"Hiccup, you can't be serious," Stoick exclaimed, looking at him, scandalized. "That monster eats dragons for breakfast!"

"Literally," Gobber added, shrugging when Stoick glared at him. "And for lunch and dinner!"

"Going after us would be suicide, Hiccup," the Chief continued, choosing to ignore the blacksmith for the time being. "If we're lucky, that thing won't even exit the mountain and might remain stuck to starve."

"He's not wrong, I've lived at the Nest for over a hundred years and she's never moved from her spot, unless it was for punishing us," an old, green Gronckle spoke up. Beside him his son, who would later be called Shattermaster by Dagur, nodded in agreement. "She could be stuck for all we know."

"I doubt a simple mountain will be enough to stop the Blood Tyrant," Toothless retorted gloomily.

"I doubt anything would be enough to stop the Blood Tyrant," grumbled Hookfang.

"Stop being so pessimistic, guys!" Hiccup exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air and sick of the constant stream of complaints. "If you don't want me to be reckless, well maybe you shouldn't have caused this mess in the first place!"

"Well, if you hadn't chosen the worst time to tell me you were friends with a dragon, this mess wouldn't be happening right now!" Stoick retorted, doing the same hand gesture as his son.

"When was I supposed to tell you? You wouldn't believe me unless I proved it, and even then you'd just go ballistics anyway!"

"He's not wrong," Fishlegs murmured, unheard by everyone but Snotlout, who found himself nodding reluctantly. Stoick reacting positively or at least calmly to the news that his son befriended a dragon was unimaginable.

"Well, you could've told me when I gave you that helmet!" Stoick countered, smiling triumphantly when Hiccup frowned, not having an answer to that. "Why didn't you tell me then? It was the perfect moment – you were even about to tell me!"

"I…"

Stoick raised an eyebrow inquisitively, trying to coax an answer -preferably an acceptance of defeat- out of the boy.

"I…" Hiccup's frown hardened into a glare and he straightened up with an aura of authority. "Well, maybe I didn't want to ruin the first conversation with my father in years where you weren't disappointed or angry at me!" he burst out, basically stomping his foot to emphasize the point. "Because had I told you, it would've been a disaster! You would've locked me in the house, then you would've gone to the Cove to kill Toothless, possibly dying in the process! Then you, Toothless and who knows how many would be dead, and the village would've been left without its Chief!"

"Hiccup-" Gobber tried to call out to him to get him to calm down, but he wasn't having any of that.

"I chose to do it in front of everyone because I had chosen to leave, but I couldn't leave Astrid here with the knowledge she'd have to kill creatures she found out weren't as evil as we painted them as. And I couldn't leave the village and the dragons all suffering at the hands of the Queen!" Hiccup continued his rant. For a second, everyone could clearly see that despite taking after his mother in looks, the boy's personality was a kinder, sweeter, calmer version of his father's – wise perhaps, but still capable of fiery outbursts. "And it's not like I had the time to do much else! It's easy to criticize after everything is over and when you have lots of time to think!"

"And let's not forget that hadn't the Chief pissed off the dragon, everything would've gone well," Tuffnut chimed in with a knowing look.

"Yeah, no one was doing anything," Ruffnut nodded, agreeing with Detective Nut. "Then he scared the Nightmare and everything went to Helheim."

"Not. Helping," Snotlout ground out, elbowing them both and keeping a wary eye on Stoick, who understandably wasn't looking very pleased at the reminder.

"I can't believe I'm say this, but they're right," Gobber piped up, gesturing to the twins. The Chief turned his glare to him but the blacksmith, far too used to it to be affected, continued as if nothing happened. "It's not like the lad had a choice. Besides, we all know Hiccup, he'd never do something like this if it wasn't literally the only thing he could do."

"Thank you!" the boy exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air again.

"I guess it's just easier to call something stupid when you're looking at it from an outside view," Fishlegs nodded shyly, cowering slightly when Stoick glared at him. "But if you think about it, taking in consideration how much Hiccup cares for the Chief and his dragon, this is really the only option he could've taken."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Snotlout cut in, slapping Fishlegs away. "Can't we just watch how it goes? Beats arguing about it at least."

Stoick, Hiccup, Toothless and Astrid all glared at him, but Fishlegs and Gobber just shrugged. "The lad ain't wrong," the two-limbed blonde agreed. "We won't solve anything anyway."

"Plus if it does end well, it'd be a weight off your shoulders," Meatlug added cheerfully, lurching over to sit close by. "And if it doesn't, Hiccup will know not to do that in our world."

"He's got a point," Fishlegs pointed out, shrugging.

"She's a girl," Stormfly snapped, rolling her eyes. He immediately blurted out an embarrassed apology. "What's with you and mistaking genders?"

"Yeah, he does that from time to time," Ruffnut nodded nonchalantly.

"Snotlout does it too whenever he wants to beat me up but he can't tell me from Ruffnut," Tuffnut added as well, scowling in irritation and feign offence. "As if I'd ever look as stupid as she does!"

"Eh, I can see why he'd confuse you for me, you've always been the girly one," the female twin huffed with a shrug.

"Can we please get on with it?!" Stoick roared, silencing any further twin conversation.

The Vikings' ships are shown sailing through two giant columns of rock jutting out of the water.

On the first ship, the Vikings watch in apprehension as what appears to be a dragon's head peeks out of the fog, only to realize that it's just the front of another Viking ship, hung by its mast on the rocky pillars that hide within the fog of Helheim's Gate.

"Oh," Gobber chuckled nervously when he sees it. The ship's skeletal figure is shown again, standing out against the pale gloom of the fog. "I was wondering where that went."

"Didn't you already know, since it never came back?" Spitelout asked, staring at the corpse of the Gutted Nightmare. That ship had been one of his favourites before it… well… was lost.

"Who cares?" Snotlout unconsciously cut off his dad, grinning mockingly at Gobber. "More importantly, is wittle Gobbew scawed?"

"Who are you calling scared, you little troublemaker!" the smith exclaimed, waving his hook menacingly and almost hitting Hiccup and Astrid, who were sitting nearby, instead hitting Stoick in the face, who did not look amused. "Do I have to remind everyone of how 'brave' you were in the ring, against only one dragon?"

"Yes! …No! …Uh-" Snotlout looked confused for a moment before scowling and crossing his arms. "Shut up, Gobber!"

The wooden dragon head bumps into their ship's mast.

Toothless raises his head and opens his eyes wide, his pupils narrowed, before his right ears flicks and he turns to the right. Behind him, Stoick pulls the rudder and the ship steers to the right, narrowly avoiding a batch of rocks they still bump into. The Vikings onboard look at the rocks with worry.

Toothless suddenly starts to squirm a lot more as the fog starts to thin. A rocky wall is shown in front of the boat, still semi-hidden by the mist.

Stoick and Gobber take notice, their eyes widening. "Stay low, and ready your weapons," Stoick commands quietly (for him, at least). Gobber nods in agreement, seemingly focused now.

Hiccup sighed. "Great. You've already arrived, and I'm nowhere to be seen. That's just perfect."

"And now we're gonna have to save all your sorry butts, hah!" Snotlout boasted, going for another bite of his mutton, only to find he'd finished it already. Then he remembered he could always have more and just mouthed at Khor to give him another one, which appeared in his hand. 'And for once Dad will be the useless one watching helplessly while the Snotman rules!'

"I highly doubt you're gonna be saving any butts today," Hookfang snorted, accidentally setting fire to Snotlout's behind. "Huh?" the dragon said as the boy ran around, trying to put out the flames with his hands (which didn't work) before Khor threw a bucket of water at him, drenching him but also putting out the flames. 'Huh,' the Nightmare repeated in his head. 'That was really funny. If this whole thing ends well and I see that guy again without being killed, I might just turn this into a habit.'

Hiccup and Astrid sighed in unison before exchanging slightly surprised looks, and smiling slightly at each other for the coincidence.

The ships thuds against the shore, startling them both a little bit. The boat is shown having reached a beach made up entirely by dark, almost black sand. Very ominous. A strong, buzz-like sound fills the air, growing stronger by the second.

"I wholeheartedly agree," Fishlegs nodded furiously. "That's really really ominous!"

Stoicks rushes to the front of the ship, ignoring the still struggling dragon, with Gobber right behind him.

They admire the massive wall of rock in front of them. The view sweeps up the rocks until it stops when the red tail of a Monstrous Nightmare comes in sight. The tail swishes once and then quickly disappears back in the shadows.

"We're here," whispers Stoick, a hint of a smile on his face. He jumps off and lands on the sand as behind him, the mist-hidden ships approach the shore. The buzzing sound quickly drops to silence.

He looks around, confused by the sudden quiet, and takes a few steps forward.

"Ta-da-da, you're dead," Toothless snorted, trying to emulate Hiccup's nasal voice and failing, but still managing a good deadpan.

"I mean, he's not wrong," Belch shrugged, to which Barf nodded in agreement before the first head continued, "You are more or less in the most dangerous place we know of. For humans at least."

"What's the most dangerous for dragons?" Astrid asked, interested.

"Well, there is an island quite a long trip away from here that is full of these blue flowers that are like, super poisonous for dragons, not sure about humans," Barf explained. "Just a few sniffs and boom! You're deadly sick. And the cure requires Scauldron poison, so it's impossible for us to get it."

"I concur with my other head's statement," Belch claimed formally, nodding in acknowledgement to Barf. "That island spells certain death for all and any dragon unlucky enough to reside there for any extended period of time."

"They're like, a draconic version of the twins," Snotlout said, horrified.

"Well, I guess I know who they're gonna get, then," Hiccup commented with a shrug.

The scene changes to the snout of the Nightmare, slowly coming into view. Then Hiccup is shown leading the dragon out of his open cage by keeping a calm hand in front of his snout.

A few Vikings had the misfortune of having been drinking, and promptly spat it out when they saw the calm Nightmare docilely following the boy's wishes.

"Hiccup, how are you doing that?" Astrid exclaimed, shocked and in awe. "It took you hours to train Toothless, yet you calmed a dragon that tried to kill you earlier that very day, and you do it so effortlessly?"

Hiccup shrugged shyly, not really sure of the answer himself. "Well, he did seem to be responding well before, you know, he got scared."

Stoick couldn't help but feel a stab of guilt.

"How aren't you afraid of him?!" Fishlegs exclaimed, freaked out by how calm the boy was.

The boy rolled his eyes. "Calm down, Fishlegs, I already knew he wouldn't attack me right away since I was nice to him earlier. Besides, I have bigger problems at the moment, than being afraid."

"Whoa, he just admitted he was too busy to be afraid," Tuffnut awed before frowning. "But wouldn't that be a bit… counterproductive? Like, if you're so busy you can't be afraid and you get killed, then you won't be able to do the things you were busy for!"

"Count- how do you know what that means?" Snotlout questioned, shocked by the male twin's vocabulary.

"What?" Tuff looked around at the stares everyone was giving him. "I listen and learn, people!"

The teens are shown watching in awe. Ruffnut is leaning forward, wonder in her eyes, while beside her Tuffnut looks touched by the awesomeness of it all. Astrid is smiling proudly at Hiccup, as if she had already known he'd be able to do that (which she kinda did), but Snotlout doesn't seem to be sharing their enthusiasm.

He fidgets nervously, growing more and more scared the closer Hiccup -and thus the dragon- gets. He glances down and then kneels. At his feet there is the broken tip of a spear, and he scoops it up as if that little thing could help him against a Nightmare.

"How did I not see that thing?" Hiccup asked himself, scratching his head as he stared at the weapon. "I must be really distracted if I didn't even remove all the weapons."

"It doesn't really matter," shrugged Hookfang. "Besides, either the spear goes, or the kid does."

"Hey!"

The dragon turned to him, and Snotlout hid back down behind Hiccup again.

Astrid, seeing him kneeling with the spearhead, lightly slaps his shoulder and shakes her head before returning to stare at Hiccup and the Nightmare. "Uh-uh."

Snotlout doesn't look happy at all, but dutifully puts down the broken weapon.

"I suppose this will suffice," Hookfang snorted imperiously, earning eye rolls from Toothless, Stormfly, Meatlug, Hiccup, Astrid and Stoick.

"Shut up, err… whatever your name is!" Snotlout smartly replied, sulking with his arms crossed.

The calm Nightmare is following Hiccup, who is walking backwards to keep his eyes fixed on the dragon's.

Snotlout lets the spearhead fall and leans back with a scared noise. Astrid, Ruff and Tuff seem unaffected, but on the other end of the line Fishlegs was leaning back too.

Hiccup steps back beside Snotlout and reaches out his free hand to grab Snotlout's arm, bringing it closer to the dragon's snout while ignoring its owner's fear.

"Wait, what are you-" Snotlout starts, resisting slightly before yanking his hand away when it was about to touch the dragon.

"Shh," Hiccup reassures him, dragging his arm closer again. "It's okay. It's okay."

"So I'm giving you the Nightmare?" Hiccup wondered out loud, rubbing his chin. "I'm not sure who should I pity, you or him."

"I don't need your pity! I can handle that dragon!" Snotlout protested, glowering at him. "In fact, I'm sure I'll become even better than you are with Toothless!"

"That's setting the bar a bit high, don't you think, Snotlout?" Astrid mocked him with a smirk.

"Shut up, Astrid!"

The view shows Snotlout's hand replacing Hiccup's on the Nightmare's snout as Hiccup removes his hand. The Nightmare remains calm and begins to make a low growling sound that is very similar to purring.

"Are all dragons similar to cats?" Hiccup laughed, causing the Nightmare to pout and look away.

"Perhaps he just noticed the boy's discomfort and was trying to reassure him," Toothless hypothesised.

Snotlout lets out a shocked and relieved gasp, as if he can't believe he's still alive. He and Hiccup exchange glances before he lets out a slightly nervous laugh, staring in disbelief at the Nightmare.

Seeing he's fine, Hiccup walks away, passing behind Snotlout, who turns to look at him with sudden worry. "Where are you going?"

Hiccup walks up to a box with several weapons sticking out of and leans in to fetch something out of it. "You're gonna need something to help you hold on," he explains as he takes out a rope and smiles at the other teens.

The Viking teenagers turn around, slightly confused, to see that all the dragons are out of their cages, staring at them intently. The Gronckle is staring straight ahead, the Nadder shakes her head and ruffles her wings before tilting her head to the side to see them, while the Zippleback intertwines their heads to let each have a look.

"Cool, we get our own dragons!" Ruffnut cheered, pumping a fist in the air and accidentally hitting Tuffnut in the face, knocking him down.

"Can we name them?" Fishlegs asked with a mix of anticipation and uncertainty.

"If they let you," Hiccup shrugged, gesturing to the dragons. "I'm not the boss of them."

'Not yet anyway,' Khor added in his mind.

"Can we?" Astrid turned to look at the Nadder. She was really sure she'd be taking the Nadder. Fishlegs and the Gronckle were perfect, and the twins could ride a head of the Zippleback each, so she would have to pick the Nadder, if only because it was the only one left.

"Why not?" Stormfly replied, glancing at the others to check with them. They all nodded, with Hookfang being the most reluctant. "Sure, go ahead."

"Barf!" Ruffnut shouted, grabbing the right head of the Zippleback, at the same time Tuffnut shouted "Belch!" while grabbing the other.

"Hey! It's my dragon!" she exclaimed, glaring at him.

"Since when? Hiccup was obviously going to give it to me!" Tuffnut replied, knocking their helmets together as they leaned closer to glare at each other.

"Guys, it's a two-headed dragon," Hiccup pointed out. "You can name one head Barf, and the other Belch."

"I think I'm going to call you… Meatlug!" Fishlegs rubbed the Gronckle's head, which she was really enjoying. "Is it okay, girl?"

"Sure it is!"

"And I think I'm going to call you Stormfly," Astrid stated, caressing the Nadder. "A fierce dragon like you can't have a name like-"

"Astrid, I'm warning you, even if you are Hiccup's mate I will hurt you," Toothless growled at her, not at all happy with all the critique his name received. He liked it, for gods' sake!

The girl rolled her eyes, but changed her words nonetheless. "-like Barf and Belch. Do you like Stormfly?"

The Nadder thought about it for a second before nodding. She liked the name. Better than Toothless at least, she thought as she smirked at the Night Fury, who gave her an annoyed glare.

"And I'm gonna call you The Great Mount of the Snotman!" No prize for who guessed that one. The Nightmare shook his head. "Snotmare? Snotty? Snotdragon?"

"If it has 'snot' or 'lout' in it, I don't want it," he grumbled, still shaking his head.

"Okay, fine, don't get your tunic in a bunch." Snotlout rolled his eyes and glanced at the long, curvy teeth in the Nightmare's jaws. "What about Hookfang?"

The dragon was about to shake his head, but then stopped and nodded. "I like it. You can call me Hookfang."

"What about you, Dad, feel like getting a dragon?" Hiccup asked, looking up at his father.

"Don't be ridiculous, Hiccup, me with a dragon?" Stoick scoffed. "Just because we made peace with them doesn't mean everyone should have one."

The scene changes the Dragon Island, where a man is seen stabbing sharpened wooden sticks into the ground. In the background, the Vikings, armed and ready, walk toward the mountain while giant catapults are set up in the fog.

A crude drawing of the attack plan is shown, with Stoick drawing with his sword. There are three circles, the Vikings, with arrows pointing at the X on a flat line that marked the side of the mountain, and two longer arrows going around it, possibly to indicate the catapult fire required to break the rocks.

"When we crack this mountain open, all hell is gonna break loose," Stoick claims, finishing the plan. Gobber and Spitelout are on his left, while a blonde woman stands on his right. They all look up at the mountain.

"Mom!?" Fishlegs squeaked, staring at the woman on the right of the Chief.

"Don't look so surprised, Fishlegs, of course I would go," his mother replied, smiling gently at her son.

"Do you think my mom is there too?" Tuffnut asked, elbowing his twin.

"It's our mom, moron!" she snapped, punching him in the side.

"Yes, I was there too," their mother sighed, shaking her head alongside her husband. "Almost all the adults went. Only those unable to fight stayed on Berk."

"Wow… that means it's gonna be an even bigger massacre than we thought!" Tuffnut cheered.

Ruff secretly elbowed Hiccup. "Hey, I'm not sure if he's gonna be there, but if there is a guy called Gruffnut when you arrive, can you let the Queen eat him before you save everyone?"

"W-What?" Hiccup turned around, but the female twin was already back to celebrating the possible slaughter with her twin. "Why would I-"

Astrid slapped a hand on his mouth. "Don't bother, it's the twins."

Hiccup glanced at her. She had more experience than he did with the twins, so if she said it was better to ignore them, it probably was. Except that she would probably opt for ignoring them (and Snotlout) all the time, so…

Eventually he just shrugged. If it was important, Ruffnut would remind him again.

"In my undies," Gobber comments, earning himself a disbelieving look and a head shake from Spitelout. "Good thing I brought extras!"

"No matter how this ends," Stoick states as he steps forward, the view circling around him until it shows the mountain's wall, "it ends today."

"Well, it's gonna end badly," Skyblaze muttered, turning around to avoid looking.

"Coward," Grass and Wood muttered. They had seen their own future death and they were still watching.

Stoick raises an open hand, and then clenches it into a fist, signalling for the catapults to start firing.

The Vikings cut the ropes and the trebuchets fire their boulders, which fly and smash into the wall, breaking away the rocks. More and more hit the wall, cracking it and making it collapse, revealing a hidden passage underneath.

"How did you know there was a hole in there?" Tuffnut asked, scratching his head.

"We didn't, we would just keep hitting the mountain until it either revealed their nest or the dragons were lured out," Stoick replied. That plan was hardly new, after all he'd spent years trying to perfect it.

"Wait, why do you want to kill them again?"

Stoick rolled his eyes and ignored the male twin.

Stoick is shown climbing up to the entrance, with the army closing in behind him, hammer and shield in hand. He waves his giant hammer, and a catapult fires a flaming heap of hay into the hole for more light.

The sphere of fires flies over Stoick's head, illuminating the tunnel and the hundreds upon hundreds of dragons of all kinds, but mainly Nadders and Nightmares.

"They are the two most common species," Toothless nodded in agreement, seeing just how many more of those two breeds there were, compared to all the others.

"Are you sure your father is going to be okay?" Fishlegs asked Hiccup, trembling. "Because that's a lot of dragons, and it's their nest."

"I'm not worried about those dragons. Well, I'm not worried those dragons will hurt Dad, they could still hurt the others," he shook his head, staring attentively at the screen-wall. "I'm more worried about the Queen. I hope something as small as this won't make it come out, but I cannot be sure. If it does exit the volcano, then they're all doomed."

"Not if we get there," Snotlout boasted.

"We wouldn't have enough firepower to kill it anyway, Snotlout," the heir sighed, shaking his head. "We'd need a lot more than even what Toothless can do. Even all together, the most we could do is distract it." He returned to his thoughts, frowning. There had to be something he could do to stop the Queen, possibly kill it, but what?

Stoick takes a deep breath and then, with a bellow, he throws himself at the dragons. The latters screech and shriek as they begin to fly out of the tunnel. Stoick tries to hit them with his hammer, but they seem to be completely ignoring him.

Outside, Gobber tries to fight them with his axe prosthetic, but they just take flight and move away from the battlefield. Spitelout is shown with the same problem.

Stoick is shown again, still trying to hit them without any success. Outside, the same blonde woman from earlier tries to fight some alongside the other Vikings, but they escape without even stopping to fight the invaders.

View from the ships, the dragons fly out of the tunnel and away from the army as Toothless watches them, still bound. He whimpers, frills lowering in fright, obviously scared.

Hiccup's grip on his dragon tightened. He knew it was logic to be scared of the Queen but the simple fact Toothless was scared unnerved and unsettled him. It wasn't just that he was a Night Fury, the strongest dragons known to Vikings, but that he was Toothless. Though he had been scared of Hiccup himself during their first meeting, so it was to be expected he'd be scared of the Queen. "Don't worry, bud, I'm coming."

'That's what I'm afraid of,' Toothless groaned, but didn't say out loud. He didn't want Hiccup to misunderstand him and think he didn't believe in him like the rest of the Vikings. He did think Hiccup would be able to save him, he just didn't want him to get killed to do that.

"Ahem."

"We are all coming," Hiccup corrected himself with an eye roll, glancing at Astrid, who was wearing a smug smile. "Seriously? Not even on a dragon and already demanding credit?"

"Of course, I can't have you take all the credit and get an ego like Snotlout's," she grinned cheekily at him, causing him to roll his eyes again.

The view from above the fog back, with the mountain on the background, shows the dragons all leaving.

"I think we understood that, the dragons are all running away!" Snotlout exclaimed, tired of the long-winded scene. "Can we get on with it?"

Gobber is shown looking at the retreating creatures in disbelief. "Is that it?" he asks to no one in particular before shrugging. Spitelout is seen behind him, axe in hand.

Stoick walks out of the tunnel, looking at the fleeing dragons, while Spitelout shouts "We've done it!"

"No you haven't," Barf replied, shaking his head. "Not by a long shot."

"Not by a shot longer than a Nadder's," added Belch, shaking his head as well.

"We know that now, at least," Gobber shrugged clueless, while Spitelout fumed.

The army of Vikings all cheer, raising their weapons victoriously.

As Stoick stares at the dragons, a rumbling sound reaches his ears, making him turn toward the ships, where Toothless is whimpering and trying to back away despite the restraints that keep him trapped.

Hiccup gritted his teeth. He hated seeing his brother of another mother (and father) like that. With that muzzle on, he couldn't even breath properly, much less spit fire.

An idea crossed his mind and his eyes widened. It wasn't perfect by a long shot but hey, drastic times called for drastic measures, and it wasn't like anyone else was stepping up with a plan. He just hoped his future self had already thought of it… either that or an even better one he hadn't thought of yet.

Eyes widening, Stoick calls to his people "This isn't over! Form your ranks! Hold together!" He turns around, ready to fight, as the sound of cracking rock is heard from the tunnel, the ground cracking as a gigantic roar/screech comes from deep within the mountain, so strong it generates a wind that forces Stoick to flinch and that even rattles the ships slightly.

Stoick knew he had screwed up. He'd seen the size of that monster and he knew they couldn't kill it. But he didn't expect to have screwed up that much! If that roar was any indication, not even the mightiest catapult would be able to hurt that thing.

'Is this how Hiccup feels like time he accidentally causes a mess?' he asked himself, holding his head in his hands.

Hiccup was watching attentively, desperately hoping to get there on time. Beside him, Astrid was just as nervous, slightly biting her lip as she murmured "Come on…" to her future self and future Hiccup.

Even the twins weren't saying anything, and that was a first since they had a knack for being oblivious to tense situations. Poor Fishlegs looked like he was about to pass out, and Snotlout was fidgeting madly, because as much as he didn't like his father he was terrified by the thought of losing him.

"Do you think we can kill it?"

"Have you seen that thing? It's impossible!"

"Maybe we should run…"

"Vikings never run!"

"I would, but I don't think it's going to make a difference."

"That thing is massive!"

Stoick progressively frowned more and more as the discouraged murmurs filled the Viking side of the hall. While he too had to admit they had no chance against it, perhaps it had some weak spot they hadn't been able to see yet, and they would be able to exploit it. Perhaps it couldn't breath fire and was too slow to catch up with them. Perhaps…

Oh, who was he kidding, they were all going to die.

Gobber looks around, confused by the roar.

"You didn't even tell them what I told you?!" Hiccup exclaimed, shocked and angry. "I thought you'd at least tell them there was a Queen!"

Stoick blushed in embarrassment. "I- Uh… Well, y-you see… I may not have, uh, taken your words very, uhh… seriously." He glanced at Gobber for help, but the blacksmith gave him the 'you're on your own' look. Traitor. "You're very… well, from your p-perspective any dragon bigger than, uh, normal, uh, would look, you know… really big?"

The teens and a few dragons had to stifle chuckles at how Hiccup-y the Chief himself was acting, though they supposed it had gotten it from Stoick – the stammer, just not the usual confidence.

Hiccup, however, was both unimpressed and unamused, a dangerous combination indeed. He just couldn't believe his father would bring the entire village to the Nest, without even telling them there was a huge dragon living inside it. And he'd told him very clearly! He'd shouted at him that it was a dragon like he'd never seen before! But nooo, of course he had to go and attack. He hated it when he just up and attacked. "So you just didn't even mention it at all?" he questioned with a rare scowl, something he got from both his parents.

Stoick would never admit it, but he was a little cowed by his son's current expression. It reminded him way too much of Valka's when she was disappointed and pissed at him, and it had never ended well for him. Never. And now he was seeing the same expression on his son's face. He must've been cursed by the Gods to have someone to scare him into submission from time to time, when he screwed up.

So he just chose not to dig himself a deeper hole and very obviously turned away to look at the movie.

Stoick glares at the dark tunnel before a monstrous, growling roar tears through the air and his eyes widen, probably catching sight of the monster's size. He steps away and jumps down the tunnel's collapsed entrance, waving his shield at his men. "Get clear!" he orders as, behind him, the green horn of the Queen is glimpsed in the tunnel, barrelling through the rock like nothing.

"Oh boy…" commented Gobber, rubbing his temples. "This is gonna be a tough day."

"You don't think?" Snotlout snarked, rolling his eyes at the blacksmith, who in his (and everybody else's) opinion had a few too many loose screws.

The big, strong, proud Vikings all take one look at the monstrosity that's coming out of the mountain before screaming and running away. Smart move.

Stoick is seen running alongside the others before he stops and turns around to look at their opponent.

The head of the Queen smashes through the rock, revealing itself in all its big, bumpy ugliness. The head alone is bigger than the tunnel holding hundreds of dragons.

"That thing is huge!" Fishlegs shivered, trying to recover before he fainted. Especially since he still hadn't seen the rest of the body yet! To distract himself, he focused on what he did best – rattle off dragon facts. "It looks like a Boulder Class to me, that would explain the high resistance to the volcano's magma and its extreme durability, which allows it to smash its way out of the mountain with ease. Its mouth is oddly shaped, perhaps to increase its grip on its-"

"Fishface, seriously?" The stocky boy groaned in disgust. "You're geeking out now?"

"You know what?" The husky nerd completely ignored the half-as-tall boy and turned to Hiccup. "This thing needs a name. It doesn't feel right to steal the dragons' name and it doesn't deserve to be called a 'queen'."

"I think you're right," the dragon rider replied, nodding in agreement. "Well, from what we've seen its blue or greenish-blue…"

"And it's gotta have 'death' in its name because it's way too awesome not to," the female twin interjected with a giant grin.

"So… the Blue Death? The Green Death?" Hiccup offered, earning himself doubtful frowns and head shakes.

"You know, I think Red Death would be more appropriate, considering how many people and dragons it's killed," the male twin offered up. "You know, 'cause blood is red, plus the dragons call it Blood Tyrant…"

"Tell you what, he makes a pretty good point," Hiccup admitted, glancing at the twins, who were now cheering because their proposition had been accepted. "Who votes for Red Death?" All the teens raised their hands. Toothless and Stormfly did the same with a paw and a wing, respectively. "Red Death it is."

"Ah, I see the Chief's opinion doesn't matter any longer when it comes to dragons," Stoick commented, amused, making Hiccup jump slightly.

"Well, uh, it's just that we were the ones to trust dragons first, so I just guessed we could give names to dragons now that we don't have to call them 'monstrous' or 'hideous' any longer." Hiccup dared a glance at his father, who burst out laughing.

"Don't worry, son, Red Death it is. You found it, you decide who can name it." His eyes hardened. "Now, all that's left is to get rid of it."

"That's the hard part," Stormfly snorted, shaking her head. "But I'm sure you'll manage."

Toothless grumbled something very similar to 'yeah, that's what I'm afraid of'.

Stoick stops again a little further, beside Gobber, who is looking at the Red Death with wide eyes. "Beard of Thor," he exclaims in shock. "What is that?"

Hiccup gave his father another glare for not telling even Gobber about it. Stoick pretended not to have seen it.

With another roar, the monstrous queen frees itself a little more, showing its neck as the rocks thrown in the air by its exit fall down on the Viking army.

Stoick clenched his fists. He just hoped no one was killed.

The view switches to Stoick's wide, horrified eyes. "Odin help us."

Silence fell on the hall, or at least the Viking side of it. They'd never thought they'd hear their Chief say that. He didn't even sound scared, which made the prayer for a divine intervention all the worse. True, looking at it from a screen could never compare to seeing that monster in person, but Stoick the Vast was something no one could scare. To hear him say that shook them all to the core.

Stoick passed a hand over his face. That was really, really bad.

The Red Death roars, pulling itself out of the tunnel. Its giant paws smash onto the ground as the Vikings run in fear.

Stoick's horror and shock shifts to determination. "Catapults!" he calls, barely glancing behind him to check if his order was being followed.

The Vikings breathed a little easier. Their Chief was back. Stoick the Vast would have a plan.

A salvo is launched at the monster, the boulders merely bouncing off its tough skin as it roars at the catapults.

The Vikings paled.

With an angry roar, it bites down on a trebuchet, destroying it entirely before stomping down on it.

Stoick is seen running alongside a blonde Viking with a sword and a shield, who shouts to the others, "Get to the ships!"

"No!" Stoick, Hiccup and Astrid all shouted at the same time before exchanging surprised glances.

"The ships are a terrible choice," Hookfang commented, shaking his head in disappointment.

"He's right," Meatlug agreed, "you'd all be easy pickings. The ships are larger and slower than you, which means the Blood Tyrant will have no problem destroying them."

"No, NOO!" Stoick shouts, immediately countering the Viking's order.

The Red Death takes a deep breath and torches the ships with a gigantic stream of fire. The music increases dramatically as the Vikings onboard throw themselves in the water to avoid being burned alive. The monster's blast engulfs all the ships, setting them aflame.

Left alone and still chained and restrained, Toothless looks around, terrified.

Hiccups felt his heart constrict at the sight of his best friend in such a state. He just hoped he'd get there in time and got him out of those chains. Together they had a chance, but separate they would surely fail.

"And now we have no way home," a black-haired Viking exclaimed. "Even if we survive, how are we going to return to Berk?"

"Will we be stuck there forever?"

"We will find a way," Stoick spoke up, reassuring them. "But first we need to find a way to get rid of the Red Death."

"Smart, that one," notes Gobber, pointing out how the Red Death has just destroyed their only way out of the island – and thus out of its jaws.

"I was a fool," Stoick grouches bitterly, in remorse and regret. He turns to Spitelout, whom they just caught up with. "Lead the men to the far side of the island.

"Right!" the Jorgenson nods in acknowledgement before turning to the other Vikings. "Everyone, to the far side of the island!"

"Gobber, go with the men," Stoick orders without even looking back.

"I think I'll stay," says Gobber, hobbling after him. "Just in case you're thinking of doing something crazy."

"You know, now that I think of it, this kind of reminds me of Hiccup and Astrid's scene at the docks," Ruffnut noted, rubbing her chin pensively.

"Yeah, you're right, sis," her twin agreed, also rubbing his chin, although he wasn't deep in thought because his only two neurons were playing hide-and-seek, leaving little room for thoughts. "One stubborn, redheaded Haddock with a plan and one blue-eyed blonde there to remind them they're not alone… And to always do something crazy, of course."

Stoick and Gobber exchanged a horrified look. Hadn't they already been sitting a few yards apart, they would've scooted away. They could both see something between the two young teens basically cuddling beside the Night Fury, and being compared to them was really awkward.

Meanwhile, Hiccup had both his arms around Astrid to try and stop her from beating up the twins… mostly Tuffnut.

"I can buy them a few minutes by giving that thing someone to hunt!" Stoick turns around, grabs his shirt and explains his plan, trying to convince him to go since he's not there to win, but to sacrifice himself for the others.

"Dad, no!" Hiccup shouted, not bothering to hold Astrid back any longer – not that she was in the mood for beating the twins any more.

Feeling really uncomfortable, Astrid placed a hand on Hiccup's shoulder as a sign of support. He was tense under her hand, which was understandable, as if he was ready to bolt.

As Stoick releases his grip to go, Gobber grabs his forearm, stopping him, before grabbing his hand. "Then I can double that time," he states with a small smile.

Stoick sags slightly in both fond relief and acceptance, and smiles slightly.

"No!" This time, Astrid was the one holding Hiccup back, not unlike her future self had done in the Arena, when Toothless had been captured. She forced him to sit down, but didn't release her hold on him, both in case she needed to keep him still again, and because he needed it.

The view circles around them before Stoick turns to the Red Death, trying to get its attention. "Here!" he shouts, brandishing hammer and shield high – in the same hand.

"Oh no, here!" Gobber counters, waving his axe prosthetic above his head and jumping to distract the Queen.

Astrid tightened her hold on Hiccup when she felt him about to get up again. There was nothing they could do, nothing they could change. She could only hope the boy's fears turned out to be false. And she really hoped her parents had gotten out of there safe as well.

Khor made a mental note of telling them they all survived, though they did return bruised and battered.

The Red Death is shown again, lifting a Viking with its teeth before trying to bite down on him and missing. The miraculously still-alive Viking falls on the ground and gets back up, running away while the Chief and the blacksmith approach the beast with battle cries.

Magnus the Merciless sighed in relief. He didn't fancy dying anytime soon.

Stoick grabs one of the wooden sticks sharpened earlier and throws it at the monster, hitting it near the eye and actually making it flinch slightly.

The Red Death turns around to see the two of them, and lowers its head to the ground to get a better view of the two puny Vikings who had dared challenge its rule.

Stoick bit back an angry retort at 'puny', but only because it was a tense moment and he wanted to see how it would end. As massive as that thing was, no one could call him 'puny' and get away with it.

For a brief moment, a thought passed through the minds of the twins, Astrid and Hiccup, perhaps the first and last thought ever shared among those four. 'Now you know how it feels to be thin in a tribe of giants.'

Gobber just ignored the jab. That monster could call just about anything 'puny' and be pretty much in the right.

Its head swings from Stoick to Gobber, who yells at it, "Come on! Fight me!"

"No, me!" Stoick shouts as well, getting the Red Death's attention.

The monster turns to Stoick, choosing its target, and rears back to strike, gas building up in its mouth with a deep, angry growl. The roar builds up in intensity and volume, before…

An explosion rocks the back of its head, distracting it and interrupting the fire.

Stoick looks up, shocked and surprised by the sudden explosion.

Suddenly, from the smoke behind the Red Death's head the teens appear, riding the dragons from the arena. "Yeah!" Hiccup cheers for the well-aimed strike.

"The cavalry has arrived!" Snotlout cheered as he and the other teens jumped up, ecstatic. "Snotlout, Snotlout, oi oi oi!"

"Let's kick some butts!" Ruffnut exclaimed, punching her twin for good measure. He didn't seem to mind it much though.

Even Fishlegs was grinning nervously, secretly happy he was there to save his parents and his village.

Astrid smiled, feeling a weight lift from her shoulders, and glanced at Hiccup, who had a determined and relieved smile as well. "I guess we got there on time after all."

"I guess we did," he replied with a grin.

Hiccup and Astrid are riding on the Nadder, the twins have a head of the Zippleback each, Snotlout is on the Nightmare and Fishlegs is riding the Gronckle. "Ruff, Tuff, watch your backs!" Hiccup calls out. "Move, Fishlegs!"

"Drill sergeant," Fishlegs mumbled, suddenly less enthusiastic. If Hiccup expected them to be as good as he was at flying a dragon, he was sorely mistaken.

"Weak-chinned tyrant," Tuffnut mumbled as well, glaring daggers at Hiccup's back. Regardless of the fact he had just told them to be careful. Which, considering how much the twins loved bodily harm, might've actually been a good reason for them to be offended.

Stoick watches in awe, mouthing a breathless "What…".

"Look at us, we're on a dragon!" Tuffnut calls out as he unsteadily rides Barf and Belch with his sister. The view switches to Snotlout on Hookfang and Fishlegs barely hanging onto Meatlug as he keeps cheering. "We're on a dragon, all of us!"

On the ground, the Vikings watch in shock, forgetting even to flee.

The dragons and their riders fly wide around the Red Death before turning around to face it again.

On the ground, Gobber approaches Stoick, both still looking up at the new riders. "Every bit of the boar-headed stubborn Viking you ever were," he comments to his Chief, who can only nod in shocked wonder.

Hiccup blushed slightly and looked down. Gobber probably didn't know that, but that praise meant the world to him. As much as he valued his uniqueness, he had always looked up to his father. His father and Astrid had been his idols his entire life, but his father had been his role model, not anyone else. He'd always aspired to be like his father, not matter how careless of a parent he was.

Even if Gobber had just commented on and compared him to his father in terms of stubbornness, it was still something. It still meant he clearly saw something of his father in him. Beside him, Astrid smiled and released him from her hug-hold, since he had calmed down. Perhaps she didn't truly understand just how much it meant to him, but she knew why it meant that much, and she could relate.

He finally was that boy.

Even though he was on a dragon, disowned and probably cast out as well, there to save both his village and his dragon from a threat he shouldn't have known about in the first place.

Life really loved irony.

Aaaaand cut!

I know it's a little bit shorter than most chapters, at around 8k… So, after this AN, there will be two Omakes, to bring it up to 12k.

If you don't know what an Omake is, well it's kinda like a oneshot, but it usually has little intro or plotbuilding. It's usually used for comedy or for a bit of insight on something, or it can be the bare-bone idea for an actual oneshot/story.

I'm using a lot of newlines so to make some space.

Commentary on the Omakes at the end of the Omake. Spoiler – the first one is called 'Truth (or Dare) Post-RTTE', but it's actually about insight on the show, rather than actual comedy.

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Truth (or Dare) Post-RTTE

Looking around while wearing his dad's clothes over his own, Hiccup smiled as he saw his friends having fun. True, playing Spill or Die (twins' name, not his) as their goodbye activity with Heather, Dagur and Mala before they headed back to Berk for good hadn't been his idea and he had initially been against it, but now he could see that it was really working. Everyone seemed to be having fun, despite the abundance of embarrassing truths or dares.

"Come on, spin the bottle, spin it!"

He was broken out of his reverie by Ruffnut's voice encouraging her twin brother to spin the bottle, which would choose the next wielder of the power of Spill or Die, who would then be able to choose their victim.

He looked down just in time to see the bottle stop with its neck pointing at him… or more like at his legs, which were sprawled out in front of him, but still technically him.

"Hiccup!" Ruffnut and Tuffnut cried at the same time from where they were sitting opposite of him and Astrid. "Your turn!"

Hiccup glanced around. The game had been going on for several hours and they had basically ran out of good truths or dares. By now they were just asking truths to find out funny secrets about each other, which was fine and all, but which kind of didn't reflect the spirit of the game any more. And it also made it much more difficult to choose a target.

'Snotlout just went, the twins? No, I don't want to put out another fire. Fishlegs has had enough embarrassment, Heather would just get revenge in any way possible, Dagur is crazy and Mala is crazy for Dagur, so that only leaves…' He turned to his left, where Astrid was leaning against him, and smiled. "Astrid, Spill or Die?"

"I think I'd rather spill, if you don't mind," she grinned back, casting a little glance at the twins. Asking people to choose to 'die' for a game was such a them thing.

"Mmh…" Truth to be told, ironically, Hiccup didn't really have anything to ask her. He already knew everything he wanted to know and more, and there was little he didn't already know anyway.

Then, a relatively recent memory popped up, and he smiled. "Astrid, do you remember when Dad was injured by Krogan's Flyers?"

"Yes?"

"Do you remember the story you told me, about what would've happened hadn't I shot Toothless down?" Hiccup ignored his dragon's grumble behind him. He knew neither of them really regretted it anyway. And besides, he'd lost a leg too. "There was a detail about it that left me really confused, but I didn't have the time to ask you back then and then it slipped my mind. In that story, you were betrothed to Snotlout… not Fishlegs or even Tuffnut, Snotlout, the guy whose very existence you despise. So, why is that?"

"Wait, you were betrothed to Snotlout?!" Heather exclaimed, horrified. "How comes no one told me about this?!" Dagur and Mala both looked like they agreed, shocked speechless.

"It was just a story, it never happened," Astrid immediately reassured her best friend – best friend after Hiccup and Stormfly of course. Then she turned to her boyfriend. "And well, do you remember the Flightmare?"

"Yeah?"

"I only managed to restore my family's honour thanks to you. Hadn't you been there, hadn't you shot down Toothless and made peace with the dragons, I would've either died or I would've disgraced my family further," she explained with a sad sigh. Hiccup frowned. "And I really love my parents, but they were one of the reasons why I trained so hard. So they would've probably arranged for me to be betrothed to Snotlout, since he was the most respected boy around my age at the time, to regain some of my family's honour."

Heather and Dagur both made a disgusted sound, earning themselves a 'Hey!' from the boy in question.

"What?! I met your parents even before the war ended, they would've never done that!" Hiccup protested, shocked by her tale.

Astrid just shrugged. "You met them when I was the most respected teen on Berk, the girl everyone thought would become the greatest Shieldmaiden of Berk. But on Berk, no honour meant you were nothing, at the time."

"Yeah, I remember that," Hiccup agreed, his frown deepening.

"Wait, are you saying Berk was such a horrible place?" Heather asked, having never seen it during the war.

"Worse," Fishlegs explained. "Hiccup was ostracised all his life despite being the Chief's son and heir of Berk just because he was skinny and untrained. Normally, something like that would be punished with death or at least jail time, but since he was so disliked…"

"And the first point is moot since he wasn't the only one who lacked meat on their bones," Ruffnut added, gesturing to herself, her brother and Astrid.

"Well, I guess I know the first law I'll pass as soon as I'm Chief," Hiccup muttered, his eyes stormy and unquiet as he stared at the floor. "I'll have arranged marriages be forbidden by law…"

"That's probably not going to stop the ones really trying, but thanks," Astrid smiled at him, placing a hand on his shoulder. He smiled back. "And for the record, dragon master or not, I would've still chosen you."

"For power or simply because I was the lesser evil?" he joked, earning himself a small shove from the girl.

"I'll leave that up to you." She scooted a little closer and leaned on him more, just shy of leaning her head on his shoulder. "But I definitely didn't start liking you just because you became famous."

Hiccup smiled before frowning as he caught the other Riders' expression. The only way he could describe them was 'awwww', from all of them, even Snotlout.

He coughed, blushing slightly, and stood up, pulling Astrid up with him. "Alright gang, the game is over. Let's get to packing."

Little explanation? Is it really needed?

Alright, I'll just say it real quick.

There are hints thorough the series that Astrid actually liked Hiccup even before HTTYD1, and just never acted on it and ignored it.

I'm not making Astrid's parents assholes, by the way, that's just my view on what would happen. Without Hiccup, Astrid wouldn't have been able to do anything to the Flightmare, which would've continued to haunt Berk. Even if she lived, she would've been disgraced, and we all know what Hiccup went through because of his own 'dishonour' (as if being born were to be a dishonour).

Now, one of the ways for Vikings to restore their honour is to unite their family to one well-known and loved. And Snotlout clearly liked Astrid, so he would've accepted a 'disgraced' (I hate writing this word every time) betrothed anyway.

I still think that that detail of Astrid's story doesn't really make sense, since even then marrying the Heir of Berk would be better – even if your social status goes down because of him, he's still going to be the next Chief, and you're gonna be Chieftess. Joke's on them. But since that is canon, I decided to add this little bit to basically train and explain what the hell happened.

Next Omake!

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Omake after Mi Amore Wing

Astrid Hofferson had rarely felt as much peace, warmth and quiet happiness as she was feeling now, sitting on the edge of the Clubhouse's platform and looking at the sea under the night sky. Stormfly wasn't too far away, both in case she needed to saddle up and move quickly, and simply because they were friends and they liked to spend time together – all the Riders were very close to their dragons. Although no one could beat Hiccup and Toothless – seeing one without the other was almost always a sign of dire trouble.

Thinking about Hiccup made her feel even warmer, to the point where she knew she was probably blushing a little bit. Not enough to be noticeable, but still there. Her mind went back to the conversation she had had with the boy a handful of minutes earlier.

"I love you Astrid Hofferson, with everything I have. And I always will."

If it was girly to replay those words in her mind, then she would accept being called girly, because at the moment, replaying that sentence every two minutes was all she wanted to do.

They had declared their love for each other many times, even before being betrothed – although with a more platonic meaning. But that time it had been special. It wasn't something said after a kiss or while cuddling together.

While she still felt that she wouldn't mind getting more kisses from Hiccup, she knew what she'd done had been childish and that she'd hurt him too. True, he hadn't paid a lot of attention to her, but in hindsight he had been under a lot of pressure, given how he was the supreme leader in the war against the Hunters. Everyone relied on him and looked at him for answers. And he relied on her. But instead of accepting that blind trust as a sign of love, she'd wanted something more similar to what Mala and Dagur had… even though she admitted she was grossed out by the two of them.

She still thought Hiccup should've noticed the betrothal necklace, especially since she never wore it in fear of losing it during a battle or something. But knowing that despite the -admittedly immense- pressure on him for being the leader, he'd still gone out of his way to let her know that he loved her and that he hadn't meant to make her feel alone, well she admitted that felt really great.

And of course that kiss had been worth the entire day of jealousy and hurt. She'd always known Hiccup was a great kisser but still, that kiss had been the best they'd shared yet.

"So Astrid, wanna join Team Jorgenson?"

Her shoulders slumped and she put on a flat deadpan as the most annoying Viking she'd ever known sat down beside her. Not too close, for his own health, but not far enough.

"The answer is still the same I gave you back after the whole 'failed marriage' episode," she replied. He just stared at her clueless, and she rolled her eyes. "Never, Snotlout. Never."

"Oh, right, you're just in denial," he waved her off, ignoring her deadpan. Then he frowned. "Wait, why haven't you hurt me yet?" He stared at her suspiciously. "You're not this friendly… ever. Not with me at least."

"I guess even you can't ruin the moment," Astrid responded, returning to look at the night sea with a smile. "Although you do come close."

"Riiiiight…" he drawled, not totally convinced.

Silence fell between the two, but Astrid could see there was still something on his mind.

He kept fidgeting, moving his hands often. At first he was leaning with his hands laid out on the wood behind him, but then he curled up with his hands on his lap, and then he straightened up by putting his hands on his knees. He also kept glancing at her and opening his mouth to speak, but he closed it before he could and returned to pretend to be looking at the ocean.

She normally wouldn't have cared, but she was in a good mood, so she decided to help him out. "Any other reason why you came all the way up here?" she asked. "Aside from annoying me, of course."

"Well…" Snotlout frowned indecisively, looking down at his feet. He drummed his fingers on his knees for a while before continuing. "Yeah… It's just…"

"What is it, Snotlout?" she asked again, this time a bit more forcefully. As much as she was in a good mood, she had zero intentions of spending any more time with Snotlout than she strictly needed to. He was a friend, but he was the annoying friend one couldn't wait to get away from.

"I think you went too hard on Hiccup today!" he exclaimed quickly, wincing and closing his eyes as if he expected to be hit. Peeking one eye open to check if she'd moved, which she hadn't, he continued, ignoring her surprised expression. "I mean, not that I care or anything, it's just… well, today wasn't really a Hiccstrid day, was it?"

"What are you talking about?" she questioned him. Snotlout never noticed anything subtle and love problems were definitely way out of his intellectual reach. Had she and Hiccup been that obvious?

Yes, yes they had, she told herself, but that still didn't explain why was Snotlout talking about it.

"Look, Hiccup's just human and no one but the Snotman is perfect." She snorted. Of course he'd manage to squeeze some bragging and narcissism in as well. "And he's been under a lot of pressure with, you know, the war and everything." He scratched the back of his neck, probably feeling awkward. He was out of his comfort zone, so it made sense. "I guess what I'm trying to say is… we all know Hiccup loves you more than anything. We actually had to tell you to stop being so clingy back when we lost the Edge because you two were attached at the hip. If he had to choose between you and everything else, I'm not sure what he'd choose. Just because he didn't focus on you today doesn't mean he doesn't love you." He made a sound of disgust. "Ugh, why am I even doing this?!"

"Snotlout, where did this come from?" Astrid smiled in amusement. Snotlout, trying to give her a pep talk about romance, specifically a romance that didn't involve him? That was new. "I never took you as a love expert… I didn't even think you cared at all."

"I don't!" he protested, trying to protect his 'manly pride', a concept almost as dumb as Snotlout himself. "It's just… you know… oh, forget it!" He threw his hands up in the air and got up. "I just thought that if you were dumb enough to think even for a moment that Hiccup doesn't love you, simply because of one single day where you two aren't attached to the hip, then I could give you a wake-up call, but whatever!"

Astrid blinked, surprised by his claim. Not that she hadn't known that already – that was exactly what she'd meant when she'd told Hiccup she was being silly. They were always together, even before they got engaged, so she shouldn't have based her assumptions on just that day, jealousy or not.

What actually surprised her was that Snotlout of all people would specifically seek her out to ensure her relationship with Hiccup wouldn't be damaged by the whole day's events.

She smiled at him. As annoying as he was, well, he was still a friend. "Thank you, Snotlout, I appreciate the concern. You're not as bad as you usually act." He turned around with a sound of surprise, not having expected the praise. "But don't worry, I already knew all of that. And Hiccup and I are okay now, probably even better than before."

"What?!" he exclaimed, staring at her in disbelief. "You mean I came all the way up here, came up with a whole speech, ignored my own awesomeness to praise Hiccup of all people, and it was all for nothing because you already knew?!"

Astrid nodded, her smile turning into an amused grin. "Thank you for summing that up."

"Argh!" He turned around and stomped away. "This is why I'm not nice to people! It's just a bunch of pointless worry that ends up being for nothing!"

Astrid burst out in pearls of laughter. Of course he'd say that.

As Snotlout's angry huffs faded away, Astrid turned back to the ocean, just in time to see a very familiar black dragon fly out of the hut with the purple roof and head towards the Clubhouse.

Stormfly got up and screeched at Toothless, who warbled back as his rider dismounted and walked up to her, leaving the two dragons to play. "Hi Astrid, mind having company?"

"Sure," she smiled at him as he plopped down beside her. "I thought you'd be asleep by now."

"Ah well, as opposite to what people think, sleeping really isn't the best way to unwind after a stressful day," he admitted, rubbing his neck with slight nervousness. "I saw you out here and I decided to come up and talk a bit."

"Well, I'm not going anywhere." She scooted closer when he wrapped an arm around her, and she placed her head on his shoulder.

"And neither am I."

AN, finally! And prepare for a lot of insight on this episode's Hiccstrid. If you like Hiccstrid, I suggest you read this AN. Otherwise… you can skip it.

So, I know this will feel like a rant, but please don't take it badly. I'm just pointing out a few things that I'm sure some will have noticed, but that I feel like I have to point out.

Mi Amore Wing is considered to be a very important episode for Hiccstrid and from a certain point of view, I can understand. It's not their first fight but it's the first time their relationship is at stake…

…

Except it isn't. Not even close. It's just one bad day that doesn't even really influence their relationship, because Astrid still stands by Hiccup no matter what, and THAT'S the real base of their relationship. They are always there for each other. Always.

In this episode, their apparent 'break-up' felt, in my opinion, kinda forced. Not as in unrealistic… more like, it's a 'break-up' that is only apparent, never leads to actual damage to their romance, and happened only because a series of very specific events took place at a very specific time. It's not a real break-up, it's a bad day for Astrid and Hiccup.

In this episode, Hiccup time and again noticed and questioned Astrid about what was wrong. In all other episodes, if Astrid wanted him to know something (note: if she wanted), then she would've told him right away. In this case her jealousy and hurt made her not tell him. So had she been any less jealous of D&M (gross!) or any less hurt by Hiccup's apparent carelessness, this whole episode wouldn't have been so important for Hiccstrid. Most of it wouldn't have happened in the first place.

But let's observe the reason why it happened – Hiccup's perceived distance and carelessness, which in all other episodes would be laughable since Hiccstrid is always attached at the hip, even more so once they get together. But we must also take in consideration just how much Hiccup had on his plate as the actual leader of the whole alliance against the Hunters.

I'm not saying he shouldn't have acted like that, I'm just saying he had reasons to have a lot on his mind… and Astrid would normally know. She's the one who refuses to let him carry the burden on his own every time. She's the one who reminds him that he's not alone when leading. So she should know just how much pressure he's under.

Hiccup and Astrid have a relationship, as Hiccup says in this episode, built on years of trust. Which is the solidest base, in my opinion. They know each other better than anyone else… sometimes better than they know themselves. Sometimes they even just get random feelings of danger about the other! That's supposed to be a twin thing (true fact, I have a twin and it works), but okay~.

Even more proof, Astrid and Hiccup both recognize their wrongdoing before the day's even over (at the end, at sunset). As soon as they aren't under strong pressure any more, they solve their issue with no problem because THERE IS NO issue in the first place.

I know this will piss off people who don't ship Hiccstrid or just think that it's more fragile than that, but the point is… the bond between Hiccup and Astrid is just as strong as the bond between Hiccup and Toothless, though it's obviously different.

If you ship something else, that's fine. I may be a hardcore Hiccstrid shipper, but other than Hiccstrid I don't have preferences on other HTTYD ships. I like a few but it doesn't bother me to not see them together. And for other fandoms I never have a preference (though I have dislikes), so really, even if I love Hiccstrid to death, I'm not saying people should always ship it…

This being said…

HICCSTRID IS FOREVER!

Unbroken and impossible to defeat. The series AND the movies clearly show this, no questions asked. Drama can be added without 'breaking them up'. I'm sorry if this offends people who ship others, but this is simply what you can gather from the show.

Not only they are forever, but they are also more mature than the other Riders and thus less likely to have problems for stupid reasons. In Family Matters, Astrid ignores Hiccup's orders twice for Garffiljord (baby Death Song, not so baby now), but she blames herself for it after things go badly. It's harder to give an example for Hiccup since he's the leader and thus his decisions usually influence everyone, not just Astrid. But as much as I loved the Dragonfly project, he did piss off Astrid with his recklessness. The point is… they always solve their issues, so Mi Amore Wing wasn't a real break-up, just a bad day.

So yeah, this AN was mostly to tell Hiccstrid shippers… HICCSTRID IS FOREVER.

I could go on listing why by giving insight on how they act with each other, but that would make this AN WAAAAAAY too long since there is so much to say. But if you want, you can say it in the reviews yourselves!

So, Hiccstrid fans, CHEER WITH ME! WEEEEEEEEEE!

Until next time,

Khor Evik Vlakhavlakh.