd.

STOICK

Hiccup!?

(accusingly; to the crowd)

What is he doing out again?!

(TO HICCUP)

What are you doing out?! Get inside!

I caught my breath. Stoick. He was alive again, looking strong and heroic as ever. Slightly younger, with a much darker beard, but still the great Viking Chief I knew.

But I couldn't help cringing at the way he picked Hiccup up like a rag doll.

The flames light up his scowling face and matted red beard. He sets Hiccup down and turns to the sky, searching.

HICCUP (V.O.)

(IN AWE)

That's Stoick the Vast. Chief of

the tribe. They say that when he was a baby he popped a dragon's head clean off of its shoulders. Do I believe it?

I hated that rumor. It was disgusting. I hated it more because it sounded exactly like what Stoick would do.

Stoick grabs a wooden cart and hurls it, knocking the strafing dragon out of the sky.

Poor, poor dragon. I could hear its wails of pain. That blow wasn't a soft one, and I knew some bones must have been broken.

HICCUP (V.O.) (CONT'D)

Yes I do.

Hiccup was amazed by that? A twinge of terror stuck me. Please, please, PLEASE don't show me Hiccup killing a dragon. The strong mental image of the present dragon lover Hiccup was so strong in my mind it all seemed false.

An EXPLOSION forces Vikings to DUCK. Stoick stands firm, brushing flaming debris off of his shoulder.

STOICK

(barking; to his men)

What have we got?

VIKING #1

Gronkles. Nadders. Zipplebacks. Oh, and Hoark saw a Monstrous Nightmare.

STOICK

Any Night Furies?

VIKING #1

None so far.

STOICK

(RELIEVED)

Good.

Ironic that I would have leapt in joy if I ever saw another Night Fury, while my good old village hated them severely. Crazy feral vigilante dragon lady indeed.

VIKING

Hoist the torches!

Massive flaming braziers are raised on poles, lighting up the night sky... and revealing swirling dragons of all types. Below, Hiccup crosses an open plaza and ducks into an open building with a tall chimney.

INT. BLACKSMITH STALL - CONTINUOUS

He crosses behind a counter, where a peg-legged, one-armed hulk of a Blacksmith reshapes blades with a hammer and tongs appendage.

GOBBER

Ah! Nice of you to join the party. I thought you'd been carried off.

Ah! Gobber didn't seem to have changed so much.

Hiccup dons a leather apron and starts to put away Gobber's scattered appendages.

HICCUP

Who me? Nah, come on! I'm way too muscular for their taste. They wouldn't know what to do with all this.

Hiccup strikes a bodybuilder pose.

I chuckled at his swagger. I found myself growing fond of the younger Hiccup as well, he was quite adorable, too be honest.

GOBBER

They need toothpicks, don't they?

That was probably one of Gobber's jokes, but I felt slightly hurt. Toothpick?

Hiccup gets to work, transferring bent and chipped weapons to the forge as Vikings crowd the counter for replacements.

HICCUP (V.O.)

The meathead with attitude and interchangeable hands is Gobber. I've been his apprentice ever since I was little. Well...littler.

So Hiccup had been Gobber's apprentice? It was kind of weird matching him with blacksmithing. But then, look at all the things he created! Gobber must have taught him well.

EXT. VILLAGE - CONTINUOUS

ON STOICK

STOICK

We move to the lower defenses. We'll counter-attack with the catapults.

Armed men rush past, flanking others who carry sheep to safety. Stoick follows up the rear as, overhead, a dragon strafes the rooftops with Napalm-like fire.

HICCUP (V.O.)

See? Old village. Lots and lots of new houses.

Ha ha, very funny, lad.

VIKING

FIRE!

In response, the fire brigade charges through the plaza - five TEENS, tugging a large wooden cask on wheels. From it, they fill buckets of water to douse the flames. One among them is a cute, energetic Viking girl.

Those five teens, I vaguely remember their looks from somewhere. Hmm… Ah yes! The other dragon riders! Hiccup's friends, I think.

Hiccup leans out of the stall to watch her.

HICCUP (V.O.)

Oh and that's Fishlegs, Snotlout. The twins Ruffnut and Tuffnut.

And...

(DREAMY)

Astrid.

Gods, that expression on my son's face was priceless. I would always catch Stoick making that dreamy face behind my back when we were teenagers. Father to son, exactly the same.

A SLOW-MOTION explosion erupts behind her, framing her in a sexy ball of fire. The others join her, looking awesome and heroic.

HICCUP (V.O.) (CONT'D)

Their job is so much cooler.

Hiccup tries to join them as they pass, but he's hooked by Gobber and hoisted back inside.

HICCUP (CONT'D)

(PLEADING)

Ah, come on. Let me out, please. I need to make my mark.

GOBBER

Oh, you've made plenty of marks. All in the wrong places.

Why did that phrase sound so familiar?

HICCUP

Please, two minutes. I'll kill a dragon. My life will get infinitely better. I might even get a date.

How on Earth did Hiccup manage to befriend dragons? His mind was just like everyone else's. Was it a trick?

GOBBER

You can't lift a hammer. You can't swing an axe...

Gobber grabs a bola (iron balls connected by rope).

GOBBER (CONT'D)

... you can't even throw one of these.

A Viking runs by and nabs it out of Gobber's hand, hurling it at a dive-bombing Gronkle. The bola binds its legs, sending it into a heavy crash.

I closed my eyes. I didn't want to see any more of this madness.

HICCUP

(ready with the answer)

Okay fine, but...

He rushes to the back corner of the stall and presents a bizarre, wheel barrow-like contraption.

HICCUP (CONT'D)

... this will throw it for me.

Hiccup OPENS the hinged lid of the device. An arm springs up, equipped with twin bows. They prematurely launch a bola, narrowly missing Gobber... and taking out a Viking at the counter.

I shuddered. That thing Hiccup had made… If it worked…. It could help him capture a full grown dragon. I hoped it would miss like what just happened now.

VIKING

Arggh!

GOBBER

See, now this right here is what I'm talking about.

HICCUP

Mild calibration issue.

GOBBER

Hiccup. If you ever want to get out there to fight dragons, you need to stop all...

Gobber gestures in Hiccup's general direction.

GOBBER (CONT'D)

... this.

HICCUP

(ASTONISHED)

But... you just pointed to all of me.

GOBBER

Yes! That's it! Stop being all of you.

That's not what you're supposed to say to a stubborn and proud Haddock. Hiccup may be… that, but still, I didn't think Gobber's pep talk would change his mind.

HICCUP

(THREATENING)

Ohhhh...

GOBBER

(MIMICKING)

Ohhhhh, yes.

HICCUP

You, sir, are playing a dangerous game. Keeping this much, raw...Vikingness contained.

It's better not to have that raw Vikingness.

(BEAT)

There will be consequences! Gobber tosses him a sword.

GOBBER

I'll take my chances. Sword. Sharpen. Now.

Hiccup takes it begrudgingly and lobs it onto the grinding wheel. He stews... fantasizing...

HICCUP (V.O.)

One day I'll get out there. Because killing a dragon is everything around here.

I didn't want to see this anymore. Hiccup wasn't anything like I had thought he would be. I couldn't bare seeing him…. Seeing him…. Kill….

EXT. VILLAGE - LOWER PLAINS - CONTINUOUS

Nadders land, gathering like seagulls around a seemingly vacant house.

HICCUP (V.O.)

A Nadder head is sure to get me at least noticed.

No, Nadders are proud and beautiful creatures, and their heads were not something to show off.

The Nadders clamber onto the building, tearing the roof and walls apart. Sheep pour out and SCATTER.

Elsewhere, hippo-like Gronckles pick drying racks clean of fish and fly off like loaded pelicans.

HICCUP (V.O.) (CONT'D)

Gronckles are tough. Taking down one of those would definitely get me a girlfriend.

Wrong again. Gronckles were one of the softest dragons I ever knew.

A stealthy, snake-like dragon head peeks over a rooftop, breathing gas into a chimney.

HICCUP (V.O.) (CONT'D)

A Zippelback? Exotic, exciting. Twovheads, twice the status.

A second head pokes through the door and lights it. KABLAM! The two heads fly through the explosion, their necks zipping together to reveal a single body. It flies past Stoick as he climbs to the top of a CATAPULT TOWER.

CATAPULT OPERATOR

They found the sheep!

STOICK

(FRUSTRATED)

Concentrate fire over the lower bank!

Oh no, I thought. Get away from there!

CATAPULT OPERATOR

Fire!

Boulders are catapulted at the corralling Nadders... Just as a huge red dragon whips past, spraying the base of the catapult with sticky fire.

HICCUP (V.O.)

And then there's the Monstrous Nightmare. Only the best Vikings go after those. They have this nasty habit of setting themselves on fire.

And that's what makes them so amazing. Using their own saliva to set themselves on fire, isn't that an intelligent idea?

It emerges from the flames, climbing the catapult with a leering, toothy grin.

STOICK

Reload! I'll take care of this.

Stoick takes on the Nightmare, face to hammer.

Not this again. My mind was battling itself, worrying for Stoick and the dragon at the same time.

Suddenly, a LOUD BALLISTIC MOANING streaks overhead. The catapult crew ducks.

I perked up instantly. That…. that couldn't be….?

INT. BLACKSMITH STALL - CONTINUOUS

ON HICCUP, looking up from his work, reacting to the same sound.

HICCUP (V.O.)

But the ultimate prize is the dragon no one has ever seen. We call it the-

VIKING

Night Fury! Get down!

Vikings everywhere take shelter. The moaning sound BUILDS.

I stare in awe and fascination at the blue and purple fire. A Night Fury!

EXT. VILLAGE - CATAPULT - CONTINUOUS

The Monstrous Nightmare suddenly stops fighting and takes flight. Stoick looks skyward.

STOICK

JUMP!

KABOOM! The Catapult EXPLODES as though hit by an artillery shell... sending Stoick and the crew leaping for their lives.

I yelped out loud. Oh, please let them be alright!

HICCUP (V.O.)

This thing never steals food, never shows itself, and...

The sound recedes, leaving the crippled catapult in flames.

Look at it's grace and speed as it flies! It's a sight that can be only seen once in a lifetime. But why is Hiccup talking about the dragon more specifically than the others?

HICCUP (V.O.) (CONT'D)

...never misses.

(BEAT)

Something alarmed me by that determined expression. Then, a truly horrible thought dawned on me. No. He wasn't- He musn't- It can't be-

No one has ever killed a Night Fury. That's why I'm going to be the first.


A/N: I am not a mother, I am not Valka, I haven't lived with dragons for 20 years leaving my son and husband alone on a dragon killing island. I'm just a kid, and I'm not sure if this is what Valka would feel if she saw the movie. That's the reason why it took so long to write. I hoped you liked it.