So as you obviously know, this is a 'What if Hiccup left?' fic, where he disappears for five years before coming back with new friends and allies, all with their own dragons, to try to make things right between himself and his father, and between Berk and the dragons.

"Stop the fight," Stoik said, standing up.

"No! You have to see this," Hiccup, in the arena with the dragon, which had almost accepted him, "They're not what we think they are," a few tense seconds passed as the Monstrous Nightmare slowly started to lower it's head toward the boy's hand.

"I said, STOP THE FIGHT!" Stoik shouted.

The dragon's eyes went to slits and it promptly started to attack the small, interesting human that had been trying to touch him. Now, the dragon was sure that the small human had been trying to lure him into calmness so that the big humans could do a surprise attack. The dragon got the human caged under one of his claws and was about to give the killing strike when something metal hit it in the side of the head. Furious, the dragon looked over to see the slightly more threatening young human that had thrown the painful thing, and chased after that one instead.

In a little cove in the forest, a black dragon suddenly perked his ears up at the sound of his human brother's voice raised in fear. The dragon, a Night Fury called Toothless, immediately began a frantic search for a way out. He jumped at the walls of the cove, scrabbling for a hold on the smooth rock. After a few fruitless attempts, he jumped, used his wings for a boost, and firmly dug his claws into the high ground he was aiming for. It was a last-ditch effort, but it worked, and Toothless was soon sprinting, flapping, and jumping through the trees to come to his human's aid.

As he reached the arena, he blasted an opening in the top half to allow himself entry. The plasma blast had the added benefit of creating a big cloud of smoke, which concealed his human from the bad dragon's angry gaze, and afforded Toothless with an advantage, as he could see better in the smoke cloud than his larger opponent.

Hiccup couldn't see much of the dragon fight, but when the smoke cleared, he was on the opposite side of the arena from the Monstrous Nightmare, with Toothless standing protectively between them, ready to attack should the red dragon make an offensive move. The situation was not helped when the arena was swarmed by Vikings, who took care of the Nightmare quickly before heading for the Night Fury.

Hiccup tried to tell his dragon to leave, but Toothless wasn't going. He thought fearfully of what would happen to Toothless if the swiftly approaching warriors managed to reach them, and he realised what he would have to do. Sure, it would mean abandoning his village, his family, and his possible almost-girlfriend, but it would mean keeping his first true friend out of danger. He jumped into the saddle, clicked the prosthetic tailfin into place, and took off just as Spitelout reached the place they had been. He flew out of the arena and almost left right then, but instead guided Toothless to curve around and land on the caged top of the arena.

"Dad!" he said, shouting so that he could be heard by the people on the ground, "This is what I was trying to show you. They aren't evil, mindless killers. We could coexist if we just tried!"

Stoik looked up at his son with an outward expression of rage, "This is what you've been hiding from me? This is what you've been doing all this time? I thought you were one of us! But you're not. You're no Viking, you're not my son. Get out of my sight!" only a select few people, those who knew the chief very well, could hear a slight note of sadness in his voice as he said the final few statements, and the last shout.

From the ground, no one could really see Hiccup's expression, and although many guessed, no one could truly envision the forlorn, shocked, or slightly resentful emotions that were present. Before flying away, Hiccup said, "I'll come back," but the promise wasn't loud enough for anyone other than himself and Toothless to hear. Faster than most eyes could follow, the dragon and rider were gone.

Astrid was sitting on that rock in the cove, the one where she'd been just before confronting Hiccup about his unnatural success in dragon training. Instead of an explanation she'd gotten the ride of her life, which had changed her views entirely. She shook the memories from her mind and looked to the sky, hoping to see who she'd come there for. Before going to Hiccup and Toothless's special place, she'd made a quick trip to her house to grab two traveling packs and stuff them with food and other, smaller necessities. She knew that if Hiccup were to stop anywhere before leaving, then it would be there, and she would be waiting for him.

It was hours before anything happened, and Astrid had nearly given up, when she heard wing beats and saw the familiar duo land just down the shore from where she sat waiting. She stood and waved in greeting as Hiccup dismounted and he walked over to her, Toothless following. Hiccup looked the most dejected a person could possibly get, which made sense, considering that he'd just been disowned, rejected, and pretty much banished by his own father in front of his entire village.

"Hey, Astrid," he said softly as he came within talking distance.

"Hiccup . . ." she started, not sure how to comfort him.

"Don't. I-I just have to leave for a while, until things cool down here," Hiccup said, turning as if to get back onto Toothless.

"Wait," Astrid said, holding out the two packs, "I'm coming with you."

Hiccup shook his head, "No, I need to go alone. You need to stay, to see if you can make them see what I couldn't show them."

Astrid wanted to argue further, but what he said made sense. He had to leave, otherwise his best friend would be hunted down and he'd be banished formally and officially. The way things stood now, all he had to do was wait for the right time to come back and no laws would stop him from returning, as there had never been a formal banishment ceremony. She had to stay, to do what Hiccup had been trying to do, and she wouldn't fail. When he returned, he would come home to an island where Vikings and dragons lived together in peace, this she promised herself.

"Okay," she said, much more softly than her usual tone, then thrust one of the packs out at him, "But at least take this with you. And promise me you'll be back." this last demand was said with the same fierceness that Astrid usually spoke with.

Hiccup nodded and said, "I promise," before jumping onto Toothless's saddle and taking off without another word said.

Belatedly, Astrid raised a hand in a goodbye wave, and stood in that position for a full minute after the duo had passed out of sight. With a sigh, she turned and slowly made the walk back to her house, not expecting that this would be the last time she saw Hiccup for over five years.

Hiccup didn't know what his destination was, or how long he'd be flying to get there. All he knew was that he and Toothless were going to get as far away from Berk as they could before stopping for a rest, since he just couldn't handle the stress of being too close to home after what had just happened there. He didn't notice the storm until he flew right into it and Toothless lost control.

Okay, I hope you all enjoyed that. If you think I should continue, tell me in a review! If you have any ideas of what you think could/should happen, PM me.

Again- REVIEW!