Chapter 1: Dragon Racing

Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III: This... is Berk. The best kept secret this side of, well, anywhere.

Emily Winters: Granted, it may not look like much, but this wet heap of rock packs more than a few surprises.

Down at the village, a cluster of sheep were hiding nervously between buildings as shadows of passing dragons raced by. The group moves as one, receding into a shadowy alley, pushing one sheep out into the light. It's suddenly snatched and carried into the air.

Hiccup: Life here is amazing, just not for the faint of heart. See, where most folks enjoy hobbies like whittling or needlepoint.

Emily: The Berkians prefer a little something they like to call-

A wash of vibrant colors blurs by. Dragons Barrel past at a dizzying speed. Their riders swipe, kick, and roll into one another while they weave neck in neck between the houses, docks and revamped structures of Berk.

Both: DRAGON RACING!

"WHOOOOOOO!" Fishlegs whooped loudly.

Fishlegs, who is now 20 years old and even larger, rides Meatlug, his Gronckle, who carries the sheep in her claws, until Snotlout, also 20 years old, but every bit as juvenile and Hookfang, his Monstrous Nightmare, side-check them and steals their sheep.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Fishlegs! Did you want that?" Snotlout asked smugly with a smirk and causing Fishlegs to glare at him.

Fishlegs glares at Snotlout.

"No, Snotlout! That was mine!" Fishlegs shouted at him in annoyance.

Snotlout falls back toward Ruffnut and Tuffnut, who lag on their Hideous Zippleback, Barf and Belch.

"Here ya go, babe." Snotlout said with a flirtatious smirk.

With a chivalrous grin, Snotlout tosses the sheep to Ruffnut. She snatches it with a sneer and a grumble as she gives Snotlout an annoyed glare. Can't he and Fishlegs stop hitting on her?! She's not interested!

"Did I tell you that you look amazing today? 'Cause you do." Snotlout said as he hit on her.

That caused her to grumble in disgust and pats Barf on his neck.

"Ugh. Come on, Barf. It's starting to stink around here." Ruffnut said with a grumble of annoyance.

Barf understood what his rider meant and started to peel off, spewing gas. Tuffnut mocks Snotlout with a mugging grin.

"Nope. She still hates you. Let's blow this place, Belch! Alright!" Tuffnut said before signalling Belch.

Belch ignites the gas quickly due to his rider's excitement and enthusiasm, sparking a flashy explosion and leaving Snotlout behind in the smoke.

As they rush past the main bleachers, Ruffnut drops her sheep into one of five baskets suspended over a chasm at the lap crossing. Each backboard bears an image of its corresponding dragon. The Barf/Belch basket filled to the brim with sheep, Astrid has 3, Miko and Bulkhead has 4, Jack and Arcee has 2 and Vince and Hot Rod has 2 as well. Presiding over the game, Stoick turns to the frenzied crowd as Revna, Sierra, Katie, Silvia and Raf were cheering for their friends and Predabots with their guardians and the others.

"Ha-ha! That's nine for the Twins, Astrid lags with three, Miko lags with 4, Jack and Vince both lag with 2 and Fishlegs and Snotlout trail with NONE!" Stoick announced to the crowd.

Stoick eyes two empty baskets at the far end, its backboard painted with an image of Toothless and Optimus.

"And Hiccup and Emily are... nowhere to be found. Hmmm." Stoick said before he sat back down.

Gobber leaned towards him from the side with a knowing grin.

"Scared him off with the big talk, didn't ya, Stoick?" Gobber asked him as Stoick just rolled his eyes in amusement.

That was true. One moment he had his back turned towards Hiccup while in the middle of the 'Big Talk' and one moment later he was already gone with Emily and Optimus in tow.

Snotlout, still smoldering from the blast, gets clipped from behind. Astrid, rolls in, riding Stormfly, spirited and competitive as ever, and beautiful despite herself. Flying beside her were Jack, Miko, Vince and Tai on their Predabots.

"What are you doing, Snotlout?!" Miko asked in annoyance.

"They're going to win now!" Astrid rebuked in annoyance.

"She's my princess! Whatever she wants, she gets!" Snotlout said as if it mattered.

"Ruffnut?!" Jack asked in confusion.

"Didn't she try to bury you alive?!" Tai asked as he and Miko looked at each other.

What does Snotlout and Fishlegs even see in that girl?

"Only for a few hours!" Snotlout said with a roll of his eyes.

Hiccup: Dragons used to be a bit of a problem here.

Emily: But that was five years ago. Now, they've all moved in.

Hiccup: And, really, why wouldn't they?

The racers chase each other through a sprawling hangar and into a vast cave, teeming with colorfully painted dragon stables. They exit through the far side and circle back through the village, blasting past many of its dragon-friendly additions.

Emily: We have custom stables... all-you-can-eat feeding stations... a full-service dragon wash...

Hiccup: Even top-of-the-line fire prevention, if I do say so myself.

In the village, a baby Gronckle sneezes, accidentally setting one of the Viking houses aflame. Astrid peels away from the other dragon racers, and yanks open a spout on the overhead network of aqueducts, dousing the flames with a surge of water.

"It's a good thing Emily and Hiccup designed that." Vince said as he checked the island.

Astrid, Jack, Miko and Tai agreed with their dragons before continuing to race the others.

Back to Stoick, amused as he watches the racers round the island, searching for sheep. He turns to Gobber and nods.

"It's time, Gobber." Stoick said as Gobber nodded.

"Righty-ho!" He said.

He waved towards a viking by the horn to signal the creature worth ten points.

"Last lap!" He waved over.

A horn sounds. The racers all turn to each other, excited.

"The Black Sheep! Come on, Stormfly! We can still win this thing!" Astrid said excitedly.

"Come on, Barf!" Ruffnut said.

"Let's go!" Tuffnut agreed.

"Go, Meatlug!" Fishlegs said as Meatlug started to fly faster.

"Come on, Bulkhead!" Miko cheered.

"Let's do this, Hot Rod!" Vince said.

"Time to catch the ten pointer, Drift!" Tai exclaimed.

"Let's win this, Arcee!" Jack said.

Gobber loads the Black Sheep onto a catapult as the racers start to outfly each other to get to it first.

"Whooo-hooo!" Astrid whooped.

"Let's go, let's go, let's go!"

Gobber leaned towards the sheep with a mischievous grin and a wink while it eyed him in boredom.

"This is your big moment. Have a nice flight!" Gobber said to the sheep."

He pulled the trigger as the sheep had a look of disbelief on its face. launching the Black Sheep into the air. Astrid spots it and steers Stormfly into a steep climb toward it.

"Up, up, up!" Astrid told Stormfly once she spotted it and Stormfly was about to catch it.

But in a flash, Fishlegs and Meatlug fly in and nab the sheep.

"NO!" Astrid cried out in dismay.

"Oh come on!" Miko groaned as she hits her head on Bulkhead's saddle.

"YES! Good job, Meatlug!" Fishlegs complimented before he turns to Ruffnut.

"Here you go, darling! Mine's worth ten!" Fishlegs said and tosses his captured prize to Ruffnut.

Ruffnut caught it with an excited grin.

"Yeah! The Black Sheep!" Ruffnut said in victory.

Astrid turned towards Snotlout who was seething with jealousy.

"You guys are fighting for Ruffnut?!" Astrid sneered at Snotlout in annoyance.

Jack and Arcee both roll their eyes as Astrid goes after the twins. No one is claiming her title as the reigning champion of Dragon Racing.

"I'm totally winning!" Ruffnut said as Fishlegs flew next to her.

"We're winning together!" He said.

She rams Barf into Meatlug, sending Fishlegs into an uncontrolled spin. He slams into Snotlout, sending their dragons tumbling head over tail. The crowd goes wild as the winning stretch is nearing. Ruffnut was so happy that she would win the race that she didn't notice Astrid and Stormfly behind them.

"Whoo-hoo! No one can stop me now!" Ruffnut said happily.

"Except for me. We're attached, genius! Quit trying-" Tuffnut argued.

He grabs at the sheep. Ruffnut fights back, inciting a tug-of-war between the two.

"Hey!"

"-to steal all my glory!" Welp looks like it's an argument between them again.

Astrid and Stormfly fly toward them. Astrid stands on Stormfly's back, keeping her balance while eyeing the Black Sheep in concentration as Stoick was really watching in excitement.

"Get 'em, Astrid!" Stoick cheered.

The twins continue to fight over the sheep unaware that Astrid was right behind them.

"It's MY glory!"

"Always ruining EVERYTHING!"

"NO SHEEP, NO GLORY!"

Astrid leaps off of Stormfly, runs up Belch's spindly neck, and plucks the Black Sheep from the Twins' hands much to their disbelief.

"Gotcha! Ha-ha!" Astrid exclaimed with a smile.

She tumbles through the air onto Stormfly, sticking a perfect landing, the Black Sheep in hand with a triumphant smile.

"Whoa!"

"Astrid!" Ruffnut said angrily.

"Way to go, Astrid!" Miko and Jack cheered with their dragons.

"Show 'em how it's done!" Tai cheered her on.

"Great move, Blondie!" Vince said with a grin.

"Well played! Ha, ha, ha!" Stoick cheered.

Back to Astrid on Stormfly, eyeing the fast approaching finish line when Fishlegs suddenly rams Meatlug into Stormfly, sending Astrid off-course. She recovers quickly and sees Snotlout flying headlong toward her, war hammer cocked, aiming at Astrid.

"Uh, excuse me!" Snotlout said.

"Stormfly!" Astrid cried out in alarm.

Snotlout hurls his hammer but Tai came in time as he jumped off Drift and slammed himself against Hookfang as Astrid ducks and rolls Stormfly out of the way on time . The hammer catches Fishlegs in the face with a CLANG. The crowd collectively winces as Drift catches his charge as Revna, Sierra, Katie, Silvia and Raf laugh at that with the Predabots.

Astrid and Stormfly recover from their roll, loop over the water, and they blast past the finish line, dunking the Black Sheep into their basket! ASTRID WINS THE RACE!

"That's thirteen! Astrid takes the game!" Stoick declared.

The crowd comes unhinged. Astrid flies over the crowd, basking in her victory.

"Yeah! Ooh-ooh!" Astrid waved in victory towards the crowd.

Astrid then flew Stormfly towards the Predabot Riders with a grateful smile.

"You didn't have to do that, Tai." Astrid said to Tai as Miko scoffed with a grin.

"And let Snotface hit you with that hammer of his? Not on our watch." Miko said.

"You can thank Drift for that. He saw it coming and he flew towards you as fast as possible for me to make sure Snotlout doesn't hurt you." Tai said as he patted Drift on the head.

Astrid chuckles as she continues to celebrate her victory.

Hiccup: Yep. Berk is pretty much perfect. All of my hard work has paid off. And it's a good thing, too, because with Vikings on the backs of dragons

Emily: The world just got a whole lot bigger.

Jack looked around on Arcee's back and didn't see four of their friends.

"Hey, where's Emily, Optimus, Hiccup and Toothless?" Jack asked as the others just shrugged.