Disclaimer: I Do Not Own How to Train Your Dragon.
Destiny: Hiccup
24. Stoick's Battle
EXT. OPEN SEA/DRAGON ISLAND - DAY
The armada coasts toward a shroud of heavy fog, hung like drapes from a low-hanging, ominous sky.
The ships enter, one by one. Visibility drops immediately.
"That's good" laughed Gobber, "we won't see our deaths comin'."
Stoick glared at him while Hiccup laughed.
"From what we saw earlier, you will see that thing even with all the fog" Hiccup said, Toothless keeping a wing on Hiccup's shoulder in support.
Flanking ships becomes ghosts. The armada disappears, drawn into the blinding mist. Complete whiteout. Nothing remains but the eerie creaking of wood on water.
ON STOICK at the bow of his ship. He taps his fingers on the gunwale, then looks back at Toothless impatiently. Weighed down with chains, Toothless seems unresponsive.
The other dragons looked at Toothless to see him looking down. He knew he would have no choice but to lead them to the Queen. Her call is too powerful for even a Night Fury to battle against. He was leading his Dragon Rider's family to their deaths and there was nothing he could do about it.
STOICK
Sound your positions. Stay within earshot.
Shouts pour in from all directions.
VIKING #1
Here.
VIKING #2
One length to your stern.
VIKING #3
On your starboard flank.
VIKING #4
Three widths to port.
VIKING #5
Ahead, at your bow.
VIKING #6
Haven't a clue.
ON STOICK straining into the fog as the calls continue.
Massive, jagged sea stacks begin to emerge, threatening to rip the ships to shreds.
Gobber approaches him, speaking under his breath.
GOBBER
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 is in fact a plan at all, what it might be?
STOICK
Find the nest and take it.
"Real informative" said Gobber, "that traditional Viking attack. Simple in everything but the execution."
GOBBER
Ah. Of course. Send them running. The old Viking fall-back. Nice and simple.
STOICK
Shhh.
Stoick notices that Toothless' ear plates are at the alert, quietly reacting to inaudible sounds.
Toothless whines and buries his face into Hiccup's shoulder. Hiccup found that it was his turn to comfort his future partner as Toothless' basic instincts kicked him and he listened to his nest's leader.
Stoick crosses to the stern of the ship and grabs the tiller, moving the helmsman out of the way.
STOICK (CONT'D)
Step aside.
Stoick pulls the ship into a turn, covertly following Toothless' head movements.
The ship barely misses a jagged outcrop that suddenly appears out of the soupy fog.
VIKING
Bear to port.
The order is called out from ship to ship.
CRUNCH! The bow barely makes it past another sea stack.
Stoick continues to follow Toothless' cues, undeterred.
Stoick could feel it in his gut that he was leading his tribe to their deaths. He knew that his future self was thinking of nothing more than the hurt that his son's supposed "betrayal" would be causing him, and the grief from the death of his wife fourteen years previous.
EXT. TRAINING GROUNDS - DAY
Hiccup raises the bolt on the Monstrous Nightmare's pen.
Gobber shook his head. What was Hiccup thinking? That he was going to ride the dragons into battle? Gobber shook his head again. Never mind, that was a Hiccup plan, practically raising the teenager from toddler hood had its benefits. Gobber knew Hiccup very well. Hiccup wondered, was he going to ride the nightmare into battle.
FISHLEGS (O.S.)
If you're planning on getting eaten, I'd definitely go with the Gronckle.
Astrid smirked to herself. The older Vikings may follow Stoick, but after the flight and the way responded to her confidently about letting the village, the young teen knew that she would follow Hiccup Haddock into battle. He was to set a new future for them. But how she managed to get the other teenagers to know, she'd never know.
Hiccup turns to see his fellow recruits, watching him with folded arms. Tuffnut steps forward with a scowl.
TUFFNUT
You were wise to seek help from the world's most deadly weapon.
(BEAT)
It's me.
"Yes bigger Tuffnut" shouted Tuffnut, he knew that he was a weapon of mass destruction. And he would be even more powerful with a Dragon.
HICCUP
Uh...
SNOTLOUT
I love this plan.
"I haven't told you the plan yet" said Hiccup, confused that even though he's been branded a traitor and disowned, the teenagers are supporting him.
HICCUP
I didn't...
RUFFNUT
You're crazy. (SULTRY) I like that.
ASTRID
So? What is the plan?
Hiccup smiles, glowing in the support of his friends.
Stoick watched the scene with interest. Was that all Hiccup needed? He looked over at Gobber – the only Viking that would give Hiccup chance after chance. He had agreed to take Hiccup into the forge – even with many Vikings suggesting he shouldn't – and Hiccup has gone to Gobber for advice on everything from weapons to girls and even Dragons. Hiccup flourished under Gobber's care, what would the heir be like if the whole tribe supported him and his ideas.
EXT. FOGGY SEA - DAY
The ships follow in line through the gauntlet of rocks as orders are whispered from ship to ship.
A dragon head looms out of the fog. The men recoil... only to discover that it's a wrecked ship, impaled high on a gnarled sea stack.
GOBBER
Ah. I was wondering where that went.
"Nice to know, she was a sure beauty" said Gobber.
A clicking buzz becomes audible, growing louder. It fills the sky, converging in one general direction. Stoick sniffs the air.
The dragons sniffed themselves again. They do not smell, why did the Dragon Rider's father keep sniffing. It was starting to be a little insulting.
STOICK
Stay low and ready your weapons.
Stoick's ship suddenly JERKS to a halt as the keel burrows into shallow black sand.
Stoick hops overboard, landing on a sprawling beach. The BUZZING suddenly STOPS. Above him, a craggy volcano towers into the gloom.
STOICK (CONT'D)
We're here.
Behind him, several dragon-headed bows pierce the fog.
EXT. TRAINING GROUNDS - RING - DAY
Hiccup steps back from the door, drawing the Monstrous Nightmare out of its cave. It snorts, stepping into the ring, calmed by Hiccup's outstretched hand - focused on him.
The Vikings mouths dropped. Before the dragon was ready to kill Hiccup, and yet he was following the small Viking with a look of amazement in its eyes.
ON THE TEENS... bewildered, in awe.
Snotlout nervously reaches for a spear laying near his foot.
Astrid stops him.
ASTRID
(CORRECTING)
Uh-uh.
Hiccup slows to a stop in front of the teens, with the Nightmare inches from his outstretched hand. He reaches over and grabs Snotlout's trembling hand.
"What?" Snotlout nearly shouting, "why are you giving me the Nightmare?"
"Cos you are both hot headed" replied Hiccup, "a perfect match."
The rest of the teenagers wondered what their perfect dragon matches would be. Astrid was sure she would get the Nadder, none of the other dragons sat right with her. Fishlegs loved Gronkles. The Twins were fighting over who would get the Zippleback, ignoring the fact that it has two heads.
SNOTLOUT
Wait! What are you...
HICCUP
Relax. It's okay... it's okay.
Hiccup replaces his outstretched hand with Snotlout's, putting him in control of the massive beast. The Nightmare snorts but remains calm. Snotlout, by contrast, chuckles nervously - it's at once terrifying and amazing.
"I'm touching a dragon, and it is not to kill it" he cheered, "I'm actually touching a Nightmare!"
The others watch, spellbound. Hiccup turns and walks away.
SNOTLOUT
Where are you going?!
Hiccup pulls a bundle of rope from a supply box.
HICCUP
You're going to need something to help you hold on.
The teens eye each other apprehensively and look up to reveal... ALL THE DRAGONS standing in the ring, facing the teens expectantly.
"Are they readying themselves?" Spitelout asked, seeing that the training Dragons looked like they were ready to fly to the nest, take part in the battle with riders of their own. The Nightmare was the only one who looked unsure of what was going on, and even then, it was peaceful under the hands of Hiccup.
"Hiccup may have accidentally trained them while training. They have known to associate him with safety. He was kind to them. They'll probably be willing to do anything he asked of them" said Gobber. Hiccup laughed.
"And I more than likely stink of Night Fury, so I may appear as another dragon to them" he laughed, not knowing how true his statement was. Part of being a Dragon Rider was having a similar scent to your chosen dragon – even if Dragons still believe that they do not smell enough for a Viking to be able to simply sniff them out.
EXT. DRAGON ISLAND - DAY
CLOSE ON
Tree trunks, being sharpened and planted into the sand at angled rows. Boulders being loaded into catapult baskets. And a war plan being scratched in the sand.
STOICK looms over it, looking determined. His generals are at his sides.
STOICK
When we crack this mountain open, all hell is going to break loose.
GOBBER
In my undies. Good thing I brought extras.
More the Tribe shivered. A few of them having had experience with Gobber's undies after a rough battle.
Stoick TURNS to face the men.
STOICK
No matter how this end, it ends today.
He walks toward the base of the volcano wall, back by several hundred warriors. He raises his arm and drops it.
A line of catapults UNLEASH their two-ton loads into the cliff wall. It cracks and flakes away. Several more hits tear away at the hollow shell of hardened lava. A final boulder shatters the fractured wall, creating a deep, dark opening to the cavern within.
Silence. Stock raises his hand, makes a gesture. A flaming bushel is launched into the dark, lighting the wall... CHOKED WITH DRAGONS. Stoick pulls his hammer and rushes into the cave, brazen.
STOICK (CONT'D)
(War cries and slashing efforts)
In a chaotic flurry, the dragons suddenly rush out like bats from a cave. The take to the air, bypassing the axe-swinging Vikings and fleeing the island in a mass exodus.
The battle-ready Vikings drop their weapons, confused.
GOBBER
Is that it?
"I wish" Hiccup whispered, still comforting the Night Fury who was gently removing his head from the young Vikings shoulder to watch as the battle was about to properly begin.
Above the island, dragons POUR from every crevice, fleeing to the sky. The sound of screeching dragons' fades.
VIKINGS
(Cheering as one)
SPITELOUT
We've done it!
Stoick doesn't celebrate. Something is not right. He HEARS something. Stoick turns to peer down the dark throat of the cavern.
A deep, rumbling ROAR echoes from the cavern. The ground underfoot TREMBLES. The ships rock. Their sails fill with a blast of air. The cheering stops. Stoick's expression sinks.
STOICK
This isn't over. Form your ranks! Hold together!
The men SCRAMBLE to organize themselves.
STOICK (CONT'D)
Get clear!
The ground CRACKS. Stone tears away, cascading like an avalanche. And through the settling debris, the silhouette of a gargantuan dragon emerges - THE RED DEATH. Stirred and furious.
GOBBER
Beard of Thor...what is that?
STOICK
(AGHAST)
Odin help us.
(BEAT)
Catapults!
The Vikings score direct hits. The burning stones BOUNCE off the dragon's skin. The Red Death focuses on the catapults. It crushes the first one - smashing it and its crew, rattling the beach underfoot.
Stoick races toward the second catapult. He LEAPS and pushes a Viking out of the way just before the dragon crushes him under his forepaw.
The Vikings scramble in all directions.
"We are clearly the best" laughed Gobber watching as the rest of the tribe run around like headless chickens.
VIKING #3
Get to the ships!
STOICK
No! NO!
The Red Death BLASTS the ships like a mile-long flamethrower. The sails are torched. Vikings dive overboard and masts come down.
"The dragon clearly knows what it is doing" said Gobber. Stoick nodded, shocked to do anything more than that.
Gobber Joins Stoick.
GOBBER
Heh. Smart, that one.
Stoick looks up and down the beach for an answer.
STOICK
(GUILT-RIDDEN)
I was a fool.
Watching his future self, Stoick knew that if they survived the battle, he would have fifteen years to make it up to his son. And the starting point would be to start looking at things from Hiccup's perspective and listening to the boy.
The monster raises its head to the sky and BELLOWS. The sound SHAKES the beach, knocking Vikings off their feet. This island is hers.
Stoick stops a Viking General.
STOICK (CONT'D)
Lead the men to the far side of the island.
SPITELOUT
Right. (turns to the others) Everybody to the far side of the island!
The Vikings scatter into the rocks like ants. Satisfied with the ship's destruction, The Red Death turns its attention back to the Vikings. They seem to have vanished. It SNIFFS the air, searching for their scent. Gobber drops in beside Stoick, like two soldiers in a trench. Fire blasts overhead, causing them to duck.
STOICK
Gobber, go with the men.
GOBBER
I think I'll stay, just in case you're thinking of doing something crazy.
"Like father, like son" said Gobber.
"What do you mean?" asked Stoick.
"Where do you think Hiccup got the ability to think of stupid plans from?" Gobber asked, "certainly wasnae his mother."
Stoick grabs him.
STOICK
(EMPHATIC)
I can buy them a few minutes if I give that thing someone to hunt.
Gobber removes Stoick's hand. Clenches his forearm, determined.
GOBBER
Then I can double that time.
Stoick grins. Friends to the bitter end. They BREAK COVER and dash into the open, SPLITTING UP. Stoick rips a sharpened post from the ground and hurls it into the monster's face.
STOICK
HERE!
GOBBER
NO, HERE!
It spots both of them. He fuels up to fire, glancing back and forth between the two men. He focuses on Stoick.
GOBBER (CONT'D)
Come on! Fight me!
STOICK
No, me!
The Red Death remains focused on Stoick - this is it. It rears back and inhales. Gas begins to amass, when... KABLAM! A BLAST explodes against the back of The Red Death's head. It turns distracted, as...
"Looks like the cavalry's arrived" cheered Snotlout, "its us. We're totally there to save your butts."
"Yeah," Gobber said sarcastically, "we are saved."
Snotlout slapped his fist against his chest, proud. Gobber rolled his eyes and looked over at Hiccup, who was laughing silently.