The soul of a dragon (Completed)

Chapter 43: Should I know you?

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Hi. 😞 Not particularly proud of this one, because it's basically the same as in the movie, except with some changes. Although I had to write it to keep my story flowing. Hope it does affect too much the way you see my story... I guess I'm feeling down because I know my book is coming to an end... Oh well! Life goes on after... I think...
-Maya's Stories
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"Could it be? After all these years? How is this possible?", said the figure in a surprisingly feminine voice.
"Um... Should I... Should I know you?", answered Hiccup, very confused.
"No. You were only a babe..." The stranger removed his mask to reveal her face. "... but a mother never forgets."

The boy gasped as Astrid watched silently, agaped.

"Come...", said his... mother, as she walked away.
"W-Wait! H-Hold on! Wait just a minute! C-Come back here!", cried the rider.
"This way. Come." Astrid and Hiccup could barely keep up.
"You can't just say something like that and run off! You're my mother?! I mean, what the... Do you grasp how insane it sounds?!"
"Come. Quickly!"
"I have questions! Where have you been all this time? What have you been doing?! They said you were dead! Everyone thinks you were eaten by..."

He was interrupted when he and Astrid went through an opening. There were thousands of dragons! Flying in an immense space inside of the ice structure! It was as if it were bigger on the inside. "...dragons," continued the boy, amazed by the quantity of flying reptile before his eyes.

Astrid lightly tapped on his shoulder as he was looking all over the place. He turned around to look at her, but she was focused on something else. He followed her stare and saw that his mother was hanging from the ceiling with her dragon.

"This is where you've been for twenty-three years?", asked Hiccup. She nodded. "You've been rescuing them." She nodded again, smiling. "Unbelievable."
"You're not upset?", asked the mother.
"What? No. I-I don't know. It's a bit much to get my head around, to be frank. It's not everyday you find out your mother is some kind of crazy, feral, vigilante dragon lady!"
"At least I'm not boring... Right?" She got down on the ground.
"I suppose there is that... one... specific... thing..."

Valka looked at Toothless, who was socializing with the other dragons. She started to pet him on the tongue and talk about how old he was, and how he might be the last one of his kind...

"Y-Yeah... I... found him in the woods. He was... shot down and wounded...", said the rider.
"Did Drago or his hunters did this, too?", asked the mother, looking at his prosthetic fin. Astrid, who was standing in a corner, started to laugh.
"*nervous laugh* Well, crazy thing is... I'm actually the one who shot him down. It's okay though, he got me back. Right, bud? *scratches Toothless' head* You couldn't save all of me, could you? You just had to make it even. So... peg leg!"

She looked curious, but quickly changed the subject. She asked about Berk and how they thought about his Night Fury friend...

"We didn't know until very recently!", said Astrid, stepping up to help Hiccup. "But when we did find out... We took it very well! We... We were pretty impressed that he was riding a Night Fury!"
"Impressed? Stoick wasn't mad?", asked Valka.
"Not mad, exactly... More... cautious... He didn't trust him very much."
"Trust him? W-Why not?"
"Um... E-Eight years ago, Hiccup... ran away?"
She stayed silent, then burst out in laughter.

"All these years, you took after me!", said the woman, after some time.
"Yeah, I guess so!", replied the boy.

Astrid explained that while he was gone, she started to think dragons were good, so she told Stoick. Obviously, he didn't take it so well at first...

"... but then he changed... They all did! Pretty soon, everyone back home had dragons of their own!", finished Astrid.
"If only it were possible," said the mother.
"No, really! I..."
"Believe me, I tried, as well. But people are not capable of change, girl. Some of us... were just born different."

She then explained the tragic story of her disappearance.

"You and your father nearly died that night, all because I couldn't kill a dragon," said Valka, in a sad tone.
"Yeah. Runs in the family!", laughed Hiccup, and so did Astrid.
"Come. You two must be hungry."

They both nodded and headed to another part of the dragon sanctuary. Hours away from our two heroes were two big looking best friends with well-groomed facial hair on their massive dragon, looking for two runaways.

"Boar-headed! Just like his mother! She could never stay put either!", shouted Stoick.
"Ah, he's just twenty-three! And a Viking. I mean, could there be a worse combination? Ha! When I think of how stubborn and senseless you were back in the day... well, not much has changed, actually," answered Gobber.
"You know what he's like. He won't give up, Gobber. And if Hiccup finds Drago, before we find him..."
"Bah! Nothing can hurt Hiccup so long as that Night Fury's around. It's a Night Fury!"

Then, the chief noticed his helmet that had fallen off when Cloudjumper took him. Skullcrusher successfully tracked him to where he was.

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"Astrid?! You, too?! It doesn't matter. Let's go!", he screamed.
"How did you get here?", asked Hiccup.
"The same way we're getting out."
"We?!"
"All clear!", whispered Gobber.
"Wait, no! Dad! There's something you need to know!"
"Yeah, yeah! tell me on the way."
"This isn't an on-the-way kind of update, actually..."
"I've heard enough, Hiccup."
"Dad, unlike most surprises I spring on you, this one you'll like. I promise! You just have to handle it delicately, so..."
"Uh, you might want to take this one. Oh, boy," calmly said the blacksmith.