A low groan woke me up. I felt like I had just barely gotten to sleep when Toothless disturbed me. Groggily, I sat up, stifling a yawn and looked around the house.

Astrid, my dad, and their dragons were still here, still in the same positions as when I last saw them. Gobber was sitting down at the table.

"Oh, good! You're awake," he said. It sounded like he had a touch of sarcasm behind his voice.

"Mm. Not really," I mumbled.

"So what's the plan?" he asked.

"Plan?"

"You never came up with one?"

I thought for a moment, trying to figure out what he was asking. I knew Gobber was complaining about my mood when he left me and Toothless here. And... something else. Oh, he also wanted me to think of a way to get rid of the Speed Stingers, or at least the lead dragon.

I never thought of one. I was too exhausted to do anything except fall asleep.

"No, I didn't," I finally told him.

Gobber rolled his eyes in irritation but didn't say anything.

"Look, every time I've tried to do something about the Speed Stingers, someone's gotten petrified," I said, motioning toward my dad and Astrid.

"We're Vikings. It's an occupational hazard," Gobber replied without missing a beat.

"Oh, yeah. Especially when I'm around."

"Hiccup, I'm getting tired of listening to you complain."

"Because nobody is helping me!" I shouted at him. "Why am I the only person here who's supposed to think of a plan and carry it out?"

I paused for a second, waiting for Gobber's answer. He didn't reply. I crossed my arms and glared at the floor.

"Might as well just kill the lead dragon and get it over with," I mumbled.

"Great!" he pounced. "How are you gonna get ready for it?"

"For what?" I asked, but I already knew the answer.

"You said you wanted to kill the lead dragon. So... what are you waiting for?"

I looked at Gobber and said, "I can barely live with myself after what happened with the Speed Stinger out there." I pointed through the wall in the direction of where I... never mind.

"Do you seriously expect me to hunt that dragon down and kill it in cold blood?"

"Well, yeah," Gobber replied with a shrug. "How else are you gonna kill it?"

"What about this?" I asked, hoping he'd forget about my sarcastic comment on killing the lead Speed Stinger a few seconds ago. "What if I catch it and use Toothless to fly it somewhere other than here?"

"Sure. You can do that too."

"Are you even listening to me?"

"Oh, yes. You can get those dragons out of here however you like, Hiccup."

"And you have nothing to add..." I prompted, letting the moment hang.

"I like the killing idea more," he said quickly. "But when you decide to try something, just forget about everyone else."

"What are you talking about?" I asked. It sounded like he decided to change the subject on a whim.

"You're spending too much time worrying about someone getting hurt. When you go out there, it's just you and Toothless. That's it."

"Great. I'm Berk's only hope for this. No pressure, Hiccup," I said to myself.

"Hiccup, you killed the Red Death two years ago, and you acted like you were the only Viking who could do it. You didn't even give it a second thought when you took that dragon on," Gobber pointed out.

I looked at Gobber with a confused, twisted face. "I don't think about it? About this?" I motioned toward my peg with an open left hand.

"All right. Fine. That's not what I'm trying to tell you. I'm saying you've done things Vikings have only dreamed about for the last three hundred years. I know you can get the Speed Stingers out of Berk. But the question is do you think you can do it?"

I was silent, unable to open my mouth. I knew the correct answer was "yes." But I couldn't bring myself to say it, especially considering the job I had done protecting Vikings and dragons in Berk.

"I know what you want to say, Hiccup," Gobber told me. "But I'm gonna let you decide on your own."

He paused for a moment.

"I just want you to know that I trust you. And so does Toothless." Gobber motioned toward Toothless with his prosthetic hook.

I glanced behind myself and found Toothless lying curled on the floor with his head raised, looking at me. He had on one of his expressions that stared directly into my soul.

I felt that connection between us again. It was the same connection from that evening when we first touched. It was the same feeling when I woke up after the battle with the Red Death, missing part of my left leg, and Toothless was there to help me stand again.

I took a deep breath and returned my gaze back toward Gobber. I thought I was crazy for doing this, for putting someone else in danger. But I couldn't avoid trying to get the Speed Stingers out of Berk. Some misplaced sense of pride told me I'd go down in history as our worst Chief if I did. I didn't want to be remembered that way.

I groaned as I stood, moving like I was a hundred years old. I took three steps to my left and picked up my shield, slinging it over my shoulder and turned toward Gobber.

"I'm ready," I told him.