Hiccup:

Why am I doing this?, Hiccup asked himself as he walked into the arena. The villagers who once hated his guts are now cheering him on. His father sat upon his throne, proud of his son for ranking first in dragon training. Hiccup knew that he was going to do something that would not only make his father disappointed in him again but would also be on the verge of heresy. But he needed to try. He needed to convince Vikings that dragons are not the devils they all believed them to be. As he looked at the assorted weapons, he thought to himself, 'weeks ago. I'd dream of this. However, I am not the Viking I once was... was I even a Viking?' Hiccup had no idea. He picked up a shield and grabbed a dagger. After all, he wasn't going to kill the dragon. He took a deep breath and said softly yet confidently, "I'm ready." The gate seemed to open at such a grueling speed. As the excitement increased around him, the anticipation of the trial before him rose. He knew what he needed to do, but it was a manner of the people listening. Would they accept that dragons are not evil devils? He didn't know. All he knew was that he had to try something.

BANG! The gate swung open as the monstrous nightmare lept out covered in fire. It had a hungry gleam in his eye as if ravenous. 'Do they feed the dragons?' Hiccup thought. If he were in a different scenario, he would have laughed. Here he was, in the arena, expected to kill a dragon, and he is thinking about it's well being. The nightmare jumped onto the arena's chains and crawled around like a spider looking for the fly on its web. It sent a gout of fire at the spectators who just moved out of the way and laughed. Suddenly, the dragon stopped right above Hiccup. It sniffed the air and looked down at him, then slowly lowered itself. It fell with a light thud on the arena floor. All went silent as the Viking runt, and the mighty dragon stared each other down.

The first step, gain its trust, Hiccup thought as the dragon advanced. He dropped his shield and dagger, holding his hands out in front of him. "What's he doing?" He heard his father ask in a low voice.

Stoick:

Is he going to snap the dragon's neck with his bare hands? I'm so proud of him, Stoick thought. He felt he and his son finally had something in common. He was ready to see a fight that songs would be written about. He had no idea what his son was planning.

Hiccup:

Hiccup grabbed the helmet he was wearing and stared at it for a few seconds. His father gave it to him when he heard of his 'success' in the ring. It was half his mother's breastplate, or at least that's what Stoick said. It was a gift, from a proud father to a disappointment of a son. Hiccup knew he didn't deserve the title of 'Viking,' but neither do the Vikings deserve him if they won't listen.

He looked up at his father. From pride now came curiosity. He knew he was probably thinking, why is he holding his helmet? Is he going to stab the dragon with it? He could just see the gears trying to turn in his father's head. Hiccup looked straight into the dragon's eyes, his face set. He knew what he must do. "I'm not one of them," he said calmly and threw his helmet to the side. The nightmare's face grew relaxed. His eyes beheld the small Viking with wonder.

Meanwhile, the arena erupted with frantic whispers. What did he say?

Why did he discard his helmet?

What's he thinking?

Stoick's voice range above all the whispers, "stop the fight."

"NO!" Hiccup yelled, "I need you all to see this. They are not what we think they are. We don't need to kill them". He was about to tame the dragon in front of these Vikings' very eyes. They were just about to touch when Stoick screamed, "I SAID STOP THE FIGHT!" and banged his hammer on the arena's metal. The sound was intensely sharp to the dragon's ears and was enough to put it on defense once again.

Crap, Hiccup thought as he quickly removed his hand before the dragon could bite it off. Hiccup dove sideways when the dragon shot a blast of fire in his direction. This didn't go the way I planned, and he thought as he tried to stay alive. He turned around in time to see Astrid throw a hammer straight at the nightmare's face. Why in Odin is she trying to save me? He thought. The dragon's attention turned to her, and he ran straight at her. She started running, throwing whatever she could at the dragon to try slowing it down. "Quickly! Over here!" Stoick yelled from the entrance of the arena, motioning for Astrid and Hiccup to come. Astrid was closest and ran into Stoick's arms first. He extended his hand for Hiccup, but the nightmare had other plans. It shot fire in Hiccup's path, causing him to change direction. He turned to look at the nightmare but tripped and fell. As he hit the ground, the nightmare had him under his claw. The nightmare seemed to be humored by the easy capture of the scrawny Viking. If you want to kill me, just get it over with, Hiccup pleaded in his mind. He closed his eyes, not wanting to see his fate unfold above him. Hiccup heard someone yell his name but was soon snatched away by a new sound.

ssssscccccrrrreeeeeAAAAAAA! KABOOM!

The sound was deafening. Hiccup heard a ringing in his ears after the blast. He opened his eyes to see smoke all around. He felt the nightmare being hurled backward off him. He was finally able to breathe, only to inhale the smoke and start coughing. He sat up in a daze and looked around. The ringing slowly subsided as the smoke started to disperse. Then suddenly, he recovered as he thought one word, a name, Toothless?

"Night Fury!" He heard Gobber yell. Hiccup whipped around to see the nightmare on top of Toothless. However, the night fury didn't seem to be at a disadvantage as he battered the nightmare. They growled, bit, and clawed at each other until Toothless pushed the nightmare off him. He then darted between Hiccup and the opposing dragon. They roared at each other as Toothless clawed and snapped at each attempt the nightmare made towards Hiccup. Finally, the nightmare bowed his head in submission and slithered away. Hiccup knew he had only seconds to make Toothless flee. He lept to the night fury and started pushing towards the hole he created. "Come on, bud, and you have to get out of here," he pleaded. He looked into the dragon's eyes when he didn't budge. The eyes read, "not without you, brother." That's when Hiccup made his choice. He jumped upon the dragon's saddle and adjusted himself. He needed to hold on tight because he didn't have his flying gear. Vikings poured in around them as they shot up into the sky. The force of the wind pushed down the Vikings nearest to the dragon as they shot into the sky at neck-breaking speed. Hiccup then urged Toothless to fly around the arena so he could give one last, desperate attempt to quell the dragon Viking hatred, "THEY ARE NOT DANGEROUS! TOOTHLESS AND I ARE PROOF OF THIS! WE COULD STOP THESE RAIDS IF WE WORK TOGETHER!" Hiccup bellowed at the top of his lungs, still flying in circles.

Then, one word came from his least favorite person, "RENEGADE!" Bellowed his uncle Spitlout. Then the voices of other Vikings range out soon afterward.

"TRAITOR!"

"DISGRACE!"

"HARATIC!"

And many other offensive words rose and hit Hiccup like a slap in the face. Toothless stared up at his friend with concern as his face slowly started to fall. The only two who didn't add their voices to the string of insults was a crestfallen Stoick and a proud Gobber... proud? Why proud?

Gobber:

Gobber stared at his apprentice, flying, FLYING, on a dragon. Though he had no love for the beasts, he was amazed and proud of Hiccup's confidence had flying upon the night fury. The best thing a blacksmith can do is think outside the box, Gobber once told Hiccup who, shortly afterward, started inventing new dragon-slaying weapons. Most failed, while some were good ideas that everyone, except Gobber, would believe didn't and wouldn't work. No matter what Hiccup said, thought, or did, Gobber would always be proud of his friend's son and his apprentice. After all, if he wasn't, who would?

However, this WAS something to be proud of, despite what the other Vikings screamed. This was a revolutionary idea, Vikings, and dragons working together! Hiccup and his night fury was proof of this. It can be done! Hiccup looked at him questioningly, probably wondering why I'm so proud of him. Not only is he riding a night fury, look at the craftsmanship of that tail fin and saddle! Indeed, he was marveling at the pedal mechanism and pully system. Hiccup had been made to control the tail fin. He made a waving salute type gestured, which Hiccup mimicked back before taking off.

As he and Stoick watched Hiccup and the night fury's disappear, it slowly dawned on him that his apprentice might never come back. For such a betrayal, Hiccup would have one of two choices. The first one would be branding and prison for a year, or be banished from Berk, never to return.

When he flew off on that dragon, Hiccup made his choice. He was now an outcast, bound never to return. Berk would soon forget him; however, he wouldn't. And now, looking at Stoick, he wouldn't either. Stoick will never forget his son, while Gobber would never forget his apprentice and son he never had. May Odin protect you as you find your path, Gobber prayed.

Hiccup:

Gobber had waved to Hiccup with a face of pure pride. Hiccup felt glad. At least one person from Berk would have possibly listened. "Well, bud, we're on our own," he yelled over the sound of the rushing wind. I am now, officially, a renegade of Berk, he thought bitterly. He was thankful that he had prepared to leave the previous night, so all his personal items were at the cove. Everything from some extra clothes, some tools, his journal with sketches, and some supplies to help him and Toothless survive by themselves. His original plan was to leave that night, so he wouldn't have to face the monstrous nightmare. But then he thought that perhaps he'd be able to save the dragons if he could just prove hundreds of years of Viking beliefs wrong. At least I tried, he thought as he quickly packed Toothless. He knew he'd possibly never set foot on Berk again, it was a painful thought, but he was never liked anyway. He never thought that his leaving would affect the villagers' lives as much as it does.

When they flew off the Island, Hiccup looked back one last time at the place he called Berk. The home of his father. The Home of his mentor. And the home of the woman he loved. The place he shot Toothless. The place where he made his one and only friend—the place he was now considered a renegade.