Author's Note: I think I'm starting to enjoy the stories on this archive. Other categories I've visited before are crawling with either annoying users, or completely illegible stories, which really should be called "Nightmares" (and yes, I mean Storm Hawks). I mean, this archive may have some errors here and there, but most people's works are actually interesting even if I don't like the ideas. After all, it's not about what you write, but how you write it that counts! Most people on this archive are friendly as well, which is a huge asset to this category. So lets keep them stories coming! =D

I came up with this strange idea last week or something like that, and decided to try a oneshot at writing it. It is probably the longest oneshot I have ever written. Hope you enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own the dragons, they own me! =D

Tomorrow for the Better

By the notorious Underwaterwriter!

At the crack of dawn, a young teenage boy by the name of Hiccup awoke in his bed. He had trouble sleeping last night, despite the fact that last night he was exhausted and therefore should have slept almost instantly. There was something in his mind that bothered him more than ever, especially when he spent the entire night pondering over it. It was something about the loss he had gained after the Green Death had been defeated, and the tingling sensation in his amputated leg reminded him more than ever about it.

"I could…make a few tweaks to it," Hiccup had told everyone when asked what he thought about his new leg. Saying good-bye to his old leg was hard, but he looked forward, knowing in hopes that life ahead would be better.

Sadly, though, Hiccup had gotten so caught up in all the adventures that Viking life brought that he never really did get around to tweaking his amputated leg. Simply, he relied on support from the friends and family around him as they went about doing their daily things. Ever since the defeat of the Green Death, many things changed, some for the better, some for worse. No longer could Hiccup run around or even walk like the way he used to before. No longer could he even stand up straight for more than a minute without moral support from Toothless, Astrid or even Stoick. Perhaps he needed to change this. In his thoughts, he knew it would be awesome to have the ability to walk, run or stand up. He was a teenager, a Viking and needed independence. He needed to fix his leg more than ever…or remain this helpless way forever. He needed to fix this; he needed to make the decision now…

Pushing aside the covers, Hiccup swung his legs over and placed his whole foot and his amputated one on the floor. In his mind, he knew he would never get around to tweaking his leg unless he started now. He would have enough time; there was light just barely on the horizon, which allowed him several hours to get to the blacksmith shop, get to work, get back and back in bed before anyone else awoke.

Glancing at Toothless, his Night fury, who was sleeping heavily on the floor, Hiccup muttered to himself, "It's now or never." A deep breath was inhaled. More words soon followed. "I can do this. Hiccup, you can do this!" Realizing he had yelled, he immediately clamped his mouth shut and froze as Toothless grunted and turned over to face the other side. Relief flooded through Hiccup as he finally lifted himself off the bed, gripping the headboard for balance.

More deep breaths were taken as Hiccup slowly lifted his amputated leg and put it in front of him. As he put his weight on it, the floor boards creaked, but he was more concerned about losing his balance. In an effort to calm himself, he inhaled more deeply and placed his other foot ahead of him. When he had his weight on his own foot, it was easier to balance. He could walk a few steps, perchance, and then stop on this leg to rest. After all, the shop wasn't that far away.

Hiccup's plan was working well, and he managed to travel from his bed to the door without any help from Toothless or anyone else, for that matter. "All right," Hiccup whispered to himself once again, carefully pushing open the doors. "I can do this. I can do this. I can-"

Little did Hiccup know, he had skipped over a few steps at his door, which caused him to fall down the rest of them. By the time Hiccup was able to recollect himself again, he had reached the bottom in no time. Hiccup knew he could do this. It would be a challenge, but just the same as dragon training was. He had reached the bottom of the stairs, anyway, and now the blacksmith shop would be paces away.

The first so-planned strategy did not work so well for Hiccup, as he made his way up the hill. With every step he took on his amputated leg, he fell into the next step on his other leg, sometimes too quickly for him to notice. As a result, Hiccup spent most of his time on the ground, using his hands and knees to pull himself up. The coming winds made this task much harder than he expected, but regardless of that challenge, he continued his journey. He could see the blacksmith shop now, considering a short break once he got there.

As the rain came and began to pour, the teenager finally reached his destination. He recollected himself and got back up on his feet again. Then slowly, and quietly as possible, Hiccup opened the door. There, in front of his very eyes were Stoick, Gobber, Astrid, Snotlout, Fishlegs and the twins, Ruffnut and Tuffnut making much noise around a table of which they were working at.

It was Stoick, Hiccup's dad, that first realized his son's presence, making it known by flinging the contents of his cup over Tuffnut, who immediately responded by yelling, "Hey! I just washed this hair yesterday! Now it's ALL RUINED!"

Ruffnut smirked at her brother. "At least there's Viking spit all over you now, just like every Viking boy should have," she replied proudly.

"Oh, yeah?" Tuffnut retorted. "Maybe you should have some of this on you. Every good girl's gotta be a boy!"

Before anyone knew it, the twins once again broke out in a big and loud argument as Stoick tried to speak over them. "Ruffnut and Tuffnut!" he called out, only to have his voice drowned out by the sudden noise of argument. It wasn't before long that the fight got physical and Stoick had to slam his hands on the table to get everyone's attention.

"TWINS!"

Startled by the sound of his voice, the twins hushed and looked up. When Hiccup came upon their eyes, they immediately quit fighting and got back up again.

"Uh, Hiccup!" Tuffnut said nervously, joined in by his sister. "What's up? How ya doing?"

The teenager was too busy to hear what the twins had to say. His eyes were focused on an item in the middle of the table. Slowly, Hiccup made his way forward and brushed the item with his fingers. "What is this?"

On cue, Astrid calmly strolled over to Hiccup's side. "That's your new, improved leg," she whispered. "We all pitched in to help, not knowing you would wake up at the crack of dawn to come here."

"We built this so you could walk again," admitted Snotlout. "On your own. Without anyone's help."

"I pitched in," Fishlegs added. "Your new leg is thicker around the edges and lightweight too, so you don't have to clonk every time you try to walk!" He nodded towards everyone as though this was the answer to life.

Smiling, Hiccup picked up the new foot and held it in his hands. "It's actually quite nice," he commented, turning the foot around for further examination. "Maybe I should put it on now."

With a newfound confidence, Hiccup sat down on a chair to detach his old prosthetic leg so he could fit the new one in. As he detached it, however, the Vikings around him exchanged edgy glances. "What?" Hiccup asked when he noticed these expressions.

Gobber tapped his fingers against the metal part that was once his hand before answering. "Well, Hiccup," he began. "D'you remember the helmet you used to have?"

"You mean, the 'breasthat'?"

"Yeah, that one," Gobber replied. He shifted his hat around in an attempt to find the right words. "Since you didn't wear that helmet ever since your father gave it to you…"

"My new foot's made out of my mother's breast plate, right?" Hiccup interrupted in response, crossing his arms.

Before Gobber could say anymore, Stoick decided to answer his son's question instead. His right arm folded into a fist and he gently tapped his chest.

"Keeps her close," Stoick finally explained.

The "breastfoot" dropped to the floor, making the slightest clunking noise on impact.

The End!

So, you know your task now. Review! =D

~ Smiles all around. ~