This is an alternate reality retelling of the last half of the movie. It picks up after the romantic flight and explores what would have happened if the good ending didn't. It's dark. Enjoy! Please review! This isn't a one shot, so don't worry. More is coming.

Chapter 1

It's hard being fifteen.

Until a few weeks ago, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III son of Stoic the Vast; chief to the Vikings of Berk, had a rather miserable existence. He lived in a society of Vikings hell bent on killing the dragons that constantly raided their village. Instead of being big and strong like all the other Vikings, Hiccup was a meager toothpick of a human. Being a teenager was hard enough without being the only Viking his age unable to do any harm whatsoever to a dragon.

Hiccup had an insatiable urge to be like his father, the strongest Viking of all. This urge had, on more than one occasion, caused a great deal of trouble for the rest of the village. He was a black smith apprentice studying under a Viking named Gobber. He would often forsake his duties in an attempt to kill dragons during the raids.

Hiccup's luck turned around one dark night during a dragon raid. Getting up to his usual antics, he managed to down a Night Fury; the most feared of all dragons. Over the next few weeks, he befriended and trained this dragon whom he called Toothless – whose mouth was actually full of teeth.

The young female Viking of Hiccup's adoration was strong of will and of weapon. Astrid, as she was called, held a general contempt for the boy, despite his best efforts at friendship and kindness. Once he began to improve in dragon training under the watchful eye of his friend and black smith master Gobber, Astrid became curious as to how he improved.

Astrid followed Hiccup into the woods one afternoon and discovered his secret – a pet dragon. To prove to her how wonderful Toothless was, he managed to get her to go flying with them. During the flight, Astrid had a change of heart; seeing both the worth of a dragon as well as the worth of Hiccup.

On this flight, Toothless took the two Vikings to the dragon's nesting grounds. It was here they discovered a terrible truth – the dragons were stealing the Viking's food and returning it to their "queen." This queen dragon was monstrously large and fast, forcing the smaller dragons into submission through fear. After a narrow escape, the two took to the skies once again.

After a wonderful and romantic flight through the beautiful nighttime skies of Berk, the two landed. It is now that we catch up with young Hiccup and his lady Astrid.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

"No no, it totally makes sense," Astrid began as Toothless was landing gracefully.

"It's like a giant beehive. They are the workers and that is their queen. It controls them. Let's find your dad!"

"No! No, not yet. They'll kill Toothless. Astrid, we have to think this through, carefully."

"Hiccup, we just discovered the dragon's 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?"

His answer was frank, but with sadness. "Yes."

There was a long pause, as understanding came to Astrid. Her eyes glowed in the soft moonlight, a thing of such beauty that Hiccup simply stared. Toothless bent down to drink from the nearby pool of water. The two continued looking at each other with deadly serious looks. Then, she relaxed.

"Ok." She gave in. It was clear how important Toothless was to Hiccup and how much he had risked in befriending him. His importance was also dawning on Astrid. Everything they had ever known about dragons was wrong. They were peaceful; playful even. Toothless had done his best to impress her with his flying abilities. Why would the most terrifying dragon in all of vikingdom do that?

Astrid knew now that she wanted as much to do with Toothless and Hiccup as possible. It had taken bravery to tame the most dangerous beast that had ever come to Berk. In fact, she had begun to realize, during the flight, that she had always held an interest in Hiccup. She would never have admitted it to herself or to anyone else, but she knew that the attraction had always been there.

Perhaps it was this weird attraction that had caused her stern attitude towards him in the past. Don't the adults always tell kids that when someone picks on you it's because they like you? She wasn't sure if that was the case yet, but feelings had definitely begun to form as they flew through the night.

"Then what do we do?" She asked lightly, feeling every word as she gave control of the situation to Hiccup; control that she wasn't used to giving away.

"Just give me until tomorrow. I'll figure something out." His head turned and he stared at the ground.

"Ok."

She was worried now. Hiccup, through his mastery of the dragons, had won the right to slay a dragon in front of the entire village. It was this right that he had bested her to obtain. This "final exam" of dragon training was happening tomorrow, whether she wanted it to or not.

"Hiccup, your final exam is tomorrow. You're going to have to kill the dragon."

Her voice was thick with concern. It was all she could do not to choke up. Odin must have a strange sense of humor, she thought. To give Hiccup such a gift only to take it from him. And to show her what love could be like – if that's indeed what she was feeling.

"I know." He was taking off his flying harness.

"What are you going to do?" She clutched his forearm. The worry in her voice now palpable and reflected in her eyes.

"I'm going to have to make them see that dragons are only dangerous because we attack them." She squeezed his arm tighter, laying her head against his shoulder. Hiccup liked this very much. Astrid, however, was growing more fearful, as if a cloud of melancholy was settling over her. They stayed like this a few moments more and parted. He moved toward his dragon while she just watched him. Her heart was growing for him by the second.

She began to turn around to leave but hesitated. He was taking the saddle off of Toothless. She approached him from behind and tapped him on the shoulder. He spun around and without a word; she punched him on the right arm.

"Ow! What was that for?" Hiccup chirped. Toothless gave a low growl.

"That was for kidnapping me."

Hiccup looked indignantly at Astrid and he began a retort, but he couldn't make it. She grabbed his shirt and pulled him toward her. Her lips smacked into his. The kiss was quick and was over as soon as it began; which wasn't nearly long enough in Hiccup's estimation. He was too stunned to speak.

"And that… was for everything else."

Astrid turned and ran off into the darkness of the woods. Unbeknownst to Hiccup, tears were steadily falling down Astrid's cheeks. Her emotions were all over the place. A lot had happened in a very short amount of time. To top it off, she had a pervading sense of dread. His exam wasn't going to end well, that much she knew. How could it? She ran with all her might, trying to outrun her fear. It wasn't working.

Hiccup was beginning to feel the same. Toothless didn't seem to be feeling the dread. He lapped up the water and observed Hiccup as he collected the riding gear. His wings were tired and he began to stretch them as his human seemed to change his mind about the gear. He packed the reigns, harness, and suit into the pouch attached to the saddle. Once everything was neatly placed, he approached Toothless.

"Here bud, just in case."

Grudgingly, Toothless let his human attach the saddle to his back. Once the straps were in place, Hiccup hugged his dragon around the neck, his worry increasing. It was now that Toothless began to feel that unknowable sense of wrong. He wasn't entirely sure why, but he didn't like it.

"Well bud, keep an ear out tomorrow morning. I may need you." He scratched the dragon beneath his chin, and Toothless growled with pleasure. His back right leg began to kick and Hiccup smiled. With that, Toothless burned some ground for his bed and cuddled into his tail. Hiccup gave him one last pat on the head and turned toward the woods.

As he walked toward home, his thoughts drifted from the worry of tomorrow; instead focusing on the wonderful day spent with Astrid. He smiled again. He could still feel her grip around his chest as she clung to him flying through the skies. He could feel her chin on his shoulder and her hair against his cheek. He put his hand on his neck, remembering the exquisite feeling of her breath against his skin.

Toothless watched his human walk into the distance. A warm smile appeared on his face as his hand brushed his neck. It was one of the last smiles Toothless would ever see on his human.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Hiccup couldn't have asked for a better day to kill his first dragon on; and he didn't. The sun was bright, the air was crisp, and crowd assembling at the dragon pit was eager for blood. A good amount of the Vikings had left a few weeks ago to hunt for the dragon nest and come back with their numbers significantly dwindled. It was that dwindling the crowd hoped to watch be avenged today.

From all around, Hiccup could hear the cries of angry men, women, and children pleading for a violent show. He approached the pits from across the bridge into town. To his front, across the bridge, people cheered. He could vaguely make out the shape of his father talking to the crowd upon the stone platform. No one else was on the bridge. There was no sight of Astrid. Carrying only the helmet his father had given him and with a heavy heart, he began his trek across the bridge.

It was one of the longest journeys in his young life. Time seemed to slow while his mind raced through his options, all the while the crowd roared. As he approached the end of the bridge, his friends appeared; Snotlout, Fishlegs, the twins, and Gobber. Each had a smiling expression. Gobber's face held the proud look of a father.

When Hiccup reached the crowd he received many pats (more like strikes) on the back; pushing him ever onward. His mind made up, Hiccup walked onto the downward ramp that led into the dragon pit. Once inside with the outer door closed, life was much quieter.

It was here that he, at last, saw Astrid. The sight of her greatly lifted his spirits. She quickly wiped away a tear and came up to him.

"You're going up against the Monstrous Nightmare. They catch themselves on fire. I'm so worried, Hiccup." She embraced him forcefully. The hug was tight.

"Me too, Astrid."

They stood like that a few seconds more before Astrid broke loose.

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to show them. I have to try."

Held at arms length and with watery eyes, Astrid was the most beautiful thing Hiccup's eyes had ever beheld. He knew, at this moment, that he loved her. There was no question.

"Astrid… I..." He paused. "…if something happens today, please make sure they don't find Toothless." He looked down at the ground.

"I will, I promise. Just make sure that nothing goes wrong."

Surprising herself at the statement, Astrid looked into the bravery on Hiccup's face. There was no greater rock or hard place and Hiccup was facing his head on. The feeling hit her hard, square in the stomach. It was the most real feeling she had ever had. She realized that she loved him.

The sudden burst of unspoken feelings from both party made the air thick with passion and the two embraced once again.

"Please. Be safe, Hiccup. I'll be waiting right here for you."

"I'll be careful."

A forlorn look in his eye, Hiccup turned toward the gate leading into the pit. As soon as Astrid's face was out of view, the sound of the crowd came rushing back. The gate slowly began to rise. With one more look back to the woman he loved, Hiccup trotted nervously into the dragon pit alone.

The noise was deafening. Ahead of him, he could see the rack of weapons. Gigantic hammers, two-handed broadswords, a bow and a quiver of arrows, a spear, several shields, and a few daggers. Approaching the rack, he took a shield and a dagger. The crowd gave a hardy, good natured laugh at his choice of weapon.

The crowd seemed to think it a challenge Hiccup was imposing on himself against the second worst dragon type they knew of; to use such a meager weapon against a Monstrous Nightmare. He straightened his helmet and said, "I'm ready."

At his cue, the giant door in front of him began opening. Through the cracks, he could make out the fire in the pin behind. With a sudden burst, the door slammed open and the Monstrous Nightmare flew out, throwing streams of fire at the walls and the crowd. The roof of the pit was netting made of chain link and it held strong while the dragon slithered along it. Hiccup merely watched the dragon as it, with incredible speed, wound its way around the pit looking for an escape point.

When it couldn't find one, it redirected its attention to the lone Viking standing center ring. It approached cautiously. This human seemed weak and sickly. Surely this was a human trap. Or maybe the humans were sacrificing one of their own. Either way, it came to Hiccup slowly.

"It's ok." Hiccup stated, with a warm tone in his voice.

Slowly, so as not to startle the dragon, Hiccup lifted both of his hands and dropped the shield and the dagger. Cries of fear came from the crowd. Shouts of "What's he doing?" and "Oh! He'll die!" issued forth from the blood lusting populous above.

Unsure of his actions, he turned to look at Astrid once again. Her look reassured him and he turned back toward the dragon. This time, his hands went to his bone spiked helmet. Removing it from his head, he held it out toward the dragon for a second before throwing it to the side.

"It's ok. I'm not one of them." With that, he inched his hand toward the dragon's snout.

More cries came from the crowd – also, something was else was happening. Just before his hand could come into contact with the dragon, he heard a very distinct voice.

"Stop the fight!" his father, Stoic, hollered into the pit. He had made his way right next to the netting with a clear look at Hiccup.

"No! I need you to see this." He resumed nearing the dragon again, when Stoic screamed louder.

"I said stop the fight!" This time, Stoic hammed the railing so hard that it bent the metal and scared the Monstrous Nightmare standing just inches from Hiccup.

At the noise, Hiccup tried to settle the dragon, but it was no use; it had been spooked. He could see the glow within the dragon's jaw signifying it was preparing to strike. Unbeknownst to the frightened Hiccup, Stoic was making his way through the thick crowd headed for the entrance gate to the pit.

Somewhere in the distance, Toothless woke suddenly from a bad dream. He couldn't figure out why, but something was telling him to fly. Then he heard the commotion from Berk. The noise was faint, but there was fear in the voices. He remembered the previous night that his human had put his saddle back on and realized this must have been why. Hiccup was in trouble.

He couldn't fly well without his human rider controlling his tail fin, but he had to try. As the screams intensified, Toothless dug at the rock ledges acting as his prison with all of his might. After several falls, his claws finally connected and he was away.

Astrid watched horrified as Hiccup narrowly managed to escape the first burst of fire from the Monstrous Nightmare's throat. Something inside her turned on and she reached for a battle axe. She no longer thought; she acted on instinct. Her body and mind were in one accord now, moving without her conscious thought. She didn't even hear herself screaming Hiccup's name.

She used the axe as a prop against the gate, prying it just far enough off the ground that she was able to squeeze below it, into the pit. She was opposite the pit from Hiccup and the dragon, but not for long. The two of them were headed straight toward her. She saw the recognition and worry cross his face as he realized she was in the pit with him. At this realization, he altered course to his right. The dragon followed and the two ran right across Astrid's field of view.

At her feet lay what was left of the weapons rack. Again, without thinking, she grabbed for a sizable hammer and hurled it in the dragon's direction. The hammer connected beautifully with the side of the beast's face; stunning it.

In the interim from attacks, Hiccup managed to grab his shield from off the ground. Astrid, still near the weapons rack, did the same. As the dragon came to, his blurred vision fixed on the source of his sudden painful headache. He lunged toward Astrid, mouth glowing red hot with anticipation of flame.

It was all she could do to hold her shield in place as the flames shot from the dragon's maw. The heat was nearly unbearable, but bare it she did. Once the shot ended, she hurled what was left of her shield at the dragon's face. By this time, Hiccup was at her side, pulling her away from the blast zone in front of the monster.

Her senses kicked in again and the quickest of happy thoughts passed through her mind when she felt Hiccup pulling her by the arm. Despite the situation she couldn't help but smirk at the gesture.

The two could hear "oohs" and "ahhs" coming from the crowd now as Stoic neared the entrance. The dragon was still shaking its head, ridding itself of wood pieces, as Stoic literally ripped the cast-iron gate off the ground.

"This way!" he shouted at the two teenagers.

Hiccup ran across the pit with Astrid. They could hear the dragon charging behind them. Astrid had almost reached Stoic when the blast of fire came over their shoulders, raining down from the gate, blocking their path. They turned around and ran frantically for their lives hearing Stoic's screams behind them.

Suddenly the crowd made an altogether different kind of noise. They were afraid for themselves. An unearthly shriek rang out above all the noise of the crowd and dragon and someone yelled, "Night Fury! Get down!"

There was an explosion that rocked the pit and a giant cloud of smoke erupted into the proceedings. Hiccup felt the briefest sense of relief knowing that Toothless had arrived. The relief quickly faded when he realized that his secret would soon be out in the open. The two young Vikings paused and turned around toward the billowing smoke.

There wasn't much to see, but there was plenty to hear. Screeching, hissing, and growling as the two dragons fought for their lives. To complicate matters, other Vikings were pouring in from the entrance gate and the hole that Toothless had opened in the netting.

Toothless and the Monstrous Nightmare rolled out of the smoke into plain view. There were gasps heard from above. Toothless was under the other dragon, which was biting at his neck. Toothless' legs, however, proved the victor and he threw the Monstrous Nightmare off.

Hiccup and Astrid were cowered against the rock wall opposite the gate now, clutched in each other's arms. They couldn't see anything or anyone besides the smoke and two angry dragons facing off head to head. It was clear that the Monstrous Nightmare wanted to get to the two humans and it was also clear that Toothless had absolutely no intention of letting that happen.

Toothless worked his way in between the dragon and the teens and bared his teeth. He snapped, clawed, and struck at the advancing Nightmare. When the other dragon finally made his move, he shot his head past Toothless straight for Astrid's face. Toothless turned his head right and clamped his jaw down on the beast's neck, severing his spinal cord.

Flame gurgled and came out in short bursts, as if the dragon was vomiting. His eyes rolled back into his skull and his body lay limp. Some in the crowd above cheered at the reckless violence; at finally seeing what a Night Fury truly could do. Hiccup ran up to Toothless.

"Okay boy, time to go. Get out of here." Hiccup yelled, pushing at the dragon's head. It was clear the dragon wasn't going to move. Now that the threat of both dragons was gone, more Viking's started pouring into the pit. The original Vikings were making their way through the smoke now, with Stoic in the lead. Stoic had the battle axe that Astrid had used as a prop.

"No dad! He won't hurt you!"

But there was fire in his eyes. The betrayal he felt from his son, the anger at the dragon, and the stresses of leadership all clearly visible in his burning stare. He wanted nothing more at this moment that to kill that dragon.

"No no no!" Hiccup screamed as the other, closer Viking's began moving in on Toothless. He took them out, one by one, relatively easily. The most it took was a single kick to the chest and the Viking wouldn't be getting back up. His tail was especially effective, taking many Vikings off their feet at once.

When Stoic finally arrived at the feet of Toothless, he threw a single punch that connected with the dragon's jaw bone. Toothless was knocked to the side, on top of Hiccup and Astrid. Hiccup felt excruciating pain in his left leg, but was able to protect Astrid from harm.

Toothless tore at the ground with his claws, desperate to get back up. Once he found his footing, he launched himself at Stoic with vicious force. The two tumbled ending with Toothless on top, baring his teeth, ready for a death blow. Stoic knew that this was the moment he was going to die.

"Toothless, NO!"

At the sound of Hiccup's voice, Toothless relented, and stepped back from Stoic. The other Viking's had, by now, set up a circle around the four. Hiccup had his arm around Astrid, bracing himself against her. His leg felt like someone was sticking knives into him over and over.

Toothless quickly moved toward his human, still in a defensive stance. For a second, no one moved. Stoic returned to his feet, but stayed where he was.

"Hiccup! You have betrayed us!" his father screamed with all the fury of a Viking of Berk. The look he gave his father was the look of resignation and defeat.

Hiccup made the hardest decision of his life.

He turned toward the girl he loved.

"Thank you… thank you for everything." With his hard around her neck, he pulled her toward him and with every ounce of passion he had, kissed her.

Hiccup pulled back, let go of Astrid, and quickly mounted Toothless. Without another word, Toothless shot out of the pin into the open sky with Hiccup on his back.

It took several seconds for Astrid to fully comprehend what had happened. When she got her senses back, she found that she, for the first time in her life, had tears falling uncontrollably down her face. As Hiccup and his dragon became a speck in the distance, her heart sank lower and lower. It wasn't until later that Astrid realized that her right pant leg was soiled with blood that was not her own.

Around her, the angry cries of Stoic and the rest were escalating. People in the crowed called for Hiccup's death, for Stoic's resignation as chief, and for things worse than that. Stoic was screaming the feral scream of the Viking, swinging the battle axe with reckless abandon until he found the corpse of the Monstrous Nightmare. He hacked away at the body, swinging through his anger. Only Gobber could remember seeing Stoic so angry before.

From behind him, Hiccup could still hear the commotion. He was too stunned to cry, but the feelings were there. He had just lost everything he ever held dear. His father had forced this on him. Could he still get Astrid back? What could he possibly do? Questions and resentment swirled around inside his head while pain throbbed from his leg.

He looked at it. His left foot had been crushed by Toothless' weight. He could still move the muscles around a bit and figured it would eventually get better.

How could it have come to this?

He had no idea where he was going to go, but he knew one thing. He had to get far away from here right now. Toothless looked toward the sky and flew away from Berk until long past dark.

AN: Please review! I appreciate good feedback and constructive criticism. If anyone would like to beta for me, I'd appreciate it. Just send me a PM. Reviews are really what keep me writing, as I get no compensation for anything I write on here. Thank you so much for reading!

-Kris